Haunted By The Gods Page 6

  And we had already lost so much time.

  I took a long sip of coffee and hoped the strong, dark elixir could inject some calm into my jittery nerves. It had been weeks, Namiko had said, since she’d last heard from Amber. She’d been stuck in California running her comms hub, or she probably would’ve traveled north herself. Frustrated that her hands were tied, she had instead focused on compiling all the data she received from Washington, the same intel she passed on to me.

  “Marcus, are you awake?” I asked a little drowsily. “I think we should review.” It was all information I had spent the past twelve hours scrutinizing in painstaking detail, but if nothing else, it would help me stay conscious.

  Always. I no longer possess a biological need for sleep.

  “Okay.” I shook my head. “That’s…weird. What do you do when—no, you know what? Some things should remain a mystery.” I set the coffee cup down, leaned back in my chair, and once again resisted the powerful compulsion to allow my eyelids to droop until they shut. “Anyway, Namiko says this god near Amber and Smitty has taken over Olympic National Forest. Well, I had Dan look it up, and guess what? The land is freaking huge.” I shuffled through the pad on which various notes were scribbled in my own sleep-deprived, barely legible hand. “Something like twenty-five hundred square kilometers. I’m not sure how much that is in miles, but it’s still a lot.”

  I would call that a generally accurate statement, yes.

  I stifled a giant yawn. “It makes me think there must be more than one holed up in there. We’ve never seen a single god dominate an area like that before. Not even Lorcan.”

  It is quite a formidable tract of territory, said Marcus. We must assume its borders will be jealously guarded.

  “Yeah, of course,” I agreed. “Whoever they are, they won’t allow us to simply waltz in there and take it back. What I want to know is what we’ll find. More werewolves maybe? A stronger kind?”

  Lupres’s influence may yet linger, but since he is dead, I strongly doubt his remaining followers could grow in power. It’s more likely that this is a newcomer, one we have not yet seen. Your friend gave you a name, did she not? He paused. Although I believe her pronunciation left much to be desired.

  “Oh, yeah.” I passed a hand over my eyes. “Ox-something. Oxford. Oxbow. Oxygen?”

  The Centurion chuckled. I do know of a forest god named Oxylem. As for his powers, I cannot say for sure. His magic stretches back much further than many others. It is primitive in a way, ancient and wild. Its danger is not to be underestimated.

  I fished a pen from my pocket and scribbled on the bottom of the note page as I repeated aloud. “Oxylem—old as balls. Don’t know what he does but can safely assume it sucks.” I thought briefly. “Maybe it has something to do with fire. Namiko said Amber always talked about fire.”

  Marcus hesitated for a long minute. I cannot say I understand that piece of the puzzle. I would think that, of all things, a forest god could be expected to avoid flames at all costs.

  “Or,” I volunteered, “that’s what he wants you to think. He might be a god of forest fires.”

  No, said Marcus patiently. Oxylem is not that. In fact, I cannot think of any flame wielders at all who could be associated with him. This is quite perplexing.

  “Well…” I frowned. “I guess it’s always possible that Amber was mistaken.” Even as I said the words, though, I knew I didn’t believe them. Amber was too bullheaded and inquisitive not to have thoroughly investigated any strange occurrences. Hell, she’d likely gotten close enough to get her eyebrows singed. “I could’ve misunderstood Namiko, too. The radio connection wasn’t great. I don’t know.” I ran both hands through my hair and blinked hard to keep the sleep away. “Where the hell is Dan? These three thousand miles won’t traverse themselves.”

  He didn’t show for another twenty minutes, time I used to consider who was grounded on the home team and who’d go away. I already had a rough idea of the squad compositions I wanted. The problem was that the arrangement in my head wouldn’t be popular with everyone. I pinched the bridge of my nose as I did my best to anticipate reactions. I would’ve included everyone if it were feasible, but Fort Victory needed a few key personnel.

  I was still hunched over, eyes scrunched shut as I rubbed my nose, when Dan walked in. “Bad time, chief?” he asked. “I’ve got good news if that helps.”

  I opened my eyes and glanced at him. “It’s never a bad time, Dan. I could use a morale booster. What have you got?”

