Shattered (Alchemy Series Book #3) (23 page)

"I warned you,
" she said, in a "told you so" manner.

"Was that always there?" I asked as I climbed back into my chair feeling like an utter fool. As soon as I thought I'd seen it all, the world knocked me right back on my ass. At some point
, you would think I'd stop acting jaded and just relent to the truth: I didn't know anything.

"No, it grew in after the change. I thought it was a huge pimple at first."
She laughed at her own joke, while I cringed.

"Were you always in this line of business?"

She reached over to her side and took out a deck of cards, wrapped in black silk. "Shuffle these," she said as she handed me the deck. "I used to tell fortunes on the strip. It's a family… used to be a family business. We've always had the knack of reading people. Then the change came. Now I can't shut it off." She pointed toward the cards. "Split the deck into three, using your left hand, and then restack them."

I placed the pile in front of her and she took the deck in her hands and simply held them, then closed her normal eyes
, leaving just the single black one peering at me. I wanted to duck out of the room, but I managed to stay in the chair, even if I couldn't quite hold her one-eyed gaze.

"Aren't you going to lay them out or something?"

"You're concerned your friend, the doctor, is already dead but she isn't."

Everyone knew about Sabrina.
"Will she be alive when I get there?"

"Yes, I think so."

"You aren't sure?"

"It's fuzzy
, I can't say. I just know she's alive." She reached her hand across the table palm up.

Oh no
, she wanted to hold my hand while her crazy eye stared at me. "Aren't you going to read the cards?"

"No, I don't think so. I'd rather feel your energy."

I eyed her palm, searching it for anything strange. It looked normal, no extra eyeballs or fingers.

"Your left," she instructed when I would've
given her my right hand. Her normal eyes remained closed as the third eye stared at me.

I placed my left hand on hers.

"You're going to feel forced to make a choice between what looks like two bad options. You're going to make the wrong one."

"Can you get a bit
more specific? Bad or worse have been my life. It's not really in the major revelation column."

Her normal eyes snapped open. "I can't be more speci
fic. It doesn’t work like that. I just see you at a junction with dark paths in every direction."

"I need details."

"I doesn't show anything more."

I pulled my hand back
from hers and stood up. "I think this might have been a waste of time."

She didn't
argue, just shook her head as she watched me walk from the room. It wasn't until I was halfway out the door that she spoke. "When the war comes, you won't be able to fight it alone."

"What war?" I said, frozen.

"The one that's coming."

This woman was useless.
"Oh, and I'm not alone, not anymore," I shot back as I left, not wanting to hear anything else from her. She probably just made everything up anyway. It didn't take a fortune teller to hear the rumors running around about the senator. Everyone was scared on some level that there would eventually be a war.

I'd just made it
past the fourteenth floor, also known as the werewolf den, when I saw him heading down the stairs in the opposite direction of my climb. He was the wolf I had seen in Rogo's room the other day, the one that had been exuding fear.

He looked like he was in his mid-twenties, with lean muscles that hadn't filled out yet. Scraggly light brown hair hung in front of a smooth skinned face.

"Hi," I said as he got closer and tried to smile the way Lacey used to, back before everything had fallen apart. I shoved her memory away, not wanting to think about what might have become of her. "I'm Jo."

"Yeah, I know." He gave me a wide
berth as he tried to move past me.

"Wait, where are you going?" I asked, reaching for his arm and forcing my face to keep its smile.
And what do you know about my mother, you dirt bag? Is that why you're so scared?

He pulled out of my reach quickly, "Sorry, I've really got to get going."

"Jo?"

I turned to see a winded Colleen on the landin
g behind me, and I heard the young werewolf sprint away.

"
What's wrong?"

"I've got two volunteers
in addition to Katie. I thought you might want to approve them first. You know, before I brought them to the rest of the group."

I wanted to ask why
she wanted my approval but I shut my mouth quickly. She was a young girl, obviously sensitive and insecure. I didn't know why, but I had a feeling she was trying to establish a relationship between us. She was the same girl that had shot daggers at me with her eyes not that long ago, but it was there in her stance, the way she was shifting her weight uneasily, eager for my approval.

"Do you think they are right for the job?"
I asked.

