by Lizzy Ford
“How?” Zoey asked. “I didn’t even know!”
“They’ve watched you and me for a very long time, and we’ve swapped captured spies many times over the past few years. There are records of this that you can view to verify as soon as we evac everyone and are safe,” Olivia said. “We have the same eyes, you and I, and similar temperaments. Haven’t you ever noticed?”
Zoey wasn’t about to look in the mirror to compare eye color. Neither did she believe Olivia had her best interests at heart. The timing – or the claim itself – felt off.
“In any case, Declan will use this knowledge to manipulate you against your own family.”
Family. Zoey had none three days ago and suddenly, she had a mother, sisters and husband. She always felt a connection to Vikki, who was her best friend for ten years. The idea that Vikki and the other girls on Team R were her sisters was gratifying. The idea of Olivia being her mother – terrifying.
Olivia seemed to be waiting for her to speak. For once, Zoey had nothing to say.
“Don’t let anyone hurt your family, Zoey. You belong with the Sucubatti. You weren’t recruited, because we always knew where you belonged. When this is over, I plan on putting you in charge of the operations arm. You’ve more than earned it.”
“A Halfling?” Zoey managed, astonished.
“Not any Halfling, but one with the advantages of a human and the power of a Succubus. You are my greatest creation.” Olivia’s eyes glowed in a way that left Zoey inching towards the door again. “Right now, I need you to secure the Benefactors, starting with the Professor. They are vulnerable outside the fence.”
The Professor was in danger. This, Zoey understood. She nodded, mind swimming with magic and revelations she couldn’t quite swallow.
“We’ll talk later,” Olivia said with a smile.
Zoey fled. She barreled towards the locker room. Overwhelmed by all she learned, she was barely aware of changing clothing and grabbing her lucky knives. The world seemed to be trying to crush her. Panting, she didn’t come out of her daze until the cool, drizzly air of spring in the DC area hit her lungs.
Signs that the campus was on alert were clear, from the guards in black pacing among the numerous headquarter buildings. A steady stream of Hunters were moving to and from the armory housed under a parking structure. Some took up positions at the gates, others around the headquarters.
None went for the Benefactors. Irritated, Zoey trotted through the gates to the external side of the campus. Almost immediately, she sensed the Cambions. Desperate to escape the oppressive revelations, she was dressed in her sparring gear and armed with only her normal assortment of weapons and no radio. The leggings were padded at the knees and inner thighs and the water-resistant, structured tank top snug beneath a padded vest.
Unconcerned with facing a horde of Cambions, Zoey tracked them to the edge of campus. They were moving between the Victorian houses belonging to the Benefactors and a few Succubae elders located along one rode outside of the compound. When the Cambions reached the forest edging each side of the campus, they fled.
She circled one of the houses. The Cambion magic lingered, even when they did not. There was another scent in the air, this one chemical, as if they’d trailed some foul-smelling liquid behind them. She found the trail and knelt over it. It wasn’t anything she recognized. Sharp gaze taking in the surroundings, Zoey pulled out her phone to text first Vikki, then the command center.
Waiting a few seconds for the picture she took to finish sending to Vikki, she instinctively kept alert for any Cambions.
She followed the trail down the block of houses. Jogging along it, she circled the campus to find the same strange liquid around the dorms lining the outer edge of campus. She continued following the trail.
Her phone rang. She saw Vikki’s number and answered.
“I’m with Liam, at their Incubatti command center,” Vikki started. “Something really weird is going down. I’m so fucking frustrated – no one will tell me what exactly, because I’m a Sucubatti Halfling. I think it’s bad, Zoey.”
“He doesn’t know what this liquid stuff is?” Zoey asked. “It’s nothing I’ve ever seen before.”
“Not exactly. It’s probably explosive, though. What else did you notice?”
“It trails the gas line all the way around the block. If it’s explosive, does it have to be lit? I’ve found no remote detonators, and when I went around again, it had already soaked into the ground. I have no idea how it might be ignited, unless it’s something else entirely?”
