Demon Dawn

by M. J. Haag

  “That’s because Uan was having noisy sex with my mom. No one’s having sex here, right?” I turned him and pushed him back onto his bed.

  The bedframe groaned in protest.

  “Lay down,” I said tiredly.

  He’d barely done as I asked before I climbed over him and crawled under the covers. He flinched as I snuggled against his side, but I didn’t pay it any attention.

  “Go to sleep, Thallirin. I need you alert tomorrow.”

  I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

  The bed was shaking like crazy. My eyes popped open, and I looked around wildly, certain we were having another earthquake. It wasn’t a quake, though. Thallirin hovered over me, his arms bracing his weight as he shielded me with his body.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked. My gaze darted around the room. “Infected?”

  But if it was infected, wouldn’t he be running with me, not hovering protectively? Confused, I looked up at him. His gaze was riveted on my face. He didn’t speak, and the shaking continued.

  “You’re scaring me, Thallirin.”

  He made a sound between a growl and groan and slowly set his forehead against mine. I didn’t understand what was going on.

  I reached up to touch his face, wondering if he’d had another dream about me leaving. Just as my fingers touched his scarred cheek, I felt a weird tug on my chest. My shirt had twisted in my sleep, and my meager offerings were spilling out from the low neckline and the armpit.

  A hint of panic swept through me. How could it not? He was acting like a crazy man. Not a man, I reminded myself. A fey.

  Ignoring my racing pulse, I pushed his head back enough so I could focus on him.

  “Am I safe?” I whispered.

  His expression became more pained.

  “Always.”

  I removed my hand from his cheek and slowly tugged my shirt back into place. Wiggling around while trapped in the cage of his arms meant a few accidental bumps. His eyes didn’t waver from mine for a moment. I wasn’t sure if I should feel reassured by that or terrified.

  When I finished, he touched his forehead to mine again.

  “Don’t leave me,” he whispered.

  I wrapped my arms around his torso and gave him a half-hug. I wasn’t sure pressing up against him completely would be a wise choice at the moment.

  “I’m not,” I said. “But I’d feel a lot better if you could explain why you’re on top of me like this.”

  He shuddered harder.

  “The curtains are open.”

  Harsh pounding started on the door, evoking a growl from Thallirin as he jerked his head from mine.

  “Shit. We have to go,” I said even as I heard Zach call my name.

  I looked back up at Thallirin and saw his hesitation.

  “Thallirin?”

  He lifted an arm so I could slide out from under him.

  “Go,” he said softly.

  I bolted from the bed to the bathroom then to my bedroom and hurriedly yanked on my clothes. When I emerged, I could hear the low murmur of voices in the kitchen.

  “You sure you’re okay? You look a little mad. Did Brenna keep you up all night with her snoring?”

  Before I could yell at Zach to cut it out, Thallirin answered.

  “Brenna does not snore.”

  I walked into the kitchen and saw Thallirin was already dressed and scowling at Zach. I did a double-take and wondered why I thought it was a scowl when his expression really wasn’t any different from his normal one.

  Passing Zach, I reached into the cupboard for a granola bar. It wouldn’t taste too good on top of toothpaste, but I couldn’t afford to be picky.

  “Sorry we’re late,” I said. “We didn’t set an alarm.”

  “No problem. Ryan’s waiting. He said we’re not likely to get much help from Tenacity, anyway, because we’re going back to Harrisonville. I think those people are stupid if they don’t come with us. We’re hitting that distribution center again. There’s enough to feed us for months in just that warehouse alone. It was untouched.”

  He headed for the door.

  “They’re not stupid,” I said, following him outside. “It’s dangerous any time we go out. You know that. Don’t get full of yourself and let your guard down.”

  He rolled his eyes at me.

  “I’m not letting my guard down, and I’m not saying it’s going to be easy. All I’m saying is there’s a lot of food there for a group that’s desperate for it.”

