Fields of Blood (The DeathSpeaker Codex Book 2) Page 20

  “Nothing.” The sheriff sounded startled. “I just meant…well, what I said about him being crazy. I was wrong,” she said. “We all were.”

  I was glad for him. Maybe things would get easier, now that they didn’t see him as the town nutcase. And he was crazy—but not in a bad way. “Yeah, he’s a good guy,” I said. “We’d never have found the place without him. And speaking of Chester, you don’t happen to have a way to contact him, do you?”

  “As a matter of fact, I do,” she said slowly. “He gave me a…burn phone? Which is apparently programmed to only call him, and doesn’t receive calls. Said something about identifying information and aliens using Linux.”

  I laughed. “That makes total sense in Chester-world. Could you get in touch with him, and ask him to call me? I’ll give you the number I’m using.”

  “I have it.”

  “You do?”

  “Caller ID, Mr. Black. We do have that out here in the sticks.” I could just about hear her smirking. “I’ll give him a call,” she said. “Thanks again for all your help. I…don’t think I want to know what happened up there.”

  “You’re right. You don’t.” I was sure Milus Dei would quietly clean up the mess, like they’d done in New York—what was left of them. But I didn’t want to think about the cult right now, or the new problems we faced knowing there were probably more branches. Maybe a lot more. “One more thing, Sheriff,” I said. “I know it’s trashed, but I’d like my van back. And maybe my phone?”

  “Sure, but you’ll have to take that up with Chester,” she said. “He took them. Said he was going to…er, fix things up.”

  “Great.” With all of Chester’s gadgets and modifications, I could hardly wait to see his idea of fixing things. “Thank you,” I said. “I’ll wait for his call.”

  We said goodbye and hung up, and I smiled to myself.

  It was nice to have nothing going wrong for a few minutes.

  CHAPTER 44

  After I hung up with the sheriff, Elara started asking questions about Taeral’s arm and the Fae in general. I was shocked when he got up grudgingly, moved over to her blanket, and actually answered a few of them.

  Which unfortunately left me free to talk to Sadie.

  I still didn’t know where to start. But after a few awkward moments of glancing at her and looking away, she solved the problem by scooting closer and patting my leg. “Are you okay?” she said softly.

  “Yeah. I’m great.” Sarcasm wasn’t exactly what I had in mind to lead out with. I frowned and tried to start again. “Okay, not really,” I said. “What happened up there—”

  “Wasn’t your fault.”

  I stared at her. “Did you pick up mind-reading and not tell me about it?”

  “No. It’s just kind of obvious what you’re thinking. To me, at least.”

  “So you’re just trying to humor me, then,” I said. “After what I did, the way you looked at me…Christ, I don’t blame you for being pissed.”

  “I’m not mad at you, Gideon.”

  “Well, I’m mad at me,” I muttered.

  “And that’s why I’m not.”

  She took my hand, and my breath caught. “Don’t you think I know what you felt like…what you’re feeling now?” she said. “You killed some bad guys. Yeah, it was a little extreme, but it was basically self-defense. I killed my mother.” Her eyes searched mine. “If I couldn’t stop that, what makes you think you should’ve been able to stop going after people who were actively trying to kill you?”

  I looked away. “It wasn’t your fault.”

  “Yeah, and I didn’t listen to you, or Taeral, when you said that the first time. Because it had to be my fault,” she said. “Just like you’re thinking right now that it had to be your fault.”

  “Sadie…” I managed to lift my gaze to hers. “They shot you up with that crap. They forced you into it,” I said. “I chose to use it. I injected myself, even though I knew what it did to you. It’s. My. Fault.”

  “And what other choice did you have?” she said with heated force. “If you hadn’t done that, we’d all still be there right now, killing each other in that damned arena.”

  “My daughter is right.”

  Sadie snatched her hand away at the sound of the deep voice. “Dad,” she said, looking up at the solid, towering figure of Silas. “We were just…talking.”

  “So I heard.” His glowering expression fell on me. “Gideon, is it?”

  “Er, yeah. That’s me.”

  “And you’re some sort of…human Fae?”

