Last Chance (DarkWorld: SkinWalker Book 3)

by Ayer, T. G.

  I smiled. “No need for friends, Grams. We just need to be sure none of us is out to kill each other while we’re trying to free Mom.”

  Grams gave a snort, the sound wet and amused. “I promise I won’t try to kill any one of our team.”

  With a soft laugh, I said, “Thanks, Grams.”

  ***

  When I left the room, Illyria handed me a gun. “Oh, thanks. But I already have plenty of weapons.”

  She shook her head and smiled. “It’s not the gun you need. It’s the ammo.”

  I raised my eyebrows, already guessing what they’d done. “You did it?” I asked, almost breathless.

  She nodded, grinning widely at me. The expression was odd, especially when it made the little wrinkly lines at the outer edges of her eyes widen and resemble vents.

  “That’s incredible. You must have an amazing scientist.” Illyria hesitated, then looked from her general to me. It felt like she was about to say something, but I watched the exchange between her and Wren closely. He gave a slight shake of his head as if to say no. Then she fell silent, her expression a little odd. I had to admit I was disappointed. I’d thought they could be trusted, but they were holding out on me, and I didn’t like it. “What are you not telling me?” I asked, my tone a little frostier than a minute ago.

  The Rebel leader smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry, Kailin. We just need to be very sure before we take the risk of revealing the identity of our scientist. What you need to know is he is efficient and very dedicated to our cause and to protecting humanity. I just wanted you to know he worked long and hard on cloning the ammo.” Her speech was well thought out, but something didn’t click about it. Why did I care who her scientist was?

  “Have you tested it?” I asked, changing the subject.

  She nodded. “We have used it in two raids since you left, and though it’s not deadly, it incapacitates long enough for the Wraith to be taken prisoner.”

  “It doesn’t kill?” She shook her head. “But my poisons are deadly,” I said, finding it strange they hadn’t been able to fully clone the poison.

  She shrugged. “It must have something to do with the cloning process. Your poison is deadly, but the cloned version only dulls the senses for a short period of time. Whatever the case, we are satisfied. It gives us an upper hand in the raids.”

  I snorted. “As long as the technology doesn’t get fed to Widd’en’s men, you mean?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Widd’en’s men have been bleeding my mother. No other reason to do that unless they know about my glow.” I stated the words a little too coldly and cursed myself for the lack of control. But it was my mother I was talking about, so I didn’t give a fuck about control right now.

  Illyria’s eyes widened even when it seemed it wasn’t possible, her eyes being already unnaturally large. “I have been working on discovering the mole. I’m not very far from receiving the notification.” She was trying to give as little information as possible, and from the ripple of anger that ran across Wren’s expression, I knew why. He didn’t appreciate being on her list.

  Too bad, dude. If you’re our man, you just better hope you aren’t found out, I thought.

  Then Illyria continued. “Thank you for letting me know. I’m sorry your mother has to bear the brunt of Widd’en’s destructive goals.”

  I gave her a sharp nod, then turned and strode to the table. Four thirty. Sunrise in just over an hour. To Logan, I said, “So are we ready?”

  He nodded and handed me a walkie-talkie like no other. I raised my eyes and examined the device. It looked like a smart phone, no antenna, no bulky speakerphones. Then he handed me a tiny earpiece, which I stuck in my right ear, followed by a tiny microphone, which I pinned to my collar. I certainly couldn’t fail to feel very FBI.

  “We are all in contact. The frequency has been programmed and the lines are tested and in good order.”

  I nodded, glancing around to see everyone else already wired, including the Wraiths. “Do we have a plan of attack?”

  Logan studied my face and said, “I was hoping for your input before we decided firmly on anything.”

  I cleared my throat, thrown off balance by Logan’s deference. I had almost expected him to take over, but I also did relish the idea that the mission was mine to lead. A little voice inside my head said, Mine to fail too. I tried not to listen, but I couldn’t deny that the doubt sat thick in my gut, like a layer of poisonous oil on a clear ocean. I stared at the sketch Logan had drawn on a large sheet of paper, a map of the warehouse area. “When did we get these?” I asked.