  He was right, of course. But the people in Tenacity didn’t understand their short-term choice wasn’t much different than their long-term one. Stay inside the safety of the walls and potentially slowly starve or leave the walls and potentially be bitten. Each option had an equal potential for death.

  “Come on.” He started jogging. I didn’t mind. It warmed me up and got the blood flowing. Cleared my head, too, until we stopped by the group and another fey walked up to offer me a ride.

  “That’s okay. Thallirin, can—”

  “He already left,” the fey said.

  I looked behind me and didn’t see my shadow. Confused, I agreed to the fey’s offer. Maybe Thallirin was still worked up over this morning and thought it would be a bad idea to carry me. I’d just lectured Zach about not being distracted, so it made sense Thallirin wouldn’t want to carry me. However, it didn’t stop me from feeling a tinge of hurt.

  Thanking the fey, I gripped my bow and nodded that I was ready. He carefully picked me up but didn’t hold me like I was fragile and would shatter at the slightest jarring like Thallirin did.

  When my fey cleared the wall and started running, I looked for Thallirin. He was running ahead of us. I caught myself wondering what was going on with him before putting it aside. I could worry about Thallirin and his sudden change of heart about carrying me tonight when I was safely back inside Tolerance’s wall. Until then, I needed to focus.

  My eyes went to the trees, watching for signs of infected. Everything was quiet the entire trip.

  Matt and a few others waited for us outside the wall by the trucks.

  “Thirty percent of what the trucks bring back belongs to Tenacity,” he said.

  “Agreed,” Ryan said. “As long as you’ll take an additional week’s worth of supplies for each new household so they see what supplies can be found when they venture outside the wall with the fey.”

  Matt and Ryan shook on it as the fey delivered me to Garrett’s truck.

  “Morning, Brenna. Ready for some easy pickings?” he asked.

  “Don’t jinx it,” I warned, getting in and taking the granola bar from my pocket.

  I ate while we waited. It didn’t take long for the volunteers to load up and for the fey to get into position. Our truck rumbled forward, and I got comfortable. During the drive, Garrett explained the distribution center’s layout and our plan for today.

  “The infected probably heard the trucks yesterday, so there’s a chance they set a trap for us. But more than likely, because we haven’t hit the same area twice, they’ll be waiting for us somewhere else.”

  “And if they’re not waiting somewhere else?”

  “The fey are going in first to check while we back the trucks up to the dock. When they give the all-clear, we work together to load as much as we can as quickly as we can, picking up where we left off. You’ll be watching the trucks again, but there will be fey on the roof as well. The place is huge.”

  Instead of taking Highway 2 all the way west, Garrett took a back road south and met up with Highway 7. There didn’t look like much around. Only a gas station that was probably well-picked over and a fireworks store once we crossed the overpass.

  “How did the fey even find this distribution place?” I asked.

  “Not sure. A few of them always scout while we’re out.”

  We turned off onto a backroad that looked like it led to nothing. After a few minutes, I saw a huge building ahead.

  “That’s it?” I asked.

&n
bsp; “Yep.”

  We followed the road around to the side of the building where rows and rows of semi-trailers just sat there.

  “It couldn’t have been easy to park them like that,” I said, looking at how only a few were turned so the hitch was toward the parking lot. “What’s in them?”

  “A few have pallets of supplies. Most are empty.” He turned the truck around and backed toward one of the empty docks. “Now we sit tight until the fey check things out. It takes a while.” He reached under his seat and pulled out a bag of trail mix.

  We munched and watched for signs of infected. The temperature in the truck dropped quickly, and I used my first set of hand warmers to keep my toes toasty.

  A knock on Garrett’s door, a good deal later, startled me.

  “It’s time,” the fey called.

  We got out, and I immediately climbed up the hood of the truck to take my position up top. The volunteers cautiously exited their truck.

  “Humans stay close to your fey,” Ryan said softly. “Work quickly and quietly. The place is big, and there can be infected anywhere.”

