“No one did.” Santiago grimaced. “Enough with the tears and snot.” He stepped back like emotion was contagious. “This is a tactical meeting, not a baby shower.”
As much as I hated to agree with him, we were getting sidetracked. “Where are we on supplies?”
“I’ve placed the orders.” Rixton lifted a handful of receipts from the cushion next to him. “I arranged for the delivery of nonperishable items to be made to a locker near the subway. The food will require a truck, but we can ditch it at the pier and let the dragons fly it over.”
Ugh. I was a dragon. Still, no apocalypse got started without a team effort.
“I bought a boat. A pontoon.” Santiago’s fingers twitched with the childlike eagerness he only ever showed when about to play with a new toy for the first time. “We can rip out the seats we don’t need to clear deck. We all pitch in, load it up, and I’ll drive it over.” He pointed to a stack of papers on the desk. “Boating licenses, etc., etc., in case we attract attention from local LEOs.”
Law enforcement officers would be thin on the ground in that area, but it never hurt to be prepared.
“We’ll have some shelter as long as we set up camp in the buildings.” The tents would protect us from the elements, so that wasn’t a huge concern. “Portions of the roofs are intact, so we’ll have partial concealment from aerial scouts.”
“Any gaps in the walls and ceilings will give us easy ways out,” Miller reasoned, “but they’ll also make it simple for the Malakhim to get in. We need to walk through the buildings and familiarize ourselves with their layouts. Otherwise, we risk getting trapped.”
The rest of the details didn’t take long to hash out. The real strategizing would occur once we arrived on the island, explored it at ground level, and got a feel for the terrain. With the broad strokes decided, we broke apart to gather our things and make last-minute preparations.
Rixton walked off talking to Sherry on his phone. Portia and Santiago settled into a bickering contest. Miller looked on, amused. Thom was herding Phoebe back to Cole’s room. Soon only Cole and I were left, and we parted ways as if by unspoken agreement. I went to call Dad, and he went to spend time with Phoebe and relieve Thom of his babysitting duty in case he had other matters to attend.
No one was saying goodbye, but the heaviness of reluctant farewell hung in the air all the same.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
An unnatural fever ravaged Farhan, turning his skin hot and spinning madness into his thoughts. He had forgotten the all-consuming insanity in the long years since his last hunt. His body remained on the bed, muscles locked, strain giving him the appearance of shivers, but his mind whirred with eagerness to pick up where he left off.
The hunt, the hunt, the hunt.
Tension bowed his back as his instincts fought against Adam’s orders.
Ezra, Ezra, Ezra.
With his eyes closed, the backs of his lids made a perfect movie screen, and he kept reliving the time he spent at Ezra’s mercy. He hadn’t realized until Luce gave the command to sic him on the wannabe god how deep his hatred for him had gone, the bottom of his loathing an endless tunnel that loomed dark and foreboding beneath him. Every move he made shifted his weight, pitching him closer to the edge, nearer to the drop.
Ezra had to die. He had to. Had to.
It was the only way to make it stop, the oily twist in his gut, the frantic thumping of his heart.
Hunt, hunt, hunt.
Ezra, Ezra, Ezra.
The door opened on a sigh, and Adam entered the room, his scent too familiar to mistake.
“We have a problem.” He took the bed opposite his, the springs in the mattress groaning a complaint. “You won’t stop until you find Ezra, but Luce has decided we’re no longer searching for him.”
“No,” Farhan raged in his mind, unable to speak, unable to roar his intent. “He’s mine.”
“She’s luring him to Hart Island.” Adam exhaled. “You’ll have your shot at him there.”
A fraction of the mania animating Farhan’s thoughts eased, but the insult of having his prey presented to him on a silver platter stung. He was a hunter. He was one of the best. Perhaps even the best. The only reason he landed a supervisory role was management’s fear the stress he was under would cause him to snap. They worried their favorite assassin might turn against them if that happened, and they were right to worry. He had no control over his mind, his body, his thoughts. When the hunting fugue gained control of him, he regressed to a creature more animal than man.
