Hunting The Broken: Age Of Madness - A Kurtherian Gambit Series (The Caitlin Chronicles Book 3)

by Daniel Willcocks

  Would they be detained?

  Held back?

  She didn’t really want to find out.

  They paused at an intersection where the corridor split into three directions. Caitlin chose left with an outward confidence she didn’t feel, but it led them to a dead end only a few minutes later.

  “I thought you knew the way,” Laurie chided.

  “I’m sorry, I forgot to put on my vampire see-in-the-dark vision,” she retorted.

  They turned and moved back the way they came. As they approached the intersection once more, Caitlin’s heart stopped. She could almost swear that she had seen a flash of red eyes farther down the hallway. But they were gone as instantly as they had come.

  She shuddered, imagining the devastation that had occurred in the cities when the Madness came. Even now, one Mad attack on the folks gathered and sleeping in the hub would be enough to tear the whole town apart. Imagine half a thousand Mad in one room…

  She chose straight ahead this time, and soon enough, came to a set of stairs. They were quiet for the most part, though Joe’s boots hadn’t been designed for creeping around in silence. The thick soles clicked against the wood to the point that Tom rolled his eyes and picked Joe up—much to his grumbled protestations. Jaxon’s ears pricked up as he walked alongside Caitlin, leading the group towards the main hall.

  It wasn’t the way they had intended to go. She saw her destination in her mind but remembered it only vaguely. There was a small doorway off one of the side corridors which acted as an entrance into the back of the building.

  Another flash of red caught her eye, and Caitlin’s heart began to race. Where were the guards? What if the Mad had gotten in? She noted that there seemed to be no one watching the doorways now. In all the time they had been in The Broken City, there had always been guards at the exit points.

  And then, there it was. Caitlin paused and felt the others stiffen behind her as a pair of red eyes appeared in the darkness ahead, suspended like two crimson fireflies.

  Before she could think, two shadows rushed ahead. She felt them on her before she had a chance to get her bearings, feeling their weight as she was shoved to the floor.

  “Cat!” Tom hissed, diving down as well.

  Caitlin heard Vex’s laughter in her ear. He tried to keep it quiet, but the noise echoed down the hallway. On the other side of her, she recognized Belle’s sniggers.

  “Damn, Kitty-Cat. You’re too easy.”

  Caitlin shoved them off playfully. “That’s not the first time someone’s said that to me.”

  “Ma, you were so right. That was fun,” Belle whispered to Mary-Anne whose dark shape now appeared before them all.

  “Shhh, keep your voices down. You’ll alert the guards,” Laurie admonished as Tom placed Joe back on the floor. He was shaking with barely suppressed laughter as he tried to adjust to the moment.

  “No need,” Vex said. “Super vamp here knocked them all unconscious before we’d had the chance to see where she went.”

  “What?” Caitlin asked, stunned.

  “Oh, relax. They never saw me. They’ll all wake up on top of each other thinking they were part of some strange orgy, and none of them will say a word come morning,” Mary-Anne assured her, coming forward to hug Caitlin.

  “What did you do with them?” she said.

  “Conked them over the head, stripped them naked, and plopped them in a cupboard I found at the end of the hall.”

  They all laughed, their smiles wide on their faces as they embraced.

  “Where have you been, Ma?” Laurie asked.

  “What are you two doing here?” Caitlin demanded of Vex and Belle who shuffled awkwardly. Had it not been so dark, she guessed she’d see their faces suddenly grow red.

  Mary-Anne chuckled. “Not now. Let’s get outside. We’ve got some catching up to do.”

  She turned and led the way to the door.

  The Sewers, The Broken City, Old Ontario

  Kain could feel eyes burning into him as he took a seat for dinner.

  The mess hall was exactly that—a hall and something of a mess as well. What had once been a larger chamber beneath the ground for the sewage had been repurposed into something that could host large groups of the Weres at once as they ate their meals. Tables and chairs lined the space, and at the front of the room, a tall, lean man with a stained chef’s hat and a cauldron of sorts stirred the slop that would be smacked down into everyone’s bowls.

