by Laken Cane
Roma glanced at her. “Read the sign.”
At that moment, the man turned and his sign turned with him.
God Sends Death for Abominations!
Destroy the Others!
Rune shuddered as a reflexive flash of shame hit her right between the eyes. Then rage came and kicked shame’s ass. “Get the food,” she told Roma, and walked to the door.
A loud rustle and the scraping of chairs on the hard floor followed as the customers scrambled to the windows to watch.
The group of people became aware of her approach long before the man did, likely because he was too busy strutting and spewing filth to notice anything else.
“God commands us to destroy them,” he cried, his voice loud and jubilant. “Join us! Join his army of angels. Stand on the right side, my—”
He cut off his words when he finally saw Rune striding toward him, and after regaining control, he squared his shoulders and waited for her to reach him.
“Ah,” he yelled. “A monster approaches. A monster!”
Rune wrapped her fingers around his throat, grinding her teeth so hard they nearly cracked. The crowd gasped and stepped away as the fanatical preacher struggled in his enemy’s unbreakable grip.
She fought against the dark, nearly irresistible desire to tear out his throat and put her face close to his purpling skin.
“I’m not a monster, motherfucker. I’m the monster.”
“Lemme go.” He clawed at her hand, his eyes bulging. “Lemme go!”
“Keep your hatred off the streets. If I see you out here again, I won’t restrain myself.” She put her lips against his hot cheek, reveling in his shudders, in his fear. “I will destroy you.”
She opened her hand and stood over him when he fell to the ground, his fingers to his abused throat. He stared up at her, wheezing.
“Come,” Roma said, taking her arm. “Come away, Princess.”
Rune turned toward the watching crowd and shook off Roma’s soothing hand.
“Hunting Others is punishable by death,” she called. “Hunt them, kill them, hurt them, and I’ll come for you.”
“That’s not the law,” a man yelled, then ducked behind the woman in front of him when Rune speared him with a quietly raging stare.
“It’s my fucking law. Break it, and I’ll kill you.”
No one said a word.
Finally, she strode away, a little less black and a little less white, but secure in her grayness.
I am my fucking monster.
Chapter Three
Rune kept a steady eighty miles-per-hour speed and a tight silence all the way to Killing Land. Halfway there her cell beeped, and she glanced down to see the information she’d requested from Tasha, along with an image of Jett Ramsey.
He was dressed in his uniform, one of his arms across Tasha’s slender shoulders, and he was smiling. But even in the picture, Rune could see a dull spark of anxiety in his dark eyes. His eyes did not smile.
She sent the info to her crew’s phones and continued on to Killing Land.
Roma left her alone—she was busy steadily eating her way through several pounds of food.
Rune drove more slowly through the town of Killing Land, watching for lingering, lost gargoyles and threatening townspeople.
One, in particular.
Leon Lafitte.
He’d been skulking around Killing Land the last time she’d been there, and from Will’s reports, she understood he hadn’t left.
He was waiting.
Waiting for her return.
Despite the fact that the town was becoming inhabited once again by those who’d moved to Hewitt Hill, no one seemed inclined to cause trouble when they spotted Rune’s car cruising down the street.
When they reached the hill, Rune was surprised to see that a strip of land had been cleared of trees and stumps and debris, creating a rough path down which she could drive. “They’ve been busy,” she said.
By the time she parked at the bottom of the hill and she and Roma began the walk up to the caves, her mood had improved.
“Jack is here,” Roma commented, and she brushed her hand lovingly over the side of his car as they walked by it.
Rune grinned. “Yes. And Raze. You get lonely, Raze will keep you company.”
Roma muttered profanities all the way to the caves.
Three ATVs were parked haphazardly at the shortcut entrance, and a small tent had been set up a short distance away. A fire pit still sent up lazy gray trails of smoke, and the scent of bacon hung in the air.
Roma’s stomach rumbled.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Rune asked her.
