"Mac was bribing people. Daimhn, at the very least. A year in, and the whole thing is a corrupt farce."
"Mac"s dead, and Daimhn can be replaced."
"And who"s going to replace her? You can"t trust a vampire. They thrive on self-survival."
"Plenty of people think of you as a vampire, and you"re not like that."
"Does that mean it"s legal to kill me? I mean, that"s what the shifters thought, right?"
He gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. "Why is it every time I have a conversation with you, I feel a little dirtier about a.s.sociating with the government?"
"I"m not trying to make you feel guilty. I swear, I"m not. I"m just trying to make sense of a lot of things that have been bothering me."
"I"ve been doing that myself. For some reason, it"s easier when I"m not anywhere near the Senate."
"I"ll bet." I leaned forward, instantly uncomfortable as we turned off down a dirt track. Barren trees hung overhead as though ready to pounce. "This is creepy."
"Just another entrance to the rabbit warren that is the old Council hideouts. Out-of-the-way places like this are the only safe place for the Senate sometimes," he said, but he looked uneasy, too.
"I don"t like it in there," I said as the dirt track suddenly ended. Nothing but uneven gra.s.s lay beyond the path, but I knew that a secret entrance had to be nearby. And if we went inside, we would walk down endless white halls until I felt seasick.
"n.o.body likes it here." He got out of the car and waited for me to work up my courage.
When I got out of the car, he nodded. "Let"s get inside. Daimhn"s obviously not around during the day, but the others should all be there by now."
We walked across a field until we came to a very stiff-looking female who glared at us then moved aside, pulling a carpet of gra.s.s up to reveal stairs down that ended in a single white door.
"Come on," Shay said, stepping down.
I took one last look around before following. At the door, he had to show his ID before escorting me inside.
"There are none of your IAs here," I whispered, seeing unfamiliar faces guarding the doorways inside.
"The Senate have a protection crew," he said. "My people weren"t needed today. They have their own routines anyway."
We walked down only one white corridor, but that was enough to spark some bad memories. "Everything changed here," I murmured. "It"s too weird coming back."
"You"ll be fine."
We entered a stark-white room without knocking. The Senate members were sitting around a table, an eerie representation of the old Council and consultants. Behind them stood burly bodyguards, all of them wearing the same uniform, which I didn"t recognise.
"Well, I"m here," I said, taking a seat. "And I didn"t kill anyone, so would you mind telling me why I"m here?"
"Safety reasons," Callista said, sounding apologetic.
"I"m not in danger," I said steadily, but panic had started to rise at the tone of her voice.
"Not your safety," Willow added, refusing to look me in the eye.
"Can one of you get to the point?"
"There"s been another attack by the werewolves," James said coldly. "This time, a jogger was found. She left her house at seven a.m., and when she didn"t return, her husband went looking for her. He found a mangled mess, and he"s about to sue the state for damages. His wife is dead, and he wants to sue. Immediately. That"s the kind of person we"re dealing with. So excuse me if we didn"t want to take chances."
I glanced at Shay. He looked confused, to my relief. I hated to think he, too, had betrayed me. "What kind of precautions?" I asked as calmly as I could manage.
"We couldn"t afford to have you getting in the way," Layla said. "It would have only complicated things. We did this for your sake, too."
"Did what?" Shay barked.
Layla clicked her fingers. A pair of so-called bodyguards stood to attention. "Take her to the cells," she said. "Until further notice. Afterwards, you can follow the rest of your colleagues to werewolf territory."
"What?" I exclaimed as each guard took one of my arms and held on tightly.
"What"s happening on werewolf territory?" Shay asked.
"We"re tranquilising the werewolves," Layla said. "And then we"re going to finish this once and for all."
"You can"t do that," I said. "You can"t just wipe them out!"
"You wiped out an entire species last year. Who are you to talk?" she snapped, then shook her head. "I"m sorry. This wasn"t an easy decision to make."
"You could have fooled me," I spat.
"You"ll be freed as soon as the werewolf pack has been taken care of. We"ve hired professionals to deal with them, and then it"ll be over."
"You told me the shifters were the threat," Shay said accusingly. "You lied to me to get her here."
"We"re sorry," Callista said. "But we can"t afford anything that even resembles a civil war right now. The paragon is insisting, and he"s right. We can"t let any more innocent people die."
"But the werewolf cubs are innocent!" I shouted. "They"re just children!"
"And they"ll grow up to be ferocious hunters that we just can"t handle," James said, but all of the Senate members looked queasy.
"You"re murdering children over one wolf"s actions!" I cried.
"The actions of the first werewolf to decide they"re sick of being controlled," James corrected, and with a wave of his hand, the bodyguards dragged me out of the room.
I sucked in a deep breath once we were out of the room. I could escape two unsuspecting men. I could maybe make it to the wolves before anyone else did. If I were lucky, I would find a werewolf and be able to communicate with him. But the wolf wouldn"t be in human form on werewolf territory. So how could I even talk to him? Carl had already told me how hard it was to keep two cubs from going furry at schoolstaying in human form wasn"t natural to them; it reminded them of captivity. Persuading an adult to turn into his vulnerable form was likely beyond my abilities.
