Killing Land (Rune Alexander Book 8) (23 page)

“You’ll need to drive,” he said, just as she was about to
hang up. “Don’t run.”

“Why?”

“Because we need a net.
Steal one
from the Annex. It
might
be strong enough to hold this bastard.”

“Shit,” she said, and clicked off.

The phone rang immediately. She’d forgotten Levi was still
on hold.

“Levi,” she said.

“What’s wrong?”

“Denim needs me. Our monster has changed and is wanting out
of the cave.”

“What can I do?”

“Load my car up with the strongest net you can find. Make
sure it’s reinforced and laced with silver and whatever else you can find. The
weapons lab has some crazy shit down there. Grab whatever you think will help.
I have to talk to Eugene and check on Jack and Roma,
then
I’m heading back.”

“He was okay?”

“He was fine.
Just worried.”

He hung up.

She dressed in the spare clothes she’d kept in her locker,
and then ran a comb through her hair as she sped through the hallways, up the
stairs, and toward Eugene’s office.

His secretary caught her before she reached his closed door.
“Ms. Alexander!”

Rune stopped and turned toward her. “What?”

“He’s with someone. If you’ll have a seat—”

“This can’t wait.” She rapped sharply on his door just as
the secretary lifted the phone.

The secretary murmured into the phone and then hung up. “He
said give him two minutes.”

“Dammit.” Rune paced back and forth in front of his door for
what seemed like ten minutes before finally his door opened.

Though she’d expected it, she was still caught off guard
when Gavin and Bellamy Delaney walked out of the room.

The three of them stared at each other for a long, tense
minute. Rune looked at Bellamy, then Gavin. No one said a word.

“We good here?”
Eugene asked,
peering through the doorway.

“Two of us are,” Gavin said. “But one of us is a wicked
little black-hearted bitch with a God complex.”

“And it ain’t me,” Bellamy said.

Rune waited, unmoving, silent.

She was pretty sure they could hear the beating of her
heart.

“Come in, Rune,” Eugene said, at last. “You two report
downstairs. They’re expecting you.”

Gavin took a step closer to Rune. “If you were a man, you
and I would fight.”

“Don’t let that stop you,” Rune said.

“It won’t stop me,” Bellamy said, and while Rune still had
her stare glued to Gavin’s, Bellamy burst into her shift.

She must have put everything she had into her punch—her fist
smashed into Rune’s face and Rune hit the wall like a missile.

The wall exploded when her body slammed into it, and she
felt the back of her head crumble from the force.

When she could see again and the buzzing sound inside her
head had lessened, Eugene and his secretary were leaning over her, both their
faces dark with concern.

The gargoyles were gone.

“Rune,” Eugene said. “Are you okay?”

She felt the back of her head, groggy and disoriented.

“Can I get you something?” he asked.

She had to try twice before she could actually speak. “No.
The gargoyles already got me exactly what I deserve.” She managed to sit up. “I
don’t need anything else.”

He straightened. “I hope that’s the end of it. I can’t have
my people killing each other.”

“Your people,” she said. She tried a snort of derision but
all she managed was to blow a bubble of blood from her nose.

He stomped toward his office. “When you’re able to walk, get
in here. I can give you five minutes.”

It took her two minutes to struggle to her feet. She hobbled
toward his office. Damn fucking gargoyles.

She felt better emotionally.

Physically—not so much.

She grimaced and touched her abdomen.

“Ms. Alexander?” The secretary put a hand to her chest. “Are
you sure you’re okay? I can send for medical.”

Rune leaned against the wall and pushed a little harder on
her stomach. “Feels like one of my ribs broke off and is twisted up in my
belly.” She grinned.

The secretary paled.
“Oh my.”

“I’ll be fine. No need to worry.” She shuffled into Eugene’s
office,
then
fell into a chair. “Shit. Those fucking
gargoyles pack a punch.”

He nodded, giving her a pleased smile. “Any
Other
who can kick your ass is definitely one I want on my
team.”

She narrowed her eyes. “They can’t kick my fucking ass,
Eugene. The bitch sucker punched me. You know I killed the mutant gargoyle and
fucking Gage Delaney. I wasn’t—”

“Rune,” he interrupted. “Calm down. I know what you can do.
Now, why did you need to see me? Jack? I just got the call. The lab has
retrieved the antidote from Gage Delaney and both Jack and Roma have been
injected.” He sat back, shrugging. “Now it’s just a matter of playing the
waiting game—although the doctors have told me that the acid seems to have
halted.”

She gave a long, slow blink as relief spread through her.
“Have someone keep me updated. I have to go back to Killing Land.”

He pursed his lips and squinted at her. “What?”

“The remaining gargoyles are causing trouble. I promised to
go back and help kick them out of town. I shouldn’t be gone long.” She
hesitated.
“A week at most.”

He leaned forward, put his elbows on his desk, and steepled
his fingers.
“Rune.”

“Yeah?”

“Have I ever given you the impression that I’m a
particularly stupid man?”

She blew out a breath and looked at the ceiling. “Fuck me.”

“Why do you need to go back to Killing Land?”

She looked at him.

He
waited,
his stare steady and
calm.

“Gunnar is there,” she said, finally. It was only half the
truth, but maybe it would do. “He’s changed.”

“Changed how?”

“He looks the way he looked before the witch’s spell.
He’s…handsome.”

“I’m happy for him, but you’re not going back to Killing
Land to spend a week with a ghoul. No matter how pretty he is.”

She stood, anger flaring. “Don’t be an asshole. I’m not
going to fuck
him,
I’m going to find out what’s wrong
with him. Why he’s there. If he can…” She paused as a pain shot through her
belly.
“If he can come home to Wormwood.”