  “Saleem and Cassie went out and did a little recon.” I glanced at them and gave them a grateful nod.

  “Okay, I think we should break up into at least five smaller groups. One to take out the guards at the front gate, the other four to simultaneously dispense with the four sets of perimeter guards.”

  Logan nodded approvingly. “Exactly what I was thinking.”

  “So Lily and Anjelo, you two get as close as possible outside the gate and wait for our signal. You can use the long-range rifle and the bow to finish them off. How many were there?” I glanced up as two voices said two, both Mel and Cassandra. “Okay, so you guys pick your poison and your target, finish them off, and get over those gates.” The couple nodded, their faces both so deadly serious I wanted to smile.

  “So the other four teams… I suggest a jumper with a non-jumper.” I studied the map markings that showed three guards on the rooftop. Tapping the little red circles with my finger, I said, “Grams, Larsson can jump you and Cassie to the rooftop. You guys eliminate those Wraiths, then leave Grams there to keep a lookout. Larson and Cassie will take the north corner. Mel and Drake east. Illyria and I will take south, and Saleem and Iain west. Logan and Wren, time your entry to after the outside guards are eliminated.”

  Logan nodded. “A simultaneous entry would be stronger. All outside guards eliminated. We enter together for maximum effect.” I nodded. Looks like I didn’t do too badly with strategy. “The warehouse had three floors and the refrigerators are on the ground floor at the east end of the building. First team heads directly for Celeste. Kai, you head to her. Mel and Drake will meet you there. The rest of us will spread around the building. I think we have enough of a surprise factor with the jumpers to allow us to catch them off guard. But just be careful.”

  “Yeah, they’re using human ammunition, so be extra careful. I want everyone out alive, please.” Nods all around. I guess they all wanted to get out alive too.

  Logan went on to cover plan A and then plan B for the rest of the team. My team, though, had only one mission. Get Mom out of there.

  Fast.

  ***

  Chapter 31

  Everyone moved together, the jumpers taking us all to the site in small batches. Although weighed down by my old, ratty satchel filled to the brim with ammo and weapons, I moved fast, light on my feet. I drew on my panther senses, allowing night-sight to filter through, ignoring the burn of the physical change.

  The chilly early morning air created visible clouds as I exhaled. I tried to breath out into the crook of my elbow and noticed Illyria doing the same. She didn’t seem at all annoyed with being split up from the general. We’d been deposited outside the building, near the fence, and hid behind stacks of wet wooden pallets. Rain had moistened the tarred ground between us and the south entrance, which happened to be a solid metal door with a giant metal padlock looped into the catcher. Two Wraiths guarded the door, taking turns walking the length of the building and then returning.

  Hooded and shadowed, we couldn’t make out their faces, not even in the reflection of the lights on the puddles dotting the ground. The warehouse itself was a giant building constructed of brick and large multi-paned windows. Here and there, a pane was shattered, probably street kids chucking stones, but mostly the building looked intact. Lights were on inside, and every so often, a shadow passed over the sodden road as a Wraith guard pace
d his station inside.

  Illyria and I crouched and watched the guards, waiting for Logan’s signal. We’d set our watches, but he planned to give the signal over the wireless feed just in case. I met Illyria’s gaze and pointed at the guard on the left, then to me. I’d take him down when the time came. She nodded.

  A few minutes later, the guards swapped position and now my target was sitting while Illyria’s was pacing up and down, splashing in the pooled water. So much for well-laid plans. I looked at her over my shoulder and found she’d focused on the guards, her eyes flitting back and forth between the two.

  I lifted my bow, aiming left, while Illyria aimed her pistol right. Just when I thought it was past time to move, Logan’s voice sounded in my ear. Call for attention. The pacing guard was inches within my sight. I pulled a veil of calm over me, listening to my heartbeat as it slowed. Finger on the trigger, getting the guard in my sights. Seconds later, my phone vibrated softly in my jacket pocket. Sunrise. And Logan’s voice whispered, “Now.” I adjusted my aim and pulled the trigger.

