Atoning (5 page)

We weren’t about to drive right up to the campsite. Daniel parked a half mile away. Derek wanted to leave Rae there, bound and gagged, and I think we actually might have, if we’d had anything to bind her with. Instead, she walked in front of Derek, who warned that if she made any sudden moves, he’d put her down. We knew he meant “put her down on the ground.” Rae didn’t seem so sure. He didn’t clarify.

We’d just started down a path to the campsite when Maya’s phone chirped with a text. She frowned at it and showed us.

10:55. Moreno: Stay where u r.

10:56. Maya texted back: What?

It took about ten seconds for a reply. When it came, it was one word: STAY!!!

“Huh,” Daniel said.

“Yep, that’s my reaction, too,” Maya said. “It could mean he’s realized Luke is a traitor. Or that he’s seen someone staking out the campsite. Or that he wants us to
think
that, so we’ll trust him when we catch up.”

“Isn’t this guy supposed to be your head of security?” Rae said.

Maya nodded.

“And you don’t trust him?” Rae said. “Maybe that’s a sign things aren’t as good as you think.”

“Things are exactly what we think they are,” Maya said as she pocketed her phone. “We’re in the safest possible situation, which, for us, means we still have to suspect the worst of everyone over the age of eighteen, however much we might like them.”

“And you’re okay living like that?”

“It’s the only way we
will
live. Which is kinda the long-term goal.”

When we neared the camp, we split up. Derek took Rae. Maya and I stuck together. Daniel looped around the other side, to circle in from that angle.

“Up?” Maya said as she scanned the trees.

I nodded.

Being a part-time wildcat, Maya’s a first-rate climber. As for me, it was one of the few physical skills I was good at even before I went on the run—my small size and a few gymnastics trophies made me a natural. Up we went, shimmying into a tree as close to the camp as we could get. Then, we did something I never would have dared before—moving from tree to tree. I’ve had practice, though, goofing around with Maya, and we managed to position ourselves right over the camp.

Maya and I texted the guys to let them know where we were, and then we silenced our phones against the inevitable replies. At a noise from below, we peered through the canopy to see Moreno perched on the same table I’d sat on earlier. He had a beer in one hand and a trail guide in the other. A fire blazed in the pit, the only source of light in the dark campsite.

“You getting that lantern?” Moreno called. “I can’t read this damn thing by firelight. Hell if I know why I’m reading it at all. Those kids are in serious shit when they get back here. We’re not taking them hiking in the morning. They’ll be lucky if I don’t haul their asses home tonight.”

“They’re teenagers,” Luke said. “Cut them some slack. There are far worse things they could do than play hooky for a few hours. I want to see that waterfall tomorrow. I’ll read the trail guide myself, just as soon as I find this lantern.” A shuffle of movement from their tent. “Are you sure you packed it?”

“Yes, I’m sure, just like I’m sure it’s exactly where I said it was.” Moreno snapped the trail guide shut. “I suppose you need me to come there and find it.”

“Well, it’s a little hard to find without actual illumination. You’re the one with the flashlight.”

“Penlight,” Moreno said, taking out his keys and flicking it on. “Which doesn’t do shit, as you’re about to see.”

He stalked off to the tent, disappeared inside and said, “The least you can do is hold the flap so I get some extra light.”

“How? The fire’s over on the other side.”

Moreno grumbled, and I heard him moving things around the tent, saying, “Goddamn it, you made a mess. Why the hell were you looking in my backpack? I said the duff—”

An
oomph
cut Moreno off mid-word. Then, a gasp. Maya was already dropping out of the tree. I scrambled down as the sounds of struggle erupted from inside the tent. Then, the
pfft
of a silenced shot. Maya let out a cry, and a dark shape charged into her, sending her flying off her feet. I hit the ground and took three running steps before I saw who’d knocked her down. It was Derek, now on his stomach a few feet from where she was doing the same.

I caught a glimpse of Rae, hunkered down where Derek had left her, on the other side of the fire. Daniel was running toward them, hunched over. Derek saw me and started pushing to his feet, his eyes so wide I could see the whites. I hit the ground before he got up, and we all went still, gazes fixed on the tent, silent now.

