by Cheree Alsop
Aleric glanced at Dartan. “The air opened and the goblins appeared.”
Aleric was suddenly aware of the scent in the room. Why he hadn’t noticed the thick, tangy, burned-metal smell before was beyond him.
The boy gave a little sob. Both Aleric and Dartan cringed in pain. That was why; it hurt too badly to be aware of anything but the agony that filled his body at the sound. Aleric held up a hand.
“Please don’t cry. We can’t help you if you cry, alright?”
Daylen closed his mouth and nodded.
Aleric crossed carefully to the bed. He kept an eye on the vines that snaked around the room. The Dark fae on the cocoon turned to follow him. The goblins had six jagged limbs with clawed tips like spiders. Their faces moved to keep him in sight while they continued weaving the vines around the doctor. Their movements sent a chill of warning up Aleric’s arms.
“Daylen, when you cry, do things like this happen?”
Daylen nodded. “They have since I woke up here. I want to go home.” His voice was tight, but he refrained from sobbing.
Aleric watched him closely. “Is your family from Drake City?”
Daylen nodded again.
“What part of Drake City?”
“We live by the Glass District.”
Foreboding whispered in the back of Aleric’s mind. “On Twenty-Seventh Street?”
The boy nodded.
“How did you get here?” Aleric asked.
Daylen sucked in a shuddering breath. “My sister disappeared. They were looking everywhere for her.” His voice tightened. “They tried to find her, but she wasn’t anywhere to be found. She was gone. I told Mom and Dad that she had vanished, but they didn’t know what I was talking about.” His eyes filled with fresh tears. “I couldn’t make them understand where she had gone. I couldn’t make her come back.”
Fresh sobs tore from the boy. Aleric hit the ground on his knees. He clutched his head in both hands. A glance to the right showed Dartan beside him, his face twisted in pain.
“Dr. Worthen!” Gregory called out.
Aleric looked up. The orderly pulled at the vines, but the goblins were working, spinning their vine webs even thicker. Their dark faces leered at Aleric. One opened its mouth in a laugh at his pain, revealing black, pointed teeth.
Aleric knew the press of the vines. He had been trapped inside of them before. They would squeeze in the more the goblins wove them. The Dark fae lived to create pain. Dr. Worthen would suffocate.
“Leave him alone!” Aleric growled.
He surged to his feet and stumbled to the cocoon. Memories of being trapped in the alley, his breath being squeezed from him, surfaced in his mind. He phased into wolf form and tore at the vines with his fangs. In his mind, he heard the frantic actions of another wolf. He saw a snout break through, ripping the other vines free. He fell out of the cocoon and landed on his hands and knees, drawing in fresh air with great gasps.
Sherian had changed then, phasing from the gray-coated wolf to the form of a girl his age. She ducked into the shadows and pulled on a dress that was torn at the edges and dirty.
“You saved my life,” Aleric said. After all he had seen in the unforgiving depths of Drake City, his young mind could barely accept it. “Why?”
“Because I could help,” Sherian replied.
Aleric tore another vine away. The goblins, seeing his progress, attacked him instead. Their sharp teeth bit into his shoulders and back. Lucky, his thick fur protected him against their wrath. He bit through several more vines, then hands were beside him. Dartan pulled with the strength of a vampire, tearing more of the writhing vines free. Whenever one of the plants hit the floor, it turned purple, then black, squealing until it dried up into dust.
Aleric grabbed a chunk of vines in his fangs and pulled backwards. He could see Dr. Worthen’s face just beyond. The doctor’s eyes were partially-open; he took a ragged breath. The goblins jumped back to the cocoon. Aleric backpedaled, pulling the vines with him. The doctor pushed his way through. Dartan caught Dr. Worthen before he could hit the ground.
Aleric took several calming breaths. He turned his gaze to the goblins. A rattling growl escaped from his throat. The goblins growled back, their claws raised and teeth bared. They skittered across the floor toward the werewolf. Aleric took a step forward.
