As angry as I was, as furious as I was that they’d been part of a crew here to kill us, I’d made a deal. I forced a smile instead, staring down the length of my nose at then. “No one’s...we’re not going to kill you,” I said, folding my arms.

  Her lips twitched into a frown, something unreadable flickering across her face. “What, then?”

  A mirthless chuckle slipped out before I could stop it. “If you’re honest with us, then you can go. Later. But right now? With you two here to kill us, hired by someone to come after me?”

  Keira shifted, making a surprised noise in the back of her throat. I winced. I...hadn’t exactly told her that, yet. Pushing it from my mind, I focused in on the pair, watching their every movement for any sign of deception.

  “Right now, we have some questions you’re going to answer.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  The yard went quiet. For a long moment, no one moved. We just stared at each other, letting my words fade out into the frozen air.

  And then Amber thrust her hand out - her bare hand - pointing towards the back of the SUV. “You’ve still got that bastard. You can keep him. Ask him what you want to know.”

  “I’m asking you,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “It’s just a few questions, right?”

  She didn’t bother gratifying me with a response. She just leaned to the side and spat pointedly into the snow. The whole time, her eyes stayed fixed on mine.

  “Ew,” I heard Kai mutter behind me, only to get shushed by Tyler a second later.

  “Will he wake up at all?” I said, unmoving. “You were here for me, weren’t you? Were you going to-”

  She rolled her eyes, flopping back and landing on the snow with a whump. “Capture, not kill. Well. Ideally.” A smirk crossed her face and vanished behind an impassive facade again. “If something went wrong, disposal was a secondary goal. According to him, anyway.”

  “Fucking great,” I said, bobbing my head in a hopeless imitation of a nod. It was all I could do. “So-”

  “So, he’s out, not dead.”

  “How long?”

  Amber made a face. “Dunno. That dose was supposed to last a day or so. But-”

  “But I took a chunk of that to the leg,” I said wearily, still feeling my head spin.

  She grinned, not a trace of humor in the expression. “That. And he’s bigger than you.”

  “So we’ve got a few hours, then,” I said, my tone pointedly cheerful.

  Her grin faltered. “That’s...you can’t possibly be-”

  “What are your rel- foci?” I interrupted, letting my gaze slide between her and her friend. He’d stayed quiet the whole time, his eyes fixed on me and almost perfectly round. He was white as bone, although his hands shook. I forced away the wave of shame that rose at the sight. Yes, they were suffering. Yes, I was putting both of them through a lot of tension by taking away their relics. But it was necessary. It wasn’t like I was going to let either of them collapse.

  They froze. Nox glanced at Amber, his lips parting gently, but her scowl only deepened. “That’s not-”

  “What are your foci?” I repeated, this time lacing a trace of a command into my words. My head pounded. I ignored it.

  “Mind-reading,” Nox said, the words sliding straight out of him.

  Amber’s eyes flicked to him, her eyes tightening, but it wasn’t like we’d left much of an option to her. “Force battery,” she said, the words low and soft.

  I furrowed my brow, my words falling away. “You what, now? You’re going to have to explain that to me.”

  She rolled her eyes, wrinkling her nose, but I only stared, not budging a single inch. “It’s simple. I store and release energy. In the short-term, anyway.”

  “Like when you blocked those bullets.”

  “Real genius, aren’t you?”

  Someone behind me was snickering. I didn’t bothering turning to see who. “Fine. And the rest of them?”

  “What was that Glenn did?” Keira said, stepping forward. She didn’t so much as hesitate, despite the chilly look Amber was giving her. “I mean, no offense, Jon, but he had you in the palm of his hand.”

  Amber paused, a bit of the easy confidence leaving her face. “I...I dont…”

  “I don’t remember,” Nox said, his voice low. “I can’t...I know I know, but I just can’t-”

  “It’s something to do with memories,” I said, thinking back to the scene between Amber and I, the conversation he’d interrupted. “When he touched me. I...something changed.” My eyes flicked to Keira. “Think...maybe you could figure it out a little more?”

