Obsidian Wings (5 page)

She was five minutes away from Toad’s and Butter’s when Rice
called.

“There’s a hostage situation in Spiritgrove,” he said. “A
recently turned shifter holding his estranged wife and two children in their
home. You want that or the zombies?”

She wasn’t in the mood to talk a shifter down. She needed
blood and guts and blades. Z would have been the one to send to the hostages,
but Z was gone. “Send Owen and Jack. Have Raze, Strad, and…” But Raze and Strad
were it. Everyone else was out of commission.

Or dead.

“I’ll have Ellis send Raze and Strad to you.” He clicked
off.

Raze was already there. As she drove down the street he
flashed his lights at her, and she parked behind him. “I was in the area,” he
told her, jumping from his truck. “And I’m ready to fight.”

“I hope there are enough of them to go around,” she replied,
as the berserker pulled up. She wasn’t good at sharing.

“The zombie problem is not going away,” Strad said as they
ran toward the fray.

“Take the guns from the humans first,” Rune told them.

The humans, with their carelessness and bloodlust, would
likely shoot the crew as casually as they shot the zombies. Rune doubted it
would be a mistake. A lot of the people of River County were ready to put down
the Others—all Others—and those who were close to them.

And that was thanks in part to COS.

The street in front of Toad’s and Butter’s was filled with
an angry mob and the sporadic sounds of gunfire.

Strad and Raze probably wouldn’t have heard the low moans of
the zombies, covered by the angry, fearful shouts of the humans.

But she heard them. Heard them, acknowledged the slight
empathy that blossomed inside her, then easily shoved it away. She was becoming
hardened to the cries of the hungry dead.

The humans didn’t want the crew interrupting their shooting
frenzy. As they spotted the three RISC fighters, two of them turned their guns
on the new arrivals.

Rune snarled and shot out her silver claws, the red haze of
rage clouding her mind.

“Rune,” Strad said. Maybe he’d meant to calm her, maybe he’d
simply meant to caution her to be careful.

But that was all she heard. Her monster took over, and she
went for the crowd. A bullet whizzed by her ear and she rammed the man holding
the gun just as the other man pulled his trigger.

She was on him before he realized she’d moved, absorbing his
screams as she knocked the gun from his hand and then kicked him in the face,
sending him flying.

Maybe he lived, maybe he didn’t. She didn’t care one way or
the other. Her mind was now on the battle and on the zombies. The other humans,
perhaps realizing the crew was more dangerous to their wellbeing than the
zombies were, scattered.

Most of them ran back inside to watch the ensuing battle
from the relative safety of the bar, and that was fine with her.

Strad had been right. The zombies weren’t going away.

They kept coming. More people got infected every day and the
infection was traveling to all parts of the world.

Zombie apocalypse on the horizon?

It was a distinct possibility.

But she’d made peace with her immortality—made peace with it
by taking control of it. Everything she’d been through was about as bad as it
got. She could handle the rest.

Even zombies taking over the world.

She’d fight as long as her crew fought.

She put down zombie after zombie, Raze and Strad’s gleeful
battle cries lifting her spirits even as she worried they’d be infected.

Spiritgrove police cruisers slid into the street, lights
flashing as they waited inside the cars for Shiv Crew to take care of the
infectious monsters.

Then the cops would tend to the injured people, the illegal
gun possessions, the drunk and disorderly, and whatever else the humans of the
Moor occupied them with.

The humans weren’t Rune’s problem—except for the one who’d
just been infected, and he was ended along with the other zombies.

Rune hoped no one else had been bitten, but wouldn’t have
bet on it.

In minutes the monsters were down, and Rune smiled at her
two men across the piles of rotting dead. “That was fun, but not much of a
challenge.”

“Get off our street or I’ll blow your brains out,” a man
called, his words slurred. He stood in the dark doorway of the bar, his friends
behind him. Other voices rose in a wave of agreement.