“We’re going to keep you sedated until then.” Adam hesitated until the door opened again. “Thom is going to bite you. Just hold still. When the sedative wears off this time, you’ll be ready for Ezra.”
The promise soothed as much as the bite stung.
Hunt, hunt …
Ezra.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I’m not sure if it’s the same for all girls raised by single fathers, or if they have to also be outdoorsmen like mine, but I spent a lot of time in the woods. We camped, we hiked, we fished, we hunted. I got ticks, I got chiggers, I got stung by mosquitos, bees, wasps, and yellow jackets. I also learned the value of packing my own toilet paper because guys have different priorities than girls in survival situations.
I had never been more thankful to Dad for my rough and tumble upbringing than when Cole and I claimed our weed-ridden corner in the barely standing former mess hall we had chosen for our camp. The black tents had been erected and leveled, the supplies tucked out of sight, and the exits located in case we had to make quick use of them. All that remained were the finishing touches.
“Are you sure we should split up?” I finished unrolling our sleeping bags. “Scattering the coterie across the island makes me antsy.”
“It was your idea,” he reminded me. “Having second thoughts?”
Leave it to Cole to spin it around until I had to face the consequences of my own decisions. I was hoping one day I would trick him into giving me advice, but it hadn’t happened yet. He had just a tiny bit more experience in evading probing questions than I did in asking them.
“It seemed like a good idea at the time.” I chewed on my bottom lip. “Smarter to spread out the targets than cluster them together.” I bit through and tasted blood. “God, we’re not targets. That sounds so clinical. I hate how my brain slides into facts and logic so easily.”
The terms gave me distance, yes. They made strategizing neater, yes. They helped me think clearer, yes. But I was playing with people on the ground, not pieces on a board. No matter how much of a game the rest of the cadre considered their ascensions, I didn’t want to play. There was no choice. No choice.
Maybe if I kept telling myself that, one day I would believe it was true.
“Have you considered it’s not all Conquest?” He caught a zigzag, a type of spider I found cute because of the noticeable zigzag pattern in its web and walked it to the nearest window. Then he went back to sorting equipment we had yet to mount. “You were a cop for several years, and you were raised by one. You have an analytical mind. There’s nothing wrong with that. Conquest might slip into your subconscious now and again, but you’re more than the sum of your parts. Your perspective has been forged by your life, your job, your commitment to your community.”
“You always know the right thing to say.” I kissed him on the chin. “I like that about you.”
The thing with Cole was he didn’t believe in sugarcoating anything. Ever. So when he did give advice or his opinion, it was always worth hearing — no, worth listening to — and it was always one hundred percent from the heart.
“You’ll feel better once we start patrolling. I volunteered us for the first shift.”
“Aww.” I placed a hand on my chest. “Be still my heart.”
Proof positive the man was perfect. Setting eyes on the coterie was about the only thing that would settle my nerves.
“You guys aren’t going to do any mushy stuff, are you?” Phoeb
e tromped in, dirt streaking her face, her hair wild, looking more like me every minute. “I heard kissy noises from outside and came in to remind you to keep it PG.”
“We’ll try not to disgust you too much.” Unable to resist, I flung myself at Cole’s back and shimmied up his body. “Oh, no. Phoebe, look away. I’m climbing your father like a tree.”
“Gross.” She backed up, slapping her hands over her eyes, until she hit the wall. “Make it stop.”
“You’ll have to endure the horror for like two more minutes.” I kept climbing until I settled on his shoulders. “I need to hang a lantern and wedge an antenna in a crack somewhere up there.” I snapped my fingers. “Pass me the goods, kid.”
“Maybe I should have postponed my growth spurt,” she grumbled, peeking between her fingers before lowering her hands. “This isn’t how I imagined aiding the resistance.”
