by Sierra Dean
“I was nicely protected up in the tower, but now I’m down here, exposed and in the open thanks to you.” Bill rubbed his expansive belly. He had a rather impressive salt-and-pepper beard, and his wiry hair was tucked under a black ball cap with the Hands of Death logo on the front.
I crawled closer. I had two of them right in front of me, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to get another opportunity like this. Desmond, who was closest to me, latched on to my ankle with a tight grip. I spun around, ready to spit venom, but he held up his watch with his free hand and shook his head.
Fuck. I’d forgotten about the timing. I had to wait at least another twenty minutes, and in that time Lars might be gone, and Fat Bill would have waddled back up to his well-protected tower. I was quickly going to lose this wonderful opportunity, but Desmond was right to stop me. If I went out and killed these two but some of the others got away, there was a chance they’d be able to warn the rest of the necros. I’d be sending all the other teams into a death trap if that was the case. This might be a great opportunity to take out two of them, but I had to remember there were nineteen others we had to keep in mind.
“You needed the exercise anyway, old man.”
“Oh, go fuck yourself, Parker. I’m sick of listening to your flapping gums goin’ off all the time. Just because Marcela thinks your shit don’t stink doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t smell it.”
“Gonna get in my face?”
Damn, if we left them on their own long enough, they might wipe each other out and save us the trouble. Seemed like there was some dissension in the ranks.
“If I wanted to get in your face, you’d know it, you little shit,” Bill snarled.
I wasn’t sure what I was hoping for more—that time would run out and I’d get to behead them both, or they’d come to blows and do it for me. Looking back at Desmond, I raised both eyebrows hopefully. I knew there was no way enough time had lapsed yet, but all the same, a girl could hope. He shook his head, dashing my homicidal dreams.
I thought he was the man who’d promised to give me everything. Couldn’t he let me kill some people ahead of schedule?
Sitting back on my haunches, I braced myself for a long wait. Fifteen minutes could feel like an eternity when the finish line was looming so close.
Though I’d never been much of a fan of technology, right then I was missing my phone a great deal. I still had the thing on me, but for the time being it was just an expensive paperweight I could use to play terrible bird-themed video games. I would have liked to text any of the other teams to get a feel for what was going on. Were they all in place? Was everyone okay?
Chewing the back of my thumbnail, I watch Parker and Bill exchange heated words, but I stopped listening to their mediocre insults after a minute or two. There was only so often I could hear men call each other cocksucker before the word got boring.
“If you’re here, who’s in charge of the collection?” Bill asked, reeling my attention back in.
“Marty has it under control.”
“Marty? Does Marcela know your fuckwit twin is the one guarding the goods?”
I waved my hand enthusiastically at Desmond and whispered, “Intrigue.”
He scuttled up closer and nestled in next to me. The warmth of his skin was sensational, as was his familiar scent.
Kissing Holden earlier might have been bone-tingling good, but it wasn’t the same as this. I could sit beside Desmond and barely touch him, and still know perfect happiness. What Holden and I shared was wonderful and passionate, and there would never be a day that passed where I didn’t love him, but that love wasn’t the same as what I had with Desmond.
I reached out and took his hand, catching his eye in the darkness. He gave me a light smile and squeezed my fingers, rubbing his thumb over the ring he’d given me.
Bill, oblivious to the moment I was sharing with my fiancé, continued to berate Parker. “Tell me you at least left him with some live ones.”
“Why do you insist on believing the living men we pay are more reliable than the dead ones we control? There’s no room for error with the dead, we have them completely in our hands.”
“Until that tiny blonde nuisance shows up and kills Marty. Then what? All those men go down, just like Jock’s. And who’s left to get what we came for?”
“If she kills Marty, no hired lackey would survive her.”
Bill slapped Parker, and the sound of skin on skin brought the entire group of bikers to their feet, ready to spring into action.
“One live man is all it takes to kill a girl, you idiot.”
