by Laken Cane
He had two blades—likely he’d lifted them from fallen ops—and he slashed and punched and roared just as he always had in battle.
But there was something different.
“He will never be the same. Never be…your berserker.
“He is now the twisted berserker.”
She didn’t know what that might mean, but a tiny part of her heart froze into dread at the thought.
She shoved the worry away. What would come would come and there wasn’t anything she could do but deal with it when it arrived.
He caught her glance, once, and sent her a wink that was so much like the old berserker that she stumbled. Oh, how she’d missed him.
Even as she battled the Next, goose pimples arose on her skin. Her stomach tightened, and her heart beat like a hummingbird’s wings against her chest. Not because of the fight, but because of him.
The berserker was home. He was back.
That night, she would lie in his familiar arms.
So fuck everything else.
Fuck it.
They fought.
Annex, Shiv Crew, some of the remaining Landers. Fought the Next.
And finally, the Next ops who still lived were driven out of Killing Land.
It was over.
Strad jogged to her, sliding his blades into his pockets as he approached her. Without any hesitation at all, he grabbed her shoulders, jerked her to his chest, and lowered his mouth to hers.
And finally, he withdrew, leaving her slightly dazed.
“The only thought on my mind is holding you,” he said. “Being with you. But first I have something I have to do.” He looked for a moment like he might explain. But then, he simply turned and strode away.
She watched him until he was out of sight.
Rune spotted Denim and jogged to him, shoving a stumbling op out of her way. “Where’s Levi?” she asked him. She saw the others—Jack stood with his back against a tree, wiping his blade on his pants leg. The Skyllian shotgun leaned against the tree beside him. Without that gun, the battle might have favored the Next. There was no doubt it’d saved Jack’s life.
He’d used it well, and it was no longer hers.
It belonged to him now.
Roma followed Rune like a shadow, slingshot up—another Skyllian weapon that had been responsible for helping the crew defeat the enemy. The Next fighters’ armor had been no match for the shotgun, the slingshot, or Rune’s claws.
Raze stood in the street, his arms crossed, glaring at everyone. Dead littered the ground at his feet. His clothing was slashed and ragged, as was his flesh. But he stood watchful and wary, a fierce gleam in his eyes as he surveyed the carnage.
Even as she watched him, he narrowed his eyes, pulled his blade, and strode to a shuddering, twitching Annex op who lay on the ground in a river of blood.
He knelt and drew his blade across the man’s throat, ending his suffering.
Denim looked around, seeming surprised that the battle was over. His face was blank. He held his blades in a death grip, and even when he looked at Rune, he seemed not to see her. Or hear her.
“Denim,” she said, sharply. “Where the fuck is your brother?”
From her peripheral vision, she saw Raze climb to his feet, slowly, his head swiveling as he looked for the other twin.
“I’ll find him,” Jack called, and grabbing his shotgun, he jogged away.
“Roma,” Rune said, quietly. “Help him find Levi.”
Then she put her arms around Denim, catching him just as his legs gave out. She eased him to the ground. “You’re okay,” she said.
But he wasn’t okay.
Raze knelt beside her. “What is it?”
Rune swallowed hard. “He’s hurt and has some blood loss, but I don’t see an injury bad enough to take him out like this.”
Denim’s breathing was shallow but he was awake—kind of. “Levi,” he whispered.
Raze and Rune looked at each other. “Levi,” they both murmured, at the same time.
The twins had a strong bond and an unbreakable connection. When something happened to one of them, the other seemed to know. Strangely enough, since Lex’s desertion, their connection had strengthened further.
Sirens sounded, growing closer by the second.
“Annex Ambulances,” Raze said. “They won’t come far unless they’re willing to drive over the bodies in the streets.”
“Pick him up, Raze,” Rune said. “Get him to the paramedics, then start searching for Levi. I’m going to…” She gestured at the streets and yards, strewn messily with broken, bloody bodies. “I’m going to search here.”