“Fuck.” It was Moreno, the word coming on a heave of breath. “You fucking, stupid kid.
Goddamn
you.”

Daniel veered toward the tent. When Maya and Derek started to rise, he motioned a game plan. They nodded and separated, circling around the tent, animal instincts keeping their footfalls silent.

Daniel glanced my way to make sure I was staying where I was. I can hold my own in a fight, but my powers don’t give me any advantage. In this situation—like when they’d been fighting in the alley—the best thing I could do was stand watch against unexpected interference. That also meant keeping an eye on Rae, but she was staying where she was.

Daniel neared the tent flap. Inside, Moreno was still cursing. A sudden hiss had Derek, Maya and Daniel going still. It was the lantern, hissing to life. I could see Moreno’s figure inside the tent now, crouching as he muttered under his breath.

“Moreno?” Daniel said.

Moreno shot up. “Goddamn it? I told—”

“Throw the gun toward the door.”

A sigh. Then, a thump.

“Yours, too. And if I see you disappear—”

“I’m not going anywhere.” The thump of a second gun. Moreno’s silhouette waved his hands over his head. “Can you see me?”

“Where’s Luke?”

“Well, I’m guessing you heard that shot.”

“Is he okay?” Maya called.

Another sigh. Deeper. “No, he’s not. Dumb kid. Can I come out, and we can have this conversation in person?”

Daniel retrieved the guns and had Moreno walk, hands on his head, to the fire pit. We all joined him there, Derek escorting Rae. Moreno glanced at her, eyes narrowing as if she looked familiar. Then, he said, “Fuck. Is that what this is about?”

“Tell us what happened,” Maya said.

As Moreno started to explain, I leaned over and whispered something to Maya. She nodded, and I went to the tent. Derek watched me but didn’t come after me. I could hear Moreno telling his story as I slipped into the tent.

I tried not to look at Luke’s body. It wasn’t as if I hadn’t seen a corpse before. I’m a necromancer; I see more than I like. A necromancer can’t only communicate with the dead—she can raise them, too, and part of my wonky, genetically modified powers means that my zombie juice is a little overpowered. I’ve been known to accidentally reanimate dead things. Which is not pleasant—for me or the poor spirit caught in the rotting body.

I’d learned to control it, but that was part of the reason I hadn’t asked someone else to run this errand. Dead bodies make me nervous, and the more exposure I have to them, the more confident I get that I won’t have an unfortunate power surge around them. I entered the tent and avoided looking at Luke while clutching my necklace, which seemed to be oddly warm. My sweaty hands, I guess. I walked to Moreno’s backpack, found what I was looking for and left.

Moreno was telling the others that he’d overheard Luke making a phone call, one telling someone we were missing. Luke promised he’d “take care of things.” That’s when Moreno had texted Maya to stay away. When Luke lured him into the tent to find the lantern, he knew he was about to get jumped. He’d used his powers to get the jump on Luke instead, wresting the gun away. In the ensuing struggle, the gun went off, and Luke was now dead on the tent floor. Which was not what Moreno had intended, as evidenced by the cursing.

“Can’t interrogate a corpse,” Moreno said.

“Also, he’s dead,” Maya said.

Moreno muttered that anyone who pulled a gun on him shouldn’t expect to live through it, but he added, “Dumb kid,” with an angry shake of his head, and I knew he regretted what happened. Not that he had a problem with killing someone who posed a threat, but neither Luke’s crimes nor his threat potential had warranted the death penalty.

“So, that’s your story,” Maya said.

“Story?”

She gave him a hard look. “Don’t expect us to believe it just because you warned us. That would be a good way to gain our trust. Killing Luke would be a good way to claim he was the leak, since he’s not alive to claim otherwise.”

“You must have heard us fighting in the tent. You heard him jump me.”

“No,” Derek said. “We heard a fight in the tent and a gun go off. We can’t say for sure who started that fight.”

