She shuffled forward. “They were excited by their powers and turned it into a competition of who could transform the most times in a short amount of time. I tried to stop them, but without being able to transform myself these days, I had no power. No strength. And, besides, how can you stop kids from transforming? By the time Geralt arrived…”
Kain bent over again, processing it all as he stroked the excited creatures.
“We can make them change. I was right,” Geralt said, more to Kain than anyone else in the room. There was a gleam of obsession in his eyes which scared Kain. That same obsession had forced him to leave.
“That makes a change,” he replied.
“Snark all you want, but we’ve made progress. We’ve continued to push the boundaries, and we’re finding the ways to make it happen. With any luck, our next round of experimentation will secure the Were legacy. Will re-buff our numbers. And before long, we’ll be able to take the city from back those surface shits who keep us trapped down in these tunnels.”
“What does the next round involve? More children? Babies, perhaps?” Kain asked coldly.
Geralt looked at his own forearm and clenched his fist until a large vein surfaced. “The next round will include my blood. Clean, untouched, flawless blood.”
Silver Creek, Silver Creek Forest, Old Ontario
The sight of the front gates was enough to bring a familiar feeling of warmth to Dylan’s stomach.
They had traveled through the forest without rest, pausing only to slay any Mad they happened to stumble across as they went. Larry—now dressed in garb donated by Dylan which drowned his skinny frame—turned out to be less of an asset than he’d hoped, having spent the majority of his time in digging pits or setting traps. It turned out that his skills with a weapon were actually surprisingly limited.
“Don’t worry about it,” Huckle had said after pinning a Mad to a tree with a blade through its chest. The zombie wriggled and reached helplessly for him as he spoke. “We’ll train you up, kid. Silver Creek has its own training reserve. We’ll show you some moves. Get you up to speed.”
Larry nodded solemnly. “Thanks. And then when I’m up to speed, I’ll gut your throat for calling me a kid.”
Dylan waved instinctively at the gate guards as they approached, momentarily forgetting about Caitlin’s new open-gate policy. It seemed strange to simply walk straight into the town with no restriction, no waiting, and no justifying who you were or what your business was.
It felt…liberating.
Dylan left the group to wait below and climbed up to the top of the gate to check in on the guards.
“Dylan!” Mattis, a gate guard who had recently adopted a thick beard, proclaimed as Dylan climbed the stairs. “Welcome home, sir.”
“Enough of that ‘sir’ business, Mattis. It’s Dylan to my old friends.”
“Hey, Dylan,” Clint, one of the longest-serving gate guards said, coming over to join them.
“It’s ‘sir’ to you, Clint.” Dylan winked, eliciting a burst of laughter from Mattis. “Now, tell me. What news of the world beyond the open gate?”
From their vantage point, they could see the gap between the trees where the new road had been built. Already, people were using it as a trade route between Silver Creek and Ashdale Pond. Dylan could spot a couple of carts along its length, flanked by several silhouettes with swords at their sides.
It never hurt to have extra protection on the road.
“Life is quiet beyond the walls. We’ve only had one incident at the gates in which a group of Mad ran for us and one managed to get through before we’d had a chance to shut them out. The rest of them were destroyed with ease, thanks to these puppies.” Mattis held up his longbow with pride.
“And what of the Mad which made it through?”
“I took care of that one,” a deep voice said from behind. “Sir.”
Dylan turned and beamed as he saw Sully’s huge form approach. “Of course you did, you big lummox.”
“Practically played golf with his head. Took one swing with a hunk of wood which must have fallen from a merchant’s cart earlier that day and sent the fucker’s noggin flying over the wall.”
“Hole in one?” Dylan asked.
“Eagle,” Sully replied.
“Nice.”
“No,” Mattis interjected. “A literal eagle. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen. The head soared through the air, and an eagle darted for it. The bird picked the face clean in minutes.”
“Even the animals come to my aid in times of need.” Sully grinned.
