Текст книги "Through the Zombie Glass"

Автор книги: Gena Showalter

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 11 (всего у книги 25 страниц)

Chapter 13

Let the Dead Heads Roll

In a daze, I made my way to the back of the barn. The slayers had settled in the chairs, all of them cursing and preparing to push their spirits from their bodies. Justin included.

What a shocking turn of events.

Trina gave me a slitted look, and I knew she was commanding me to speak with Cole ASAP.

Soon, I mouthed.

Had Cole welcomed Justin because he hoped to keep his enemy close? Or did he actually trust Justin? Was he using Justin, pretending to trust him in the hopes of gaining information about Anima?

Was Justin sincere, or was he acting as a double agent?

So many possibilities.

One after the other, the slayers stood in spirit form. Except me. I tried, again and again, but each time I failed.

As I struggled, it felt as if someone was holding on to my spirit, forcing it to stay where it was.

Gavin and Veronica took off, followed by Trina and Collins, then Lucas and Mackenzie, Cruz and Bronx. Although it seemed otherwise, no one but me had a partner tonight—and I hadn’t yet been told who that partner was. Everyone was to branch in different directions to cover as much ground as possible. However, no one was to engage until backup arrived.

“What’s wrong?” Justin asked me, hanging back.

Was he my partner? No, surely not.

“Nothing. I’m fine. I can do this.” I closed my eyes. Drawing on every ounce of my considerable determination, I imagined my spirit rising and felt my body respond. But when I opened my eyes, hard hands clamped around me and jerked me back into the chair. What the heck?

Justin shrugged, muttered, “Good luck,” and took off.

Cole crouched in front of me, the only slayer left. Oh, crap. He was my partner, wasn’t he? He looked at the door, then me. The door, me. Indecision played over his features. “Problem?” he asked.

Why not tell the truth? “Yeah, but I don’t know what it is.” Unless...was Z.A. now strong enough to hold me in place?

He looked relieved. “Stay here. I was supposed to be your sidekick, so we were going to cover the same area anyway. I’ll just do it on my own.”

And do it faster, his tone implied.

I scowled at him.

“Tomorrow,” he continued, “Ankh can run a few more tests on you.”

“That’s your answer to everything. Test, test, test. He’s run a thousand already, but hasn’t found anything. There’s nothing else to check.”

“So? He’ll do the same tests again. The results could be different.”

Oh, really? “Do you know the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

“Wrong. That’s the definition of determination.” Cole flattened his hands on my knees. Because he was in spirit form and I was in human, he ghosted through me, somehow leaving a trail of heat behind.

“Just go,” I said, shivering. I motioned to the exit.

“Ali.”

“Go,” I repeated.

His gaze narrowed. “Despite everything, I am your boss, you know. You shouldn’t talk to me that way.”

Whatever. “You’re my boss. My ex. My friend. Sometimes. Maybe. You can’t be all of those things at once. You have to pick one.”

His gaze narrowed further, until all I saw was the darkness of his pupils. “Today I’m picking boss. Tomorrow I might change my mind.”

Frustrating boy. “Go!” Then, to be snotty, I added, “Sir.”

He snapped his teeth at me, the same way he’d done when we first met, straightened and strode to the door. He used more force than necessary to push it open, and then he stomped into the night.

I gazed around the barn. Mr. Holland and Kat were locked in a conversation. Anger and frustration mixed, as powerful as a tsunami, and I banged my fist against the arm of my chair. Leaping to my feet, I paced to the end of the row of chairs, turned to pace back...and saw my body in the chair. Wait. I’d done it? But how? Why?

And why were my legs still burning?

Cole’s touch... The burn...

Did Z.A. fear him? If so, I’d let him put those hot spirit hands all over me and hopefully scare her to death.

His hands...all over me... I shivered, then scowled.

I raced for the door. Because it was smeared with a Blood Line, I couldn’t ghost through. Like Cole, I opened the obstruction and entered the night. I looked, but found no sign of the—

Wait. There was a streak of gold in the center of the yard, as if a tiny lightbulb had been dropped. A Blood Line. I closed the distance, saw flecks of red mixed with the gold and frowned. Or maybe not a Blood Line. I found another streak a few feet ahead and followed it, kept following, going deeper and deeper into the forest beyond the barn.