  She made a face, telling me exactly how little she appreciated being sent away, but there was no real fight in her. “Probably shouldn’t leave him lying over there all alone,” she murmured, nodding begrudgingly.

  “Go with her, Tyler?” I said, a question in my voice as I glanced to him. The audiomage was still attached to his brother, trying not to look like he was hovering while Kai wiped blood from his face.

  Tyler glared at me, opening his mouth - to refuse, no doubt. But I wouldn’t have asked him to leave if it wasn’t important, and he had to know that. Jake was worn through and still bleeding from the wound in his shoulder. Brendon wouldn’t be any help at all if Glenn wasn’t actually asleep, and we couldn’t risk Glenn mind-controlling someone and running off into the night with them as a consolation prize.

  This whole mind-control business sucked. For the first time, I could appreciate a little of what some of our opponents had been thinking and feeling.

  “So he didn’t tell you anything?” I said, forcing my attention back to Amber and Nox. They hadn’t moved, hadn’t tried to run. Not that they could, while I held their relics, but they’d wisely decided not to try and attack me to get them back. For the time being, at least.

  They both shook their heads, staring at me impassively. “Not that I can remember,” Amber said, her voice suddenly quiet.

  A sudden wave of unease washed over me. “Wait- If he could mess with people’s memories like this...if he did this to you two, were the-” I faltered, my voice catching, but collected myself and pushed on. “How many others on your team did he enchant into working for him?”

  “I don’t think he’d do...something like…” Nox said, but his face fell halfway through the sentence.

  “He already messed with our memories, didn’t he?” Amber snapped, glancing over at him. And then she stiffened, the blood draining from her face. Her hand plunged into her pants pocket a second later.

  “Stop that,” I hissed, pinning her in place before she could so much as twitch. “Your guns. Give them to me. And your knives. Any weapons. On the ground.” A fresh trickle of blood slipped from my nostrils. I wiped it away, trying and failing to make the action look nonchalant.

  “I’m...I wasn’t,” Amber said, twitching, but her hands were already moving, sliding from her jeans and into her coat.

  Three guns and two knives. That was the pile she left on the snow. Nox only had one small, pathetic-looking pistol. They had more ammunition left than their fellows, whose guns lay emptied and abandoned in the driveway, I noted dispassionately. They really hadn’t committed to the fight.

  “I was going for my phone,” Amber said, folding her arms over her chest again and glaring at me with undisguised venom. “Not a fucking gun.”

  “You should probably say that,” Kai muttered from under one of the lights. His eyes were on Tyler, who was even then dragging Glenn’s limp, motionless body over to the rest of the group.

  I shot him a look, but tried to keep my attention on the pair. “And why do you want your phone? Who exactly are you going to call?”

  She snorted. “Who the fuck calls people anymore? We have these things called data plans on phones these days.” Slowly, exaggerating the motion, she slipped two fingers into her back pocket and pulled her phone free. “I...I just have a bad feeling. I need to check something.” Her eyes were on Glenn as she spoke. He snored away, completely unaware of the danger he was in.

  “I’ve got some zip-ties somewhere,” Jake said. Keira and I looked at the same motion. He sat on the gravel by the corner of the house, one hand pressed to his shoulder. It didn’t look like a bad wound, at least, but it would need to be looked at. With a sinking feeling, I realized I was going to be left in the position of explaining away a bunch of gunshot wounds yet again. “In my bag.” A smirk slipped onto his face. “Can’t be too careful.”

  “Sit,” Loren snapped, pushing him back down as he tried to stand up. “I’ll find them. I’ll be back in a minute. Don’t move.” She was swaying herself, as she stalked towards the front door of the house, but she didn’t fall.

  “Fucking asshole.” Ambers’s low, hissed curse brought me turning back to her. She stared down at her phone, her face white. “That little...I’m going to-”

  I caught her shoulder, stepping forward to meet her as she lunged towards Glenn. “Hey. Back the fuck off.”

  She stumbled back at my push, her furious glare flashing to me, but Nox grabbed her shoulder. “Amber, a-are you serious?” His face was bone-white.