“Your head has grown somewhat since I left you in charge.” Dylan smirked. “If you’re not careful, you won’t be able to fit through the gates to get out anymore.”
“Fine by me,” Sully said. “I love this place. Caitlin has done something truly special here. Now, where are the others?”
Dylan led him back down to greet the rest of the group, stopping to introduce Larry who reached forward cautiously and shook Sully’s hand. Against the guard’s massive size, the former-tribesman looked like nothing more than a child. He did a good job hiding his intimidation, though.
Sully led them through the winding streets of Silver Creek, nodding and waving at folks as he passed by. Dylan looked up at him, impressed. Although it had only been a short time since he had left to explore the forest, Sully had grown in confidence and seemed to be thriving as the stand-in leader of Silver Creek.
“So everything seems to be smooth sailing,” Dylan remarked as they walked together. “With nothing more than one Mad attack in the last few days, I’d say that’s a job well done.”
“Thanks. The town makes it easy. I don’t know what the governor’s problem was, but leading is a piece of cake. Just keep people happy and make sure everyone is where they need to be.”
“If it were that easy, every town in the world wouldn’t be shutting themselves in and fighting with each other,” Larry commented. “My old town was very much the same. A leader with great promises of a better future, and instead, he created his very own apocalypse within a cage.” He shuddered, tugging at the sleeves and waistband of his clothing.
“You okay?” Ash asked.
“No,” Larry replied. “I can’t get used to these damn clothes.”
“Well, you’d better,” Alice replied. “I know the savagery of your tribe means you can roam around with your dick flopping in the wind, but we’re decent people here, Lal. If I see even an inch of that dick, I’ll hack it off.”
Dylan, Ash, Huckle, Ben, and Sully all stopped and grabbed their crotches. “Ooh, no,” they chorused.
Alice and Flo laughed.
When they reached the former governor’s quarters, Sully said his goodbyes and returned to his rounds, promising to meet them all later in Mother Wendy’s. Dylan held the door for the others, and they entered.
The place looked vastly different than when the governor had lived here. What had once been a pretentious display of wealth and power was now nothing more than shared living accommodations for Silver Creek’s underprivileged. Sheets and towels were strewn on the floor alongside bags of belongings. Some were empty, and others had people snoozing lazily in the mid-afternoon breeze.
Dylan led them towards the governor’s quarters—the place where the town had demanded that Caitlin take residence as a thank you for the liberation of her people—then headed left to a room farther down the hall.
This one had been offered to him, though he had refused to take it and instead chose his family home. Still, it hadn’t been touched by the people to keep the option available for him to take advantage of it whenever he liked. Despite his numerous protests, no one in Silver Creek would listen.
“Here,” Dylan said to Larry, waving him inside. “This can be yours if you like. You’ve got a bed, some space to do yoga if you wish and, what’s better…” Dylan closed the curtains, blocking out most of the sun. “If you want to wander around naked, then you’ve got a space to do so.”
/> “Cheers, Dill.”
“No problem. I can imagine that old habits die hard.”
“You betcha,” Larry strolled inside and immediately disrobed.
“Woah!” Ash said. “You couldn’t have waited a few minutes longer?”
Dylan laughed. “Okay, rest up everyone. We’ve had a long, hard trip. Get some shut-eye and reconvene at Mother Wendy’s at sunset. Deal?”
“Deal,” they all replied.
As Dylan made his way out of the governor’s quarters, he soaked up the smell, the sound, and the tastes of his home. He couldn’t quite believe how much had changed since Trisk had gone. His little town of Silver Creek now felt like more than a safe space in the midst of the forest. It felt like a little piece of heaven itself.
Little did he know that, as he strolled through the marketplace with his hands in his pockets, just a few streets down, a guard now scratched at the itch on his arm, watching as another boil appeared on his skin.