Trees knifed toward the starless sky, and branches clapped in the breeze. An owl hooted. The darkness was so thick it looked like a black blanket had been draped overhead. Cold air battered against me, and goose bumps doubled parked on my arms. Ahead, to my right, a shadow moved—and another smear was left on the ground. I frowned. The smears definitely weren’t from Blood Lines, for sure, but from someone’s shoes. How? Why?

I quickened my pace, whisking forward. The shadow had stopped. I did the same. Tall, clearly muscled—a male. Black shirt, black pants, blending into the night. A dark bandanna covered his hair. Was he a slayer?

Frosty had worn a bandanna. So had Bronx. This guy pressed his chest into the base of a tree and leaned to the side.

“—can’t believe Cole’s doing this to us,” I heard Trina say.

“I know,” Lucas replied, his voice fading. He must be walking away.

So. The two hadn’t left together, but they’d quickly found each other. Interesting.

“Ali better pony up and take care of this, or...”

After that, not even crickets could be heard.

The shadow moved, leaving another smear behind. I claimed the just vacated spot, then bounded forward, finding the shadow several feet ahead. I pressed into another tree.

“Seriously, what are we going to do?” Trina asked, her voice audible once again.

“Be careful. Guard our words and actions. I’m not giving Justin anything to take back to the Hazmats,” Lucas replied, unaware of his tail.

The shadow was in spirit form, definitely, and he was...spying on the pair?

Sparks of anger burned through me. This wasn’t Frosty or Bronx.

He darted around the tree, and I followed. This time he didn’t linger to listen to anymore of Trina and Lucas’s conversation. He branched off in another direction. I continued to follow, watching for the smears. The little traitor couldn’t hide from me. I’d catch him in the act, and—

Something hard slammed into me, knocking me face-first into the ground. Air exploded from my lungs, and dirt coated my tongue. Stars winked through my vision. I tried to crawl forward, but a heavy weight pinned me down. Fear threatened to overtake me, but I quickly rallied, twisting around and swinging out a fist.

Contact!

Pain cut through my knuckles. Maybe I’d broken one. I’d hit the guy in the jaw—a solid, intractable jaw.

“Let me go!” I demanded, expecting to see red eyes. Paper-thin, rotting skin. Hair, hanging in clumps. Instead, I saw familiar violet eyes...and my blood heated in the most delicious way. I stilled.

“Ali?”

“Cole? What are you doing? I...”

Was underneath him. My thoughts derailed. We’d lain like this before. Every other time, he’d been kissing me. Hands had wandered. My body had come alive. I didn’t have my body this time, and yet I felt even more alive, as if I were connected to a generator, my nerve endings buzzing with energy.

His gaze drilled into mine...only to lower to my mouth and linger, everything about his expression softening. His breathing changed, emerging shallow and fast. “Are you okay? I couldn’t see it in your body, but your spirit is gaunt. You’ve lost weight, and there are shadows under your eyes. I wasn’t sure if you were a hiker who’d been lost for several days or a zombie.”

I stiffened, trying not to panic. “I’m okay.”

“Good. That’s good.” His thumbs traced the rise of my cheeks. “Ali...”

I knew that look, that tone, that touch, and knew where this was headed if I didn’t put a stop to it. “Get off me,” I said, ashamed of my sudden breathlessness.

He stayed right where he was. “What are you doing to me? How are you making me forget what’s best for me... For you?”

“What’s best?” Maybe, if he said it, I would finally believe him.

“Me...Ronny. You...Gavin.”

No, I still wasn’t convinced. “Wrong.” I didn’t worry about his words coming true later on, either—not in terms of spiritual law. My free will was not on board. I turned my head away, peering up at the sky. “I’m not attracted to Gavin, and you’re not attracted to Veronica. Not anymore.”

