Both Ways

by Ileandra Young

  Rayne reappears while I’m getting patched up. She crouches on the floor in front of me with her head cocked. “We’ll get her back.”

  It’s all well and good making promises like that to my mother, but Rayne should know better.

  We know about as much of Vixen’s whereabouts as we did last night. How the hell are we going to find them?

  Screams. Yells.

  I dart away from the first aider still trying to bandage my hand. Those fangers aren’t getting anybody else tonight. Not if I’ve anything to do with it.

  * * *

  I follow the sounds, hand closing around the butt of my gun, Rayne close at my back.

  Out in the offices the wreckage is absolute. Chairs overturned, tables mangled, computers, phones, and stationery all over the place. Shreds of paper litter the floor, and along the walls and carpet, there are several slicks of blood. Among the carnage, three piles of shiny black ooze dry to a cracked, gritty finish.

  In the middle of it, a snarling, spitting figure drags itself across the ground by his elbows. Instead of legs, two bloodied stumps leave red smears across the carpet.

  Rayne bellows, fury filling her eyes with silver.

  I point the gun and fire a single shot.

  The bullet thuds into the carpet, through the vampire’s outstretched hand.

  He shrieks, swearing and thrashing as blood pumps from the wound.

  Officers scrambling to escape stop dead, swivelling to face me.

  “Nobody move.”

  For a wonder, they obey.

  I pick my way through the mess, gun steady and aimed. Right up to the struggling vampire. “Good evening, fanger.”

  He spits on my shoes.

  I kick him in the face.

  Bones crack. Blood flies.

  “Let’s try that again. Good evening, fanger.”

  “SPEAR bitch—”

  Another kick. This time he moans as fangs slice through his tongue.

  “I’m not in a very good mood. I’m tired, my hand hurts, and you parasites kidnapped my sister. Test me, fang boy.”

  He opens his mouth. I can see the indecision in his eyes. Then, “What do you want?”

  “Where are your people nesting?”

  A snort. “Nesting is illegal, surely you know that.”

  “So is wandering around without edane registration, but I bet you’re doing that too. Where did your friends take my sister?”

  “Dunno what you’re talking about.”

  I fire the gun. The bullet slams into his other hand but doesn’t make it all the way through.

  More screams, and several of the officers gathered around me begin to whisper and mutter amongst themselves.

  “Try again.”

  He’s panting now, struggling to lift himself on mangled hands. His leg stumps wave weakly. “Go to hell.”

  “Sure. Care to join me?” The gun slides back into my shoulder holster, and instead, I pluck a pencil from the wreckage on the floor. “We can go now.” I hold the small shaft of wood between the tips of my index fingers.

  Not very long, but long enough.

  His eyes widen. “You—you can’t. We have rights. Trial, evidence—”

  “Not today.”

  The muttering around me gets louder. The air is thick and heavy with anticipation.

  Even Rayne, as she steps up to my side, is stiff shouldered and thin lipped. “Danika…”

  “Let me do my job.”

  “When did torture become part of your job?”

  “Right about the time these leeches took my sister.”

  She steps ahead of me. “Killing him won’t help.”

  “But I’ll feel better.”

  “He gets a trial.”

  “He doesn’t deserve one.”

  “Agreed.” She bites her lip. “But you’re not a murderer. Are you? Because that’s what this would be. He’s helpless. Would you stake him now, in front of these officers? In front of me?”

  “He deserves to die.”

  “And me?”

  I inhale sharply. “You’re different.”

  “You can’t keep saying that. Why am I different? Because I’m weak? Because I kiss well? I’m a vampire too and we should all be treated the same.”

  I glare at my boots, watching the shiny bubbles of spit slip down the scuffed leather. “Damn it. Why do you have to be so rational?”

  “One of us has to be.”

  I flip the pencil over my shoulder. “What now?”

  “I’ll talk to him.”

  As she bends to do exactly that, I face the officers. “Did he hurt anyone?”

  Lots of shaking heads.

