Autumn's War (The Spirit Shifters Book 4) (15 page)

The shifters had their natural groups, their families and friends, the people they’d travelled with. Autumn wouldn’t need to divide them into teams, they would do that for themselves, and it was in their nature to protect the ones they loved.

“Very well,” she said. “We protect the citizens, and fight the soldiers, and then get the people behind us. That’s the plan.”

It seemed so simple, and yet monstrously huge, all at the same time.

“Let’s move out.”

The shifters spoke among themselves, packing up and loading their vehicles. Autumn turned to Blake. Though Chogan and Peter had been lurking nearby, both men moved away to give them some privacy.

She crouched beside the couch and reached out to take his hand.

He shook his head. “I hate that you’re going without me.”

“Would you rather I didn’t go?”

“Part of me does, but I know you’d never let me tell you what to do. And anyway, it isn’t that I don’t want you to go. I know you’re doing the right thing. It’s more that I hate that I’m not coming with you.” He growled in frustration and snatched his hand away, slamming his balled fists down on his legs. “I hate this! I’m useless.”

She grabbed at his hand again. “Stop it. No, you’re not. Do you think everyone who can no longer walk is useless? People live full lives despite not being able to walk.  I will help put an end to this war, and then you and I will live out our lives together, whether you can walk or not.” She stared at him fiercely. “Got it?”

A hint of a smile touched his lips. “I think it was your stubbornness I first fell in love with.”

“Yeah, well, you give as good as you get.”

Outside, horns started blaring.

“I think everyone is ready to go.”

He caught her up in his arms and pulled her down to him, so her face buried in his broad neck, her lips touching his skin. His arms were so tight around her, she struggled to breathe. She managed to break free and then lowered her face to kiss him. His mouth was like tasting a piece of heaven. She was so thankful he was alive and with her.

“You have to come back to me, Autumn,” he said, staring into her eyes. “If you don’t come back, I’ll have nothing else to live for.”

She believed every word he said. Her life meant his as well.

She nodded. “I’ll come back.”

One final kiss said goodbye, and she forced herself to step away from him. Tears filled her eyes. She prayed she would come back, or that if she didn’t, he’d find the strength to carry on.

“I love you,” she managed, as Chogan led her away.

His words followed her. “I love you, too.”

Chapter Twenty

THEY WERE BACK on the road again.

Chogan drove, while Daisy and Angie sat in the back. Autumn sat in the passenger seat staring out of the window as the miles flew by. She needed to concentrate on the overwhelming task ahead, but her mind stayed with Blake. She would have done anything, given anything, to make him well again. If she could sacrifice her own legs for him, she would have done so. Her heart felt hollow, as if she’d left the part that made the organ substantial—the blood and valves—behind. She fought against tears, not wanting to reveal her weakness, even though her traveling companions would understand.

A tap on the shoulder made Autumn twist in her seat, blinking back the tears. She cleared her throat and said, “Everything okay?”

Daisy nodded. She pointed to Autumn and ran a finger down her cheek.

Autumn forced a smile. “Yeah, I’m sad. It’s okay. I left someone behind who I love.”

Daisy smiled and reached both hands out, awkwardly reaching around the headrest of Autumn’s seat to place both palms against the sides of her face. Autumn’s first instinct was to jerk back, but a warmth emanated from the girl’s hands and stopped her from doing so, as did the serene expression on her face. She smiled at Autumn, peaceful, and the heat in her palms increased.

The hollowness of Autumn’s heart began to fill, expanding in her chest. She gave a gasp of surprise. “Oh!”

The empty space filled, joy lifting her soul. No longer was her heart bereft. Instead, Blake’s love for her filled her, a powerful, dizzying emotion.

A tear slipped from her eye and slid down her cheek, but the cause of the tear was happiness not sadness.

Autumn looked to Daisy, understanding what had happened. This was the girl’s gift. She could take one person’s emotion and make another feel it.

Autumn caught the girl’s hand and kissed her palm, before releasing her. “Thank you,” she said, sniffing.

Daisy only smiled and sat back in her seat.

Chogan glanced over at Autumn. “Feeling better?”

“Yeah, I guess I am.” And she was; she felt stronger, resolute, determined. Where leaving Blake had left her empty, Daisy had filled that space again.

“Did you know people like Daisy existed?” she asked him.

“I’ve heard of them, but I haven’t come across one before.”

Autumn twisted in her seat to smile at Daisy. “I guess that’s because they’re special.”