“You’re right. I’m not.” The perfect answer—until he added, “I don’t think.”

The addition stung. Pushed me over the edge of calm.

I gripped his jacket, shook him. “Do you really think you’ll be happy with her?”

“I don’t know.”

“Heck, maybe you will be, at least for a little while, but if you’re true to habit, it won’t last and you won’t stay with her.”

He glared at me. “I don’t have a habit.”

Blind! “You seriously don’t think you’re so afraid of losing the people you care about that you cut them loose before they ever have a chance to get inside your heart?”

He took my hands and pressed them into the ground, over my head, forcing my back to arch and my chest to rub against his. “There are people in my heart,” he gritted out.

What he didn’t say but I heard anyway: just not you.

Have to stop setting myself up for this kind of rejection. “Maybe we’re both wrong. Maybe you don’t even have a heart.”

“Oh, I have one.” Eyes narrowing, he reached down with his free hand and parted my legs, giving himself a deeper cradle—a perfect cradle—and foolish, foolish Ali let him. Hardness against softness, male against female. “I just don’t want it broken.”

“So you go around breaking other people’s?”

“I didn’t break yours, and you know it,” he snapped. “You got over me pretty fast, and I did my best to get over you.”

That was all he said, but I knew. In that moment, I knew. “You’ve already done something with Veronica,” I said flatly.

A dark curtain fell over his features. I waited for him to deny it.

He didn’t deny it.

He nodded.

Even though I’d guessed, shock hit me with the force of a baseball bat. Shock and betrayal. I had no reason to entertain the betrayal. We’d broken up. But...but...here he was, on top of me, and here I was, loving every sensation, and meanwhile, the memory of messing around with Veronica was new and fresh and burning in the back of his mind.

I pushed him off and jerked upright. “I think I hate you.”

“You aren’t the only one. I think I hate myself.”

I was done with this topic. It didn’t matter. It couldn’t matter.

What did you do with her? I almost shouted.

Shaking, I said, “Why did you tackle me if you thought I was a hiker?”

He drew in a deep breath, slowly released it. “A hiker sneaking around, as if looking for someone. I didn’t want to take any chances.” He scrubbed a hand down his face. “Everyone leaves and your ability to spirit walk magically starts working again? You got something to confess to me, Bell?”

I reeled for a moment. “Just what are you accusing me of, Holland?”

“Were you spying on me?”

He... Oh... I gasped and sputtered. “I was not. I was spying on a spy. Was that you I saw skulking after Trina and Lucas?”

A moment passed, the silence laced with incredulity. Cursing, he settled back on his haunches. “Someone was tailing them?”

“I think so, yes.”

“What did he look like?”

“Like you, only not quite as tall. Strong. Wearing a bandanna.” Cole wasn’t wearing one. “His shoes left little golden smears behind.”

Hope filled his eyes, softened his features. “Show me.” He stood and helped me do the same.

Having his fingers intertwined with mine...the warmth, the comfort...I liked it, wanted more and hated myself far more than I hated him. The moment I was upright, I released him. My mouth dried as I backtracked, looking for that last smear I’d seen.

“There,” I said, pointing. “Do you see it?”

“No.”

No matter. He’d never been able to see the Blood Lines, either.

He examined the area. “Is there another one nearby?”

I searched and found another and another, but after a while the smears vanished. Either the guy had left the area or he’d overheard us and had known to take off his shoes.

“Okay. All right,” Cole said. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “The spy has been verified, at least. And now I know he’s male. That cuts my suspect list down.”

“You suspected there was a spy.” A statement, not a question. That was why he’d been spying.

He leaped into action, closing the distance between us. When he reached me, he grabbed me by the shoulders. “You will not tell a soul, Ali. Promise me.”

Had I been a suspect, as well?

Anger returned, white-hot. “Why did you let Justin back in? I know he helped us before, but how do you know beyond any doubt he’s not double-crossing you?”

He shook his head. “I’m not talking about this.”

“Not with me, you mean. Have you discussed it with Veronica?” Stop. Just stop.

