Falling to Ash

by Karen Mahoney

  ‘I think he’s going,’ he mouthed.

  I listened and could easily make out slowly retreating footsteps, accompanied by a heavy dragging sound that seemed ominous. Was what remained of Byron being dragged away? Was he dead – really dead – or simply injured?

  Whatever he’d done since his transformation, it wasn’t the kid’s fault and I felt fear rise up in my gut. Where was the body being taken? I had sudden visions of a lab and horrifying experiments. Maybe Jace was right. Maybe a squad from the Office of Preternatural Investigations really was out there. I let my imagination run riot for a few moments, not liking what I saw in my overactive mind’s eye.

  ‘We can’t let him be taken, not like this,’ I hissed.

  I could hardly make out Jace’s features in the gloom, but there was no mistaking the eyebrow-raise and the accompanying glint of silver from his piercing. ‘He’s dead anyway, Moth.’

  ‘So am I,’ I whispered. I’d meant it to sound more forceful, but somehow it came off sounding sort of pathetic.

  ‘No you’re not,’ Jace replied. ‘Not like that. You’re just about the most alive person I know.’ And then he did the last thing I would ever have expected from him: he kissed me.

  His lips were gentle but insistent – at least, to begin with. The sensation sent a flutter of many-winged butterflies into crazy flight around my stomach. I pressed myself against his warmth, not caring that we were beneath a van in the middle of a graveyard, with who knows what out there. I had enough presence of mind to hope he didn’t cut himself on my fangs, but it didn’t stop me kissing him back. I kissed him as though my life depended on it – which maybe it did. In a weird sort of way.

  I wanted to feel alive. I wanted to feel human.

  He crawled on top of me, pushing me against the ground with the full length of his body. Heat radiated from him and I could feel every muscle, every movement. My head spun and I felt dizzy, even lying down, as instinct took over and I wrapped my legs around him. I’d only ever been with Theo before, and he had felt cold – any warmth hadn’t been real. It was all illusion, after feeding, and his big mistake had been not feeding enough before taking me to his house that night.

  But Jace was warm and alive, really alive. Not only could I hear his heart beating, I could feel the steady flow of blood pumping through his veins.

  I pressed my face to his neck and took a deep breath. He smelled so good. He would taste even better—

  His whole body went rigid. Oops. I probably shouldn’t have done the sniffing thing.

  Jace looked down at me. ‘What do you think you’re doing?’

  ‘Um . . . sorry?’

  ‘Jesus.’ He was still lying on top of me, but he held most of his weight on his arms. He closed his eyes and took a shaky breath that was warm against my face. ‘What am I doing?’

  I didn’t know whether I should feel upset or angry. I wanted to be angry – that was easier. But as I looked into his now open eyes, it was too easy to lose myself in those velvet-brown depths. Here was a guy who had suffered loss and pain; someone who knew what it was to survive in a terrifying world, and yet who still managed to hold onto his humanity. Just about. It was difficult to hate someone like that, even when he was rejecting me.

  ‘If you hate what I am so much, why did you even kiss me?’ I wondered if he could hear the breathless hitch in my voice.

  He just stared at me, looking so lost that I wanted to hold him despite my anger.

  ‘Jace?’

  He ignored me and rolled over. He poked his head out from under the van. ‘Hey, I think they’ve gone.’

  The butterflies in my stomach turned into black-winged bats. Crap.

  ‘You only kissed me to give him a chance to get away, didn’t you?’ I didn’t care that my voice had suddenly risen well above the acceptable volume for ‘covert operations’.

  Screw covert operations.

  ‘Stop saying dumb shit like that,’ he replied, but his tone sounded way too defensive. I could practically smell the lie on him.

  Humiliation replaced all the other feelings I’d experienced only moments before. ‘You’re such an asshole. I knew it! That’s your dad out there, isn’t it?’

  I pulled myself forward and prepared to crawl out from under the big hulk of metal that was beginning to feel disturbingly like a coffin.

  Jace gripped the top of my arm and pulled me back. He wasn’t gentle anymore. ‘Stay here, I’ll check things out.’

  ‘I will not stay here. I’m going to find out what happened to Byron. And I want to know who was shooting at us.’

