Winter Halo

  I leapt over several bodies but couldn’t entirely avoid the large pool of blood that was spreading across the grimy metal walkway. It splattered across my legs, its coppery yet oddly sweet smell filling my nostrils. Sharpened senses, one part of my brain noted, even as I said, “How many vamps are we talking about?”

  “Three. There are eight mercenaries trying to stop them.”

  I frowned. Those odds should have worked in the mercs’ favor, especially given that the vampires’ one major advantage—the ability to shadow and allow bullets to pass through them without causing any sort of harm—should have been nullified by the light. By all rights, the mercenaries should have been all over them.

  So why weren’t they? What in Rhea was going on? Were Sal’s partners further along the immunity path than we’d thought? I really, really hoped that wasn’t true—that this immunity applied only to firelight and non-UV lights. We’d be in a whole world of trouble if it also applied to UVs.

  There was only one way to find out. As the sound of fighting grew closer and fiercer, I pulled the flashlight from the accessory pocket in my pants and switched it on. The clean blue-white light not only illuminated the shadows hunkering beyond the containers that lined this metal pathway, but spotlighted the fierce cluster of men and vampires up ahead.

  Vampires screamed as the light hit them and almost instantly, all three were little more than ash raining down on the blood and gore staining the bottom of the ladder.

  One of the men—a fierce-looking black man with a platted beard longer than my arm—swung around. “What the fuck is going on? Do you know? Because these bastards aren’t here for blood.”

  “No, they’re not.” I slithered to a stop and pointed up the ladder. “I need to get up there, and I need you and the others on this level to stop any more of them getting up there for as long as you can.”

  “A fucking hard request, given that these bastards seem immune to our lights.”

  “But not all light, as this flashlight proved. UVs still stop them.”

  “Not something we have much of here in Chaos.” He stepped to one side and motioned to the ladder. “Go. We’ll do our best.”

  “Thanks.” I tucked the flashlight back into my pocket, then gripped the first rung and hastily began to climb. Bear, could you scout ahead and see if you can locate Penny? She should be in Nuri’s bar somewhere.

  Nuri might have said she was keeping her isolated, but I doubted, given Jonas’s determination to keep her close and his belief that it was only their presence that was keeping her grounded, that she’d be too far away from their main base of power.

  Up ahead, shadows danced against a backdrop of light. Men and vampires, fighting. Cat, you want to check the exit? Make sure it’s safe?

  She surged upward but didn’t immediately report back. I slowed as I neared the top of the ladder, fear beginning to slide through me. Cat? You okay?

  She immediately returned, her amusement and excitement high. The ladder is now safe.

  A series of images flashed through my mind: Cat had tossed the two vampires who’d been waiting near the ladder’s exit into the middle of another six, scattering them all and allowing the mercenaries who’d been fighting them to shoot the lot. I couldn’t help grinning. “Good work, Cat.”

  She preened at that, but nevertheless raced ahead of me to make a final check and give the all-clear. I quickly climbed out, felt the metal walkway underneath me vibrating, and glanced right. The mercenaries were racing toward me. As I rolled out of their way, a bell began to peal loudly. It was coming from the middle portion of this level—which was exactly where Nuri’s was. I scrambled upright and ran after the men.

  They ran straight into more vamps.

  As screams and gunshots began to echo, I grabbed the flashlight again and hit the switch. Its light bloomed, eradicating the nearest vampires and causing those behind the men to burst into flame. As the mercenaries finished the vamps off, I swung left into Run Turk Alley and raced toward Nuri’s. There were no men lounging about this time, no legs to avoid or trip over. There were bodies—both men and vampire—but only a couple. Maybe, just maybe, they hadn’t found Penny yet.

  But even as that thought crossed my mind, I knew it was a forlorn one.

  Nuri’s came into view. The claxon ringing of the bell was coming from its interior, as was the sound of fighting. I thrust the door open but didn’t immediately race in.

  Safe, Bear said.