“Wait one.”
Zoey paced, hearing the sound of Vikki moving around.
“Kay. Here’s what I think. The Cambions are prepping to attack. I think Liam and his brothers are working with Olivia against the Cambions, because there’s like something brewing between them and a lot of other Incubatti,” Vikki’s voice was quiet. “Only I think it’s all hush-hush.”
“Hmmm,” Zoey said, mind on what Declan shared with her.
“I, um, lifted a few things from Liam’s mind. I know I’m horrible, but I’ve been so worried about you.”
Zoey smiled, happy her friend cared so much. She wasn’t sure she could steal secrets from Declan. He was too strong not to notice.
“Hey, V, did you have a weird conversation with Olivia?”
“Weird? The woman terrifies me.”
“Yeah. She pulled me aside to tell me some stuff today.” As she spoke, Zoey trotted towards the Professor’s.
“Like what?”
“Um, like you and I and everyone else on Team R are her daughters via surrogates.”
“What?”
“I’m assuming you didn’t have that conversation,” Zoey said. “Anyway, she said not to betray the family, yadda yadda.”
“Did you say daughters?”
Zoey started to laugh. Suddenly, she heard a boom. She whirled, facing the dorms at the northeast corner of the campus. The trail had started there and wound around the campus. Another boom, then another. The dorms imploded then caught fire, falling like dominoes. Stunned, Zoey watched them crumble. The screams were delayed, starting several minutes after the first dorm went down. Her thoughts went to the Professor.
“They’re blowing everything up,” she said into the phone. “I gotta go.”
“Be careful, Zoey.”
Zoey hung up and raced around the perimeter of campus, aware of the buildings around the edges falling. Alarms went off from the center of the compound, and the gates were soon lined with armed Sucubatti and Hunters. She threw open the Professor’s door and hurried to his study.
“Alexander!” she cried. “We have to leave. Now!”
He looked up, surprised.
“Now!” She was at his side and hauling him to his feet before he started moving. She rushed him across the room and out of the house to the street, away from the area where she found any of the strange liquid. “Stay here.”
Two more Hunters were running door-to-door to drag elderly Benefactors and Sucubatti elders out of their homes. Zoey went to the neighbor’s and beat on the door, ordering evacuation before running to the next house. She went down the block, helping and warning people, shepherding them to gates, where Hunters led them onto the central compound.
The Professor leaned against his car, waiting for her. For the first time since meeting him, Zoey sensed…weakness. Or maybe, age. He had been unable to balance her magic the past few months, and she began to wonder if he was ill. His smile was just as charming, but something in the tightness of the smile hinted at discomfort. Pain?
She made a mental note to ask him, once this mess was behind them. Zoey returned to him and took his arm, leading him gently onto the campus. The emergency gathering point for evacuations was the swath of parking lot behind the central parking garage.
“Zoey!” A male voice called.
She turned towards the garage, surprised to see one of the Incubatti Enforcers on their compound. He was the first who tried to read he
r during her disastrous hearing yesterday. Wes, Declan had called him.
He motioned her over to two other Hunters: the new girl, Lydia, and Ginny, both from Team R. Like Vikki, Ginny’s exposed arms and shoulders were covered with tattoos marking her kills. Lydia’s porcelain skin was like Zoey’s: free of tattoos.
“We’re sitting ducks here. Can you shoot?” he asked briskly.
Zoey nodded.
“Sniper posts on top of the garage, until evacuations get here.” He pointed to the corners of the parking garage towering above them.
Zoey looked between Lydia and Wes, sensing the crackling connection she experienced the night she ran into Declan for the first time. Lydia looked uneasy and Wes grim. Zoey rolled her eyes, recalling what she learned about the women on Team R. Ginny had a knowing look on her face.
“Lydia, is it?” Wes asked, his gaze on the blonde girl. “You stay with me.”
Ginny laughed. Zoey glared at her.
