by Austin, RB
“Kill that fucker already,” Cade bit out then without waiting for Lucas, walked two steps and thrust his knife into the Fallen’s chest. A second later, Lucas’s hand was grasping ash. He mourned the loss of the kill before another scream hit, this one a high keening wail.
“Lucas,” Gabe shouted.
He knelt next to the girl, whipped off his glove, and touched her bare forearm. Nothing. Panic reigned. His own. A thousand butterflies fluttered inside his heart and stomach before he pushed the nerves away. Eyes closed, he concentrated on forcing the gang leader’s darkness away then poured exhaustion into the Follower’s system. Sweat pooled on his forehead from the effort. The nheqeba inhaled. He prepared himself for another round of piercing eardrums but instead the female sighed and grew silent. Lucas reinforced sleep into her mind and limbs. When her breathing deepened, he removed his hand.
Gabe pressed a cloth onto the wound. The bloody knife lay on the side where Gabe or she had pulled it out. The cut was about two inches in size. Blood stained her shirt and the tops of her pants, dripped to pool underneath her.
“We have to get her upstairs,” Gabe said. “She needs a hospital.”
“We can’t have an ambulance coming here.” Cade eyed the bodies.
“I’ll get the car. We’ll drop her off. It’ll be faster.”
“Lucas . . . Lucas?”
Lucas shook his head, forced his gaze away from the blood seeping through the cloth. “Yeah?”
Cade motioned with his head. “Get her head. I’ll take the feet. Gabe will keep pressure on the wound. We’ll move her upstairs.”
Lucas followed the order and soon the Follower was on a not so clean, but better than the floor, couch. Gabe burst out of the front door. He wouldn’t be long. The car wasn’t far away.
Cade had taken Gabe’s place. Lucas stared at the paling Follower. Her breathing was uneven, choppy.
“Okay, my ach?”
Lucas nodded, watching the nheqeba’s chest rise and fall. “I didn’t realize she’d been wounded.”
“You were dealing with the Fallen, right?”
Lucas hesitated, then nodded again.
“She has a better chance of survival since we found her. Otherwise she would’ve been just another addition to that stack.” His expression darkened. “We have to get those bodies out of there,” Cade said after a moment.
“I wonder if any of them died from poisoning.” Lucas was only half-aware he’d spoken out loud.
Gabe returned interrupting anything Cade was going to say. They carried the Follower into the car and less than five minutes later into the hospital.
Cade wiped their presence from the staff before climbing back into the SUV. “Let’s get back to that house. Michael and Andrew are meeting us with the truck.”
No one in Sept One was CSI-trained enough to remove all evidence of the killings, but at least if the police found the place, they wouldn’t have bodies to go along with the blood. They carried the dead, one at a time, up the stairs and placed them on a large plastic tarp Lucas carried in the back of his SUV.
When the ebheds arrived, Michael reversed the truck over the yard and parked as close to the front door as possible.
There was a brief thought of torching the place, but the low tree branches and neighboring homes weren’t favorable for the idea unless their plan was to burn down the whole street. Of course, that would leave fewer houses for the Fallen to hide in.
Lucas’s alert system would monitor the police airwaves and they’d know the instant this place was found. It would have to be good enough.
The ride home was silent. By the time they pulled into the HQ, the sun had already broken over the horizon.
“Take about twenty minutes. We’ll meet in the conference room,” Cade said as they headed through the kitchen.
Emma met them on the stairs leading to the second level. Her forehead furrowed as she walked toward her bahshrett. Cade must’ve called her.
“Double that time.” The Sept One leader spoke over his shoulder before lifting Emma into his arms and continuing to their bedroom.
Lucas paused. Cade would lose himself in Emma and be able to forget for a bit about their horrific night. Lucas’s only comfort was the gang leader’s violence coursing through his system, though that was steadily depleting.
“You wanna play ball later. After the ADM?”
Lucas turned to Gabe. There was a haunted look in his ach’s eyes. Some nights it was hard to call themselves good guys. Not when it was glaringly obvious, a stack of fifty bodies high, that they had failed to protect and save. “Yeah. I’d like that.”
In his own room, halfway to the bathroom, he paused. His mind flashed to the nheqeba from earlier. She hadn’t been injured. Not until he’d thrown that knife.
His failure had been the most epic of all.
Lucas was in the conference logging the night’s info into the database when Gabe showed. “Holy Mothyr. Is the Boss actually going to be late to a meeting?”
“No.” Cade entered the room, Sarid at his side.
The scarred ach leaned against the wall just inside the doorway.
“Feeling better, Sarid?” Lucas asked.
He nodded, not glancing in Lucas’s direction.
Lucas frowned.
“Got an image for us, Lucas?” Cade asked.
He returned his attention to the computer. After a few strokes, the city’s grid, zoomed in on the night’s location, flashed on the wall. Cade gave Sarid a lowdown of what they’d found. The bodies were still in the refrigerated truck, which was parked on the HQ property. It was one thing to ship skin samples to their science guy but quite another to send fifty bodies.
“Is he willing to move?” Gabe asked.
