Obsidian Wings (10 page)

The twins had her blood inside them, but that one feeding
wasn’t enough to make them whole.

While Lex was able to feed from Rune’s energy, that didn’t
work for the two men.

So she fed them again.

Because she didn’t want to go through it twice, she fed them
at the same time, one from each wrist.

“Heal,” she told them. “I need you.”

She sent Owen to drop Cruikshank at the hospital, knowing the
reporter wouldn’t talk. She wasn’t sure how she knew that, but she knew.

But if she was wrong, they’d deal with it. They had bigger
problems to work through.

Owen didn’t seem to think Cruikshank would be able to talk
at all.

For the rest of the day and that night, Rune, the twins, and
Lex stayed huddled together, sleeping in fits and starts, with Lex behind Rune
and Ellis behind Levi. They soothed each other when one awakened from a
nightmare, or forgot, for a second, where he was.

Owen, Jack, and Raze had stood guard all night.

“I’m worried about Strad,” Lex whispered once, into her ear.

“Yeah.” Then Rune sighed and admitted the truth, if only to
herself.
Me too.

The next morning, they were much closer physically to where
they needed to be. And they all agreed on one thing—they needed to work. They
needed their lives to get back to normal.

Normal.

Right.

They drove to RISC, all of them in their own vehicles.
Coworkers rushed to shake hands and welcome them back, but Rice wasn’t eager to
see them working.

“The three of you need to take some time,” he said. “Go get
checked out, and for God’s sake, give yourselves time to heal. We can handle
things here.”

“We can’t,” Levi said.

“We’ll work,” Rune said. “We have eight days before the new
moon. COS will want to recapture the twins before then.”

Finally, Rice nodded. “Go get equipped, boys. Rune, can I
see you in my office?”

While the twins followed a couple of RISC guards to the
basement weapons room, Rune went with her boss to his office.

He gestured at one of the chairs in front of his desk, and
once she’d sat down, he took the chair beside her. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

But he was too sharp to believe such a lie. “Anything you
all need, let me know. If you need to work, work. But if you need to take some
time, don’t hesitate.”

She nodded.

He crossed his legs. “Getting this demon is important for
COS. They’re going to come at us with an army. I don’t think we’ll see them
again until the new moon, but when they come back, it’ll be with a hell of a
lot of men.”

“I agree.”

He inclined his head. “So we have to be ready.”

She tilted her head. “What do you have in mind?”

He got up, walked to his desk, and pulled a map from the
drawer. “Come look at this.” He spread the map on his desk and pointed to three
places he’d circled with red. “These are the most…spiritual, magical, whatever
you want to call them, places in Spiritgrove.”

“So they’ll be doing the ritual at one of these spots.” She
studied the map. Rice had circled the area off Hook Road, a hill in Willowburg
close to the Other clinic, and of course, fucking Hawthorne Forest.

“I think so.”

“Shiv Crew won’t be enough.” She hated to say it, but it was
true. If the church put people at each spot to confuse them, the crew would
have to split up.

“Two things,” Rice said. “First, I’m calling in favors from
other cities. On the new moon, I hope to have more people helping us take care
of COS and whatever demon they try to get through.” He held up a finger before
Rune could speak. “And two, the tide is turning where COS is concerned. There
is a movement to ban them—twelve states already have petitions going.”

“They were banned before,” Rune said, unimpressed. “They
never go away for long.”

“Yes.” He crossed his arms and smiled. “But times are
changing, and changing fast. Others are getting more rights, we’re publicly
infiltrating government offices, and the entire population is getting sick of
the trouble COS brings. They’re realizing that the Others aren’t the threat.
COS is the threat.”

She pursed her lips. “Someone is succeeding in making the
humans fear COS.”

“Not just someone, but entire groups of people. Humans. And
when the humans start to fear something…”

“They start to hate it.”

They smiled at each other. It could happen.

He turned his computer monitor toward her.

It was a news website. As he began to scroll through them,
she saw article after article, as well as images, of horrific COS
transgressions. Not only against Others, but against
humans.

One article stated that the church was recruiting and
brainwashing children. Another stated that the slayers were devil worshippers.
Another showed a photo of supposed COS members burning a pile of bibles.