  Oh, how the nobles live, Kain thought as the chef snarled and ladled his meal reluctantly into the bowl.

  Kain felt like he was back at an old-world high school. Weres were divided into groups, with each taking their turn in staring at him and discussing something—most likely him—under their breath.

  In one corner, the Weres who had chosen the life of an animal gathered and lapped food up from bowls set onto the floor. Wolves, cats, and bears—nowhere near the size of Bryce—knocked into each other, growling and fighting over the scraps left in the dishes.

  As Kain studied the room, feeling more out of place than he ever had in his life, he spotted an empty table and took a seat, hoping that maybe Cynthia would show up soon and keep him company. Out of everyone there so far, she was the only one he truly trusted.

  The slop was tasteless, but he was starving. He made short work of the meal, pushing the bowl away when he finished.

  Which was when two Weres sniggered and separated themselves from their table nearby. They made their way over to him with shit-eating grins on their faces as they took a seat on either side of him.

  “Sorry, boys,” Kain said, emulating a high school girl’s voice. “These seats are taken. Bethany and Latrisse are powdering their noses, and they’ll be, like, super-pissed if they find you here.”

  The Were to Kain’s left, a chubby man with a scar running over his glass eye, smirked and squeezed up closer to Kain.

  “Funny one, ain’t he, Frank?” the Were said, leaning in front of Kain to address his companion.

  “You can say that again.”

  Kain looked at the chubby Were. “Go on. Say it again. I don’t think it all sank into his thick ears.”

  Frank reached a hand instinctively to his ears and examined them. “My ears aren’t thick, are they, Roj?”

  “No, but your head is.” Frank rolled his eyes.

  Kain looked from side to side. “Well, now that we’ve got that cleared up…if you’ll excuse me, gentlemen.”

  He stood, then immediately sat back down as he felt them both grab a shoulder and pull. “You’re not going anywhere, scumbag,” Roj growled. “I don’t know what you think is going on here, but you seem a little too comfortable after your flight back into the nest.”

  “Yeah,” Frank said. “Too comfortable.”

  Kain raised an eyebrow. “Sorry, lads, I think I’m on a two-second delay here. Can we sync up a bit?”

  Roj ignored him. “Look, we don’t give a shit what kind of soft spot Geralt has for you, or whose dick you sucked to get back in the pack. We’re all family here, and we don’t take kindly to fuckers leaving us behind.” He thumbed towards the nearby table where half a dozen Weres sat watching with intense stares. “So, here’s the deal. As long as you’re here, you better watch your back. Every move you make, every breath you take—”

  “You’ll be missing me?” Kain chipped in. “I think threats always work better when you don’t take your lines from old-world music.”

  A blinding pain knifed through Kain’s nose as Roj’s nostrils flared and he lashed forward and smashed his forehead into his face. Kain brought a hand up to the throbbing appendage, looked at his fingers, and saw blood. Anger welled within him. “I think that might have been a mistake for you,” he said.

  “You do, do you—”

  Kain returned the favor, feeling another blinding pain but this time on his forehead. He clapped a hand to his head as Roj fell off the chair and onto the floor. “Fuck!” Kain complained. “Why doesn’t anyon
e tell you that hurts the person giving it, too?” He moved his hand and looked into Frank’s stunned face. “I mean, seriously? Can you believe that—”

  Frank was quick. The shock passed and he threw his fist at Kain’s head, but Kain was faster, narrowly avoiding the blow as he leaned back.

  “Well, this isn’t good,” he said out loud, then straightened and readied himself as Roj heaved himself back onto his feet. Frank stood as well, and the Weres at the other table all rose to their feet.

  Kain looked pleadingly at the remaining tables of Weres still sat eating their food. They watched with a strange apathy, almost too scared to get involved in the fight. The animals in the corner settled on their hind legs as if about to watch a show.

  Thanks for nothing, guys, he thought.

  He took a fighter stance, raised his fists at the ready, and prepared for the onslaught. A wallop from Roj landed on his left, and Kain returned the blow, his knuckles connecting with cheek. Immediately, he turned, stepped back, and managed to avoid Frank’s punch which followed through, also smacking Roj in the chest.