"They were the first two I approached.
They're both capable of handling themselves. Evan has great night vision and a wicked set of claws. Sharon's hard to explain. The closest description I can think of is a ninja."

"
I think I remember Evan," or his claws, anyway. "I don't remember seeing the name Sharon on the lists."

Colleen kicked at the stair in front of her with restless energy. "Uh, yeah. She's probably not on the list."

"If you think they're good, I'm good." And I wasn't saying it to just make her feel good. I found I did trust her opinion.

"Should we bring them by to meet everyone else?"

"Yes, we'll need to walk them through the plan."

"They're in? That's it?"

"Yes. I'll make sure it's fine. If you tell me that they're good, I believe you. Want to get a bite to eat with me?"

She jerked her eyes toward me
, and away quickly, but followed me as I started to climb the stairwell again.

We climbed the stairs
without speaking. Silence was the new polite thing to do. You didn't ask people about their family anymore because most of them were dead. You didn't ask kids about school, there was none. Summer plans? That was easy because it was the same for everyone…stay alive.

Colleen was in good shape and kept pace with me as I
started taking the stairs two at a time.

"Why don't you
take the elevator that's still left on the other side?" she asked.

"I like the physical exertion."

"Are you afraid of getting stuck?"

I laughed. "That too
, but don't tell anyone."

"It's okay, I d
on't do it either. When the last ones disappeared, I could hear the crying from the people stuck in the stone. It was really horrible."

"I agree completely."

I looked at Colleen and I could see the idea come into her head the same time it did mine. "Count of three?"

"No one ever beats me," she replied.

"Til now…one, two…hey! You cheated!" I yelled after her laughing.

We made it to the penthouse in record time as we pushed through the door
, both of us laughing. It didn't last long. Cormac, Rogo and Crash were there and it was back to the grind.

All
three men's stares swung to us as we walked into the room.

"We've got
three more," I said. "We're ready."

"They're good?" Cormac asked.

"Yes. They're good," I said, vouching for Colleen's choices.

"Okay. W
e call everyone in, go over the details and it's a go."

Crash made his goodbyes
while keeping a distance from me, which wasn't surprising the way Cormac eyed his every step. Rogo left right after and Colleen would've walked out too, if I hadn't grabbed her arm. I didn't like the way Rogo was eyeing her up, yet again. It made my skin crawl.

I waited until it was just Cormac, Colleen and I left in the room.

"I think you should stay with one of us until after we do the raid."

Cormac turned so he had his back to Colleen shot me a stare that said over his dead body.

I threw him back a look.
I get it but I don't trust Rogo.

Cormac pulled out his funny phone. "I need you two up here," he said and hung up the phone and turned to Colleen.

"Are you sure?" Colleen asked, her eyes lighting up but weary as if we'd say we were kidding.

"Yes, positive," I said.

Dodd and Dark came in a minute later.

"What's wrong?" Dodd asked.

"Colleen's going to stay with you guys," Cormac said.

The confusion on their faces made it hard not to laugh
, as they both looked at the empty extra bedroom, then each other and back to Cormac.

"Uh…" Dark said, clearly confused.

Dodd was going to be more of an issue but Cormac quickly quashed it with his next words. "We're all going to need a good rest before we go get Sabrina. I'm sure one of you guys won't mind taking the couch."

Dodd looked like he
was sucking on a lemon as he nodded. "Sure."

"Good. Go help her collect her stuff," Cormac said as he ushered them out and locked the door behind them.

Finally alone, I walked back into the living room.

"What's the deal?" he asked,
as he followed behind me and his hands circled my waist. He leaned his head down and nipped at my shoulder.

I leaned my head to the side to give him better access. "I don't like the way Rogo is looking at her. Besides, she's all alone."

"A lot of people are."

He was right. I couldn't walk down the hall without seeing kids with no one. Colleen had it better than most
, because at least she could protect herself. "I don't know. There's something about her."

"She reminds you of yourself," he said as he steered
me toward the bedroom.

"Why would you say that?"

"Because she might be the only person I've seen that is just as fucked up as you were."

"
Do you think Dodd is really mad?"

"Not mad
, just annoyed."

"
Will he let her stay for a while?" I asked.

"
If I make him, he will, but it's going to cost you," he said and covered my mouth with his as he pulled me onto the bed.