  Jace sounded tired; way too old to be nineteen. ‘He wasn’t shooting at us.’

  ‘Who was it, Jace?’ Like I didn’t already know. I just wanted to hear him say it. ‘You’d better tell me or—’

  ‘Or what, girlie?’ The voice was gruff and deep and dangerous.

  Murdoch. I shivered.

  Jace slowly lowered his head to the ground and let go of the death-grip he had on my arm. I had almost lost the feeling there because he’d been holding on so tightly.

  ‘I think you two can come out of there now,’ Thomas Murdoch continued. ‘Coast is clear.’

  Jace lifted his face but refused to look at me.

  ‘You knew it was him all along, didn’t you?’ I demanded as betrayal curled in my chest, making me feel as though I might choke.

  ‘What do you think? I was trying to protect you, OK?’ He glared at me before sliding out from beneath the van. ‘Stay close to me and try to keep your mouth shut for once.’

  Chapter Twenty-one

  JACE HAD BEEN quiet since we had crawled out from beneath the van, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground and doing everything he could to avoid looking at me.

  I swallowed. This wasn’t good. It was very far from good, especially as there didn’t appear to be any sign of the authorities riding to the rescue. And even worse, Byron had disappeared. I couldn’t help morbidly speculating about what had happened to his remains.

  The cold expression on Murdoch Senior’s face made me suddenly hope that whatever was left of the kid was well and truly dead.

  I thought about how Jace had kissed me underneath the van. He’d been so tender; surely he couldn’t have faked it. But then again, said that treacherous inner voice, it was only to stop you noticing what was happening. Jace must’ve known his father was out there and wanted to avoid the situation we were in now.

  But that didn’t mean it hadn’t been real. Did it?

  Murdoch spat on the ground, close to my feet. ‘I told you what would happen if I saw you again, girl.’ He was still holding a powerful-looking gun.

  ‘It’s not my fault you’ve been following me.’

  His laugh sent shivers down my spine – and not the good kind. ‘Following my son, freak. Keeping an eye on him, ever since you got your claws into him.’

  I rolled my eyes. ‘Oh, please. I’m hardly a femme fatale. Jace has a mind of his own.’

  ‘Not if you’re compelling him against his will, he doesn’t,’ the hunter replied.

  Jace stepped forward. ‘Hey, I’m right here. Stop talking about me like I’m not.’

  I shook my head. I didn’t have the energy for this. I had far better things to do than play referee between these two screw-ups. ‘I’m out of here.’

  Jace grabbed my arm. ‘You’re staying right here.’

  ‘Get your hands off me. I think I’ll leave you and your father to . . . catch up.’ I shook myself free and was relieved when he let go; I didn’t want to have to use my strength against him.

  I turned my back on Thomas and Jace Murdoch. I had only managed a couple of steps when Murdoch Senior called after me.

  ‘Hey, Dead Girl! Where d’you think you’re going?’

  ‘Dad—’

  ‘Shut up, Jason. Dead Girl, I’m talking to you!’

  My shoulders tensed and the longing to smash Jace’s dad in the face was so strong, so visceral I could taste it as surely as I’d
tasted Theo’s blood just two nights before. I rolled the desire around my tongue as I slowly turned and faced the older man.

  ‘Where’s Byron?’ I demanded. My silver eyes swept over Thomas Murdoch, as though I could divine the answer simply by looking at him. If he would just stop avoiding my gaze I might even be able to do it. My experience with Detective Trent had given me new confidence in my skills.

  Murdoch ignored me and turned back to continue an argument with his son.

  Jace’s hands were held in loose fists at his sides. ‘How did you even find us here? Have you been following me?’ He frowned.

  ‘Grow up and think, boy,’ growled Murdoch. ‘The van has GPS; when I got home it was gone so I tracked it.’

  Scowling, I stomped back toward them. I didn’t care about interrupting their oh-so-touching father–son reunion. Let’s see the big bad vampire hunter try to leave without telling me what he’d done to the kid.

  Murdoch flashed me a nasty look. ‘Come any closer, little Dead Girl, and I’ll stake you before you even know what day it is.’