Strad waved the cops over. “Deal with your humans before we
do it for you.”

As though he wasn’t human.

Raze growled and wiped his blade on the shirt of a recently
made zombie. “Fucking humans,” he said.

Rune grinned.

But then something happened that gave all three of them
pause.

“We still love you, Shiv Crew,” a female yelled, and her
shout garnered a few supporters. They cheered the crew on, only stopping when
the haters decided to fight them about which group was right.

Rune sobered when she remembered what was waiting for them
at sundown. “Rice is bringing in a new master.”

They stared at her.

“I didn’t think it’d happen for a while,” Strad said.

She blew out a breath. “Me either. I’m worried about how
it’s going to make Ellie feel. And Elizabeth—”

“Alexander!”

She turned at the shout, watching as a young female cop
jogged toward her. “Yeah?”

“You need to come see this.”

Rune didn’t ask questions. She and her crew followed the
uniform. She’d find out soon enough what had gotten the cop so excited.

The woman led them around the side of the bar, where two
other policemen stood. They had two men on the ground in handcuffs, but they
ignored them, their attention on the building.

Rune knew what was waiting there. Somehow, she knew.

“Son of a bitch,” she said, as she joined the cops.

Nailed to the wall was the mutilated, bloody body of an
Other.

And mixing with the smell of blood and vomit and alcohol
was, once again, the sharp, unmistakable scent of birds.

“There were some differences between this killing and the
murder of the bird, Lara Book.”

Rune and the crew sat around the long table in the
conference room, listening to Bill Rice. “What differences?” Rune asked. She
took a sip of the hot coffee Jack handed her.

“They were both murdered and nailed to the exterior wall of
buildings in the Moor,” Rice said. “They were both Others. But Lara was
tortured.”

Strad frowned. “The shifter was ripped to pieces. You’re
saying he wasn’t tortured?”

“The shifter’s wounds were inflicted postmortem,” Rice said.
“We think he died before the killer was finished with him.” He shrugged. “So he
went on torturing the body.”

“What was the cause of death?” Rune asked.

“Blow to the back of the head with a blunt object.”

“So the doer got carried away and hit the victim a little
too hard?”

Rice nodded. “I think so.” He took a drink of his own
coffee. “There were other differences and a couple of similarities that may or
may not be significant. The male victim was rumored to be a rapist. He only
raped Others though, so the humans didn’t care and the Others never had any
real evidence.”

“Lara Book wasn’t a criminal,” Strad said.

“Exactly.” Rice nodded and set his mug down gently. “Another
difference. And one was male, one female.”

Rune sighed. “And the other similarities?”

“Both were nailed to a building in the Moor.”

“And something else,” Rune said.

Rice’s stare sharpened. “Yes?”

“There was the distinct scent of birds at both scenes. I
also caught the same scent out on Hook Road when Strad and I were checking out
a reported sighting of COS.”

No one said anything for a long moment, then Rice nodded
slowly. “The first victim was a bird, so of course you caught her scent. As for
the other two places…you think the birds are involved in the murders?”

“Maybe.”

“You’re wrong,” Strad said. “I told you I don’t want you
fucking with the birds.”

A quick spark of anger shot through her. She clenched her
fists and glared at him. “I lead this crew, Berserker. You need to get that
into your brain before Shiv Crew is suddenly short another member.”

He leaned across the table, his stare hard. His voice was
harder. “I know the birds. You don’t. They don’t murder their own.”

“Everybody is capable of killing their own,” she replied.
“The birds can do it just like the humans. Just like the other groups.”

“Not the birds,” he said. “Murdering one of their own is
punishable by banishment. To the birds, exile is worse than death.” His voice
was grim. “Much worse. Killing one of their own is the only taboo the birds
have, and they can barely bring themselves to speak of it.”

“The birds fight and kill each other when they challenge a
scepter,” Owen said.

The berserker glared at him. “That’s not murder. That’s a
fair fight to the death for a position of power.”

