The Children and the Blood (39 page)

Boxes were everywhere. There was barely space for two people to stand.

“Twitch,” Carter said. “Is there another room we can use? One with fewer boxes?”

Flustered, the man looked around. “I… I…”

He turned and scuttled down the hall.

More red panels lined the corridor. In the dim light, she glanced at them, and swiftly, Bus grabbed her arm as though to stop her from touching anything. In a furtive look back, Twitch caught sight of the motion.

“Rats,” the little man warned. “Rats’ rooms. Don’t go in the rats’ rooms. Rats don’t like it if you go in their rooms.”

Ashe stared at him, and then turned the incredulous expression on Bus.

“The doors are wired,” Spider explained shortly, walking past them both as she followed the scurrying man.

Bus patted her hand with a tense smile and then kept going. Blanching, Ashe trailed after them, sticking squarely to the center of the hall.

An exit sign flickered at the end of the hallway, and immediately before it, Twitch pushed open another door. Compared to the rest of the building, the apartment inside was relatively clear, with only a few boxes stacked along the back wall. Cans of food formed a small mountain to one side, with cracked plates and bowls nearby. Through the bedroom door, she could see more computers, a smaller version of the command center downstairs.

In front of the door, Twitch paused, shuffling from one foot to the other as though reluctant to let them in. His eyes darted across the group in small circles, going first one way, blinking rapidly, and then swinging the other.

“Would you prefer some of us slept elsewhere?” Carter asked after a few seconds. “So there are fewer people in here?”

Twitch nodded, the motion quick and jerking.

Carter glanced at them.

“Ashe and I can take the room down the hall,” Spider said. She looked to Twitch. “You mind if we move some boxes?”

Relief and reluctance warred in short spasms across Twitch’s face. “Okay…”

Without another word, Spider headed back to the room, Ashe and Bus coming after her.

The boxes were heavy, but with the work of two people, they could be moved. Gradually, the jumbled mess became towering stacks by the walls, as though the three of them were shoring up the building by cardboard alone. Squares of cleaner carpet emerged beneath the dusty containers, and as Bus helped Spider shift the last of the stack, Ashe gave in to her curiosity and pulled back the corner of a box to peek inside.

Dozens of random magazines were stacked within and bore mailing labels ranging from doctor’s offices to libraries, with random homes in between.

“You want to see if Twitch will spare some food?” Spider asked.

Shoving the box flap back in place, Ashe turned quickly. “Sure.”

With a last, alarmed glance to the boxes, she followed the others out of the room.

Scrounging food from among the cans in Twitch’s apartment, they passed the dinner in silence and, when they had finished, the little man shifted back and forth, impatient for the girls to leave. At Spider’s request for blankets, he scurried into the other room, returning with a bundle of scratchy, stale-smelling material that he shoved into Ashe’s arms before running back to his bedroom and shutting the door.

Spider took half the pile. “Sleep well,” she told Bus and Carter dryly.

Wordlessly, Ashe followed her down the hall. In the apartment, they spread the blankets on the floor, trying to stir up as little dust as they could. Once the bedding was laid out, Ashe disappeared into the bathroom, discovering with relief the crazy place had running water. Having washed away the blood on her face, she returned and then paused as Spider lay down.

“Um…” she began, glancing around. In addition to the planks, dense black paint covered the windows.

“Don’t worry,” Spider said tiredly, pillowing her head with one arm and then wrinkling her nose as she tried not to sneeze. Waiting a moment, she continued when the urge faded. “Twitch’ll keep as good a watch as we ever could. He’s got police scanners and news feeds for half the state wired into that hodge-podge of his, on top of all the cameras outside.”

“And bombs on the doors,” Ashe added, still feeling shocked by the last.

“Well, yeah.”

“Isn’t he… isn’t
somebody
worried he’ll blow up the building? I mean, if someone bumps the wrong door...”

“You see why we don’t stay here unless we have to.”

“But how’d he even do all this? I mean…” She trailed off, wanting to put into words how ridiculous this place felt, as though describing the insanity would tame her panic at staying in a partly demolished building lined with bombs.

