Shadow Soldier

by Kali Argent

“Thanks,” he panted.

  Roux just nodded. That dagger had been the only thing left from her old life, the closest thing she’d had to a family heirloom. That life was gone, though, and no matter how much she wished it, she’d never get it back. Maybe it was time she stopped clinging to a dream, let go of her past, and move forward.

  “No problem,” she answered as they navigated the dark corridors of the school. “What do we do when we reach the exit?”

  “Nikolai should be waiting with the van.” He pointed ahead of them to the double, glass doors that separated them from freedom. “There he is.”

  “Van?”

  A loud crash stopped Roux in her tracks, and she spun back toward Gabriel, just as a female Ravager burst through the glass windows of the front office. With a high-pitched screech, she landed on Gabriel’s back, digging her hooked claws into his throat. A flex of her wrist was all it took to open the werewolf’s throat, spilling a tide of blood down his chest.

  “Gabe!”

  Gabriel went down hard with the Ravager still clinging to his back. His head bounced against the hard floor with a sickening crunch, but the female appeared to be unfazed. Grunting with excitement from all the blood, she clamped her jaws around the side of his neck, shaking her head back and forth like a hungry dog.

  Roux had just taken a step toward her friend when muscular arms surrounded her, lifting her off her feet.

  “No! Stop! Let me go.” She fought Deke, throwing her elbows back into his chest as she twisted her upper body. “We have to help him!”

  “We can’t help him,” Deke answered, his breath warm against the side of her neck. “We have to go, Roux.”

  Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she knew he was right. Gabriel hadn’t made a sound, not once, and he’d likely been dead before he’d even hit the floor. Roux stopped struggling and slumped in her mate’s arms, allowing Deke to carry her out of the school and into the waiting van parked on the front lawn. Once inside, someone slammed the sliding door closed, and the vehicle lurched forward, the tires spinning in the grass before finally finding traction.

  “Gabriel?” Zerrik asked.

  Roux closed her eyes and buried her face against Deke’s neck, trying to stem the emotional tide threatening to overwhelm her. She’d lost a lot of people, but this time felt different. They’d been so close, just a few yards from freedom. If she hadn’t distracted him with pointless questions, maybe he would have heard the Ravager before she attacked.

  “It’s my fault.”

  “Stop it,” Deke whispered, cradling the back of her head as he rocked her side to side. “It’s not your fault, none of this is. Gabe knew the risks, and he died doing what he believed in. Don’t take that away from him.”

  Someone draped a blanket over her, and Roux pulled it tight around her shoulders while she mumbled her thanks. “Where are we going? Are we going back to the city?”

  “Not tonight,” Deke answered cryptically. “Rest.”

  Physically and emotionally drained, she didn’t question him. They couldn’t just leave the citizens of Trinity Grove to face the king’s sadistic rule, but they also needed to approach the situation with level heads. They were all exhausted, most of them were injured, and the Wardens outnumbered them significantly. A night to rest and regroup made sense.

  Still, she’d seen just how much could happen in one night, and she prayed that when they made it back to the city, it wouldn’t be too late.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  They’d made the hour drive to a Revenant bunker just outside of Pittsburgh in record time with Nikolai behind the wheel. To any passerby, the refuge looked like nothing more than an abandoned warehouse, but in the basement, they kept food, cots, extra clothes, and a small cache of weapons. Deke knew a few guns wouldn’t be enough to retake Trinity Grove, but it got them one step closer.

  The Revenant members assigned to guard the bunker and assist anyone passing through had greeted them on the upper level, patched them up, then left them to recover in peace. No one had spoken much, the grief and trauma still too fresh to talk about, even to one another.

  So, they’d slept. Or at least, they’d tried to sleep. Deke had laid awake most of the night, listening to Roux’s soft whimpers as she tossed and turned in her sleep. He’d done what he could to comfort her, but he knew only time would heal the pain she felt.

  The next morning, a new sense of urgency seemed to rise with the sun. By the time Deke stirred from a fitful sleep, Nikolai, Cade, and Zerrik were already discussing ways to get back into the city undetected.

