Strange Trouble

by Laken Cane

  “It’s who you are, sweetheart. It doesn’t make you evil.”

  But it did.

  And she was no longer able to sort out what had been the witch, what was the zombies, and what was just…Rune Alexander.

  Super fucking monster.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  “We have to concentrate on taking the zombies out,” Rune said.

  “More will come.” Raze folded his arms and stared at her, waiting. Just as they all were.

  She had no real answers. “Until the zombie threat is neutralized, we have to do what we can. When they come in, we destroy them.” But she knew as well as they did that was not going to solve the problem.

  The zombies were spreading.

  Everywhere.

  Sure, Shiv Crew could put them down as they arrived, but it was only a matter of time before someone was bitten.

  Then he would bite someone else.

  At least they no longer had to worry about the military focusing on River County. The news was full of the new zombie infestation.

  What had begun with little Fie and the witch was now spreading out in a pulsating radius of horror.

  No one wanted to state the obvious.

  No one wanted to whisper words too terrible to give voice to.

  Zombie apocalypse.

  It could happen. It could happen easily.

  And if it did, the humans would be wiped out, leaving only the Others.

  A world of Others.

  But now, the Others were being infected again.

  Everyone would die, except for those like her.

  And what the fuck would the world become then?

  Rune shivered with dread and glanced around at her crew. She could barely function after the death of Z—the black depression and fear lurked inside her, just waiting for a chance to grab her by the throat and make her remember how she hated her immortality.

  She couldn’t even imagine how much worse life would become if she lost them all. No. She could not let that happen.

  She and the crew had finally gotten a meal. Ellis, who’d left the hospital and was even now ensconced with Rice in the boardroom, had called three different restaurants before he’d found one willing to deliver food to the RISC building.

  Sitting around the break room tables relaxing and eating with the crew would have been heaven if not for one thing.

  The lack of activity, the quiet eating, the relative and momentary peace—that made it harder for her to keep out the bad shit.

  Especially Z.

  Lex stared down at her food as though she could see the leafy greens and the meat sitting in a quickly congealing puddle of gravy.

  She’d ridden back to RISC with Rune, had sat silently in her darkness until Rune had forcibly yanked her out. “Talk to me Lex,” she’d insisted.

  “Every time COS makes an appearance, my brain shuts down,” Lex finally said. “I can’t control my reactions. They control me.”

  Rune nodded. “I know.”

  “You don’t know some things.”

  “I’m not sure I could handle knowing more,” Rune admitted. The thought of what COS had done to Lex, what her own mother had done to her, was enough to make Rune fly into a rage of bloodlust that was almost more frustrating than anything she’d ever felt.

  Because she couldn’t get to Karin Love. She couldn’t get revenge for Lex. She couldn’t kill the bitch.

  And she wanted to. God, how she wanted to.

  But no, Lex’s mother was in prison, eating and shitting and fucking breathing and it made Rune crazy.

  “I wish I could get to her,” Rune said. “I wish I could take you to her and let you—”

  “But I don’t want to,” Lex suddenly screamed, her fists knotted at her chest. “I don’t want to. I want…I want her to care. I want her to be sorry. I want her to love me.” She laughed, but then her laughter turned to sobs as she stared in Rune’s direction.

  Her words were covered with despair. “It’s so stupid. I know it. But I can’t stop it. I want my mother. I want her to want me.” She hugged herself. “The more she hurt me, the more I wanted to be better. The more I wanted her to love me, to be proud of me.” Then she turned away and buried her face in her hands. “Even though she scares the fuck out of me.” Her voice was thick and muffled. “I’m so sorry.”

  For the rest of the ride to RISC she refused to speak again, but she reached a hand out to Rune, blindly, timidly.

  Rune held her hand all the way to RISC.

  The sun set as they finished eating, and when her phone sounded she grabbed it with desperate relief.

  “Yeah?”

  “Rune, Bill Rice wants to see you when you’re finished with dinner.” Ellis hesitated. “Alone.”