  At that point, I finally realized Dan wasn’t alone. A squirrelly, ruddy man fidgeted intensely on his left. Sprigs of copper-colored hair catapulted from beneath a worn-out woolen beanie. The man’s iridescent green eyes bugged in their sockets. He shifted his weight constantly from one foot to the other.

  Dan gestured to the guy. “I’d like to introduce you to our new ace pilot.”

  A wide, misshapen grin spread rapidly across the man’s face. He stuck his hand out to me but still moved back and forth. Even our handshake felt restless. “Call me Ginger,” he declared enthusiastically. “Better’n any other name I got.”

  I raised an eyebrow at Dan. “Where’d you find this one?”

  He shrugged. “I pulled him from the group in the tunnel after you took down the one with the bull’s horns back in New York City. I’m not sure what he has left in terms of common sense, but he swears up and down that he can fly whatever we need him to.”

  Ginger nodded resolutely. “Anything. If it’s got wings, you put me in that cockpit, and I’ll get it off the ground.” He offered his hand for another shake. “Want to see my license? I’ve got it right here.” His bulbous eyes fastened on my face.

  This man is very odd, perhaps untrustworthy, Marcus commented in my ear. What is this license he speaks of?

  Despite Marcus’s skepticism, Ginger pulled out a faded leather wallet and produced a blue-green card from within the pocket. The ID was emblazoned with a crest I didn’t recognize, and it listed his name as Henry E. Dobbson, certified for commercial and private flight. I looked at the man. He stood and watched me while he smiled broadly and continued that irritating rocking. “Hasn’t even expired yet,” he said proudly.

  Dan cleared his throat. “I’m willing to vouch for our friend here, Vic,” he said and clapped the hyperactive man on the shoulder. Ginger, caught off guard, almost buckled to the floor. The soldier turned to him. “Why don’t you tell Vic what you found?”

  “What I found?” An expression of pure bemusement skated across Ginger’s face and lingered for a moment before it cleared once again into that wide grin. “Oh! Oh, yes. Yes. I found a plane.”

  My jaw fell open. “What?” I had assumed we’d have to steal one or that Dan had a special contact we could reach now that we had a working radio. “How do you simply find a damn plane?”

  Ginger raised his brows and opened his green eyes wide. “I like to walk, y’see? In my free time, which I have a lot of these days, I walk. And one day, I walked around behind that place.” He pointed toward the dungeon. “Nobody goes there on account of it being so close to where the bodies were.”

  I winced. We’d done our best to shelter the general populace from that particularly ugly truth, but there was no way to hide the procession of corpses that had to be removed. “Go on,” I prompted, eager to change the subject. “That’s where the plane is?”

  “I tell you, I was as shocked as you are now.” Ginger threw up his freckled hands. “Another building. Who woulda thunk?” He leaned in. “But it’s pretty small for a hangar. You can’t see it from the front side, so I don’t want you feeling bad.”

  “Thanks. Did you see the plane?” My impatience bubbled beneath the surface. I wanted to grab the pilot by the collar and shake him until all the relevant words fell out but I held back. He didn’t seem like he was all there, at least not all the time.

  “Sure, I did. Big old honkin’ padlocks on the doors, but there’s a window right in front. Now, I gotta w
arn you…” His face became somber. “She’s small, this bird. Not a lot of room for warm bodies, if you know what I’m saying.” He flicked his gaze between Dan and me as if he counted in his head. “I bet we could squeeze in a bunch of passengers if you’re willing to get cozy.”

  “We’ll manage,” I said. I wouldn’t have cared if he made me sit in the plane’s cargo hold, as long as it got me to Washington. “Jules and Veronica are getting provisions ready as we speak.”

  “That leaves only one thing,” Dan declared. “Who gets the four mission slots?” He instantly rephrased. “Three, that is, alongside our illustrious leader.”

  I chewed my lip as I looked at him. “Don’t hate me, Dan. But can I ask you to stay?” Before he had a chance to protest, I rushed on. “The fort needs someone to head up its defenses, and there’s no one I trust more in that department than you. It’s a critical role. I need you to make sure Fort Victory’s still here when we get back.”

