Matter of Truth, A (16 page)

“How long have you known Will was a Métis?”

I turn away from the few dozen people mingling nearby to
face Karl. “Believe it or not, only a couple of days. I know it sounds stupid,
but I didn’t even know he was part Elf.”

It was decided an hour ago that a Métis meeting was needed
to help address what was going on with the Elders. A telephone tree was
enacted, and now here we are in the warehouse Cameron manages surrounded by
dozens of terrified people and children. Looking around, I’m shocked to see
just how many of the species are present. Human, Elvin, even Gnomish and
Dwarven traits pop up in the faces before me.

“This is crazy.” Karl’s voice drops so only I can hear it.
“I mean, I obviously knew that there were half-breeds out there, but . . .
whole communities? How is it that Annar isn’t aware of this?”

I counter with something that I know will upset him. “What
if they are?”

Bingo. He bristles big time. “Wouldn’t they have done
something if that was the case?”

“Karl, you’ve been friends with Callie for a long time.
C’mon. Look at how she feels people still treat her at times, and she’s the
daughter of an extremely influential and powerful Seer. Wouldn’t it make sense
if she still gets treated like she’s a second class citizen that others would,
too?”

His answer is a grunt.

I stuff my hands into my coat’s pockets. “If the Elders are
attacking the Métis, then we need to do something to help. We can’t turn a
blind eye now that we know.”

Karl reaches out and fingers the lapel of my coat. “Did you
make this?”

Uh, subject changer, thy name is Karl. “Yes. Why?” I’d made
the coat during my binge of Magical creations after I caved into my craft.

Karl’s smile is slight buy sly. “It’s a replica of Jonah’s
coat, right down to the button sewn on with red thread instead of gray. The
only thing different is this coat is white.”

I start, staring down at the button he’s mentioned. I’d
stolen Jonah’s well-worn and well-loved gray pea coat to wear numerous times in
the past. It was comfy and smelled just like him, all minty and warm. This one,
though . . . “Huh,” I murmur. “I guess I didn’t realize I did that.”

“That seems improbable.”

“No, I mean—I’d needed a new coat.” I guess I was
unconsciously searching for comfort.

Talk of Jonah reminds me of where he is and what’s going on
around him. Karl must see the panic on my face because he says, “I got an
update on the mission while you were in the shower tonight. He and Kellan both
checked in with Zthane on time. The Guard is requiring them to check in every
two hours.”

I want to press for more about the mission, but Erik is
asking everyone to quiet down. Once they do, he recaps the situation for the
crowd. After eight months of quiet, the Elders have reappeared and managed to
catch a thirty-something Métis named Burt Eversgreen unaware. His body was been
found on the outskirts of Anchorage; apparently, according to Erik, it looked
like he aged a hundred years in death.

In all the time I’ve dealt with the Elders, I’ve never seen
a victim before. Or even thought to ask what happened to them. “Is that
normal?” I whisper to Karl.

He nods gravely.

For nearly fifteen minutes, debates rage on about whether or
not people should flee Anchorage and find a new city to colonize or even go
underground. Will eventually joins us at the far edge of the room; we are the
three outsiders in a group of outsiders.

“What are we going to do about this?” Will whispers to us.

Karl’s eyes don’t leave the trio of Métis debating the
merits of joining Oklahoma City’s colony. “Meaning?”

“They said that there were a handful of these beasties. I
suggest we go find them and kick their arses. That way, nobody will have to
leave.”

“Are you serious?” Karl asks, voice low. “We need to call in
a team to scout for them.”

It’s obvious this displeases Will. “What, like one of your
Magical Guard teams?”

I take a deep breath and remind myself that I no longer have
the luxury of being a coward, even when I’m scared at the mere thought of what
I’m about to say. “Between the three of us, I think we can do it.”

I briefly debate if I just lost my mind, especially with how
Karl is glowering at me.

But no—this is the right thing to do. “Lee is still in town,
right?” He nods, so I continue, “If need be, we can get him to track their
location. But Karl, let’s be honest. No team is going to effectively neutralize
the Elders. Now that we know I can do it—”

He leans in and practically hisses, “From what you two told
me, you two very nearly didn’t come out the victors. Look at you. You’re a mess
and will probably take a Shaman at least an hour to fix apiece. I shudder to
think just how much blood you lost. Or what that guy over there even replaced
it with.” I open my mouth to counter him, but he steamrolls over me. “Have you
forgotten in this last half year that we must have a living Creator?”