  “Be right there.” She stood and stuffed her cell into her pocket.

  “What’s up?” Jack asked.

  “I’m going to see Rice. I’ll let you know.”

  Lex got up as well. “Bathroom,” she said, when Rune paused.

  RISC was not close to being back to normal, but people still walked the halls. Cleaning teams had come and gone. The area in which Llodra had gone on his rampage was being repainted, the floors retiled. But nothing would ever take away the echoes of screams that bounced off the walls.

  She and Lex parted ways at the restroom, but before she slipped inside Lex turned and hugged her. Hard.

  For a second a feeling of desolation rose up to smother Rune. She shook it off as the door closed behind the Other, and went on alone to meet with Rice.

  Ellis stood and squeezed her arm when she entered the room, but Bill Rice remained seated at the long table. He’d become sterner and more solemn since Llodra’s attack on RISC.

  “Rune,” he said, once Ellis had released her. “Sit.”

  She sat, surprised when Ellis pulled out a chair next to her. Not long ago, he’d have been sent from a meeting such as that one.

  Rice didn’t waste time. “I’m almost certain the city is going to push me out soon. And if they get rid of me, you’ll be next. Maybe not until they’ve used you against the current zombie threat, but soon.”

  It took half a minute for his words to sink in. “You’re kidding me.”

  He shook his head and met her shocked stare. “I’m not.”

  “That can’t happen.”

  “Every official in River County wants me gone.”

  “Why?” She tried to make her voice strong and angry, but it sounded too soft and puzzled for her liking. She tried again. “Fucking why?”

  “Because of COS. COS is influencing the humans,” Ellis said.

  Rune laughed and pushed her chair back. She couldn’t sit with shit like that in the room. She paced. “I will not believe you’ve let COS take over. Not you, Bill.”

  “No,” he said, slowly. “I don’t want COS to have that kind of authority. And I’d fight it harder if…”

  “If I hadn’t caused RISC to become a slaughterhouse.”

  Ellis stood. “That was not your fault, Rune.”

  “Of course it was, Ellie. It was my fault. I insisted Llodra be released. For RISC’s safety. What a fucking laugh.” She clenched her fists, then forced herself to relax. “But you can’t let them muscle you out right now, Bill. I’m not going anywhere, no matter what they say. Let them take my badge. I’ll fight on. But you can’t let COS take over.”

  “COS is arming citizens,” Ellis said, his voice grim. “Arming them with silver and fear and hate.” There was a look in his eyes she’d never seen before. Not even when she’d forced him to bring her blood after allowing Jeremy to abuse her had she seen such a look of…

  Bitterness.

  Ellis was losing his hope, his belief. His fucking innocence.

  How much would he hate her when he found out that Llodra was her father? That he was one bite away from becoming a monster himself? Because of her.

  “Arming them with silver,” she echoed. She turned to Rice. “Bill. You have to force them out of thi
s city.”

  “I wish I could.”

  “You can. Just fucking do it!”

  He stood, pushing his chair back so hard it fell over. “I can’t make them leave, Rune! It’s just me. I’m just me. A fucking Other.”

  As far as she knew, it was the first time Rice had admitted what he was. The first time he’d said the words aloud.

  He stared down at the table, his shoulders slumping. “COS is behind this,” he murmured. “And there is nothing I can do about it.” His face was lined and haggard. His suit hung on his gaunt body, which appeared to have been reduced by at least fifteen pounds since the RISC massacre. “Honestly, I expect to be arrested at any time.”

  Rune took a deep breath and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Do they understand that if the zombies take over, they’ll die? The humans will be wiped out?” She glanced at Ellis. She didn’t want to add to his depression but it was the truth.

  Bill sighed. “They only think about destroying Others. That’s all they’ve ever wanted. COS believes they’re close to getting exactly what they’ve worked so hard for. They think they’ll eventually rule the world. An Otherless world.” He caught her stare. “Utopia.”

