Atoning

by Kelley Armstrong

  "But he's not."

  She made a face, fidgeting with the zipper on her sweater. "Logically, I know there's no reason to suspect Luke any more than Moreno. Probably less, because Moreno is head of security. If he wanted to sell us out, he has everything he would need to do it, and the only thing stopping him would be..."

  "Loyalty to your father."

  "Loyalty from a guy who, I suspect, is only loyal as long as it's in his best interests. My gut says to trust him, but my head says, hell, no. I'll keep putting him off, and we'll see how it goes."

  We found out why Rae and her mother hadn't come to Badger Lake. It seemed someone had gotten to her and convinced her that the Cabal was evil and Badger Lake didn't exist, at least not as Sean had sold it to her. I wasn't surprised. It's not like Cabals are known for altruism, especially this one.

  The Nasts were the Cabal that had kidnapped Simon and Derek's dad, Kit and held him captive, interrogating him about the Edison Group while Derek and Simon ended up at Lyle House. Which should make it seem as if brainwashing really had been involved in our decision to trust Sean. The truth is that Kit had been remarkably unwilling to hold a grudge. The Nasts had treated him well enough and he had worked for the Edison Group, so it was perfectly reasonable that they would kidnap him to learn more. It was just business. I suppose that says a lot about the supernatural world. Yet Kit's experience also meant he hadn't been about to trust the Nasts without a whole lot of negotiations and background checks on Sean. Rae's mother wouldn't have gone that far. She'd been told "Nasts = bad," and they'd run.

  The people who'd saved her and Rae from the Nasts had continued to be helpful. They'd backed off for a while, after letting Rae and her mom know they were there for support. Then, they'd come back, admitting they were concerned about the rest of us. They hated to get involved--they feared the Cabals--but it was their duty as supernaturals to help these innocent teens escape the tyrannical Nasts. And as much as they'd love to do it themselves, they really needed Rae's help. She'd never gotten over what happened with the Edison Group and had told her mother many times that she wished she could do something to make up for her mistakes. Now she finally could.

  "You realize they've fed you a complete line of bullshit," Maya said.

  Rae turned a cool look on her. "I'm not actually talking to you. I don't know you."

  "Oh, sorry," Maya put out her hand. "Maya Delaney. Seventeen. Grade twelve. Skin-walker, as you saw. I love animals, science, track-and-field and long walks in the rain. Well, no, actually, I hate the rain. It's a cat thing. But while I might not have as good a sense of smell as Derek here, mine's not bad, and it's particularly attuned to the smell of bullshit. I'm guessing, though, that yours isn't quite as good. You bought their story, right?"

  Rae bristled. "Of course I did. Because it's true."

  "No," Daniel said. "It just has enough of a ring of truth to make it believable. Everyone knows the Nast Cabal is capable of exactly what you've been told. You want to believe it, because you want to make up for what you did to Chloe. But take a good look at their story, Rae. They're saying that Chloe and Derek have been brainwashed into thinking they've got it good in Badger Lake. Yet, according to them, we're living in some kind of institution, our parents dead or missing from our lives. Doesn't that sound exactly like the lab Chloe escaped? What amount of brainwashing could make her accept that life? What amount could make Derek accept it?"

  Oh, and another gift that benandanti get? The power of persuasion. Daniel knows how to formulate and deliver a good argument, and his powers give him an extra boost that ensures people listen. Rae didn't cave immediately, but when he asked her for more details, she gave them. He teased out everything these people had said about us, and then he poked holes, gently but convincingly, through the fabric of their story, until there was nothing left but shreds.

  "So, you're telling me I've done it again," Rae said quietly. "First the Edison Group tricks me into thinking Chloe is better off with them. Then, this group tricks me into thinking she's better off escaping to them."

  "You tried to do the right thing," Daniel said. "Both times. We all get that."

  Her gaze slid to Derek, who said, "After you were fooled once, I'd really think you'd do a little more digging before you let it happen again."

  Maya shot him a you're not helping look.

  "I'll accept that you screwed up," Derek said. "Twice. But it doesn't mean I understand how it can happen. Twice."

  Maya looked at him. "From the guy who spent months in a group home run by the Edison Group and thought it was just a group home."

