Afterlife

by Dannika Dark

  Panicked, I scanned the building. On the other side, Shepherd kicked down a door, Wyatt behind him with two kids in tow. A wolf lunged at Shepherd, who brandished a large knife.

  I cupped my hands around my mouth. “Wyatt!”

  Then I took the girl’s hand. “Come on, sweetie. Don’t be scared. We’re the good guys.”

  She jogged alongside me in a daze, tears streaming down her face. When I reached the walkway that crossed over, I ran to the center to meet Wyatt. “Take her.”

  I turned back and spotted a man running toward a door in the back. I flashed down the walkway and came up behind him. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  When he turned, I latched onto his neck. My fangs punched out and pierced his main artery as I delivered an electric shock. He pounded his fists against my back, but I gripped him like a boa constrictor killing its prey until I crippled him with weakness.

  His blood was so vile that I almost threw up. When he collapsed in a heap, I staked him.

  “I’ll finish this one,” Christian said, blood staining his lips and beard.

  “You didn’t drink that guy’s blood, did you?”

  “Viktor asked me to collect evidence should anyone question us. I’ve tasted his sins, and now this one gets my special attention.” Christian dropped down on his knees, slowly unbuttoning the man’s shirt. He was too weak to shift and barely conscious. But his soulless eyes went saucer wide when Christian yanked out the stake and trailed it down his belly. “Have you ever been disemboweled?”

  I spat out as much blood as I could before heading toward another door. Claude’s roar filled the open room, as did the sporadic gunshots and terrified screams of children. I flung the door open, and two children cowered in the corner—a boy and a girl.

  “Come with me,” I said, trying not to imagine what I must have looked like with blood on my mouth and a knife in my hand. “Hurry up!”

  Eyes brimming with terror, the two children clutched each other and reluctantly moved toward me.

  “I’m not gonna hurt you.” I gently touched the boy’s head. “I promise. Okay? It’s a little scary out there, but we’re here to save you from these bad guys.”

  The girl nodded.

  I bumped into Christian outside the door. “Jesus. I nearly stabbed you.”

  He winked. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

  “I need to get these kids to Wyatt, but I don’t know where he is.”

  “Worry not, lass. I can hear the little gobshite now.” Christian scooped up a child in each arm as if they weighed nothing. “Back in a jiffy.”

  I sprinted to the far end of the building. When I glanced down at the lower level, I could have sworn I saw Matteo. Viktor’s wolf viciously attacked a much larger wolf, and the savage noises were enough to curdle blood. I looked up, and to my horror, a toddler was peering down at the chaos. The railing was only made up of three bars, and she easily fit through them as she leaned over the bottom one.

  I flashed down the walkway and slowed at the curve. My heart wound up in my throat when she teetered too far from the edge. With lightning speed, I raced toward her, dove to the floor, and clutched her in my arms before rolling onto my back. She wailed and wriggled with all her might.

  When I crawled to my feet with the child in my arms, I scanned the building. There wasn’t time to comfort her—only to save her. Just ahead, Blue emerged from a room, blood dripping from her axe and a look of murder on her face I’d never seen before.

  “Can you take the baby?” I asked, the toddler kicking her feet. “Give her to Wyatt.”

  Blue shook her head.

  “Blue, I can’t. I’m charged up with energy, and I’m afraid I’ll shock her by accident. Please.”

  Blue scooped up the little girl and propped her against her hip as if she’d done it a thousand times. With the axe in her other hand, she turned around and strutted away.

  I spotted Christian below, slamming a wolf against a wall. We couldn’t leave one child behind, so I looped back to the rooms I’d passed. One was a bedroom, and though the light switch didn’t work, my Vampire eyes allowed me to verify it was empty. The second door revealed a stairwell. Ascending the steps, I put away my small dagger and took the larger one from its sheath. Once at the top, I pushed the long metal bar on the door and stepped outside.

  A gust of wind whipped my hair around. The rooftop was an ideal spot to hide. Dark shadows, ventilation pipes, but likely no fire escape. I’d never seen them on old factory buildings. I branched away from the door. Without lights, it was difficult to see long distances.