His nostrils flared. With anger? With relief? “Do you want to hear what happened with her?” he asked tightly.

Yes! “No.” I don’t know.

“I’ll tell you. I think I actually want to tell you. Then you’ll stay away from me, even when I’m stupid enough to come sniffing around. I’ll finally stop wanting what I know I can’t have.”

I glared at him, saying, “You don’t have to say another word for that to happen.”

“I was at home,” he began. “She came over.”

I shook my head. “Shut up.”

It was an order, but it wasn’t his will. He continued. “I had been drinking. I never drink, but I was trying to forget about you.”

“Shut up!”

“I had been drinking a lot. I kissed her. I thought about never being with you again, and I was angry with you, thinking about you with Gavin, and I kissed her with everything I had. I took off her shirt. I touched her.”

“Shut up!” He was throwing the details at me as if they were weapons.

They were.

“She unbuckled my pants. I—”

“Shut up, shut up, shut up!” I was standing in front of him before I realized I’d moved. Both of my arms heated to a nearly unbearable degree, as if I was about to ash a zombie. But when I raised my hand and swiped at Cole’s cheek, the flames crackling from my skin weren’t white—they were red.

Cole tumbled to the ground as if he’d been hit by a Mack truck. He quickly jumped to his feet, now watching me warily. His cheek was split, but because he was in spirit form, the wound wasn’t bleeding. His body would be, though. Back at the barn, I bet crimson streaked his face.

“What’s going on with you?” he demanded.

Feed from him.

The words whispered through my mind, and I didn’t care who had spoken them. Hunger gnawed at me, relentless. Yes, I would feed from him, would feast on his spirit. Scowling, I stalked forward. The red flames moved to my shoulders. I swung out my arm, but Cole ducked. He could have launched a counterattack, could have kicked my feet out from under me. Instead, he straightened, his hands fisting.

“Don’t do this,” he said.

Not my will. Do it, I would. I circled him, our gazes locked together.

FEED!

“Go ahead, finish your story,” I commanded, doing what he hadn’t done and kicking out my leg. His ankles knocked together, and he tumbled to the ground a second time. The bottom of his pants burned away, revealing another gash in his skin. A gash I had caused. My feet were also covered in red flames. “Help me be sure I hate you.”

“Is that what it will take?” He stood, saying, “She went down on me. And you know what? I liked it.”

With a screech, I lashed out at him.

He dodged.

I would have done it again, but my gaze caught on the fireworks exploding in the sky. One after the other, the other slayers were shooting off their flares. Everyone, it seemed, had spotted a zombie.

Don’t care.

A twig snapped.

My gaze whizzed to the left, and I saw red eyes peeking from the brittle wall of foliage.

Still don’t care.

Cole moved closer to me, perhaps to protect me from the coming battle. When I scented him, my hunger spun out of control. I growled at him.

He looked at me.

I stepped forward... When I’m done, there’ll be nothing left of him... The world around me began to darken, until a black sheet enveloped me.

“No,” I shouted.

Oh, yes.

I think...Z.A. was trying to take over.

I—she—continued forward in spite of the blindness, tripped.

“Ali,” Cole said, concerned.

Time seemed to slow down as I fell, landed. Sound faded from my ears. Except for one.

Tick. Tock.

Chapter 14

The Slaughter of the White Queen

I blinked open my eyes and realized I couldn’t catch my breath. Why couldn’t I catch my breath?

I took stock. I was standing. My clothes were torn, and I was splattered in black goo from the top of my head to the soles of my feet. I had cuts on my arms and stomach. My entire body was shaking, as if I’d run the treadmill for hours, all uphill.

The forest around me had been torched. The trees were now naked, their leaves burned away, their branches covered with ash. Zombie ash? Or...slayer? The ground was just as bad, black and charred, no grass remaining.

Cole was on the ground, alive. Thank God! There were patches of black all over his skin. He’d been bitten multiple times, and his features were contorted with pain.

“Ali-gator,” he gasped out.

I rushed to his side, and he flinched, as if he thought I meant to hurt him.

