Page 26

Why isn’t this day over yet?

My tired eyes were barely staying open. Jessie had hooked me up with some caffeine gum, which some company was apparently manufacturing now. I chewed on it until the spearmint taste faded. It was three in the morning, and we still had time on our shift. Now, I wished I had let Jones take over for me.

It wasn”t the mental exhaustion so much as my entire body feeling like one giant bruise. All my aches settled into my bones. It hurt to move as time wore on. I traded the gum for some pain reliever, though it barely made a dent. The cold night air was a cruel companion to my cuts, but at least the winter chill numbed me after a while. I sighed and watched my breath fog the air, remembering how the beast’s breath had done the same.

Kane hadn”t spoken since my fight with the monster. I frowned and bit the inside of my cheek as I watched the twins in the distance. Was he okay? I hoped nothing bad had happened to him. On our end, things had been relatively quiet, besides a few three-headed elk creatures who’d decided to ram mailboxes for fun. Since the Bureau already had several of these specimens, we had just shooed them off. Luckily, they lacked any fangs or vicious powers that could hurt us. Still, the constant vigilance was wearing on me. I wondered if Lyra was having better luck with her team. Impatience set in fast. Maybe I should”ve gone the private company route, since it would’ve allowed me more power to actively hunt the monster rather than do routine patrols and wait around. I loved action.

Where are you, creepy monster? It felt like the Leftovers were taunting us. Occasionally, a shrill caw or growl would float up from the woods, like a ghost haunted the place. I shuddered at the thought of something worse than the invisible monster lurking in the woods. If the Bureau really wanted to study the weird stuff, they were going to have to invest in major resources for PTSD and other therapies for its soldiers and researchers. It was so odd to see creatures like this out here. Hell, if the twins and I weren”t in the Bureau, we might have been hiking in this area.

Jordan had thought the three-headed elk were cool.

”It”s like the Leftovers poured out radioactivity everywhere,” he gushed. ”I wonder if that monster formed from a coyote or something.” I fought against picturing the monster”s teeth, which I had intimate experience with. We hadn”t heard a peep from it all night. Maybe we’d scared it off. A woman can dream, can”t she? I doubted we had seen the last of it, though… Maybe it wouldn”t come tonight, but it would come eventually.

I tapped my feet on the ground, whistling under my breath to stay awake.

Evans shifted beside me. ”Oh, Team B is coming.”

I turned to see Sylas, Jones, Holt, and Colin approaching. Secretly, I was relieved. They were clearly coming to take the next shift. I had insisted earlier, in my proud posturing, that I could handle it, but I was exhausted and in need of rest. Colin smiled sleepily as he walked up. His sniper rifle was strapped to him, just in case.

”We can take over,” Holt offered before Jones could say anything. They all looked relatively refreshed from their naps, and I was very jealous.

”I guess I can fork over the patrol,” I said with a casual shrug. ”We haven”t seen anything besides a few mutant elk trying to take out the mailboxes. They seem to like the color red.”

”Noted,” Sylas said, and gave me a searching look. ”How are your injuries?”

”Fine,” I lied. The bitter aftertaste of the aspirin I’d dry-swallowed earlier lingered on my tongue. It wasn”t nearly enough to keep me pain-free, but it was a start. The last thing I needed was Sylas phoning Hindley to tattle about my injuries. Calm down, Roxy, he’s a good guy… but he’s worried about you. After a nap, I”d be raring to go again. I could practically hear the siren song of my bedroll from our camp.

I was about to make my way back to the center of operations when a call came over our comms.

”Captain Taylor, we”ve got something on the scanners,” a Bureau soldier reported. ”Captain Clinton is requesting you meet us at the town sign. We”ve picked up multiple vampire signatures on our equipment, about a half mile down the road.”

