by ST Branton
“Harsh.” Trent kept his voice light, but his expression grew more somber. “All right, all right, I’m sorry. This is all just so fucking crazy. I feel like I need to find something to laugh about every few minutes, or else I’ll lose my shit.” He brushed some dust from the top of his leg. “And no, I don’t know much about the situation beyond what I’ve seen since everything went tits-up. That being said, I’ve seen a lot.”
Deacon nodded absently. “Us too. How far to the safe house? I’d feel better talking if there’s a chance we’re not being monitored.” The mention of the house made my heartrate pick up all by itself. The prospect of finally seeing Jules, Maya, and Marcus strengthened my resolve even further.
“We swept the place as best we could, but I can’t say for sure it was enough. Still, it’s better than nothing.” Trent pointed as the city seemed to erupt from the edge of the park like a dingy mirage. “See that back alley? Right through there.” A few groups of stragglers picked their way down the street, but compared to everything else rampaging through New York just blocks away, our trio looked pretty normal. I squeezed the leathers in my hands, avoiding eye contact with the passers-by.
At the gate to the alley, Trent hopped down from the saddle. He fished a key out of a pocket on his jacket and unlocked the padlock around the iron bars. The hinges squealed as the gate swung open. “I’d get down now if I were you,” he told us. “The horses tend to get a little spooked in close spaces.”
I patted Bluebell’s neck on my way down. “I owe you,” I said to her. I was still grateful to be standing on my own two feet, though. The sword went back into my bag, though my guard stayed up. We barely fit between the dumpsters and cans lining the walls. The smell of city garbage was almost comforting in a weird way. It was nice to know that some things never changed.
Trent led us around into a courtyard behind a row of buildings lined with unmarked doors. He tied his lead to the first of a group of makeshift posts jammed into the ground, and then he turned and reached for mine. “I’ll take care of this. Top floor. Take the fire escape.”
“You’re just gonna leave the horses out here?” Deacon asked.
“You saw what happened when we crossed the street. Nobody gave a rat’s ass. We’ve all got bigger things to worry about.”
“Fair enough.” Deacon touched my shoulder. “Let’s go.”
“You want to race?” He looked at me like I’d lost my brain in the park, and I smirked back. “Just kidding. I wouldn’t want to embarrass you in front of your ex-partner.”
The sound of Trent laughing followed us up the ladder.
Chapter Seven
The windows on the top floor of the safe house building were blacked out with tape and ragged blankets. When I knocked on the pane, the blankets rippled, and I caught a glimpse of a face I knew. Two seconds later, Maya pulled the latch and opened up. The barrel of a twelve-gauge shotgun peeked over her shoulder.
“Vic!” She breathed a huge sigh of relief. “You don’t know how glad I am to see you. I wasn’t sure if that guy was bullshitting or not.” She stepped back to let me climb through, nodding at Deacon.
“Who, Trent?” I asked. “That makes two of us.”
She snorted and gave me a quick, tight hug. The grip of a pistol poked out of a holster strapped to her side. “How’s it look out there? Sorry—watch the gun.”
“Like hell. Glad to see you can fend for yourself.” I would’ve said more, but that was the moment I spotted a blonde head of hair that I’d recognize anywhere. “Jules?” My chest tightened unexpectedly. In real time, it hadn’t been that long since she was taken away from the scene of the slaughterhouse, but it might as well have been forever. She turned toward me, and her eyes went wide.
“You made it!” Jules threw her arms around me, squeezing with equal parts glee and intense relief. “Oh, I’m so glad. I mean, I knew you would, but you guys had me worried for a second.” She pulled back and gestured to the space around us. “Welcome to home sweet home, for now. It’s not much, but it’s the best we’ve got.”
Because of the blankets covering the windows, the interior of the safe house was dim, which only added to its stuffy, musty atmosphere. It was full of the smells and sounds of people trying to be as quiet as possible. Many of them were at opposite ends of the spectrum—kids and the elderly. They sat on old, broken down chairs, a couple pitted sofas, on floor mats spread out over hardwood. Some of them eyed me warily, and I could see they’d been through the wringer. They were, to put it mildly, beat to shit, sporting bruises and black eyes and cuts dried over with blood.