The scepters were the leaders of the nest. Owen had told her
there were seven of them, various ages. Once they won their spot they ruled
absolutely. The only way for a scepter to lose his or her spot was if they were
challenged by another bird and lost the ensuing fight.

Those challenges were a way for the birds to kill their own
without it being considered murder.

Yeah. Everyone was capable of killing their own.

Owen shrugged. “So the birds do kill each other.”

“They don’t secretly torture and murder their own,” Strad
said. “I’m not saying it’s logical. I’m saying that’s how they operate.”

Rune folded her arms. “The birds are involved. Maybe they
didn’t kill the two Others, but they know something about the deaths.”

“Just because you got a whiff of birds doesn’t mean
anything, Rune. The birds are everywhere.”

“I know you have a history with the feathered fucks, but
you’ve never let history cloud your judgment before.” She very nearly forgot
anyone else was in the room. The berserker was pushing her buttons, and the
anger was overwhelming. “You fucked her, didn’t you?”

She wanted to snatch the words back before they were out of
her mouth.
Fuck me. Fuck.
She closed her eyes in the silence, realizing
that her feelings for the berserker had turned her into something of an
emotional idiot.

And she didn’t like it.

Strad was watching her when she opened her eyes, and he saw
something there he didn’t like.

“Rune,” he said. “Don’t.”

Those in the room looked everywhere but at her. Except for
Ellie. He left his chair and hurried to her. He stood behind her, his hands on
her shoulders. “Leave her alone,” he said, as though they were bothering her.

She stiffened immediately as Ellie gave her a quick hug from
behind and the fang pressed against the back of her head. He kept it inside his
shirt, but the fabric was too thin to fully protect her from its effects.

She leaned gently away from him. “Guys. I apologize. I
realize I’m behaving like a…” She shook her head, unable to find the right
word. She reached up to squeeze Ellie’s hands when he rested them once more on
her shoulders. “Bill, I’d like to go to Spikemoss Mountain and question the
birds.” She didn’t look at Strad but heard him blow out a tired breath.

“I’ll go with her,” he said.

Finally, she looked at him. “No. You’re too close to the
birds and can’t be objective.”

He smiled, but it was not a nice smile. “I will go with
you.”

Bill cleared his throat. “Not yet, Rune. I don’t want to
antagonize the scepters when we have nothing more to go on than your sense of
smell.”

 “Then what do you think we should do, Rice? Wait for
the killer to nail another body to a fucking wall?”

“We have to tread carefully with the birds. They live in
their own world. They don’t cause trouble for the humans or the rest of the
Others. They maintain their own law and order. If we change that, we’ll have to
have an extremely good reason to make it worth the trouble that will follow.”

She snorted and sat back in her chair. “There aren’t that
many of them, Bill. And even if there were…they might
think
they live in
their own world, but they don’t. They live in this world with the rest of us.”

He said nothing.

She shook her head, mystified. “Are you that afraid of them?
I haven’t seen you back down from any group. You’re going to back down from the
birds?”

“You don’t understand.” Bill’s voice was firm but he darted
his eyes, as though unable to find a place to settle his gaze, and his face
reddened.

“No, she doesn’t,” Strad said.

Bill stood. “You need to make her understand.” He started to
stride from the room, but at the door he stopped and turned back. He pointed at
Rune. “Stay away from the fucking birds.”

For a moment she was too stunned to speak. “What the hell is
going on here? I’ve faced Damascus and mad vampires and a fucking
bomb
that nearly destroyed me.” She stared at Strad. “You expect me to believe the
birds are more badass than that?”

He stood. “Yes, Rune. That’s exactly what I expect you to
believe.”

She held up her hands. “Well, I’m terribly sorry, but that’s
a ridiculous fucking notion.” She looked around at her crew. “Do any of you
know anything about the birds?”

“Only what I told you,” Owen said.

Jack shook his head. “I never felt they were a threat.”