Parker had pressed his hand to his face where Bill had struck him and dropped it now, his fingers curling into a fist like he was planning to retaliate in force. His rage shimmered off him like heat waves off blacktop.
“Go back to your ivory tower, old man. Keep hiding from the girl if you’re so scared of her. She said nightfall, and nightfall has come and gone. Her threats were hollow. I can’t believe you were stupid enough to think one woman could kill us all. Do you still check under your bed at night for monsters?” Parker sneered, and Bill narrowed his eyes.
I wanted to watch these two beat the living shit out of each other.
I took hold of Desmond’s wrist and lifted his hand so I could check the time. Goddamn, still ten minutes to go. This was the most frustrating wait of my life. They were right within my reach, and I couldn’t do a thing about it.
And now I had the added mystery of wondering what it was Parker’s brother Marty was watching over. A collection, Bill had said. That could mean anything. What collection was the Hands of Death interested in?
At least I knew they were here for a reason, and this wasn’t just an act of destructive anarchy like Holden had suggested. I’d suspected all along there was more to this than merely bringing a city to its knees, and now we had a tiny clue to guide us in the right direction.
If only I could move in immediately, we could whittle down the crowd. There was a chance if I could get my hands on Parker, I might be able to make him talk. The likelihood of him telling me where his brother was might be slim to none, but I could be very persuasive. And the idea of using a little force had a lot of appeal to it.
Or I could let them split up and follow Parker on my own.
I chewed my bottom lip. The entire point of creating teams was to ensure no one was alone on these missions. Safety in numbers was our paramount concern, and I’d done everything to make sure my people would be protected.
Yet here I was, in typical Secret McQueen fashion, wondering how I could sneak after Parker and find out more about this collection. Maybe take out Parker and Marty in one fell swoop.
“I’ll be back around in a couple of hours,” Parker said finally, releasing the fist he’d been holding. “See if you can’t keep yourself alive until then, all right?”
“Put your energy where it’s useful and make sure Marty doesn’t fuck everything up, why don’t you?” Bill didn’t wait for Parker’s response. He turned on his heel and moved with surprising quickness back towards the castle.
Parker muttered something I didn’t hear and grabbed his helmet from the motorcycle seat. The other riders he was with started their engines, and the familiar mechanical roar was almost deafening.
“I have to follow them,” I announced, able to speak loud enough for both Desmond and Holden to hear. “If we lose him now, we might not find whatever it is they’re after.”
“Secret, no.” Holden crept closer but stayed standing so now he was looming over me in a rather menacing fashion. “What did I tell you earlier? You can’t run off on your own.”
“He’s right. We have to stick to the plan.” Desmond wasn’t looking at Holden. His focus was all for me, and the fearful expression on his face was nearly enough to convince me to stay.
“You two are more than capable of handling this situation. Did you see that guy? He won’t put up a fight.”
“Then we stay here, take care of him all tog
ether, and then go after the others. We’re not splitting up.”
The first of the motorcycles pulled out, and the others turned to follow suit. They’d be gone within seconds. My opportunity was slipping through my fingers with each biker who disappeared into the night.
Holden’s watch beeped quietly.
Time was up.
“Oh, fuck it,” I whispered and drew my gun.
I rolled out from the underbrush and came up on the concrete in a kneel. Desmond and Holden were right on my heels, and while they ran directly for the castle stairs, I turned my gun on the last motorcycle—Parker’s.
I meant to hit his tire, but the bike swerved at the last moment.
My shot hit the gas tank, and Parker jerked the bike, surprised by the impact. The motorcycle careened to the side and slid along the concrete path. For a moment I thought that was it and moved to approach, but the sparks from the metal on the sidewalk met with the leaking fuel from the gas tank. The bike exploded in a flourish of orange flame and screaming metal. Parker’s body flew into the air and landed in a heap of impossibly angled limbs a few feet from me, his leather jacket still smoking.
