End Game (The Foundling Series)

by Hailey Edwards

  The flight, thanks to Wu’s extra sets of wings, wouldn’t take all that long. Maybe six hours. That gave me a whole day and change to get what I needed and then return before the others woke. I hadn’t seen Death since she left Canton, and I wasn’t certain of my reception. I didn’t think she would kill me on sight, but I knew my appearance would remind her of her loss.

  Once on the top floor, we walked to the end of the hall and shoved through the fire escape. We took the steps onto the roof and assumed the position. I had learned from experience that the best way for Wu to carry me was if I wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. The position was intimate, and I didn’t enjoy sharing that closeness with him, all things considered.

  With his grip on me secure, he walked off the edge, snapping out his wings and soaring between skyscrapers until we reached a body of water. We followed its path, neither of us speaking, and I let my thoughts drift while we made the journey to petition my final sister for aid.

  The sky was darkening when we arrived at a beachside home tottering on stilts. The ocean crashed and roared, so close you could almost touch it, it seemed. The breeze whipped hair in my face and made my skin sticky.

  A sour taste flooded my mouth. “I have a favor to ask.”

  Startled, Wu said, “Name it.”

  Hoping I could trust him with this, I did, and he promised to make it happen.

  Ghostly crabs scuttled over my feet when Wu sat me down, and I kicked off my shoes before setting out for a pair of loungers sharing a large red umbrella. A familiar couple rested there, gazing out at the surf, and when I followed their sightline, I spotted their remaining children frolicking in the water.

  Janardan was Iniid, and so Death, as his mate, was biologically Iniid as well. Their children, in their natural form, resembled freshwater dolphins. They sported tentacles instead of flukes and smiled with seven rows of serrated teeth, like sharks.

  “Dad took me to the beach a few times on family vacations,” I said when I got close enough for the roar not to steal my words. “We usually went with my aunt and uncle since they had kids. That, and it gave Dad an excuse to dump me in Aunt Nancy’s lap while he went deep sea fishing with Uncle Harold.”

  “It is a good place to bring young,” Death murmured. “The sand is enjoyable, and the water … It’s beautiful. So clear and blue. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  “Your mate let you out of his sight?” Janardan, her mate, smiled warmly at me. “How unlike him.”

  Cole and Janardan had struck up an unlikely friendship during the early days of the cadre, and every time I met with Janardan, I marveled at how normal he seemed. I was thankful Cole had had one sane point of contact outside the coterie, and not just because Janardan had helped Death protect Phoebe.

  “I might have slipped out while he was gorged on the flesh of our enemies and unable to physically stop me without falling asleep.”

  “Now that I believe.” His laughter rang out, and Death joined him. “You’ve come for us at last then?”

  “I’ve come for an answer.” I sat in the warm sand in front of them. “You’ve got a good thing going here.”

  “How long would it last?” Death shook her head. “What is that ostrich saying?” She checked with Janardan. “Oh, yes. We can’t bury our heads in the sand.” He nodded that she had gotten it right, and he smiled. “It’s only a matter of time before Ezra comes for me.”

  Janardan pushed upright from his reclined position, as if speaking his name might summon him. “Why don’t you come inside and tell us what we’ve missed?”

  “You should rest.” Death searched my face, hers lined with concern. “You look exhausted.”

  Yes, well, imprisonment tended to wipe a girl out, but I didn’t want to get into those particulars out here where the wind could snatch my secrets. And damn it. I hadn’t thought to ask Thom for a healing session prior to zipping off to visit Death. I had gotten too tangled up in my head and forgotten, but the flight had reminded me.

  “I have enough time for a nap.” I sat downwind from them, and even Death wrinkled her nose at my smell. “A shower isn’t a bad idea either.”

  My hosts rose to escort me into their home, and I stood, dusting off even though living on the beach came with the expectation sand would get everywhere.

  Death called out, “One hour more.”

