I had. I’d hurt him.
“Yes,” I whispered. I couldn’t keep quiet anymore, whatever the consequences were for speaking out. I’d known I was a danger but hadn’t taken enough precautions to protect my friends. “Mr. Ankh told me my blood work was fine, but, Cole, that can’t be true. I’m filled with zombie toxin. It’s there, inside me, and it’s alive. A part of me. A new part. I’ve seen her—heard her.”
I waited for hatred to gleam in his eyes.
I waited for a savage rage to be unleashed.
He had to kill me now. I was the enemy.
“What else?” he asked.
I blinked, confused. “Urges come, dark urges, and I find myself giving in. I never would have believed it unless—”
“What the hell happened?” Gavin demanded, cutting me off with his arrival.
I looked over in time to see him and Veronica stalk past the trees I’d burned. Z.A. might have done it, but she’d used my hands. The realization still flayed me.
The pair was as battle-wounded and dirty as Cole.
Cole reached out, squeezed my wrist. “I don’t want you to say another word about this,” he whispered.
He didn’t plan to tell the others? Why? To protect me? Maybe. What would happen if the slayers learned what I’d done to him? I’d be thrown out, no question. And they’d be smart to do it.
He lumbered to his feet, dragging me with him. “Let’s get back to the barn,” he said.
“Cole!” Veronica rushed to his side and cradled his battered face, tilting his head from one side to the other to study his injuries. “Sugar, you look like you’ve been mauled by a bear. Are you okay?”
Sugar.
“I’m fine.” Clearly uncomfortable, he set Veronica away from him.
I was too wrung out to feel jealousy just then. Or anguish. Or longing. Yeah. Way too wrung out.
I swiped at the sting in my eyes with the back of my hand.
She tossed me a glare meant to slay me on the spot. “I thought you had special powers or something like that. You should have protected him.”
“Yes,” I said sadly, “I should have.”
Gavin wrapped his arms around my shoulders in a surprising show of support, and I leaned against him. I was getting more and more comfortable with contact with him—and I wouldn’t let myself think about what that meant. It wasn’t romantic, I told myself, and that was all that mattered. “Catfight round two can wait. Cole’s right. We need to get back to the barn.”
Cole stepped toward us, the menace I’d expected earlier now radiating from him. His gaze moved from Gavin to me, then to Gavin again. He looked 100 percent capable of murder. Then he stopped himself and spun away.
So badly I wanted to follow him, to catch up to him. It was utter anguish denying myself—fine, I was feeling it—but I couldn’t risk another fight with him. Besides, I had a spy to catch.
He led the way through the forest, Veronica staying close to his heels. Along the way, we met up with Frosty and Justin, and I did some mental measuring. They were both about the size of the spy I’d seen. But then, so was Lucas. And Gavin.
Gavin also wore a bandanna.
The spy had to be someone close to our circle. I mean, the guy had known the location of Cole’s barn and that we would be on patrol tonight. But...I didn’t want to accuse any of the slayers. I might not be able to trust myself right now, but I did trust my friends. Even, surprisingly enough, Gavin.
In a lot of ways, he was like Cole. He got in your face with his with beliefs and opinions. He was fearless, cared nothing about consequences. But he was fierce when it came to the safety of his friends.
I had a lot to think about.
“What I’m about to say is true, so I’m not simply making it true in your life by speaking it, if you know what I mean, but she’s a terrible enemy to have,” Gavin said softly.
“Who? Veronica?”
He nodded.
I shrugged. I’d had enemies before, and I would make many more, I was sure. “What do guys see in her anyway? I mean, she’s beautiful, but that’s all she’s got going for her.” I think what I was really asking was—what did Cole see in her?
Gavin looked straight ahead. “She’s actually a very nice person, but envy has turned you both into raving— Well. Never mind. I want to keep my balls. As I was saying, she’s smart, and she’s funny, and the best part is, she puts out.”
Was sex always on his mind? “Your words are like poetry.”