  “Hey,” Roux whispered, nuzzling against the side of his neck in their shared sleeping bag. “Love you.”

  Roux didn’t wear her heart on her sleeve, and she didn’t say things just to hear herself talk. His heart swelled at her declaration, but it wasn’t like her to offer the words so casually.

  “I love you, too, kitten.” He brushed the hair back from her face and curled his fingers along the curve of her jaw. “How are you?”

  “It still doesn’t seem real,” she admitted. “Deke, what are we going to do?”

  Glancing over her head to the men gathered around a single lantern, he tapped her hip and sighed. “Let’s find out.”

  Roux wiggled out of the bedroll and stood, trying to tame her wild hair while she waited for him to untangle the bag from around his feet. She’d found a pair of gray sweatpants and a white T-shirt in the storage lockers at the back of the bunker the night before, but both swallowed her small frame. Crimson dotted the front of her shirt, blood from the claw marks on her abdomen.

  She hadn’t complained, though, and she’d refused the pain meds the guards had offered her. Deke didn’t know if she wanted to be clear headed for the battle ahead, or if she was punishing herself for what had happened to Gabriel. Either way, he wished he could do more to help her, but of course, she wouldn’t listen to him.

  Once they’d cleaned up a little and found something to eat—protein bars and bottled water—they joined the group around the lantern.

  “Okay, what’s the plan?” Roux asked, lowering onto an empty wooden crate next to Thea. “We have to go back, right?”

  The others fell silent, their eyes darting between her and Deke. When the quiet began to grow uncomfortable, Nikolai cleared his throat and stood.

  “We’ve been discussing it, and we think the best plan is to quietly get the residents out of Trinity Grove.” With his hands resting on his hips, he lowered his head and sighed. “We can’t fight my father and win.”

  “We’re up against at least twenty Wardens,” Lynk added, “each one armed to the teeth.”

  “Twenty-two at last count.” Nikolai rubbed the back of his neck. “We’d need a small army to even get past them.”

  “Not necessarily.” Splaying her hands across her knees, Roux sat up a little straighter when everyone turned to look at her. “Nik, if you control the throne, you control the Wardens, right?”

  “In theory,” the vampire answered slowly. “What are you saying?”

  Tilting her head to the side, Roux gave the prince a look that said she found him rather dense. “Well, we kill the king, of course. What?” she demanded when Deke groaned. “Everything that’s happened is because of him. He did this. Greg, Peter, Denny…Gabriel. They’re dead because of him.”

  “It’s suicide.” Nikolai shook his head. “He’s too powerful.”

  Roux rounded on Nikolai with a very human though fearsome growl. “He ripped your fangs out and left you for dead!”

  “Look, I won’t mourn the loss of him, but I’m telling you, it can’t be done.”

  “Why?” Roux demanded. “It’s not like he’s one of your fairytale Others.”

  Deke stood up straighter and hissed. “Where did you hear about the Others?”

  “He’s not,” Abby interrupted before Roux could answer. “Well, even if he were, he wouldn’t be that much of a threat. The Others are powerless
unless they’re together. They’re like…a bonded pair, two parts of a whole.”

  “How do you know this?” Deke had heard the stories his entire life, and he didn’t remember that bit of information.

  “What the fuck is an Other?” When no one paid any attention to him, Cade threw his hands in the air and huffed. “Never mind.”

  “People like to talk,” Abby answered simply. “I listen.”

  “Okay, whatever.” Lifting her hands, Roux waved them around in wild, animated gestures. “I still say we take down the king.”

  While she made a fair point, familial entanglements were never that black and white. Roux spoke from a place of fear and anger, not from a tactical standpoint. Deke could admit that assassinating Elias Diavolos did hold a certain appeal. However, he couldn’t let his own emotions dictate their next move, especially when they didn’t know how many of the Wardens would remain loyal to their king, even after his death.

  “Roux, enough.” Moving to stand behind her, he wound his arms around her waist and pulled his mate back against his chest. “Take a deep breath. We’re going to figure this out, but I’m not going to lose anyone else.”