  “Hey! Him, not me,” his crony exclaimed.

  Roj rose, his eyes flashing amber as the hairs threatened to grow on his body. He managed to keep himself under control, but a surge of strength and speed enabled him to boot Kain in the stomach and send him back against the wall.

  He felt the wind knocked out of him but managed to gasp a strangled breath, pushed back off from the wall, and launched himself through the air. The momentum landed him on Roj’s chest, and he managed to deliver several powerful punches before the other Weres were on him. Despite his frenzied defense, they dragged him up and showered him with hit after hit after hit.

  And still, Kain didn’t give up. “You call that a punch, pussies? Who taught you to hit like that? Your mother?”

  It was as a fist connected with Kain’s cheek and he felt himself go dizzy that he heard the roar—so powerful that it shook every bone in his body. Immediately, the punches stopped, and all the Weres backed away, bowing their heads as Geralt approached them in bear form.

  His bulk was impressive, and his skin looked almost painted by scars and marks. He bared his teeth in all directions, watching the Weres cower before his might, then changed back into his human form and as naked as the day he was born.

  He glared across the room until his eyes met Kain’s. “You. Come with me. Now.”

  Kain stuck his bloodied chin high in the air and followed, finding just enough strength left to reach towards Roger and pinch his nipple.

  Roj looked ready to pounce but thought better of it. Kain heard someone say, “That’s right, run away. Daddy wants you,” before he stuck his tongue out and left them all behind.

  “What the fuck was that?” Geralt growled as he entered his chambers.

  Kain shrugged. “You know us Weres, even our hellos come off a little more aggressive than most.”

  Geralt stared at him, studying him intensely. His eyes didn’t blink and, for a moment, he almost felt like the Alpha was trying to read his mind and uncover his secrets.

  “You sure know how to integrate with the pack, Sudeikis,” he said at last, falling into his seat. “What I’d appreciate now is if you could behave and maybe actually try to fit in. I don’t often give second chances, and my patience is beginning to run thin.”

  Kain felt a question bubble to the surface. For the first time in as long as he could remember, he paused, thought about it, and tried to hold it down. With Geralt already flared up and needing to calm, was now really the right time to probe and ask the question he was dying to get an answer to?

  He decided it was.

  “At the risk of not exactly liking the answer,” he ventured, keeping an eye trained on the other to gauge his response. “Why are you giving me a second chance? By all means and measures, I would have thought you’d have killed me by now.”

  Geralt took a moment to consider his answer. Kain suddenly felt tiny, an ant under the thumb of a Were who had everything that every Were in the world wanted. The ability to change at will—a body unaffected by the pains of the Madness. Looking at him now, he truly was a king in the sewers. He deserved the power and control he held over all the Weres.

  Not that it excused his prickish attitude towards the humans on the surface world, Kain reminded himself. Although a large part of him was jealous of the abilities Geralt had, he would never once envy the brute’s methods or intentions.

  The leader rose and began to pace around the room. He laced his fingers behind his back. “Did you know that there are some who consider the bear to be the king of all animals? Great beasts revered, respected, and prayed to in ancient civilizations?”

  “No, I didn’t,” he admitted.

  “It’s true. Ancient texts, drawings, and scriptures tell of their prowess. How the humans feared the bear as one of the kings of all beasts. Respected them enough to draw them as eternal constellations in the sky…”

  Geralt paused and chuckled to himself. “Fools. Humans didn’t even realize the bears they prayed to had nothing on us Weres. Sure, they had bulk and savagery, but not the cunning or intelligence you see before you today. Myself. Bryce. We’ve been given a gift, and the humans are too proud to bow down before us and respect us like they did the creatures of old.”

  He took a long breath as if fighting an unforgotten memory. “It’s such a shame to not know whether any bears survived the World’s Worst Day Ever, or if they’re still out there now, finding a way to survive. Perhaps I’ll never know.”

  “You could get a tank and find out,” Kain suggested. “Reboot one of the old vehicles and smash through the forest?”