Rune smiled. “This is good.”

The humans were getting scared.

Scared of COS.

“There are dozens of websites like this one,” he told her.

She looked at him for a long moment. “You’re doing this.”

His eyes sparkled. “I’ve been
helping
to do this for
a long, long time. And each time there is a wave of anti-COS, it gets stronger.
This time…” He shrugged.

“This time, it might stick. Keep me updated, will you?”

He nodded. “Of course. And another thing. In Washington this
morning a crowd burned down a COS building. Thirty two members were caught
inside.”

She didn’t speak for a minute. “You’re right. The tide is
turning.”

“The crime is barely being investigated,” he said. “No
arrests yet.”

They both stared at the computer screen. Finally, Rune broke
the silence. “What do you have for us?”

“Are you sure you’re up to working?” He reached out a hand
to pat her shoulder.

She flinched violently, such a sudden, knee jerk reaction
she had no way of controlling it. “Shit.”

Rice frowned, his voice alarmed. “Rune?”

“I’m fine. Just…” She swallowed and waited for her rapidly
beating heart to slow. Her stake wounds hurt, but she didn’t want to touch them
and make Bill more concerned. “Give me some work.”

She needed to work. She needed to fight.

And maybe, she needed to kill.

She leaned her head against the cool hallway wall after she
left Rice.

The twins were alive. They were safe.

She pulled desperately from the stockpile of good things,
and it helped lift her mood. Yesterday, life had looked a hell of a lot
bleaker.

Ellis rushed toward her, his shoes squeaking on the floor.
“Rune.”

She took a deep breath and waited. “What is it?”

“The twins,” he said. “They’ve had some sort of breakdown.
I’ve called to have them taken to the hospital.”

“I fed them,” she said, running back down the hall with him.
“I thought…”

“They’ve been through hell, Rune. They’re not like you.
They’re human, honey.”

“But I gave them blood. They were good. You saw.”

“I saw they were healing,” he agreed, his voice jerking as
he ran. “But they are far from better.”

“Son of a bitch,” she said. “What happened?”

He said nothing at first, which let her know he was
wrestling with some giant demons of his own. When they reached the break room,
he said, “I tried to kiss Levi. It went downhill from there.”

Fuck me.

The twins were huddled together against the wall. Lex stood
in front of them, her sightless eyes jerking. “They’re okay.” But her words
were not convincing.

Levi tried to smile. “We’re really tired. And touchy.”

“We need to lie in bed, watch TV, and eat,” Denim said.
“That’s all.”

“Hospital?” Rune asked.

“No,” they both replied. “No hospital.”

“My house is huge.” She turned to Ellis. “And empty. Ellie,
get two guest rooms set up. One for the twins and one for Lex. Shop for
furniture and stock the fridge. Can you get that done quickly?”

He nodded, his face clearing. “Of course I can. In the
meantime, I’ll tuck them into your bed until the rooms are ready.” He pulled
his cell from his pocket. “I’ll cancel the EMTs and then I’ll call Jessica to
help me.”

Jess was a RISC employee and a female version of Ellis.

“Thanks,” Denim said.

“Just for a little while,” Levi added.

But if Rune had her way, the twins and Lex would be moving
in. “Ellie, call Dr. Haas as well. Ask her if she’d be willing to make a home
visit.”

The twins didn’t argue.

She called Rice’s office. “Bill, the twins are going to my
house to rest. They’re not doing well.”

“Good. You should go with them.”

“No. But I’d like you send a team to guard them.” She walked
a few steps away from the twins and lowered her voice. “It won’t be hard for
COS to find them.”

“I’m on it.”

“Thanks.” She clicked off.

Jack came into the room. “Rune. Rice sending us out?”

Shit. She’d forgotten about the run. “Yes. RISC got a call
from Spiritgrove PD. They’re holding three shifters for us. The shifters were
found wandering the streets, naked, no ID, and no memory of who they are or
where they came from.”

“Nice,” Jack said. “Let’s go pick them up.”

“Where are Raze and Owen?”

“Rice sent them to break up a fight in Toad’s and Butter’s.
Four wolves giving the humans a show.”

She turned to the twins. “You need anything, call me.” She’d
grabbed her extra cell from her office to replace the one COS had taken from
her. “Let me know how it goes, Ellie.”

