16
Zoey
Stark and I hurried into the administrative offices. Shaylin, Nicole, and Grandma Redbird were looking grim.
“Please tell me Kramisha’s okay,” was all I could make my mouth say.
“She is safe,” Grandma said.
I plopped into a chair and tried to prepare myself. “What’s the rest of it?”
Shaylin and Nicole stared mutely at Grandma. She came to me and took my hand. “All of the fledglings who were working tonight at the Depot Restaurant were killed.”
My hand started to tremble, and Grandma squeezed it tightly.
“One of them managed to get to the trapdoor in the kitchen and close it, bolting it behind her and warning the others before she died of her wounds,” Grandma continued.
“Did they get into the tunnels?” I asked.
“No. Thanks to the heroism of that young fledgling,” Grandma said.
“Humans?” I held my breath.
Grandma shook her head. “They are all gone, u-we-tsi-a-ge-ya.”
“Oh, Goddess,” I breathed the word as a prayer. “How many?”
“Seventy-eight humans.”
“Holy crap, that’s a lot of people.” Stark looked as sick as I felt.
“The restaurant was almost filled with people celebrating the holidays,” Shaylin said.
“How many fledglings and vampyres?”
“All of the waitstaff. There were seven of them. They were all fledglings,” Grandma said sadly. “So, young. They were all so young.”
“There was also a bartender. He was a blue vampyre,” Shaylin said.
“Derek,” Stark’s voice was thick with sorrow. “I knew him. He was a better bartender than archer, but a good guy.”
“The chef, a sous chef, a line chef, and two dishwashers. All of them dead,” Nicole said. Her voice shook like my hands.
“Chef Zachary? He’s dead?” I kept shaking my head back and forth, back and forth. And then a terrible knowing skittered across my skin. “I have to talk to Darius. And Marx. They have to behead or burn the human bodies.”
“Zoey, what is this about?” Grandma asked.
“The red vampyres from the other world are contagious. It’s something in their bite. When they bite humans, they infect them. If they aren’t beheaded or burned they rise in three days.”
“Oh, Great Earth Mother!” Grandma gasped.
“Are they vampyres when they rise?” Shaylin asked. She and Nicole were sitting with their chairs pressed together as if to share the shock.
“No. It’s bad. They’re mindless things that have to feed. And their bites are contagious, too. Then they die, for good, in another week,” I explained.
“But not before they infect a bunch more people,” Stark said.
“It’s the zombie apocalypse. In Tulsa. Unfuckingbelievable.”
We turned to see Aphrodite standing in the doorway. She looked at me. “Don’t worry. Stevie Rae and I clued all the professors in on what’s going on. Well, we didn’t know about this latest horribleness, but still. Stevie Rae went to say, ‘Bye, bye, Birdie,’ before Rephaim flies away … Holy shit, this sounds bad. How’s Other Jack?”
“Fine. Except for his hunger and the fact that he’s going to turn into a contagious, zombie-plague-spreading, nearly mindless red vampyre eventually. Fine,” I said.
“Seriously?” Shaunee said, peeking her head into the office. “Other Jack’s a zombie?”
I sighed. “No. But the bite of an adult red vampyre from his world turns humans into something like zombies. Speaking of Other Jack, could you please grab a bunch more blood and take it down to him? He needs enough to drink now, and a bunch for his minifridge for when he wakes up after sunset. Oh, and don’t go down there alone.” I let my gaze take in the whole room. “No one goes down there to see him alone. Do not trust him. He looks like our Jack. Sometimes he even sounds like our Jack.”
“But he’s not,” Stark said firmly. “He has a hunger that only Stevie Rae and I fully understand. Believe us. He can’t control it.”
“I’ll get Erik to go with me. He’s FaceTiming Joss about the new Fantasyworld episode.”
“Take this.” Aphrodite handed her the Taser. “But I want it back.”
“Okay, no problem.” Shaunee left, calling over her shoulder, “Hey, a bunch of SUVs just pulled up out front. I think the Warriors are back.”
We didn’t even have time to get out of the office when Warriors rushed into the building, bringing frigid air, snow, and a terrible sense of bleakness with them.
