Frequency (The Frenzy Series Book 3) (11 page)

“I fed from him, Tage.” The thought made my stomach twist uncomfortably.

“And now he needs you to keep it together because
he
needs to be fed, kitten. Did you see how hollow his cheeks are now? The winter has been harsh on him. He needs us to bring meat. We’ll hunt for a few extra things for your family, but you have to chew your willow bark and hold down Ford’s blood or he’ll starve another night. We don’t want that, now do we?”

“No. We don’t.” Tage had a unique way of calming me and putting things in perspective. Most of the time I loved him for his candor.

Tage headed to the river as I started toward the pavilion. Noticing his departure, I stopped. “Aren’t we meeting the volunteers?”

He shook his head. “Not this time. There were no volunteers. We’re just doing this out of the goodness of our hearts.”

No volunteers? No rotation? No treaty? No Roman?

We walked side by side toward the river, the sound of the rushing water growing louder with each step. I hadn’t heard it from this distance in far too long. I hadn’t felt it. I appreciated its darkness; its unsettling, unwavering fury. It wasn’t afraid of anything. No obstacle would impede it. The river would conquer, and so would I.

“How do you feel now that you fed?” he asked.

For the first time since I was turned into a pin cushion, I felt well. Energy coursed through my veins. “Why do I always feel this way after I feed? When I drink blood, even though I can only handle a little, I feel like it truly is possible to live forever.”

Tage put his arm around me and squeezed once. “That’s because it is. If you feed, that is.”

“How do you mean?”

“Every time you feed from a human, you take part of the time they have. The more you feed, the more years you take. Just a swallow gives you months.”

“Isn’t that robbing them of their years? Is that what I just did to my brother?”

“Slow your roll.”

“Pardon?” I clutched my chest. “Did I just take part of my brother’s life?”

“Not exactly. I don’t completely understand it, but that’s how it works on our end. Maybe on theirs too, but you just took a couple of swallows, so don’t worry. And you mostly eat raw meat – or at least you did before those Infected fucks poisoned you. Oh! And you won’t have to worry about them tonight.”

“Why?”

“We’re making a diversion,” he answered, smirking playfully.

I hoped it was a good one.

Tage stiffened as we neared the two trees that now spanned from river bank to river bank. Old and fresh, but both were reminders of nights we would rather have been tucked away safely at home, and of what could be lost in the forest beyond.

“Is my sister going to die tonight?” I asked, watching the water swirl beneath the slickened trunks.

Tage sighed. “I don’t think so. Not tonight. If you’re asking if she will die, the answer is that she was already dying.”

“I hastened the process.”

Tage took my hand. “You were protecting your brother, and the only reason you thought she was a threat was because until I found her in the city, she acted like one. Even if she gets well, if she is somehow able to pull out of this and remain Infected for years, I still wouldn’t trust her. I wouldn’t trust her not to hurt you. So in my mind, and in the minds of your family, you did what you had to. You did what anyone in your position would have done, given your history with her. She has repeatedly attacked you and those you love and you had to protect them, even if it was against her.”

I nodded and he pulled me into his chest. “You did the right thing, kitten.”

If he was right, if I really did do the right thing, then why did it feel so wrong?

“Where is Roman?”

Tage blew out a breath, white mist forming a cloud between us as he pushed away slightly. “I honestly don’t know, but I don’t think Roman would leave Blackwater without a fight…which means we might be in for one.”

Bouncing onto Porschia’s mattress, she popped into the air. She might be taller than me, but she was thinner. She was tiny. “Brought you something!” I whispered excitedly.

“What is it?” Her eyes glittered. She loved the thought of surprises more than the thing itself.

“Hold your hand out and close your eyes.”

“’Cedes, come on. I’m too old for that.”

I tsked her. “You’ll never get too old for fun. Now, hand out, eyes closed.”

With a huff and half a smile, she gave in, holding her right hand out and closing her eyes. I caught her peeking, but didn’t call her out on it.