“Why am I always the last to know everything?” Zoey muttered.
Wes glanced at her. “Guess that second date took place after all.”
“What the fuck are you doing here?” she demanded. “Aren’t these your Cambions attacking us?”
He held out an earpiece. She glared at him, one hand on her gun. Lydia took the earpiece and placed it in Zoey’s hand.
“I was confused, too,” Lydia said. “Heidi said to deal with it.” She grimaced.
Grudgingly, Zoey put in the earpiece, expecting to hear Heidi.
“Hey.”
Her insides melted at Declan’s purr.
“Hey,” she replied. “So, this is awkward.”
“You remember what I mentioned this morning over breakfast?” he asked.
“Yes.” Zoey glanced at Wes and crossed her arms.
“Wes is coordinating with Olivia’s people to evacuate everyone.”
She hesitated. “Alright.” It was the same thing Olivia mentioned earlier, before warning her against trusting Declan.
“Trust me?” he asked.
“We’ll see.”
“Good enough, kitten,” he said with a smile in his voice. “I’ll see you later. Behave.”
Cursing, she moved away then glanced towards the parking area where people milled. Wes was right. If the Cambions intended to pick them off, they’d be easy, with the emergency gathering point located in an exposed area. Her instincts at a wail, she made her way through the crowd, until she reached the Professor.
“Come on,” she told him quietly. “You’re going with me.”
“My dear, I –“
“No. You’re safe with me,” she said.
“Very well.” He chuckled and stood, entertained by her concern.
Zoey led him through the crowd and to the arsenal under the campus. She stopped beside Ginny and armed herself with as many knives as she could carry then grunted under the weight of ammo for the long sniper rifle.
“Who picked you up?” Ginny asked, loading herself down beside Zoey. “And when? I thought I was the only one, ‘til Vikki.”
“I’m not a goner yet,” Zoey retorted.
“Strike two?” Ginny’s dark eyes glowed in silent laughter. “Yeah, you are. Strike three is a formality.”
Hefting everything, Zoey left, waving for the Professor to follow her as she broke free of the armory. She took the stairs two at a time, breathless by the time she reached the top.
She was on her assigned corner and set up by the time the Professor walked calmly up the stairs and joined her. Wes was stationed in the center of the rooftop. Heidi joined him, and Ginny took up position on the opposite corner from Zoey. Zoey pushed her earpiece into place.
“Comms check,” Heidi said.
“Zoey up,” she said.
“Ginny up.”
“Tell me what you see,” Wes directed. “No shots ‘til ordered.”
Zoey surveyed the surroundings through the scope, using magic to extend the distance. Two blocks from campus, Cambions were massing. More booms around the perimeter indicated explosives were continuing to take out the housing. She glanced towards the Professor’s home as it collapsed. Sorrow went through her as she realized yet another part of her life was changing.
“Three dozen, armed, two blocks southwest,” Zoey reported.
“Ditto, northeast,” Ginny’s soft voice said.
The Professor shifted beside Zoey, gazing at his crumbled house sadly. She knew from the dents in the rugs that he’d lived there awhile, long before she came into his life. She shared his sorrow.
“At least I don’t have to unpack all my boxes,” she said. “I feel kinda bad. Eric put a lot of effort into packing them.”
“They now lie in the basement with my vintage cigar collection,” the Professor said with a sigh. “I guess I always knew the end was coming.”
Her gaze lingered on him at the enigmatic words. She put her comms piece on mute.
“Professor, I need to ask you something,” she said.
“Now?” he asked, gaze on the rifle.
“Yeah. You know me. No patience,” she tried to joke. “Olivia told me something today. I wanted to ask you if it’s true.”
The sorrow in his features grew so deep, wrinkles appeared.
“She said Vikki and I and everyone else on Team R are her… uh, hybrid offspring, I guess.” Zoey waited for him to laugh it off or deny it.
Instead, the Professor nodded slowly. “I wondered if she would ever tell you.”
