Chapter Twenty-Five

Luke

 

Following behind Kal, Fallon, and Jeques, I had a terrible, gnawing sense of déjà vu. Guilt and anger burned through me in equal measure, rolling up and choking my throat.

However, every time that happened, I’d close my eyes and think of Reagan, watching me leave this morning. Standing at the counter in her baggy pajamas. Or those nights last week, laughing next to me on the back steps and watching the stars.

Reagan soothed the fevered wounds all over my broken soul.

Just the other night, sitting there quietly, Reagan had started picking out random stars. Wondering aloud if there was life on other worlds, and if they did that, too. If they made wishes and traced constellations from the chaos. If they told stories about beings looking at their suns.

For some reason, it had made me think of Pop. He’d loved to sit out back and watch the stars, teaching me the names and old myths.

A strange thought had crossed my mind, one I hadn’t been able to shake.

Did Pop send Reagan to me?

I thought about it now, as I went to meet the woman who’d collected money on my father’s death and tried to collect money on me. Mercurial and cruel, someone who enjoyed being vapid.

God, I’d been such a stupid, lovesick kid.

I wouldn’t waste my time on someone like that again.

Not when I’d found the real deal.

 

We were meeting the SB down on the coast, maybe twenty-five miles from Winfyre. I hated that they were so close. Pretending to want to strike a deal, while plotting to get us to bow to their hellish plans for the Riftborn.

At first, the SB had gotten shifters by promising to help them. People had flocked to them, husbands bringing wives, mothers bringing children, and sons bringing fathers.

Those people had been herded down white, sterilized halls into the gullet of the SB and were never heard from again. When families demanded answers, they were told shifters were dangerous. That’s when the Bloodlust rumors had started, the checkpoints, and the violence.

Later, I was certain that Lind had started those. She was twisted enough to suggest something like that. Again, I wondered just how long Lind had been involved with the Stasis Bureau. How much she knew about the Rift.

Was the SB responsible for the Rift? It was a reoccurring question. They did seem to have more knowledge about it than anyone else. Privately, I thought it was giving them too much credit.

Up ahead, Kal, Fallon, and Jeques had broken the tree line and were striding to the sea. I crept as close as I dared, being careful to keep downwind.

SB had clearly picked this spot so they could flee to their boats if there was an ambush. Shifters got into position around me, silent and tense. We’d swept the area twice, but it was hard to shake the threat hanging over us.

Kal’s shoulders were straight, and he was swelled to his full height, looking as though he could block out the sun. Jeques stuck close by, straight and serious, while Fallon ate up the distance with her long legs.

I had to hand it to Xander. SB had said three shifters, and he could not have picked three more complementary fighters.

There were three figures waiting for them, and, for a moment, my vision went red.

Lind was there. With Sarrow and another man, an older guy in glasses who was hunched up and out of place. I watched as she lifted her hand in an airy wave, a gesture I recognized.

It was hard to stifle the rage pouring through me.

But it wasn’t only for my father. It was for every shifter she’d used for her own ends.

Getting my breath back under control, I glanced over my shoulder as Tristan slid in next to me. His tail wouldn’t stop flicking, and concern glowed in his deep gold eyes. I bobbed my head, and his body relaxed, then we looked back to the beach.

All ears cocked forward as the SB spoke.

“Jim Terthal, Lieutenant Sarrow, and you know me, don’t you, Kallen Deacon?” Lind had the oozing, husky voice of someone who’d happily smoked their lungs away. “And Fallon, hello. Where’s my darling ex-fiancé? Hiding with his tail tucked between his legs back in your castle?”

“What do you want?” Kal asked.

“Mm, always knew I should have dated you, Kal,” Lind said, and Tristan let out a soft snort. “I always liked the strong and silent type.”

“Tell us what the hell you want, or we’re leaving,” Fallon bit out.

“How about you watch your mouth, half-breed,” Sarrow said.

“Lind, Sarrow, please,” Terthal said, and Lind gave an irritable twitch, evident from here. “We are here because we’ve made great strides in the stasis-shifter balance. In fact, we think—”

“Not interested,” Kal grunted.

“Excuse me?” Terthal sounded flabbergasted.

Suddenly, I recognized him, as I was sure Tristan already had. He’d been a pharmaceutical bigwig, always sliding his way out of one lawsuit or another, while kids died, and old people shelled out thousands for his shitty drugs. This was some trippy shit—why was he here?

“We’re offering you a solution, fleabag,” Sarrow said. “You want to stay that way?”

Kal didn’t respond, but I imagined him coolly assessing Sarrow and lifting one eyebrow.