“I’ve already spoken to him about it,” Cade said. “He’s thinking it over. He has a family. Moving would be difficult.”
“How much does he know about us?” Sarid asked.
“His wife is the diocesan bishop of Episcopal church in New York,” Cade answered. “She and her husband are aware of the real situation.”
“If she’s head of the dioceses,” Lucas said. “They have more to think about than just moving children across the country.”
“Yes,” Cade said. “But helping the Creator’s cause is just as important a task as her duties in New York. The husband promised to get back to me tomorrow with an answer.”
“Do you think the van and the house are connected?” Gabe asked.
Lucas raised an eyebrow. “What van?”
“The one Cade and Sarid found before you left. Andrew went through it. Found rope, blankets, traces of blood, and workmen clothes.”
“Items for abduction,” Lucas said.
“Yes.” Cade’s voice was grim.
A flash of anger tore through Lucas. Amped up by the last of the gang leader’s darkness. “What’s going on here? Horror movie houses with bodies in the basement. Poison. Abductions. It’s not like Fallen can continuously feed off their victims. Once the soul is gone, the body is not going to generate another one.” Lucas breathed hard, hands clenched into fists, wishing he hadn’t left his star on the bathroom counter after his shower.
The conference room fell silent.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Lucas cleared his throat. Tried to calm down. “I’m sorry, achs. I just hate to see Followers unnecessarily hurt. It’s our job to protect them.”
The Fallen’s knife had been on the basement floor. Within reach of the enemy’s hand. So, Lucas had picked it up. Whipped it out of the way.
He fisted his hands. Nails dug into his palms.
“We’re all frustrated, Lucas,” Cade said. “We’ve had many setbacks over the centuries. Lost too many innocent lives. But we’ve taken lives, too. We’ve beaten the Fallen time and time aga
in. The other Septs are coming. We’ll figure out this prophecy. Soon we’ll have the key. In the end, we’ll be the ones left standing.”
Lucas managed a tight smile for his boss’s pep talk as his leg bounced underneath the table. As soon as Cade finished the meeting, he was out of here. He’d go back to where he found that gang leader. Pick up a couple of his buddies. He’d take more than one this time around. Maybe the effects would last longer.
Ten minutes later in the hallway, Gabe caught up with him. “Ready for some ball?”
Shit. He’d forgotten. “Sorry, Gabe. I can’t right now. Have to run into town.”
“For what?”
“Need to grab some things.”
Gabe opened his mouth.
“How about when I get back?” Lucas asked. “Or later today. Yeah, later today. Before the BDM. Sound good?” He ran a hand over his forehead. Rubbed his sweaty palm on his thigh.
His ach frowned, gaze narrowing as he studied Lucas.
Heart skipping a beat, Lucas jogged toward the stairs. “Gotta go. I’ll catch you later.”
Chapter 39
Kate increased the speed on the treadmill like Jeeves had showed her then used the attached remote control to up the music volume to blaring. Definite benefits to staying at this place.
Like the food. My God, she’d never had so much in her life, which was one reason why she started using the gym. Besides, there wasn’t much to do during her off time.
Emma had asked her to hang a few times. Kate went once. It was awkward. The girl was bubbly and really happy, two things Kate wasn’t. The pauses had outweighed the talking. She just didn’t know how to act in social situations. Was better at worker verses customer interactions. Not the drinking iced tea and gossiping about men. And never, ever, the get-to-know, let’s-dish-about-our-past conversations.
Lucas had introduced her to the other guys in the house the first night she stayed.
Yeah. Meeting up with them? Never in a million years.
Not even the dimpled, Ken-looking one. It wasn’t that she couldn’t protect herself if necessary, because she totally could, and it wasn’t that she was afraid, because she absolutely wasn’t.
Fine. Maybe she was a bit.
She had a nightmare the first night in that too soft bed. As soon as she’d woken, she’d snatched the blanket and pillow from the bed and lay on the floor, the king-sized piece of furniture securely between her and the rest of the non-humans.
The job wasn’t bad. Cleaning with Martha was like cleaning anywhere else. After the initial training, she’d been left alone to do her job. By the third day, Martha stopped checking on her so often.
Kate wiped the sweat dripping down her face with her sleeve. She’d never had the opportunity to work out before. Never really had the energy, but now with the food intake and the men around, she wanted—fine, needed—to work out. She was the only unattached female in the house, and, no matter what Lucas and Martha said, she had to be prepared for anything.
She’d taken Lucas up on his fifteen hundred a week. It wasn’t extortion. Not if the man had offered to pay that crazy astronomical amount. No reason to feel guilty. Besides it meant she could leave faster. She was doing it for Stacy. Had played around with the idea of staying an extra week or two. To have some money saved for when she and Stacy crossed the border.
Kate mopped her face again. Even with the treadmill fans blowing she was hot. The gloves didn’t help either. Nothing worse than sweat trapped underneath pleather. They were practically stuck to her skin.
She had no plans to increase the speed on the machine. It should be okay to take her gloves off for a bit. Took some work, but when finished she laid the gloves over the heart pulse handles. Did the non-humans in the house even have a pulse?