Ellis, talking animatedly into his phone, waved in her
general direction.

He loved shopping almost more than she loved coffee, and he
was happy to be doing something that might help the twins.

She grinned at him before she jogged from the room, Jack on
one side, Lex on the other.

She ignored the pain between her legs and the one throbbing
in her chest. The first one she didn’t want to think about. The other was a
reminder of her weakness. She didn’t figure either of them would ever really go
away.

She thought briefly of calling to check on Strad, but in the
end, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Lex buckled herself in. “What could make shifters lose their
memories?”

Rune sped down the highway, happy to be moving. If she was
lucky, maybe she’d run into a zombie or two on her way to the police station.
“No clue. Strange things happen in Spiritgrove.”

“Levi and Denim will be okay,” Lex said.

“Yes. They will. They’re safe.”

“I should have stayed with them. I just…sometimes it’s too
much and I have to take a breath. You know what I mean?”

“I do know, baby.” She reached over to squeeze Lex’s cold
hand. “But we have the twins and Karin Love isn’t getting out of prison.”

“I’m not convinced. She’ll get out. Sooner or later, she’ll
get out.” She brushed her hair out of her face. “I should have gone with the twins.
I want to help you, Rune, but I should have gone with the twins.”

She made a U-turn and called Jack. “I’m taking Lex to my
house. I’ll be at the station in a few.”

“I’ll wait for you,” he replied.

“Thanks,” Lex said.

“I’d rather you be there guarding the twins,” Rune replied.
“And they’ll need someone to make them dinner.”

“That sure as hell won’t be me, but I’m willing to call for
delivery.”

Rune smiled, then repeated the truth like a mantra. “We got
back the twins. They’re safe.”

“Yeah,” Lex whispered. “But they’re so afraid.”

“Slayers hurt them.” Rune squeezed the steering wheel. “But
remember, they’re mighty. They’ll be the twins again.”

Lex wiped at her face. “Yes. Yes, they will be.”

But Rune knew that part of the twins had stayed up on that
mountain. They’d be the twins again, but always, they’d be different.

Just like her.

“I want them out of here,” the sheriff said, squinting
through the silver-wrapped cell bars at the three shifters. “Talk about
freaks.”

Rune glared at him. “You cuffed them.”

He held his hands up. “Hey. One of them tried to shift when
they were picked up. My men had no choice but to get them some silver
bracelets.”

The three shifters, one female and two males, sat quietly on
the bench in the one cell in the police station designed to hold Others. They
stared at the floor.

The shifters were underweight, dirty, and pale, but Rune saw
no obvious injuries.

“You didn’t offer them clothes?” Jack asked.

The sheriff shrugged. “Nope.”

“Get them jumpsuits,” Rune said.

The sheriff motioned to one of his people. “Three of them.
Hurry the hell up so we can get them out of here.”

“Have they said anything?” She wrapped her fingers around
the bars, ignoring the sheriff’s astonishment when the silver didn’t deter her.

“The one on the left muttered something about not
remembering anything. The lady said she didn’t know who she was when one of my
men prompted her.”

“
Prompted
her,” Rune said. “I hope I don’t discover
they were abused.”

Again, he shrugged. “If they were, it wasn’t by us.” His
eyes were unwavering.

A deputy handed her a pile of jumpsuits and she stepped
inside the cell, Jack at her back. The shifters didn’t look up.

One of the deputies followed them in to take off the cuffs.

Even when their arms were released, the shifters continued
staring at the floor. There were no quick glances, no twitching, no rubbing
their raw wrists. They just stared at the floor.

She stood in front of them, holding out the clothes. “Get
dressed, guys. We’re going to take you to RISC so we can sort everything out.”

The deputy left the cell and joined the cops watching from
behind the safety of the bars. Rune didn’t really blame them for their caution.

The shifter on the right took a jumpsuit, still avoiding
Rune’s gaze, and the other two followed his lead.

Rune and Jack turned their backs and made a sort of screen
with their bodies, though both of them knew the shifters were accustomed to
their nudity and weren’t the least bit shy about it.

But the curious stares of the cops made her uncomfortable,
so she gave the shifters what privacy she could.