  I blinked. “Something like that.”

  “You’re not what I expected,” he said gruffly. “You and your…partner?”

  “My brother. Taeral,” I said. “It’s complicated.”

  “Whatever.”

  I couldn’t help smirking. Now I knew where Sadie got it from.

  “I have to say, I don’t approve of Fae. Or humans,” Silas said. “But—”

  “Dad, stop it.” Sadie stood and walked to him, trembling with anger. “They’re my friends. And they just saved all of our lives,” she said. “I can’t believe you’re still stuck on all this humans are inferior, the Fae are the enemy stuff.”

  Silas held a hand out. “But, if you’ll let me finish my sentence…you may have changed my mind.” His features softened as he looked down at her. “I’m just glad you’re all right, Sadie. I’ve worried about you for years now.”

  “You have?” she whispered.

  “Yes. But I was too stubborn to admit that I was wrong. Your brother…” he trailed off with a grimace. “I don’t think we need to discuss that. Let’s just say that some of us do learn from our mistakes—and I hope someday, you’ll believe I have.”

  Sadie shivered. “Dad. About Mom…”

  His expression turned cautious. “What of her?”

  “I know who killed her,” she whispered.

  Silas bared his teeth in a fierce snarl, and Sadie shrank back. “Who was it?” he roared. “Who murdered my life mate? I swear to the spirits, if it was one of your Fae friends, I’ll tear them to ribbons here and now.”

  “I already told you, it wasn’t them,” she said. “It was…me.”

  Silas flinched and froze. “You?”

  “Yes.” Twin tears tracked from her eyes, but she held her ground. “She’d been coming to New York to see me. She wanted me to come back, so she could make me stronger. But the last time she came out…Milus Dei caught her.”

  “I don’t understand. She’d been to see you?” he said hoarsely. “She said…” His eyes narrowed abruptly. “You were working for those people, like your brother!” he shouted. “That’s why he died for you. I should put you in the ground with him, traitor!”

  Taeral made a low, furious sound and started to get up, but Sadie waved him away. Surprisingly, he actually backed down—but he remained tense, ready to spring any second. “Dad, let me finish,” Sadie said in an unsteady voice. “Then you can do whatever you want to me.”

  “Fine,” he said flatly. “Finish.”

  The look on Taeral’s face said he didn’t give a damn what Silas wanted. If it came to that, I’d back him up—family or not, this alpha-hole wasn’t laying a hand on her.

  Sadie drew a shuddering breath. “I don’t know what got into Marlon,” she said. “Maybe he grew a conscience. But I’ve never worked for those bastards. They captured me too, and used me to test that compound. The human-erasing one. Gave me a triple dose, and locked me in with the ‘other werewolf.’ They didn’t even know she was my mother…” She trailed off and stared at the ground. “I tried so hard to fight it,” she rasped. “But I couldn’t. I was too weak…just like Mom always said I was.”

  For a long moment, Silas stayed rigid and silent. Finally, he reached out—and gently lifted her chin until she looked up at him. “Your mother was wrong,” he said.

  “What?” she whispered.

  “You’re not weak, Sadie. You never have been.” His eyes were ha
unted. “What we did when you left…that was wrong. We were wrong. We never should have listened to Marlon.”

  “What do you mean, listened to Marlon?”

  “Killing the humans was his idea,” Silas said. “I let him persuade me, because I was so angry that you wouldn’t listen. That you wouldn’t follow our traditions. But that’s why you’re strong—you had principles, and you stuck to them. Even when it meant leaving your family…those who tried to keep you from living your own truths. I admired you for that, though I’ve been too stubborn to say it.”

  She blinked rapidly. “Really?”

  “Yes.” He gave a sad smile. “Your mother wouldn’t see it. She just wanted you home. But this isn’t the place for you…and not because you don’t fit in. Because you are your own person, and it’s someone you can’t be here.”

  “Dad…I’m so sorry about Mom.”

  He let his arms fall. “It wasn’t your fault, Sadie,” he said. “Don’t ever think that it was.”

  She sobbed and fell into him, and he held her.