I frowned. I remembered...throwing a punch at him. Yes, I’d thrown a punch, and he’d ducked. He’d told me about kissing Veronica, about the other stuff they’d done—even now I choked on a well of pain. A need to feed from him had consumed me, and I’d attacked him in earnest. Then...nothing.

“I’m so, so sorry,” I said, sliding my hands under the hem of his pant leg. The antidote was strapped to his ankle. I freed the syringe, and though I was trembling uncontrollably, managed to shove the needle into his neck.

He’d done this to me countless times, but I’d never had to do it to him. I remained by his side, watching, waiting. At last, the black began to fade from his skin, and he sagged into the decimated ground.

All of the cuts and gashes remained. At the barn, his body had to be covered in blood.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Do you not remember?”

I chewed on my bottom lip, shook my head. Z.A. had spoken to me—yes, that was right. Oh, good glory. She’d taken over.

Wincing, he sat up. He didn’t meet my gaze as he said, “Your eyes went red, Ali, just like the zombies. The creatures arrived and ignored you, treating you as if you were one of their own. You burned the trees and—”

I gasped. “I burned the trees?”

“You touched them with the red flames, and the leaves instantly withered.”

Tears welled in my eyes, and they stung, as if they had been fermenting, ready to spring for weeks, but I hadn’t let them. “Did I do anything to you?” Was I responsible for any of the damage?

He fingered the gash in his cheek. “Something’s going on with you, Ali,” he said, ignoring my question.

I had. I’d hurt him.

“Yes,” I whispered. I couldn’t keep quiet anymore, whatever the consequences were for speaking out. I’d known I was a danger but hadn’t taken enough precautions to protect my friends. “Mr. Ankh told me my blood work was fine, but, Cole, that can’t be true. I’m filled with zombie toxin. It’s there, inside me, and it’s alive. A part of me. A new part. I’ve seen her—heard her.”

I waited for hatred to gleam in his eyes.

I waited for a savage rage to be unleashed.

He had to kill me now. I was the enemy.

“What else?” he asked.

I blinked, confused. “Urges come, dark urges, and I find myself giving in. I never would have believed it unless—”

“What the hell happened?” Gavin demanded, cutting me off with his arrival.

I looked over in time to see him and Veronica stalk past the trees I’d burned. Z.A. might have done it, but she’d used my hands. The realization still flayed me.

The pair was as battle-wounded and dirty as Cole.

Cole reached out, squeezed my wrist. “I don’t want you to say another word about this,” he whispered.

He didn’t plan to tell the others? Why? To protect me? Maybe. What would happen if the slayers learned what I’d done to him? I’d be thrown out, no question. And they’d be smart to do it.

He lumbered to his feet, dragging me with him. “Let’s get back to the barn,” he said.

“Cole!” Veronica rushed to his side and cradled his battered face, tilting his head from one side to the other to study his injuries. “Sugar, you look like you’ve been mauled by a bear. Are you okay?”

Sugar.

“I’m fine.” Clearly uncomfortable, he set Veronica away from him.

I was too wrung out to feel jealousy just then. Or anguish. Or longing. Yeah. Way too wrung out.

I swiped at the sting in my eyes with the back of my hand.

She tossed me a glare meant to slay me on the spot. “I thought you had special powers or something like that. You should have protected him.”

“Yes,” I said sadly, “I should have.”

Gavin wrapped his arms around my shoulders in a surprising show of support, and I leaned against him. I was getting more and more comfortable with contact with him—and I wouldn’t let myself think about what that meant. It wasn’t romantic, I told myself, and that was all that mattered. “Catfight round two can wait. Cole’s right. We need to get back to the barn.”

Cole stepped toward us, the menace I’d expected earlier now radiating from him. His gaze moved from Gavin to me, then to Gavin again. He looked 100 percent capable of murder. Then he stopped himself and spun away.

So badly I wanted to follow him, to catch up to him. It was utter anguish denying myself—fine, I was feeling it—but I couldn’t risk another fight with him. Besides, I had a spy to catch.