They breathed, so probably.
Best not to think too much about it.
The fangs.
The bright blue flashlight eyes.
The fact she was in a house filled with people who weren’t human.
Once, when she was eight or nine, she wondered if her ability made her like Superman. Maybe one day she’d be able to fly away.
Yeah. That never happened.
Kate swiped her face again. She hadn’t sweated this much when she lived in Jacksonville.
She caught movement out of the corner of her eye, and jerked her head round.
Sarid.
In the doorway.
Shirtless.
Her foot slipped.
She reached for the handlebars. Reflexively jerked back.
Bare hands.
Her gaze rose. Caught Sarid’s in the mirror.
His image blurred.
He was coming at her.
“No!” She cried just as he gripped her waist to steady her.
Her hands landed on his chest.
Kate stiffened.
Images flew into her head.
Then pain.
Chapter 40
Lucas came in through the kitchen. It was empty. The ebhed were probably in their wing for the day. Good. The two gang members’ violence was still buzzing through his bloodstream.
He stopped in front of the fridge, was reaching for the handle when a loud, fearful cry echoed through the HQ.
Kate.
His eyes glowed blue as his fangs descended.
Lucas stood in the doorway of the gym without conscious memory of tearing through the house. His heart pounded. The urge to protect pulsed in his veins.
Kate straddled Sarid, her hands on his bare chest. A growl rose in Lucas’s throat, but soon died when he realized Sarid was not in control. His ach was seizuring. The whites of his eyes showed. Back was bowed as if Kate were lifting him by his torso.
Lucas’s gaze sharpened on Sarid’s face, expecting to see flashes of the Other but there was nothing. That was more worrisome than if his ach had been about to change.
Kate screamed. High-pitched wails filled with pain. Her head was thrown back, irises yellow, pupils moving, watching images only she could see.
Lucas was at her side in two steps. “Kate! Kate!”
She didn’t register his presence. Only yelled like someone was hurting her.
His ach hadn’t noticed him either. The convulsions were slowing, but not in a good way. Sarid’s dark complexion lightened right in front of his eyes. As if he was dying.
Lucas grabbed hold of Kate’s wrist and yanked them from Sarid’s chest. His ach thumped to the ground, eyes closed, body still, chest rising and falling in an unnatural rhythm.
Kate began to flail. Lucas set her down, worried his restraint would cause more harm. Once released, her hands flew to her face, clawing her cheeks.
“Stop it. Stop it. I’ll be good. I’ll be good.”
Lucas’s gaze bounced from Kate’s fingernails digging into her skin to Sarid’s limp form. With his ach’s head tilted to the side, the scars on his cheeks were prominent in the glare of the lights.
“Fuck,” he breathed, whipping to Kate. He grabbed her upper arms, his hands over top of her shirt. “Kate. Kate. You’re fine. It’s fine. It’s not happening.” Nothing got through. She scraped her cheeks. Jagged red lines formed. Soon she’d break through the skin.
“What the hell?”
Lucas turned to Gabe in the doorway. “Help Sarid,” he barked, scooping Kate in his arms before flying out of the room.
By the time Lucas made it to his wing, Kate’s screams had transformed into ragged breaths. She trembled as yellow slowly faded from her eyes. Lucas kicked his bedroom door shut behind him, pausing at the edge of the bed. He wanted to lay her down. But would that throw her in another vision?
Her wide, brown-eyed gaze bounced around the room. She scrambled to get loose.
&n
bsp; “It’s okay. You’re fine.”
“Let me go.” Her voice was hoarse but filled with panic, half of the words inaudible.
He set her on her feet. She lurched toward the bathroom, hand clasped over her mouth. A second later she was over the toilet vomiting. Lucas followed her in, gently scooped her hair away from her face, careful not to touch her skin, wishing for the first time he had his gloves on.
Would that even help?
When finished, she sank to her knees, hands on her thighs, head bowed. Tears raced down her cheeks. She started to sob noiselessly, shoulders shaking. Lucas crouched, still clutching her hair, wanting so badly to hold her. How could he fix this?
“Did you want a wet cloth? Or will that—”
She shuddered once, shook her head, which had her leaning over the toilet again, hands gripping her thighs as she wretched.
“I’m so sorry, Kate,” he said quietly once she’d stopped again.
“Not. Your. Fault,” she said between gulps of air.
Tears still ran down her cheeks, though she wasn’t sobbing anymore.
“What can I do?”
She lifted her hands as if to rub her face, but stopped halfway, staring at her palms. “I need my gloves. They’re down,” pause. Swallow. “They’re in the—” She leaned over the seat again. There wasn’t much food left in her stomach at this point. When finished, she swayed on her knees, fingernails digging into her pant legs. Lucas cupped the tops of her arms.
She stiffened.
He let go immediately but she began to fall over. He reached for her again.
Kate jerked out of his way, somehow managing to get to her feet, tumbling toward the sink with her momentum. She twisted at the last moment, her back landing against the counter with a thud, hands clenched into fists against her legs. “I need to go. Get out of here.”