Spider scoffed. “Hell if I know. Serenity told me his rich wizard daddy paid him lots of money to go away and stop embarrassing the family. Blackjack said he worked for a bank and embezzled millions. Twitch won’t say what’s true, and you’re putting a lot more faith in him than I would if you’d trust what he told you anyway.

“Take the break for what it is,” she finished with a smile. “We’ll be heading out soon.”

Nodding mechanically, Ashe flipped off the light and then carefully lowered herself onto the blankets, still stirring up enough dust to promptly make her sneeze. Grimacing, she lay down and pulled the itchy blanket over her shoulders.

Her eyes popped open. Scurrying noises rushed through the walls, and faint cheeping followed. Heart pounding, she lay motionless.

A few feet away, she could hear Spider breathing deeply as she slept. Nothing bothered the girl. And that nothing included the thought of rats sniffing at her in the darkness, or swarming over her in her sleep.

Skin crawling, Ashe cringed as the scurrying continued. Every itch made her think the rats had reached her, and each twitch of skin made her want to swat the area nearby.

Minutes passed, creeping into hours. The noises would fade, only to return when she closed her eyes. Shuddering, she tried to force herself not to care. So what? Rats weren’t the worst thing in the world.

A cheeping sounded near her and she sat bolt upright, scanning the darkness. Swallowing dryly, she gritted her teeth, cursing herself for being afraid and ordering herself to go to sleep.

She didn’t move.

This was stupid. She’d fought a wizard today. She was hunting the Blood. And she was scared of rats? It was ridiculous.

It would really help if Tala or Mischa were around.

Latching onto the thought, she hesitated and then rose in the darkness. Drawing a breath, she inched her foot out, coming down only onto dusty carpet. Step by careful step, she made her way across the floor, commanding herself not to make a noise if she landed on anything.

Dim red light filled the hall, emanating from the small panels and the distant exit sign.

And at the door to the stairway, Carter paused.

Blanching, she ducked back instinctively, and then her brow furrowed in confusion. It was Carter, not a monster. But from the look on his face, something was deeply wrong.

Nervously, she peeked around the corner again.

He was gone.

She glanced back, but Spider hadn’t moved. Biting her lip apprehensively, she hesitated and then rushed toward the stairs. Small forms scurried away in the dim light, making her heart jump, and her hand caught the door an instant before it closed. Slipping through the gap, she stood motionless, listening as she let it shut behind her.

A moment passed. Another door closed far below.

She hurried downstairs, past door panels glowing red in the darkness. Worried she’d be trapped on the stairwell if Carter reset the door after passing through, she moved faster till finally a green panel came into view.

Warily, she pulled open the door to the second level.

The room was empty, save for the tangled mess of tripwire cords. Brow furrowing, she paused. He hadn’t been heading for the monitors, which meant Twitch must not have seen anything through his cameras.

Her eyes went to the door panel across the room. Like an electronic breadcrumb, it also glowed green.

Weaving between coils of cable, she crossed the room and opened the door. The hall was dark, but faint light showed from the floor below.

A door shut downstairs. On the metal stairway, Ashe froze.

“Thank you for seeing me,” came a man’s voice.

Her brow drew down. Smooth and cultured, the sound was familiar but not. Like a dream on the edge of memory, it flitted away before she could grasp it.

“You said it was an emergency.”

Carter’s voice was colder than she’d ever heard, and guarded.

Heart pounding, she glanced around nervously, and then crept down the steps, praying they wouldn’t creak. At the first floor, she slipped around the boxes beneath the stairs and into the darkened space behind them.

“So I did,” came the reply. “Those were your companions on the police bands earlier, I assume?”

At Carter’s silence, he continued. “But then, you wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t. The similarities were too strong.”

“Get to the point or get out, Cornelius.”

“I came to talk about one of those mentioned by the police.”

“Forget your point. Just get out.”

“The young lady from Montana. I need to see her.”

Ashe’s heart climbed into her throat.

“It’s not her,” Carter replied.

“Really.”

“Oh, go to hell, Cornelius.”

She could hear footsteps approach the apartment door.

“I have to find her, Josiah,” Cornelius said, a tinge of urgency in his polished tone.