  An unholy racket erupted from near the shore, the sound a dolphin made when stuck between the jaws of a great white who was choking to death on a seal, and I whipped my head around in time to spot a writhing mass of oily black tentacles waving back above the foam.

  I figured Death could only animate so many members of her coterie before it put a drain on her. I hadn’t stopped to consider that the deaths of some of her children made room for her to birth more. Birth might not be the right word, but it was the least complicated. Clearly she and Janardan had been busy.

  The longer I stared, the more clearly I saw what might have been a cross between a blue whale and an angler fish mixed in with a little crab. Swimming with it were a matched set of creatures who resembled nurse sharks who had glued bear traps down their spines and topped those off with a club tail that smashed the water at regular intervals.

  I watched a few minutes longer, disturbed and awed in equal measure. All the specials I had watched on oceans made no bones about it being the last frontier. So little of it had been explored, comparatively, and new species were discovered all the time. Humans would crap their pants if they stumbled across anything like these creatures. Then again, who would have imagined the squidworm, the flamingo tongue snail, or the fathead? How many of those peculiarities were charun who had been discovered and forced to play scientific specimen until they could engineer their escape?

  “Children.” She clucked her tongue. “They only ever want to play.”

  “I can sympathize.” I turned back toward the house and noticed Janardan had begun the trek alone. He was giving us a chance to walk together, and I marveled again at her mate’s empathetic nature. “You’ll never guess what Phoebe got it in her head to do.”

  As I relayed her antics, Death chuckled, indulgent. Much like Cole, she exuded pride in what our little terror had achieved. At the steps, she gave me a pointed look, and I spotted Wu lingering near the dunes.

  “Give me a minute, and I’ll shoo him off.” I trotted out to him. “Any word on Sariah from the Malakhim lite?”

  “They were unable to capture her.”

  Since that’s about what I figured, I wasn’t too upset over the news. It sucked, but it could have sucked worse. That was apparently my new barometer. Degrees of suckitude.

  “Pick me up around lunch, and we’ll head home. I ought to have an answer from them by then.”

  “I’ll get a room in town,” he decided. “I could use the break too.”

  The Southern girl in me wanted to feel like dirt for not checking on him, not playing the role of hostess since he was staying with the coterie. I kept reminding myself he had made his bed, and now he had to lie in it. It wasn’t my job to tuck him in or make sure he had a glass of water, a teddy bear, or anything else. But I was my father’s daughter, and I wanted to make my aunt proud. Even though I’m pretty sure she would have used Wu for target practice — angel wings or no — for all he had done to me.

  “Make sure you get some food in you.” I searched his face. “Sleep too. Don’t sit at the foot of your bed and brood. Actually slide between the covers, shut your eyes, and dream.”

  “I’m not a fan of dreams,” he said softly and shot into the sky.

  I rejoined Death, who watched him go. “What?”

  “You trust him further than I expected.” She guided me into her living room. “Or you value us less than I had presumed.”

  “I trust him to say and do whatever is most beneficial to him.” However, my perception had changed. I used to assume he wanted to step into his father’s shoes. Now I grasped the scope of sacrifice required to unse
at Ezra in the first place. “This was his grand design. I don’t see him deviating from it just when all his scheming is coming to fruition.”

  The sentiment appeared to resonate with Death, who didn’t question me further. That, or she trusted my judgement. How terrifying was that? All our lives were at stake, and I was doing my very best to keep us all breathing, but she was lightyears ahead of me with centuries more experience.

  Who in the hell decided I got to call the shots? Had these people met me before balancing the world on top of my head? Had I lost a bet as Conquest I no longer recalled? There must be some reason other than I got here first, right? Right?

  The possibility these people trusted me with their fates was too stark. It gave me chills. I didn’t want this responsibility. I didn’t want any of this. Too bad no one seemed to care.

  Maybe they were happy dumping on me because it felt better to put your future into someone else’s hands, even if they were coated in blood, than to hold onto it yourself. Who wanted to be responsible for their own actions? No one, that’s who. And yet they had left me with no choice but to be accountable for the decisions I made that affected an outcome so much greater than my own existence.

