The Eternity Cure (37 page)

A mole man emerged from a familiar tunnel, shrieking in alarm as he saw us. With a chill, I recognized the tunnel as the entrance to the camp, the one that had been barred when Roach first brought us here. The gate had been torn off and lay in a rusty heap in the water.

Zeke didn’t slow down. As the mole man lunged forward, Zeke ducked beneath the wild swing and brought his machete flashing up, striking the man in the chest and ripping the blade out through his side. Screeching, the mole man crumpled behind us, and Zeke led us through the gate.

A body lay in the entrance, the young guard Roach had spoken to on our first trip here. Stab wounds covered his chest and stomach, and he gazed unseeing at the roof. Another body sprawled nearby, a mole man, bloody and still. Stone-faced, Zeke rushed past them to the staircase that led to the floor above, and began taking them two at a time.

Kanin and I followed. We emerged from the stairwell into chaos. Fires burned erratically through the boiler room, steel drums knocked over and spilling hot coals onto the cement. Bodies darted through the flames and shadows, pale mole men and terrified refugees, scurrying about in panicked confusion. A pair of mole men had trapped a woman against a corner and closed in, stabbing and punching, and Zeke sprang forward with a furious yell.

I went to help him, but Kanin stepped out of the shadows, into the sickly red light, and roared. The chilling sound echoed through the room, making my hair stand on end and causing everyone to spin around. As Zeke slashed his blade across one mole man’s neck and clubbed the other with his gun, everyone else in the room, both attackers and refugees, screamed as they realized what had come into their midst, and scattered into the darkness.

Goaded by the scent of fear and violence, I roared a challenge as well and leaped into the room. Several mole men came at me, slashing and flailing, screeching their hate. I cut them down, my demon reveling in the blood that coated the walls and spattered the floor, arching in ribbons across my face. A few yards away, Zeke fought his way through the center, blade flashing, the occasional bark of gunfire ringing off the boilers. Kanin swept into the room, a dark shadow of death, and every person he passed crumpled to the ground a second later, bleeding and lifeless.

In seconds, the room emptied. Most of the attackers opted not to stay and fight, but fled toward the ladder when they realized vampires had joined the fray. I let them go, though it was hard not to chase them into the tunnels, to run them into the darkness and rip out their throats. Keeping a firm hold on my bloodlust, I sheathed my katana, willed my demon to settle down and looked around for Kanin and Zeke.

Zeke stood in the center of the room, panting, his gun and machete dangling at his sides as he watched the last of the mole men leave. His blue eyes gleamed dangerously in the dim light, as if he was holding himself back, forcing himself not to fire on the pale, retreating forms. Kanin stood nearby, all but hidden in the corner shadows.

“Zeke!”

A young man rushed up to him, panicked, grabbing at his shirt. Zeke flinched as the other boy yanked on him desperately. “Where were you? We’ve been trying to contact you for hours!”

“I came as soon as I could.” Zeke freed himself and took a step back, surveying the room grimly. Bodies lay scattered about, some moaning, most deathly still. The refugee came at him again, and Zeke jerked away. “Don’t come near me!” he snapped, and the boy froze, gazing at him in shock. Zeke backed away, his arm to his mouth. “Stay away from me, all of you. I don’t…” He swallowed hard. “I’m sick,” he told him, and the refugee’s face went white. “I don’t want you getting what I have. Keep your distance.”

The boy fled to a corner of the room. Zeke watched him go, then gazed around at the other survivors, now eyeing him with nearly the same amount of fear as they were the vampires. A pained look crossed his face, and he turned to me.

“Allie. Will you help me figure out how many are still alive?”

We took a head count of the survivors. The results were sobering. Of the two dozen or so refugees Zeke had left behind, only nine had survived the sudden attack. Many of them had been badly wounded, and at least a couple of them wouldn’t survive the night.

Zeke took the news stoically then began the slow process of organizing the chaos; helping the injured, directing people to bind wounds, posting a guard at the entrance in case the mole men returned. But he kept his distance from everyone and, more than once had to back away when harsh coughing racked his lean frame, pressing an old cloth to his nose and mouth. The refugees cringed back when he did this, glancing between him and the vampires, clearly not knowing which was worse.