  "Hey, I figured it out. And I never did it again."

  "And you guarantee you never could do it again? Get tricked like that?"

  Derek's gaze shot to me for backup. I did nothing. Maya got his attention and mouthed Just work with us. Please? I suspected she found it equally hard to believe that Rae had been fooled twice, but making her feel bad about it would only get her back up, and, right now, we really needed Rae on our side.

  "I won't say it couldn't happen," Derek finally allowed. "If it did, though, I'd hope that I'd have the sense to shape up and help out the person I nearly betrayed a second time."

  Maya winced at the heavy-handedness of that. Clearly werewolves did not have the gift of persuasion.

  "Badger Lake isn't perfect," I said. "We know exactly what it is, and we'll be happy to explain it to you, but, I can guarantee, we aren't prisoners there, and we aren't brainwashed. We've all been through that sort of thing before, and we're never going to let it happen again. Ask us anything you like, but quickly because we really need to get out of here, before your new friends find us."

  "I'd suggest we get out of here anyway," Daniel said. "We can talk as we walk."

  We gave Rae the proof she seemed to need that our story was legit. Derek contributed nothing beyond the suggestion that we tie her to the nearest tree and leave her there. While I was the first to defend her, it wasn't with the same conviction as a year ago. I didn't suspect her of treachery this time, but, well, I struggled more now, with the same exasperation and frustration Derek felt.

  More than that, having her here thrust me back into those memories, and I looked at them with fresh eyes. She had been tricked. I knew that beyond a doubt. Yet she'd refused to listen to reason, and while I understood where that came from--the seemingly orphaned girl who desperately needed to belong, needed to feel as if someone cared--I look back now, and I'm angrier than I was then. I have less patience with her than I did then.

  When she was supposed to join us in Badger Lake, I'd still hoped we could be friends again. Now, being with her and Maya, and Daniel and Derek, I had to face the truth, that my friends were those who'd stuck by me--these three and Simon and, yes, even Tori. I wanted to help Rae. I wanted to bring her to Badger Lake, if that was the best thing for her. And I was sure we'd get along, the same as I did with Sam, Corey and Hayley, but it might never be more than that. Too much had happened. I forgave her mistakes, but I couldn't trust that she wouldn't keep making them, and that endangered all of us. So, as we reached the truck, I agreed when Daniel suggested he drive, putting me in the back with Maya. I had taken the driver's seat earlier to shield Rae from Derek, but she didn't need that, and I trusted he wasn't going to do anything to make her take off.

  "We need to deal with Moreno," Maya said, raising her voice to be heard over the rumble of the truck's tires on the dirt road.

  She showed me her cell. Our half-hour grace period had ended ten minutes ago, and he'd texted eight times since. She'd started replying that we were almost done, which had worked for about five minutes. Then:

  10:33. Moreno: U know I can track yr phone, right?

  Maya: But u r not supposed to. Company rules.

  Moreno: Not until I need to, my discretion.

  Maya: Is that a threat?

  Moreno: Does it need 2 b?

  Maya: It's PIZZA.

  Moreno: No, it's not.

  Moreno: D
on't play the irresponsible teen, Miss Maya. doesn't suit u.

  Moreno: Five minutes & I turn on tracking.

  "Ask where he is," I said.

  She did, and he replied that he was at the campsite, where we should be. We discussed our options. Then, I rapped on the divider between the truck bed and the cab. Derek opened it.

  "Moreno's had enough," I said. "He knows something's up. Maya and I think we should agree to meet him back at the campsite. Go in prepared for ambush. It's that or ditch our cell phones and hope the Nasts haven't implanted tracking devices during our medical exams."

  "Oh, they have," Daniel said. "Guaranteed. And if anyone has access to that data, it's Moreno."

  "That's a 'yes,' then? Meet him at the campsite?"

  "It's our only option," Derek said. "Best case, we prove he's not the one who sold us out. Worst case?"

  "Take him down and interrogate him," Daniel said.

  Derek nodded, and I returned to Maya.