“Yes, like Sarrow said,” Terthal gabbled. “We’ve found a way—well, we think we’ve found a way to turn off the receptors that trigger the shift, and—”

“And how many shifters did you cut up on the lab tables to get it?” Fallon asked in a dangerous voice, and Kal’s hand shot out, restraining his cousin. “I know you, Terthal, and you’ve got a funny way of putting a price on life and death.”

“Fals,” Kal rumbled, and she subsided. To the three from the SB, he said, “Not interested.”

“Wait, wait, that’s not why we’re here,” Lind said. “Jimmy, you’re making a mess of this. Be quiet. Listen, Kal, darling. We are willing to recognize Winfyre as a free and safe haven for shifters, declaring your territory a neutral, non-bounty zone, and, in fact, even expanding your borders.”

“Are you, now?” Kal sounded amused. “For what?”

Lind licked her lips and glanced at the men next to her. “Do you know what a vryke is?”

Kal shrugged, while Tristan and I glanced at each other. Did they want us to catch it?

“It’s an Excris, some kind of invisible monster. Or, at least, it was. See, our boys caught sight of it, which means it’s hunting.” Lind moved in closer, and the three shifters tensed. “Relax. It doesn’t go after shifters, but it is after someone we want. Someone we think is in Winfyre.”

Reagan.

I’d asked Xander to hold off on making any calls until she was better. Only a few of the top shifters in Winfyre knew about the vryke and its connection to Reagan. I hadn’t even discussed her abilities in full with him yet. But Kal knew.

And he was pissed.

“Let me get this straight,” he said in a voice of sharp disgust. “You want us to hand you over someone who sought sanctuary in Northbane territory? I knew this would be a waste of time, but I didn’t realize it would make me sick as well.”

“Well, uh,” Terthal blustered, “this is important for all of us.”

“Yes, big guy, rein it in.” Lind laughed. “As a gesture of goodwill, we will let you in on a little secret. There’s a new threat to both shifters and stasis. New Excris have been popping up all over the place. That vryke was just the beginning.”

Kal didn’t react.

Now Lind was furious. “That Riftborn might be the best chance to hold these Excris at bay!”

“Hardly see how that’s a secret.” Kal shrugged. “New Excris appear all the time. Sounds to me like you don't want to admit you've finally found another use for Riftborn besides lab rats.”

“No, no, that isn’t it,” Terthal said in a smooth voice. “Riftborn and you shifters, especially, represent a new phase in evolution. An entirely new branch of science—I mean, think of your healing abilities. The SB is here simply to ensure we’re capable of handling all these new developments.”

“New developments?” Fallon asked. “Is that what you’re calling it?”

“Tell that to the families you tore apart,” Kal said, and I knew he was looking at Lind. “And the innocents you bagged for a pretty penny.”

Her lips curved in cruel delight. “I’ve always had a good nose for business, darling. Can’t blame a girl for being entrepreneurial.”

“Supply and demand,” Sarrow grunted.

I started forward, and Tristan nudged me.

There was a tense silence, which Fallon broke. “You don’t even know if the Riftborn is in Winfyre. Sounds like you want us to go tracking for you. No thanks.”

“Oh, we know they’re in there,” Sarrow snarled, and Lind glared at him, but he continued on. “Why else do you think we keep trying to find a way in?” His chest puffed out. “And we’ll find it. We almost got in last time, and—”

"And you got chased off," Kal replied. “Like the small pests you are.”

“No thanks to your boy Swiftlore, there, eh?” Sarrow rubbed his shoulder. “Tell ’im I haven’t forgotten what his mountain lion buddy did to me. Or that witch girl.”

“Shut up, Sarrow,” Lind said and rolled her eyes. “We’ve all heard this story a thousand times.”

“If you’d just consider—” Terthal began.

“No,” Kal said. “I’ll let you all in on a secret, too, as a gesture of goodwill.” He seemed to grow taller. “Stay out of Northbane territory.”

“You’re askin’ for war, boy,” Sarrow rumbled and went to draw his blade. Tristan and I made identical movements, but Kal had shifted and knocked him down, then shifted back, one boot on Sarrow’s chest. He yelped and tried to swivel away. “When we get in, I’ll destroy every damn—”

“When?” Kal interrupted in a dangerous and dark voice. “I think you mean if.”

Lind and Terthal, wisely, had backed up.

Kal gave them another cool look, then turned and walked away. Fallon and Jeques followed.

None of them looked back, nor did anyone help Sarrow up. Lind was yelling at him, and Terthal had pulled out a military-looking phone.

Since I knew other shifters would stay and keep an eye on them, Tristan and I retreated. We raced to Winfyre. Outside of Cobalt, we met up with the three diplomats.

Kal’s eyes met mine, and he shook his head. “We would never turn her over to them—you have to know that, Luke,” he said.

“I do,” I said and swallowed hard. “But this changes everything.”