My spine straightens. “No. But I’m not going to stand by
while these things hurt people. I can . . .” I can’t say it, can’t willingly
admit how easy it is for me to murder beings, even ones as evil as these. So I
compromise with, “Take care of the Elders. None of the rest of you can.
Somebody died here in Anchorage, and chances are, it was because of me.”

“Don’t you think that’s going a bit too far?” Will murmurs.

“Not at all. The Elders have left Anchorage alone for
awhile. You heard what Cailleache said. They want
me
. They’re looking
for
me
. Burt is dead because he happened to be in the city where they’re
hunting
me
. I am not okay with anybody risking their lives because they
happen to be caught in the crosshairs of the Elders’ efforts to get to me.” I
look up at Karl. “I hope you don’t make me issue an order, because I’d hate to
pull rank on you like that again. But the simple fact is, several Elders have
been sighted in town. You know they’re looking for me—and now possibly you,
since you’re here, too. It is imperative that we take care of this matter
now
.”

Karl studies me for a long, uncomfortable moment. It’s then
I notice that the room has hushed and all eyes are on us.

But then an amazing thing happens. He smiles. It’s not a big
one, nor is it snarky. He’s proud of me, and that means the worlds right now.
“Tell me what you need from me.”

Relief whooshes out in a surprised breath. I tap his hand.
“This.”

He makes the call to Lee Acacia.

While Lee scouts the area for the
Elders so he can lure them towards us, I’m taken to a few of the larger Métis
homes nearby to reinforce their walls. Cameron and Erik organized everyone into
groups for safety and have warned them to only leave these houses when absolute
necessary until Karl and I have had a chance to deal with the Elders.

Even still, the Métis regard us suspiciously; their distrust
burns, but I can logically get where it comes from. Whispers always follow
us—our crafts rather than names are thrown around—but I force myself to ignore
their fears and instead focus on my own.

Because, yes. Obviously I have fears. A ton of them are
filling me up, like sand in the proverbial hourglass. The last time I faced a
single Elder, she nearly killed me before I figured out what I was doing.
Before that, one shattered my kneecap and arm. It’s not like I haven’t risked
my life with these things before. And now? I’m purposely seeking a group of
them out in an effort to take a stand.

Only a fool wouldn’t be scared. Or Will, who practically
radiates his boredom as he drives me around Anchorage. I wish I had his nerves.

At the last house, right before I leave, the owner, a pretty
thirty-something named Kathryn comes up to me. Her voice is quiet and sweet as
she tells me her story. “I was born in Annar, but left with my mom when I was
eight because people were really mean to us. I was called a freak by the kids I
went to school with. My mom was made to feel like the only reason my dad was
with her was because they got pregnant while dating. Which—it was true, but I
genuinely believed my parents loved each other, despite their fighting.” Her
smile is shaky. “Shows what I know. My dad is still there, said he couldn’t
give up being a Magical, not even for his family. I haven’t seen him since the
day he closed the door behind us. He doesn’t know my children. He didn’t see me
graduate high school or college. I have to admit, I’ve hated Annar for a long
time, believing it took so much away from me. But tonight . . .” She sucks in
her lower lip as she studies me. “You don’t have to do this. You’re willingly
going to go stop these things, and . . .” Her slim hand grabs mine. “Thank you.
I’ll be praying for your safety.”

Will’s phone beeps; it’s a message from Karl.
Lee says 4
incoming. Get ready to get back to warehouse.

We hug goodbye; when Kathryn closes the door, I alter the
wood until nothing can bust it down. And I vow that the she’s not going to have
to fear door closures anymore. Not from me, and not from Annar.

Because the Elders aren’t the only thing that needs to be
taken down.

“This is stupid,” Will says. “You
two need to be with the others. After all, aren’t you leader-y types?”

Cameron merely smiles indulgently at his son. Erik motions
at Karl and me like we’re idiots. “What if you bleed out? What then? I’ll be
damned if Annar comes blaming the Métis for the loss of two of their more
powerful Council members. You two need me and my skills here.”

Karl says, “I can call in a Shaman—”

“The closest portal is in Juneau,” Erik counters. “That’s a
twenty-two hour drive; even by airplane it’d take too long. When you’re losing
blood, even an hour is too long to wait.” He motions to a small cooler on the
floor that holds bags of blood. None of them are specific to Magicals, but he
claimed, since they came from first generation Métis donors, they’d do in a
pinch until Shamans can check us out.

“Well, then you two are staying in the office.” Will peers
out of the window; according to Lee, now lounging on Cameron’s old couch while
flipping through a fishing magazine like he hasn’t got a care in the worlds,
the Elders were last spotted a mile and a half away from the warehouse.