  For a moment they just looked at each other. Utopia, maybe. But it would be utopia for the Others, not the idiot humans.

  “It’s not just River County,” Ellis said. “They’re in every city in the US, and the humans are being seduced by their words, by their protection. It’s the perfect time. They’re so scared. The zombies…”

  “The media is making it worse,” Rice said. “Reporting constantly on Other crime. There has been a huge increase in Other violence. Murders, tortures, kidnappings. Others are committing more crimes against humans than ever before.”

  “And this sudden turn of events isn’t making the humans realize COS is behind it? They’ve done it before, Bill.” Suddenly she was tired. So tired. There was no end to the fighting. No end to fucking COS. And in the ongoing battle of the world against COS, COS was winning.

  She was tempted to go home and let the zombies wipe them out. It wasn’t like she could make a big difference anyway. Like Ellis had said, it wasn’t just River County.

  And honestly, if it hadn’t been for her crew, she just might have.

  But then her cell rang again, and even before she answered she had a bad feeling it wasn’t good news.

  Her gut had never failed her.

  “Ms. Alexander,” a man said. “My name is Bach Horner. We met at the diner.”

  Gray Suit. “COS,” she muttered, and clutched her stomach.

  “Yes, ma’am. COS.”

  “What the fuck do you want?”

  “This is just a courtesy call.”

  “What the fuck,” she said again, “do you want?”

  “I wanted to let you know that I have Karin Love’s daughter. I have Alexis.”

  Chapter Forty

  She couldn’t breathe. She grabbed on to the back of a chair, swaying, as Ellis and Rice stared at her in alarm.

  “I have our little princess,” he continued, “just as our leader has requested. Do you understand now, Ms. Alexander?”

  “Rune,” Ellis cried. “What has happened?”

  She shoved her phone into her pocket. “COS has Lex.” She ran from the room, leaving both Rice and Ellis behind.

  She stopped at the restroom first and charged into it. “Lex!”

  But the large room was empty.

  She ran back to the break room.

  The crew jumped up at her entrance, hands reaching for silver blades. “What?” Strad said, his voice hard.

  Raze came toward her, a blade in each hand, looking for a threat that wasn’t there.

  “God,” she cried. Lex wasn’t there. COS hadn’t lied. “COS has Lex. COS has Lex.”

  It seemed as though she could form no other words. COS. Lex.

  She’d just spoken to Lex. Just left her in the bathroom where COS had stolen her boldly and with no hesitation.

  Her cell rang. She ripped it from her pocket. “Where is Lex?” she screamed.

  “I wanted to give you time to search for her, to see we’re not lying. Lex is with us now.”

  “I will find you,” she said, “and I will get her back.”

  He didn’t sound afraid. “Be quiet and listen, Ms. Alexander.”

  He paused, then continued when she did as he demanded. “Good. Now. Turn on your TV. I’ll call you back.”

  She pointed at the small television high on the break room wall. “Turn it on,” she said to Jack.

  He clicked through the channels, and then they saw exactly what COS wanted them to see.

  A reporter stared out at them. The penitentiary in which Karin Love was confined loomed in the background. The reporter’s eyes were wide and bright as she spoke with excited glee into her microphone. “…of Judge Randolph Parker. Parker resided over her first trial, and due to new evidence and prosecutorial misconduct, believes the woman might not belong on death row. Might, in fact, belong back in the arms of her church…”

  The reporter kept talking. Her lips moved, but Rune had no idea what she was saying. White noise filled her head.

  Lex.

  She watched, frozen with disbelief, until Levi and Denim broke from the small, stunned group and ran for the door.

  “Wait,” she called. “Levi!”

  The twins stopped and turned back to face her, their eyes holding identical expressions of shock. Of horror. Of guilt. “What?” Levi asked. “What can you do?”

  She didn’t know. She opened her mouth to speak but Ellis and Rice hurried into the room. Ellis went immediately to Levi and wrapped his arms around him. “We’ll get her back,” he said. “The crew will get her back.”