“How’d you get so many people in here?” I asked Jules. “There’s no way they all came up the escape, right?”
“I’m worried about that,” Deacon chimed in. “If this place gets compromised, it’s going to be real hard to get these people out. I hope Trent has a plan.”
“We’ll figure it out.” I wanted to put on a brave face for Jules and Maya, although I was concerned too. “If nothing else, I bet the places below here are probably abandoned, or about to be. We can scout it out and start moving people down if necessary.” As I talked, I moved back toward the window. “At least the higher ground gives us a good vantage point to see what’s coming. Maybe we can make this our war room if we relocate.”
“I’m impressed, Vic,” Deacon said. “I mean, I’m usually impressed, but I wasn’t sure you’d be so… strategic about things.”
“Come on. You, of all people, should know what a master of strategy I am by now. I’m practically a general.” To Jules, I said, “This is what I’ve been dealing with since you left.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Deacon gave an exaggerated shrug. “Having someone care about your success is a chore. I know.”
Jules laughed. “Ease up, Vic. Deacon’s a good guy. He might deserve a medal of honor if he’s been putting up with you this well.” Before I could protest, she put her arm around my shoulders. “Have you talked to Maya yet? We’ve dealt with some super crazy stuff here, too. You never told me she was so amazing!”
“How’d you end up here, anyway?” I asked as we walked toward where Maya knelt in front of a small girl, tending to a wound on the child’s leg. “I saw you get taken away by the cops, and then they took me to the FBI building.”
“Yeah. I thought they were going to bring me there too, but we just went down to the precinct instead. I think they thought I was just a bystander and didn’t realize I knew you. Which was probably for the best, as things turned out. I went to your place after they let me go, hoping you’d be there. Obviously, you weren’t.”
Maya finished wrapping the bandage and stood up. “But I was.” She smiled at the little girl then immediately guided us away. “There are bedrooms in the back. Let’s talk over there. I don’t want these guys to overhear us and freak out.” Once we had sequestered ourselves away, she picked up where she’d left off. “I tried to stay holed up at the loft because I didn’t know where you were, and I didn’t want to get myself in trouble, in case it turned out to be something I couldn’t handle on my own. But after Jules showed up without you, I was like, you know what? This isn’t doing either of us any good.”
“She’s the one who saved all these people,” Jules cut in, unable to contain her excitement. “They were cornered in a tenement, and she just went in and rescued them, no big deal. It was incredible!”
Maya smiled sheepishly. “It wasn’t that incredible. I just, you know… did my thing. And I was scared about bringing Jules with me, but there was no way I could have tended to the whole group myself. She was a huge help. She still is, honestly.”
“You said they were cornered?” I asked. “By whom? Or maybe I should say, by what?” You never knew with the Forgotten.
“I’m not sure what they were.” Maya paused for a second, recalling. “They mostly looked like humans, but a lot of them were really tall. Some of them had things like horns and hooves, too.” She sort of shrugged. “They all had these weird, glowing chain tattoos.”
“We were a lot closer to Vic’s place at the beginning,” Maya told us. “We thought about staying in the tenement once we cleared it out, but then more of them started showing up. Jules told me she thought you might be in holding downtown, so we decided to head this way. I had to clear a path, so to speak.”
Deacon raised an eyebrow. “Man, and here I thought Vic was the one making moves. How the hell did you pull that off?” All three of us looked at him, and he caught himself in time to try and backpedal. “Look at her! She’s tiny. You can’t blame me for wondering.”
“Nice save, Deac,” I said. “This girl’s way tougher than she looks. And it sounds like she’s getting good at it. Is Marcus helping?” Remembering the medallion, I reflexively checked to see if it was around her neck. To my surprise, she wasn’t wearing the chain. “Where is he?”
Maya frowned. “He’s not with you?” The confusion instantly gave way to worry.