“Don’t worry, hot stuff,” Lee drawls, without looking up
from an article on the best flies to use. “I won’t let anything happen to dear
old Papa and his friend.”

I think I preferred his stutter.

Will snatches the magazine out of his hands and tosses it on
the table. “If I’m not mistaken, you’re a Tracker.”

Lee snatches it right back. “That’s right. Since you’re new
to the Annar scene, let me illuminate you. Not only am I brilliant at finding
tangible items and people, I am also quite adept at locating hard to find exits
and hiding places.” He flips the magazine open to the page he’d last been on.
“Therefore, let me once more reassure you that if things go south for you all
out there, I will ensure that these two make it to safety.”

As the two of them jockey for who can outsnark the other, I
pull Karl to the side of the room. “Can I borrow your phone?”

There’s no hesitation. “No.”

I sigh through my nose. “Look. I totally butchered the last
call. I don’t want Jonah not knowing how much I love him if I go and die
tonight or something.”

Karl leans back against the wood paneled wall. “Then don’t
die.”

Did he just really say that? “One call—”

“Last I heard, he’s working the riots; his position is
precarious, at best. As it’s not likely that Jonah has a team of bodyguards
around him to protect him from bullets, there’ll be no distracting him from his
mission simply because you’re finally willing to step up to the plate after
abandoning him.”

His kick to the gut lands exactly where he wants it.

The hard angles of his face soften a tiny bit when he leans
forward. “As somebody who has a Connection, I can safely say that, no matter
what he thinks and feels about you right now, Jonah is aware that you love
him.”

He doesn’t understand. I try again. “He also knows I love
his brother. It’s—he needs to know that I—”

Karl’s not having any of my rationalizations, though. “I
guess that gives you incentive to get us out of this alive tonight, huh?”

I’m not the one to answer him, though. Screaming in the
distance does it for me.

“Ready?”

I can’t help but smile at Karl’s whispered word, because,
honestly. What a ridiculous question. Is anyone ever ready to go to battle?
Take a chance and know it could be your last? Die? Granted, I have the upper
hand—I can actually kill these things. Only, I apparently need to be up close
and personal to do so, which means, while I can kill them, they can kill me
just as easily. My Frankenstein monster-like stitched up body is a living
reminder of that.

But I tell him yes anyway. I have to be ready. I have too
much to lose right now if I’m not.

We’re barricaded inside the office, just waiting for the
proverbial hammer to come down. Will lets out a long, quiet breath, his focus
on the ceiling, the sword he fought with before now remade and tight in his
grip. I think even Karl is nervous—not that he’d show us, but he’s quieter than
normal. And it just serves to remind me that it’s my duty to protect these men
that I love, that even though there are four Elders out there and we’re
outnumbered, I’m going to make sure Karl gets home safely to Moira and Emily,
Will escapes unscathed (well, at least not adding copious amounts to his
laundry list of current injuries, anyway), Cameron and Erik are untouched, and
the Métis in Anchorage are safe once more.

“You should have a weapon,” Will tells Karl. Naturally, Karl
holds up his fist. “Yes, fine, you’re badass with the earthquakes and all, but
are you really ready to send Alaska into the Dark Ages because of these
arseholes?”

Karl’s smile is vicious. “I don’t need to hit the ground to
have an impact. You guys said they bleed. If they can bleed and be staked to
the ground, my fist can connect with their matter. I might not be able to kill
these things, but I should be able to knock their asses out long enough for
Chloe to do her thing.”

Will’s impressed.

I whip up a multi-view screen on one of Cameron’s office
walls that shows us the activity outside the door. These things have once more
molded themselves into humanoid shapes, and in the dark, their nebulous forms,
floating a good couple of inches off the ground, are the creepiest things I’ve
ever seen. Plus, there’s the whole bit where, like Cailleache, they’ve all
extended their limbs with weapons.

Frankly, I want to shriek in terror like some chick in a
horror film. Turn and run and hide. One was bad enough. Four? Four is flat-out
petrifying. What was I thinking, luring them here?

Courage, I tell myself.
Think of everybody who’s counting
on what you’re about to do.
I force myself to take a deep breath and count
to ten. Then twenty, as Karl begins to detail our plan of attack.

When he’s done, he asks me once more if I’m ready.

I nod and place my palms down against the stained concrete.
Within a second, I’m kneeling in dirt. Cameron and Erik both gasp quietly in
the background, but I can’t let myself be distracted by them.