Roma shrugged and shot her a sheepish grin. “It’s bacon.”
“You know what I smell?” Rune asked her.
“Coffee?”
Rune took a deep breath. “Summer, baby. I smell summer and she’s wearing a pretty pink dress made of flowers and sunshine and happiness.” It had been a long, cold winter, after all.
Roma stumbled. “Are you all right, Princess?”
Rune snorted. “Can’t a girl be fanciful every now and again?”
“Not if she’s Rune Alexander,” Raze roared, and strode from the black cave entrance to grin down at her. “Took you long enough to get here.”
He offered Roma a stiff nod.
Roma turned up her lip.
“I thought you two were getting along a little better,” Rune said.
“We’re tolerating each other,” Roma said, politely.
“You hungry?” He pointedly ignored Roma and asked the question of Rune. “There’s bacon.”
“I wouldn’t mind some bacon.” Roma rubbed her belly.
“Catch me up,” Rune said, turning to walk into the caves. “What’s our little mutant up to?”
Raze shrugged. “He’s secured in a netted cage. He doesn’t do much but squeak and moan. I don’t know why you’re keeping him alive. He’s not going to suddenly become a man.”
“Don’t fill her with doubt,” Roma snarled. “There’s a reason he’s here. She’ll find it.”
“The reason he’s here,” Raze growled, “is most likely because he tried escaping Owen’s retribution and it backfired.”
Rune shook her head. “I don’t care why. I want to find out how he got here.”
“And he can’t tell you.” Raze kept his voice even, but Rune could hear his frustration.
“It’s a puzzle,” she replied. “I just have to solve it.”
“If it can be done,” Roma said, “you’re the one to do it.”
Raze snorted.
“What other news did the assassin give you?”
“Landers are quiet,” Raze said. “But Leon Lafitte’s been lurking. He’s biding his time for something, Rune.”
“He has revenge on his mind, I’m sure.”
“Maybe he’s just bored and curious. And I think he wanted Will to see him—no one is that bad at sneaking around.” Raze shrugged. “He’s a strange one.”
“I need to face the bastard. Soon as he shows himself again, we’re going to have a talk.” Then she changed the subject to something more pressing. “Have you checked the graveyard for Gunnar?”
“Jack is up there looking for him now. Will has gone every couple of days.”
“Gunnar won’t be found unless he wants to be.”
“You’ll have to go bring him out, Rune.”
She nodded. “I will.”
“Ready to see our monster?”
She grinned. “Yup.” Then she frowned and pushed at her stomach.
“She doesn’t know you’re not there,” Roma said, knowing exactly what Rune was thinking. “She doesn’t know anything.”
Raze’s sigh was loud.
“She doesn’t,” Roma insisted. “She barely even has a brain yet.”
“You’re an idiot,” Raze said.
“You’re a freak.”
Raze snorted again. “I see you watching me when you don’t think I’m looking. You want me.”
Roma gagged.
Denim walked from the room in which the mutant Brasque Dray was held. “Hey.”
Rune took his hand, her quick glance noting his paleness and the tired dullness of his eyes. She said nothing but wondered for the thousandth time what was ailing him.
He’d tell her when he was ready.
She stepped into the room, her stare skimming over cans of butane, heaters, and various camping equipment before finally landing on the cage holding the man—the creature—who had once ruled part of Skyll.
Levi stood watching the creature, his arms crossed. “He’s fascinating in a horrible sort of way.”
The creature was held in a corner of the room in one of the Annex’s special cages—an expandable, hard netting that would, in theory, keep any trapped animal, shifter, or human from escaping it.
Would it have held her?
Probably not.
But the creature inside it was not her.
She knelt down in front of his prison, watching him.
He watched her back.
“He’s changed,” she said. “There’s intelligence in those eyes. He’s watching me.”