  “The account’s empty,” she snapped, looking to him. “Nothing ever got deposited.”

  He blinked, his eyes widening behind his glasses. “Then, you’re saying he-”

  “Check yours,” she muttered, kicking at the gravel. “Fuck.”

  The rest of us huddled a little closer together, feeling the bite of the wind, but didn’t say a word as the telepath pulled his own phone out and started madly navigating through menus. He was as silent as we were - but his face said everything he wasn’t.

  Amber swore again, making to throw her phone against the side of the house, but her fingers curled more tightly around it. Her gaze settled on Glenn a moment later. “Give me ten minutes alone with him. Just ten. Fuck, I’ll take five.”

  “But- How?” Nox said, his voice rising into a whine. “I know we got paid. I looked.”

  “He can play with memories,” I said, keeping my voice carefully neutral. “Do you have to ask? Is this a surprise?” As much as it sucked for the two of them, it brought up a lot of other questions, ones that were more disturbing. How many of the others were being played? How many of them were unwilling, unknowing slaves?”

  “Fuck,” I heard Keira whisper alongside me, her voice too low for the others to hear. She was working through the same mental path, then.

  I swallowed hard, glancing back towards our companions. Everyone was tired, and hurt, and bleeding. Jake and Kai needed to get patched up, and my leg was still oozing and screaming in pain. “Someone needs to get them to a hospital,” I said quietly. “But maybe now you’ll be a little more willing to talk to me?”

  Amber scoffed. “I’ll tell you whatever I’ve got, but it’s not much. I wasn’t lying.” Her eyes flicked over to Jake. “And, you can’t actually be talking about going to a hospital.”

  I paused. “I mean...we can’t just let them bleed out.”

  “Where’s your healer?”

  The others were shifting uncomfortably behind me. “We...haven’t gotten that far, yet,” I said, my tone only slightly sheepish. “This is kind of a new thing.”

  “Well, you’d better damn well get on that,” Amber snapped. “What, are you trying to get yourself arrested or watched? Jesus Christ.”

  “I can help. A little,” Loren said, slipping back towards Jake. His bag was in her hands, ready and waiting. Her eyes lingered on me - on my leg. “But you should let me look at that.”

  “In a bit.”

  Her lips pressed together into a thin line. “If it gets infected, you’ll-”

  I sighed. “I know. In a few minutes. I think there’s a first aid kit in the garage.”

  “Right,” she said, only a note of irritation lurking in her voice as she turned away for a second time.

  Amber and Nox stayed right where they were as Loren slipped past, accelerating with every step. “So what now?” Amber said quietly. She licked her lips. They were both looking more uncomfortable by the second, I saw with a touch of dismay. Damn it, I just wanted to keep them from coming after us. I didn’t want to actually hurt them.

  “We talked about Glenn,” I said, shoving my hands deeper into my pockets. “Or as much as we know. How’d you two come into the picture? What was this job all-”

  “It’s not so complicated,” Amber snapped, a bit of energy coming back into her voice. “Those of us who live like this, for hire, well, the crews around us know who we are. Word got out that he was looking. Money was good. So we showed up.” She kicked Glenn in the small of the back. I didn’t stop her. “Didn’t ask for details. Never do. This fucker just gave us the instructions and a pile of money.” She kicked him again. “Or so we thought.”

  “Don’t kill him,” I said dryly. “We’ve still got questions.”

  “I’m not killing him,” she said, kicking him again. “Not yet.”

  I sighed. “And what else-”

  “He didn’t give out all the details,” Amber said, leaning back with a groan and stepping away from him. Loren was already outside again, clutching the zip ties in one hand. Keira inched closer, pulling Glenn’s jacket open. I didn’t stop her. Getting his relic off him was something we should have done long before. “There was no reason for him to. So, sorry, asshole, but I don’t know anything more for you.”

  “Nothing?”

  “I...I got a little more,” her friend said, creeping up alongside her. She cast a look his way, her eyes dark and unreadable, but he only shrugged. “I didn’t...I can’t dig too deep in someone’s mind without them knowing, usually, but he wasn’t always as careful as he could have been.”