Adrenaline shot through me. My first thought was of Kane. Was it possible I had somehow called him to me? There were multiple signatures, though, and Kane wasn”t with any other vampires. He would”ve mentioned them during our discussion if he were. I hustled with my team, calling for the other Bureau soldiers to take over our patrol in that area. My blood pulsed with excitement. Vampire signatures were a good sign, I hoped. Maybe a few of our allies had found a nearby gate to use.

The twins chatted excitedly as we headed for Captain Clinton, who sat by a collection of high-powered scanners. They ran these scanners for vampire signatures, which I usually didn”t have much use for in the Hellraisers, since we were focused on searching for monsters. I hadn’t had the team looking for vampires on our scanning devices. As far as I knew, we weren’t close to a gate here.

”We”ve got something else,” Holt suddenly blurted as we trotted up to the area. ”The creature”s back… but it”s fleeing.”

”Fleeing?” I asked, and looked at the screen, comparing it with the signatures from the vampires. Indeed, the monster appeared to be fleeing away from the vampire energy signatures. Maybe they had encountered the creature and decided to fight it. My hopes of Kane making an appearance sank inside me, but this was a big development. ”Let”s get out there.”

”They appeared out of nowhere, just like you said happened with the monster,” one of the Bureau soldiers warned with a frown. ”I”ve been watching this screen for the last hour. They were suddenly just there.”

That definitely fit my description of the monster.It could also have been a gate, but either possibility bore investigation.

”Let”s move, people,” I shouted, and led my team out. ”I want scopes out. We should assume the vampires are at least neutral, but approach with caution. I”m not sure if I’ll know these guys.” We rushed down the road. I pumped my legs excitedly despite my muscles being tired. This brought on a flood of adrenaline, which energized me. ”Colin, I”m going to call out when we hit the tree line. If we do know them, they”ll recognize my loud voice, but be ready with your rifle in case that monster comes back.”

”Got it.”

We reached the area where the scanners said the signatures were nearby.

”My name is Captain Roxy Taylor,” I yelled. Holt nodded at me, confirming that the monster was still moving away from us. Good, then I could scream all I wanted. ”I”m with the Bureau. Identify yourselves and come out.”

A scuffle sounded from the woods. We heard approaching footsteps in the forest, and someone hesitantly called back, ”Roxy?”

I raised an interested brow, wondering who was about to pour out of those trees. They were thirty yards into that forest, if I had to guess, and approaching fast.

”Roxy,” the voice cried again. I knew that voice! How could I forget the same tone that had handed me constructive criticism for years on end?It was Lyra!

Lyra Sloane rushed out of the forest with a disbelieving grin on her face. Dorian followed close behind her, but I was lost to the world. I ran forward. I hadn’t realized how badly I needed to see them until they arrived. With a shout of rough delight, I slammed into Lyra and drew her into the world’s biggest bear hug. Even Colin, who was usually very reserved, gave them a rare smile. Dorian nodded in acknowledgment.

“You jerk,” I howled. “I saw you chase my monster away on the scanner.”

She pulled back. “You know about the monster?” An excited, surprised tremor shook her voice. ”Wait, we have an injured man. He needs medical attention.”

I looked behind her. Bryce and Sike emerged from the forest, helping an unknown man. The man was severely injured, with an amputated arm wound. I called Sylas over immediately, turning back to see new faces in Lyra”s group. A bright-faced vampire bounded forward. She was bleeding from her side but appeared unbothered by it. A tall redhead whose uniform had seen better days trailed behind, with a prim look and a soldier’s persona.

”Bryce, it”s so good to see you,” I gushed as Sylas got to work on the injured man. Colin hovered beside me, quietly delighted to see our old captain as well.

”He”ll need lots of care,” Bryce said worriedly, with an appreciative nod toward me and Sylas. ”He”s the only survivor we”ve got from Black Rock.” Sylas nodded and immediately commed for backup from the other soldiers. In the distance, I heard our allies making their way to us from the town.

Dorian ran his hand through his hair, swearing in disbelief.”Where are we?” he asked.