  I bolted through the bar. It was empty, but it bore signs of the fight I could hear ahead—tables were upturned, chairs were smashed, and the torso of a vampire lay draped over the bar. Where his legs were I had no idea. Nor did I care.

  I ducked through the second doorway and saw Branna running backward, firing his rifle at the three vampires in the room. There were another two on the floor, their bodies torn apart.

  I raised the flashlight. Almost instantly the vampires became puddles of ash. Branna stopped and blinked; then his gaze rose and he saw me. Rage—blind, unthinking rage—crossed his face and he raised the gun again.

  “Bear,” I screamed, even as I flung myself sideways. A gunshot rang out; the bullet whistled past my butt as I slid along the greasy, bloody floor. Then there was a grunt, and the sound of something hitting the floor hard. I pushed upright. Branna was out to it, and a chair leg was hovering threateningly over him.

  “Thanks, Bear.” His energy danced around me, the chair leg briefly threatening to club me before he got it under control again. “Can you show me where Penny is? And, Cat, can you keep an eye on Branna? If he wakes, let me know.”

  You don’t want me to knock him out again?

  The question held a disappointed edge. I couldn’t help smiling. “If he wakes up angry, feel free.”

  She zoomed off, and another chair leg was soon hovering over Branna’s prone form. If he did wake up anytime soon, he wasn’t likely to remain that way for long. Not if Cat had anything to say about it.

  I followed Bear out of the room and into the walkway beyond. A short set of stairs later, and we were in an area I knew. I’d woken up in this area twice previously—once in a room that had been designed to hold vampires, and once in a basic but comfortable sleeping area.

  I wasn’t entirely surprised when Bear led me to the former rather than the latter.

  I tested the door handle. It was locked. “Penny?” I said. “You there? You okay?”

  “Yes.” The answer was short, almost sharp, and even though it was Penny’s voice, there was something within it that made my skin crawl.

  The claxon alarm suddenly cut off. Awareness surged; there were vampires in the bar. How they’d gotten past the mercenaries guarding the entrance of this lane I had no idea, but if I didn’t do something—didn’t get Penny out of here—I’d soon be knee-deep in them.

  Cat, there’s vampires headed your way. Be careful. Aloud, I added, “Penny, the vamps are attacking Chaos in an effort to retrieve you. You’re not safe here.”

  “I’m not safe anywhere.” She paused. “I can feel them. Despite Nuri’s spells, I can feel them in my head.”

  My gut churned. This wasn’t a good development. I briefly closed my eyes, not sure whether it was better to make a stand here or get her out and run.

  The choice was taken out of my hands as Cat yelled a warning and the vampires attacked. Two of them flowed up the stairs as one, a mass of stinking, snarling desperation. I raised both the flashlight and my rifle, firing one-handed even as their flesh exploded into flame. There was answering retort from behind them, and a second later the flashlight exploded in my hand, almost taking several fingers with it. As blood began spurting from the wounds, two more vampires appeared. One of them was holding a gun.

  An armed vampire; it was almost too ludicrous to believe.

  Bear, grab that thing. I flung myself sideways as the vampire fired another
shot. It pinged against the container behind me, sending shards of metal flying into my face and hair. I cursed, but nevertheless twisted around and returned fire. I got one of them. Bear snatched the weapon from the other, who either didn’t care or didn’t notice. He just kept on running.

  I raised the rifle again and pressed the trigger. This time, nothing happened. Out of ammo. With no time to reload, I simply flipped the rifle around and raised it above my head.

  But the vampire wasn’t after me. Instead, he flung himself, as hard as he could, at the door barring Penny’s sanctuary. It was a sturdy metal thing, and the vampire’s weight made little more than a dent. Bear tossed me the vampire’s rifle. In one smooth motion, I caught it and fired. The force of the shot not only pushed me backward, but punched a hole through the vampire and the door behind it.

  I blinked and momentarily glanced down at the weapon. Obviously, I was damn lucky to have a hand left, let alone all my fingers still attached.