He chuckled, saying, “I admit I’d like to take her to bed, have since the day I met her, and she’d let me, I think, if she weren’t so determined to win back Cole, but unlike your Mr. Holland, I’ve never hooked up with another slayer. I like to keep business separate from pleasure. A cliché, I know, but there are far less complications that way. As I’m sure Cole is learning.”
“I’m a slayer,” I pointed out, “and yet you keep asking me out.”
“You’re also not my type. Or you weren’t. I’m not sure what my type is anymore. You resist, and it drives me wild.”
“That’s sad.”
“That’s life.”
I rolled my eyes, a common occurrence in his presence. “You might be the weirdest person I’ve ever met.”
“Thank you.”
“I don’t think that was a compliment.”
“Agree to disagree,” he said.
We entered the barn, and my spirit jerked from Gavin’s grip, flying forward as if tugged by an invisible cord. I skidded across the room and...boom!
Gasping, I pried open my eyes. I was sitting in the chair, spirit and body joined.
Mr. Ankh knelt in front of Cole, already patching up his injuries. Just as I’d suspected, he was covered in blood.
New to-do list: Find a way to disable the zombie inside me. Kill the zombie inside me. Still do whatever proves necessary.
He blinked open his eyes and grimaced.
Mr. Ankh said, “You need stitches, son,” and began digging in his bag of supplies.
A lump grew in my throat as Cole’s gaze met mine. Violet against blue. A cold mask against sorrow.
I’m sorry, I mouthed.
He nodded, looked away.
Would he cut me from his life now that he knew about Z.A.?
It was better than death, and yet almost as painful.
“Where’s Kat?” Frosty demanded. Like Cole, he was covered in blood.
Without looking up from his task, Mr. Ankh replied, “When you started bleeding, she started screaming, and I insisted she go home.”
I bet he’d had to threaten to ban her from the building forever to actually get her to go.
Frosty raced out.
“Everyone’s been injected with the antidote?” Mr. Holland asked.
I hadn’t, but then, I hadn’t been bitten. Still, I requested a dose and received it a few minutes later. The cool stream came with a measure of strength, stopping my trembling.
“Zombies were everywhere, man,” Gavin said, standing. “We couldn’t contain them all.”
“Yeah, and they seemed to know exactly where we’d be,” Lucas threw at Justin.
Justin shot to his feet. “I didn’t tell anyone about tonight. I didn’t know I’d be meeting with everyone until fifteen minutes ago, when Cole came and got me.”
“Ever heard of a phone? Texting?”
“Cole watched me the entire time. And do you really think a zombie is capable of taking my calls?”
“You were in the locker room alone for several minutes. You could have gotten a message to someone at Anima,” Trina spat. “They could have arranged this.”
“You think I’m wearing a wire, too?” He ripped his shirt over his head, revealing a hard, cut physique I hadn’t known he had.
A hand penetrated my line of sight, and I glanced up. Gavin stood in front of me, offering me assistance. I twined our fingers, and he tugged me to a stand. I wasn’t as strong as I’d thought, because my knees almost buckled. He wound his arm around me and held m
e up.
A chair skidded. I saw Cole stand, brush Mr. Ankh aside and stalk into the locker room. The door slammed shut with a loud bang.
Of course, Veronica followed him.
* * *
I fell asleep thinking about ways to disable Z.A. Cut off my hands? Remove all my teeth? Then I’d live, and she’d have no way of hurting anyone.
Let’s make that plan B.
The ring of my cell woke me. From the bed, I blindly reached out, patting my nightstand. “Hello,” I rasped when the phone was at my ear. What time was it?
“You missed our appointment, Miss Bell.”
Dr. Bendari?
I jolted upright. The fancy wall clock said it was 5:59 a.m. I’d set my alarm for six, and—my phone vibrated, right on cue. I needed to get ready for school.
“Something came up,” I said. “I tried to call, but you shut off your phone.”
“A necessary precaution.”
“And why is that?”
“Do you expect me to believe you don’t want your slayer friends to capture me?”