  The groups slipped in through a bay door that one of the fey had pried open, and I started my watch, not that there was a lot to see. Across the wide expanse of snow-dusted blacktop, sat the long line of trailers. Behind them, barren trees. The trailers shielded me from the wind but obstructed my view of the trees and fields beyond.

  I glanced at the fey who paced the roof, knowing with the extra height, they’d have no problem seeing anything that came our way. However, instead of looking at the trees and fields, the fey closest to me was looking down toward the trailers.

  Turning, I saw the reason for his attention. Thallirin was inspecting one of the nearby trailers. He reached out, touching the unlatched lock, then looked at his finger. I couldn’t see what he was seeing, but I was sure it had to be blood by the way he stared. And, only one thing would leave a bloody lock.

  I drew an arrow from my quiver and nocked it, ready. Thallirin looked up at me, holding my gaze. Behind him, the door to the trailer moved.

  My eyes widened.

  Undeterred, he turned to the trailer and reached for the handle.

  Was he stupid?

  The twang of my bowstring gave him pause. He looked back at me just as the arrow whisked past his face and pinged off the lock. I shook my head at him.

  “It’s a trap,” I said softly.

  He nodded once then reached for the door, anyway. It opened with a whisper of noise, and a single infected fell out. It moved jerkily toward Thallirin, who gripped its head and tore it free. He tossed the infected’s head aside and peered into the trailer before closing the door again.

  I exhaled in relief.

  Then the door of a trailer several bays down moved. Thallirin started walking toward it. Behind me, I heard the same noise and twisted to see a fey going to look at another trailer.

  My stomach dropped to my toes. It was just like the last time. They were baiting the fey farther away.

  The low creak of metal echoed off the skeletal trees as one of the trailer doors across the pavement eased open.

  “Trap!” I yelled, nocking another arrow.

  Everything slowed.

  Fey came pouring out of the building, carrying humans. Infected spilled out of the trailers, swarming the pavement. The fey with the humans jumped to the nearest truck then the roof of the building to safely dump their passengers. But the infected were just as fast. They reached the trucks as the first fey jumped down.

  “Brenna!” Zach’s panic fed my own as I watched the infected scramble up the hood of the truck I was standing on.

  I didn’t release my nocked arrow. It wouldn’t do any good. There were too many infected. The first one grabbed onto my leg and pulled. I started to go down and wondered how much of me they’d eat before I turned.

  Something came flying at me from the right. It hit me hard, and I felt the roof buckle under my feet. Then I was tumbling through the air. Sounds collided. The thump of something hitting metal and a jarring impact that rattled my bones at the same instant. Then, the infected moaning. The humans yelling. Chaos reigned, and pain followed, shooting up my leg.

  I hit metal again, and there were hands all over me.

  “I smell her blood,” Thallirin said.

  I blinked at him and Zach, who leaned over me, and tried to make sense of the moment.

  “My leg,” I said, shaking uncontrollably.

  “Zach, get back,” Ryan said. “Thallirin, you’re full of infected blood. Back up and let me. Just in case.”

  I looked up at all the human faces as they backed away and watched Ryan lift my pant leg.

  My stomach twisted with the pain, and I choked back the trail mix that wanted to come up.

  “I can’t tell if it’s a bite or not,” Ryan said. “I’m sorry.”

  He stood and moved away. Thallirin fell to his knees beside me and took my hand. His was sticky with infected blood.

  “You will not be alone,” he said. “Ever.”

  That was it? I was done. I started to shake. I wasn’t sure if it was from fear, adrenaline, or the change. I closed my eyes and waited to feel something other than pain. What I felt was Thallirin’s fingers against mine, gently stroking my skin. His trembles. I gave his hand a small squeeze, feeling sorry for both of us.

  Below, the fighting continued. Fey shouted out to one another. Someone took my quiver and bow.

  The pain in my leg didn’t grow any worse, but it didn’t get any better, either.

  “They’re running again,” someone yelled.