He led the way through the forest, Veronica staying close to his heels. Along the way, we met up with Frosty and Justin, and I did some mental measuring. They were both about the size of the spy I’d seen. But then, so was Lucas. And Gavin.

Gavin also wore a bandanna.

The spy had to be someone close to our circle. I mean, the guy had known the location of Cole’s barn and that we would be on patrol tonight. But...I didn’t want to accuse any of the slayers. I might not be able to trust myself right now, but I did trust my friends. Even, surprisingly enough, Gavin.

In a lot of ways, he was like Cole. He got in your face with his with beliefs and opinions. He was fearless, cared nothing about consequences. But he was fierce when it came to the safety of his friends.

I had a lot to think about.

“What I’m about to say is true, so I’m not simply making it true in your life by speaking it, if you know what I mean, but she’s a terrible enemy to have,” Gavin said softly.

“Who? Veronica?”

He nodded.

I shrugged. I’d had enemies before, and I would make many more, I was sure. “What do guys see in her anyway? I mean, she’s beautiful, but that’s all she’s got going for her.” I think what I was really asking was—what did Cole see in her?

Gavin looked straight ahead. “She’s actually a very nice person, but envy has turned you both into raving– Well. Never mind. I want to keep my balls. As I was saying, she’s smart, and she’s funny, and the best part is, she puts out.”

Was sex always on his mind? “Your words are like poetry.”

He chuckled, saying, “I admit I’d like to take her to bed, have since the day I met her, and she’d let me, I think, if she weren’t so determined to win back Cole, but unlike your Mr. Holland, I’ve never hooked up with another slayer. I like to keep business separate from pleasure. A cliché, I know, but there are far less complications that way. As I’m sure Cole is learning.”

“I’m a slayer,” I pointed out, “and yet you keep asking me out.”

“You’re also not my type. Or you weren’t. I’m not sure what my type is anymore. You resist, and it drives me wild.”

“That’s sad.”

“That’s life.”

I rolled my eyes, a common occurrence in his presence. “You might be the weirdest person I’ve ever met.”

“Thank you.”

“I don’t think that was a compliment.”

“Agree to disagree,” he said.

We entered the barn, and my spirit jerked from Gavin’s grip, flying forward as if tugged by an invisible cord. I skidded across the room and...boom!

Gasping, I pried open my eyes. I was sitting in the chair, spirit and body joined.

Mr. Ankh knelt in front of Cole, already patching up his injuries. Just as I’d suspected, he was covered in blood.

New to-do list: Find a way to disable the zombie inside me. Kill the zombie inside me. Still do whatever proves necessary.

He blinked open his eyes and grimaced.

Mr. Ankh said, “You need stitches, son,” and began digging in his bag of supplies.

A lump grew in my throat as Cole’s gaze met mine. Violet against blue. A cold mask against sorrow.

I’m sorry, I mouthed.

He nodded, looked away.

Would he cut me from his life now that he knew about Z.A.?

It was better than death, and yet almost as painful.

“Where’s Kat?” Frosty demanded. Like Cole, he was covered in blood.

Without looking up from his task, Mr. Ankh replied, “When you started bleeding, she started screaming, and I insisted she go home.”

I bet he’d had to threaten to ban her from the building forever to actually get her to go.

Frosty raced out.

“Everyone’s been injected with the antidote?” Mr. Holland asked.

I hadn’t, but then, I hadn’t been bitten. Still, I requested a dose and received it a few minutes later. The cool stream came with a measure of strength, stopping my trembling.

“Zombies were everywhere, man,” Gavin said, standing. “We couldn’t contain them all.”

“Yeah, and they seemed to know exactly where we’d be,” Lucas threw at Justin.

Justin shot to his feet. “I didn’t tell anyone about tonight. I didn’t know I’d be meeting with everyone until fifteen minutes ago, when Cole came and got me.”

“Ever heard of a phone? Texting?”

“Cole watched me the entire time. And do you really think a zombie is capable of taking my calls?”

“You were in the locker room alone for several minutes. You could have gotten a message to someone at Anima,” Trina spat. “They could have arranged this.”