Reverse psychology? Please. “I’m the one with doubts, Dr. Bendari. You could be planning to murder me.”
“I guess we’re going to have to trust each other. Are you still interested in meeting?”
“I am.”
“Good, because I’d like to hear about the trouble you had last night.”
Had he sent the spy...his source? “How do you know about that?”
I imagined him shrugging as he said, “How else?”
“Well, the only way your source could have heard about last night’s activities was if he was at the scene.”
A chuckle devoid of humor crackled over the line. “Is that so? Well, you should check the morning news reports.”
The news? I scrambled for the TV remote, pressed Power. Colors filled the screen. I switched channels and came to—
“—awoke to find twenty-six people had died from antiputrefactive syndrome,” a reporter was saying. She stood on a street, the address of a neighborhood close to Cole’s scrolling across the screen.
Antiputrefactive syndrome: when the human body was infected with zombie toxin. Although civilians had no idea that was the cause.
The reporter continued. “Last year, two local high school boys died of this rare disease, and citizens were told it was not contagious. Just a month ago, an elderly man died. How and why are so many infected? The CDC has arrived, and the houses of the affected have been quarantined.”
Dr. Bendari sighed with regret. “People were killed, Miss Bell. People who will rise again. Zombies entered their homes and ate every bit of their humanity, leaving only evil behind.”
“Why?” The moisture in my mouth dried. “How?”
“Not every home has a Blood Line.”
That would change, I thought, fisting the comforter. Soon.
For once, the C word actually empowered me.
“The zombies are mutating,” he explained. “Just like you are mutating. They’ve become hungrier. They’ve become stronger. They—”
My door burst open and banged against the wall. Mr. Ankh and Mr. Holland strode inside. Both were scowling with a fury they’d never before directed at me. My heart drummed inside my chest, nearly cracking my ribs.
“What’s going on?” I demanded. “What are you doing?”
Dr. Bendari said something, but I couldn’t make out the words.
“Come with us, Ali,” Mr. Holland said. “Now.”
Dr. Bendari went quiet.
Last night, Gavin had dropped me off and I’d showered, dressed in a tank and boxer shorts and fallen into bed. The men weren’t seeing anything they shouldn’t, but I was still embarrassed. “What’s going on?” I repeated. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me.”
Mr. Ankh popped his jaw. “There’s something you need to see.”
I severed the connection with Dr. Bendari and stood. I was led down the hall, down the stairs, down another flight of stairs and into the basement. The air grew cooler and danker with every step, and I felt a layer of ice glaze my skin—one that matched the layer growing inside me. At the end of a hallway, we paused at the only door. It was closed and locked. Mr. Ankh pressed his hand against a new ID box, and a bright yellow light flashed.
The hinges on the door loosened, the entrance opening under its own steam.
We swept inside the laboratory. The floors were concrete, with drains in several locations. There were multiple curtained stalls, each containing a gurney with wrist and ankle straps.
I gulped.
Mr. Holland motioned to a chair in front of a TV screen.
Shaking, I sat. “I’ve already seen the news.”
“That has nothing to do with this moment. Now, I’m going to check your vitals.” As he poked and prodded, he asked me one question. Only one. “Are you working for Anima?”
“No! Of course not.” I had to tell him the truth, didn’t I? Another to-do list: Talk. Admit everything. Pray for the best.
So, I did it. I poured out every Z.A. detail I’d been hoarding.
When I finished, Mr. Ankh shook his head. “Impossible. You’re still human.”
“For now.”
He stared at me a long while, silent. Then he grimaced and pressed a button on a remote. Bright green colored the entire TV screen and—the forest! I saw the forest.
“This was taped through a night-vision lens,” he said. “I have more cameras out there than any of you realized. I don’t always check them, but the gash in Cole’s cheek was strange, something I’d never seen before. When I asked him about it, he refused to answer.”
I watched as a red line dove at another red line, knocking it to the ground. The two stayed in that position for several minutes, as though...talking. Cole and I, I realized.