  So I was right. He was a mind-reader. Great. The voices in the back of my head were rising again, crowing for my attention, but he was already continuing.

  “H-He was doing it for someone else. Someone important. He seemed convinced that this job was going to be his gateway to greatness. Something to put him on the map for the region. I don’t know.” Starting strong, he ended with a sigh, his words dwindling. “He knew what I could do. He tried to shield himself.” A crooked smile tugged at Nox’s lips. “Most people do. But it’s impossible to be careful all the time.”

  “And you got something,” I said, perking up.

  He shrugged again. “A face. A woman, a little older. Maybe...29? 30? Blonde. Kinda hot, but kinda scary, too. Glenn called her Anke.”

  A chill ran down my spine. We had a name at last, someone to blame for the day’s fight and our injuries. A woman, a demi. A little older, and blonde...the details ran through my head, solidifying and imprinting themselves in my memory.

  And something itched at the back of my mind. Anke. That name.

  I recognized that name. Only, I couldn’t-

  “Anke,” someone said. Their voice was thin, filled with pain. I glanced back, finding Jake limping closer. Loren was at his side, trying to get a look at the wound in his shoulder, but he wasn’t so much as looking her way. “You’re sure?”

  “What’s that mean?” Brendon said, speaking up at last. His face was pale. Clearly, he’d picked up on the tension in the group. His eyes flitted between Keira, Jake, and I. “Who’s Anke?”

  “I don’t know,” I whispered. “But-”

  “Another demi. Big deal,” Jake said, shaking his head. “Runs one of the prime crews, out east. That’s what I’ve heard, anyway.” His amendment at the end was hurried, like he was catching himself. “Heard Matt talk about her, after I signed on.” His eyes flicked to mine, a hint of shame there. “He wasn’t as tight-lipped with his crew as Glenn, apparently.”

  “Right,” I said, the memory igniting and rushing in to wipe away my confusion. “Matt said something about her. Back with that whole mess between him and Aedan.”

  “She tried to weasel her way into the crew for the hunt. Offered him demis,” Jake said, finally letting Loren shove him to the ground. “He kept turning her away.”

  “And now she’s sending crews after us,” I said, my mouth going dry.

  He only nodded, making a face.

  I didn’t have all the pieces. This was still too confusing by far, and there was still too much I wasn’t sure of. But I didn’t have to have all the pieces to understand the direction it was leading.

  “All right,” I muttered, hunching my shoulders a little higher. “Will you two promise to behave?”

  “You have our fucking foci,” Amber said, just a hair shy of a snarl.

  “We’re not going to fight,” Nox said quickly, edging out in front of her.

  A crooked smile tugged at the corners of my lips. He just looked so nervous. “Do either of you have anything on you by way of a weapon?”

  She snorted again. “I could bludgeon you to death with my cell phone.”

  “Amber,” Nox hissed.

  “No.”

  “Fine,” I said, glaring at her. No hint of a lie showed in her words, in the irritated set of her shoulders. “Tyler. Brendon. See them inside. It’s fucking cold. The rest of you…” I glanced at Kai, at Jake. “Get patched up, get the relics everyone dropped. Let me know if I need to make a Meijer run to get anything. If we’re not going to the hospital.”

  “I think we should be able to manage,” Loren whispered, still eyeing Jake’s shoulder. “But you should really-”

  “I’ll be in in just a minute. I need to make a call.”

  “Great,” Keira muttered.

  “What?” Nox said, glancing between her and I with a worried look on his face.

  “Don’t worry about it,” I said, already digging in my pocket. “Just go on.”

  Neither of them looked even the slightest bit happy - not that I could blame them, when I could still feel the weight of their glove and necklace in the inner pocket of my jacket where I’d stashed them, safely out of reach. Their weapons lay in the snow at my feet. I gathered them up into a untidy heap, straightening with a groan.

  A woman stared back at me, her face hidden in shadows from where she stood in the treeline. Her outline blurred into the murk, dark hair and a dark jacket.

 

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