“They keep their secrets,” Ellis said.

Raze stood. “I’m going to call the clinic and check on Lex.”

“If the birds are so mean,” Rune asked, “how did one of them
manage to get tortured and nailed to a wall?”

“I don’t know,” Strad replied.

She stared up at him. “I don’t believe you.”

He softened his voice, despite his obvious and lingering
anger. “I don’t know, Rune.”

“Then why the hell won’t you consider that they know
something about what’s going on with the twins?”

“Because I know them. The scepters won’t keep secrets for
COS.”

For a second, the bleakness overwhelmed her. She wanted life
to go back to the way it was. The crew had taken too many hits.

“
You look better.” Ellie pulled her away from Strad,
his gaze going to her growing hair. It hung past her shoulders. Only the ends
remained white as the natural black chased away the snowy color. “How do you
feel? Physically, I mean.”

“I’m fine, baby.” She allowed him to distract her. “I’m
worried about you.”

“Don’t. I’m stronger than people believe.”

“No one knows that better than I do.”

He leaned forward to kiss her cheek. “So stop worrying. I’ll
be okay. We all will.”

“Yeah.”

Raze came back into the room, his cell in his hand. His eyes
were a little too wide. “Lex wants to see you.”

Rune’s heart jumped. “She’s alert?”

“Yes. She is. Let’s go.”

She drove to the clinic with Raze riding her ass, breaking
every speed limit posted. Lex had come back to them. Maybe not for long, but
right then, she was back.

When Rune and Raze arrived at the clinic, they leaped from
their cars.

And just as suddenly, they froze.

Lex waited for them, her hands clasped behind her back. She
wore a hospital gown and a pair of socks, and her wild, black hair lay in sad
tangles around her shoulders.

Her eyes danced, and best of all, her body vibrated.

Lex was back.

“Hello,” she said.

Rune put a hand to her stomach and looked at Raze. “Is she…”

Real,
she’d started to say.

Lex laughed. “I’m here. I’m…okay.” She gestured at the two
nurses hovering near her, one of whom rested her hands on the back of a
wheelchair. “It wasn’t easy convincing them to let me come outside, but I had
to have the air. I had to have the sun on my face.”

Rune and Raze walked cautiously toward her. Rune wanted to
run to her, to snatch the girl into her arms, but she was afraid. “Lex?” she
asked.

Raze hung back, and when Rune glanced at him, she saw an
unfamiliar shyness in his face. Raze was more afraid than she was. And maybe
not of the same things.

Lex put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow. “Will
you two stop acting like I’m a mirage and get the fuck over here? I need a
hug.”

That was all Rune needed to hear. She rushed to the blind
Other and yanked her into a crushing hug. “Lex, how?”

Lex appeared calm. Too calm. “I was with the twins. I was
right there with my Levi and Denim until I couldn’t be any longer. Then I had
to come back.”

“Lex,” Raze said, still a good six feet away, “where are
they?”

“I don’t know,” Lex whispered, and her too thin body
shivered. “I don’t know.”

Rune closed her eyes in a long, slow blink. “Do you feel
like telling us everything you saw?” She wouldn’t have been too disappointed
had Lex said no.

“Yes,” Lex said. “It’s all I can do.” She took a deep breath
and then swayed, a hand to her chest.

“You,” Raze said, pointing at the nurse with the chair.
“Bring it here.”

Lex didn’t argue, and gingerly lowered herself into the
wheelchair when the nurse had it behind her. “Some privacy,” she said, and the
nurses walked away.

The girl was different. Older. Sadder. The shadows from her
horrible past still lived inside her eyes, but they were even deeper. Darker.
She turned her face to Raze. “Don’t be afraid of me now.”

He swallowed, shifted from foot to foot, and finally crossed
his huge arms. His shivs and guns gleamed against the black of his clothes, and
his dark red hair shone like threads of gold in the sun.