“So find her,” Carter replied carelessly. “But she’s not with me. Bryony’s the only brunette in my crew. She’s the daughter of an old friend of mine, and she’s been with us for over six months. Hell, we haven’t even been to Montana in three years, but she’s been mistaken for that other kid for weeks. It’s made life crazy.”

“And may I meet ‘Bryony’?”

Carter’s laugh made Ashe’s skin crawl. “Oh, I don’t think that would go well. The rest of my crew aren’t as…
understanding
as I am.”

“If you’re sheltering her, you have to let me see her.”

“Or what? You’ll go feral on me?”

“That’s not fair.”

“No,” Carter said, his voice becoming heated. “Eight years ago wasn’t fair. Watching women and children of my people get butchered isn’t fair. Fighting battles your people are too cowardly to accept isn’t fair.”

The anger in his voice grew cold. “Having you stand by and do nothing before the council was never fair. But then, we’re not five years old anymore, so why are we discussing fair?”

“You can’t let that go, can you?” Cornelius asked. “Your theory of–”

“It isn’t a theory killing my people out there!”

Cornelius exhaled furiously. “But it’s not
possible
, Josiah. Cripples seeing wizards we cannot? Magical beings no one has ever heard of? There isn’t a shred of proof–”

“No. There’s just our word and the lack of faith your kind has in it.”

An incredulous noise escaped Cornelius. “And what? You think cripples are the only ones dying? You think I haven’t lost countless innocents to traps using your people as bait? This is not about faith, Josiah. This is about not chasing ghosts in the middle of a war! Please! Let this go! Your people will be better served if you give up these fantasies–”

“My people are served by me protecting them from you, the ferals, and the Blood roaming the streets. My people are served by each of those your council dubbed ‘Hunters’ giving their lives to stop the ones you ignore. And right now, my people will be served by you getting the hell out of this building and not coming back.”

Carter emerged from the doorway. Behind the boxes, Ashe held her breath, trembling.

“You have to let me talk to that girl,” Cornelius insisted from inside the room.

“Why?” Carter tossed back.

“Because she’s one of the Children.”

Carter froze.

“Because she and her sister are the last of the Children,” Cornelius continued when Carter didn’t turn around. “Taliesin found Patrick. He’s dead.”

Slowly, Carter looked back at the other man.

For a moment, Cornelius was silent, and when he spoke again, the barest hint of pleading touched his voice. “I know you’re still loyal, Josiah, whatever our differences may be. So you have to let me talk to her. You have to let us protect her. If the Taliesin–”

“It’s not her,” Carter interrupted. “I told you. Bryony’s the only brunette with my crew.”

A pause followed his words.

“I see,” came the careful reply. “Well, if you should see her… this is where to find me.”

Silence greeted him. In the room, Ashe heard a door open, and a faint tingle of magic ran over her skin as the air pressure shifted. By the apartment doorway, Carter winced slightly.

“It was good to see you again, Josiah,” Cornelius said.

The door closed.

Carter crossed the room, and then emerged, a small scrap of paper in his hand. For a moment, he regarded it, his face unreadable. And then he sighed, shoving it into his pocket as his gaze rose to the stairway. Beneath the steps, Ashe shrank farther into the shadows.

He headed upstairs.

She left the dusty space, her eyes on the second floor landing. Creeping forward, she peeked around the edge of the apartment door.

The room was empty.

Her gaze went back to the stairs, and for the barest heartbeat, she considered just turning around and slipping out the front exit to escape the incomprehensible look she’d seen in his eyes.

But the door panel glowed red, and there wasn’t anywhere else to go anyway.

Heart pounding, she followed him through the building again.

At the fifth floor, she paused, and then looked around the corner of the doorway, uncertain where he’d gone. The light in the room she shared with Spider suddenly came on and she heard the girl exclaim in confusion.

“Where’s Ashe?” Carter asked.

His voice made her tremble. As guarded as it’d been downstairs, it now held something more. A mixture of urgency and pain she couldn’t understand.

She slipped out of the stairwell and walked over to the room.

“I don’t know,” Spider said. “She was here. I–”