”You’re no longer in the Utah Leftovers. Welcome to the Sierra Nevada mountains,” I told them, and Lyra”s mouth fell open slightly. “Who are your new people?”

The smiling vampire hopped forward. ”My name is Chandry.” She elbowed the redhead playfully. He lifted a hand, which was as large as his thin face.

”I”m Cameron Bryce,” he said.

”My nephew,” Bryce said with a bit of pride. Cam”s face lit up for the tiniest second before his soldier”s mask crushed the emotion. I grinned with a nod.

”Pleased to meet you,” I told them and threw my hands out. ”Meet the Hellraisers. Colin, help Sylas get our survivor back to camp. We need to phone in for a chopper to come get him to a hospital. Sylas can stabilize him until then.” Sylas nodded and waved over the approaching soldiers. They loaded the injured man onto a stretcher and then moved carefully but hurriedly back to town.

”Holt, anything on the scanner?” I asked. We needed to make sure the monster was gone before getting down to the niceties.

”Negative, Captain. It”s completely disappeared, just like last time,” Holt said. I briefly introduced Lyra’s team to him, the twins, Evans, and Jones. I caught Lyra staring at me as we turned to walk back to camp. I was excited to compare notes, but something in her stare made me pause.

”What?” I asked her.

She fought off a sneaky smile. ”Nothing. Just impressed.”

Well, that”s enough to float my ego for the next week. Down to business, then.

”Tell me about your experiences with the monster,” I told them. As we walked back, Lyra and her teammates launched into a rough explanation of their adventures. I had plenty of questions for them as they talked.

”What time is it?” Lyra asked. I told her half past three, according to my watch, and her brow furrowed. ”It”s an hour later in Utah than it should be for us. There’s an entire hour missing… Odd.”

”How did you get here?” I asked her. She let out a hefty sigh and broke into a brief explanation of the creature”s abilities. I nodded excitedly, explaining that I”d seen the same thing when I’d tangled with the monster, but I hadn”t understood it. We stopped on the edge of town outside the medical tent where Sylas was taking care of the survivor, whom I now knew as Joseph.

“The portals go to a new place like we’ve never seen before,” Lyra explained. She and her team told us all about sentient forests, weird transparent worlds, and how the monster seemed to be targeting people. Her face hardened. “We lost Arlonne through the portal to that place, chasing after some human named Jessica.” No. It had to be another Jessica. Surely the one I”d just arrested wouldn”t be getting underfoot again so soon. But I had a sinking suspicion that wasn”t the case.

I stared at her incredulously. “Jessica Laurence? That annoying vlogger?”

“Annoying is putting it mildly,” Dorian said dryly.

“You know her?” Lyra asked, just as astonished.

Even as we exchanged notes, in the back of my mind a dark suspicion was growing. Kane had said he didn’t recognize his surroundings at all, and he’d been all over the Immortal Plane. Maybe he was trapped in this bizarre new space that Lyra described.

I sent my team off to their stations. Sylas was taking good care of Joseph, so I brought Lyra’s team back to my camp. I had a room to myself in the town”s shabby inn while the other Hellraisers took turns bunking with me or using bedrolls wherever they could find a spot, but it would work. We had a lot of things we needed to discuss, clearly. Since the twins were off guard patrol, they’d demanded to be a part of it. I relented, unwilling to fight them on this, since I wanted to talk to Lyra so badly. The Hellraisers would eventually hear about it when I prepared my brief. To my mild surprise, Evans asked to stay, too, even though I could tell she was just as tired as me.

”We”ll need to hide you from the locals,” I said after we all gathered, glancing purposefully at Dorian and the other vampires as they sat stuffed together on my couch. ”The Bureau soldiers won”t be that surprised. Rumors about vampire involvement are rife, so I”m sure plenty of them suspect or already know… but we’ll need to do our best to hide it.”

We managed to fit everyone in my room.