  Nine

  We weren't about to drive right up to the campsite. Daniel parked a half mile away. Derek wanted to leave Rae there, bound and gagged, and I think we actually might have, if we'd had anything to bind her with. Instead, she walked in front of Derek, who warned that if she made any sudden moves, he'd put her down. We knew he meant "put her down on the ground." Rae didn't seem so sure. He didn't clarify.

  We'd just started down a path to the campsite when Maya's phone chirped with a text. She frowned at it and showed us.

  10:55. Moreno: Stay where u r.

  10:56. Maya texted back: What?

  It took about ten seconds for a reply. When it came, it was one word: STAY!!!

  "Huh," Daniel said.

  "Yep, that's my reaction, too," Maya said. "It could mean he's realized Luke is a traitor. Or that he's seen someone staking out the campsite. Or that he wants us to think that, so we'll trust him when we catch up."

  "Isn't this guy supposed to be your head of security?" Rae said.

  Maya nodded.

  "And you don't trust him?" Rae said. "Maybe that's a sign things aren't as good as you think."

  "Things are exactly what we think they are," Maya said as she pocketed her phone. "We're in the safest possible situation, which, for us, means we still have to suspect the worst of everyone over the age of eighteen, however much we might like them."

  "And you're okay living like that?"

  "It's the only way we will live. Which is kinda the long-term goal."

  When we neared the camp, we split up. Derek took Rae. Maya and I stuck together. Daniel looped around the other side, to circle in from that angle.

  "Up?" Maya said as she scanned the trees.

  I nodded.

  Being a part-time wildcat, Maya's a first-rate climber. As for me, it was one of the few physical skills I was good at even before I went on the run--my small size and a few gymnastics trophies made me a natural. Up we went, shimmying into a tree as close to the camp as we could get. Then, we did something I never would have dared before--moving from tree to tree. I've had practice, though, goofing around with Maya, and we managed to position ourselves right over the camp.

  Maya and I texted the guys to let them know where we were, and then we silenced our phones against the inevitable replies. At a noise from below, we peered through the canopy to see Moreno perched on the same table I'd sat on earlier. He had a beer in one hand and a trail guide in the other. A fire blazed in the pit, the only source of light in the dark campsite.

  "You getting that lantern?" Moreno called. "I can't read this damn thing by firelight. Hell if I know why I'm reading it at all. Those kids are in serious shit when they get back here. We're not taking them hiking in the morning. They'll be lucky if I don't haul their asses home tonight."

  "They're teenagers," Luke said. "Cut them some slack. There are far worse things they could do than play hooky for a few hours. I want to see that waterfall tomorrow. I'll read the trail guide myself, just as soon as I find this lantern." A shuffle of movement from their tent. "Are you sure you packed it?"

  "Yes, I'm sure, just like I'm sure it's exactly where I said it was." Moreno snapped the trail guide shut. "I suppose you need me to come there and find it."

  "Well, it's a little hard to find without actual illumination. You're the one with the flashlight."

  "Penlight," Moreno said, taking out his keys and flicking it on. "Which doesn't do shit, as you're about to see."

  He stalked off to the tent, disappeared inside and said, "The least you can do is hold the flap so I get some extra light."

  "How? The fire's over on the other side."

  Moreno grumbled, and I heard him moving things around the tent, saying, "Goddamn it, you made a mess. Why the hell were you looking in my backpack? I said the duff--"

  An oomph cut Moreno off mid-word. Then, a gasp. Maya was already dropping out of the tree. I scrambled down as the sounds of struggle erupted from inside the tent. Then, the pfft of a silenced shot. Maya let out a cry, and a dark shape charged into her, sending her flying off her feet. I hit the ground and took three running steps before I saw who'd knocked her down. It was Derek, now on his stomach a few feet from where she was doing the same.

  I caught a glimpse of Rae, hunkered down where Derek had left her, on the other side of the fire. Daniel was running toward them, hunched over. Derek saw me and started pushing to his feet, his eyes so wide I could see the whites. I hit the ground before he got up, and we all went still, gazes fixed on the tent, silent now.

  "Fuck." It was Moreno, the word coming on a heave of breath. "You fucking, stupid kid. Goddamn you."

  Daniel veered toward the tent. When Maya and Derek started to rise, he motioned a game plan. They nodded and separated, circling around the tent, animal instincts keeping their footfalls silent.

