Ignoring him, I glanced at Kanin. How are we going to sneak in?
My sire gave a tight smile. I expect the roads will be well guarded, but slipping into a flooded city is not hard. As large as this army is, they cannot watch the whole river.
Great. Looked like we were going for a swim.
Chapter 6
We crossed the river easily, as silent as the shadows that clung to the waves. Thankfully, though there was a thin sheet of ice clinging to the edges of the bank, the rest of the river was clear. And navigating large bodies of water wasnt difficult if you didnt have to worry about things like breathing or hypothermia. We slipped below the hulk of the huge barge, vampire sight piercing the pitch-black waters, as we continued into the flooded streets of Jackals territory. Fish glided past us in large schools, flitting through an eerie underwater world of drowned buildings and submerged roads, rusty cars lining the pavement. A massive dark shape, almost as long as me, swished by my head, making me grit my teeth. Kanin had assured me that fish could not become rabidand Jackal had laughed at the questionbut I had no issues with drawing my katana underwater and slashing the next thing that came out of the depths toward me.
Above us, the city was silent. Bridges and walkways sat empty, platforms were deserted and still. Nothing moved overhead, and the ominous silence began to eat at me. This was a trap; I knew it, and the others had to know it, but there was nothing we could do except press forward. Id face whatever Sarren could throw at me if it meant I would find him waiting at the end, with nothing between us but my katana.
Careful. Kanin grabbed my collar when we surfaced, drawing me back a pace. Wed come out beneath a bridge, a flimsy walkway of wood and metal that stretched from one roof to another. Puzzled, I frowned back at him, and he pointed to the underside of the planks.
A strange metal device had been taped to the bridge, wires poking out in every direction. I didnt know what it could be, but the blinking red light on one corner looked fairly ominous.
Thats why the city is deserted, Kanin mused as Jackal looked up at the strange device and swore. He likely has the whole place booby-trapped. Step on the wrong bridge, and it wont be there anymore.
Huh, Jackal remarked, gazing at the wired bridge with the hint of a smirk. That mustve taken him a while. Bastard sure went through a lot of trouble, just for us. I feel so special, dont you?
I paused. Something about Jackals comment didnt feel right. Why is he doing all this? I asked as we began moving again, keeping well back from the mine. Isnt he trying to reach Eden? Why stop here?
I dont know, Kanin murmured, and he sounded troubled, too. Perhaps he wants to stop us for good, so he can continue his plans undisturbed. But that does not seem like him. His brow furrowed, and he shook his head. Sarren is as unpredictable as he is brilliant and cruel. If he is in the city, he has a reason for it.
Does it matter? asked Jackal behind us. Who cares what hes up to? He can be planning to fill the world with puppies, and Im still going to rip the shriveled black heart from his chest and shove it down his throat until he chokes on it.
A memory flickered to life then, making my stomach cold, and I whirled on Jackal. Wait, I said, as realization dawned. The lab! You had a lab set up at the top floor of your tower. Thats why you kidnapped Jebyou wanted him to develop a cure for Red Lung, and you had given him everything he needed to do it
Well, shit. Jackal raked a hand through his hair. I forgot about that. Now Im kinda embarrassed.
Theres a lab here? Kanin echoed, his eyes grim. I nodded. Then we must hurry. If Sarren uses that virus now, it will be New Covington all over again.
Great, Jackal said as we struck out again, moving a bit faster now. More bat-shit crazy bleeders. Hey, sister, heres a riddle for you. Whats worse than infected killer psychos tearing their faces off?
I frowned, confused for a moment, until it hit me. Armed infected psychos tearing their faces off?
Bingo, Jackal growled. So if you do see any of my former minions, do me a favor and cut their heads off, hmm? Itll save me the trouble of burning this place to the ground after we kill Sarren.
Bingo, Jackal growled. So if you do see any of my former minions, do me a favor and cut their heads off, hmm? Itll save me the trouble of burning this place to the ground after we kill Sarren.
We encountered no resistance as we made our way toward the looming expanse of Jackals tower. Kanin did point out a few more mines and traps, stuck to bridges or placed innocuously along walkways. Sarren was definitely here, and had been expecting us for a while.
Put out all the traps you want, you psychopath, I thought as the shadow of the huge tower encompassed us, dark and threatening. Block the way, sic your army on us, do whatever you want. Im still coming for you. And when I find you, one of us is going to die.
The last stretch to the tower was made completely underwater. Jackal took us down until we reached the cracked pavement of the flooded city, weaving through cars and rubble piles with the fish. The base of the tower rose from the riverbed, the front doors ajar at the top of the steps, but the raider king didnt use the front entrance. Instead, we swam around back, slipping through a shattered window into what appeared to be an office. The remains of a desk sat disintegrating on the floor, silvery schools of fish darting through it. We followed Jackal through the office door and into a long, pitch-black hallway. Chunks of wall filled the narrow corridor, and metal beams lay slantwise across the passage, forcing us to weave through or move them aside. I received a shock when I swam around a corner and nearly ran into a bloated, half-eaten corpse floating in the water. It was a good thing I didnt have to breathe, because I snarled and quickly jerked back, filling my nose and mouth with river water as the corpse drifted by. Jackal turned, and I didnt need to hear his voice to know he was laughing at me.