”We’re saying we have vampire camouflage on,” Dorian said, explaining to the confused-looking members of the Hellraisers.

Chandry snorted with laughter. ”It didn”t work on Jessica, did it?”

”She”s something special,” I muttered, and explained just how special she was to Roxy’s team, including her strange mental abilities.

”We need to get the soldiers to sign non-disclosure agreements for Callanish legalities,” Bryce said firmly, and then cracked a grin at me. ”I”m sure that won”t be a problem for the all-powerful Captain Taylor. You”re clearly running a tight ship.”

Happy warmth filled me from his compliment. ”I”m trying,” I said, and gave them the rundown on what the Hellraisers had been up to, including our mission involving the infamous Jessica Laurence and Dan. I was sorry to hear that Dan was lost in the new world, but hopefully Arlonne and Jessica would find him… if Arlonne didn’t kill Jessica first.

Evans watched the vampires like a hawk. I”d never seen her so focused. It was natural to be wary, but she was obviously interested enough to stay. Chandry turned to her and smiled brightly.

”If you have questions, you can ask,” she said kindly.

Evans shook her head. ”Uh, it”s fine.”

The twins flanked Bryce”s nephew on either side of an armchair. The poor guy never stood a chance. As soon as he”d been given the opportunity, Cam had used the restroom and groomed himself back into order as well as he could. His top-buttoned shirt was like a challenge calling the twins.

”What”s your rat”s name?” Jessie asked loudly, dangling her index finger in front of the creature. It chomped down lightly on her finger, and she threw her head back to laugh. ”It”s hungry!”

”It”s not a rat,” Cam said humorlessly. Jordan lost interest with teasing Cam for the moment and stared openly at Dorian, especially his necklace.

”Cool bling,” Jordan said. ”Does it really give you the power to fly?”

”I can”t fly,” Dorian answered. ”I can jump really high, though.”

Jordan deflated with disappointment, while Cam tried to extract himself from an interrogation session by Jessie. Bryce watched their interactions with an amused smile, but there was pain underneath his expression. He was worried for Arlonne. I saw how they’d looked at one another at Lyra”s wedding. I bet there was more to that story.

I felt strange and… happy. In the chaos of dealing with the Leftovers, I hadn”t had a night like this in some time. It was a relief to be among old vampire allies. Sike stole glances at Chandry, but I wasn’t sure what was going on there. I turned back to Lyra as she sipped a hot cup of tea. She looked somewhat relaxed for the moment, but I sensed she was still as tense as I was underneath everything. This was a small moment for us to enjoy… and yet I knew that I needed to tell her about Kane soon.

The dark sky turned light outside. Cam extracted himself soon after, citing fatigue, which led to everybody trying to figure out where they were going to sleep. I arranged for more bedrolls, since some of Lyra”s group had their bedding partially destroyed from their journey. As we gathered to say a final goodnight, it was just Lyra and me for a moment, with Dorian drifting behind her.

I leaned forward in my chair. ”I have some new information that I”d like to talk to you about,” I confessed, trying to find my inner strength. ”I”d like to chat privately tomorrow.” I had nothing against Dorian, but I wanted the first person I told to be Lyra, another woman who’d been through impossible things and questioned her sanity. If I really was crazy, she would tell me so gently, and no one else would have to know.

Lyra nodded, her eyes showing she understood my need for secrecy. She reached out a tentative hand and rested it gently on my arm.

”You”ve done great, Roxy,” she said. ”I”m glad you”re okay.”

We had come a long way, the two of us.

”It”s not easy. I find myself revisiting your perspective more and more,” I admitted. ”I”m glad you”re here, Lyra.”

We said our goodnights, promising to talk later. I was too tired to find the strength to keep going. I crawled into bed, where the twins had unofficially also stationed themselves, since they were family. Jordan was snoring loudly.

Tomorrow, I promised myself. I would tell Lyra everything.