  “Have you eaten?” Death led me straight to the bathroom in a not-so-subtle hint she would like me to clean up first. “I have many television dinners I can prepare for you in the microwave.”

  Uncertain what she and her coterie deemed edible, I played it safe. “Do you have any pizza?”

  “Many varieties.” She brightened. “The combination, the pepperoni, and the supreme.”

  “I’ll take the pepperoni.”

  “There are bathing supplies and towels.” She flicked a glance at my bag. “Do you require clothes? I have decided I do not like the underwear. It’s too constricting. I have shirts and pants you can borrow.”

  “Thanks, but I came prepared.” I patted the side of the duffle. “I’ll be out in fifteen.”

  Janardan began preheating the oven while Death rooted through the freezer to locate my dinner of choice. The scene was oddly domestic, and it warmed my heart to see them enjoying a normal moment together almost as much as it twisted my gut to know my arrival meant the last of these quiet evenings.

  Ah well. As they say, all good things must come to an end.

  I ate dinner on the porch overlooking the ocean. The pizza was burnt on the edges and frozen in the middle. It was the best meal I’d had in months. It reminded me of how Dad made them when I was a kid.

  I wished I could visit him, but I had said my goodbyes a dozen times at least. With Phoebe’s escape attempts bringing unwanted attention to Haven, I couldn’t risk another visit even if I could justify one.

  “I have chips,” Death said when she joined me. “The barbecue, the salt and the vinegar, and the sour cream and the cheddar.”

  “This is fine, thanks.”

  “We should talk strategy.” She shut her eyes, let the wind tease her hair. She still wore the Hollywood starlet look, and she fit here in a way she hadn’t at the bunkhouse. “We must choose our battlefield.”

  “I was hunting Ezra when I was captured.” I wiped my hands clean. “I thought a sneak attack would give us a chance to save lives, but that plan blew up in my face.”

  Expression solemn, she angled her head toward me. “Do you think it’s wise to hunt a lion in its den?”

  That was the question. Offense or defense? Which gave us a better chance of survival? Which was the right choice? Was there even a right choice? Or were there simply less degrees of wrong ones?

  “It’s better than waiting on the lion to decide you look like dinner and ambushing you one night when it gets hungry.”

  Death crossed her slender legs and began rocking in her chair. “Have you heard of Hart Island?”

  The name struck me as familiar, but I had to sort through a lifetime of documentaries to find an answer.

  “It’s an island east of the Bronx, in Pelham Bay,” I recalled. “It’s a mass grave. The famed Potter’s Field. A million people, or close to it, have been buried there. Coffins run three deep in trenches. It’s owned by the Department of Corrections, and inmates from Rikers dig the graves.” I thought it over. “It’s one of the largest mass graves in the United States. I want to say it’s the biggest tax-funded cemetery in the US, maybe the largest of its kind in the world.”

  Embarrassed to recall so much, I had to admit I had definitely watched one too many insider reports in my life. Dad hadn’t gone the no TV is best route. He had decided TV was perfectly fine as long as we watched educational programming. Together. As a cop, with an interest in criminal justice — a no brainer — we had sat through a ton of reality shows about life in super-max prisons and their satellites, such as inmates pulling grave duty on Hart Island.

  “It is closed to the public. Visitation is rare. It would be an ideal spot.”

  Accepting Death’s invitation to play in a mass grave sent faint hope of her having a greater plan skimming across the surface of my thoughts, but I couldn’t afford to indulge in wishful thinking at this stage. Our planning had to be rooted in cold, hard absolutes.

  “I’ll mention it to Cole.” It was only a few hundred miles away as a dragon flies. “Your coterie could swim. Mine could take the aerial route. It’s not a bad idea.”

  The Malakhim, and Ezra himself, would have no trouble finding us either. The isolated location meant we could face him without endangering the lives of whatever innocents had the bad fortune to live wherever we were when Ezra made his move.