A cold realization dawned on me. “You didn’t see the note I left, did you?”
She shook her head. “Nope. I figured you would’ve taken him with you.”
“I would have, but at the time, I thought there was a pretty good chance I wasn’t coming back.” I looked at Deacon and Jules. “That means he’s still at the loft… I hope. We have to get him back.”
“You hope?” Deacon asked. He started to pace the length of the room, hands folded behind his back. “Tell me that’s not as ominous as it sounds.”
“Well, it’s not like he’s going anywhere himself. But I have no idea if his presence can be sensed at all, and that place isn’t exactly the most secure. We need to go there as soon as possible. He can’t defend himself like that. If they get ahold of him, we’re screwed.”
“And we don’t even know who ‘they’ are,” Deacon muttered.
“Actually, I might know something,” Jules volunteered. We all rounded on her so fast she actually took a step back. “Don’t get too excited—it’s not much. But I spent a while with that guy in the black, Logan or whatever.”
“Lorcan,” I said. “But go on.”
“Right. Damn, he was such a prick. Anyway, I think he sort of forgot I was there sometimes because he never took any precautions to make sure I couldn’t hear what he was talking about.” She twined a lock of her golden hair around her finger. “It sounded like he was working on something big, and I think he had a partner in it. He never said a name, but I’m pretty sure it was a woman.”
“Hmm.” I bowed my head, racking my brain for ideas. The only goddess I’d encountered so far was the harpy queen. Was it possible she had come back? As far as I could tell, there were no harpies in the city. “I’m not sure who that could be.”
“Whatever they were planning, he needed living humans for it. He talked about that a lot. Ad nauseum, I would say.” Jules folded her arms. “Like I said, it’s not much. Those guys are cryptic even in private, I guess.”
“No, this is really valuable. I just don’t know what it means. As usual.” I took a few more seconds to ponder the information, and then I exhaled and stood up. “You know who could put all the pieces together and then some? Marcus. I’m going to find that medallion.”
“I’m down for a field trip.” Deacon stopped pacing as soon as I mentioned a plan of action. “Gives us a chance to do some recon in other parts of the city.” He checked his holster.
I held up my hand. “Sorry, Agent D. I think I’m gonna go this one alone. Not because I want to deny myself the pleasure of your company, but the safe house needs to stay protected, and I know you’re a crack shot. Maya can hold her own, but she’s also the only doctor. And I don’t know if I’m willing to leave the whole job to Trent.”
“I told you we can trust him.” Deacon grimaced. “But I see your point.”
“We can’t put these people in more jeopardy. I’ll be fine. And I’ll have Marcus with me on the return trip. I just need you to hold down the fort until I get back.” I felt sorry for him then; I really did. I knew I’d go stir crazy in that place if it were me. Nonetheless, we owed it to Maya, who had gone through all the trouble of saving them and then making sure they were cared for. They deserved to survive.
“No, you’re right.” Deacon put his gun away. “I’ll go make sure Trent made it in all right.” He glanced at me. “Take care of yourself out there.” He slipped out the bedroom door without further ado, closing it gently behind him.
“I think he likes you,” Jules whispered. She giggled.
I rolled my eyes. “That’s my cue to get out of here. See you two in a bit. I hope this won’t take long.”
“Wait, Vic,” Maya said. “Before you leave, I might need your help with something.” Maya led us out the door and directed me down the hall to another bedroom. She stopped outside the door. “Normally, I wouldn’t ask you to make a detour like this, but this family desperately needs help. It’s a matter of life and death.” She talked quietly so they wouldn’t hear.
“Don’t worry about it,” I told her. “That’s what I’m here for. Let’s go.”
Maya nodded and opened the door.
Chapter Eight
The room was dim and cool. Its windows had been blocked out, and a bedside lamp provided the only light. A slight, dark-haired woman sat on the edge of the bed, surrounded by a sea of crumpled tissues.
