Fang Chronicles: Ivan Read online

  There was a knife protruding from her chest with a bloody piece of paper plastered to her shirt. Rondy grabbed the knife, but didn’t pull it out. He tore the paper off instead. I stood over him as we read the message together. It was straight and to the point.

  Kiss your family goodbye

  He looked up at me and I couldn’t even manage to say I was sorry. His bottom lip trembled and he smeared blood across his face trying to stop tears from falling.

  I remained calm though my heart broke for Rondy. “We need to get her completely inside and then we need to leave. I’ll kill them for you, Rondy. Every one of them.” I scooped his mother beneath her arm, pulling her against me tightly while Rondy grabbed her legs and we walked her backward until she was far enough in that I could shut the door.

  “Go wash up and I’ll put her on the couch.”

  He turned away and walked into the bathroom. I knew he was in shock. I lifted her body against me again and awkwardly maneuvered her to the couch. Doing it gently with one arm wasn’t easy, but I managed. Now blood covered me too. I returned to the door and locked it.

  I walked past the open door of the bathroom where Rondy washed up. His shirt was off and he was scrubbing his hands while staring into the mirror. I grabbed clothes for both of us from the bedroom. We had two backpacks ready to go. I walked into the bathroom naked and grabbed a towel. Rondy didn’t look at me.

  “We need to clean ourselves up and get out of here. Can you do that?”

  He continued staring into the mirror and didn’t answer. Suddenly he blinked and looked down at his hands. Slowly his head turned my way and I saw so much sadness. “We need to leave.”

  He hadn’t heard me when I’d said exactly that. I pointed to the clothes I’d rested on the toilet seat. He finished washing himself off and moved around me to grab the clothes before taking them into the hallway. I kept one eye on him as he stripped his pants off and put on what I’d brought him. I pulled on my clothes as he stood and stared at me.

  “You need to say goodbye. I’ll give you a minute.” I knew a minute wasn’t long enough to make peace with his mother’s death, but it was all we had.

  “No, I can’t. She’s gone just like my brother. We need to leave.”

  I’d dropped the backpacks next to the wall outside the bathroom. Rondy picked up mine and handed it over. His eyes were looking nervously toward the back of the couch. I took his hand and led him to the front door. I walked slowly in case he changed his mind about saying goodbye. He didn’t.

  I placed my ear to the door listening. There was no one out there.

  “They’ll be waiting outside the apartment building,” Rondy whispered.

  “That’s why we’re going up and you’re walking softly like I showed you.” I opened the door.

  His steps weren’t entirely quiet, but I didn’t hear anyone coming after us. We had six floors to go up and for some reason climbing them had me thinking of the first night I was here. For a short time, Rondy’s cruddy old apartment was home. We lived in our own special world, but it was past time to move on.

  I opened the door to the roof and looked around. I’d come up here and checked it out during one of Rondy’s trips for food. I knew how we would escape, and Teo’s people wouldn’t expect it.

  “What the hell do we do now?” Rondy was coming out of shock and starting to think.

  “We jump.”

  He looked over the side. “Maybe you can, but there’s no way I’ll make it.”

  “You’re climbing on my back and I’m doing the jumping.”

  He shook his head and backed a foot away. “No fucking way.”

  “Chicken.” I took off my backpack. “Turn around. You’re taking mine until we’re a few buildings away.”

  “This is crazy,” he said as he turned.

  I adjusted my pack over the one he carried. It would be a little awkward for him, but I needed him flush against my back and hanging on tightly with two arms. I stepped in front of him. “Jump on and hold on tight.”

  He made a little hop onto my back. I didn’t give him time to think about it and just started running. I cleared the building with ease, but Rondy had a choke hold on me that was cutting off my air.

  “Loosen up,” I strangled out with a cough.

  “Sorry.” He let me go and slid off my back. We walked to the next ledge.

  “Ready?”

  He climbed back on. “No, never.”