“So you don’t trust me: the guy who taught you everything you know. I’m guessing if you have her”—he jerked his thumb at Rae—“that’s no accident. Luke’s buddies sent her to trap you, and she thought she was doing the right thing, because, duh, she’s already proven she’s kinda gullible that way.”

“Hey!” Rae said.

“You are. Own it. Fix it. Now, you guys have her, which means you escaped whoever sent her after you. You didn’t escape without a fight, given that bruise I see rising on Daniel’s jaw and the scrapes on Derek’s knuckles. But you escaped, and you came back here, and you captured me. Who taught you all that?”

“Daniel and I had already started learning,” Maya said, “during those weeks you were chasing us.”

“Trial by fire,” he said. “Followed by hardcore, hands-on tactical training. You got away scot-free from these guys because of
my
lessons. And yet now you don’t trust I’m on your side?”

“Nope,” Derek said.

“Sorry,” Daniel said.

Maya crossed her arms and shook her head. I shrugged.

Moreno broke into a grin. “You guys do me proud. I’d give you all a hug, if that wasn’t a little creepy. And if I was the hugging sort. But if you survive the rest of this, I’ll take you all out for beer and ice cream.”

“You don’t need to be sarcastic,” Rae muttered.

“Oh, but I’m not, and they know it. This is exactly what I trained them for. Trust no one except one another. Excluding you, kid, because I don’t know you, and you have a bad habit of screwing up. But these guys are doing the right thing. Next step?”

“Turn the tables,” I said. “Capture someone who’s behind this and get them to talk.”

“Mmm, yes. That would work. But even better?”

“Stop them,” Derek said. “Don’t just take down one. Take them all down.”

“Without running to the Nasts for help,” Daniel said. “Because in another year, some of us will be off to college, and we need to be able to look after ourselves.”

“Starting with
proving
we can look after ourselves,” Maya said.

Moreno beamed. “You guys are ace. See, this is what I told Sean. The best time to train operatives is when they’re still young and malleable. None of that shit about waiting until they’re eighteen and legally old enough to consent.”

Maya shook her head. “I suppose you’d also suggest he have the Cabal terrorize them for weeks first, so they’re properly motivated.”

“Exactly. Personal rights and freedoms are vastly overrated. And there’s nothing wrong with a little PTSD. I’ve always found mine useful. Keeps me on my toes.”

Rae stared at him.

“I’m kidding,” he said to her. “Mostly. Don’t you joke around like this with your instructors? Oh, wait. You don’t have any. Which is why you got tricked—again. And got captured by these guys.”

“Can we tie him up now?” Rae said. “And gag him?”

“Doesn’t do any good,” Derek said.

“We could try.”

“No, actually, Derek’s right,” I said. “Tying him up is pointless. He’s an Evanidus.”

When she frowned at me, Moreno groaned. “No fight training. No intelligence training.
And
no cultural training? You are a half-demon, right?”

“Yes, but—”

“Evanidus half-demon,” he said. “Special power?” He disappeared and reappeared a foot away.

“Oh,” Rae said.

“So there’s no sense tying me up. Just take my keys, and I’ll find my way…”

He trailed off as I held up the syringe from his backpack.

“I know you used tranq darts when you hunted Maya and the others,” I said. “I guessed you’d have some sedative in your first-aid kit, just in case one of us decided to be difficult.”

“Smart girl. Now, uh…before you use that on me…”

“Get you away from here, so if you
aren’t
one of the bad guys, and the
actual
bad guys come looking for Luke, they won’t find you conveniently passed out in the tent.”

“You got it. Hands on my head, I presume? Quick march to a secluded spot in the woods where I can take a long nap?”

I nodded. “First, though, we’re taking your cell phone. Both to check for calls and so you can’t wake up early and get in our way.”

“And don’t forget—”

“Luke’s phone,” Daniel said. “It’s our best source of intel. Take that and search him for a backup.”

“Gold star, kids. Gold star.”

