“Don’t call me that.” I echoed her words as the hag pleaded for her life.
Allison twisted her arm behind her while the other one trailed dark smoke and her clawed hand scrabbled at our feet like a blind crab. I should have felt something—glee, pleasure, triumph, remorse—but there was nothing as I took the witch’s head. Instead of light, she went back to murky fog like the bag man.
“Another dead legend,” said Raoul.
Allison muttered, “Took you long enough.”
I peered at him. He didn’t look good. The lightning had hurt him more than me since he had no insulating spirit armor. Tremors rocked his frame and his left arm showed black and red where the bolt hit him. In long, painful-looking strips, his skin was flaking away to show raw meat beneath.
“We should get you to Medical,” I said.
Raoul shook his head. “We’re too far in. The time it would take to backtrack, it’s not worth it, mija. I’ll just have to bear it. But … thank you.”
The next five floors were dead empty. And it worried me. I tried to be quiet, but of all of us, only Raoul knew how to do that. He didn’t have a chance to teach me. Part of me wanted to join the Black Watch, once I slaughtered Wedderburn. There were so many monsters in the world and I was damn good at hunting them. With additional training, I’d only get better.
That’s the Ice Maiden future. No warmth or love, only battle and death.
The emergency lights kicked in, and the alarms went silent. There might be local police in the building by now. Allison wouldn’t care if she ate them, but I didn’t want to become a cop killer. Why not? Cameron whispered. If they oppose us, they’re in the wrong. And we exist to punish the guilty.
“No,” I said aloud. “That’s not true.”
“What isn’t?” Allison shot me an impatient look. “Did you forget to take a pill?” It was so weird to hear her familiar snark coming from a demon face.
“Quiet,” Raoul ordered.
I glanced up as we reached the landing. A neatly posted sign told me we were getting close to Wedderburn, and I actually shivered. The pleasure of killing him would be beyond anything I’d ever known. I turned to acknowledge Raoul’s warning, just in time to witness two serrated blades popping out of his chest from behind.
Buzzkill.
THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU
“Sorry, kid. This is where the buck stops.” The killer clown stepped into view, and from the ambient red glow of the emergency lights, he looked even more demonic and terrifying than usual. His knives were wet and hungry looking.
Blood trickled from Raoul’s mouth and he dropped to his knees. His breath came as a wet rattle in his chest as he tried to speak. “Not … Wedderburn. Right upstairs. Future-tech. You can … change…” But whatever he was trying to say, he didn’t finish. He slumped forward, forever silent.
I felt … nothing. No anger. No sadness. And that was completely wrong.
Cameron buzzed in my head, trying to block the realization, but it was too late. I finally heard what Rochelle had been telling me. In conjunction with my spirit familiar, the ring I’d put on had gradually been shearing away my humanity. I didn’t know what I was turning into, but it couldn’t go on. This is how I end up as the Dark Queen. If I leave the ring on and kill Wedderburn, I end up with the Harbinger.
Buzzkill was still ten feet away but I knew how fast he moved. Quickly I wrenched at the ring—but it wouldn’t budge. When I tried to pull it off, it felt like metal teeth bit into my finger, sinking in almost to the bone. Shit. Now that it’s got a hold of me, it won’t let go.
The clown laughed. “Welcome to the dark side. I wish I didn’t have to kill you, but if you hand over the weapon, I’ll make it quick, best offer. Otherwise I have orders to make you suffer. Boss doesn’t want other serfs getting ideas.”
“You seem pretty convinced you can win,” Allison said lazily. “In case you didn’t notice, it’s two against one, and we just took out your last enforcer.”
In a move so fast I could hardly track it, he sprayed something at her. She didn’t dodge in time and the silver gel solidified into crystal. The demon was now a fossil, unable to move, though her eyes were alive and furious. Buzzkill showed me yellow teeth.
“That’s fair, huh, mano a mano. Well, sort of. Considering you’re a little girl and I’m a soulless monster. But let’s not split hairs.”