“Lee?”

He’s somewhere right behind me. “Yeah?”

“Remember what you promised. Any signs of trouble, and you
get these two out of here.”

He lightly touches my shoulder before backing away. I count
to ten once more and then reach out and grab an arm of the two men insane
enough to willingly fight with me. “You don’t have to do this—”

“Not this fucking speech again,” Will mutters.

“Chloe.” Karl’s eyes bore into my own. “If you think I’m
going to ever send you out in a situation without my protection, then you don’t
know me at all. I made that mistake once; I won’t fail you again.”

What is he talking about? “You’ve never failed me!”

“I did. Last year, when I left you alone in a house and one
of these bastards came and used you as target practice. I should have been in
there with you.”

My insides go a bit gooey. “You have nothing to feel guilty
about.
Nothing
.”

“Funny. Kellan and Jonah both felt quite differently.” He
pulls me in for a brief hug, before shoving me away. “Behind me at all times.
Got it?”

I nod.

Will positions himself at the rear of our line. I’m
sandwiched in between the two men that have become more family to me over the
years than my own biological one. I don’t care what anybody says. These two are
my brothers. And like good big brothers, they think they’re protecting me from
the boogeymen outside.

The truth is, I’m the one who’ll be protecting them. Because
I’ll lay down my life today to make sure they get out of here alive.

The door and surrounding walls
disintegrate when Karl kicks it, shards exploding out into the warehouse. It’s
enough to both alert the Elders and stun them, because for some dumbass reason,
they don’t charge us immediately in the bottleneck.

I cock an arrow in my bow as I reconstruct the door behind
me, reinforcing it until I know nothing can get in there that I don’t want to
be there.

Whispered words echo through the room until it surrounds us,
filling the air from ceiling to floor:
Earthmover.
Creator.
Half-breed who reeks of metal.

It’s Karl’s first time hearing them talk, let alone see
those gaping maws that serve as mouths, but he only falters a single step.
“Well, well,” he says, voice loud and clear, knuckles cracking as he flexes his
fingers, “there’s a party going on and I didn’t get an invite. That makes me
sad.”

The whispering transitions to hissing.

“Perhaps it’s a party of stray cats,” Will says. He taps the
blade against an open palm. “It’s one’s duty to neuter such creatures, lest
there be hordes roaming the streets.”

I choke back my laughter even as the Elders approach us from
four sides. But we’re now standing in the close triangle Karl wanted us in.

“You killed Mother.” The one closing in on me says this,
black smoke trailing from its mouth. It’s male, that much is clear. And pissed.

Will’s blade swishes in the air until he’s standing in
position, blade out. “Let’s not give our friend here all the glory. I made sure
your mum was stuck like a pig on a spit before Chloe killed her. It was a team
effort.”

Karl wants us to get them mad. Anger allows confusion and
poor judgment. So I add as nonchalantly as I can sound, even though my knees
are knocking and my palms sweating, “She bled. It was nasty looking, though,
all dark and steamy in the snow. Sort of like . . .” I’d snap my fingers if I
weren’t holding the bow so tight. “Acid. Will? Would you say that it looked
like she had acid dripping out of her? It would make sense, as she was a
monster and all.”

I’m pretty sure the hissing and screaming just burst at
least one of my eardrums, not to mention every window in the warehouse.

“Was she maybe a Gorgon?” Will muses. I’m still amazed at
how calm he portrays himself. “Oh, wait. We didn’t turn to stone when she
looked at us. Pity, as she was an ugly thing.”

Apparently insulting one’s mama serves as their breaking
point, because all four charge us, lightning fast. Karl swings an arm out, his
fist colliding hard with an Elder. What I can only describe as a sonic boom
detonates in the warehouse, breaking the last bits of glass that hadn’t already
shattered from their screaming. Will and I both stumble to our knees, but we’re
right back on our feet in time for what’s coming at us.

Thwang
. Reload.
Thwang
. Reload. Two are
charging me, which, I get. Big catch apparently and all, but they’re lithe like
Cailleache and able to dodge most of my shots. Out of the corner of my eye I
see Will kick an Elder right in the middle of its so-called chest, sending it
sprawling.

Karl shouts, “Ten seconds!”

I fire another arrow. It streaks against an Elder’s arm; the
monster streaks high into the air above us, momentarily losing its shape as it
howls in mixed rage and agony.

Ten seconds. Karl unleashes a sonic boom against these
things and they’re only down for ten effing seconds.