Moreno didn’t walk quietly to his resting place. I don’t think that would be physically possible. He had us bring the phone and tell him what was on it, and then he spent the ten-minute walk speculating about who might be behind the intended kidnapping. It wasn’t blind speculation—it was advice. If it was a Cabal, did we remember our lectures on the differences between them, how to handle each one? If it was independent contractors—mercenaries hoping to sell us to the highest bidder—did we remember what he’d taught us about them? And the various splinter groups—those who’d want to control us and those who’d want to “free” us, what did we know about them? His money was on the splinter groups, but we shouldn’t make any presumptions until we knew more.

We left him, unconscious and resting comfortably, in a safe spot. Then, we plotted. We knew what we had to do. Or three of us did. No, Derek
did
know what we had to do; he just really, really didn’t like it. In the end, we made an adjustment to increase his comfort level, and then we put the plan into action.

“You’re making the right choice,” Rae said.

We were darting along a path, lit only by Moreno’s penlight. I stumbled over a root, and she helped me upright. Dry leaves crackled to our left, but we pretended not to hear them.

“I-I don’t know,” I said. “It doesn’t feel right.”

“And staying in Badger Lake doesn’t feel right either. You know something’s up there. That’s why you’re doing this.”

“I-I just want to talk to these people. I can do that, right? Just talk? You said that would be okay.”

“It’s definitely okay,” she said, gripping my elbow and propelling me along the path. “They aren’t the bad guys. They want to help. Just talk to them, and you’ll understand.”

“B-but what if…”

I trailed off as we stepped into the campsite parking lot. The door on a dark van slid open.

“Th-they’re here?” I said, tensing, as if ready to bolt. Rae gripped my elbow tighter.

“That saves us from having to find them then, doesn’t it?”

We’d guessed it wouldn’t take long for Luke’s compatriots to show up at the campsite. Rae and I had been bumbling around—“whispering” as loud as we could, supposedly in flight from the others—for about ten minutes before we’d heard the van arrive and two people come after us, following through the forest, listening to our conversation.

When I faltered on seeing that van, it hadn’t been entirely faked. I couldn’t help thinking: Isn’t this good enough? We had a van full of the enemy, all focused on us. Derek, Maya and Daniel could jump them and—

And then what? Revert to plan A, where we interrogated someone, got answers and took them to Sean to complete clean-up? No. Moreno was right—we had to dispatch this threat on our own. We also had to think of Rae’s mother, who was with the enemy. If we gave them time to realize their plan had been foiled, they’d whisk her away as negotiating collateral. Or that’s what I’d told Rae they’d do. My fear was that she wasn’t worth enough for that.

“I-I’m not sure,” I said, poised at the edge of the lot.

“It’s okay, Chloe. You want to do this. You
need
to do it. For yourself and for the others.”

“That’s right.” A dark-clothed woman approached from the van. “This is the best thing for all of you. You know that, Chloe.”

“I-I just want to talk. Rae said—”

“We heard what Rae said, and she’s absolutely right. We’re the white hats here. We’ve come to help you. Now let’s find someplace where we can talk.”

“Well, that didn’t take long,” I muttered when I woke with my hands bound behind my back.

“They’re not tied very well,” a girl’s voice said behind me. “Here, lift your thumb about an inch…”

I glanced back. The room was lit only by light seeping under the door, but I could see a girl with long blond hair and a Minnie Mouse nightshirt.

“Liz?” I whispered.

“The shirt gave it away, huh?” she said with a grin. “I wore it for old times’ sake. Thought you’d get a laugh. Of course, I didn’t expect to find you out cold, bound hand and foot. Trying on a little nostalgia-wear yourself?”

“Ha-ha.”

“Okay, now lift your thumb—”

“Leave it for now,” I said. “I can’t afford to go off-script just yet.”

“Ah.” She hunkered down in front of me. “This is a performance piece. Well, that makes more sense. I’d be concerned if you’d really gotten taken captive again. Especially given your cellmate.” She waved at Rae, lying on her side on the floor, unconscious. “Care to give me the Cliff’s Notes version?”

I did, and then I said, “I kinda expected they’d stretch out their good-guy routine a little longer. The last thing I remember I was in the back of a van with Rae. A woman was talking to me, and then I woke up here. Gassed? Sedated? Knocked out? I suppose it’s not important.” I blinked hard and looked around. “This isn’t quite what I hoped for, but I can work with it.”