  Daniel glanced my way to make sure I was staying where I was. I can hold my own in a fight, but my powers don't give me any advantage. In this situation--like when they'd been fighting in the alley--the best thing I could do was stand watch against unexpected interference. That also meant keeping an eye on Rae, but she was staying where she was.

  Daniel neared the tent flap. Inside, Moreno was still cursing. A sudden hiss had Derek, Maya and Daniel going still. It was the lantern, hissing to life. I could see Moreno's figure inside the tent now, crouching as he muttered under his breath.

  "Moreno?" Daniel said.

  Moreno shot up. "Goddamn it? I told--"

  "Throw the gun toward the door."

  A sigh. Then, a thump.

  "Yours, too. And if I see you disappear--"

  "I'm not going anywhere." The thump of a second gun. Moreno's silhouette waved his hands over his head. "Can you see me?"

  "Where's Luke?"

  "Well, I'm guessing you heard that shot."

  "Is he okay?" Maya called.

  Another sigh. Deeper. "No, he's not. Dumb kid. Can I come out, and we can have this conversation in person?"

  Daniel retrieved the guns and had Moreno walk, hands on his head, to the fire pit. We all joined him there, Derek escorting Rae. Moreno glanced at her, eyes narrowing as if she looked familiar. Then, he said, "Fuck. Is that what this is about?"

  "Tell us what happened," Maya said.

  As Moreno started to explain, I leaned over and whispered something to Maya. She nodded, and I went to the tent. Derek watched me but didn't come after me. I could hear Moreno telling his story as I slipped into the tent.

  I tried not to look at Luke's body. It wasn't as if I hadn't seen a corpse before. I'm a necromancer; I see more than I like. A necromancer can't only communicate with the dead--she can raise them, too, and part of my wonky, genetically modified powers means that my zombie juice is a little overpowered. I've been known to accidentally reanimate dead things. Which is not pleasant--for me or the poor spirit caught in the rotting body.

  I'd learned to control it, but that was part of the reason I hadn't asked someone else to run this errand. Dead bodies make me nervous, an
d the more exposure I have to them, the more confident I get that I won't have an unfortunate power surge around them. I entered the tent and avoided looking at Luke while clutching my necklace, which seemed to be oddly warm. My sweaty hands, I guess. I walked to Moreno's backpack, found what I was looking for and left.

  Moreno was telling the others that he'd overheard Luke making a phone call, one telling someone we were missing. Luke promised he'd "take care of things." That's when Moreno had texted Maya to stay away. When Luke lured him into the tent to find the lantern, he knew he was about to get jumped. He'd used his powers to get the jump on Luke instead, wresting the gun away. In the ensuing struggle, the gun went off, and Luke was now dead on the tent floor. Which was not what Moreno had intended, as evidenced by the cursing.

  "Can't interrogate a corpse," Moreno said.

  "Also, he's dead," Maya said.

  Moreno muttered that anyone who pulled a gun on him shouldn't expect to live through it, but he added, "Dumb kid," with an angry shake of his head, and I knew he regretted what happened. Not that he had a problem with killing someone who posed a threat, but neither Luke's crimes nor his threat potential had warranted the death penalty.

  "So, that's your story," Maya said.

  "Story?"

  She gave him a hard look. "Don't expect us to believe it just because you warned us. That would be a good way to gain our trust. Killing Luke would be a good way to claim he was the leak, since he's not alive to claim otherwise."

  "You must have heard us fighting in the tent. You heard him jump me."

  "No," Derek said. "We heard a fight in the tent and a gun go off. We can't say for sure who started that fight."

  "So you don't trust me: the guy who taught you everything you know. I'm guessing if you have her"--he jerked his thumb at Rae--"that's no accident. Luke's buddies sent her to trap you, and she thought she was doing the right thing, because, duh, she's already proven she's kinda gullible that way."

  "Hey!" Rae said.

  "You are. Own it. Fix it. Now, you guys have her, which means you escaped whoever sent her after you. You didn't escape without a fight, given that bruise I see rising on Daniel's jaw and the scrapes on Derek's knuckles. But you escaped, and you came back here, and you captured me. Who taught you all that?"