Within a couple of hours, they were on I-90, heading toward Chicago and the Jane Addams Memorial Toll. The toll barriers were all lifted, allowing them to pass through without needing to pay. Autumn frowned.
Strange.
She had never seen that before. While a number of cars and other vehicles passed them, heading in the opposite direction, no one else headed into the city. Even the airport lay still and silent, the sky above their heads ominously empty.

The toll road provided a rest area. She nudged Chogan and pointed to it. He signaled and pulled over. The over bridge restaurant was closed. The workers must have decided there were more important things to worry about than serving drinks and burgers to non-existent commuters.

She waited while the convoy all pulled in, cars, trucks, and motorbikes, filing in one after the other, and then got out, Chogan following. People began to climb from their vehicles, doors slamming, calling to one another.

They fell silent, looking toward her, all waiting for her next command.

A couple of the guys from the reservation had cell phones. “Someone’s blocked internet access,” the younger one shouted out to her.

“And I’m not getting any cell phone signal either,” said another.

“You’re kidding? There really will be riots if people can’t get any internet.”

Peter stepped up beside her, Mia at his side. “I guess they figured it was a way to stop people communicating. Plotting against them and creating an uprising.”

Chogan grinned grimly. “They forgot people had community spirit long before the invention of the internet came along.”

Autumn gave a cold laugh. “Yeah, that may be so on the reservation, but here in Chicago, we were lucky if we knew our neighbors’ names.” She thought back to her own apartment and how she’d never learned what the people in her building were called. If anyone spoke to her, she’d always assumed they were after something.

She set about dividing people into teams so they could surround the city from all directions—with the exception of the lake. As she’d expected, most people had already formed their own teams from family and friends they’d traveled with. It was her own close friends who would prove to be the hardest to divide.

“Mia and Peter,” she said. “You lead one group. Take Angie with you, and Sapata,” she said, mentioning one of the women from the reservation, “and her group.”

Peter nodded.

“David, I want you at my side for when we reach the facility.” Despite what she’d been warned of, she still wanted to hunt down Vivian. The woman had been the root cause of all her suffering, and that of numerous others. She didn’t want the woman to use, or manipulate, or order the death of another person. The facility was also at a central location and seemed to be the right place for everyone to meet up again.

“I’d like for Marcus to come with me, too,” she said to Mia.

Her friend’s eyes widened. Autumn wished this thing would be over soon. She felt like she’d stretched the boundaries of her and Mia’s friendship more than anyone. The truth was, she would liked to have had both Peter
and
Marcus at her side, but she didn’t want to take both men from Mia, and she didn’t want to put that choice in Mia’s lap.

“No, Autumn. Please don’t take him away from me again. I wanted to take him back to see Mom and Dad.”

“You can as soon as the city is safe again.”

“But they need to know he’s safe, and alive. You were there, Autumn. You saw how much they suffered in the years after Marcus was taken. Don’t let that suffering go on a moment longer.”

She wavered, but forced herself to harden her heart. She couldn’t let her emotions get in the way of what needed to be done. “I’m sorry, Mia. But it’s just not safe. If Vivian knows we took Marcus from the facility, she might have people watching your parents’ house. You wouldn’t want to put their safety at risk?”

She shook her head. “No, of course not.”

Her brother gave her a hug. “Don’t worry, Sis. I’ll be fine. We’ll be back together in no time.” He put out a hand to Peter. “Take care of my little sister, okay?”

Peter shook it, and nodded. “With my life.”

Autumn turned to Romero. “Do you think you can fight for me?”

The Hispanic man nodded. “After what she did to me, compared to how you helped me, there’s no question. I want others to realize how warped she is.”

“Tocho, I want you, too.” She turned to a young couple who she’d turned back at the lodge. “You too, Hakan and Dyani.” The couple glanced at each other with a nod and a smile.

“Tala, you go with Chogan.”

“You know I wouldn’t have you here if it was up to me,” Chogan told her.

“Good thing it isn’t up to you.”

“You’re too important. What’s going to happen to the rest of us if you get hurt, or worse?”

“You’ll figure it out. And anyway, I need to be here. I’m the one who is going to make the people of Chicago see that shifters aren’t their enemies.”

She turned to the final person with paranormal talents. “Angie, can you see anything about anyone?”

Angie pressed her lips together.

She doesn’t want to answer.

“Please, tell me. I’d rather we were prepared.”

Her eyes locked on Autumn. “I’m sorry, but there’s death around you.”

Chogan stepped in. “Right, that’s it. You’re not going anywhere.”

Autumn batted him away, and tried to ignore the icy tentacles that wound around her heart. “You mean I’m going to die?”