Her heart hurt.
He stood with Denim cradled against his chest, then turned to stride away. He turned back. “The berserker.”
“He was really here,” she murmured.
She’d begun to think she’d imagined him until Raze’s acknowledgment let her know he’d been real.
He’d been there.
She took a deep breath and watched Raze hurry away with the ailing Denim, and she straightened her spine and went to find his brother.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Annex cleanup crews converged upon the town. One of the men spotted Rune and ran toward her, something in his hand.
“Mr. Parish is on the phone for you,” he told her.
“Eugene,” she said, and put the back of her hand to her mouth for one long second.
“Are you okay, honey?” he asked, quietly.
She nodded but couldn’t speak, not at first.
“We took a lot of hits, didn’t we?”
“Yes,” she said, and there was only a hint of tears remaining in her voice. “But we beat the fucking Next.”
“Did you…” He hesitated. “Lee Crane?”
“Not yet. But I will have her for you before the day is out.”
She could almost hear him smile. “I believe you will. I was told Levi is missing and that Strad Matheson has returned.”
“Yes. We’re searching for Levi now and the berserker…” She shrugged but cold chills caused her to shiver. “I don’t know his story yet.”
“Bill is here with me. He says to tell you he’s glad you’re okay.”
“Thanks,” she murmured.
“I sent searchers. They’re bringing wolves. Ellis gave them Levi’s scent. They’ll find him, Rune.”
Ellis. Shit. “I have to call Ellie, Eugene.”
“Good job, Rune.”
She continued searching as she called Ellis, walking from body to body, her stare probing the dead for a thick, light brown ponytail and a slender body. A beautiful, bright face. Her friend.
Ellis answered, his voice tight, but calm.
“Hi, baby,” she said.
He sighed. “Rune. Thank God.”
“We’ll find him, Ellie.”
“I know you will.”
“Kader okay?”
“She’s the only thing keeping me sane right now.”
“Ellis…”
His voice sharpened. “Tell me.”
“The berserker is back.” She put her free hand to her stomach. “I don’t know anything about it. How he…I don’t know. But he’s here.”
He said nothing, but she could feel his concern. His confusion.
“I don’t know how to feel, either, not really. But God, Ellie. I need him so fucking much.” She realized she could only be that raw, that honest, with Ellis. “I do.”
“Then you find him,” he said, fiercely. “You find him and you make him yours. If you want him, you take him.”
She sniffed, then wiped her nose on her sleeve. “Am I fucked up, Ellis?”
“Yes, sweetheart,” he said, immediately, earnestly.
She laughed, but it sounded a little too close to a sob. “I have to go.”
“Find my love, Rune.”
“I’ll call you as soon as I have him.”
She began her search again, and called Jack, Raze, and Roma to let them know she h
ad a new phone. None of them had found Levi.
And when Annex searchers arrived, all of them carrying a bag of supplies on their backs, she still hadn’t found Levi.
She watched the wolves spring into action, but she hadn’t caught his scent, and she wasn’t sure they would, either.
“Alexander,” a woman called, and when Rune stopped walking and looked her way, the woman loped toward her.
The Annex had set up a couple of break stations in town, with coffee, water, and food, and the woman headed her way carried a thermos in one hand and a wrapped sandwich in the other.
“Eugene said to make sure you eat,” she said, and handed Rune the food and coffee.
Rune smiled her thanks, and the woman did a double take, as though surprised Rune Alexander could be friendly.
Night came sneaking in, and with it came Nikolai Czar. He greeted her quietly and then walked beside her, helping her search.
She was thankful for his silence.
They worked their way around town, following the trail of blood and bodies, and were circling back around when her borrowed cell rang.
“Rune,” Jack said. “Are you close to Gage Delaney’s house?”
“A couple streets over. Is it Levi?”
“No, but something is going down.”
“I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Come in quiet.”
