“How much of the country is overrun?” Cole asked.
“Whatever you’ve heard on the news, times that by five.”
“We stopped watching that crap.”
“Let’s just say it’s bad,” Adderson told him. “Even by our standards. Most recent estimates put the danger zones at sixty-five percent of the populated areas.”
“Jesus,” Paige breathed. “Is that this state or the whole country?”
“That’s worldwide. U.S. figures are even worse. Some countries don’t acknowledge being attacked by these things, but satellite imagery has been modified to pick up on the shifters’ heat signature. They’re everywhere. Something’s been spreading this infection or whatever the hell it is even faster over the last two days. Whatever you were looking for, I hope you found it, because if this city falls, we might as well find a bunker and take our chances with whatever my bosses in DC decide to drop on us in the next air strike. All I can tell you is it won’t be the little fireworks the Air Force has been flying in so far.”
Cole gripped his spear and looked down at his coat. Over the last several minutes the Full Blood hide had taken a beating from Half Breeds and stray gunfire alike. Now that there were no more Snapper rounds or Blood Blade ammo flying around, he could run wherever he pleased as the IRD soldiers fired around him. Unfortunately, they’d barely made a dent in the packs that had converged on the parking lot to encircle the perch Esteban had chosen.
The Full Blood paced on top of the wide roof of a big name discount electronics store. Cole’s former life flickered in his mind as he recalled a few late night openings he’d gone to in stores just like that one when new games or consoles were released. In those years, smelling plastic wrap was more than enough to get his blood flowing. Now there were other ways to do that job. A small trickle of it seeped between his fingers as he drove the thorns of the spear’s handle deeper into his palms. “Has Daniels arrived yet?”
“Landed about half an hour ago,” Adderson said. “Troops met his plane and are en route to us now.”
“Is he alone?” Paige asked.
“Negative. There was a woman with him, just like you said. Sent one of my best assault teams to his apartment. They reported the place was torn to shit and damn near empty. Nymar had been crawling inside and outside the entire building, tore apart most of the apartments, even killed some of the civilians living there. Most of the stuff you requested was either destroyed or missing, but the team found Daniels and the woman dug in good and tight inside a fortified closet. Hell of a good design as far as panic rooms go. Even Ouray was about to write them off before the door was popped open from the inside.”
“Did he bring what he needed to bring?” Cole asked.
“You mean the aerosol containing questionable metallic elements?” When the Skinners glared at him, Adderson told them, “Daniels kept his mouth shut about it, right until a can exploded during the flight. I thought he was smart enough to know about little things like cabin pressure.”
“God damn it,” Cole grunted. “Did he lose it all?”
“We’ll find out soon. Better lay down some covering fire to clear a space big enough for our guests.” The soldiers in the immediate vicinity fanned out and fired into the Half Breeds in a series of three-shot bursts.
Now that their attention had been drawn back to the parked trailer, the Half Breeds barked at the soldiers and charged at them with renewed vigor. Cole had been content to focus on the trailer to keep himself from panicking as the night grew darker and werewolves continued to pour into the parking lot from every direction. His conversation with Adderson had been a distraction from the task at hand, but now there was no getting around the reality of what was happening.
The helicopter that brought him and Paige to meet with Adderson had met up with another one, and now both were circling so their machine guns could tear into the Half Breeds. A third helicopter, which got too close to the electronics store, wavered after Esteban’s howl and was taken down by a swarming mass of Half Breeds.
Several of the IRD soldiers had been turned during that same howl and were gnawing off the last of their uniforms so they could acquaint themselves with their new forms.
Of the three Humvees that had arrived in the last few minutes, only one remained. It was at the far end of the parking lot, somewhere between 100 and 150 yards away. A gunner in place behind the mounted .50 cal was being defended by the Amriany, who had been brought to the rendezvous point. Light from the few bulbs that still burned atop dented poles glinted off the charmed steel in George and Nadya’s grasp. Although Cole could only see the Amriany in fleeting glimpses, he could tell it wouldn’t be long before they were either brought down or forced to retreat.