“Except when you cut off my head and eat my brain?” I was still tugging at the ring, but it really wouldn’t come off, and this probably wasn’t the time. The icy calm kept my emotions from overwhelming me. If not for the dark artifact, I’d probably be a weeping mess, considering I was now essentially alone.
I can’t believe I have to fight Buzzkill.
But I should’ve seen this coming.
“I’ll make a nice polished ivory bowl,” he said, as if that would be comforting.
From his expression, he was dead serious about killing me. Judging from the weapon he’d deployed on Allison, he likely had tons of gadgets from Wedderburn that would help; he wasn’t chief muscle for nothing. I only had Aegis, my mind, my lackluster fighting ability, and what was left of my spirit strength. No chance to check but I could feel it waning. I’d used a lot in pushing here. This fight would probably burn the rest, leaving me nothing for the final battle.
So be it. If this is my time, I’m ready. I had promised I wouldn’t go out easy, would never give up. And storming the enemy’s stronghold definitely qualified as giving them hell.
“You know,” I said softly, “I saw the Oracle today, before I set her free.”
“I’m aware. Boss is full-on pissed.”
“And she showed me a lot of potential futures.”
“So?” He shifted into shadows and I did the same, edging toward the door. I didn’t stop until I felt the cool metal at my back.
“So, none of them showed you killing me.”
Buzzkill laughed. “I bet she didn’t show me dying either. You can’t psych me out, kid. Why don’t we get this over with?”
In response I whispered to Cameron and pure heat flooded my nerves. It sparked instant speed, barely enough to let me twirl aside when the knife slammed into the wall beside my head. Buzzkill flung another at the emergency light, bathing the stairwell in darkness. Can he find me? The answer was probably. That stupid Internet article didn’t specify what abilities the deathless Charles Edward Macy possessed, but if he couldn’t see in the dark, then I was sure he’d outfitted himself with night-vision goggles. Just like that scene from Silence of the Lambs. Only instead of a human lunatic who wanted to make a lady suit out of my skin, I had an immortal killer clown, who planned to make a fruit bowl out of my skull. This sucks, Clarice.
“Smart,” came the disembodied whisper. “Or I’d have already eviscerated you.”
Yeah, he specializes in from-behind, silent murder. He’s the shadow behind you in the dark, the blade across your throat. I didn’t see or hear him coming but Buzzkill was on me before I could do more than block. His knives threw sparks off Aegis, and he struck twice as fast with two hands, but the reflexes I’d pulled from my spirit familiar let me keep up. The speed hurt me, though. My wrists and fingers burned with a dim, unnatural ache.
You’re hurting yourself. Humans don’t fight like this, Cameron whispered.
“Huh. Between that blade and the old magic, you’re not as much of a pushover as I expected.” Buzzkill didn’t sound tired. Or worried. I’d seen his stamina when we’d fought the feathered serpents together; he could do this forever.
I couldn’t.
Already my strength was waning. I hadn’t studied Buzzkill, didn’t know his weaknesses, if he had any. Allison was rocking her prison, but even if it shattered when she toppled over, it wouldn’t be soon enough to help me because, despite her struggles, the heavy crystal casement only wobbled slightly. What do I do? How do I kill him? I wasn’t skilled enough with my blade to pierce his defenses, so—and then I knew.
Going bo
neless, I dropped and rolled, side to side to avoid his lightning strikes. When he pulled back to finish me, I used the first throw Raoul taught me. I did it wrong and Buzzkill tumbled forward instead of back, but it was enough. Just in time I brought my blade up for him to impale himself on it. Sometimes, the unexpected was enough.
He wasn’t dead, though, and I was pinned. It took all my strength to twist the sword inside him, widening it until the darkness started to swirl. Like the hag, Buzzkill was a creature of darkness … and modern evil. Powder puffed out of his chest, smelling of cordite.
For the last time he flashed yellow teeth at me. “You got it in you to finish me, kid?”
His knives scraped up the floor toward my neck, no sparks, just the awful scratch, scratch, like the girl-thing at my window, back when I didn’t have the power to make the monsters pay. I let out a shuddering breath and shoved him away. Then I cut off his head in a spiral of black dust.