  And this was a big fucking rooftop.

  I treaded carefully since there wasn’t a parapet to prevent me from stepping off the edge. I walked around, using my Mage ability to detect energy. Someone was definitely up here.

  “You might as well come out and fight instead of cowering like a chicken,” I said, taunting him. “Are you sure you’re even a wolf?”

  Two eyes gleamed at me from the shadows. A black wolf emerged, powerful and larger than most I’d seen. Viktor had cautioned me that wolves were clever enough to kill a Mage by chewing off their hands before going for the jugular. Usually it took more than one, but this guy was big.

  I waved my dagger so he could see the weapon. Was the man conscious in there, or was I only dealing with the beast?

  A growl rumbled in his chest before he lunged. I flashed around him and swiped the blade, but he turned and snapped at my wrist. When I recoiled, he went for my other hand. I windmilled my arms and quickly flashed away before he jumped at my throat.

  The wolf didn’t stop. Unlike a human, who would assess the situation and develop a new strategy, he kept up the attack until I was on the defense. I sliced his back, but his fur was too thick and dark for me to see any blood.

  Pipes became obstacles as I tried not to stumble over them in the dark. I gripped a tall pipe like a stripper on a pole and swung around, kicking him in the head. When I let go and landed, his fangs locked onto my left arm. Panic set in when he thrashed his head and tugged the leather, tearing it to shreds. I brought down my dagger, but he spotted it and dashed off.

  I wound up cutting my own arm.

  “Dammit!” As I stalked toward him, I noticed Christian perched like a vulture on the raised doorway. “Get your ass down here if you want a piece of this.”

  “Oh, I’ll get a piece of that later, Precious.” He gave me a crooked smile, his trench coat splayed behind him, his knees drawn up and arms folded over them.

  Damn if I didn’t want to impress him. It wasn’t just my lover watching me—it was a professional who had spent hours in the training room with me.

  I sensed a dim energy from the other side of the roof. After sheathing my large blade, I gripped the two push daggers secured to my belt. The blades protruded between my fingers, the handles fitting snugly in my closed fists.

  Toenails scraped against the asphalt as the beast sprinted toward me. I braced myself, and seconds before he leaped into the air, I fell onto my back. As he sailed over me, I drove my daggers into his sides, and the force of motion ripped the blades down his flank.

  He yelped, and for a split second, I felt pity.

  But then I remembered what these men had done, why we were here. When I flipped over, I stared at a naked man on the ground. He was a giant. By the time I sprang to my feet, he’d shifted back to a wolf. I flashed toward him, dropped to my knees, and drove the daggers through his skull.

  The beast made one final lunge, but death came swiftly. He smothered me with his weight, groaned, and then his thundering heart finally came to a stop.

  A slow applause sounded. “Well done, Raven. The daggers were a nice touch.”

  I shoved the animal off and sat up. “You can’t shift with daggers in your skull—not unless you want brain damage.”

  Christian extended his arm and helped me up. “That was the smart way to go about it. Torturing a man like that is a pleasure, but you have to know
when you’re at a disadvantage.”

  “Disadvantage? I had the upper hand.”

  “He was twice your size. I saw you stumbling about in the dark. One misstep, and you would have tumbled off the roof.”

  I frowned at my torn jacket. “Heights don’t bother me—I wouldn’t have fallen. But he wasn’t shifting to heal the little stuff, and look at him. He’s a moose. He probably could have shifted a dozen times before getting weak. That’s why I had to finish him off quick.”

  “And tell me why you didn’t sizzle him up with your battery juice?”

  “I’m already tired from flashing. It would have weakened me more.”

  “Good girl. If I could give you a pointer—next time, go for the eyes. It’s far easier to gouge out an animal’s eyes than a man’s.”

  “You’re disgusting.”

  “Aye. But this isn’t a competition where the winner gets a trophy. It’s a game of survival.” He folded his arms. “Your technique is improving.”

  “I just wish I hadn’t sipped on that guy’s blood downstairs. I feel sick to my stomach.”