He shook his head. “Still not reason enough. I need you
here. If he wants to come home, I’m sure he’ll manage. He’s still a ghoul.”

She gasped and bent over, her arms cradling her abdomen.
“God.”

He stood quickly, alarmed.
“Rune?”

She waved a hand at him. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not.”

She started to tell him to fuck off, but got sidetracked by
the blood pouring from her mouth. She wiped her chin. “I’m not healing. Why the
hell
am
I not healing?”

Eugene punched a button on his desk. “Send medical.
Now.”

“What the hell?” she said. Then, “I’m okay.”

The secretary rushed into the room. “I knew she needed
attention. I’ve called for—”

Rune turned toward her.

The secretary screamed and held up her hands, as though Rune
were about to attack her. “Oh,” she cried. “Lord
have
mercy!”

And Rune knew why the secretary was so shocked.

She could feel blood leaking from…from everywhere.

She glanced down at her legs where blood, thick and red, was
soaking into her jeans.

Something was wrong.

Something was very, very wrong.

“I never felt like
this
,” she whispered, and without
a hint of warning, terror, black and deep, exploded inside her.

“God,” she cried. She held up her bloody hands.
“Get Ellie.”

“I—”

“
Get Ellie
,” she screamed.

How she continued standing was beyond her. She swayed, but
didn’t fall.

Eugene stood behind his desk, his face pale, and picked up
his phone. “Bill. Get to my office.
Now.”

Bill must have asked why.

“Because something’s wrong with Rune,” Eugene uttered.
“Something is really wrong with Rune.” He hung up.

In seconds, medical ops were shoving a gurney into Eugene’s
office.

She wouldn’t let any of them touch her.

No one could touch her but Ellie.

He ran into the office, out of breath, his hand to his
chest. “Move,” he yelled at the ops.
“Out of my way.”

“Ellie,” Rune cried.

“I’m here.” His voice was crisp and sure, and there wasn’t a
hint of doubt in it. But she could see terror in his eyes.

He put his arm around her and guided her slowly, and so very
carefully to the waiting cot. “Lie down, sweetie. Lie down and let’s get you to
medical.” He looked at Eugene. “I want your best doctors on her. Get them
ready.
Now.”

Eugene didn’t hesitate. He began speaking into his phone,
his voice low and smooth and deep.

She couldn’t see him. Large, bright spots began moving and
pulsating and dancing, and she couldn’t see anything else.

“Too loud,” she whispered, because a train was roaring
through the tunnel of her mind and it was so loud.
So
terrible.

Then she screamed as the pain in her stomach grew so large
and demanding that she couldn’t think past it.

Ellis climbed onto the cot and lay down beside her,
then
slid his arm beneath her neck. “Let’s go.”

His body was so warm, comforting, and familiar.

“Ellie,” she whimpered. “It hurts.”

“We’ll fix it. We’ll be okay, sweet girl.”

But his voice was dim and distant and she could barely hear
it because of the train.

She screamed again.

She knew pain.

She’d lived pain.
Invited it in.
Laughed at it.

She’d never felt pain like that.

Torment and anguish and terror twisted and tangled together,
drilling through her insides.

She needed to pass out.
Wanted
to.

But she couldn’t.

She hung on the edge of a horrible consciousness, unable to
fall down into the depths of dark relief.

Sleep wouldn’t have her.

Agony had claimed her, and it was jealous.

Agony wasn’t sharing her.

She tried to shoot out her claws. If they’d have come, she’d
have ripped out her own guts.

“Please,” she begged.
“Stop.”

And the blood continued to flow.

She was aware of it all.

She was aware her mind was weakening along with her body. No
one could bear such pain for long. It would drive her mad if it didn’t stop.

It didn’t stop.

Voices, shouting and calm, angry and
surprised, male and female.

Whispers, but those were from Ellie.

The sounds of clacking cot wheels and
whirrs of elevators that she heard, somehow, over the roaring in her ears.

Light and dark.

And the one constant—pain.

Physical, emotional, complete.

“
Nooooo
,”
she screamed. The
word clawed and ripped its way from her throat, bounced off the walls, and
assaulted even her ears.

They cut the clothes from her body, and she was too weak to
fight them. Air, cold and stealthy, caressed her boiling, agonized flesh.

She felt the blade cutting into her.

Slicing her belly.

Then she was past screaming.

Not because they’d managed to turn off her brain, to make
her sleep. Not because the pain was gone.

She simply had nothing left.

Finally, finally, sleep was there, reaching out to her with
open arms.

In sleep, she would find blessed forgetfulness, if only for
a little while.

So she ran to greet it, exhausted, mad,
half
dead.

But right before sleep claimed her, right before she left
the world and the darkness and the fear, someone—Ellie?—put his lips against
her ear and whispered four words that wrapped her up in wonder and went with
her into unconsciousness.

“Your baby is alive.”

The coffee addicted
urban fantasy writer Laken Cane lives in Southern Ohio with her genius son, two
Yorkies
named Daphnis and Lexi, and one Golden named
Chloe who rules them all.

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From the author—

Authors need reviews
like vampires need blood! If you’ve enjoyed this book, would you consider
rating it and reviewing it on Amazon.com?

Thank you!

Laken

Book List and Reading Order:

1.
    
Shiv Crew

2.
    
Blood and Bite

3.
    
Strange Trouble

4.
    
Obsidian Wings

5.
    
New Regime

5.5 Shadows
Past
(RA Short)

6.
    
Wormwood Echoes

7.
    
The Witch’s Daughter

8.
    
Killing Land

9.
    
In
Progress

Laken’s
Amazon page where you can find her print and Kindle books:

http://www.amazon.com/author/lakencane