  I should do this more often because it felt wonderful to push my human legs to their limit. Upon landing, Rondy immediately released me. He was laughing this time. A funny feeling came over me. I wished Rondy was beastkind. There were so many things we could do together. Exciting things that I’d never considered. Rondy’s life would be over in a blink, unlike mine. At least if I found a vampire willing to share their eternity with me. If not, I could live like Rondy and grow old quickly. It wasn’t something I’d ever considered, but now… now I just might. This is what caring for a human brought you. It was also the reason beastkind kept their distance from humans. Their lives were too short and becoming attached too painful when humans died. But I think life meant more when it had a limit. I know I felt more alive with Rondy than I ever had.

  “You going to stand there all night or are we making another jump?” He was giving me a strange look.

  I shoved my thoughts away as we peered over the next ledge. It was almost twice the distance as the previous ones.

  “There’s no way you can make that.” Rondy’s voice had a nervous squeak.

  I looked down at the dark alley below. Rondy wouldn’t survive the fall if I couldn’t make the jump. “You trust me?”

  He laughed, and I could tell his adrenaline was as high as mine. “You really think you can make it?”

  “I know I can.” I turned my back and waited.

  I know we looked like idiots with him bigger than me, but I liked the feeling of him risking everything and believing I would pull us through. I backed up a little so I had more room to run and took off. My feet made little sound as my muscles gathered. My foot landed squarely on the foot-high ledge and we were airborne. We hit the next building closer to the ground and I rolled. Rondy got kind of squished, but he was laughing.

  “Who the hell needs Disney World? That was awesome.” Rondy wiggled out of the packs and we both ended up on our backs looking up at the stars.

  Rondy’s stopped laughing and his voice was low when he spoke, “My mother knew Teo killed my brother and she still hung with them for her drugs. She was nothing to their gang, but to her, they were more important than me.”

  I squeezed his hand, not letting go. “My mother was human. They killed her when I was born. It was probably because I was female. I don’t remember her at all. I remember other human women, though. They were weak. You’re not, Rondy. In spite of your mother, you’re the strongest human I’ve ever met. And you’re my friend. I’m sorry your mother died that way and I’m sorry you’re sad about it.”

  He squeezed back.

  A few seconds later, he jumped up. “Shit, they’ll go after Cecily. Shit, shit, shit.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Talya

  They’d said it in the note.

  Kiss your family goodbye

  Rondy told me the chances were good that Teo knew about Cecily. We took the fire escape down the building. I took both packs so Rondy could run faster. A mile away he bent double.

  “Go. You can be there quicker. She can’t die because of me. Please.”

  I wasn’t sure what to do.

  “Talya, they’ll kill her just like my mom. She’s done nothing to deserve this. I’ll stay in the shadows and meet you at her house. You need to save her.”

  I had to do this for him. “Okay. I’ll see you there, but hurry.”

  My heart was thudding so hard it hurt. What if something happened to him? If Teo’s gang found him, he was dead. Cecily was innocent of everything and completely defenseless. It might also be too late.r />
  I ran.

  I know a few late-night stragglers saw me. Hopefully they thought they had had too much to drink. I never checked my speed. When I rounded the last corner, I could see a small bit of light coming through the curtains of Cecily’s front window. Maybe she always left a light on; I just didn’t know. I went through her neighbor’s yard and circled to the back. The chain-link fence was four foot high and I easily jumped it. My stomach fell when I saw her back door standing open.

  I took a slow deep breath to calm myself and listen. It paid off because within a minute I heard a muffled cry. Cecily was alive and she would stay that way. I approached the door quietly while picturing the layout of the house in my mind. I saw a man in the kitchen and quickly stepped into the shadow cast by the back porch overhang. A small light above the stove sent a slight glow across the kitchen.

  “Hurry, we need to get her out of here.”

  I recognized Mix’s voice.