  Tina pushes her way through the cluster of onlookers, dressed in casual jeans and trainers. She looks me up and down. “You were going to kill him, weren’t you?”

  I have no idea, and that bothers me more than I’d like. “What are you doing here? Didn’t your shift end?”

  “They called me back. Everyone’s on their way in. We need the extra bodies.”

  “I’d say you guys did pretty well.”

  She scans the carnage of the office. “Five officers dead, twelve injured, three critical. That’s good?”

  “How many vampires?”

  “Seven.”

  “Then yes, that’s good.”

  Her eyes narrow. “What happens now? How do I help?”

  “You don’t. I call my unit.”

  * * *

  “SPEAR. Recite your name and ID.” The voice at the other end of the line is coarse and mechanical.

  I match it, making my words a dull monotone for the computer to recognize.

  “Details not recognized. Recite your name and ID.”

  I repeat the information, slower this time.

  A pause follows.

  “Karson, Danika. Agent 20240119A05. Suspended from active duty as of—”

  I slam the receiver against the unit. “No. No, you can’t do this—”

  “You will now be transferred to the civilian helpline.”

  Tina appears beside me, concerned and curious.

  I turn my back and wait, trying to steady my breathing.

  This can’t be happening. Not now. Please, please, not now.

  A click on the line.

  “Good evening, this is SPEAR, my name is Cheryl, how may I direct your call?”

  “I need field reinforcement, Grade Three and above, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. Search and rescue. Target, vampires.”

  Cheryl, whoever the hell she is, clears her throat. “This line is for civilian queries. All agents have access to the private, encrypted line. I’m obliged to inform you that hoax calls are treated with the utmost—”

  “This isn’t a hoax, you dumb bitch.” The phone creaks in my grip. “I’m Danika Karson, my ID is A20240119A05, and I’m telling you I need backup.”

  Rayne arrives at my other side. She gives a brief thumbs up.

  A glance over my shoulder shows the vampire being carried away, his head hung low. No doubt he’ll be placed downstairs in another of the supernatural containment units until someone from Clear Blood arrives to check him out.

  Another cough from down the phone. “Ms. Karson is currently on leave and knows better than to call this number.”

  “Ms. Karson is currently losing her shit and needs your help. Angbec police station was just attacked.”

  “We’ve had no report of such an incident.”

  “Because I’m making it now.”

  Yet another cough. This woman needs a lozenge. “All supernatural crimes should be reported, in the first instance, through the use of the dedicated number nine-oh-nine. Please make your report through the proper channels. Goodbye.”

  “No, no, wait. Wait.”

  She’s already gone.

  I hurl the phone at the wall.

  Rayne picks up the broken pieces and stacks them on top of the unit. She stands beside me, one hand closing around mine. She squeezes. “They’re below one of the old b
uildings on Sertral Street, an unused bomb shelter. Call Noel. We can do this.”

  “Quinn won’t let him anywhere near me.” I fight back tears. “There’s nothing he can do.”

  “Then let us help.” This from Tina, who beckons a couple of her colleagues. Among them is Barney, plain clothes now and as grumpy as ever, though a determined glint lights his eyes.

  I back away. “No. No way, you can’t—”

  “Why not?” Tina shrugs. “We made vows to protect and serve too.”

  “Vampires. Edanes with incredible skill, speed, and strength. You’re not trained for this.”

  Sergeant Hozier pushes through the crowd. “I’m alive because of you.” His nose is bandaged, as is his arm, but he appears otherwise unharmed. “If you need help, then please, let me give it to you.”

  More nods and mutters all around.

  “But you can’t—”

  “We’re don’t use weapons or speak any crazy languages,” Tina breaks in again, “but we can take care of ourselves. What do you think we did for a living before SPEAR came along?”

  Rayne’s hand tightens on mine. “What was it you said before about asking for help?” She smiles.

  I stare at the gathered officers. Some are limping, more are bloodstained, all of them have the glint of steely determination burning in their eyes. Even Barney, who glares daggers, as if daring me to cut him out.