“I’ll need one of you to sign some forms,” the sheriff said.

“Take care of that, Jack. I’ll bring them out as soon as
they’re ready.”

He hesitated.

She raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”

“Every time you’re left alone you get hurt or stolen.” But
he grinned down at her. “I’ll be in the next room. Yell if you need me.”

She glared at his retreating back. “You do the same. Smart
ass.”

His laugh floated back over his shoulder.

The shifters finished dressing themselves in the ugly
jumpsuits and stood silent and almost too still.

“Let’s go, guys,” Rune said. “We’ll get you some food after
we get you checked out by the doctor.”

The shifters went nuts.

Had they not been controlled by the silver bars of the cell,
she had no doubt they would have shifted. They began screaming and threw
themselves against the wall, fingernails snapping as they dug and clawed at the
rough brick.

“Shit,” Rune yelled, and shot out her claws. “What the
fuck?”

Cops ran into the cell, holding silver loops on long metal
rods. They dropped the loops over the shifters’ heads and jerked on the rods,
bringing the shifters choking and gasping to their knees.

Rune retracted her claws and went for the deputies. “Get
those fucking loops off them.”

“No way,” one of the deputies said. “We’re marching them out
of here with these in place. Once they’re in your vehicle, we’ll take them
off.”

Jack strode back into the hallway. “Rune?”

“Let’s get them out of this place,” Rune said, and followed
the deputies from the cell.

The shifters were controlled once again. They clawed at the
silver collars burning their necks as they were forced from the building.

She opened the back door of her SUV.

“Do you want me to take a couple of them?” Jack asked.

“No, I don’t want to separate them.” She gestured at the
cops and watched as they pushed the confused prisoners into the backseat. They
lifted the loops from the shifters’ necks and backed away from the car.

“They’re all yours,” one of them said, his relief obvious.

“I’m going with you,” Jack said. “I can catch a ride back
here to get my truck.”

She nodded. “Hop in.”

“What happened?” he asked, when they were on their way to
RISC. The shifters sat silently in the backseat, and it was as though their
hysterical outburst had never happened.

“They freaked out,” she told Jack. “I’ll tell you later what
I said to set them off.”

He nodded and turned in his seat to look at the shifters.
“Any of you ready to talk?”

Through her mirror, Rune watched the man behind her as Jack
spoke. The shifter’s stare was downcast, and he never said a word.

“What the fuck,” she murmured.

Jack shook his head. “Something has messed with them in a
big way. Once the doc—”

“No,” she interrupted. “Don’t say that word.”

“Ah,” he said. “Got it.”

Her cell rang, showing Elizabeth’s number on the display.
“Yeah,” Rune said, still darting glances through her mirror. The sheriff had
been right—those shifters were freaky.

“Rune, we got some DNA results back from the murdered bird
shifter found nailed to the slaughterhouse.”

“What did it give us?”

“At least one COS member tortured and killed the bird.”

She frowned. “COS? The birds were hiding COS. Why would the
church kill a bird?”

“I don’t know. But a partial print and skin under her nails
matched a COS member in the system.”

“Let Strad know,” Rune said. “If he has anything helpful to
say, give me a call back.”

“Will do,” Elizabeth said, and ended the call.

Rune repeated to Jack what Elizabeth had said.

He grunted. “Be interesting to see if the birds retaliate
once they find out.”

“If they don’t already know. I never trusted those
psychopathic fucks.”

“Maybe they wanted rid of the bird but couldn’t kill her
themselves, so…”

“So they get COS to do the dirty deed.”

“Could be. The birds don’t strike me as the most logical of
Others.”

“I can see COS as mercenaries. I can also see them nailing
the bodies to walls to thumb their noses at the world. But I can’t really see
them working for Others.”

Jack shrugged. “I think COS would do pretty much anything
for enough money. And they were
living
with Others on Spikemoss
Mountain.”

She sighed. Damn COS and their never-ending streams of
trouble. “It’s a mystery.”

“Yeah.” He nodded his head toward their eerie passengers.
“So are they.”

One of the shifters picked that moment to speak. He leaned
forward slightly and tapped Rune’s shoulder. “The girl,” he said. “They want
the girl.”