  Cecily gave another muffled cry. It occurred to me that maybe they didn’t plan to kill her right away. If they did, they wouldn’t be moving her. I hadn’t noticed a vehicle out front, but it’s possible they parked farther away because they needed a vehicle to transport her in. I had no idea which cars belonged on the street and which didn’t.

  I estimated that Rondy was about fifteen minutes behind me. I needed to take care of this problem before he arrived. I was unwilling to chance him getting hurt. What sounded like a chair falling over was followed by, “That’s enough, bitch. I’ll break your arms if I need to.”

  I got down low and looked past the door into the room. Three men were standing over Cecily. One was taping her hands behind her back. She had tape across her mouth and she continued to struggle even after the threat. I had no idea if there were other Riots in another part of the house, but I couldn’t wait. I launched from my back legs, grabbed the first man around the neck, and snapped it before he knew what hit him. The guy closest to him grabbed me and I let him. I doubt he knew his friend was dead and that he was next on my list. I bent over, tossing him into the third guy who thankfully fell backward away from Cecily. I leapt over her and kicked the guy I tossed in the throat. I didn’t pull the kick and from the gurgling noise he made, he was done.

  The gunshot blasted through the room and into me. It hurt. I didn’t know if it hit anything vital. I saw Cecily kick out with both legs and hit the guy with the gun in the shins. It’s all the time I needed. I broke his arm before moving to his neck. If anyone else was in the house they would have come running at the first sound of fighting. I glanced down at Cecily and asked anyway, “Are there any more here?”

  She shook her head. I couldn’t believe there was no odor of fear coming from her. She was one pissed off lady.

  “Sorry, this will hurt.” I pulled the tape from her mouth.

  “My arms,” she breathed out on a groan.

  I gently rolled her to her side and tore through the tape.

  “Where’s Rondy?” The words barely left her lips when Rondy ran through the back door. He needed to learn patience and not run in blind. I could only shake my head because we were all right.

  “They shot you,” Cecily said as she touched my shoulder.

  And it hurt. It was the shoulder of my missing arm. If I had to get shot I should consider myself fortunate that it wasn’t through the heart, but at the moment, the burn had me falling to my knees.

  Rondy looked back and forth between us. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I’m so sorry.”

  Cecily was all business. “Rondy, hush. Your friend’s been shot and we need to call the police and an ambulance.”

  “No,” I whispered in panic. “It’s dangerous here and we need to leave.” I looked up at Rondy. “I’ll be okay. Are any of these men Teo?”

  Cecily answered. “I would know that belly-crawling lowlife anywhere. He’s behind this, but he would never come himself. You’ve been shot and you need a doctor. They can’t just barge into my house and shoot my friends. I will explain it all to the police.”

  “She can’t go to the police, ma’am. They killed my mother, and Teo will just send more men after us if we stay. We need to find some place safe for a while.”

  Cecily looked undecided. Finally her gaze settled on Rondy. “Okay. I’m sorry about your mother. Do I have time to grab a few things first?”

  This woman was amazing. Nothing fazed her.

  “Yes, ma’am, I think so.” Rondy looked at me and I nodded.

  The pain was now a steady throb and I compartmentalized it. “We need some items to take care of my shoulder too.”

  “Oh dear. I can gather a few things, but you need a doctor.” She stood and walked to a cupboard, pulling out a large first-aid kit.

  “We’ll need a sharp knife and tweezers too.” My head was spinning, so I grabbed a flowered dishrag and pressed it against my shoulder to stop the blood. If I could walk for hours with a broken leg, I could do this. “We need to hurry.”

  Cecily all but ran from the room and returned a few minutes later rolling a large travel bag.

  “We can’t walk with that,” I all but groaned.

  “Who said anything about walking? Bertha, my beauty, will take us where we need to go. Let me grab another towel. If you get blood on the seat Bertha will understand. She’s temperamental, but all heart.”