  For the first time in hours, I feel a glimmer of hope. “Okay. This is what we’re going to do.”

  Chapter Twenty-six

  This may be the first time I’ve ridden in a police car and not felt guilty about it.

  Rayne joins me in the back, wedged between me and Tina. Up front, Hozier drives, taking directions from Barney. We’re all plain clothes, with weapons, such as they are, tucked into pockets and waistbands.

  I’m the only one with a gun.

  As if sensing my thoughts, Rayne squeezes my knee, a simple touch but I catch myself staring. I know my expression must be totally goofy, but I can’t help it. This woman…

  “When we get there”—Hozier pauses for a red light—“how do you want to do this? How do we play it?”

  “We don’t. You guys are here for support and to holler in the cavalry.”

  “What?”

  “You can’t do that.”

  “We want to help!”

  “Why do you think we came—”

  “…really think you can handle this all on your own?”

  “Let us do something.”

  I lift my hand. “I can’t risk them turning hostile.”

  “So you’re going alone?” Tina’s voice is ice cold.

  “No. Rayne’s coming.”

  More cries of anger. Barney particularly swivels in his seat. “Her? A vampire? In case you forgot, that’s who we’re going after.”

  “I didn’t forget.”

  “Then why is she here? She’s one of them.”

  Rayne stiffens beside me. Her head lowers.

  I grit my teeth. “Shut up. You don’t know anything about Rayne.”

  “I know she’s dead twelve hours a day and that she’d happily suck my neck if I let her.”

  We share a glance.

  “She comes with me, end of. Frankly, I’d trust her over you in a heartbeat.”

  The car rolls on.

  Rayne clears her throat. “I’m sorry you feel that way, Officer Watson, but you have my word, I’ll do anything and everything in my power to protect Agent Karson and everybody else.”

  “Even from you?” Barney doesn’t look back.

  “Especially from me. You’re right, I am dangerous, but I also know the difference between right and wrong. Vixen is wrong.”

  “And when the blood starts to run,” whispers Tina, “because it will, what will you be doing?”

  Rayne’s body stiffens against mine.

  I hold my breath.

  “I’ll be kicking seven shades of shit out of anybody who tries to drink it.”

  A delicious tingle shoots through my body, from head to toes then back again. “Steady, Rayne. For a second there you were almost badass.”

  She grins. “You’ve told me time and again I need to be more assertive. How did I do? Was that okay? Did I sound silly?”

  “Hell, no. That was good. Really, really good.”

  The car slows and stops in the sickly yellow light of a dying street lamp.

  “Why are we here?” Barney peers out of his window. “We don’t have time to hang out with addicts and boozers.”

  “We’re getting backup.” I hop out of the car.

  “Backup? From this dump?”

  Oh, how little he knows.

  * * *

  This part of The Bowl is dingy, with more graffiti, more litter, and more bundles lying in doorways. Most of them contain the people I’m after, but first, I need the leader.

  “Wendy? It’s Danika.”

  Silence.

  Then a rustle.

  Rayne appears at my side, eyes silver, stance loose. Her hands she laces around the back of her head.

  “What do you want, girl? And why the hell did you bring that thing back here?” Wendy stands from a nest of bare duvets in a doorway on the right. He has a new jacket, worn over his old ones, through which my bullet hole is clearly visible. Clean, though; Wendy has always been a proud sort.

  I rest my knuckles on my hips. “I need your help.”

  “Is that right?”

  Rayne growls.

  I put my hand on her shoulder.

  Wendy stops in the middle of the road. The mangled remains of a newspaper tumble across the street between us.

  Feels like a cityscape Western.

  “You’ve got more nerve than I thought. After what you did—”

  “I know where the missing people are. And you were right about City Hall—Mikkleson is in it up to his neck. Jack too.”

  “Jackson Cobé, eh?” The old werewolf sniffs and spits at the pavement. “Pity. I liked him. He had good ideas.”