  I glanced at Taeral, who looked as awkward as I felt. Next to him, Elara watched her father and sister with a watery smile and wiped her eyes a little.

  But before I could figure out what to do next, Elara’s phone buzzed in my hand.

  I got up and walked away a good distance before I answered. “Chester?”

  “Gideon. You made it out,” Chester said. “Knew you would.”

  “Yeah. We’re out.” With a damned big price for freedom, but I wouldn’t mention that now. “Thanks for taking those people home,” I said. “I’m pretty sure they’d be dead now if they stayed much longer.”

  “You’re not kidding. That bunch had all the survival sense of a cat on a highway,” he muttered. “Except Bill. He’s all right. Where are you?”

  “At the bunker. Recovering.”

  There was a heavy pause. “Those kids okay?”

  “They’re here, and they’re fine,” I said. “Relatively speaking.”

  “Good. So you’ll stop by my place?”

  I smirked. “Well, the sheriff says you have my van. So yeah. I think we’ll rest up for a while first, though.”

  “Right. We’d better get off the line. Never know who’s listening,” he said. “We’ll talk when you get here.”

  I started to say goodbye, then realized he’d already hung up.

  Shaking my head, I started back to the rest of them. It looked like the emotional moment was over. The four of them stood in a loose group—Sadie next to Taeral, Silas staring at them suspiciously, and Elara wearing a smug little smile.

  Everyone knew it but them.

  Taeral gave me a questioning look when I reached them. “Chester?”

  I nodded. “The one-man search party is cancelled,” I said. “When we head out, we’ll stop by his place. He’s…fixing my van.”

  “Fantastic,” Taeral said dryly. “That should prove interesting.”

  Sadie frowned. “Who’s Chester?”

  “Oh, that’s right. You haven’t met him yet.” I grinned. “You’ll like him.”

  “Chester’s awesome,” Elara chimed in.

  Silas groaned. “Not you, too.”

  “Dad, seriously? He’s ancient. Like, forty-something.”

  “Really. And what does that make me?”

  She snorted. “You’re practically a mummy.”

  I coughed to cover a laugh and started to hand the phone back to Elara. When Silas watched me with narrowed eyes, I remembered she wasn’t supposed to have one, and hastily pulled it back.

  Silas frowned at the sparkly pink-encased phone. “Is that yours?”

  “Uh, yeah,” I said. “Pink is the new black?”

  “I don’t understand you young people,” he grunted. “Anyway, you’re welcome to stay and rest before your journey to…Chester’s. As long as you’re not resting too close to my daughters.” With final glares at me and Taeral, he turned and walked away.

  I slipped Elara the phone.

  “Thanks,” she whispered. “You’re the best.”

  Sadie elbowed me. “Don’t encourage her,” she muttered with a crooked smile. “Come on. Let’s try to sleep a little before we go drudging through the woods again.”

  That sounded like a great idea to me.

  CHAPTER 45

  Chester was waiting for us at the barn.

  We’d slept around two hours under the moonlight. It was enough to restore my spark, and I’d healed at least somewhat. Hadn’t taken a bullet—let alone more than one—in a long time, but I’d never forgotten how much it hurt. And it was just as bad as I remembered.

  It’d be great if I could go another ten years without being shot. Unfortunately, I doubted that was going to happen.

  I grinned as we approached Chester. “Tell me you haven’t been standing here all this time waiting for us,” I said.

  “Nah. Perimeter sensors. I saw you coming a mile away.” He returned the grin, nodded to Taeral, and then looked at Sadie. “This must be your friend,” he said. “Your little sister looks just like you.”

  She smiled. “Thanks.”

  “Sadie, this is Chester. And vice versa,” I said.

  Chester held a hand out, and Sadie shook. “Nice to meet you,” he said, glancing sideways at Taeral. “So she’s yours, huh?”

  “No,” Taeral growled.

  “Right. Ex with benefits.”

  This time I decided not to say I told you so.

  “Well, come on out front,” Chester said, turning to walk in that direction. “I’ll show you around your new van. Oh, here’s your phone.” He pulled it from a pocket and handed it back to me. “Put my number in your contact list. Encoded, of course.”