  At first, his normally jovial face remained completely flat and expressionless. I was about to launch into another attempt to convince him when his usual big smile made an appearance. “I’d be glad to, Vic,” he said. “Don’t you worry a thing about it. You know you can count on me.”

  I heaved a huge sigh of relief. “Thank you so much, man. I think Jules and Veronica need to be here to keep the supply system going, and…” My heart sank. “I’ll put Maya in charge.”

  “It’ll be fine,” Dan said reassuringly. “Maya’s great. Everyone loves her. You couldn’t pick a better stand-in.”

  “I know.” I glanced toward the residential wing where I knew she had hurried off to her room after our all-nighter meeting ended. “I only hope she sees it that way too.”

  Chapter Ten

  I dragged my feet a little bit on my way to Maya’s room, reluctant to be the bearer of devastating news. To the best of my knowledge, she had never really been mad at me, and I didn’t want to break that streak of good fortune. During our debate the previous night, she had sided with me in no uncertain terms about going to Washington immediately. She had also expected to be part of that deployment.

  To be told otherwise might break her heart.

  While I hated to be the one to do that to her, it couldn’t be anyone else. In the beginning, when she was still uncertain and learning, I’d been the one to boost her confidence and tell her she was valuable and cool. Now, I had to tell her she was needed more at home than she was in the field, that she had to be Maya for a while, not Were-Maya. Strangely, I felt unprepared for a conversation like that.

  I paused in the hallway to psyche myself up. “You can do this, Vic,” I murmured. “She’ll understand. Be honest. Tell her how important this is and how much you believe in her. God, I hope this works.”

  “Hey, Vic.” The smooth, deep voice made me jump as I turned, my body poised for flight even though I knew automatically who it was. Deacon looked at me a little puzzled and a smile tilted his lips. “I didn’t mean to scare you. How are you holding up?”

  I laughed it off. “Oh, you know me. Always lost in thought. I’m actually doing pretty damn well, all things considered. I feel good about this whole thing.” I gestured to the fort around me. “We’ve built this place up, and we’ve kicked major ass. I am nervous about where Smitty and Amber are, but there’s nothing we can do about that until we get there.” I gazed at him with a smile. “Yeah. Things are good. We’re good.”

  Deacon chuckled. “You’re something else, girl. For real.” He stepped closer and rested a hand on my arm. Somehow, even the scent of the plain military soap was sexy emanating from his body. Our eyes locked. “I like spending time with you when we’re not getting shot at.”

  “Real smooth, Barry White,” I said. “Me too. It almost makes me feel bad about being so suspicious of you when we first met.”

  He laughed. “To be fair, you had every reason to be. And you were right.” He squeezed my arm gently. “I was on your case that whole damn time.”

  I grinned. “You sly dog. Lucky for me, you were no match for my show-stopping looks and sparkling personality.”

  Deacon shifted even closer. “I’d say it was more your strength in the face of adversity, your badass nature, and your sharp mind and sharper wit.” He smirked. “And those amazing eyes.”

  I leaned away from him and folded my arms. “You didn’t even mention my ass.”

  Another laugh rumbled from his chest. “Do I really need to?”

  His full lips curled in a charming smile and his eyes twinkled with endless possibilities. It was my turn to step in closer and onto the tips of my toes. This moment had been a long time coming, maybe even since that night at Jules’s party.

  We both felt it.

  Deacon’s hands rested lightly on my waist. His face drew closer. I started to close my eyes, not wanting to see but simply to feel.

  Someone coughed behind us.

  The romantic moment shattered into a million pieces. “Damn it,” I said out loud. I turned to see Luis standing there with a sheepish grin on his face.

  “Sorry,” he said. “I’d say I can come back later, but we gotta get a move on if we want to get out of here. I need to borrow your man for some prep. Promise you’ll get him back in one piece.”

  “He’s not the one I’m worried about,” I replied.

  Luis clapped a hand over his heart as if he’d been shot and pretended to fold back onto the tile. “Damn, Vic. Words hurt, you know?”