But I couldn"t think that far ahead. I couldn"t doubt myself. I walked obediently toward the cells I hated before abruptly dropping to the ground, weighing the guards down before they even realised what I was doing. I tumbled out of their grip, twisting out of their reach. I swung out with my leg and tripped one, who knocked into the other in the narrow hallway. I could use the s.p.a.ce more efficiently than they could, but if they pinned me, I was screwed.
As one reached out to me, I jumped, grabbed his hair, and used him to heave myself up on his arm with one foot. I threw myself over their shoulders, and as they were still trying to grip air, I grasped both of their collars then banged their heads together. One shoved the other, who knocked against the wall, unconscious. Lucky. The steady one caught me in the jaw with his fist, but I was already twisting away from the full force of the strike. I pushed back, using my spine to pin him against the wall. Gripping his arm and shoulder, I bent and threw him over. In the tiny s.p.a.ce, he inevitably slammed against the hard wall and collapsed atop the other bodyguard.
I heard footsteps and looked up in alarm as Shay came running around the corner. He stopped and stared at the guards in a heap on the ground.
"They"re not dead," I said defensively.
He nodded slowly as he met my eyes. I could only imagine what he saw: red hair falling out of my ponytail, my crumpled and bunched clothes, sweat beading on my brow, and a manic look in my eye.
I bent over to catch my breath. "And if you"re here to stop me, I"m going to have to take you down, Shay. Don"t make me do that. I like you and all, but I can"t let them kill the werewolf children."
"I wasn"t going to help them, Ava." He held out his hand and jangled his keys. "I was going to let you use my car. I"ll keep the Senate distracted long enough for you to get out of here."
I gripped the keys before he could change his mind, then I ran off.
"Ava!" he called out after me.
I hesitated at the corner.
"Use the siren," he said grimly. "And hurry up."
I nodded and sprinted up the hallway. I heard the Senate having an argument behind one of the doors, but I didn"t linger. The team the Senate had hired was already on its way to tranquilise the werewolves. The territory they owned was ma.s.sive, but I had lost the head start, even if I used the siren. I wasn"t even sure if I could find a werewolf on so many acres, but I had to at least try.
I somehow made it out of the old Council"s headquarters without drawing any attention to myself, but I would feel sorry for Shay when the Senate realised what had happened. I was infuriated at the thought of them using Shay to get to me and that the few had made such an arbitrary decision without the say of the rest of the Senate members. Phoenix was going to freak. If he even cares anymore.
I jumped into Shay"s car and started the engine with shaking hands. My heart pounded, and my breathing grew heavy. I could be out of time already. The car cut out, and I swore and tried again. This time, it stayed running. I pulled away from the old Council headquarters and sped on, struggling to remember how to put on the stupid siren.
When I finally figured it out, I jumped from the noise, but at least I was able to speed up on the motorway as cars flowed out of my way as if I were in a dream. The roads were so clear that it might have been a lovely morning to drive if people"s lives hadn"t been depending on me.
Maybe a werewolf had committed the murders, and it was likely one had-even I had to admit that. But the actions of one shouldn"t justify the extermination of the entire species. Even humans punished only the perpetrator of a crime instead of wiping out entire families. And if the Senate set a precedent for taking out an entire species when one stepped out of line, then who knew what it would lead to? I hadn"t fought the Council only to have something worse come along.
The fight wasn"t just about Esther anymore. It was about our country, our future. I didn"t want Emmett, different because he could see and control spirits, or Dita, a descendant of a boginka, to grow up in fear that they might be next. People like Val, and me, would be at risk. I just had to reach the werewolves before the Senate"s goons did. I had no choice anymore.
The drive took too long. I pushed the car as hard as it would go without it spinning out of control. I wasn"t the world"s greatest driver, but something steadied my hands, an inner confidence that I was doing the right thing. Maybe keeping the werewolves alive was a balance of sorts. But a lot of people had wondered aloud whether we needed the werewolves once the Beasts they had helped to destroy were gone.
Yes, I thought. The world needed to keep them alive to understand them. A species who kept their own traditions and cultures while thriving in a brand-new, ever-changing world was something we could learn from.
I felt as though I had taken hours to reach the edge of the werewolves" territory. I pulled onto a dirt road, my heart sinking as recent car tracks led my way. The tracks eventually turned right, so I moved left instead. I knew not all of the werewolves would be in the same place, but I needed to save Icarus. It was the least I could do after everything he had done for us.
I eventually had to leave the car after spinning the wheels in muddy earth until the car was completely stuck. I got out and kicked the tires then set off at a run, trying to figure out scents as I ran. I pushed out with my other senses, and with those, I caught a lot of different energies. The place was teeming with wildlife.
A loud rumbling sound in the distance sent a tremor across the ground. Some kind of large vehicle, perhaps. I rushed to the nearest copse of trees then started to climb. I blew out a sharp breath and squeezed my eyes shut as the world spun. Clinging to a branch, I counted to fourteen before opening my eyes again. I couldn"t afford an instance of the severe vertigo my fear of heights sometimes wrought upon me.