“You knew?” she demanded.
“Of course.”
She waited, but he said nothing more about the greatest single revelation he’d never shared.
“That’s it?” Her heart was starting to pound hard against her chest. “No, this is why I didn’t tell you, Zoey, or it’s not as bad as it sounds?”
“I couldn’t tell you, Zoey. It wasn’t my secret to reveal. But I could protect you, and I did. I never told her Declan marked you, and I never told Declan you were the daughter of his enemy.” The Professor seemed content with his part and offered a smile. “I always did what I thought was right for you.”
“I …”
“Comms, Zoey!” Wes belted from the middle of the garage.
The timing was good enough. Her head was about to explode. She un-muted her earpiece.
“Any change in position?” Heidi asked.
“None,” Zoey reported.
“Stay focused, Zoey.”
“Alright.” Zoey kept her eye trained on the Cambions. No sound but that of rain and imploding homes filled the air. She clenched her jaw, wanting to demand explanations from the quiet Professor.
“Zoey, spill,” Ginny ordered over the radio. “Who is it?”
“You first.”
“No way.”
“God, I need a drink right now,” Zoey said. “Ever have one of those days when everyone is out to fuck with your head?”
“I’ve got a story for you, Z. You have no idea what it’s like to be with an Enforcer who specializes in psychological operations,” Ginny said. “Rock, paper, scissors?”
“One sec.” Zoey checked the position of the Cambions. “Clear.”
“Clear,” Ginny echoed. “Go!”
Zoey leapt up and darted to the middle of the roof, watching Ginny tear towards her from the opposite direction. The sudden activity took her mind off her panicky thoughts and felt damned good.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Wes yelled from nearby.
They glanced towards him, but didn’t stop, instead nearly running into each other before stopping.
“It’s how Team R does business.” Heidi’s answer was amused.
“One, two, three!” Zoey and Ginny counted. Zoey threw out her hand flat while Ginny’s fist stayed in a ball. Zoey won: paper over rock.
“Dammit!” Ginny muttered.
“Are you serious?” Wes sounded surprised. “Back to position!”
Zoey and Ginny bumped fists before obeying.
“Tommy,
” Ginny said over the radio as they returned to their respective positions. “Enforcer.”
“Which one?” Zoey asked.
“You can’t miss him. He’s like a tree.”
“You can’t mean that gigantor who does mind tricks!”
“Oh, yeah. You have no idea how much those mind tricks fucked me up,” Ginny said. “Until strike two, and then I could read him.”
Zoey dropped to her knees and all but fell into position, cuddling the rifle against her cheek. Breathing hard, she nonetheless felt better after releasing some of her energy.
“You?” Ginny asked.
Zoey heard her grunt as she dropped into position. Surveying their surroundings, Zoey repositioned her face before answering.
“Declan.”
Ginny laughed hard. “I’ll take Tommy over Declan every day. No way I’d want that.”
“Did you say Declan?” Heidi’s voice held a note of surprise.
“Uh, oh,” Ginny said. “Mama bear is gonna take your head off, Zoey.”
“I guess it would’ve been made public eventually,” Zoey said uncomfortably. A glance over her shoulder revealed that Heidi was glaring in her direction with cold fire in her eyes.
“You know why he’s the head Enforcer, right?” Ginny asked.
“Won’t matter in a few days when I walk away,” Zoey said.
“Fine. I’m not telling you.”
Zoey was quiet for a moment. She hadn’t wanted to hear directly from Declan how powerful he was. He was right; the Enforcer side of him terrified her. She saw it when they made love and in their bond. She knew nothing about him, she realized, aside from who his father and brother were. Suddenly curious about the man she’d known all of three days who shared his own soul with her on day one, she broke.
“Tell me.”
“No.”
“Goddamn it, Ginny!” she muttered.
“I thought you Hunters were a little better disciplined,” Wes said into the mic. “If I hadn’t seen you both fight, I’d be scared shitless right about now.”