“I’ve got them,” Gregory called out.
The orderly threw a black box on top of the Dark fae creatures and sat on it. After several howls of protest, the box grew quiet.
“That was quick thinking,” Dr. Worthen said, drawing in huge breaths of air. “I don’t really know what happened.”
Aleric stepped into the hallway to phase. He glanced around quickly before he changed form. The last thing he needed was to terrify any of the regular patients in the E.R.; fortunately, Dr. Worthen had the presence of mind to keep Daylen down one of the lesser-used hallways. Aleric phased quickly and pulled on his clothes. He took in a breath and allowed the painful memories that had swarmed him to settle back into the far reaches of his mind so that he wouldn’t have to visit them again for a very long time.
He walked back into the room.
“You’re a werewolf,” Daylen said.
Aleric read the fear on the boy’s face.
“I’m a werewolf,” he replied. “But I’m a nice one.”
“He’s a doctor here,” Gregory told the boy. “He saves the lives of fae like you.”
“Really?” Daylen asked.
Aleric nodded. He couldn’t get the metallic taste out of his mouth. It spurred him to ask, “So when you cry, things come out of Blays?”
Daylen nodded. “I can’t help it. I opened the hole to look for Elianna, but then I fell.”
“And you woke up here,” Aleric finished.
The boy nodded again. “Do you know where she is?”
Aleric shook his head. “No, but I plan to find her. What I need to know is can you open the hole without crying? I want to help you, but I can’t be here if you’re going to cry. It’s a banshee thing.”
“I-I can sing,” the young boy said.
Aleric glanced at Dartan. The vampire’s expression showed his hesitancy to hear anything that came out of the boy’s mouth. Given the pain of the banshee’s cry, Aleric couldn’t blame him.
He had to take a chance. “Will you sing for us? We need to see what happens.”
Daylen thought about the request for a moment. He took in a small breath and opened his mouth. A wordless song came out, soft and sweet as though it was sung by a bird. Aleric felt drawn to the boy, captivated by the beauty of the song. All thoughts he had entertained about leaving the room as quickly as possible fled, and instead he stood there entranced as Daylen sang his wordless song.
The air beside the bed flickered, drawing Aleric’s gaze to it. Sparks showed and he heard Gregory and Dr. Worthen’s exclamations, but he couldn’t tear his gaze away from the hole. It expanded, growing round and charged along the outside as if electricity flowed around it. The scent of burned metal filled the air.
“Drake City,” Dartan whispered.
Aleric saw it to, the unmistakable outline of the buildings near the docks. He had been to that place many times; he swore he could almost smell the salty scent of the air that flowed from the bay.
The goblins in the box let out howls of protest. They were fighting to get free. One gave a massive heave and dumped Gregory off. On impulse, Aleric grabbed the box and scooped it up; he tossed it at the hole. The box disappeared inside.
Daylen closed his mouth. The image immediately vanished.
Aleric’s heart pounded loudly in his chest. “Where did they go?”
“Drake City,” Daylen answered.
“You came through a hole like that?” he asked.
Daylen nodded. “That’s how I got here, only I think it was too high. The fall was too far. I’m worried the same thing happened to Elianna.”
A thrum ran along Aleric’s spine. He glanced out the windo
w. The sky was darkening above the tall buildings. The moon was on the rise.
“I don’t have much time,” he told the boy. “I’m going to find your sister. Is there anything you can tell me about her?”
Daylen thought for a moment. “She has brown hair like mine. She’s a year younger than me, and she likes dolls.”
Dartan looked at Aleric. “That’s not much to go on.”
“Oh,” Daylen said, his eyes lighting up. “This is her doll. I thought she would want it, so I brought it with me.”
He pointed to a little rag doll on the table beside him.
“Perfect,” Aleric replied. “Can I take it?”
The boy nodded. “Give it to her and tell her I want to take us home.”
“I will,” Aleric promised.
He left the room with Dartan at his side.