  Then the importance of the hole registered.

  “Penny,” I screamed. “Are you okay?”

  Silence was my only reply, and my heart just about stopped. Please, Rhea, don’t let her be dead.

  Cat zoomed up from the back room. The vampires and the men are fighting near Nuri’s. I’m not sure the men will hold them.

  How many vampires?

  Only four. But the lane is too narrow to allow much fighting room.

  Because these lanes had never been designed for fighting. No one had ever expected the vampires to reach this far into Chaos.

  And certainly no one had expected them to find immunity to ordinary lights.

  Branna?

  Got hit again.

  Good. But it was absently said. My attention was on the container opposite, on the hole that revealed the brightness of the UVs that lit the room beyond. The scent of blood was thick and rich in the air, but its source was both the blood pouring from my hand and the gore of the vampire I’d blown apart. “Penny?”

  “I’m here.” Her voice was faint but didn’t seem to be distressed in any way.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yes.”

  Again, her tone was distant. I frowned and glanced toward the stairs at the faintest whisper of sound. No vampires appeared, but they couldn’t be far away.

  Should I run? Or make a stand? Adrenaline was probably the only thing keeping me upright at the moment, but I knew it couldn’t last. Not given the bloody state of my hand and the rips down my side. In many ways, getting Penny out of here had been a forlorn hope to begin with, but given the number of vampires and their sudden immunity to light, it had become nigh on impossible.

  Realistically, the only chance I really had of keeping her out of their hands was by joining her in that room. The UVs would at least crisp any vampire that took one step into the room, and I could shoot any that managed two.

  “Penny, I need you to open the door.”

  “Can’t,” she said. “Nuri has the keys.”

  Of course she did. I took a deep breath to calm the urgency beating through my brain. “Cat, Bear, can you combine forces and get that thing open?”

  Energy surged, and a heartbeat later the door banged back against the hinges. A tide of weariness washed through our link. They were both nearing the end of their strength and needed to rest. Come in with me, I said. The lights will keep us all safe.

  It would be better—

  Bear, I interrupted gently, if the vampires find a way to cut the power to this room, then we’re all in a world of trouble. We need to conserve our strength.

  He didn’t argue. He just followed me in. I glanced around quickly and saw Penny in the corner. There was a smashed chair beside her and she was holding one of its legs in front of her like a baton.

  “It’ll be okay, Penny. Nuri and Jonas are on the way, and the mercenaries are winning the battle against the vampires.”

  “I know.”

  Her voice was even more distant, and despite the odd trembling in her bottom lip, there was no emotion in her face and little life in her eyes. I frowned but swung around and studied the door. When the ghosts had forced it open, they also busted the lock. I could close it but that was about it. Not that it really mattered. Vampires were rail thin, and the hole I’d blasted in the middle of the door was large enough for one of them to squeeze through.

  “Right,” I said as I turned toward Penny again, “if we just hunker down in—”

  The rest of the words were cut off as the ghosts screamed a warning. I reacted, but far too slowly. Something smashed into the side of my head and sent me spinning to the floor. I hit hard and the air left my lungs in a huge whoosh. For too many seconds, I hovered on the brink of unconsciousness, battling a stomach that threatened to jump up my throat even as tears of pain—and maybe even blood—coursed down my face.

  Voices echoed. One calm, remote, the other two filled with confusion and fear. Then footsteps. Not coming closer, but moving away. Out of the room, down the walkway.

  “Cat? Bear?” I somehow croaked. “What happened?”

  Penny attacked you, Cat said, even as Bear added, She said she’d order the vampires to kill you if we didn’t let her go.

  Order the vampires . . . Three simple words that were going to provide a whole world of pain to Jonas. Whatever had been done to her, whatever changes had been made to her DNA, those words made it obvious she was now connected to either the vampires or those who controlled them. Maybe even both.

  But if she was connected to Sal’s partners, why hadn’t they ordered her to finish me off?