“Yup.” She pocketed the phone and looked at Nikolai. “That was Jack. He—”
“Go. I’m right behind you.”
She dropped the empty thermos and took off, racing toward the gargoyle’s old house, and as she ran through the night, she realized the gargoyles—Gavin and Bellamy—hadn’t shown up to help fight the Next.
Assholes.
She and Nikolai slowed to walk through the yard next to Gavin’s old house, and she spotted Jack standing at the side, his shotgun in his hand.
When she and the vampire approached him, he held a finger to his lips, then motioned for them to follow him.
She heard voices before they reached the back of the house, and the three of them slipped silently behind a small, unpainted shed, using it for cover as they spied on the dozen or so people in the backyard.
They were Landers.
Luciana stood in front of them, flanked by a man and woman Rune vaguely recognized, though their names escaped her.
The moonlight glinted off the guns Luc and her two friends held. “You could have killed the Shiv Crew,” Luc was saying. “You could have fucking killed me.”
“We were scared, Luc,” a woman yelled. “And Crane offered to save us from the monsters. They were here, you saw them. They’re all over.” She shuddered, then buried her face in her hands and began to cry.
“Weren’t us anyway,” a man said. “We wouldn’t want nothing bad to happen to you, Luc, you know that.”
“Here’s the thing,” Luc said, her voice calm, mild. “You all asked Alexander to lead you. You wanted her to stay here. You begged me to talk her into it. To help us fight our battles. To save us.”
She drew a deep breath, as though to control her emotions. “You betrayed her, and you betrayed me. You betrayed Killing Land. Our home. The only place that would have us.”
“We still have it,” a woman said, holding out her hands. “Nothing’s changed, Luc.”
“No,” Luc said. “It’s all changed. The land is poison, and Rune is going to burn it down. It devoured too many of her people.”
Rune widened her eyes and glanced at Jack, who shrugged. Sure, he’d know she’d have to kill the place, but he knew her. How the hell would Luc know what had to be done?
“Thing is,” Luc continued, “you raggedy ass bunch are all that’s left of us. Because of you, our friends are dead. And no way in hell am I going to let you live.”
At that moment, one of the men broke from the little knot of people, and the woman next to Luc aimed carefully and shot him in the back.
Jack looked at Rune, a question in his eyes.
“Back away,” Rune murmured. “Those people aren’t mine. Never were. They’re hers, and we’ll let her deal with them.”
Another shot rang out as they strode down the street.
They never looked back.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Jack called Raze as they walked. “Nothing?” he asked. Then, “All right. Yeah, she’s here with me. We’re going to—” He took the phone from his ear, glanced at the display, then told Raze he’d call him back. “Yeah?”
“Who is it?” Rune asked.
Jack wordlessly handed her the phone.
“Who’s this?” she asked, and put the phone on speaker.
“Rune,” Lee Crane said. “Congratulations are in order, I suppose. I’m not happy you managed to defeat my men, but I can’t hold that against you. It was a fair fight.”
Rune clenched the cell phone so hard she heard it crack. “What do you want?”
“It’s not what I want. It’s what I can give you. I know you wouldn’t trade yourself for a…what do you call them? Oh yes, Lander. No trading for Landers. But you’ll trade yourself for a young, handsome man with a braid and too many scars to count, won’t you?”
Rune shoved her fist against her mouth. “You have Levi.”
Jack put his arm around her but she shrugged him off. It was not time to be soft. It was time to be the monster.
“I do, indeed. He spotted me and decided tracking me would be a good idea. Maybe he thought he could capture me and turn me in for a parade and a million dollars. He had no idea we were aware of him from the start. He had no idea he was walking into a trap.”
Lee paused, and when Rune said nothing, she continued. “I’m not happy hurting this man, Rune. He’s very sweet. Very loyal to you. He offered to let me kill-switch him instead of you. I tried to make him understand he’s not powerful enough to hold the kill switch.”
“Tell me where to meet you.”
