“No. And I have no wish to.”
She giggled even harder. “That’s too bad because, well, he just walked in.”
I spun around to the side, eyes wide, and she was right. There he stood, in line for coffee. Or probably some sort of herbal tea.
I straightened, keeping my eyes averted and hissed at her. “Stop staring. The last thing we need is for him to come over here.” I also meant he could let something reckless slip. He hadn’t seemed too bright while he’d stood there holding a weapon and not using it in the park. I was nowhere near ready to forgive that.
Though I admitted, the work he’d done on my hands almost made up for it.
Before I could stop her, Olivia waved him over and he sauntered over with a familiar swagger and smirk. I groaned under my breath, but plastered a fake, welcoming smile onto my face to keep attention off of us.
He perched on the arm of my side of the love seat. “It’s lovely to see you two again. I’ve been hoping we’d run into each other somewhere.”
“And I’ve been hoping the opposite.” I laughed at Liv’s swat. “Oh, he knows I’m kidding.”
His eyes danced at me. “Of course.”
Olivia tried to smooth things over. “So, what have you been up to since we saw you last?”
He shrugged. “More of the same I guess.”
My eyes widened. “I sure hope not.”
“I meant the healing part. I work as a vet tech.”
I tried not to take offense to the vague reference to me being an animal he worked on. And the monsters still needed someone to take care of their non-human pets. They had a strange affection for cats and ferrets.
Freaking psychos.
Jackson squirmed in his seat, and the scent of smoky pine washed over me. It took everything for me not to close my eyes and lean closer to him.
I cleared my throat and drained my coffee. “Well, it was good to see you, but we should really be going. The sun’s almost up and we have new performances to practice.”
“Performances?”
Crap.
Liv ignored my eyes screaming at her to shut up. “We perform at the Cathedral Club every night.”
His brows shot up in surprise. “I’ll have to catch a show sometime.”
I snorted. “Good luck with that.” The only humans at our shows were bloodbags and hookers.
He grinned, eyes darkening to a deep emerald green. “Challenge accepted.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but Olivia dragged me away as I spluttered and hissed like a wet cat. “I do not like him.”
She laughed loud and long. “Whatever you say.”
“What?” I grabbed at Liv’s arm when her merriment caused her to slip on the slick ground.
She kept our arms linked as we walked down the sidewalk. “I’ve never seen you look at a guy like that before. Not even Tim Haskins and you were head over heels for him.”
“That was in seventh grade.” My voice raised in protest, echoing back at us through the empty street.
“I know. Anyway, Jackson’s gorgeous. Nothing wrong with having fun.” She waggled her eyebrows.
“I don’t think he’d be much fun. He’s annoying.” I ignored the dancing, green gaze still haunting me.
“Okay.”
I threw my nose high in the air. “Dude, I’m serious. Just because a guy has pretty eyes and a nice smile doesn’t mean he’s worth my time.”
“Of course not, but he has a little more going for him than that.”
“I don’t see it. Maybe you should have fun with him.”
“No way. We don’t have any sparks. You do.”
I scoffed. “Sparks? I didn’t realize angry tension was the way to true love.”
Liv replied with only a giggle and a shake of her head.
“What?” I demanded.
“Nothing.”
Uncomfortable, I changed the subject. “When do you want to try out the new song?”
“Send it to me and I’ll run through it when I wake up. You work on your dance and by the weekend we can try a dry run with what I come up with.”
“Sounds good.”
“It’s a really beautiful song. I hate to waste it...” She trailed off, always careful of her words in public.
“Yeah. Me too.” The monsters didn’t deserve this badass of a performance, but it writhed within me, and insisted on being set free. It had to be performed if only for my own soul.
We turned onto the last street before starting the long road to our apartment, senses on alert in case of attack. Not that we’d be able to do much with all our weapons hidden away.
I lifted my face up to the sky, the stars’ bright and friendly faces shining down on us for the first time in weeks. The air was clear and thin, giving us an unhindered view of the sparkling diamonds spilled over midnight blue velvet. I blew out a huge breath, enjoying the spirals of grey mist slipping from between my lips.
There was a lightness in me I hadn’t felt in a long time, an almost skip to my step. The beauty of the night made me forget for a moment of the never-ending nightmare we were trapped in.
And I reveled in it.
Screams shattered my peace.
Liv clutched her precious cello to her chest, ripping her arm from mine. We scurried to get our weapons out of the case and she hid it in a bush.
We darted towards the noise coming from the park—the same park we’d taken down the wolves in.
What if it was a trap?
I slid my necklace out from under my dress and unhooked the knife from it, flicking it open. It wasn’t much, but made of silver and dipped in holy water, I prayed it’d be enough for whatever we had to deal with.
There were no more screams, but freaky giggles rattled through what little leaves remained on the trees. It was like something you’d hear from the windows of a haunted lunatic asylum.
Fear skittered up my spine as we searched the woods along the bike trail, trying to stay quiet on the soaked leaves and crunchy snow. The air was harsher in the trees, the cold sliced through the slight layers I had on, making me shudder and tremble.
The moon reflected against the snow, lighting up everything around us, giving us a perfect view before we reached the source of the screams and giggles.