Overhead, the sky had turned an inky black as thick cloud cover rolled, vaguely illuminated by a waning moon. Now that the wave of Half Breeds had caught a new scent and decided to turn away from the faltering IRD squads, they tore at the Skinners with claws that ripped apart the pavement and churned it into a cloud of gritty dust.
There was no more time to waste in waiting for Daniels. Cole and Paige both knew that the Full Blood could leap away any time he chose. There was something keeping Esteban at that spot, which must have also been whatever had brought him to Shreveport.
“This must be where he’s drawing from the Torva’ox,” Cole said as he set his sights on the Full Blood.
“Give me that divining rod thing,” Paige said. Cole flipped open his coat to reach into one of the large interior pockets. The object he drew out was an amalgam of his old spearhead, some pieces of Paige’s old sickle blades, and a tool Ira had used to harvest the Torva’ox to be put into his Blood Blades. The Jekhibar fit into a small rack designed for that very purpose near the middle of the tool, which tapered down into a spike about four inches long. She held the Jekhibar to her ear and listened for the hum. “There’s a big source somewhere close, all right.”
Watching her listen to a shiny rock brought some questions to Adderson’s mind, but he decided not to waste the time to ask them. “What do you need from us?”
“When will Daniels be here?” Cole asked.
“Should be any minute. And,” the IRD Major added while pointing to the other end of the parking lot, “he should be coming from that direction.”
“Keep the Half Breeds as busy as you can, but don’t push too hard. Keep them occupied, but don’t drive them away from the parking lot,” Cole said. “Know what I mean?”
Paige handed the divining rod back to him and said, “Just keep shooting those things without shooting us.”
Adderson nodded. “I can do that.” Into his radio, he announced, “All Ravens, maintain a perimeter and lay down enough fire to keep any more Class Twos from flanking us. All ground units, protect the incoming Humvee!”
Looking in the direction Adderson was shouting, Cole spotted the vehicle that had just pulled into the lot. It was spouting a continuous stream of fire from its turret as it swerved to join up with the Humvees still being guarded by the Amriany. “All right,” he said to Paige. “This is about as good as it’s gonna get for us. Let’s move.”
She holstered the Beretta, slung an HK across her shoulder, and then drew both of the weapons from her boots. The handles were the same as always and bit into her palms in a familiar fashion. As soon as the connection was made, however, Paige gave the weapons a command that she’d only needed since Ira tinkered with them. The Blood Blades he’d attached were narrow and slightly curved so they could lay alongside the handles and still fit within the holsters. Although the metal wasn’t pliable, the wood to which they were attached responded as well as ever. The section at the top of the handles flexed like an elbow, causing the blades to spring upward and give the weapons a shape similar to the sickles she was used to. As she jogged to keep up with Cole, she twirled the weapons in a tight circle to get a feel for their weight. The smirk on her face proved that she was a fan of Ira’s work.
Cole held onto his spear lik
e he was charging at Gettysburg. The long blade at the end sliced through the first Half Breed it encountered before the werewolf could let out more than a surprised yelp. That was enough to alert the others, and the packs quickly turned toward them. IRD troops entrenched at various spots around the parking lot or on neighboring rooftops took advantage of the moments when the creatures shifted their focus toward Cole and Paige. Bullets thumped into Half Breed backs and heads, sending some of them down for good while softening up plenty more. Paige swung to clip a Half Breed in the face, and the chopping motion she made with her left weapon gave her the momentum to move forward and cut down one Half Breed after another with the Blood Blades. By the time they were halfway to the Humvees, the creatures had pulled back to come at them from different angles.