“Get the men fed. We have a job left to do.” Darius spoke somberly to the Warriors with Detective Marx standing beside him looking equally as grim and unnaturally pale.
Aphrodite got to Darius first. She flew into his arms and then stepped back quickly. “Is any of that blood yours?”
“No.”
“Are you okay?”
“No. It was—” he shuddered. “It was horrendous. Almost as bad as the Mayo.”
“Where’s Kramisha?” I asked.
Darius met my eyes. “She chose to stay in the tunnels with the red fledglings. She’s leading them in casting a circle and sending up prayers to Nyx for those who were killed.” He shook his head. “I cannot imagine the carnage that would have happened had we not installed those heavy, bolted doors. Those creatures couldn’t get in, though they did dent the steel trapdoor so badly that it will need to be cut off its hinges to be removed.”
“That’s probably a good thing. No one should go into that kitchen until it has been cleaned,” Marx said.
“But they’re okay? Kramisha and the rest of the students who weren’t working at the restaurant?” I asked.
“They are shaken, but physically they are well,” Darius said.
“Okay, come into the office,” I told them. “Shaylin and Nicole, please get Darius and Marx something warm to drink.” Both men were covered with snow. Red snow. I tried not to look too closely at their clothes.
“I shall bring these two young Warriors some towels. Perhaps they would feel better if they could dry off,” Grandma said.
“Yes, thank you, Grandma,” I said. Then I faced Darius and Marx. “Okay, this is going to be hard to hear, so I’m going to say it fast. Here’s what we’ve found out from Other Jack.”
Before I could begin, Marx interrupted. “Who is Other Jack?”
“He’s from an alternative House of Night world, which is where those other red fledglings and vampyres came from,” I said. “He’s a lot like our Jack. Remember? The one who died about a year ago in that freak accident when he fell from a ladder and landed on a sword.”
Marx nodded quickly. “The accident you didn’t think was one, but never were able to prove otherwise?”
“Right,” I said. “Here’s what he’s told us about his world.”
I put it all out there for them. Told them everything—adding the part about the tunnels and that I was going to try to figure out a way to save Other Jack from his impending doom. When I finished there was a long silence, then Darius turned to Aphrodite and put his hands on her shoulders.
“I know it’s something bad. Just say it fast,” she said.
“Detective Marx got a call from St. John’s emergency room. Your mother staggered into the ER not long ago. She’s been bitten, Aphrodite. By a red vampyre.”
Aphrodite wobbled a little, like the ground beneath her had shaken. Then her gaze found mine. “She’s infected.”
“She is,” I said.
“And Other Jack says she’s going to die. For sure. Within three days.”
“Yes.”
“I am so sorry, my beauty,” Darius spoke quietly to her, pulling her into his arms.
I could see her blue eyes, bright with unshed tears.
“All of those humans. The ones killed at your restaurant. They’re going to have to be decapitated or cremated, correct?” Marx spoke into the silence.
“Yes. That’s what Other Jack said.”
“And you trust him?” Marx asked me.
“I do. He wants sanctuary here, so he has every reason to tell us the truth,” I said.
“Then they need to be cremated,” Marx said, sounding a lot older than his years. “I’ll tell the families myself.” He looked at Stark. “How long until sunrise?”
“An hour and a half,” Stark said.
“And you said you’re pretty sure you know where that goddamned horde went? It’s blizzard conditions out there since the wind picked up. We couldn’t track those monsters.”
“I would’ve thought you could track their blood trails,” Stark said.
“That’s what we thought at first, too,” Darius said. “But they took care of that.”
“Huh? How?” I asked.
“They rolled in the snow. Like animals. And then they scattered, all in different directions. We can’t even get canines out there because of the damn weather. They can’t track in a blizzard.”
“We think we know where they are,” I said. “Other Jack told us where they’d go to ground in their world. They’re all red fledglings or vampyres. That means they have to get under cover before sunrise, or they’ll be dead.”
“Even if it keeps snowing and hides the sun?” Marx asked.
“I don’t know if they’re more sensitive than we are,” Stark said. “But I would have trouble being outside during the day for long, even under cover of snow.”
“So, they have to find shelter,” Marx said.