“You think I’m wearing a wire, too?” He ripped his shirt over his head, revealing a hard, cut physique I hadn’t known he had.

A hand penetrated my line of sight, and I glanced up. Gavin stood in front of me, offering me assistance. I twined our fingers, and he tugged me to a stand. I wasn’t as strong as I’d thought, because my knees almost buckled. He wound his arm around me and held me up.

A chair skidded. I saw Cole stand, brush Mr. Ankh aside and stalk into the locker room. The door slammed shut with a loud bang.

Of course, Veronica followed him.

* * *

I fell asleep thinking about ways to disable Z.A. Cut off my hands? Remove all my teeth? Then I’d live, and she’d have no way of hurting anyone.

Let’s make that plan B.

The ring of my cell woke me. From the bed, I blindly reached out, patting my nightstand. “Hello,” I rasped when the phone was at my ear. What time was it?

“You missed our appointment, Miss Bell.”

Dr. Bendari?

I jolted upright. The fancy wall clock said it was 5:59 a.m. I’d set my alarm for six, and—my phone vibrated, right on cue. I needed to get ready for school.

“Something came up,” I said. “I tried to call, but you shut off your phone.”

“A necessary precaution.”

“And why is that?”

“Do you expect me to believe you don’t want your slayer friends to capture me?”

Reverse psychology? Please. “I’m the one with doubts, Dr. Bendari. You could be planning to murder me.”

“I guess we’re going to have to trust each other. Are you still interested in meeting?”

“I am.”

“Good, because I’d like to hear about the trouble you had last night.”

Had he sent the spy...his source? “How do you know about that?”

I imagined him shrugging as he said, “How else?”

“Well, the only way your source could have heard about last night’s activities was if he was at the scene.”

A chuckle devoid of humor crackled over the line. “Is that so? Well, you should check the morning news reports.”

The news? I scrambled for the TV remote, pressed Power. Colors filled the screen. I switched channels and came to—

“—awoke to find twenty-six people had died from antiputrefactive syndrome,” a reporter was saying. She stood on a street, the address of a neighborhood close to Cole’s scrolling across the screen.

Antiputrefactive syndrome: when the human body was infected with zombie toxin. Although civilians had no idea that was the cause.

The reporter continued. “Last year, two local high school boys died of this rare disease, and citizens were told it was not contagious. Just a month ago, an elderly man died. How and why are so many infected? The CDC has arrived, and the houses of the affected have been quarantined.”

Dr. Bendari sighed with regret. “People were killed, Miss Bell. People who will rise again. Zombies entered their homes and ate every bit of their humanity, leaving only evil behind.”

“Why?” The moisture in my mouth dried. “How?”

“Not every home has a Blood Line.”

That would change, I thought, fisting the comforter. Soon.

For once, the C word actually empowered me.

“The zombies are mutating,” he explained. “Just like you are mutating. They’ve become hungrier. They’ve become stronger. They—”

My door burst open and banged against the wall. Mr. Ankh and Mr. Holland strode inside. Both were scowling with a fury they’d never before directed at me. My heart drummed inside my chest, nearly cracking my ribs.

“What’s going on?” I demanded. “What are you doing?”

Dr. Bendari said something, but I couldn’t make out the words.

“Come with us, Ali,” Mr. Holland said. “Now.”

Dr. Bendari went quiet.

Last night, Gavin had dropped me off and I’d showered, dressed in a tank and boxer shorts and fallen into bed. The men weren’t seeing anything they shouldn’t, but I was still embarrassed. “What’s going on?” I repeated. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me.”

Mr. Ankh popped his jaw. “There’s something you need to see.”

I severed the connection with Dr. Bendari and stood. I was led down the hall, down the stairs, down another flight of stairs and into the basement. The air grew cooler and danker with every step, and I felt a layer of ice glaze my skin—one that matched the layer growing inside me. At the end of a hallway, we paused at the only door. It was closed and locked. Mr. Ankh pressed his hand against a new ID box, and a bright yellow light flashed.