A gnarled and bent man stood before a second, younger man who spun to an unheard music, the creepiest twisted smile frozen across his face. It was like he was a haunted marionette, his limbs jerky and tense as the invisible strings yanked him about.
I leaned over and breathed words into Liv’s ear. “He’s an enchanter.”
Damn.
Enchanters were common, but hard to kill with only a knife. It was better to kill them from a distance. I met Olivia’s gaze, and we exchanged silent signals, mapping out a plan. She picked up a stout stick from the ground, testing it in her hands.
I gripped the knife hard in my hand as we melted and darted like shadows to come up behind the enchanter. Olivia smashed him in the back of the head with the stick and as soon as he hit the ground, I straddled him and shoved my knife into his throat. Red liquid gurgled and bubbled, coating my hands, making them slick and warm and red. Black clotted blood spewed from his mouth and splattered into my face. I didn’t release him until he stilled beneath me, lifeless open eyes stared into mine in dead shock.
I stood and washed my hands, face, and blade in the snow. And pretended I didn’t shake from anything but the cold.
“You didn’t have a choice. If we’d given him a chance to speak, we’d be spinning in the snow along with that guy.” Olivia pointed to the man who stared at the dead enchanter in confusion, the haze of the spell taking a while to wear off.
“I know.” My voice was curt as I hung the knife back around my neck and forced my trembling hands to still. It had been so quick and brutal.
It was my first kill of something who looked human. But the sorceress who killed our parents and countless others looked human as well and killing her would look like this.
/> And I had to prepare myself. I had to be ready.
I focused on the survivor. “Let’s get him out of here.” I grabbed the man’s elbow, and we led him from the woods.
He babbled under his breath the entire way back to Liv’s cello and back to our home. He kept attempting to wander off, his eyes clouded with magic. When enchanters play with humans, they usually break the humans’ brains. They whispered into the minds of humans, warp and twist them, making their victims perform all sorts of acts until the humans wore out or broke or died.
Inside our house, we tied him to my bed, wincing away as he thrashed, screamed, fought the bonds.
“We can’t keep him here. Alcott is gonna lose it when he gets home from work. And when they find the monster’s body, it won’t take much for them to figure out this guy’s a victim.”
Liv rubbed her face and sank against the hallway wall. “And that we’re the ones who took out the monster. Again. It was us again.”
“I know.” I pulled out my phone and sent a text to Marie. “Hopefully Marie can find him a place he’s safe and not connected to any of us.”
“We could always take him to the vet.”
I rolled my eyes at her wink. “No thanks.”
We cringed at his continued screams, and I stared at my phone as I willed an answer to appear. If one didn’t, I would end up forced to contact Jackson.
At last my phone chirped and my fingers flew across the screen, relief slackened my face. “She’s sending someone to get him.”
“Is she mad?”
“She used some pretty colorful words.” I shrugged. “She’ll get over it. It’s not like we could leave him there. Not that we saved much.” I stared down at the blood dried in the cracks of my hands and under my fingernails.
The monsters were turning me into a monster too. And it bothered me how little I cared.
Every bit of color was bleached from the sky, making everything harsh and ugly and bright. I shoved the sunglasses higher on my face as I sat with a sigh on the rocker on our balcony. I gazed out at the tall buildings and abandoned cars. My head throbbed from lack of sleep, but my body was too tightly strung for me to go to bed.
I sipped my coffee as I remembered the day the monsters showed themselves.
The day the nightmare began.
The day the world ended.
The day I watched this city burn.
It’s Friday and Liv’s staying the night. We cuddle on the couch, sharing earphones, as we listen to the awesome cellists she introduces me to. My hands are still stained with grease from Alcott and I putting the finishing touches on our motorcycles. My body still vibrates from our first ride in the fading sunset. It had been glorious and freeing and I hadn’t wanted it to end.
Mom and Dad watch the news from the dining room as they go over bills, their voices quiet and filled with tipsy giggles from sipping at a bottle of wine. Alcott sits on the other side of Liv, reading a vampire novel.
Not one of us suspects it’s our last night of peace and comfort.
Screams from the TV catch all our attention and we stare at the screen in disbelief and horror. The field reporter runs from the scene of the rescued kitten, the shaky camera following. Chaos reigns in Philly as the city screams, dies, flees. The camera blacks out after getting footage of a snarling huge wolf leaping for it. After a few silent seconds of fuzz, the newscasters from the station appear on-screen, tears streaming down their stricken faces.
“We come to you now with a warning. One that defies belief. Monsters are real. They’re overrunning the cities as we speak, killing everyone in their paths. We’ve got reports from DC, New York, Chicago, LA, and numerous others of the same horrors happening there. Paris, London, Berlin as well. The President and his cabinet members have taken refuge. If you are inside, lock and barricade your doors and windows, turn off your lights, and hide. We hope to ride out the storm. The military is being mobilized and should be able to get everything under control by morning. Godspeed, everyone.”
Before the camera clicks off so the reporters can follow their own advice, they scream, eyes widening in terror.
And vampires rip out their throats with their teeth.
The TV goes dead, leaving a breathless silence, one oppressive and heavy.