Chapter Fourteen
The Broken City, Old Ontario
Mary-Anne waited for night to fall.
She had heard every word while following the group around as nothing more than a shadow in the background. It was a skill she had acquired from her genetics as a vampire, but also one that she had honed over her many years of existence.
When the Madness came and the world went to shit, Mary-Anne had instinctively done what many of the remaining vampires had chosen to do. She’d retreated back into secrecy and lived a life of privacy. Long gone were the days of Weres and vampires living together in perfect harmony.
Well, maybe perfect was too strong a word.
Maybe even harmony was, for that matter.
At one point, some Unknown had gotten along with humans.
She remembered it now as she dashed across streets and hopped over debris and acknowledged how different her life had become. When the Madness first came, Mary-Anne hadn’t lived alone. She had paired with another vampire who made it all that little bit easier. Misery loves company—as the saying went—and those two were miserable together.
For months, Mary-Anne and Calliope had roamed through the land, hopping from town to town, never taking root in any place at all. They’d sneaked up on unsuspecting humans who wandered a little too far from home on dark nights so they could drink from their bodies—just enough that they could retain their strength and control their thirst. Not so much that the humans were damaged and alarms raised.
Until that fateful night in which everything had changed.
It had been three nights since their last meal, and Calliope had been in a particularly funny mood. Already, they had learned how to fight off the Mad, though neither, for the life of them, understood what the hell could have happened to make everything change. People had gone crazy as rapidly as if someone had simply flipped a switch. Humans grew more bloodthirsty than their vampire counterparts, and Mary-Anne and Calliope's death count had soared to three figures.
As they stood in the shadows and watched a tall, dark, handsome man with a rug of stubble stumble out of a local tavern, Calliope licked her lips and grinned.
“Dinner is served,” she said.
Mary-Anne had tried to pull her back, but she was too slow. She wanted to say, “slow down, wait until he hits the shadows”—she didn’t want to blow their cover, after all—but nothing could contain her friend’s excitement.
It was as Mary-Anne caught up with her friend who was now draining the man’s neck in the street, that she noticed something was wrong.
“Hey, Cali. If you’re trying to give the bloke a suck job, you’re at the wrong part of the body.”
The man’s head rocked back, and he groaned as the life juice spilled down his neck and onto the floor. But as Calliope groaned and sucked, the man’s head snapped up, his eyes a blazing red.
“Cali, stop,” Mary-Anne had said, watching with a heart now quickening its pace. “Cali!”
When Calliope looked up, her own eyes were red. She grinned at Mary-Anne. “This is better than KFC…” Her voice trailed away when she saw the man’s eyes, and she dropped him immediately.
Without warning, Calliope chomped at the air, her arms turning and reaching for Mary-Anne. It happened in seconds, a switch faster than Mary-Anne had ever seen in her life. Vampire to Mad.
Oh, what a world.
Mary-Anne blinked away the memory now, remembering the reason she had gone vegetarian in the first place. The fear of ending up like Calliope had been too much to ignore.
Should I go back to animals? Mary-Anne wondered as a rat ran over the toes of her boot. She looked up and saw a patrolman appear around the corner. Immediately, her mouth filled with saliva as she imagined the rush of drinking from his body and feeling her strength return.
Face it. You’re going to need all the strength you can get, the way things are going.
As the man neared, Mary-Anne retreated into the shadows.
Sure, she could grab him. It would be easy. Grab. Drink. Done. But what then? What if these people were important enough that she had to stay on their good side? What kind of first impression would that give to the city’s community armed with the first working weapons of that magnitude she had laid her eyes on in some time.
Nope. Stick to the shadows, Ma. Hunt and explore. Maybe you can make yourself useful and utilize the element of surprise.
She darted off, then, listening intently and training her nose to try and detect what she was looking for. She had heard Izzy and her gang’s speech regarding the Weres, and now, Mary-Anne was curious. Somehow, it sounded like they had hidden entrances into the city. It was a huge place. She wasn’t surprised that the others had struggled to find them.