I counted my heartbeats as I climbed, trying my best to calm my frantic thoughts. Fear made me panic. I didn"t need to count to soothe those nerves, I told myself. But sometimes, the numbers were a kind of meditation.
I counted to fourteen five times in total, then I reached a branch high enough to get a good view of my surroundings. Far off in the distance, a line of large transport trucks were coming over a hill. I wanted to cry. If they were ready to transport the werewolves, then I was too late. But surely, they couldn"t have found all of the werewolves so far. They had to be getting rid of them in batches.
And maybe that meant that other werewolves would investigate. They would run straight into the tranquilisers" path. But would the werewolves even realise what was happening to them? Were they capable of warning each other?
Swearing, I slowly climbed down from the tree, debating which direction to go in. I finally decided to run parallel to the path of the trucks while maintaining a good distance between us. There was a chance I could warn off investigating werewolves who came that way, and if worse came to worst, I could steal a truck full of intoxicated werewolves and let them sleep off the drug somewhere safe. The pack would be smaller, but at least some wolves would survive.
With that in mind, I sprinted on, veering away from the trucks until I could barely see them. I was on a clear stretch that was regularly frequented by werewolves if the well-worn trails in the gra.s.s were any indication. I kept running, despite the painful st.i.tch in my side, until I came to a set of half a dozen ma.s.sive flat rocks. I wondered if the werewolves sunned themselves on them.
I thought I heard a sound and reached out with my other senses. Just as a vivid red energy showed up, the head of a man popped up from behind one of the rocks.
"What are you doing here?" he asked impatiently. "You can"t be here today. It"s too dangerous."
"Just going for a jog," I said innocently, pretending not to notice the tranquiliser rifle in his hands. "What"s going on?"
"We"re just transporting some wild animals," he said. "You need to get out of here in case one escapes."
"Escapes?" I wheezed out a fake laugh. "What are you talking about? Oh, my G.o.d!" I pointed over his shoulder. "What the h.e.l.l is that?"
He spun, instantly alert, his tranquiliser gun aimed at nothing. "Where?" he asked, just before I hopped over the rock.
Startled, he tried to elbow me, but I had already wrapped my arm around his neck. Even as he struck, I squeezed. He struggled desperately, but I was desperate, too. I waited until he fell unconscious, then I let him drop to the ground.
Wheezing from exertion, panic, and adrenalin, I bent over and tried to catch my breath. I spotted the rifle and picked it up, and considered shooting the man. But I wasn"t sure if the dosage was deadly for anything smaller than a werewolf or if the sleeping shot was really a killing shot.
Instead, I aimed the gun at the flat rocks and lashed the weapon against stone until it started to break.
"Stupid sodding thing," I shouted. I hadn"t seen one werewolf yet, and idiots with tranquilisers were hiding all over the place. It made me furious. I was too late, and I had failed.
"f.u.c.king Senate! b.l.o.o.d.y paragons! Idiotic rules!" Tears were rolling down my cheeks, and my knuckles were b.l.o.o.d.y from hitting stone accidentally. I didn"t care anymore. I threw pieces of the gun to the ground and kicked them away, still swearing loudly.
I thought I heard a sound. I wiped my face with my sleeves and looked around. The meadow was clear of people, but there were plenty of woodlands that could conceal people with weapons. I had never had a chance to save the werewolves at all.
A twig cracked, and I spun around, instantly alert. And there, from amongst the dense trees, stood an intimidatingly large werewolf.
Chapter Twelve.
The werewolf wasn"t Icarus, and Icarus was the only one I could claim to know. As the werewolf trod softly in a ring around me, I turned, suddenly unsure of myself. If the werewolves really had been killing humans, then they would think little of killing someone like me. They had been bred to kill vampires; the taint of vampire ran through my veins.
"Good werewolf," I said. "Please don"t eat me. I"m here to help."
A rustling from behind drew my attention away from the werewolf long enough for him to pounce. I ducked behind the stones and prepared myself to run for my life. But a harsh growl and a snapping sound made me peek over the stones. Two werewolves were grappling on the ground, ferociously biting at each other"s throats. The fight continued, and when they rolled over, splashes of blood stained the gra.s.s.
"Please don"t be fighting over who gets to eat me," I whispered.
Eventually, the larger werewolf pinned the other by the throat. The loser showed his belly willingly, whining as he did so. The winner licked the submissive wolf"s wounds before letting him to his feet. The loser ran into the woods and out of sight.
The remaining werewolf turned to me, his huge golden eyes expressive as they locked on to mine. It had been a while, but I was sure this wolf had to be Icarus.
"Icarus?" I said tentatively.
The werewolf c.o.c.ked his head to the side and sat down, looking as una.s.suming as a gigantic wolf could. I slowly came out from behind the rocks. The werewolf sniffed the air and growled.
"Icarus, the werewolves are in danger," I said hurriedly. "I don"t know if you can understand me like this, so it would be really great if you could look like a man and have a conversation with me for five minutes."
When nothing happened, I pointed at the man lying p.r.o.ne on the ground. "His people are after you. They"re using tranquiliser guns to knock you all out and take you somewhere to put you down. All of you, even the children."
He didn"t respond in any way.