  The sounds of fighting started to fade.

  “How are you feeling?” Ryan asked.

  “Like a truck hit me and ripped open my damn leg.”

  “Good.”

  I opened my eyes and gave him a what-the-fuck look. He grinned at me.

  “It’s been more than fifteen minutes. I have a first aid kit in the truck. Don’t move. Don’t touch anything. Thallirin, you might want to move away from her and clean up. She’s at risk with an open wound.”

  I glanced at Thallirin, who didn’t release his hold on me.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  “No.”

  “That’s twice, now,” I said.

  “Yes.”

  “Still going to let me keep choosing?”

  He exhaled shakily.

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Thank you for the honesty. And the second save.”

  “Thank you for not shooting me.” With that, he stood and left me so he could start scrubbing down with the snow from the roof. I frowned after him, wondering what the heck his comment meant.

  Ryan returned with the first aid kit and tested my extensive knowledge of cuss words as he disinfected then bandaged the cut.

  “I’m pretty sure you’re going to need stitches. The bandage is only to keep it clean until we get home.”

  I sat up and used a bottle of water to wash my hands then some of the alcohol to disinfect.

  “I’m fine for now. Please tell me we’re going to keep loading.”

  “No,” Thallirin said firmly.

  “What if the humans stay on the roof and let the fey do all the loading?” Ryan asked. “We can’t pass up on the supplies in there.”

  Thallirin looked at the rest of the fey. There were grunts of agreement. A dozen fey were left on the roof with us to keep watch, and the rest went below, including Thallirin.

  Zach sat by me so I could lean against him.

  “Why does everything happen to you?” he asked.

  “I’m willing to take turns.”

  He laughed.

  “I have a feeling you might not be allowed to go on runs, anymore. If Thallirin doesn’t keep you home, Mom will. Especially if we have the supplies to last us a while.”

  I sighed, knowing he was right. It wasn’t like I really wanted to go on supply runs anyway. Too bad I liked eating so much, though.

  I stared at the
back of Thallirin’s head as he ran ahead of us in the fading light. We’d pushed the supply gathering to the limit, filling several trailers and bringing a caravan of goods back to Tenacity. The fey and Matt agreed we would unload the majority of it the next day.

  Because of the noise the trucks made from Harrisonville to Tenacity, several of the fey stayed behind to watch the road and help guard against any extra infected who might follow our trail. After this last supply run, there was no doubt that the infected were getting smart enough to do that.

  But none of that explained why I was in some other fey’s arms or why Thallirin hadn’t talked to me since the roof. My leg could be falling off for all he knew.

  Crossing my arms, I waited impatiently for Tolerance to come into view. My ride wasn’t done when we went over the wall, though. The fey holding me took me straight to Cassie’s house.

  Kerr opened the door with his usual stoic expression.

  “Hey, Kerr, is Cassie around to stitch me up?” I asked from my princess position.

  “Bring her in,” Cassie called from somewhere inside. I was handed off to Kerr like a toddler and carried to the kitchen.

  “What happened?” she asked, glancing at my bloody pants leg and quickly setting the pot of mac and cheese down.

  “I’m pretty sure I was cut on a piece of metal. Not rusty. And yes, I’m good on my tetanus for a few years, yet.”

  “Good thing because I wouldn’t be able to do anything about that. Stitches I can help with, though.” She looked at Kerr. “Take her to the guest room.”

  He carried me down the hall to a room Cassie had set up to treat people.

  “She’ll want to get to the cut,” Kerr said, setting me on the bed.

  “So pants off?”

  He grunted and left me to strip on my own. Cassie didn’t make me wait in my underwear for long.

  “Let’s take a look.”

  She peeled back the bandage and made what I would consider an uh-oh sound when coming from someone in the medical profession.

  “What?” I asked.

  “It does need stitches.”

  “I kind of figured. It hurts like hell.”

  “I only have one way to numb it.”

  I watched her walk across the room and open a cabinet.