  Geralt laughed. “That’s something I’ve always admired about you, Sudeikis. You’re quick-witted. You’ve got the gift of the gab. And you just don’t give a shit.”

  “Thanks?” he responded, still overly cautious. “Is there a reason you’re giving me a history lesson on bears? Or are you trying to inflate my ego?”

  They both laughed then. “The bear was once considered a god, just as I am the god of this pack. And with every god, there are their prophets. Those who will preach, respect, and entertain the gods, adding a little bit of fun and mirth to this shitheap of a situation.”

  Geralt wandered over to a small table where a stack of books and papers were piled. He picked up a sheet with scribbles and writing covering its surface. “For years, we’ve been stuck down here, Sudeikis. Years, and years, and years. All because the humans have guns, and all our pack has is a choice to make between animal or human. I need to breathe. I need to live on the surface and not cower in fear from those pricks huddled in the Broken City. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve been up there? I’ve cowered down here through fear, Kain. Fear. Fear that, should I breathe the air and meet my end, it’ll be over for Weres. There’s no one to continue my legacy when I’m gone. No one with my drive.”

  Geralt’s eyes flashed as his anger grew. “I need to make more Weres with my gift. Do you know how hard it is to be one of two useful pricks in this damn hellhole? To be both blessed and cursed to have been in the right place at the right time and survived?”

  Kain’s heart began to thump. He had heard of Geralt and Bryce’s escape from the bunker after the Madness had descended. The simple fact was that whatever it was which had triggered the Madness, it hadn’t affected them due to their being far underground in a lead-lined container for weeks on end. But he had never heard the Alpha talk about it directly.

  “What’s holding you back? You’re tough. You could go up there for a pint and a smoke. After all, you still have Bryce who could continue your work if you did die,” Kain suggested.

  Geralt turned to Kain, contemplative now rather than angry. “Yes. You’re right. I do.” He wandered closer to Kain and towered over him. “But one isn’t enough. I need more.”

  Kain didn’t like where this was heading. “What are you asking of me?”

  Geralt grinned, and Kain saw
that his teeth were razor-sharp, as if his whole body had changed back from the bear apart from his teeth.

  “I’ve got a task for you, Sudeikis. I like you, but I need you to prove your worth.”

  He clicked his fingers, and the door opened. Bryce appeared, ducked beneath the doorway, and entered the room. “Sir?”

  “Bryce. I need you to take our friend here on your next mission.”

  The newcomer looked confused. “But…sir… I can handle it. The last mission was a-a…glitch. It won’t happen again.”

  “I believe that,” Geralt said. “Because Sudeikis is coming with you.” He turned to Kain. “Get your shit ready. You’ll accompany Bryce to the surface. Infiltrate the library. Reduce the humans’ numbers, and see if you can snag a few extra test subjects along the way.”

  Kain was momentarily lost for words. “And if I refuse?”

  Geralt leered, his grin spreading from cheek to cheek. “Oh, I think you know the answer to that one, my friend.”

  Unbeknownst to Kain and Bryce, it was as they left the room that the Alpha’s mind started ticking, considering Kain’s words about Geralt visiting the surface world. What’s holding you back?

  He pondered his own fears, considering what it might be like to see the surface again. It had been years, after all.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Ashdale Pond, Silver Creek Forest, Old Ontario

  Dylan could never have imagined that riding a horse would hurt his ass so much.

  Most of the beasts had been provided by Christy and Jamie who had found a herd of them while on their own missions of exploration north of Ashdale Pond, past the limits the old governor had set. They told Dylan of the rolling hills and greenery that grew beyond. Great fields of wild maze and rapeseed were littered with animals herded together in groups.

  Seizing the opportunity, Jamie had led the charge, rounding up enough horses to allow faster travel between towns. Now, Jamie and Christy rode up front. Dylan and Larry each had their own horses. Dylan was mounted on Shitallion—the only horse remaining in Silver Creek which Caitlin had saved and ridden after recruiting the Revolutionaries from New Leaf—with Stump clutching his waist tightly from behind.