Allison was rocking furiously by now, and I stumbled to my feet. His bag was still there, probably because it was full of real-world toys, courtesy of Wedderburn. Sure enough, I found a pocket laser that shone fierce enough for me to cut her loose. I picked up the briefcase because I might need this gear later.
“Only Wedderburn’s left,” Allison said, as she kicked the rest of the way out, like a baby dragon emerging from an egg. That analogy was even more apropos, considering how she looked at the moment. “I can’t believe that asshole. He didn’t even leave a corpse for me to kick.”
“They never do,” I murmured.
Her look sharpened. “You sound too … knowing. Freaks me out. Remember, I’m on your side. Sure, I gave you shit in high school, but you get it, right? That’s kind of my deal. Pain, chaos, discord, and so on.”
“Relax, you’re not on my list. But you might be if you don’t put a stop to that Russ-ghost bullshit over at Blackbriar.”
“You already did that when you mentioned Photoshop. Nobody’s freaked anymore since you took Cameron with you.”
“That’s a relief.”
“You’d think so.”
I knelt beside Raoul for a few moments and bowed my head. Sorry. Then I lifted the medallion, dropping it around my neck. He wouldn’t want Wedderburn to have it back.
After my silent good-bye, Allison led the way up the stairs. “Sorry about Raoul. He seemed all right, as far as monkeys go. So, we’ve got, what, ten floors to go?”
“Something like that.” My tone was distracted because I couldn’t stop thinking about the message my mentor died trying to convey.
The fact that I’d made it this far increased the likelihood of either the Dark Queen or the Ice Maiden futures coming to pass. But I don’t want either of them. I don’t. Revenge hadn’t made me happy when it was on a much smaller scale, just focused on my school. So there was no way it would help on a global level. Vengeance wouldn’t bring my mom back or Kian. Or Russ, Brittany, Cameron … so many casualties in a war I never intended to fight.
Making a sudden decision, I switched on the pocket laser and before I could think better of it, I turned it on my left ring finger. It hurt only for a white-hot second, then the nerves died, and the finger plopped to the floor. The wound was cauterized so I wouldn’t bleed out; a metallic tinkle sounded as the snake ring rolled toward the wall.
“I choose not to be cold-blooded,” I said. “I choose to be human.”
“What are you talking about? Did you cut off your own finger? You really are insane. News flash, you’re not a lizard, it won’t grow back.”
I already felt better. Warmer. More myself. Cameron buzzed in the back of my head. We were changing, he snarled silently. Becoming. We could’ve been a Fury, as from the old stories. But he was too weak to apply the same persuasion he’d used before. Maybe this was suicide. Maybe I wouldn’t make it to my new goal with only Aegis and Allison supporting me. Hell, she might even change her mind, once she realized I’d altered the game plan.
After I pulled out my mirror, I saw that the spirit’s reflection was nearly gone. Rochelle hadn’t told me how to release him, but I knew. It was part of our agreement, burned into the back of my mind: This is all I need to do.
“I forgive you,” I said. “Your service to me is done, your debt paid. Go in peace.”
Then I smashed the mirror on the ground. Thank you, the real Cameron whispered. What I had been hearing—that wasn’t him. I understood that now. It was an unnatural fusion of a dead boy’s rage and my own internal darkness, morphing into some monstrous thing. Rochelle tried to warn me, but I didn’t listen to her. Not until it was nearly too late.
I almost turned into one of them.
So many people died today. Now, I cared. I turned away, trying not to hurl. The smell of blood rushed into my nostrils. I’m covered in it. When shards of glass crunched beneath my feet, I stumbled. Exhaustion hit me like a hammer and I tumbled forward, grabbing on to Allison’s shoulder. She held me up with a bewildered look.
“Explain to me what the hell’s going on, or I’m out.”
“New plan. I’m not killing Wedderburn. I’m going to fix things.”
“What the hell? How?”
As I limped up the stairs toward the next level, I clarified Raoul’s last words and told her what Kian had said about the people in acquisitions. I can go back. I can change everything. Allison listened without interrupting.