She laughed, a high girlish laugh. “You should hear yourself, Chloe. Knocked out, tied up, held captive—huh, I can work with this.”

“Not quite the girl you met in Lyle House?”

She went serious, pushing her hair back. “Not exactly, but not all that different either. You had guts, even then. You just didn’t know how to use them. Now you do. We’ve all changed. Evolution, though, not devolution. That’s what Derek says.” She sat cross-legged. “Speaking of the big guy, I’m guessing he followed you here and is lurking around outside.”

“That’s the plan. Except not exactly as you might—”

A commotion sounded outside the door. Then, a snarled, “Get your hands off me. Am I trying to escape? You made your threat, and I’m coming along peacefully, and if you use that damned cattle prod again…”

I didn’t hear the rest of the threat, cut short by Liz’s gasp as she said, “Derek?” and then ran through the wall as I hissed, “Stop! He’s—”

She was gone. A moment later, the door opened. I’d already dropped to the floor, eyes shut. I listened as they shoved Derek inside, with him still cursing and snarling threats.

“Can I sedate him again?” someone said.

“Mike said it just takes longer with werewolves.” A soft thud. “And there he goes. Better lie down, kid. That’s a long way to fall, and you’re going to hurt yourself—”

A bigger thud as Derek slumped to the floor. The man sighed. “I tried to warn him. Okay, two down, two to go. Send out the rest of the team. If the necro and the wolf are here, then cat-girl and the witch-hunter won’t be far behind.”

The door shut. I scrambled up. Liz was kneeling beside Derek. As I crawled over fast, he opened his eyes. Then, he rose, sitting, and gave himself a shake, blinking hard.

“You’re all right?” I said. “That sounded like a hard drop.”

“Yeah, I gotta work on my pratfalls. Having my hands tied doesn’t help.”

He blinked harder, lips curling in a yawn.

“The sedative?” I whispered.

He nodded. “It’s not enough to knock me out, but I could really use a nap.” He made a face. “Just give me a couple minutes.” He shook himself and then peered over. “You’re okay?”

I nodded.

“Yeah, should have asked that first. Definitely a little fuzzy.”

“Are you going to be all right?”

“Eventually. Just hope they don’t come barreling through that door in the next five minutes.” He craned to see his hands. “They’ve done a good job with the bindings. I’ll need to be more awake before I can snap them.”

“Liz thinks she can help me untie mine. If I can do that, you can save your strength.”

“Hey, Liz.”

“Hey, sleepy,” she said, smiling. “You’re a lot friendlier when you’re tired, you know that?”

I relayed the message. He only chuckled, his eyelids flagging. Liz hunkered down, watching him, her head tilted.

“You’ve both learned a lot, Chloe,” she said. “But one lesson he’s not picking up? That you can take care of yourself. I mean, it’s really sweet that he worries about you and looks out for you. You don’t want a boyfriend who doesn’t care. With Mitchell— Oh, wait. I haven’t seen you since Mitchell finally asked me out. On a date. A real one. We went to…” She trailed off and made a face. “Sorry, brain-flit.”

I laughed under my breath. We weren’t the only ones who’d changed in eighteen months. When Liz finally accepted she wasn’t coming back, it had marked a change in her, too. She wasn’t the girl I’d met, flighty and a little bit, well, unfocused. There were still hints of that girl, though—the brain-flits, as she called them, her mind temporarily zigging down another path.

“As I was saying,” she said. “As nice as it is that Derek watches out for you, you’d have both been a lot better off right now if he hadn’t come charging to your rescue.”

“He didn’t,” I said. “It’s part of the plan. It’s safer for me and Rae on the inside if he’s here for muscle. Also, his nose can help us find Rae’s mother. But if Rae showed up with
both
of us in tow, it’d have looked suspicious. So we did it this way.”

“He faked coming after you so he’d get captured. Good plan. But now that I’m here, I can find Rae’s mom for you. You guys hang tight and sleep it off. We’ll spring this trap as soon as I get back.”