It was eleven p.m. the next evening when we got to the place where Crash and his men had stashed their Hummers. The plan was to get there under the cover of night. The roads in this section of Vegas were next to impassable with all the debris. We had covered them with whatever we could find before we'd left them there, right outside the city. The roads in the suburbs were easier to travel because the buildings were smaller and more spread out. When a house collapsed, for the most part, it stayed on its own lawn. A couple of the town roads were harder because the commercial buildings didn't have lawns so their debris would fall into the avenues. They'd traveled the longer way around back to the casino with us. They hadn't felt comfortable leaving their trucks at the casino, near so many people that hated the senator.

I was relieved to see that the Hummers were still there
. I was even more relieved when they started, proving their gas hadn't been siphoned out. I knew there were people that had survived the rippers, still hiding out in the ruins and scavenging. People that shunned living with anything magical, even if it meant eventual death.

We squeezed into the Hummers and i
t took us a while to loop around to the east of the compound, about five miles out. If things ever became normal again, I was so getting one of these trucks. They were badass and climbed over most of the things in their path.

We wound our wa
y through the desert and stopped in a different spot than last time. They could've discovered our tracks and now be on the lookout for a group coming from that direction.

The snipers were going to be the hardest part of the plan. They were fully human and susceptible to rippers, but they had also assured us that their bullets would take a ripper down no problem. In the end, we'd decided
to add an additional sniper to cover the other shooters, while they were doing their job.

Humans didn't draw rippers as quick
ly as magical creatures did, even though they didn't eat magical creatures. I think they sought us out of curiosity, or maybe we put something out there they could sense. 

We hiked over to where the snipers would take their stations, about a half mile away. It was the furthest
from the target we could get that all the men still felt confident that they'd be able to make the shot. We'd flash a light facing them when it was time to take out the watches on the buildings. They took their places and we set off toward the plant.

With each step we took
, the feeling that something was wrong grew in me. The plant was lit, but there wasn't any movement, not even on the towers. It was too silent. There should have been noise.

We all stood still, eyes only for the compound. A little flashing light caught my eye and I turned to see a lightning bug. It stopped glowing as it neared me and hovered by my ear. "All bad gone."

"What?" Cormac asked, standing close to me.

"Nothing," I said, knowing the bugs wouldn't speak to him.

The bug made a little buzzing noise
and repeated in a high-pitched sound that was a strain to hear, "Gone."

"Does anyone hear that?
" Cormac asked.

"Yeah," Dark said,
"I do. I could've sworn I heard a baby's voice say 'gone.'"

"They
're gone," I said in disbelief, not caring about explaining the lightning bugs to them.

"We don't know that yet," Crash said, sounding as equally dejected at the idea.

"She's right. They're gone. The rippers aren't there, either." Cormac stepped in front of us, staring at the compound.

"You can see where the rippers were?"
Crash asked.

"I can see better, smell better and move faster than a regular human. I'm also a hell of a lot stronger.
I've got a plethora of things I do better but I don't want to embarrass you by listing them all. Plus, it would take too much time."

Really Cormac? Was this the appropriate time for a pissing contest? I just shook my head and started forward.

Cormac followed me. "Where you going?"

"Down to see if they left anything behind.
"

He didn't say anything but he must have agreed because he
followed me.

"Don't you people want to make sure they aren't there first?" Crash called after us.

"They aren't," I yelled back.

Dark and
Colleen followed first and the rest of our people fell into step quickly after. Crash's men started to follow after we were halfway there. Close enough behind to make sure they didn't miss anything, but far enough back to let us take the brunt of an attack.

Cormac tilted his head upward as a breeze blew in.
"This isn't going to be pretty," he said.

"What are you picking up
?"

"Prepare yourself. The smell of death is pretty thick."

Sometimes having regular senses had benefits.

Cormac grabbed the bottom of
a chain link fence with barbed wire on top and stretched it upward, making an opening.

"Do you hear anything?"

"Nothing," Cormac said.

"Me either," Dark added.
"Should we stay together or take the buildings like we planned?"

"I'm going to head over to where the rippers were
, to make sure it's clear," I said.

"Why don't the rest of you take the bui
ldings together, just to be safe. Colleen goes with you and I'll go with Jo."