When I finished, she shrugged. “I’m not the one dead set on ending the cold one. You promised me carnage and loot. That hasn’t changed. Sounds like we might get more cool stuff by hitting future-tech anyway.”
“Thanks.” Grateful, I smiled at her.
She shoved me away. “Get off me, monkey. If you don’t have the strength to finish this on your own two feet, then you can die here, because I’m leaving your ass.”
I shouldered Buzzkill’s case, eager to see if my plan was remotely feasible. When Raoul said “upstairs,” I thought he meant one flight up, so we stopped at twenty-eight, and Allison broke down the door. The metal flew toward the guards that were rushing toward us, twice as many as we’d seen before. My hands shook but I raised Aegis.
“Take cover,” she said. “And let me have some fun.”
Though I hated letting her do this, I didn’t think I could attack a bunch of humans. Not again. Not without the ring. Which I’d left lying on the floor downstairs, along with my finger. Shit. God knows what they’ll do with that. But it had been dark, and retrieving body parts wasn’t something I usually had to worry about. Plugging my ears kept me from hearing the guards scream as Allison fed. They work for Wedderburn. They have to know this place is way messed up. But that rationale didn’t help as much as it had when I was wearing the ring.
Finally she came around the corner, fangs glinting in the red light. “Floor’s clear. Future-tech is this way. They have signs posted, like they were expecting to be raided. Convenient!”
I remembered that from visiting Medical with Buzzkill. A being as powerful as Wedderburn couldn’t conceive of a mortal daring to strike back. But extremis was only the beginning. I took the deal for revenge, but now it had evolved into something else. I’m out of the game, but I can still make a move. Does that mean I’m a player now, not a pawn or even a queen? Glad to shed that unwanted title, I dismissed the darker implications of being a competitor in this malevolent contest.
We ran down the dark hallway, though I had to cover my mouth when I saw what she’d done to the guards. The rest of the troops must be deployed in a cluster close to the winter king’s office. That was exactly what I’d do during an incursion. Except that wasn’t my plan anymore, so he’d left a critical area with inadequate defenses. The door to future-tech was similar in weight and construction to the one that protected the Oracle. Since they’d shut down the power, locking the elevators, I couldn’t short out the panel as I had before. Plus, without protection, that move would certainly fry me like an egg.
“Can you take it down?” I asked.
She nodded
. “It’ll take time, though. Watch my back and kill anything that comes at us.”
“I’m on it. We probably have whatever time was left between check-ins. When that squad goes dark, they’ll know where we are.”
In reply her body swelled. Damn, that’s freaking cool. Allison barely fit beneath the ceiling and she slammed a giant shoulder against the doors. It only took five strikes before the doors buckled enough for us to slip between them. She downshifted to human form and came in after me. The room was completely dark, so I fished around in Buzzkill’s bag until I found a light. This is basically the best go-bag ever.
I already knew where I wanted to go. Allison was prowling on her own, looting as I’d promised she could. Five minutes later, I laid hands on a watch that looked like Kian’s, only more complicated. As I recalled, it only worked while it was on your body, and once you put it on, there was no taking it off, except after death.
Are you sure about this? Doubts seemed logical because I had no idea how this functioned, even though I apparently invented it, along with my dad, in some optimum bullshit timeline. Wedderburn might send agents after me, and I’d be more defenseless without the mirror. But, yeah, I’m positive. This is the right move.
Without further hesitation, I slapped it around my wrist, and the thing came to life. My arm pinched, tiny wires invading my nervous system. The screen flashed to life and I tapped it, skimming past various icons until I found the theta symbol. Since some physicists used that to represent time in equations, I activated it.
Input date and coordinates.
“Do you have a phone?” I asked.
“Are you kidding me? You want to call someone? Now?”
“No, I need to find out latitude and longitude. Can you help or not?”
“I’m a gazillion years old and I’m the only one in the room with a smartphone. What kind of teenager are you anyway?”
“A really weird one, I thought we established that. Get a move on. Somebody’s probably tracking this watch.” If I was lucky, the medallion would cancel that out. If not …