“They’re vulnerable here,” Kanin told me when I joined him in the corner. I’d tried to help Zeke manage the confusion in the aftermath, but it was hard when everyone was terrified of the blood-drenched vampire girl. Kanin, more intelligently, had taken a spot along the far wall, and was simply watching with cool detachment.

I glanced at him. “What do you mean?”

“The mole men know where they are. Their defenses are gone. If they attack again, they’ll likely succeed in killing everyone.” He watched a refugee limp across the room, and shook his head. “We won’t be around to protect them much longer.”

“They can’t stay here then,” I muttered. “They have to find another camp. Where, though? Another place in the tunnels?”

“You would risk running into more mole men,” Kanin pointed out. “If they are this incensed about topsiders invading their territory, perhaps it is best that they leave it altogether.”

“Yeah, but where?” I asked again. “Up top isn’t any safer, with the bleeders and the crazies running around. Where could they possibly go that’s remotely safe?”

“This was your old sector, was it not?”

“Yes, but…” I stopped, thinking. I did know of one place.
It’s not far,
I mused to myself.
And it’s fairly isolated. The basement is a good spot to hole up if things go bad. Not ideal, but better than here
. “Right,” I muttered, pushing myself off the wall. “I know where we can go.”

I found Zeke standing among the huge rusted boilers at the back of the room. His back was to me, and his head was bowed as he gazed at something near his feet. Curious, I walked up behind him, peered down and winced.

Roach sat against one of the columns, his young face turned sightlessly to the ceiling, the hilt of a dagger shoved through his chest. The walkie-talkie was still clutched in one hand.

Knowing Zeke, knowing he was blaming himself, I put a hand on his arm. It was so hot, burning under my fingertips. “This isn’t your fault,” I said softly.

He didn’t answer. Stepping forward, he bent down and gently took the walkie-talkie from Roach’s limp grasp, a heavy, broken sigh escaping him as he rose.

“Zeke,” I ventured as he turned around, his face frozen into a stoic mask. “The other refugees. They can’t stay here.”

“I know.” He replaced the walkie-talkie, sliding it onto his belt, and became businesslike again. “I was trying to come up with a way to tell you and Kanin. I’m taking them topside. You don’t…have to stick around. You should go after Sarren. I’ll be fine.”

He wasn’t looking at me. Anger flickered, but I kept my voice calm, reasonable. “You don’t know this sector as well as I do. Where will you go?”

“We’ll find a place.” His eyes strayed back to Roach, and he turned away, walking slowly back toward the group. “Dawn is about two hours from now,” he said, passing me without looking up. “It’ll take that long to get topside and find a place to hide from the bleeders. You and Kanin can still get a good head start back to Sector Two before morning. Don’t worry about me. I’ll catch up when I can.”

A growl rose to my throat. Reaching out, I grabbed his elbow, spun him around and pushed him back into a pillar. He gave a startled
whoof,
eyes widening in shock, before I stepped up and kissed him, hard.

He froze for a second, before his arms came up to pull me closer. I leaned into him, feeling the Hunger rise up, feeling his lips on mine, his hands sliding over my back. I let myself feel all these things, including the urge to drop my head to his neck and plunge my fangs into his throat. I could control it, I
would
control it. Because there was no way I was letting Zeke go now.

“I have a better idea,” I whispered when we finally pulled back. My face was inches from his, and I could feel the heat radiating from him, hot and feverish. “Why don’t you let us help you?”

His chest heaved beneath my palms. “What about Sarren?”

“We’ll find Sarren.” I slipped my fingers into his hair, brushing it back, and he closed his eyes. “We can get these people to safety
and
find Sarren in time. It doesn’t have to be one or the other, Zeke.” He didn’t answer, and I dropped my hands, resting them on his shoulders, the backs of my fingers lightly touching his neck. “I have a place we can go topside—the old school, where I used to live. It’s isolated, there’s plenty of space and it’s fairly secure. They’ll be safe there, as safe as they can be anywhere in the Fringe. We just have to get them out of here, now.”