Will Blackthorne left the shadows and walked toward her. He crossed his arms. “He does that. Sometimes for hours he won’t move. Just stares at me.”
“That’s creepy.” She shuddered and then stood quickly to cover how uncomfortable she was.
Will pulled a tiny morsel from his pocket and shoved it through one of the holes. “He loves peanuts.”
“Hey,” Rune said. “He’s physically changing too. Last time I saw him, he had more than one mouth.” Then she shrugged. “Or at least, he had more than one set of teeth. He’s not quite as hideous as he was. Looks like a slimy slug.”
“He’s not a handsome fellow,” Roma noted.
“No,” Rune agreed. “He’s not handsome, Roma.”
Raze muttered something under his breath.
“He’s less swollen,” Denim said. “And he can hold up his head now.”
“That’s right.” Rune peered harder at the creature. “What are you feeding him, Will?”
“At first,” Will said, “I fed him meat. Raw hamburger, chunks of pork. He’d eat anything. Mice, plants…rocks, even.”
Rune frowned at him, but he didn’t notice. He was too focused on the thing inside the cage. She began to get a bad feeling.
Will was attaching to the creature.
A sharp fist of pity squeezed her heart. What kind of lonely existence must a man face, to attach to a blob of horror?
She glanced at Raze.
He lifted an eyebrow, then gave her a small nod.
“His favorite thing seems to be peanuts,” the assassin continued. “He’ll do tricks to get them.”
“Tricks?” Rune asked. “Will—”
“Watch.” The thin fabric of his mask crinkled over his mouth, then he turned back to the cage. He held up a peanut. “Jump, boy. Want a peanut? Jump.”
She transferred her horrified stare from the assassin to the creature.
And it began to jump. More of a hop, really—its fat, wet body leaving the floor with a sucking, slurping sound before plopping back down like a nasty, overfilled sponge.
Will gave a soft, pleased laugh and tossed him the peanut. “Good job, buddy.”
“It’s not a puppy,” Roma said. “Or a child. It’s a dangerous monster from Skyll. You can’t—”
“He understands,” Rune interrupted, temporarily forgetting the assassin’s strange attachment. “He understands what you’re telling him.” She put her hand on her chest. “And if he understands…” She sat back on her heels. “Fuck me.”
Will nodded. “We just have to get him to talk.”
She blew out a hard breath. “I don’t think that’s possible.”
“It’s not,” Roma agreed. “He sort of understands what you want and will do tricks for peanuts, but he doesn’t have the ability to speak. Or think, really.”
“How do you know?” Denim asked.
“Because I lived in Skyll,” Roma said.
Rune nodded. “She’s right. Look at him. He’s not going to sit in there and converse. Yeah, I’m amazed he jumped for a peanut. But talk? Not going to happen. I need something else.”
“I might have something to try,” Will said.
“What?”
He stared at her.
“Fine,” she said, tired. “If it’s fucking worth it, I’ll bite you.”
“Rune,” Denim said.
She closed her eyes. “You and Levi are withdrawing too.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I can take some from all of you.” She looked at Will. “If it’s worth it.”
“I know a woman. She’s in hiding but she owes me.”
“And why do I care?”
“She’s a telepath. The best I’ve ever known.” He pointed at the cage. “If that thing has a mind to read, she can tell you.”
“Holy shit.” Rune shivered and rubbed her arms. “Bring her.”
“If I can find her, I will try to convince her to help us.”
“And when you find her, I will feed your addiction.”
He hesitated, then nodded. “The addiction seems to be getting stronger. The feeling is…unpleasant.”
“Then you should get started.”
The creature gave a sudden, terrible scream, drawing Rune’s attention. “What the hell?”
And she watched with the rest of them as it cut a plug of flesh from its middle and stuck it into its open mouth.
The assassin, a hardened, tortured killer, hurried to shove half a dozen peanuts into the cage, successfully keeping the beast from taking another bite of its own body.