The werewolves weren’t bright enough to put together a complicated plan, but they’d seen enough of their pack mates get killed while charging straight ahead. Now, when one creature jumped at Cole’s head, another pressed its belly to the pavement to scurry at his legs. Cole jabbed at the first to impale it beneath the jaw. All it took to free the blade was a sharp swing and the charmed steel cut all the way through, as if the Half Breed was constructed of hot wax. From there he kept the spear moving so he could open the tines of the forked end, shove the lower Half Breed’s neck toward the ground to grind it to a halt and then turn the weapon around to drive the blade straight down through its spine. The werewolf let out one last shuddering growl before Cole plucked the blade out and moved on.
Where he delivered slower, heavier hits, Paige’s were quick and slashing, coming in a flurry of nonstop movement. With so many creatures attacking, she didn’t bother to stop and finish off each one. When a Half Breed was cut down, she went on to the next one that stood between her and the Humvees. She assumed Cole would be with her, and he didn’t let her down. Both Skinners made it through the parking lot to meet up with the Amriany.
“You shouldn’t have come here,” Milosh shouted as he threw one of his knives into the eye of a Half Breed and then filled that hand with a .44 Magnum. “We need to get to that Weshruuv!”
“Didn’t come for you,” Paige said as she headed for one of the other armed vehicles. Before she could say another word, the door to that Humvee was opened and Daniels spilled out.
“Steph’s reclaimed Chicago,” the Nymar wheezed. “All of it. Barely got out.”
“Great,” Paige snapped. “Did you finish that spray?”
“Had to mix another batch on the plane, but yes,” he said while handing over a can that still bore the label of a generic oven cleaner. The bottom was heavily taped, making it look more like a crude pipe bomb than anything Daniels normally pieced together for them.
“Glad to see you’re alive,” Cole said. “What happened in Chicago?”
Appreciating the concern, Daniels said, “Remember how I was always so worried Steph or some of the others would come after me? Well they finally did. And remember how I told you about that new room I fortified?”
“No.”
“Well, it held out just fine, even when the Shadow Spore climbed in through the windows. I think they were sniffing us out, but these Army guys showed up and took them out. Ruined two of my three apartments along the way, but you know. Whatever.”
“Yeah,” Ouray said from where he knelt so he could use the vehicle for support as he fired a single shot from a sniper rifle. It was modified beyond Cole’s ability to identify the make or model. “Killed a bunch of vampires before they harmed a hair on you or your girlfriend’s head. Whatever.”
Cole extended a hand to the IRD commando and introduced himself. By the time Ouray returned the favor, Paige had finished checking out the spray can.
“You’re sure this has a strong enough mix to get the job done?” she asked.
“Sure,” Daniels replied, rooting through his satchel. “I tested it on the other phantom Full Bloods that were sitting around my place. Now roll up your sleeves.”
Ouray’s face didn’t look like one capable of registering surprise. That changed when he saw the electric needle Daniels took from his bag. Less than fifty yards away the gunner in one of the helicopters laid down enough fire to scatter a large group of Half Breeds that had been charging toward the Humvees. More fire from the vehicle’s turret gave the ground troops a few moments to catch their breath. In that time, Daniels set up inside the Humvee so that each of the Skinners could take their turn getting a dose of the tattoo ink, which had been all but perfected in the last year.
“I’ll take a cool snake,” Cole said when it was his time to put his arm into the Nymar’s care.
Glancing out the window where Paige stood to fight off Half Breeds that made it past the IRD firing line, Daniels asked, “What about a drink? You must be starving.” Cole didn’t respond. Unwilling to bring up the tendrils directly in the company they were keeping at that moment, the Nymar asked, “Is your stomach hurting?”
“No.”
“It will be soon. Then you have to feed them.”
“No I don’t,” Cole insisted. “Just do the damn tattoo, Daniels.”
The needle buzzed in Daniels’s hand as he hastily scrawled into Cole’s arm. There was no design other than a few lines of varying thickness that traced along his veins to make sure the inky concoction and shapeshifter elements bonded to the minerals in the ink would have their desired effect. As long as the stuff remained beneath the flesh, it could pass on some of a shapeshifter’s strength and speed into a human and burn off before it did any real damage.