“Right? Hollywood makes out like the end of the world is all human sacrifices and explosions, but it’s pretty much like every other day until it’s not.” I snapped my fingers again. “Gimme.”
Phoebe passed me the equipment as I requested it, and I finished rigging our station. She had chosen to bunk with us instead of Thom, which meant Cole and I couldn’t get up to any questionable behavior. Not that we would, since that whole impending doom thing was happening. When the apocalypse happened, I did not want to be caught with my pants down. How embarrassing would that be? Definitely not what you want to go down in history about you.
“Phoebe, you get to guard the camp.” I slid down Cole’s back, and if I squeezed his butt where no one could see it, then sue me. I planned to enjoy him with all the time I had left. “Cole, you’re with me.”
He strapped on his sword and passed me mine. I had used it enough now that it felt less like I was marooned in a medieval cosplay fantasy and more like a natural extension of my body. I only wished I wasn’t getting better the more I used it. It’s not like I had been practicing, and it’s not like I had taken any lessons. The more accomplished I became with a blade, the more I had to admit to myself that Conquest was seeping through the cracks she worked to widen in me every day.
The length of the island meant it would be a quick lap, but it would give us a chance to check in with each camp before we returned to our own. With stations at key points on the island, and the waters full of our aquatic allies, we were guaranteed a warning before the Malakhim converged on us. Even a few precious seconds could make all the difference.
The glow of screens announced we had found Santiago and Portia. They each held a tablet while several others fanned out around him. She was watching Netflix. He was … I’m not sure. But it made me think he was busy rigging the island with cameras and motion detectors, anything to give us a slight advantage. And to keep his mind and hands occupied while the clock ticked in the backs of all our minds.
“Are you guys set?” I tried to come off as official-sounding, but the worry bled through. “Need anything?”
“All good.” Portia stuffed a handful of buttered popcorn in her mouth then swore at the screen. “Don’t choose him. He’s a player. He just wants in your pants. Take that rose and stab him through the neck with it.”
“You heard her.” Santiago flicked his fingers at me. “Run along.”
Annoyance zinging through me, I set off with Cole. “How did Conquest not eat him?”
“She must have assumed he would give her indigestion.”
“He’s the kind of person who would swallow a block of C4, shower in barbecue sauce, then allow himself to get swallowed with the detonator in his hand.”
Cole burst out laughing, the sound bold enough to startle the scant birds in residence from the trees.
It wasn’t often I tickled an actual laugh out of him, let alone one on this scale, and I felt downright proud of myself. Maybe Santiago was useful for something after all. He played the role of ass to the fullest, so he couldn’t very well complain if that also made him the butt of a few jokes.
“I was hunting that pigeon,” Thom grumbled, dropping in front of us from a scraggly tree limb over our heads. “It was fat and smelled like buttered popcorn.”
That must be Portia’s doing, though I had no idea where she got popcorn from unless Santiago packed it for her. Kernels hadn’t been among the other supplies, neither had butter, or I might have been tempted to steal a cup to pop over the fire with Phoebe the way Dad had with me.
“I’m sorry.” I placed a hand on my chest. “It’s my fault.”
Cole’s shoulder still bounced with amusement, and I couldn’t find it in me to nudge him to silence.
“I saw gulls near the water.” Thom scanned behind us. “They’re not as fat, but they do smell like fish.”
“Well, there you go.” I examined the sagging brick structure behind him. “Where’s Miller?”
“Mixing explosives.” He twitched his nose. “He’s in the far corner, beneath the largest hole in the ceiling. Make noise if you go in, let him know you’re coming.”
“I don’t want to startle him into blowing off any appendages.”I took a healthy step back so as not to disturb him. “We’re just checking in. There’s no need to distract him.” I didn’t spot the third wheel to their party. “What about Rixton?”
“He’s helping.”
“Then I’m definitely not going in there.” I rocked back on my heels. “I want plausible deniability if Rixton blasts himself into next week.”