  ‘You talk a good fight, Murdoch,’ I said, working hard at keeping my tone even. ‘Let’s see you back it up when you’re not hiding behind a gun.’

  ‘Dad—’

  This time it was me who interrupted Jace. ‘Shut up. This is between me and him. If you want to protect your father from me, I guess I can’t blame you.’

  Jace’s father squared his shoulders. ‘Frankenstein’s monster is gone, you don’t have to worry about him anymore. I’ve got plans for a nice bonfire later on, so you’d better walk away now unless you want to join him.’

  ‘No,’ I said. ‘I want to know what happened to him. You shot him full of enough silver to do a lot of damage to most vampires. I’m guessing that’s the same for . . . whatever he’s become.’

  Murdoch wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. ‘Revenant. I think that’s the word you’re looking for. That friend of yours turned into a zombie after one of your kind tried to turn him – and failed.’ He glared at me as though I was personally responsible.

  I swallowed, trying to get rid of the bad taste in my mouth. This guy was a total freak – forget vamps or the Unmade. Men like Thomas Murdoch were the reason the supernatural community stayed underground and, if they had any sense, wouldn’t even dream of coming out of the coffin any time soon. At least, not for another century or two.

  I ignored him. ‘Let me see his body – we heard you moving him. I just want to make sure.’

  ‘OK,’ he said, a nasty grin flashing across his face. ‘He’s over there, on the edge of the clearing. Follow me.’

  This was a sudden change of heart that I wasn’t exactly buying, but I needed to make certain that Byron was actually dead. Really dead. For his sake as much as for the safety of local residents, because nobody deserved to be left to the sick whims of a stone-cold hunter like Murdoch.

  Jace stepped in front of me. ‘Leave it, Moth. Get out of here and I’ll catch up with you later.’

  His father sneered. ‘Jesus Christ, son. You’re breaking my heart here.’

  ‘Dad . . . shut up for a second, will you?’

  I couldn’t help raising my eyebrows. Score one for Jace standing up to Daddy. Finally.

  ‘I told you already not to speak to me that way. I think we need to talk about what they did to you at that goddamn school. Those places are filled with bleeding-heart liberals – makes me sick.’

  I held up both my hands as though trying to stop traffic. ‘Both of you, stop arguing and let me see him. Then I’ll go.’ I glared at Jace and tried to pretend I didn’t notice the guilt in his eyes. ‘I won’t bother you again.’

  ‘That’s right,’ Murdoch cut in. ‘Because if you do, you’re going to end up like the corpse you should be.’

  I gritted my teeth and didn’t give him the satisfaction of a reply. I was furious with Jace too – way to stand up for the girl who’d watched your back more than once now. The girl you’d just kissed. Let your psycho father insult and threaten her. Nice one, dude. Totally smooth. If I was ever going to talk to him again, I was going to give him a few lessons in basic manners.

  Jace frowned at me and looked like he was about to say something when the sound of sirens stopped him. He closed his mouth and scanned the area.

  His father cursed. ‘You take the van – we’ll put the body in there. I need to ditch the car I stole.’

  ‘You stole a car?’

  ‘I had to track my van in something.’

  The sirens were getting closer. There was no time for anything and I didn’t know what to do. I hesitated, watching as Murdoch leaned inside the car and began tossing equipment to Jace.

  ‘Put these in the van. I’ll bring the body.’

  Jace fumbled a rolled tarp, then had to put it down when his father threw a jacket at him next. I stepped forward automatically to help Jace before his father tossed something heavy and smacked him on the head with it. My hands reached for the item on top of the pile. The jacket.

  My jacket.

  The jacket I’d given to my sister when I said goodbye to her at the station yesterday.

  I clutched the leather in my fingers and held it to my chest, watching as Murdoch moved beyond the car and bent down to what I assumed was Byron’s body. I couldn’t see properly beyond the vehicle – and the crimson veil that swept across my vision.

  Caitlín’s scent was still on my jacket. What was Thomas Murdoch doing with it? Where was my sister?

  I didn’t even realize I was moving until I stumbled, my legs buckling beneath me. Jace had returned from dumping equipment in the van and reached out to stop me from falling.