But she was a vampire and hunting was what she did.
As she sped down the street, the patrolman looked back, believing momentarily that he saw someone disappear around the corner. He aimed his rifle, shrugged, then continued on his route.
The Broken City, Old Ontario
After a tour of the city during which even Jaxon failed to sniff out any hidden entrances, Izzy had taken them back to the library to dine with the others.
“But we need to find Kain,” Caitlin protested.
“Agreed,” Izzy said. “But we have no leads, and our stomachs are growling at us. We need to keep our strength up to hunt, or we’re of no use to anyone.” When she detected resistance from Caitlin, she added, “Maybe your vampire friend is making progress. She’s certainly not quick to join us at the table.”
“Mary-Anne has trust issues. Let’s just leave it there,” Caitlin replied, only feeling slightly better when she acknowledged that Izzy was probably right. Even though the vampire was choosing to remain hidden for now, the chances were that she was out there on the hunt for Kain at this very moment.
Dinner was a strange affair. It turned out that the community wasn’t only hidden in the main hub of the library but also on the roof, on varying floors, and in the adjacent buildings from where a decent vantage point could be had of the surrounding city. On a trip up the building next to the library—that turned out to be an office block filled with broken and discarded electronics—they had climbed the stairs, taken a few shortcuts over folded floors, and found themselves on the roof.
A man sat there at the corner of the building. He waved hello to Izzy, stood from his old deck chair, and greeted them all with a handshake. But that wasn’t what drew Caitlin’s attention. Her focus settled on the large squares of crops and vegetation which were arranged in neat rows directly beneath the setting sun. There was a thick carpet of soil, and small leaves and shrubs swayed gently in the breeze.
“Roof gardens?” Caitlin asked in shock.
Izzy explained that, in the city, this was the best way they’d found to keep their edibles growing. They had initially started with the fields just beyond the fence, but over the years, it had turned out too dangerous to maintain these and so they had gone for the safety of height.
“And if you lo
ok over there…” Izzy pointed to another roof where a shabby construction of wires created a cage which held large moving creatures on a carpet of trampled grass. “That’s one of the places we keep our livestock.”
Joe clapped his hands excitedly at the cows, great black and white things that seemed placid and content. “It’s been so long since Joe has suckled on the teat of a cow,” he exclaimed, licking his lips. “I almost forgots just how delish milk can be!”
“I hope it wasn’t directly from the source, Joe?” Tom said.
Joe looked around guilty. “Wherever I can get milk from, that’s where I goes.”
“Ew!” Laurie exclaimed.
The rest of them laughed.
Caitlin looked all around and, now that her eyes had been opened, she could see more farming patches across the top of the city—sheep, cows, pigs, and several more vegetable patches. It seemed so strange, so alien, but it made sense in a bizarre way. At least from that height, the animals and plants would always have maximum access to the sunlight. If they were to grow them down in the streets, they’d likely shrivel and die.
“What about predators? Eagles, hawks, and the like?” Caitlin shaded her face and looked at the sky.
“That’s what the gardeners are for. Get it? Guard-eners!” Izzy chuckled and rested her hands on her hips.
After the rooftop tour, each person grabbed a basket of produce and brought it back to the library where rows upon rows of tables had been set up between the aisles of books. The city folk waited eagerly, their chat a mighty babble that could be heard from way across the street. They all cheered as Caitlin and the others walked in, clearly ready for food.
They handed over the baskets and took their place near Izzy and her men. As they sat and tucked into plates of steaming, delicious grub, Caitlin felt a pang of guilt as her thoughts turned to Kain.
I hope he’s okay. He can take care of himself, surely? But what if the Weres who have taken him are stronger? Faster? Are there any out there that can still transform now? And, most importantly, why the hell did they take him?
The Caitlin Chronicles Boxed Set Page 59