Thwang. Thwang.
I want to check in on Will and Karl,
but I have to trust they’re holding their own. The two hunting me charge at
once, and the next thing I know, I’m on my ass in the dirt, my shooting arm
bleeding like a geyser set free.

I bandage it up immediately. But the attack served its
purpose—our triangle has widened.

A shriek comes from my right—Will’s blade made contact. I
scramble over to where he’s got the Elder pinned to the ground. “Do it!” he
yells. The Elder thrashes against the sword, ready to rip its body right off.

One of its knife-hands slashes me as I approach. My breath
sucks in at the pain, but I’ve got to get close.

“DO IT!”

Two sonic booms go off behind us, rattling me down on my
hands in the dirt. But it’s enough of a jolt to get me close enough. I stretch
out my fingers and make contact, even as it slashes frantically at both Will
and me.

It feels cold and hot at the same time. Like . . . cotton
balls with splinters. It’s a disgusting sensation. I want to jerk my hand back,
but Will yells once more, as another sonic boom sounds, “FUCKING KILL THE
THING, WILL YOU?”

When I will it out of existence, I collapse, my chin hitting
dirt. Will immediately yanks his sword out of the ground and hauls me up.
“Karl’s got one down. Go!”

His blade swings out in an arc at an approaching Elder.
Boom
.
It’s hard to stay on my feet, but I dart over to where an Elder lies,
unconscious. And . . . I spoke too soon, because its pseudo-eyes open the
moment my hand touches its chest.

I go flying through the air, landing right on my quiver,
sending a sharp spike of pain straight up behind my eyelids.
Holy effing
hell
.

BOOM.

“Chloe!” Karl yells. His swinging fist makes no contact this
time. He’s bleeding heavily, his dominant arm slashed to ribbons. “They’re
adapting! Eight seconds!”

I scramble over to where the Elder who just fell is, trying
desperately to ignore that lightning pain threatening to consume me. For
insurance’s sake, I ram an arrow straight through its chest, pinning it to the
ground just as surely as Will’s sword can. It’s surprisingly difficult, considering
I can see the floor through its body. It comes to, but—for the first time, even
with the stars dancing in my eyes, I see something other than hate reflected
back to me.

I see fear.

Good. It fights desperately, driving one of its dagger-like
hands right into my shoulder and the other into my upper thigh. The pain is so
intense I nearly black out, but then I remember that there is a bunch of people
out there counting on me to get this job done. Plus, there’s Jonah—I need to
get back to Jonah and apologize and let him know how much I love and need him.
So I gather everything in me and pray it’s enough before willing this
monstrosity out of existence. Within a split second, its body disappears; I
collapse once more into the dirt. My chin hits the ground hard, making my
already spinning head whirl even faster.

Piercing howls fills the warehouse and then, the next thing
I know, Karl, Will and I are left alone in stunned silence.

We’re all bleeding. We’re filthy. But more importantly,
we’re all alive while two of the Elders aren’t.

Karl’s arm dangles uselessly next to his side. Will’s having
a tough time standing, which makes sense as both legs are cut up pretty bad. As
for me, I’m still in the dirt with no doubt huge holes in my shoulder and leg.

“Open the office door, Chloe,” Karl grunts. He wipes his
good arm across his forehead, streaking dirt through blood and sweat. I’ve
never seen him more exhausted.

I give up trying to stand up and simply lay my cheek in the
dirt. Dammit, I forgot to make us some Elder-proof clothing ahead of time
again. It takes a few seconds, but I manage to focus long enough to open the
door. Cameron and Erik bolt out like they’d been leaning against the wood just
waiting for the moment they could be freed.

“Lee.” Karl’s voice is hoarse as he addresses the Tracker,
now sauntering out of the office, picking at his teeth with the corner of a
magazine. “Follow those bastards and report back to me in an hour. We need to
know if they’re still in the area.”

As Erik drops down next to me, a medical bag in one hand,
the cooler full of blood in the other, I watch Lee Acacia drop both the
magazine and the jaded act and sprint out of the warehouse. He moves so fast
he’s nearly a blur. Is that how Trackers work? That they’re faster than normal
people?

“Cameron?” Erik touches the arm that got the worst of it
from the Elders; pain lances through me like lightning. I jolt, but it only
intensifies my agony. “We need to get her out of the dirt. Too much risk of
infection with these—Jesus. There’s a hole in her shoulder about three and a
half inches wide.”

Ha. Hahaha. I’ve been saying for months, even if just to
myself, that there’s a hole in me. Now there really is.