She frowned. “It’s not as clear as normal. I don’t know if it’s you, or someone close to you who I can’t see yet.”

Immediately, Blake jumped to mind. No, he was safe back at Wenona’s house, wasn’t he? They hadn’t thought to leave anyone to guard the vulnerable. Could Vivian have followed them there? They wouldn’t have been difficult to track.

“What about those we left at the house?” she said to Chogan. “Could they be in danger?”

“Don’t worry,” Tocho said. “Auntie Wenona is a killer shot with the rifle. She’ll protect them.”

Autumn didn’t think one old lady would be much of a challenge for men with semi-automatic guns and helicopters. But they were too far away now to go back.

They said their goodbyes to the other groups. They would surround the city and gradually move in, with plans to reunite at the facility.

While the other groups all took I-290 or I-294 to skirt around the outskirts of the city and move in from other directions, Autumn and her team stayed on I-90 to head into the city. When they reached the Kennedy Expressway, the high rises of the city rose up against the skyline. Cars were abandoned, causing them to traverse around them. Several were burnt out.

Every so often, they caught sight of people hurrying between buildings. Some pushed shopping carts piled high with looted goods. Others simply appeared to be trying to reach different parts of the city, running in a cower, their arms around their companions.

They took the exit ramp to head toward Norwood Park, a blue-collar area of Chicago, normally known for its grassy parks and decent housing. The area was barely recognizable as the same. The shops they passed—several restaurants and a Shell Mart—all had smashed windows and were shut up.

At a junction, a sedan suddenly pulled out in front of them. David jammed on the brakes, causing those behind to do the same. They slammed forward. Autumn held her hand to her chest, breathing hard, her heart thumping. The car screeched down the street, the tires smoking on the asphalt.

“Shit!” David exclaimed. “That was close.”

“What were they running from?” Autumn wondered out loud.

“I guess we’ll need to get out of the car to find out.”

He was right. They were too obvious in the vehicles; they would move more quietly on foot.

“Okay, let’s do it.”

David pulled over at the curb and they climbed from the car. The streets in this area were wide and lined with trees, the leaves starting to turn. The big homes appeared empty, but Autumn had a feeling eyes were watching from behind the darkened windows.

“Let’s go.”

They moved at a steady jog, Autumn holding the gun she’d acquired from the forest facility at her side. She had also managed to secure a couple of fully-loaded magazines from Wenona. Autumn had discovered that as well as being a great cook, she sure loved her guns.

For the first couple of blocks, everything was quiet. But on the next block, they heard a commotion, shouting, glass smashing. A shot was fired.

“Oh shit,” said David, glancing toward her. “I think we found trouble.”

Autumn looked to her group of shifters, Tocho, Sahale, Romero, plus the young couple, Hakan and Dyani. “It’s time, guys.”

David and Marcus stayed back while the others began to shed their clothing. Both men appeared to be torn between wanting to stare, and not wanting to look, trying to give the female shifter some privacy.

The shifters all turned. Autumn stood guard while they shifted, praying no one would accost them now. With the shifts complete, she appraised her team: the massive white tiger that was Tocho, the wolves, Sahale and Romero, a hawk, who was Dyani, and her partner, Hakan as a wild-dog. They also had Marcus, though she was yet to test his supernatural talents, and David, who was here more for his brains than his brawn.

More shots and yells came. People were in distress, and while the disturbance might not be caused by Vivian’s men, she couldn’t not help them.

She crept to the street corner, the huge animals flanking her, the bird taking to the air with a powerful flapping of wings. An armored vehicle sat in the middle of the street. A camouflaged van behind it. On either side of the road, two teams of military personnel banged on people’s front doors.

People are hiding, Autumn realized. That’s why the streets were so quiet. But they weren’t hiding from the shifters, they were hiding from the military. It occurred to her that getting them onto her side might not be such a difficult task. 

The soldiers appeared to be holding some kind of device, but Autumn couldn’t make out what it was from this distance. The soldiers on one side of the road started to break down the door of a house. The door burst inward, the soldiers piling in with it. Moments later, they dragged the inhabitants out with them, a man and a woman. One of the soldiers grabbed the man while another placed the device in the man’s ear. He checked something on it and then shoved the man away in the street. He stumbled and fell, skidding across the asphalt. The soldiers checked the woman next, placing the device in the woman’s ear. The man leaped back up, but another soldier grabbed him.

They’re taking their temperatures,
Autumn realized. Damn it. She’d given Vivian Winters that information.