  ‘What’s wrong with you? You look as though you’ve seen—’

  ‘A ghost?’ My lips felt numb. I could hardly work my mouth.

  ‘Moth, what is it?’ Jace filled my entire field of vision, holding my shoulders and shaking me.

  Static filled my ears, blocking out the sound of sirens as they passed us by. They weren’t even coming for us, but I didn’t care about that anymore.

  Only my little sister mattered.

  I shrugged Jace off as though he was nothing. He staggered back as I pushed him aside using my full vamp strength.

  Byron was in the van. They’d burn him and that would be the end of him. No more shambling revenant – no more Unmade vampire. Even that meant nothing to me.

  I moved to the car. Murdoch had just started the engine. His eyes widened as he saw me appear beside his window. It must have looked like magic. I’d show him magic.

  I punched the window so hard that the skin across my knuckles split and blood sprayed. I hardly noticed. Murdoch ducked as glass caved in and covered him. I reached through the jagged hole and grabbed him by the throat. He made satisfying gurgling sounds as I attempted to pull a fully-grown man through a gap the size of my fist.

  His face grated across the broken glass like cheese. The smell of human blood awakened the predator in me. I pulled harder and he screamed—

  And then I was on the ground with Jace on top of me.

  ‘What is wrong with you? What happened?’

  I shook my head, trying to clear it of the desire for blood. Trying to shake myself free from mindless rage.

  ‘My sister.’ I glared at Jace, expecting him to understand.

  ‘Huh? Where?’ He looked around, half expecting to see another girl in the clearing.

  ‘Her jacket,’ I said. ‘My jacket, I mean.’

  ‘You’re not making sense. Like, at all.’

  Murdoch crawled out of the car, blood covering the entire left side of his face.

  Jace leaped to his feet. ‘Dad! Are you OK?’

  ‘Do I look OK? Kill that thing.’ He slipped a crudely carved stake from somewhere inside his coat and tossed it to his son. ‘Kill it now.’

  Jace instinctively caught the length of wood and I forced myself to stand and face him. I didn’t think he’d attack me – not now, not after everything we�
�d been through together in the past week – but it didn’t hurt to be cautious. Not where families were concerned.

  I still clutched my leather jacket under one arm. I held it out, exhibiting it like a piece of evidence. ‘What is your father doing with this?’

  Murdoch snorted, mopping blood from his cheek with his sleeve. ‘That’s what this is about?’

  Jace looked between us in turn, clearly confused.

  I took a step toward Murdoch Senior. ‘Where is my sister?’

  He smiled, the expression even nastier than usual thanks to his lacerated face. Blood pumped from a particularly deep wound by his left eye. ‘She’s your sister?’ He whistled, as though impressed. ‘The vamp’s got balls, I’ll give him that.’

  I saw Jace’s mouth begin to open, but I cut him off. ‘Whatever you’re about to say, save it. This is between me and him.’

  Murdoch shook his head. ‘He said she was insurance, but I didn’t realize you actually knew her. Like the first three kids were all connected to you in some way. Don’t you understand now? They were to frame you – so that your boss would be held responsible. But the new one?’ He nodded at my jacket, still crushed between my frozen hands. ‘I thought she was just another piece of collateral damage.’

  ‘“Collateral damage”?’ I stared at the hunter, trying to fathom what kind of a person calls a teenager something like that. He was a father, for God’s sake.

  Jace tucked the stake into the back of his jeans. ‘If one of you doesn’t tell me what’s going on—’

  ‘The guy I’m working with took another kid. Said it would make sure Dead Girl here didn’t get in our way any more than she already has.’

  I swallowed. ‘Kyle. You’re talking about Kyle, aren’t you?’ I’d been right! Kyle was involved, right up to his skinny little neck.

  Murdoch shrugged. ‘Yeah. So?’

  I glanced at Jace. ‘He’s a vampire, you know. Part of my vampire Family. Theo’s Family.’ There. I’d said my Maker’s name and the world hadn’t ended. At least, not quite yet.

  Jace stared at his father like he didn’t recognize him. ‘Wait, you’re working with a vampire? How can you justify that, given everything you’ve always said to me? After what happened to Mom . . .’