“You’re going to search all over the city for a smell from a doll?” the vampire asked. “You know that’s like looking for a gnat in a gnome pile, right?”
“Do you have any better ideas?” Aleric asked.
Dartan shook his head. “Not off the bat, but I feel like a wolf in Edge City, especially a huge one, isn’t going to run around unnoticed. You’ll draw attention, and given the guns I found on the man who shot the wood nymph, I’d say that’s a bad idea.”
“What did you do with him?”
Dartan walked beside Aleric to the back door. “I escorted him to that nurse, Tarli. She likes to call the cops. I told her the man shot a patient and she said she’d take care of him. Last I saw, he was getting hauled off by the police.”
Aleric paused by the door. “I appreciate you handling it.”
“You’re the one that handled it,” Dartan pointed out. “I just came running at the sound of the gunshot.”
“Through direct sunlight.”
Dartan followed Aleric’s gaze to the burns along his arms. “The newspaper didn’t help as much as I hoped it would, but we’re both alive.”
“As long as that’s our goal, I think we’re doing fairly well,” Aleric said.
Dartan nodded, but his expression was grim. “Aleric, I don’t think you should go out there roaming around. It’s too dangerous.”
“You felt what the banshee can do,” Aleric replied. “The last thing we need is the boy getting upset again. Besides, if he can open holes like that, we can get everyone home.”
Dartan nodded. “I suppose you’re right.”
Aleric watched the vampire. “You don’t appear too excited about that.”
Dartan leaned against the wall and folded his arms. “Remember how vampires and werewolves aren’t supposed to be friends?”
“The Fallow Conflict.” Aleric hated the bitterness of his tone when he spoke.
“Let’s just say that I hated werewolves for a reason,” Dartan told him without meeting his gaze. “And I was told they were all dead.”
“We were, are, for all intents and purposes,” Aleric replied.
Dartan shook his head. “Yet here you are, right where you’re not supposed to be. If we go back to Drake City, it’s not going to be good for you.”
Aleric felt the rise of the moon as a tingling along his skin. He wouldn’t be able to put off the need to phase much longer.
“What are you talking about?” he asked, his voice tight with control.
Dartan studied the parking lot through the glass of the door for a moment. “You saved my life, Aleric. You weren’t supposed to do that.”
Aleric’s muscles tensed with the need to change form. Fighting it was painful. “Do you want an apology?” he asked.
Dartan shook his head. “You’re not what you’re supposed to be.”
His words sent a rush of anger through Aleric that was amplified by the adrenaline-charged need to obey the call of the moon.
“What do you expect? A blood-thirsty beast? Your people paid a demon to kill my friend and left her to die at my doorstep. Vampires declared war on every werewolf in Drake City. I lived like a pariah until I woke up here.” He opened the door, gripping it tight with one hand. “You’re a monster acting like a man.”
Aleric regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth.
Dartan didn’t get upset; he merely studied the wall across from him. “I can’t let you go back there. I took a vow. I figured here it wouldn’t matter; we didn’t have a way to Blays, so I wasn’t obligated to uphold the promises I made.”
The truth struck Aleric. He looked at Dartan. “You need to kill me.”
Dartan shook his head, hesitated, then nodded. “I’m supposed to, yes.”
Aleric’s muscles ached from fighting the change. His limbs shook. He couldn’t control it much longer. He clutched the rag doll so tight his knuckles were white.
“So why haven’t you?”
Dartan shrugged without meeting Aleric’s gaze.
Aleric let out a breath. “I’m done here. We’ll talk about it when I return.”
“If you return,” Dartan said.
Aleric stalked out the door and crossed the parking lot. He was almost to the dumpsters when the need to phase forced him to his knees. He was barely able to pull off his shirt before his body changed form. A few moments later, he stood on four paws. The touch of the moon fell onto his shoulders and back like the warm embrace of a blanket. He looked back at the door. Dartan stood there watching him, his expression unreadable.
Aleric sniffed at the rag doll and locked the scent in his mind. He would know it when he found it. He trotted away from the parking lot, the dumpster, and the hospital without looking back.