  Bertha turned out to be a 1977 white Buick Regal. She looked like new. Not that I’d been around very many automobiles, but 1977 was a long time ago and Bertha was obviously a classic.

  Bertha’s engine purred but Cecily refused to be rushed while allowing the engine to warm. Finally she pulled out of the garage with the care you’d give a new born human baby.

  She looked at me through the rear view mirror. “We need to notify the police or those bodies will start to stink and I’ll never get the smell out of the house. Where are we heading?”

  Rondy sat up front while I was propped against the door in the backseat.

  “Out of town first and find a place to take care of Talya. You can call the police using a payphone when we’re out of Riot territory.” Rondy seemed to have it under control, so I shut my eyes.

  We stopped about thirty minutes later and pulled up to a convenience store. I opened my eyes when I heard Cecily through the car window speaking on a payphone.

  “Yes, that’s my address and there are three dead bodies. Those men broke into my house and tried to kidnap me. I kicked their ass and then some. You also need to send someone to The Ridge Apartments because one of the men said they killed a woman there in 404d.” She took a breath and didn’t speak for a moment. I noticed her jaw tense before she exploded. “You are out of your crab critter mind. That Riot gang is still out to get me. Call the South Side Food Bank and they’ll tell you who I am. I’m getting out of town until you clean up our streets and make it safe for a sixty-five year old woman to live in peace.” She slammed down the receiver and moved with purposeful strides back to the driver’s seat.

  “They asked what my emergency was and I told them. Don’t you think they should have asked if I was okay?” she muttered while pulling recklessly out of the parking lot.

  “Yes they should have, ma’am,” Rondy said respectfully, probably trying to calm her down before she wrecked Bertha.

  I was sure it wasn’t safe to laugh. Sixty-five? I’d never tell her I thought she was much older. I also had a feeling Cecily would be attending our Florida adventure with us. I bit my lip and faced facts. I might be female, but I was alpha. Now I had the beginnings of a clan. Laughable to anyone else, but to me it felt right. Sadness instantly took over. A clan that couldn’t speak in my mind or hear me speak in theirs. I closed my eyes again.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Talya

  I have no idea how much time passed, but the sun was up when I opened my eyes again. Rondy knew I could take a lot of damage and be okay. But we’d never discussed a bullet and its need to come out before the skin and muscle healed over and around it. We had to stop to t
ake care of my shoulder, and I also needed food.

  “Where are we?” I asked groggily.

  “Kansas,” was Cecily’s immediate whispered reply. A ridge of steal entered her voice, “Rondy’s asleep and I need to know more about what’s going on.”

  I looked out the window and didn’t see anything but low hills for as far as I could see. “I need the bullet removed as soon as possible and I need to eat. You deserve to know what’s going on, but could we take care of those things first?”

  She peeked at me in the rearview mirror. “We’re about twenty miles from Wa Keeney. We can get a hotel there and hopefully find a doctor.”

  I didn’t argue about the doctor. I was relieved she was willing to wait for answers. She deserved the truth. Sadly, I couldn’t tell her everything. We pulled into a nondescript and maybe the only hotel in town twenty minutes later.

  Rondy woke up. “I’m starved.”

  I was too, but I needed my shoulder taken care of first.

  “I’m getting us a room and I say we order pizza and have it delivered,” Cecily said as she got out of the car. She stuck her head back in and her eyes drilled me. “We’ll look at your shoulder in the room. I’ve been thinking about it and I know doctors must report gunshot wounds. You’re still alive, so it can’t be that bad. But if I think it is, you’re going to urgent care regardless.” With that said she shut the car door and entered the hotel lobby.

  Rondy turned around in the front seat and looked at me with concern. “They’ll know, won’t they? They’ll know what you are if you go to the hospital.”

  “Yes, so believe me it won’t happen.” We’d ditch Cecily if we had to, but I didn’t want to tell him yet. The thought made my stomach clench. For some reason having her around reassured me and I felt better.