  The bullet hit the Wraith’s neck with a soft thud, no louder than the tap of a heel on a carpet. The guard dropped slowly to his knees, then slumped forward, his hand hitting a puddle of water with a flat splash. I winced and ducked down behind the pallets, not waiting to see his final demise. Peering over at Illyria’s target, I saw a Wraith leaning against the door, his head hanging forward as if he’d just fallen asleep. Seconds later, he began to disintegrate, his body breaking into tiny little particles of solid blackness. The shadows danced around him as his body began to deflate, the Wraith cloak suddenly all that was left of the guard. I watched the cloak fall straight to the ground in a silent splash of fabric.

  The Rebel leader turned her eyes to me and grinned, then gave me a quick thumbs-up. I smiled in response, wondering how it was that she remained unaffected after watching the death of a fellow Wraith. Even if Collins were dying at my feet, I’d feel something to mark his death. Maybe her lack of emotion was because she was a woman bred of war, had probably spent most of her life in the midst of battle.

  We counted down the seconds to the next phase of the mission. Moments later, Logan gave the go ahead, and Illyria and I scuttled across the wet tar and pasted ourselves against the wall beside the dead guard.

  I rifled through the cloak, grabbed the weapons, which amounted to three pistols, and snatched up the fat key that had hung on a thick chain around his neck. All done, I handed the key to Illyria and kept a panther eye out while she jiggled it in the lock and snapped the padlock open. She slid it out carefully, then dropped it onto the pile of fabric that had once been a Wraith.

  She pulled the door, the slit of light growing ever larger as she opened it wider to slide inside. After a quick, “We’re going in,” to Logan on the wireless, I followed her through the slim opening, then pulled the door shut behind me as gingerly as I could.

  The door snapped closed with a click that sounded deathly loud to my oversensitive ears. When no guards came running, I figured we’d bought ourselves some time. The layout of the warehouse was simple. Three floors with two stairwells, each on the north and the south ends.

  Illyria and I ignored the stairs and headed right, toward the refrigerators. Inside, the warehouse appeared abandoned, but that was probably only the appearance of the ground floor. The building looked like it had been abandoned a while back, the distribution floor empty except for a few broken pallets and some empty cardboard boxes strewn about.

  Nothing moved.

  Illyria and I tiptoed slowly, silently across the floor toward a large set of double doors. The doors were set with frosted glass that annoyed me. But Illyria seemed unaffected, just vanished through the wall beside the door, then reappeared to give me the okay.

  She also gave me the chills.

  Seeing her pass through a solid wall, even knowing she was a Wraith, made my stomach turn. I refocused my attention, dialing up my panther senses. My inner feline seemed to sense the urgency of the situation and clawed at me to let her free. It was strange that suddenly she had the urge for freedom, but now was not the time.

  Illyria was about to open the door when I put my hand on hers and keyed up my hearing. There, I knew I’d heard something. The soft fall of a heel on concrete. The hiss of breath, almost silent, but not to my ears. I lifted a finger to my lips and moved away from the door, crouching beside a wall that I hoped was far enough away that the guard wouldn’t see me the moment he came through the doorway. I didn’t want to use my guns yet, and the crossbow’s silence was perfect. As soon as the door opened, I let loose the arrow. Only afterward did I consider that the Wraith might actually have been Wren’do.

  Logan hadn’t told me when he and the general would be entering the building. As the Wraith guard sank to the ground, I lifted my collar, holding the microphone to my lips. “I just took down another guard. Please tell me Wren’do isn’t anywhere on the ground floor.”

  “You’re clear,” was all Logan said.

  Satisfied that the tendrils of smoky blackness disappearing into the ether didn’t belong to Illyria’s right-hand man, I followed her through the doorway and left, down a short passage that from memory should run straight down the middle of the last third of the ground floor. At the south wall, we should reach a bank of commercial fridges.