I stood frozen, blinking in surprise over what I’d done. The flaming wreckage of the bike rolled into the trees, and the underbrush began to sizzle. When the shock of the explosion dulled, I moved towards Parker.
Reaching his body, I used the toe of my boot to lift the visor of his helmet. His big blue eyes were much more vibrant against the charred blackness of his skin.
“Where is your brother?”
“Fuuuu—”
I stepped down on his arm, feeling the satisfying grind of bone on bone. His skin crackled like dead leaves. He wailed. A bullet pinged off the pavement beside me, alerting me to the arrival of Bill’s guards. The roar of motorcycles was getting louder, and any moment Parker’s group would return and I’d be surrounded on both sides. I had to move fast.
I hoped the others were on their way up to finish off the other necro we’d come for.
Parker screamed from the new pain in his arm, a stark reminder that slowly burning to death wasn’t the upper limits of the agony I could inflict on him.
I’d learned about torture from the best.
“You think twins can really feel each other’s pain?” I asked, driving my heel into his elbow. He mewled pitifully. “I hope Marty knows what’s coming for him, you sick fuck. But if you tell me where he is, I’ll go easy on him.”
“You’ll…spare him?”
Even now I couldn’t bring myself to lie. I snorted. “You’ll all be dead before the night is through. I promised you that. But if you tell me where he is, I’ll make sure he dies fast and painless. If you don’t, I’ll let him suffer so much worse than this.”
Parker’s eyes were wide, and he’d started to pant like a dog. Shock was setting in, and he’d die soon with or without my help.
“The…Seven Sisters…”
I lifted my foot and stared at him, not sure I was hearing him right or if I’d started hallucinating.
“What did you say?”
Another bullet whizzed by me, and from overhead I heard Holden shout, “Secret move.”
“Seven…” Parker said.
The motorcycles roared into the clearing, and one, expertly piloted by one of his risen pawns, drove straight into the side of the castle as Parker’s life blinked out.
Sutherland was standing next to me, pulling my arm. “I told you,” he mumbled as he ran with me towards the castle steps. “I told you I could see them.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
The castle was overwhelmed by chaos.
Fire and gunshots drowned out the din of bellowed orders and screams of pain. I’d killed one necro, but we still had to take care of the one we’d come for. What’s more, I had to figure out what the hell these Seven Sisters were. But the time for unraveling mysteries would come once we killed Bill.
Sutherland practically dragged me up a flight of stone steps and slammed a door behind us just as bullets splintered the wood over our heads. We dropped to the floor, protecting our heads as a shower of gunfire rained down.
“Go. Go.” He pushed me towards the stairs, and we crawled up them on hands and knees, hugging the wall until the bullets stopped.
At the top of the stairwell the passage opened onto the first observation deck. Glancing out, I counted three bodies lying prone, their weapons discarded. Holden and Desmond were nowhere in sight, but they weren’t among the dead, so for the time being I could breathe easy.
“We have to get upstairs before they get inside,” I said, no longer needing my father’s guidance to make my brain work.
He’d saved my life.
Guess he was a good addition to the team after all.
“Might want to use the sword from now on,” he suggested.
Given the way bullets had bounced off the walls downstairs, he didn’t need to tell me twice. Using a gun up the corridor I was as likely to shoot myself as I was to hit anyone else. I holstered my gun but left it armed, and drew my sword.
Up here the din sounded like it was happening on a different planet. Sutherland and I were in the eye of the storm, with waves of violence swelling up above and below us, threatening to meet in the middle and obliterate everything.
We jogged up the narrow stairwell leading from the first observation deck to the second. It was as tight and dark as I’d feared. I couldn’t see anything coming at me from above, and only knowing Sutherland was behind me helped me keep my cool. The wall curved, guiding us up in a steady circle, until at last, light was visible, letting me know we’d reached the end of a seemingly eternal upward climb.