  Releasing a long breath through her nose, Roux relaxed into him and bowed her head. “I know you’re right. That doesn’t make it any easier to sit here and do nothing, though.”

  Deke knew the feeling all too well. “How quickly could we get the residents out of the city?” he asked Lynk.

  “There aren’t many people left, so I’d guess a couple of days to be on the safe side.”

  At the beginning of summer, Trinity Grove had boasted a population just over one hundred, a significant number in the wake of the Purge. After the attacks, kidnappings, and outright murders, that number had dwindled rapidly. Even more residents had fled, sneaking out in the middle of the night, and he often wondered if any of them had actually managed to outrun the Wardens.

  Now, Deke estimated the town’s population to be no more than fifty or sixty, with nearly half of those being Wardens. He understood Lynk wanted to avoid detection while trying to relocate the citizens, but they didn’t have two days. By then, there wouldn’t be anyone left to save.

  “No.” He shook his head. “We do it tonight. We’ll gather them all, divide them into groups, and take them through the forest to the highway. Can we find a couple of box trucks?”

  “I saw two moving vans in the warehouse upstairs,” Zerrik offered. “I don’t know if they’ll run, though.”

  Cade nodded. “I’ll get them running.”

  “Okay.” Gearing up for an argument, Deke turned Roux to face him and tilted her chin up. “I need you to stay here with Abby.”

  His mate didn’t disappoint. “I can help. I’ve had a lot more practice avoiding the Coalition.”

  “So have Cade and Brody.”

  “Is this some kind of sexist crap because I’m a girl?”

  “No, kitten.” Smiling, he dipped his head to brush a chaste kiss against her lips. “It’s because I love you.”

  “I know.” She hummed a little and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a proper kiss. “I’m still going.”

  As usual, Roux got her way. With an hour left until sunset, Cade had the motors in the moving vans purring, and they’d scavenged enough supplies to feed and clothe as many as thirty residents for at least a few days. The bunker hadn’t been designed to provide refuge to so many bodies at once, and frankly Deke wanted to get his mate as far away from Trinity Grove as possible. Luckily, the next checkpoint big enough to house that many people was just outside of St. Louis—less than a day’s drive, provided nothing went wrong.

  When Deke suggested they split up, it came as no surprise to anyone when Cade offered to go ahead with Abby to prepare the St. Louis facility. Zerrik also volunteered to accompany them. His bloodlust had dissipated, but it would be days, maybe weeks before he regained his strength and stamina. In the end, they decided Thea would travel with the others to Missouri, leaving Deke, Roux, Brody, and Lynk to make the hour-long drive back to Trinity Grove.

  Brody drove, with Lynk riding shotgun, while Deke and Roux secured themselves in the back of the enclosed trailer. Even though they mostly stuck to highways, it wasn’t a smooth ride, and Deke made a mental note to punch Brody in the face when they arrived.

  “What happens if people don’t want to go with us?” Roux asked, swaying forward when the truck began to slow. “Do we just leave them?”

  “We can’t force them to go, kitten.” Handing his flashlight over to Roux, Deke banged on the front end of the box trailer. “Why are we stopping?”

  He heard one of the cab doors open and close, then a moment later, the back door on the trailer rolled up, spilling in yellow light from the streetlamps. Nodding for Roux to follow, Deke exited the van, jumping the three feet to the gravel of the grocer parking lot before turning to help his mate down.

  “Brody, what the fuck? We’re supposed to be on the other side of town.”

  “I know,” the guy answered, joining them at the back of the truck. “I think you need to see this, though.”

  Deke didn’t need to see, but he followed Brody to the front of the cab anyway. He could smell the smoke on the air, mingled with the scent of blood and decay. His sensitive hearing picked up the faint crackle of flames, and the hum of downed power lines.

  “Oh, my god,” Roux breathed, coming to stand beside him. “We’re too late.”

  An eerie orange glow lit the sky over the city, tinged with a haze of gray smoke. The fires hadn’t been burning long, maybe a couple of hours, which somehow made their failure even more devastating.