“You seem to have been handling yourself pretty well so far,” Daniels said. “But don’t push it. Those tendrils will punish you if—”
“I know all about that,” Cole cut in.
Daniels nodded and completed another line of ink. Since he wasn’t going for anything artistic, it wasn’t a long process. Even though he’d taken his finger off the button that made the machine buzz, he left the needle in Cole’s arm. “You know, it’s not unusual for the newly seeded to be squeamish.”
“I’m not seeded,” Cole grunted. He wanted to pull his arm away but couldn’t.
“Maybe not with a spore, but you’ve still got Nymar elements inside of you.”
“Making it sound clinical doesn’t help. Now get that damn needle out of me before I rip it out and put it somewhere you won’t like very much.”
Either Daniels had been around Paige too long to be frightened by threats or was too determined to give up talking that easily. “However you want to put it, those things need to be fed.”
“I know. I’ll deal with it.”
The needle was jammed just far enough into Cole’s skin to catch his attention. When his eyes narrowed into a deathly stare, Daniels held his ground and said, “You need human blood and I know you’ve tasted it.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because you’re still alive.”
“Nymar blood seems to do the trick just as well,” Cole said in a threatening snarl, even though there was some truth to Daniels’s words.
To his credit, Daniels remained steady. “That’s because Nymar used to be human. Half Breeds used to be human as well.”
“Are you suggesting I feed on those things?”
“Better that than die. Times are hard, right? Isn’t that what everyone’s saying?”
“It sure is.”
“Then you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to survive. You and Paige are doing more than surviving. You’re helping the rest of us to survive, and we can’t lose you.” The pressure of the needle in Cole’s skin eased up but didn’t subside. “And what’s so bad about what I’m suggesting compared to what you guys do all the time? I mean, you wear Half Breed skins, for God’s sake. You had an up close and personal relationship with the thing that used to wear the leather that coat was made from, right?”
Cole didn’t say anything to that. The fighting outside had died down for a moment, which only meant it would soon intensify.
�
��The Half Breeds may not be human anymore, but there’s human blood inside them,” Daniels said. “There’s plenty of it around and it may take the edge off.”
“But . . . Jesus. I mean skinning them is one thing. Using their claws or teeth is easy enough. But drinking their blood?”
“Being a Nymar may be a lot of things, but sanitary isn’t one of them. Just keep it in mind, okay? Think of it as another way of using what they give you so you can keep fighting the good fight. That’s what Skinners do, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. Speaking of that, I could use some of the healing serum if you’ve got any.”
Daniels’s eyes narrowed as he removed the needle. “I’ll administer it when this is over. You need to stay sharp.”
Even though Cole wasn’t hurt and he could produce a certain amount of the serum within his own body, he didn’t hold back when he grabbed Daniels’s wrist and twisted until the Nymar let go of the tattooing machine. “You’re not my doctor. Give me more serum.”
“I’m your friend,” the Nymar replied through gritted teeth. “And I’m also like you more than you care to admit. I know what I’m talking about, and it’ll take more than brute force to make me do what you’re asking. The Nymar were putting me through a hell of a lot more than that before you ever knew what they were. Now would you rather waste more time or do you want to let me work on the next tattoo before all of us are overwhelmed?”
Outside, the IRD had launched multiple attacks to keep the Half Breed packs divided. The price of that strategy was paid by the loss of more soldiers than Cole cared to think about, as they were either ripped apart or turned by Esteban’s howls. He let go of Daniels, kicked open the Humvee door, and allowed George to crawl into the back.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Even though George’s weapon didn’t have a blade, it must have been charmed in a similar fashion as the other Amriany edged weapons, Cole decided, because it did just fine against the Half Breeds. George and he took the lead as Milosh, Paige, and Nadya covered their backs. Thanks to the ink introduced to their bodies, their blows landed with enough force to sever limbs or knock Half Breeds aside completely.
Extinction Agenda Page 36