  “We should go back down.”

  I jerked my daggers out of the wolf. “Thanks for letting me fight alone.”

  “You’re thanking me for not interfering? Is this the same Raven who called me to help her with bears?”

  I wiped the blood on the wolf’s coat before sheathing the daggers. “That was different, and you know it.”

  “And that’s why I took a front-row seat. ’Tis a shame I didn’t have any popcorn.”

  I put my arm around his waist as we walked. “You haven’t had popcorn in decades. What if you choked on a kernel?”

  “Don’t you know CPR?”

  “I think you mean the Heimlich maneuver. Don’t worry, I would serve popcorn at your funeral.”

  When we reached the door, he opened it for me. “The only thing I want served at my funeral is revenge. Invite all my enemies and slaughter them.”

  “Right before ‘Amazing Grace,’ I’ll douse the church with kerosene. How’s that?”

  I jogged down the hot stairwell until I reached the door. After pressing my ear against it and listening, I cracked it open and peered through.

  Christian yanked me away. “Anyone ever told you not to put your eyeball up to a crack?”

  “No, but something tells me you’ve heard that a lot.”

  “It’s all clear,” he said, jerking open the door.

  We both rushed out and split apart, keeping the same stride as we ran toward the crossover. Down below, bodies littered the floor. Each room I passed, I glanced inside the open doorway and looked under furniture to make sure it was clear.

  Wyatt jogged toward me, his face sweaty and hat missing.

  “I checked the rooms,” I said. “All empty.”

  He leaned on the railing to catch his breath. “There’s one more.”

  “How do you know?”

  He jerked his thumb at nothing behind him. “The freshy said there’s someone on the roof.”

  “I was just up there. The guy’s dead.”

  “Well, you missed the kid.” He fanned his shirt away from his chest. “All the others are loaded up in the vans. Tell Shep I’ll be right down.”

  After he took off, I met with Christian, who had just crossed over the bridge.

  “I didn’t hear any wee ones up there,” he remarked, brows furrowed.

  “It’s a big roof. Lots of hiding spots. Maybe you were distracted, or maybe Wyatt’s finally lost his marbles.”

  We headed toward steps that descended to the first floor. Blue was covered in blood spatters as she searched through a toy pile.

  In the center of the room, Viktor’s wolf rose up on its hind legs and savagely attacked another wolf. The vicious snarls and snaps along with three dead wolves made me want to get the hell out of their way.

  I reached Blue. “What are you looking for?”

  She finally stood with a toy in her hand. “One of the kids wanted her dolly. I hope this is it, because we can’t stay much longer.”

  “I’ll take care of the bodies and make sure we didn’t miss any children,” Christian said, stalking off.

  I fell into step beside her as we headed back to the garage. “What do you need help with?”

  “Getting everyone together, I guess. Once Viktor takes care of that last wolf, Shepherd’s going to set the place on fire to burn up evidence that we were here.”

  “That’s a little dramatic.”

  “It’s the only way to erase fingerprints in the Breed world. Sensory fingerprints, blood—you get the picture. Claude’s tracking down the women.”

  “Are we taking them home?”

  “Not the adults.” When Blue reached a well-lit area, she stopped and noticed the blood on her arms. “Viktor wants to give them money so they don’t wind up on the streets. Apparently, none of the kids belong to them. Anyhow, two of them took off, and the other one is sitting outside.”

  “Maybe Christian should scrub their memories of us, just in case.”

  She bent down and wiped her arms on her pants, trying in vain to get the blood off. “That’s a good plan. Someone might get the bright idea to blackmail us or report the incident to the higher authority.”

  I kicked a bullet shell. “Technically, we didn’t do anything wrong. Those men were hurting the kids.”

  “Yeah, but nobody hired us. That’s not how Viktor operates. He’s trying to protect us from an investigation, and there’s no way we could justify this bloodbath. Operations like ours aren’t supposed to go rogue.”

  I handed her my leather coat. “Put this on. I’ll check outside the building. Maybe the women are just hiding.”