  “Ellie,” Levi whispered. “They’re turning Karin loose. Karin is coming, and she’s taking us back.”

  Rune closed her eyes. God, the horror in his voice, the conviction in his words. The twins believed it was inevitable. Karin would once again get them all.

  Her cell rang. She held it to her ear, her heart beating so hard it hurt her chest. “I’m listening, you bastard.”

  “We want the twins,” he said. “Tell them to go home. They’ll be contacted. Keep your crew out of this. If we see you, if you interfere, Lex will be tortured. You believe me, don’t you, Alexander?”

  Oh yes, she believed. She nodded, numb, and turned to look at the twins. “He said for you to go home and wait to be contacted.”

  They were gone before she’d even finished speaking.

  “How did you do it? How did you take her?”

  “We have people everywhere. You passed three of them when you left Lex alone and hurried on to your meeting with Bill Rice.” His voice was full of something close to pride. And contempt.

  “She didn’t fight,” Rune said.

  “She is too afraid to fight us, Alexander. We know how to handle Alexis Love. We’ve been doing it since she ripped her way from her mother’s body.” He hung up.

  She stared at Rice. “What can we do?”

  “They’ve done nothing illegal. Law enforcement won’t touch them.”

  She laughed, then cut it off when she heard a note of hysteria. “Nothing illegal? Since when is abduction not illegal?”

  He held his phone out to her. “I received a call, informing me to hang up and let it go to voicemail.”

  She hit speaker, and she and the crew listened to yet another horrific development.

  “This is Alexis Love,” Lex said. Her voice came out of the phone with a tinny desperation, a quiet knowledge, and a hurt so vast it left Rune breathless and ill. “I am with the Church of Slayers…” She stumbled, then continued. “I’m with them of my own free will. I want to be with…”

  She stopped speaking, but after a quickly indrawn breath, she went on. “With my mother.” Then she spoke in a monotone, and didn’t sound like Lex at all. “My mother will be freed, and my place is at her side. I am the leader’s child. I am Alexis Lo
ve, and I belong with my mother.”

  Lex hesitated, and when she spoke again, her voice was hard. “Take care of Levi and Denim. No matter what, do not let—” Then there was nothing. Nothing but dead air.

  The silence was heavy and oppressive. Lex was gone.

  Gone.

  “She’s gone,” Rune said. Her mind was barely working, paralyzed beneath the fear.

  “Not for long,” Raze said, his face pale. “We’ll get her back if I have to tear the world apart to find her.”

  “By the time you do, it’ll be too late,” Owen said. “The queen bitch is going to kill that little girl.”

  “Not right away. She’ll want to take her time. She enjoys punishing her daughter too much to kill her—even if she has to do it through her slayers.” Rune looked at Rice. “You can’t believe that phone call was anything but forced.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t. But everyone else…” He spread his hands helplessly. “They’ll believe because they want to. No one will go after the church. No one will go after Lex and those boys.”

  “Oh, someone will,” Rune said. “We will.”

  She’d thought Lex and the twins were safe with her and the crew.

  They hadn’t even been close.

  COS had them, and that meant they had the entire crew.

  And COS might not kill Lex, but they would kill the twins.

  “No,” Raze said, as though he knew exactly what she was thinking. “They won’t kill them. They want to use them. To reconvert them. The boys are valuable.”

  But she wasn’t convinced. The twins were dangerous to COS, so they were disposable. But COS could control Lex by using the twins. Maybe that would save them.

  She glanced at the TV. Someone had muted the sound, but a picture of Karin Love filled the screen, and no sound was necessary.

  The face of evil stared back at her. Her smooth, black skin was dotted with endearing freckles. Her lips were full and slightly tilted, as though she was always on the verge of sharing a secret joke.

  Rune could see bits of Lex in her face. The forehead, cheekbones, mouth.

  But Rune knew Karin Love, and to her, the evil was obvious. It was there in her bottomless, cold eyes.