The staircase was short enough by standard opinion, but when small spaces were a source of intense panic, even a few seconds of discomfort felt like hours. Luck was on our side getting to the top of the tower, as we didn’t encounter any of Bill’s remaining men. We came out onto the second level in a small antechamber, where another body was lying facedown on the stone. Outside, the sounds of scuffling sounded closer than before.
“Here.” I handed my gun to Sutherland, and he paused for a moment before taking it. I wasn’t too keen on the idea of arming someone as unstable as my father, but he did have the wherewithal to save me, so I was going to have to trust he could manage the weapon without shooting himself or someone on our side.
Sticking close to the walls and avoiding the open mouth of the stairwell, we moved towards the second observation deck, this one much smaller than the first. Outside, struggling to find space, were Holden, Desmond, Bill and two armed men. I guessed the men to be Bill’s personal risen guards, because one of them had a massive bullet wound in his face and was still fighting Desmond like he hadn’t noticed. Holden had his hands around the other guard’s throat, but the man was using his arms as bludgeons, flailing against Holden’s efforts.
Maybe the dead guards really were more of a threat than the live ones.
Bill shoved one of the guards into Desmond, knocking the two down with the hulking mass of the dead man landing firmly on top. While Des struggled to get the corpse off himself, Holden continued to be pummeled by the other.
“Holden, down,” I shouted.
He complied, though it wasn’t easy with the guard smashing him in the face repeatedly. The blows fell at such a constant pace and so heavily, a human man would have long since passed out. As soon as Holden was out of the way, I lashed out with my sword, cutting the corpse’s head off.
Even headless he kept trying to hit Holden. But without the brain attached, soon the necromancer’s commands failed to ignite the creature’s spark, and his strikes became weak and useless. Holden shoved the body over the edge of the observation deck where it fell to the stone below with a sickening crack.
The vampire grabbed the writhing body pinning Desmond down and set to work helping pry it off.
Bill, seeing he was now outnumbered, looked around the deck and fixed his attention on me. Bold choice. Maybe he
figured since I was a girl I’d be easier to get rid of, but he had to know I had more fight in me than that.
“If you stand down, it’ll go a lot easier for you,” I told him.
“I’m not the kind of man who lets himself get killed by a pint-sized thing like you.”
“One way or another, you’re going to die. I’m giving you an opportunity for a fast, painless death. But if you want to do it the hard way, I’m all for that too.” I tested the weight of the sword in my hand, making sure my grip was true but not too tight. “Your call.”
He bellowed and tucked his head down, running for me like a charging bull.
Why do they always pick the hard way?
There wasn’t enough room to sidestep him, so I braced myself for the hit. He slammed into me with his full weight, sending us both reeling backwards into the stone wall behind me. With the wind knocked out of me and stars dancing in my field of vision, I staggered to get away from him, weaving dizzily while he continued to ram himself against me.
He was trying to knock me out with nothing but his body weight, and he was doing a damn fine job of it.
I wheezed and punched him in the face as hard as I could.
He hadn’t been expecting me to pack so much force into one hit. No one really did. Stumbling back, he held his hand to his face, and his fingers came away bloody from the new smeared mess across his nose and mouth. When he spit, a tooth hit the stone.
“Bitch.” The insult sounded rather comical with his newly acquired lisp.
“I gave you a chance.” This time I ran at him, brandishing my sword. He took several steps backwards, gaze darting around for an escape, but there was none to be found. He bumped against the ledge a second before I hit him. I hadn’t accounted for how short the railing was, or how easily his girth would tip over.
“Oh, fuck.”
I pulled back too late. My sword had already speared him, and we were both going down. Wind whistled past my ears, and I said a silent prayer that he might break my fall somewhat.
I was only just able to yank my sword from his belly before we landed, but rather than hitting the ground, I was greeted by a tremendous splash. We’d somehow managed to overshoot the grass and had landed in Turtle Pond.