Releasing the hand full of blackberries into her palm, I watched as her smile lifted her cheeks. She’d been sick, though it was late summer, and I found them while I was out on the hunt. Blackberries were her favorite. Somehow they survived the trip through the woods and back home without being smashed. Mother would have cursed me for having a stained pocket full of smooshed berries, though I did my own wash and had since I was seven.

Porschia opened her eyes. “From the forest? Oh, I want to go with you!”

“No you don’t. It’s boring. Besides, the Infected roam the woods.”

“Everyone says that just to keep children from wandering, but I know they aren’t real. I’ve never seen one. Ever.”

I steeled my shoulders. I didn’t want her to wander, it was true, but that was because the monsters we thought were only ploys used by our parents were actually real. They did roam the woods. The night-walker overseeing our hunt last night had torn one’s head off. It was the first Infected I’d seen up close. He was tall, thin, and his skin was mottled and purple. His eyes were clouded over and he moaned as he stumbled through the woods. Instead of seeing a monstrous creature, I
saw
him. I saw him as he might have been during his life before he became this. Perhaps he was a father, perhaps he held an important job. He was someone’s son, someone’s friend. And now, as if the disease hadn’t robbed him of enough, he was dead.

The night-walker acted like it was normal to walk up to a person and extinguish them. Of course, I didn’t want to be Infected, but what the vamp did wasn’t necessary. He didn’t even see us to hurt us. The man wasn’t fast. He couldn’t have caught us.

But maybe it was for the best.

The Infection had one more victim to add to its tally, hastened by the night-walkers.

The forest might be slightly safer.

The vampire warned us of the freshly diseased. “They’re faster and they still think and problem-solve. They’re dangerous, so the Elders told us to kill any that come near. If it can make it that close to us, it’s a threat. Simple as that.”

That was the first time I met Roman, and I hoped it would be the last.

As my baby sister chewed her berries and offered to share those that remained, I took only a single one. Tartness and sweetness exploded in a symphony of sadness, on what should have been a great moment of sisterly bonding. I couldn’t get the cursed man’s face out of my mind. I couldn’t erase his moans from my memories. I couldn’t help him and I couldn’t shake the fact that I didn’t trust the night-walkers.

“Listen, Porsch,” I said. “The Infected are real. I’ve seen one. They were dangerous and disgusting and…” I grabbed her upper arms and stared in her eyes. “No matter what, you have to promise me never to go into the forest alone. NEVER. No matter what. No matter if someone else is across there and in trouble. You stay put. Get help. But never cross the tree. Okay?”

Porschia nodded, her eyes wide and solemn. “Okay, I promise,” she said earnestly, purple berry skins still stuck in her teeth.

Tage paused at the crossing as he noted that the tree he’d felled was askew. The recent snowfall had melted, swelling the river. The only viable option was to use the old trunk that had served us for so long. He pursed his lips and asked, “Can you make it across?”

“Of course,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I actually feel okay.”

He shoved his hands into the front pocket of his jeans. “You have no idea how relieved I am, Porsch.”

I swallowed. “Me too.” I thought I’d lost everything.

“I thought I’d lost you,” he continued, his brows pinching together. “And that would have killed me.”

My chest tightened and dragonfly wings tickled the inside of my stomach. I smiled, unable to tear my eyes away from his somber gaze.

“I know how you feel,” he continued. “You’ve made it clear. But you mean everything to me, and I want you to know that in case something happens.”

“What would happen?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know, but crazy shit keeps going down and I’m afraid we’re going to get caught in the crossfire again. Who knows how it’ll end? So I just needed you to know that before we went any further.”

I nodded, my throat clamping shut.

Tage nodded back and made his way across the new trunk laying across the river. “Less slippery,” he called back to me.

My boots felt too loose. Feet didn’t shrink, did they? I crossed carefully, one foot in front of the other, listening to the water churn and feeling the wind comb my hair over my shoulder. Tage waited on the other side with his hand stretched out to me. I took hold of his and let him help me the last few steps.

Grinning at him, I said, “I made it.”

“You doubted it?”

“You didn’t?” I teased.

“Not for a second,” he returned. “Or I would’ve carried you across. I won’t let you fall. I’ll do everything in my power to make sure you survive whatever storm is coming, Porsch.”