  “What do you think?” Brody asked. “Ravagers or Wardens?”

  “Ravagers,” Lynk answered immediately, pointing the northeast. “The Wardens wouldn’t have burned down the estate.”

  “Do you think the king survived?” Linking his fingers together, Brody rested his hands on the top of his head. “Does it make me a dick to hope he didn’t?”

  Deke shook his head. “I don’t know if he survived or not, but I’m right there with you. Let the sadistic prick burn.”

  Ignoring them, Roux took a couple of steps toward the burning city. “Maybe some people made it out, or maybe they hid.”

  Roux’s optimism made Deke love her that much more, but he couldn’t share in her faith. The townspeople had no weapons, no vehicles, and no way to call for help. Even if some had taken to the woods, Ravagers would have tracked them down before they ever reached safety.

  Wrapping his arms around her shoulders, he tucked his mate against his side and kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry, kitten. There’s nothing more we can do here.”

  “We have to try,” she insisted.

  “We’ll do it.” Lynk jerked his thumb at Brody. “We’ll stay, search for survivors.”

  Brody bobbed his head in agreement. “Don’t worry, Roux, if anyone survived, we’ll find them and catch up with you in a couple of days.”

  “Take the van,” Lynk insisted. “We’ll move faster on foot.”

  Moving away from Deke’s side, Roux crossed her arms over her breasts and scowled. “How will you get to St. Louis?”

  Brody just laughed at her. “Roux, relax. It’s not like we haven’t done this before.” Stepping forward, he grabbed her shoulders, pulling her into a tight hug. “Stop worrying. You’ll see us again.”

  They argued for several more minutes before Deke finally agreed that they’d all stay, spend the night at his place, and search the city come daylight. Lynk snorted at his willingness to accommodate his mate, but Deke didn’t care what the shifter thought of him.

  He didn’t feel right about leaving when there could be survivors in town. Plus, with four of them, the search wouldn’t take more than a couple of hours, and they could be on the road before noon. Plus, Roux was right. They’d lost too many of their own already, and he couldn’t stomach the thought of losing anyone el
se when he could prevent it.

  Silent tears streaked down Roux’s cheeks as he drove through the remains of the city. Staring out her window, she wiped roughly at her eyes and sniffed.

  “It feels like everything is falling apart,” she confessed when they reached their driveway. “Everyone’s gone.”

  Thankfully, the entire street had been untouched by the destruction, and Deke breathed a sigh of relief as he cut the engine. “Not everyone.” He reached across the bench seat to squeeze her hand. “We’ll see Cade and the others again,” he vowed with more certainty than he felt.

  And every part of him prayed he’d be able to keep that promise.

  * * * *

  Even with the Lynk and Brody sleeping down the hall, the once welcoming two-bedroom home felt barren, lonely. Deke continued to reassure her that they’d see their friends again, that everything would be okay, but Roux couldn’t shake the feeling that things would get worse before they got better.

  The next stop of their journey across the country would land them on the outskirts of werewolf-controlled territory. Roux didn’t look forward to venturing into the notorious Demon Alley, but she disliked her friends traveling there alone even more.

  “We shouldn’t have split up,” she said for what felt like the thousandth time.

  She was driving herself crazy with worry, and she knew Deke must have reached his limit hours ago. Still, he never lost his patience with her.

  “Maybe you’re right,” he answered as he crawled into their bed, probably for the last time. “It’s done now, though, and we can’t go back. Take a deep breath, Roux. With any luck, we’ll see Cade and the rest tomorrow.”

  Slipping under the blankets, Roux snuggled up next to her mate and rested her head on his chest. The steady rhythm of his heartbeat calmed her, soothed some of her anxiety, and she smiled against his warm skin.

  “Deke?”

  “Yes, kitten?”

  “Thank you for loving me.”

  Rolling her onto her back, Deke hovered over her, insinuating himself between her thighs. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. So, believe when I say it’s no chore to love you. It’s my privilege.”