Finally, Jackal wrenched open a peeling metal door, the rusty screech reverberating through the water and making fish flee in terror. Through the gap, I saw a flooded stairwell ascending into darkness.
We trailed Jackal through the door and followed the stairway until it broke free of the water, continuing its spiraled path up the side of the wall. Jackal watched, grinning, as I emerged, dripping wet from the river, water streaming from my hair and coat to puddle on the landing.
What? I asked softly, my voice echoing weirdly in the flooded stairwell. Kanin emerged at my back, making no noise at all even in the water. Jackals grin widened, and he shook his head.
Oh, nothing. Youve never drowned a cat before, have you, sister?
Where are we? asked Kanin before I could reply. His voice carried a faint undertone that warned us to stay on target. That we were in Sarrens territory now, and he was waiting for us. The raider king raked his hair back and looked up the stairs.
Third floor, back stairwell, he muttered. No one ever uses it because some of the higher floors collapsed and the stairs are blocked on this side. But theres a second stairwell we can reach from the ninth floor, and that one goes all the way to the top. Jackal crossed his arms, smirking. I figure everyone will be expecting us to use the elevator, and the minions might surprise me and cut the cables when were near the top. And trust me when I say that falling from the top floor of this tower is not a pleasant experience.
He looked at me when he said this, narrowing his eyes. I thought again of our fight on the top floor, him staking me through the gut, the intense pain that had followed. Dangling from a broken window high above Chicago, desperately clinging to the ledge as my strength slowly gave out. Looking up, seeing Jackal standing above me, ready to end itand Jebbadiah Crosse slamming into him from behind, hurling them both into open space.
I always wondered how you survived, I told him, and his smirk widened. Youre like a rat thats impossible to killno matter what you do, it always comes back.
One of my best qualities, sister. Jackal lowered his arms. Youll appreciate it one day, trust me. Now... He gazed up the steps again, a dangerous glint coming into his eyes. What do you say we find Sarren and beat the ever-loving shit out of him?
That I could get behind. My enemy was close, and I had never wanted someones death as badly as I wanted Sarrens.
Lets go, I told Jackal.
We started up the stairs, Jackal in front, Kanin silently bringing up the rear. Around us, the stairwell creaked and groaned, the sounds echoing through the tight corridor and making my skin crawl. I did not like small, enclosed spaces with no way out, especially when it seemed the ancient, crumbling stairs could collapse at any moment. I concentrated on taking one step at a time and focused my anger and rage into a burning determination. Because if I concentrated on my hate, I could almost forget the fact that Sarren still terrified me, he had an entire raider army under his control, and that facing him again would be the hardest fight of my life. That he was still stronger than me, and even with Kanins and Jackals help, we might not be able to beat him. Especially since he knew we were coming.
None of that mattered. I didnt know how he planned to spread his awful virus, but I did know he was fully capable of destroying everything without a second thought. And I wouldnt let that happen. No matter what it took, no matter what nasty surprises he had waiting, we had to kill Sarren, tonight.
The stairs wove around the walls of the building, spiraling ever higher, before they ended in a blockade of stone, metal beams and twisted pipes. Jackal stopped us on the final landing and nodded to a peeling metal door set into the concrete.
The other stairwell is through here. Well have to cross the floor to get to it, but once we do, its a straight shot to the top floor and Sarren.
I nodded back, but then I caught something that made me freeze. Filtering through the door, slipping underneath the crack, was an unmistakable scent.
The other two vampires paused, as well. Blood, Kanin mused, his gaze dark and grim. A lot of it. Something is waiting for us beyond this door. It appears your humans are expecting us, after all.
Yep. Jackal sighed. The minions arent completely stupid all the time. And they know that blood is an excellent way to mask your presence from a vampire. We wont be able to pinpoint exactly where they are. If the whole army is waiting for us, it could get messy. He glanced at me, fangs shining in the darkened corridor. Ready for this, little sister? No turning back now.
I drew my katana, the soft rasp shivering through the stairwell, and smiled grimly. Ready, I whispered. Jackal grinned and pulled open the door with a rusty screech.
A cold breeze ruffled my hair, hissing into the stairwell. The room beyond the frame was huge, with a low ceiling and shattered windows surrounding us. Low sections of wall created a labyrinth of cubicles and narrow aisles, perfect for hiding behind or staging an ambush. Rubble, fallen beams and rotting desks were scattered throughout the floor, silent and still, and the room seemed to hold its breath.