She looked up as Maya and I entered, and her brown eyes immediately registered a mix of relief and concern. One hand rested on the shape of a small boy buried in blankets. In her other hand, she clutched a silver cross to her chest. Tears tracked silently down her cheeks. Even from a distance, I could tell the boy’s face was swollen.
“Hola,” Maya said gently, crossing to the bed. She knelt, touching the woman’s arm. “Como estas?” That was the extent of what I could understand. High-school Spanish didn’t begin to cover the mother’s reply, but the desperation in her voice was universal. The situation must be serious. Maya nodded and turned to me. “Her son is having some kind of anaphylactic reaction. He needs an EpiPen, but theirs was lost during relocation from their tenement building.”
“Is that why his face is puffed up like that?” I kept my voice low and somber, unsure if the poor mother could understand me. I didn’t want to upset her further.
“Yeah, it’s not good. We don’t have a lot of time.” Maya patted the woman’s arm and stood up. “There’s a pharmacy a few blocks from here. If we can get in, they’d probably have at least something that could help.”
“I can go,” I told her. “No problem.” I still needed Marcus, but not more than this little kid needed medicine. “Just tell me where the pharmacy is. I’ll be as fast as I can.”
“Wait, I’m coming with you.” Maya said something in Spanish to the distraught mother, who clasped both her hands and managed a grateful smile.
I shook my head. “You don’t have to do that. I guarantee I’ve seen worse. Whatever’s there won’t be an issue.”
“They call those ‘famous last words,’” Maya answered dryly. “Come on, Wonder Woman. Even you can use a sidekick sometimes. Besides, you said I was getting better at it.” She ushered me out the door, heading off any more protest. “I’ve done what I can for these people. Now I want to help you as much as I can. You’re the one out here saving the world.”
I laughed. “No pressure, right?” We retraced our steps back down the hall and came out into the main space where Deacon and Trent stood talking by the windows. Deacon looked up as we approached.
“What’s the plan?” he asked. “I figured you’d be out of here already.”
“My fault,” said Maya. “I gave her an errand to run.” To Trent, she added, “If there’s an emergency, you have my number. We’ll just have to hope the call goes through.”
Trent touched the brim of his hat. “Yes, ma’am.” The two men stepped aside so we could get through the window. I felt them watching us
make the descent back to the street. On our way out of the courtyard, I shot a parting glance at the top floor, just in time to see the blanket swish back into place.
“Have you scouted out the pharmacy at all?” It had only been an hour or so since Deacon, Trent and I had arrived at the safehouse, but the street below had almost completely cleared out. Some trash cans rattled in an alley, silencing as we drew near. In all my years, I’d never seen any part of the city so ghostly quiet. Maybe the apocalypse wasn’t that far off. The whole thing gave me the creeps.
Maya frowned. “Not really. I haven’t been able to leave the group, so I asked Trent to take a look next time he came this way. He told me he couldn’t see much from outside, but it looked more or less abandoned.” She chewed her lip. “I’m usually a pretty big stickler for law and order, but if worse comes to worst, we can get away with breaking a window, don’t you think?”
“Maya, we could probably get away with busting the whole door down at this point. I’m not saying we should ever resort to mass property damage, but everyone in the city has bigger things to worry about right now.” The towering image of Beleza jumped into my mind, all bronzed and smiling. “Literally.”
“I guess you’re right. This is all so surreal.”
“Bet you didn’t think you were leaving backcountry Washington for this, did you?”
Maya shook her head slowly. “Definitely not. It makes me wonder how things are in California. What does LA look like right now?”
It was a good question. “Broadcasting is probably crippled right now, but that’s worth checking on. Let’s try to find some news when we get back.”
“There are a couple TVs in the safehouse. I kept them off because I didn’t want to scare the kids. I can’t imagine the coverage is anything less than terrifying, if it exists.” Suddenly, she put out her hand to signal me to be careful. “The pharmacy is right up there at the corner. See the sign?”
“Yeah.” I also saw the telltale glint of glass shards scattered all over the sidewalk in front of the plate glass window. “Looks like someone already did the breaking and entering for us.”