  There was one component left. “How would we go about getting his attention?”

  “You wouldn’t have to waste your time baiting him. Word would carry that you and your coterie had holed up on the island. He would send scouts, and if you appeared well and truly isolated, cut off from your allies, he would attack.”

  “The whole point of raising an army was to put them to use.” I set my plate aside. “The coterie and I can’t take on Ezra and his Malakhim alone.”

  “You won’t be alone.” She covered my hand with hers. “Trust me.”

  Much to my surprise, I found that I did. With my life, apparently. “Okay.”

  Happiness brightened her face, and she smiled at me. “I’m so glad I met you, Luce.”

  “Me too.” I patted her chilly fingers, even though contact with her gave me flashbacks of Malakhim falling after a simple touch from her. “I always wanted a sister.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Light tapping noises roused me, fingernails on glass, and I kicked aside my cover. Squinting against the morning sun, I padded to the window to find Wu hovering there and flung it open wide.

  The dark circles under his eyes were less pronounced, which was a good start. He had showered and changed into fresh clothes he must have bought in town. They were expensive, but not tailored. I bet he felt like a hobo.

  A deep crease bisected his brow. “Have you checked in with the coterie?”

  “Not yet.” I refrained from pointing out he had woken me from a dead sleep. “You?”

  “I attempted to contact Thom this morning, but he didn’t respond.”

  “He might have taken the nightshift. Did you try Maggie or Portia?”

  Fingers tight on the windowsill, he swung himself in. “Neither answered.”

  Cole, Miller, and Kapoor were out cold. That left one person. “Santiago?”

  He shook his head.

  After scooping my cell off the nightstand, I tried all of their numbers, including the White Horse app, but no one answered. I almost called Dad, but he was attached to Phoebe, and I didn’t want to worry him.

  “We’re leaving. Now.” I yanked on clothes, threw on my pack, and burst into the living room to find Death and Janardan playing Monopoly. Piles of shells and sea glass appeared to be their preferred currency. “The coterie is incommunicado. Wu and I are heading back to make sure nothing has gone wrong.”

  “I have the tablet.” Janardan removed it from a
fold in his robes. “Please, let us know everyone is well.”

  “I’ll do that.” I smiled at him, panic worming through my gut. “We need to iron out the wrinkles in our plan anyway.”

  “Let us know what you decide.” Death inclined her head. “We can meet you inland or on Hart Island.”

  That brought Wu up short. “Hart Island?”

  “I’ll fill you in on the way,” I assured him before turning back to Death. “The island is more secure.”

  “All right.” She stood, and everyone in the room rose with her. “We will begin our journey.”

  “Do you have a place to stay? What about supplies? It will take us at least one day, maybe two to gather what we need before joining you.”

  “We can catch our meals and sleep in the ocean. No one will see us, and the children will enjoy it more.”

  “That works.” I didn’t mention her newest additions, and she didn’t elaborate. “I’ll contact you with an update soon.” On the porch, I jumped into Wu’s arms, startling him. “Giddyap.”

  A lopsided smile touched his lips. “As you wish.”

  He carried me down to the second step then thrust out his wings and reached for the sky.

  Anxiety got the better of me, and I caught myself muttering, “Come on, come on, come on” under my breath. There was no good reason for the entire coterie to be unreachable. Half of them might still be sleeping, but the other half ought to be wide awake and monitoring their devices in the event I reached out to them.

  Wu’s feet barely touched the roof before I twisted out of his grasp and jogged to the emergency stairs. The door was locked, but I didn’t let that stop me. I shifted into a dragon, rammed it with my shoulder, and smashed the hell out of it, uncaring if it meant the security feeds would require wiping before we left. Shifting back in seconds, I hit the stairwell at a run, not checking to see if Wu followed.

  I reached our floor and shoved through the door into the hall. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary. Everything was as I had left it. That didn’t prevent me from making a beeline to check on Cole.