  Was it simply a matter of them needing Penny more than they wanted me dead?

  “Where is she?”

  She runs, Bear said. Do you want me to follow her?

  I hesitated. Given that Penny was in thrall to either the vamps or Sal’s partners, it could become very dangerous if they became aware of his presence. Which they very well might, thanks to the fact that Penny, as a seeker, could see ghosts. But I couldn’t just let her disappear, either.

  “Yes,” I croaked. “But keep your distance, Bear. If you think she might have spotted you, run.”

  Will do. As he raced off, Cat said, What can I do?

  “Warn me if the vampires come into the room. I need to heal.”

  Her energy left me. I didn’t move for several minutes and certainly couldn’t concentrate. My head ached, my body ached, my damn hand was throbbing, and my stomach just wanted up and out. But after what seemed like ages, I somehow dragged myself closer to the wall and pushed up into a sitting position.

  It was an effort that left me panting and dizzy. But I closed my eyes and forced myself to relax, to ignore the pain and the hurt, and concentrate on breathing. Eventually, I was able to slip into the healing state, but it felt like a tenuous thing—something I could lose at any moment.

  Nuri comes. Cat hesitated. Jonas is with her.

  Not what I needed right now, especially when the healing had barely begun and my strength levels were still dangerously low. But I forced myself back to consciousness and tried to open my eyes. I couldn’t, so I raised my good hand and discovered there was something crusting them together. Blood, no doubt. I gently rubbed it away, then opened my eyes and glanced down at my damaged hand. Ugly pink scars ran the length of both my thumb and index finger, and only half an inch of skin had stopped the two cuts from joining in the middle of my palm. I’d come so close to losing a portion of my hand altogether . . . I flexed my fingers and moved my thumb, relaxing a little when both responded. I’d been lucky. Again.

  Nuri swept into the room, all anger and fury. The force of her energy was so great it felt like I was being hit by lightning, and a gasp escaped. She reined it in the moment she saw me. “What the fuck happened? Where’s Penny?”

  I didn’t immediately answer, instead waiting until Jonas stepped int
o the room. There was a long cut above his eye and another down the length of his calf, but neither was currently bleeding. His gaze met mine; there was no emotion in his face and nothing but ice in his eyes.

  “Answer the question, Tiger.” His voice was flat, tight.

  “She’s gone—”

  “Obviously,” he snapped, “but where?”

  “At a guess, wherever the hell the vampires want her to go.”

  “What in Rhea is that supposed to—”

  “Jonas, enough.” Nuri knelt beside me and grabbed my hand. She ran her fingers along the vivid scars, and then her gaze rose to mine. “What happened here?”

  She wasn’t referring to the scars.

  “Penny happened.” I didn’t look at Jonas. I didn’t dare. “I was intending to get her out of Chaos before the vampires found her, but I was too late.”

  “Then the vampires—”

  “Jonas, shut the fuck up and just listen.” Nuri’s voice was sharp.

  Jonas’s fury swept over us, sharp and acidic. But he didn’t say anything; he simply crossed his arms and glared. And even though I knew his anger stemmed more from his fear for Penny than anything I’d done, it nevertheless sent a shiver down my spine.

  “They were already in the bar when I arrived. I cindered the ones Branna was battling, but the bastard turned around and tried to shoot me.”

  “Which explains why he is currently sprawled unconscious on the floor. Your ghosts took him out.”

  I nodded. “Bear told me Penny was up here, but more vampires hit us and others were on their way. I decided our best bet was staying in this room, under the protection of the UVs, and hope like hell the vamps didn’t find a way to cut the power.”

  “None of which explains why you’re here and Penny’s not,” Jonas said.

  Nuri cast him an exasperated glance but didn’t say anything. My gaze rose to his. “She told me she could hear them. That they were in her head.”

  “The vampires?” Nuri asked.

  “She didn’t say. It could have been. Or it could have been Sal’s partners. I suspect they’re the ones behind this attack.”