“We’re spirits. How did the camera pick us up?” I asked, dazed.
“Special camera. Special equipment.”
“Did you happen to see the guy I was following?”
“Yes. But like you, he’s just a line.”
On the screen, Cole sat up. We talked some more. Stood. Walked around. A brighter red consumed my hands and I struck him. He fell. Stood again. We faced off. I came at him. He dodged.
Brighter pricks of red appeared at the tree line. The zombies?
A line—me—crashed into the ground.
That was when I’d fallen and blacked out. When Z.A. had taken over.
I watched myself stand and angle toward Cole. Oh, no. Please, no. I walked toward him. He ignored me and ran to the zombies, attacking with a vengeance. I followed him. Rather than helping him, I struck him from behind.
I clutched my stomach, feeling as if I’d swallowed shards of glass. The zombies converged on him, yet still he managed to fight them off, working his way to his feet. I came at him again, obviously intending to hurt him, but he sidestepped me, putting his body between me and the zombies. He could have punched me, knocked me out, or even thrown me to the wolves. I’d left myself wide-open. Instead, he returned his focus to the zombies.
In that moment, I truly hated myself. How could I have attacked Cole in such a way? At such a critical time?
The zombies encircled him, reached for him. I grabbed two of the creatures by the arm, ripping them away from him, my target, and tossing them into the trees.
Wait. Maybe I’d been helping him, after all.
The red flames spread from my arms to the rest of my body, engulfing me. I grabbed two other zombies, repeating the toss. When they recovered, they paid me no heed, keeping their sights on Cole. I closed the distance and flattened one hand against a tree—the leaves turned to ash in an instant—and collared one of the zombies with the other. He didn’t turn to ash but flopped around. I leaned down...and bit into his neck.
In the here and now, a scowling Mr. Ankh stepped in front of me. I stuttered around for the right words—found none. The horror of seeing myself do something like that... To know I’d ingested zombie rot
...
“Miss Bell, I’m not sure I believe you about being both human and zombie, with the zombie part of you able to manifest outside your body. But I do know I can no longer allow you to live in my home, with my daughter. I want you out within the hour.”
Chapter 15
You Had Me at Goodbye
I went into the bathroom and dressed, then packed up what few belongings I had. A couple of shirts, a couple of pairs of jeans, my daggers and the journal. That was it. Didn’t take me long. Ten minutes, maybe. Tears burned at the backs of my eyes, but I blinked them away. No way I’d cry over this. I’d lost a home before, and one I’d loved with all my heart.
This? This was nothing.
Then why does it hurt so much?
I think a part of me had always known this day would come. I anchored the bag’s strap over my shoulder and strode out of the room, bypassing the cold-blooded Mr. Ankh and the stone-hearted Mr. Holland.
Nana paced at the front entrance, her bag resting on the floor. Her anxious gaze landed on me as I pounded down the stairs, and she looked as if she’d aged ten years overnight. Her hair was a mess. Her blouse and slacks were wrinkled. She wore no makeup.
Someone had woken her up and forced her to hurry.
I gnashed my teeth, noticed the second heart pounding ferociously in my chest and forced myself to breathe, to calm before the hunger had time to hit.
“Are you all right?” she asked me.
What had she been told? I forced a small smile. “I’m...stable. You?”
“Oh, I’m fine.” Her gaze shifted to Mr. Ankh and narrowed. “What’s going on? Why are you doing this to us?”
“I’ll allow your granddaughter to explain. But there’s no reason for you to fret. I’m not leaving you homeless. I’ve rented you a place in your old neighborhood. The address has already been programmed into your car’s GPS.”
I hated that he was paying our way and wanted to refuse. I didn’t. Not yet. I’d let him spend his money only as long as it took me to find a new place—our place, one we could afford on our own. One he couldn’t ever take away from us.
I picked up Nana’s bag. As she struggled to understand what Mr. Ankh hadn’t said, I ushered her outside. Her sedan was waiting in the driveway, the keys already in the ignition, the engine purring.
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