  As I walked, I swiped to the contacts and scrolled through. Didn’t see Chester’s name anywhere—but there was a new entry. “Harmony’s House of Hummus?” I said.

  “That’s the one. Aliens hate hummus.”

  “Right.” I smirked and tucked the phone away.

  Sadie nudged me. “Aliens?” she whispered.

  “Tell you later,” I muttered.

  I wasn’t sure what to expect as we rounded the camper. Something a little out there, probably cobbled together, with maybe a few gadgets to ward off aliens or catch mermaids.

  I didn’t expect to see Bill Ryerson, standing in front of my better-than-restored van.

  There was a gleaming new windshield, and the destroyed back doors had been replaced. The hood was dent-free. All the tires were brand new. Armored siding was installed on both sides, neatly trimmed and bolted in place. The metal antenna had been replaced with a pair of modern, slim plastic stubs, and there was a small satellite dish mounted on the roof.

  “Gideon.” Bill walked toward me with a hand outstretched, and I tried to reel my jaw back in as I shook. “Sheriff Gormann explained what happened to your van,” he said. “When Chester said he was going to fix it, I volunteered to help. Being the town mechanic and all.” He smiled. “Some of the others donated parts. Even Jesse kicked in.”

  I remembered Jesse. The big angry guy who’d called Chester a crackpot and tried to rally the others against him. “Thank you,” I managed, and introduced Bill around. When I’d collected myself a little more, I said, “You didn’t have to do all this.”

  “The hell we didn’t. You saved our lives,” Bill said. “Hell, you probably saved the whole town. I doubt those people, whoever they were, would’ve kept things small-scale for long.” He walked over next to Chester and gestured at the van. “Go ahead and check it out.”

  “The glass is bulletproof, by the way,” Chester said. “Werewolf-proof, too. No offense, Sadie.”

  “Um. None taken.”

  “Have a look inside.” Chester moved to the van and opened the passenger side door.

  I looked. There was a flat screen mounted on the center of the dashboard, and a bunch of new ports installed next to the radio. Standard power, USB, even an AC socket. All the broken glass and plastic sh
ards had been cleaned out, and there was a bench seat installed parallel to the fold-down bed, on the opposite side. A file folder-sized cardboard box rested on the seat.

  “Touchscreen GPS and navigation,” he said. “And I copied all my files on the aliens for you. They’re in that box, there.”

  I turned to stare at Chester and Bill. “Have you guys even slept since you got back?”

  “Not really,” Bill laughed.

  Chester shrugged. “Hell, I don’t sleep much anyway. Never have.”

  “Well, I…don’t know what to say. Thank you,” I said. “This is incredible.”

  “You just call me the next time you go up against them,” Chester said. “I’m pretty sure you could use my help.”

  I smiled. “Yeah. I think you’re right.”

  Now the only problem I’d have would be driving around Manhattan in a suspicious-looking armored van. Good thing I had a friend in the NYPD.

  Abe was probably going to hate me for this.

  Chester sent us off with meals. I decided not to ask what was in them—it was better that way. If I had to eat squirrel, I didn’t want to know it.

  Sadie opted to stretch out on the new back seat, so I had Taeral up front with me on the way home. We’d spent half an hour in exhausted silence, when Taeral suddenly said, “Are you not going to rub it in?”

  “What, that you’re afraid of snakes?” I said. “Don’t think I forgot.”

  He sighed. “You were right. About Milus Dei.”

  “Oh. That.” I still didn’t want to think about it, but I guessed we had to. “Honestly, I don’t know what to do,” I said. “If Chester’s right, and I’m afraid he is…this thing is huge. Even if we don’t do anything, they’re going to come after us again.”

  “Aye. That is why you must learn to control your abilities,” he said. “Not just as a Fae, but also as the DeathSpeaker. A subject I obviously know nothing about.”

  I grimaced. “How am I going to do that?” I said. “Nobody knows anything about it, right? I mean, correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought I was the only one.”

  “You are. But there have been others before you.”