“I don’t want to slow you down.”

I gave him a challenging half smirk. “You were the one who traveled halfway across the country to find me, Zeke Crosse. Now that you have, and now that you insist that something brought us together, I’m afraid you’re not getting rid of me that easily. Or, maybe I should say, I’m not letting
you
go. Vampires are possessive like that.”

A tiny snort, and his eyes finally lightened a shade. “So, you’re saying I’m a pet now, vampire girl?”

It really wasn’t the place, or the time, to be thinking of this. Sarren was out there, Jackal was gone, and we still had the refugees to deal with tonight. Kanin and Zeke were both living on borrowed time, and every second was crucial. But all I could think of now was how much I wanted this. I wanted to take this risk, despite all the years of self-preservation telling me to hide, to pull back, protect myself. Zeke had not protected himself. He’d come to New Covington knowing exactly who I was, what I was, and he was the reason I could take a chance. The reason I could, for once, put my heart on the line, open myself up and let someone in.

My arms slipped around his neck. I looked up at his face, into those clear sapphire eyes and whispered, “Kiss me, Zeke.”

He did. His eyes closed, he lowered his head and his lips closed over my own, gentle and soft. This one lasted several long moments, and when Zeke drew back again, his eyes were dark with passion. But they were a little wary now, too.

“Kanin is watching us,” he murmured.

My head cleared instantly. I felt a tiny stab of fear, wondering what my mentor would say, if he would scold, or shake his head in disgust. Certainly, he wouldn’t be pleased. I couldn’t see his face very well, as he was still across the room in his dark corner, but I could feel the weight of his stare, boring into me.

Zeke gently pushed me back, stepping off the pillar. “I’ll get the others ready to move,” he said. “It shouldn’t take long. How far to this school of yours?”

“We’ll be there before dawn,” I told him, still feeling Kanin’s eyes on us.
You knew he would find out about you and Zeke sometime, Allison. He probably suspected everything even before this. Question is, do you care what he thinks about a vampire and a human?

“All right.” Zeke nodded. “Let me explain what’s going on to everyone. We’ll be ready to head out in a few minutes.”

“Zeke?”

He turned back, eyes questioning. And before I lost my nerve, in full view of my sire, I stepped up to him, put my hands on the sides of his face and kissed him one more time.

I know you’re watching, Kanin. And yes, this is my answer.

Zeke drew back, looking a little dazed. Gazing down at me, he gave a wry smile, licking his lips. “That…didn’t have anything to do with him over there, did it?” he asked, sounding suspiciously amused, and a little breathless. I bit my lip.

“Does that bother you?”

“If it involves kissing you? Please, use me to prove a point anytime.” With a faint smile, he squeezed my arm and stepped back, and I let him this time. “I’ll get everyone together. Give me ten minutes and we’ll be ready to go.”

I watched him depart, steeled myself and then walked over to Kanin, who hadn’t moved from his place in the corner.

“That was interesting.” he mused in a toneless voice as I joined him along the wall. “I assume that last display was solely for my benefit?”

“Kanin—”

“Allison.” My sire looked at me, solemn and grave. “I am not in any position to tell you what to do, or how to live your life,” he said, surprising me. “You already know my thoughts, and, as I’ve discovered before, you will either heed my advice, or you won’t. I don’t need to remind you. You’re not the same girl I left outside New Covington, and I am no longer your teacher.

“However,” he continued, just as I’d started to relax, “I will issue this one warning. I will not Turn that boy for you, if it comes down to that. He is…too human to make it as a vampire. It would destroy him very quickly.”

“I know,” I muttered, watching Zeke move among the refugees, keeping his distance in order not to infect them. “He already made me promise the same thing. That if he was dying, to just…let him go.”

Kanin’s eyes searched the side of my face. “And could you?” he asked softly. “Let him go?”

I didn’t answer, and Kanin didn’t push the question. We watched the humans in silence, two vampires standing in the darkness on the outskirts of humanity, always looking in.

Chapter 18