  We moved forward, me in the lead with my bow aimed straight ahead, Illyria behind, ready to flit away if required to perform a silent kill. We reached the passage and I hugged the wall before peeping around the corner. It looked clear, but I still used my panther senses to see if anything alive was lurking around the place.

  Nothing.

  Seemed too easy.

  I slipped around the corner and hurried along the corridor. I could make out the grey gleam of the metal refrigerator doors up ahead. Numerous doors led off the passage, all closed and everything deathly quiet. My heart slammed against my chest, screaming that something was wrong. I slowed and stood against the wall. Tilting my head, I whispered, “Something is off. Everyone stay alert.”

  “Any specifics?” asked Logan. The line was so clear I had to look beside me to make sure he was standing right there.

  “Just that it’s been way too easy. Widd’en’s men aren’t stupid or sloppy.”

  “Okay, everyone on alert,” Logan whispered, then fell to silence.

  I edged forward, feeling Illyria move slowly with me. We’d reached the end of the corridor and now faced the bank of fridges. The path in front of them was empty, no guards, not a Wraith in sight.

  I held on to my microphone and said, “Mel, which one?” I hoped she would know what I meant without me having to give specifics over the wireless.

  “Third from the left,” her voice whispered inside my ear.”

  I followed her instruction, motioning for Illyria to follow. She kept close as I hurried to the door. I grabbed hold of the large metal handle and pulled hard. The door released with a soft whoosh, and I swung it open and rushed inside.

  Maybe I should have entered slowly or looked around the square space with more care. Had I done that, I would have seen the empty bed, straps hanging off the sides, the IV stand sitting bare beside the bed. I stopped in front of the bed so suddenly that Illyria would have had to step sideways to avoid hitting me in the back.

  Instead, she slammed straight into me, pushing me forward so hard that I fell forward onto the soiled mattress. “Illyria? What the hell?” I managed to get the words out, a strangled cry of disbelief and rage.

  ***

  Chapter 32

  She spun me around to face her, but I didn’t register her face. Instead, pain screamed up my side, and I gasped, my hand lifting to my abdomen. Illyria stared at me as she shoved her knife deeper. Her lips curled into a cold, menacing grimace as she studied the expression on my face. There was no emotion I was capable of hiding from her right now. As far as my training went, I was far from military, further from mercenary.

  My panther screamed fo
r release, roused by the scent of blood and the need to defend. She snarled, and I lost control as my hands widened, my fingers thickened and furred, nails transformed into claws. I fought with my panther for control. I could not give in to her now, not when she’d be vulnerable to the Rebel leader.

  It was all I could do to grab hold of Illyria’s hand. I tried to peel her fingers off, but she backhanded me so hard my neck snapped backward and my teeth sank into my tongue. The taste of copper flooded my mouth. Pain lanced through my tongue, just like it streaked into my body as Illyria twisted the knife into my side. I struggled for breath and stared at her, still confused, still too slow to put it all together.

  “Why?” I gasped the word out but didn’t really care if she answered me. I was too busy struggling for control of my body as my panther kept fighting against my fragile hold.

  Illyria brought her face close to me, ensuring she kept to my left, away from my microphone. In my ear, Logan was yelling for me to tell him what happened. But I suddenly cared why she’d done it. So I waited.

  She took her time, her breath hissing in my ear. “You think you’re so clever, Hunter. You have no idea who you are dealing with. I would never have known who you really were if you didn’t tell my messenger the truth. Now we don’t need your mother. And now we have you.” Her grey skin gleamed in the fluorescent light inside the metal-walled room. Her black demon eyes glared at me, and I wanted to laugh. Grams was going to be happy to say I told you so, and I wasn’t planning to hold it against her.

  I struggled for breath, managing to spit out my next few words. “But why betray us? What’s in it for you? I thought you were helping us fight Widd’en’s army?”

  “That’s where you’re mistaken, my dear Hunter. Widd’en meant more to me than anything in the whole world. And you killed him. I had you in my sights from the moment I knew who you were.”