  The kids were inside the vans parked by the garage, some crying and others firing off questions. Gem approached the back of one van and put on a light display, which quickly distracted them.

  I veered left and walked down what was once flat concrete. Some of it had broken and shifted. Time had ravaged the property, weeds and vines erasing what man had once created. I peered behind a sheet of metal and then looked inside a patch of weeds as tall as me, scuttling backward when something slithered around my feet.

  A piercing cry set me into motion, and I jogged around to the side. My eyes widened at the sight of Wyatt hanging halfway off the roof, both hands clutching the hand of a young girl no more than ten. She was slipping through his fingers. I bolted toward them a split second before she fell. I caught her, but not with grace. Our bodies collided, and then we fell in a heap. A few seconds later, a sickening thud hit the ground behind me.

  “You okay?” I rubbed my shoulder and sat up.

  The girl lifted her arm, her elbow bleeding and covered in grit. Judging by the knot on her temple and my throbbing lip, we must have smacked our heads together during the catch. I twisted around and gasped when I saw Wyatt.

  “Niko!” I shouted. “Someone help!”

  The first person on the scene was Shepherd. When he caught sight of Wyatt, he holstered his gun and dropped to his knees. “What happened?”

  “He fell off the roof.”

  Shepherd glanced up. “Jesus fuck.” He rolled Wyatt onto his back. “Open your eyes! You in there?”

  “I didn’t see it happen,” I explained. “He was hanging upside down, so I don’t know how he landed.”

  Shepherd felt for a pulse. “He’s still alive. I can’t sense anything but the pain he felt hitting the ground.” After assessing his neck, Shepherd reached inside his back pocket and pulled out a handkerchief.

  “Do you want me to get your bag out of the van?”

  He pressed the cloth to the gash on Wyatt’s head. “Niko!” he shouted over his shoulder. “Get your ass over here!” Then he glanced at the girl. “How about the kid?”

  “My arm hurts,” she whimpered.

  “It might be broken,” I whispered to Shepherd.

  He reached over and touched her knee. His palm glowed red, and the girl sighed with
relief. While he couldn’t heal her, he could temporarily remove her pain.

  Niko navigated the uneven ground as quickly as he could. He must have read everyone’s light, because he went to the girl first. “Give me your arm, little one. Don’t be afraid.”

  The girl quit clutching her elbow, and Niko gingerly held it.

  “Can you do that on a kid?” I asked.

  “I’ll have to use less power. As long as she has Breed blood, I can heal fractures.”

  A light pulsed, and a loud snap of electricity sounded. The girl recoiled but then immediately bent her arm and stared at it in amazement. A gentle touch later, the gash on her head was healed.

  “Wake up, Spooky.” Shepherd lifted Wyatt’s eyelids. “I can’t see a damn thing in the dark.”

  I held my palms close to Wyatt’s face, pushing light into my hands until tiny blue webs danced at my fingertips. It wasn’t much, but maybe it was enough. “Does this help at all?”

  He leaned in close. “His pupils aren’t fully dilated, so that’s a good sign. I think.”

  “You think?”

  “I’m not a damned doctor. I patch people up.”

  “You also put holes in them.”

  Niko crawled above Wyatt’s head and held it in his hands. A dubious look crossed his expression. “So much damage. I can heal him, but it doesn’t mean he’ll awaken.”

  Viktor jogged over while trying to put on his sweater. “What happened?”

  Shepherd sat back. “Humpy Dumpty took a spill off the damn roof. That’s what happened.”

  Niko sighed. “It’s your call, Viktor. If he doesn’t wake up on his own, I can’t promise he’ll wake up at all. And if I heal him and he’s comatose…”

  Yeah, we’d all been down that road already with Niko.

  Viktor wiped his hand down his mouth, a nebula of emotions clouding his expression. “Is there nothing you can give to wake him? Like in movies.”

  Shepherd glanced up. “You mean smelling salts? I don’t like carrying ammonia around with me. Chitahs can smell it.” He looked down at Wyatt and frowned. “Should I punch him? That might wake him up.”

  “You’ll do more damage,” Niko warned him.