“Jasper Hill.”
“The graveyard.”
“Yes. Come to the bottom. You may bring one man—a big one. He’ll need to carry your Levi out. Neither of you will be armed. If I see anyone other than the two of you, I will put a bullet in Levi’s brain. I know there’s a huge chance this won’t work, so I’m not putting a lot of effort into it. If I don’t get you now, I’ll get you another time.”
“Okay.” He was alive. He was alive, and she was going to make sure he stayed that way. “Anything you want.”
“Thank you,” Lee said. “I do appreciate your cooperation. It’s for the best, you know. As long as you’re around people you love, they’re always going to get hurt. You know that.”
“Yes.” Inside, she was quiet, dark, and full of rage. Lee Crane did not know what she was getting herself into.
“Two of my men will bring Levi halfway down the hill. They’ll leave him on the ground for your man to retrieve once you are in their possession.”
“How do I know you won’t—”
“Rune.” Lee’s voice was scornful and impatient. “Don’t. You know I only want you. I have no use for Levi. The man who accompanies you may retrieve him as soon as my people are carrying you up the hill.”
“I won’t need to be carried. I’m not going to fight you on this.”
“I know. But I need you controlled, unfortunately. Now listen carefully. Approximately halfway up the hill, you will find a metal box. Inside is an obsidian splinter. Your man will splinter you. He’ll then leave you there and return to his car. In exactly twenty minutes, he will drive up the hill. He will find Levi in the spot he left you. They may leave, safe and sound. Do you understand?”
When Jack put his arm around her that time, she didn’t pull away. “I understand.” And the darkness grew.
“You have fifteen minutes. I can’t give you time enough to plan. If you’re not here—”
“I’ll be there.” She handed Jack the phone.
Jack wouldn’t look at her. “I won’t do it, Rune. I won’t trade you for anybody
. I won’t splinter you.”
“Yes, you will. Once I’m there—”
“Once you’re there, you’re splintered, and you’re out of commission. You’re hers.” He did look at her then, and the darkness in his eye matched the darkness in her soul. “I will not trade you for Levi. And he wouldn’t want me to.”
“I’m ordering you to do exactly what that bitch said to do, Jack. We’ll save Levi, and I will take Lee Crane out.”
“I won’t fucking do it,” he shouted. “I will not. Fuck you for asking me to.”
“Then I’ll splinter myself. It’s going to happen. Just…” She turned away. “Just get him home to Ellie.”
Nikolai stepped forward. “I’ll do it.”
Jack lifted his shotgun. “No.”
Rune nodded. “Run.”
And before Jack could take aim at the vampire, Rune and Nikolai were gone. Jack’s broken shout echoed in her mind all the way to Jasper Hill.
I’m sorry, Jack. I’m sorry.
But she would not let Levi die.
And it was her chance. Her chance to take out the Next. They didn’t belong in Kader’s world.
They arrived at Jasper Hill in five minutes, and Rune pulled her cell phone from her pocket. She’d committed Lee’s number to memory.
“Yes?” Lee answered.
“I’m here. Let’s do this now.”
“Your people wish to stop you.”
“Yes. So we need to hurry the fuck up.”
“All right. We’re ready. The splinter is waiting.”
Rune clicked off, shoved her phone into her pocket, surprised to find her hands steady. She looked at Nikolai. “I’ll owe you one.”
“You owe me nothing. I’m the one with the debt.” He hesitated. “You understand that I’ll hide the boy and come after you. Just as you knew Jack would refuse to hurt you.” He reached out to squeeze her arm. “We’ll keep your crew safe, Rune.”
She nodded but was unable to smile. “Yeah. Let’s take out the fucking monsters, baby.”
He winked. “Let’s do it.”
“You’re not as cold as I once thought you were,” she told him, as they walked up the silent, dark hill.
He studied her for a long moment. “I can be.”
“That’s why you’re the one to splinter me.”