“You’re such a beautiful man,” Lex continued, when he said
nothing. “In every way. Thank you for helping take care of me. Thank you for…”
She paused and turned her face from him, a blush climbing her cheeks. “For
caring.”

“I…” Raze cleared his throat, squinted at Rune, then at the
sky, then pursed his lips and said no more.

Rune took pity on both of them. “Do you want to talk out
here, Lex?”

“Yes,” Lex answered. “I want to stay in the sun forever. I
was in the dark for so long. Where the twins are…” She put the back of her hand
against her mouth, but still a sob escaped. “It’s so hopeless and cold. The
pain is so red. Oh.” She stuffed her fist against her lips, holding up her
other hand when Raze started toward her.

So he and Rune stood silent and agonized, waiting for the
little Other to regain control. Rune shuddered uncontrollably, feeling Lex’s
pain, and fearing what the girl was about to tell her.

Lex lowered her hand. “Do you remember the twins,” she
cried. “Do you remember them?”

“Of course we do, baby. Of course we do.”

“They’re not like that now. Now they’re shattered. They’re
broken.” She bent forward in her chair, clutching at her midsection. “Oh God,
they’re broken.”

Rune threw herself to the ground at Lex’s feet and wrapped her
arms around the girl’s legs. “Help me find them. Help me save them.”

“They’re…” Lex shook her head. “They’re somewhere close. The
twins are together. Sometimes they are not.” She reached a shaky hand out and
ran it over Rune’s hair. “I can tell you what’s being done to them. It’s hard
to explain but I was there, in some way. I felt…sometimes I felt their
emptiness. I had to come back when I was afraid one more second would trap me
forever. They didn’t know I was with them,” she cried. “They couldn’t feel me
and I can’t tell you where they are.” She swallowed hard and her vibrations
became so hard the chair shook. “I couldn’t do anything.”

“Lex,” Rune said. “What does COS want with them?”

“They want to hurt them. But soon, they want to kill them.”

“Sacrifice,” Rune murmured.

Lex didn’t look surprised. “Yes.”

“Why?”

“To call a demon. I remember talk of demons when I was a
child in the church. My mother was trying to find a way to be possessed by one.
I think they found a way. And even if my mother isn’t freed, the slayers will
try to carry the demon to her—I don’t know how. If that happens, Karin Love
will be unstoppable.”

Rune leaned her head against Lex’s knees. “Oh, God.” Karin
Love a demon? Who could take down a demon? No one she’d ever heard of. “When, Lex?”

“The next new moon.” She gave a confused frown. “I think.
Everything is fuzzy. I don’t
see
like you do, but I heard someone
talking about the new moon. The voices are all jumbled.” She pushed her fingers
against her eyelids. “It hurts to try to make sense of it. I could be wrong.
But I heard new moon. I know I did.”

“Ten days,” Rune said. “It makes sense. The new moon is
often used for ritualistic magic.”

“Why,” Raze asked, stepping closer with a hesitancy not like
him, “must it be our twins? Why haven’t they sacrificed other twins?”

“They have,” Lex answered, continuing to stroke Rune’s hair,
“but the other twins weren’t powerful enough to call even smaller spirits. They
were not magical enough. Levi and Denim are…” She shook her head, looking for
the right word. “Mighty.”

“Tell us everything you heard,” Rune said. She took a deep
breath before continuing. “And everything you saw. In there somewhere are hints
we can use to find them.”

“And they’re alive,” Raze said. “They’re alive.”

But once again, Lex’s eyes overflowed with heartbroken
tears. “They’d be better off dead,” she said, her voice breaking. “No one
should have to bear what is being forced on them.”

Rune stood. “You bore the bad stuff. Our twins can bear it.”
She squeezed Lex’s hand. “They
are
mighty.”

“Like me,” Lex whispered. And through her tears, she smiled.
“It’s time to get them back.”

Raze spoke into his phone, calling in the crew.

It was time.