“And it has to be in a public building. They can’t enter a private residence without being invited,” I added. “We need to go to the Philtower tunnels and the tunnels under the Atlas Building. But first we need to send Warriors to the entrances to the other tunnels. Have them be showy. They need to stand where they can be clearly seen by anyone sneaking around outside looking to get in.”
Marx nodded. “Limit their safe places.”
“Act like we do not know that they’ll target the Philtower and the Atlas Building,” Stark said. “Then close in after sunrise and wipe them out.”
“I’ll get my men right on it,” Marx said, but I put a hand on his arm, stopping him.
“It needs to be Warriors. They can’t be turned into, well, for lack of a better word—zombies,” I said.
Marx sighed. “Okay. Yeah. I get it. Your Warriors will take the lead on this one.”
“But the Warriors will need to look like TPD,” Stark said. “If they think they’re only dealing with humans, they’ll get sloppy. They have no idea that vampyres and humans work together in this world.”
“Good point,” Marx said. “I’ll get dispatch on the horn and put the word out to have someone get the hell over here with a bunch of uniform trench coats and hats.”
“Also, be sure all your cops know not to get bitten by any of those creatures,” Stark said.
“Put out another word,” I said. “Tell Tulsa to stay inside. All of Tulsa. Don’t even let the snowplows go out there. We have to keep humans safe from this infection.”
“I’ll call the mayor’s office and brief him. He’ll put out an emergency bulletin telling everyone to stay inside because of the blizzard. But you know Okies.”
“We stand outside and watch the tornados come. I know. Let’s hope we show better sense in the winter,” I said.
“One can dream,” Aphrodite said as Marx started to head back to his truck to radio the really terrible news back to the station.
He paused at the door and looked at me. “Do you know how they got into this world?”
I made the decision quickly. He deserved the truth. Tulsa deserved the truth. “Kalona warned me through a dream that danger was coming.” Marx’s eyes widened at the mention of his dead friend, but he stayed silent, letting me finish. “He thought it might have something to do with Neferet, so we were casting a protective spell over the grotto just in case she was trying to stir up trouble.”
“I thought you said Neferet wasn’t behind this.” I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but Marx blanched even paler.
“We haven’t seen any sign of Neferet, but she is alive and well in the zombie world,” I said.
“Figures,” he muttered. “If it wasn’t something Neferet did, what happened?”
“My mother showed up and screwed up our spell,” Aphrodite said.
“Actually, I think I messed up our spell,” I said. “It was because Mrs. LaFont was screaming at us, and I shouldn’t have let her get to me, but I did.” I drew a big breath and then told on myself. “My hand slipped. I cut myself. And at the same time I remember thinking that if a zombie apocalypse happened in Tulsa it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if they ate Mrs. LaFont.” Miserable, I stared at Aphrodite. “I’m so sorry. I really didn’t mean it. And this is all my fault.”
Aphrodite stared back at me, and then she started laughing. It began as a soft giggle, and grew until she had to lean against Darius, who looked utterly confused and more than a little worried.
“Uh, I’m going to get the ball rolling on warning people,” Marx said, throwing Aphrodite a concerned sidewise glance as he left.
I went to her. She was wiping her eyes. Her laughter had dissipated to soft giggles interspersed with snorts. “Hey. I’m so, so sorry. Truly.”
“Oh, Z. It wasn’t all your fault. I was basically thinking the same thing you were,” she said.
Shaylin cleared her throat and our attention shifted to her. “Um. Me, too.”
“Me, too, what?” Stevie Rae asked as she hurried into the office, holding Rephaim’s hand.
“When Mrs. LaFont showed up at the park I wished she’d drop dead,” Shaylin said.
“Oh, yeah,” Stevie Rae nodded, making her blond curls bounce. “I was wishin’ she’d go away and stop pesterin’ Aphrodite—for good.”
“And I’ll bet if we ask Shaunee, she’ll say she was thinking something about the same,” Aphrodite said. “Don’t stress, Z. My mother has that effect on people. Lots of them have wished she’d die. They just didn’t have the power to make the wish come true. Our circle does.”
Ah, hell … I thought as I pulled Aphrodite into my arms, hugging her fiercely.