  I gesture to the car. “SPEAR won’t help, but I’ve got the civvie bashers with me. We’re going to end this tonight.”

  He snorts and turns on his heel. “Then good luck to you. Ain’t no business of me or mine.”

  I follow, frantic now, desperate. I don’t care. “Please, Wendy? Wensleydale? They have my sister and without my unit I—”

  He spins around fast enough to knock me off balance. “They have Pippa?”

  My mouth drops open. “How do you know her name?”

  “Of course I know Pips.” He looks away and his brow furrows. “She always helped when I came to the Foundation.” A gentle note creeps into his voice. “Gave me clean clothes, or a toothbrush. Let me have a shower too or cut my hair. She’s a good’un, that Pips…perfect she-wolf too.”

  Didn’t think my jaw could drop any further. “How do you know she’s pregnant?”

  He cocks a bushy eyebrow at me. “I have a nose, girl.”

  Could Wendy have found out before I did?

  If—no, when we get out of this mess, I’m going to take Pippa aside and spend a week apologizing. Maybe two.

  I shake my head. “She’s in trouble. Vixen has her.”

  Wendy growls under his breath. The bristly growth across his jaw and chin begins to lengthen. “Vixen? No. No, no, no, can’t have that.” He throws back his head and howls, one long haunting note like a nature documentary. Or a bad horror film.

  All around us, fresh voices take up the call, and other werewolves begin to step out of doors, out of alleys, and around cars. They gather quickly, all silent and curious, watchful and deadly.

  Click.

  I turn. Barney has locked the car doors from the inside. Tina and Hozier seem to be arguing with him, but I can’t hear through the glass.

  Twenty werewolves stand around us, a mix of male and female, young and old. I look them over, then return my attention to Wendy.

  “There’s more of you than I realized.”
r />   He chuckles. “Worried?”

  “Thrilled. The Grey Tail pack is the biggest in the city and they’re not as fun as you guys. About time they had some competition.”

  Wendy’s chest puffs out. “That pup calling himself alpha ain’t strong enough for those big furry paws he’s got. Me and my Dire Wolves will be branching out soon enough. Then we’ll see what’s what.”

  “Until then, may I borrow you?”

  A couple of the wolves snarl, many of them focused on Rayne.

  She still hasn’t moved her hands, though there’s tightness to her shoulders, like a coiled spring.

  “And the fanger?”

  I move in front of her and place my right hand around the base of my throat. “I’m Danika Karson and I vouch for Rayne…um…?”

  “Just Rayne,” she mutters. “Vixen renamed me when I joined the nest.”

  This new snippet throws me. “What’s your real name?”

  “That is my real name.” Her tone suggests I drop the matter. Quickly.

  Back to Wendy. “I’m Danika Karson and I vouch for Rayne. I claim her successes and her transgressions as my own and declare my willingness to offer my life as pledge for her actions.”

  Rayne stiffens.

  Wendy frowns. “Where did you learn those words?”

  “Not just a pretty face here.”

  “No kidding.”

  The wolves around him seem unsure. A couple of them back closer to him, gently touching his arm or his back.

  He squares his shoulders and steps closer. Rayne growls, a sound which grows louder as he puts his hand over mine. Around my throat.

  I hold my position. “Don’t, Rayne.”

  “But he—”

  “It’s fine.”

  He tightens his grip, enough to compress my fingers. “I’m Wensleydale Gordan, alpha of the Dire Wolf pack. I accept your pledge and vow in return that if Rayne should fuck us about, I’ll rip her pretty little head off. Then yours.”

  I laugh, but even to my ears, the sound is strained and nervous. “That’s not the official response.”

  “It’s my response.” He releases my throat and steps back. “Until she proves otherwise, I deem Rayne as trustworthy as our pack-friend Danika Karson. Treat one as you would the other.”

  Murmurs. Growls.

  “And if you don’t like it, piss off. We’ll discuss it later.”