“We drew the next patrol.” Thom’s attention kept sliding past me to where I heard the call of seabirds. “We’ll be around to you in an hour. You can check on them then.”
“Sounds good.” Cole and I left Thom to hunt his dinner. “Did Wu tell you where to find him?”
“No.”
“You’re going to love this.” Not long after, we came across a chapel. Its stained-glass windows had been broken long ago, but the frame hinted at the design, and it had once been beautiful. “Irony, am I right?”
This time I didn’t earn so much as a grin from him, and I was starting to wish I had kept my mouth shut when I spotted the reason for his quiet.
Kapoor perched on the roof, his body black as a crow, his eyes dark as the oncoming night.
“Wu isn’t here,” he murmured absently, staring across the Sound. “He’ll be back soon.”
Alarm zinged down my spine. “Where did he go?”
“He didn’t say.” He reached down to scratch his ankle where a black cord wound around it and knotted to a nearby dormer. “Do you think we’ll go hunting soon?”
Forget a crow. The tether and the question put me in mind of a falcon’s jesses. From here, he resembled a bird of prey eager for his master to unleash him on a target. The regression into a more primal version of himself worried me almost as much as the way he kept wetting his lips, like his prey was so close he could taste it.
“Soon,” I promised him and backed away without pressing him for details.
God only knew where Wu had flitted off to or when he would return. If he would return. He wasn’t known for keeping us in the loop, so I shouldn’t be surprised to learn he had waited until the eleventh hour to run his own errands without telling us first. It’s not like he was the one who kickstarted the apocalypse.
Oh, wait.
Yeah.
He was.
“We should go take care of dinner.” I started back in the direction of our camp. “We need to eat before it gets too late.”
“There’s no rush. The solar panels have stored enough energy to heat our meals.”
MREs were not my favorite thing, but I had eaten boatloads of them. Lot of folks left the military to join the police force, and tons of them brought those as novelties to inflict on their friends and family.
A text from Santiago informed us he had the island under surveillance. Foot patrols were now optional.
Just how many solar panels had he smuggled over? There were phone chargers, lights, a stove for each camp and a tangle of cords in the b
ottom of the bag we hadn’t gotten to yet.
As much as I liked to kid that Santiago was living his prepper dreams, I was starting to think the joke had been on me. None of his equipment required charging. He had it ready to go the second the need arose. Not only had he already owned it, but he had assembled it and topped off the batteries.
“The next time we make our rounds,” I said, “we should check in with our allies. See who’s arrived.”
Since we had decided each camp would take turns walking the perimeter, we had three hours until our next rotation. Regardless of what Santiago said, I wanted us active. How else could we gain Ezra’s attention? With Wu MIA and Kapoor in his peculiar state, I wasn’t trusting either of them to pull their weight. I would much rather Kapoor keep right on roosting. Pretty sure the cord around his ankle was just that. A string. I bet Wu had leashed him with an order then left him bound as a tangible reminder in his absence. Meaning Kapoor could blast off in pursuit of Ezra if his instincts overwhelmed him.
“Death and Janardan will seek us out when they arrive.” Cole kept pace with me. “The Diorte have a longer trip ahead of them. Any allies they recruit will be along the way. Odds are good we’re the first ones here.”
“You’re probably right.” Shaking out my arms, I exhaled through my mouth. “I’m getting antsy.”
Cole parted his lips, about to reply, when a plume of dirt exploded beside us. He dove for me, knocking me to the ground, and covered me with his body. His heart pounded against my chest, and I struggled to shove him off. There was no way I was letting him play shield for me. Not this time.
“Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”
With my ears ringing, I couldn’t identify the voice, but people who intended to blast you to kingdom come usually didn’t apologize for it afterward. That implied this was friendly fire.
The mountain on top of me rolled aside, stood, and helped me to my feet.
Miller rushed over with a jar of white powder, a teaspoon, and a pocketful of plastic Easter eggs.
End Game (The Foundling Series) Page 17