Chapter 14
Dartan’s words drummed through Aleric’s mind as he raced along the sidewalk. The vampire was under a vow to kill any werewolf in Blays. He wished he was surprised, but given the results of the Fallow Conflict, he should have guessed.
The vampires had signed the Armistice of Fae Equality in an agreement to not drink the blood of the fae. It was supposed to help the citizens of Blays feel safe and able to trust vampire-kind. However, the citizens also felt bitter about the taxes they had to pay in order to support the creation of artificial blood for the vampires to drink. Some felt it would be easier if vampires didn’t exist in the first place.
That’s where the werewolves came in. During a secret council of the Drake City government, it was decided that werewolves, as Ashstock and able to fight in either the day or night, would be paid heavily to attack the vampires and wipe them out. Roughly a quarter of the packs refused to get involved, stating that annihilating an entire race wasn’t ethical. Those werewolves who supported the idea rallied together and fought the vampires.
The pack Aleric and Sherian had joined in Drake City avoided the conflict. As the war raged, more packs began to disappear. Soon, the Light fae became involved as citizens also began to vanish. Governor Hornsbellow felt their casualties were too high, so he called a meeting with the vampire leaders and gave proof that the vampires had broken the Armistice.
The vampires admitted that they had broken the treaty, and motions were made to repair the damage done. Most vampires left to Cruor and peace appeared to return to the city. However, while the Light fae rested easily in their houses, the vampires wiped out as many werewolves in Drake City and the rest of Blays as they could get their fangs on. It was an underground movement to take down those who had wronged them, and though the government might have seen what happened, they turned a blind eye in the name of peace.
Aleric saw Sherian in his thoughts again. They hadn’t been romantically involved. Sherian liked a werewolf from the Brighton pack and Aleric flirted with several werewolves who worked in the retail shops, but she had been special to him, a friend who had been there during the darkest of times. Losing her had been an even greater blow than finding out his father planned to sell him to Grimmel after his mother died.
Regret had been the battle Aleric fought every day of his life since. Aleric couldn’t have saved his mother. The sickness had traveled to her organs and
there hadn’t been anything the physicians could do to fight it. But perhaps he could have saved Sherian if he had known the vampires were out for blood.
Caught in his thoughts and the thrum of his paws on the pavement, Aleric almost missed the scent. He glanced around with the realization that he also had no idea where he was. No people were in sight at the late hour, and the moon was on its descent. He had run for half the night.
Aleric’s rush had taken him deep into the city in the opposite direction of his earlier travels. The streets smelled sour and garbage filled the alleys as though people no longer cared about sanitation. The exhaust and asphalt scent of the sunbaked city streets hung thick and cloying in the air. The musky wisp of several rats in the nearest pile of garbage went along with the nibbling, scratching sounds deep within the debris.
Within it all, there was another scent like a note rising above the cacophony of a crowded room. It hung there sharp and definite, the faint but clear trace of Elianna’s doll.
Aleric followed the trail down the road between two warehouses. His steps slowed. His instincts warned of danger, though he couldn’t smell anything past the garbage. He glanced behind him just as two forms disappeared around the corner. Aleric backed up slowly so the wall could protect his back if there was an attack. Four forms appeared to his left and the two on his right reappeared with three companions.
A scent reached Aleric’s nose and his ears flattened to his skull. The coppery odor of vampires was unmistakable. He snarled and backed up until his tail brushed the bricks behind him.
“A werewolf in Edge City?” a vampire with a black cloak said.
“I’ve seen stranger things here,” the woman to his right replied.
The first vampire inclined his head. “Humans are such docile creatures; no wonder the appearance of this beast alarmed them. It wouldn’t due to have them spooked.”
“Not at all, Ravad. Should I bring him in?” another vampire asked.
The black-cloaked vampire gave Aleric a smile that revealed his elongated canines. “I do get tired of human blood. A little fae mixed in would be most welcome. What do you think, Tereen?”