Liv’s hand finds mine and we grip tight to each other, Alcott joining from her other side, chaining himself to us. Mom and Dad come to stand behind the couch, gripping our shoulders from behind.
After a few moments, Olivia stands, ripping a hole in our circle. “I have to go home. I have to go home to my parents.”
Our door flies open and her parents rush in. Liv slams herself into their arms, sobbing into their necks. It puts the rest of us into motion, Alcott and I standing and going to our own parents’ arms. Over Mom’s shoulder I see where one of them dropped a glass of wine.
Bits of the shimmering glass rest in a puddle of the crimson liquid.
I try to ignore how much it resembles the blood that flowed down the newscasters’ necks.
Alcott walked up the steps of the balcony and sat beside me, his presence washing away the memory. “Bad night?”
I snorted. “You could say that.” I brought my legs up and clasped them to my chest. “Liv and I might have taken out another monster. An enchanter.”
He groaned and closed his eyes. “That’s going to make things worse around here.”
“I couldn’t just leave the guy to die.”
He wrapped his arm around me. “I know. I’d have done the same thing. I hate that we’re supposed to stand down and wait for the sorceress to leave. She’s the reason so many from our town died. She’ll continue on to kill more, but no one wants to chance it.”
“They’re afraid of her. I talked to Marie about it and I saw the terror in her eyes. But she didn’t lose anyone to that bitch. We did. And I want her dead.”
“She needs to be stopped before she brings any more suffering to this world.”
“Then we should do something about it.”
Alcott and I jumped at Liv’s voice.
She leaned her arms on the railing, her back to us. “What’s the Uprising going to do? Arrest us? Kick us out?”
“You want to assassinate her?” Alcott asked, brows drawn together.
“I do. Very much so.” My hands clenched tighter around my legs.
Olivia’s lips quirked as she glanced at us over her shoulder. “I was going to suggest we follow her around and gather any and all intel for now. Search for weaknesses and take note of her schedule and favorite places. Then we plan her death.”
My stomach knotted with disappointment. I wanted to do something more proactive. Something soon.
“We’ll get her.” Liv’s words were a promise, a vow, a declaration.
An hour before work, I slipped through shadows on back streets to a sleek, abandoned black Acura nestled between two trash cans. It wasn’t far from where Alcott and I had hidden our motorcycles and bags. Once we took down the witch, we’d need them.
The car was empty, and after ensuring no one loitered around, I slid into the backseat, keeping low to stay out of sight. My knee bounced as I waited. My contact was late.
Paranoia quick to set in, I popped my knuckles, biting back the desire to check the area. If someone found me, I’d say I was taking a nap before work. Not the best excuse, but the best I could think of with the creepy worry invading me. The night was foggy and dark and filled with restless spirits. With the street lamps flickering on the corners, it was like something from a noir film.
I jumped, muffling a squeak when the passenger door wrenched open and a guy in a wet trench coat tumbled in. “You’re late.”
“I was followed.”
“Then why the hell did you show up?” The jackass had led them straight to me and it was no wonder they’d followed him in his ridiculous getup. I arched my neck to peer through the back window, heart thudding.
“I shook them off, it’s fine.” He puffed up in offense at a
girl young enough to be his daughter telling him how to be a spy.
The Uprising brimmed with idiots like him who thought it would be like a Jack Higgins novel. Newsflash: you aren’t Sean Dillon. My throat closed off. Mom had adored Sean Dillon so much Dad used to get a little jealous even though he was fictional.
I bit off my words to make them easy for him to understand. “Do you have what I need?”
He tossed me a packet and a box. “I don’t know if it’ll help, but it’s all I had.”
“Great. Wait five minutes and head the opposite way.”
“I know. I’m not a moron.”
Sure. “Just being careful.” Liv would be so proud of my self-control. I wanted to slam his face into the dash of the car. Where had Alcott found this guy?
Shoving the packet inside my jacket and the box under my arm, I rushed from the car, wanting far, far away from him. I hunched my shoulders against the wet air and almost ran down the alley. I checked my phone and groaned. There wasn’t time for me to take the intel back to the house and I couldn’t take it to work.
Turning left instead of right, I glanced back down the alley and shook my head. He was already scurrying the other way instead of waiting. I looked forward to tearing into Al over his choice of contacts.
It only took me two minutes to make it to the parking garage. Our bikes were on the second floor at the back and a little tension released at the sight of them. Giving mine a loving stroke, I passed them to the vent on the wall and used my knife to unscrew it. Our go-bags and illegal goods were still there under a tarp and I slipped the packet and box between them. I wanted nothing more than to see what was inside, but there was no time. I’d send Olivia to get them on her way home.
As soon as I closed the vent back up, a clattering echoed through the garage. I stayed crouched low, putting distance between me and the vent and bikes. I clutched my necklace as I huddled behind a jeep, praying it was only an animal desperate for any scrap of food.
Whispering voices hissed through the cars. “How did we lose him? We’ve searched this whole area, and he disappeared.”
“I’m more interested in what he was carrying in that trench coat of his.”
Dance of Ashes and Smoke (Age of Monsters Book 1) Page 3