Rune turned away from the cage, disgusted, and when she finally turned back around, she realized that Will the Assassin had already gone to find his telepath.
Perhaps he’d be successful.
Despite the stakes, she almost hoped he wouldn’t.
Chapter Four
Rune fed from Denim, easing his addiction, before turning her attention to Levi.
“How long are we staying?” Raze asked, when she was finished.
The twins staggered into a corner and sat down, then leaned back against the damp wall, their eyes closed.
“Not long. We’ll find Gunnar and give Will a break from…that,” she said, pointing at the creature. “A day or so. River County needs us too badly. The Others who are left are living in fear. We have to protect them.”
He nodded. “I think River County is rotten with COS stragglers trying to piss us off.”
“Maybe. At least some of them are COS. I told you about the dude on the corner preaching hate.”
“They’re everywhere, Rune.”
“And we’ll take them out one by one.”
“Do you ever get tired of the blood and the pain and the killing?” He looked at her. “Do you ever get tired of fighting the monsters?”
She thought about it. “Sometimes I get exhausted by the horror of what people have to go through just because they’re alive. But dude, I can’t do anything else. Neither can you. We fight the monsters and we’ll fight them until we die.”
“Then you’ll be fighting forever.”
A zap of agony hit her brain when she thought of outliving her crew. Of outliving everyone.
At least she had Kader. Her kid would be right there by her side through…forever. And that wasn’t necessarily something Kader would thank her for.
“We also have to work on Tasha’s case,” Rune said, then caught him and the twins up on the girl’s father.
“Shouldn’t be too difficult to find the doctor,” Raze said. “Probably still works at Forsythe. I have a couple of connections there. I’ll let you know what I find out.”
“Thanks.”
A sound like TV static burst from Brasque, so loud and sudden she jumped. She, Raze, and Roma strode to the cage.
The sound grew louder.
B
rasque Dray hadn’t moved—he stayed piled like a large, slimy blob in the corner of his prison, facing away from them.
“What’s he doing?” Roma put her hands over her ears. “That’s harsh.”
“Has this happened before, Raze?” Rune leaned forward and hooked her fingers through the tiny holes in the cage, squinting at the creature.
“Will never reported it if it did.”
Brasque began to shake, and the static and hissing grew louder still.
“Should we go in there?” Raze asked.
Rune drew back. “I’m not going in there. You want to go in there?”
“Hell no.”
“Look,” Roma said. “It’s moving.”
The mutation turned toward them, slowly, his entire body vibrating like a hideous gray pudding.
As one, they took a step back.
“He’s changing again,” Raze said. “Look at his face.”
His face began to melt and to slide over the bone that lay beneath the waxy flesh. The static stopped—and the screaming started.
“God,” Rune murmured.
“Too much suffering.” Roma lifted her slingshot. “I will end it.”
“No,” Rune said. “You will not.”
It stopped screaming as suddenly as it had started.
“What is that?” Raze asked.
Rune put her hand to her chest, trying to calm her racing heart.
Shhhh….
“It’s a crawler,” Roma answered, when Rune remained silent. “Or…part of one.”
“I’m…” Without finishing whatever she’d been about to say, Rune turned and left the room.
There were a lot of things she’d rather not have to remember. Her time with the tormenting crawlers was right up there with the worst of them.
The things they’d done to her…
Outside the cave she drew in deep breaths of fresh air, letting the quiet peacefulness drive out the insidious, rustling whispers of her nightmares.
Roma stepped from the cave, quietly, and stared off into the distance.
“Roma,” Rune said.
“I mean to guard you, Princess.”
Rune sighed. Roma would do what Roma would do. “Thanks, baby.”
Roma glanced at her and opened her mouth, but couldn’t seem to think of a single thing to say.
Rune shrugged.
Just as she turned to walk back into the cave, Shiv Crow called, his voice strident, and somehow accusing, and she automatically lifted her arm for him.