  Deacon slipped by me. “I’ll take a rain check,” he said softly. Then, to Luis, he said, “All right, man. You and me against the world.”

  “With you on my team?” Luis asked. “My money’s on the world.”

  I shook my head and resumed my trek toward Maya’s room. The warmth of Deacon’s touch still radiated through my body and melted away some of my stress. I stopped with my hand on her door and inhaled deeply. I could hear her moving around on the other side. A zipper closed.

  “Maya?” I knocked lightly. “It’s Vic. Can I come in?”

  “It’s open,” she called back.

  I turned the handle and walked inside. The scene before me was as I feared. Maya packed a bag frantically in preparation for an unexpected but now highly anticipated trip to the community she had left behind.

  “Hey,” I said and glanced at her stuff. “Listen, I know you’re getting ready to leave, but…I’m here to ask you to take over the fort while I’m gone.”

  Maya stopped dead and dropped her bundle of toiletries onto the mattress. “What?” She rotated slowly to face me. “You’re joking, right?”

  I shook my head apologetically. “I want to know the place is in good hands. Yours are the best we’ve got.”

  She pressed her lips together. “Those are my people in Washington, Vic. I need to go. I need to help them.” A note of desperation colored her voice and flared in her eyes. “I can’t sit here and do nothing.” She sat down on the edge of the bed next to her toiletry kit, stunned.

  I crossed the small room to sit beside her. “Maya, you won’t be doing nothing. I understand that Washington was your home before we met, but since then, you’ve made a home for more than a hundred refugees here. These are your people now. They’re the ones who need you the most.” I put my hand on her back. “Smitty and Amber can take care of themselves. You know that better than anyone. And once we find them, they’ll take care of their community like I’m sure they’ve done all along.”

  “I know,” Maya said quietly. “But I wanted…” She trailed off glumly. I slipped my arm around her shoulder.

  “It’s not that I don’t want you to come with me,” I told her. “You’re a beast out there, and I mean that on every conceivable level. You can stomp a vamp into the ground and turn and fix up the poor sucker he was trying to kill. And on top of that, you’re a born leader.”

  Her eyes narrowed in thought. “I never considered myself a leader.”

  “Well, you are,” I said. “And that’s why I need you statio
ned here. Who else can handle the fort like you can? Who will pull double duty as the doctor and as the first line of defense if something happens? I can’t do this mission while I look over my shoulder to make sure everything’s kosher at home. You’re the only one I trust to do that for me.”

  “Aw, shucks,” she said and grinned. “I bet you say that to all your underlings.”

  “I did say it to Dan,” I admitted. “In my defense, I was only talking about security. You’re the one who’s in charge, and he knows it. Also, you’re not my underling. I’m lucky to be your equal and your friend.”

  “Whoa, there.” Maya gave me a quick hug. “I think we all know who’s the real boss here.” She put on a brave face. “Okay. I’ll steer the ship. Say hi to Smitty and Amber for me, will you?”

  “Dude, of course. We’ll make sure we get their radio in working order so we can talk to them whenever we want.”

  “That would be so great. Thanks, Vic.” Maya’s expression hardened with determination. “I promise I won’t let you down.”

  With renewed purpose, she unpacked her bag and put things in their proper place.

  I stood. “I know you won’t. I wouldn’t be here without you. You’re a beast.”

  “Ha ha.” She gave me a look. “Get going, boss. The home front will be fine.”

  I grinned. “Atta girl.”

  Chapter Eleven

  The sun still straggled up the eastern face of the morning sky as our away team marched toward the makeshift hangar at the back of the sprawling property. Deacon, Brax and I headed the small battalion. Luis trailed behind us, and a choice selection of Dan’s men and the best newly trained fighters brought up the rear.

  “Vic is the ultimate authority on this mission,” Dan had said to his men and to the trainees. “She is the alpha and the omega, you understand? She says jump, you ask how high.”

  “Sir, yes, sir!” was the response. It had been a concern of mine that the refugees—a lot of whom were in similar situations to Luis—would rebel against the kind of structured training we put them through, but they seemed to thrive on it instead. I assumed the strength of our common enemy was enough to calm the intrinsic fires of youth.