LITMIR.BIZ

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pale, skeletal forms leaping over cars, skittering over roofs or under tires, hissing and screaming. They were frenzied, crazy from the scent of blood, and coming right at us.

      “Fall back!” Kanin ordered, drawing away from the open circle. “They’ll stop when they reach the bodies, and we can find a way around.”

      But a sudden screeching and wailing from the other direction made us freeze. More rabids, foaming and wild-eyed, rushed toward us over the maze of cars. We were trapped in the middle.

      With a snarl, Jackal brandished his fire ax, and I swung my katana as the horde came on, their screams reverberating through the tunnel in a deafening cacophony. No going off on my own this time; I stood back-to-back with Kanin and Jackal, facing the monsters as they clambered over cars and swarmed toward us. I lashed out at the first rabid, cutting clean through its body, splitting it in two, then whipped my sword down to behead the next that sprang forward. Then it was just chaos: shrieking rabids, slashing claws and fangs, an endless wave of pale bodies flinging themselves at me. I moved on instinct, spinning from one attack to the next, the blade dancing in my hands.

      A roar behind me made me turn. Jackal stood in the center of a writhing heap of rabids, several spindly monsters clinging to his back, biting and clawing. He bashed the head of his ax into the ones leaping at him, knocking them away, but more piled on him, and sheer numbers were beginning to drag him down. His face was streaked with blood, and dark crimson stained his collar and the back of his neck.

      Snarling, I rushed in from the side, plunged my blade into one of the rabids clawing at his shoulders, and ripped it away. While Jackal continued to fend off the rabids springing at him, I began cutting away the monsters that clung to his back, freeing him from the pile. I couldn’t see Kanin, didn’t know where he was, but the Master vampire was the strongest and most lethal fighter of us all. He could take care of himself.

      As I cut down the last of the rabids clawing at Jackal, something hit me from behind, shrieking in my ear, sinking curved talons into my chest and shoulder. I yelled as the blow drove me to my knees, but a moment later the weight was gone, as Jackal grabbed the rabid by the back of the neck, spun, and smashed its head through a car window. Knocking aside another body that lunged at me, he glanced down with a savage grin and held out a hand.

      “Come on, sister. On your feet. We’re not done with these bastards yet.”

      I grabbed his wrist, and he yanked me upright. The rabids were still coming at us, insane with bloodlust, but the swarm was smaller now. From the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of Kanin, surrounded by pale bodies, smoothly decapitating a rabid that lunged at him, and the monster’s body collapsed like its strings had been cut while the head bounced once and rolled under a tire.

      Side by side, Jackal and I cut our way through the last of the horde, crushing skulls and slicing necks until the final monster leaped at us and was struck down, meeting Jackal’s ax across its face and my sword through its middle. As it dropped, twitching, to the pavement, the echo of its dying shriek faded away, and the tunnel fell silent once more.

      “Well. That was entertaining.” Jackal lowered his ax with a grimace, hunching his shoulders. The back of his duster was shredded, long gashes left by curved talons, though the scratches across his face were already healing. His eyes gleamed dangerously as he stared around at the carnage. “Anyone else get the feeling we’ve been set up?”

      Kanin strode back to us, his bright, thin blade already vanished from his hand. “Let’s keep moving,” he ordered, his tone brisk. “We don’t want to stay here. Hurry.”

      We rushed through the maze of cars until we came to the edge of the tunnel, back into the open. Another semi truck blocked most of the entrance, its doors flung back, showing an empty interior. The unmistakable stench of rabids wafted from the opening, and a pair of motorcycle tracks sped away down the road and vanished into the night.

      “Well, well,” Jackal mused, glancing from the truck to the empty road before us. “Isn’t that amusing? Looks like we were set up, after all. Oh, someone is going to die. Very painfully, I think.” He met Kanin’s dark stare and narrowed his eyes. “Old man, if you say anything along the lines of ‘I told you so,’ you both can figure out how to get into Chicago without me.”

      Kanin didn’t reply, but I stared at the tracks until they vanished around a bend, and frowned at Jackal. “Why are your people attacking us?” I growled, glaring at him. “I thought you had a handle on them.” He scowled back.

      “If I knew the reason, sister, I wouldn’t be here.” His eyes glinted. “But you can be sure I will get to the bottom of this. And when I do, the backstabbing little shits are going to wish they were never born.” Glancing at me and Kanin, he curled a lip. “You two can go around, if you want. Keep chasing the psychopath. I’m going back to my city, and I’m going to bash in some heads until they remember who their king is.”

      “No,” I shot back. “There’s no time to go around.” I looked at Kanin, silently watching us both, and hardened my voice. “We have to catch up to Sarren, and we can’t do that if we keep taking detours. Old Chicago is the only place we have a chance of catching up. We’ll grab a couple bikes while Jackal is bashing in heads and keep going to Eden. But we can’t turn back now.”

      “I am not disagreeing with you, Allison,” Kanin said. His gaze drifted to the road behind us, at the tracks fading in the snow, and his expression turned dark. “If the straightest way to Eden is through Old Chicago, we will continue in that direction. But I would advise extreme caution now, as it seems there are humans who wish us harm.”

      “Oh, don’t worry, old man,” Jackal growled, a dangerous promise in his voice. “There won’t be for much longer.”

      Chapter 5

      We reached the outskirts of the city later that night.

      I’d forgotten how huge Chicago was; even the urban sprawl leading up to the main city seemed to go on forever. Miles and miles of empty, silent streets and decaying houses, vehicles rotting along the shoulder, streetlamps and signs lying in the road. The last time I’d come through here, I’d been riding a stolen motorcycle and hadn’t paid much attention to my surroundings as they flew by. My focus had been on steering the bike and avoiding obstacles...and on the person sitting behind me, his arms around my waist.

      I shot a glance at Jackal walking beside me, his expression dangerous. And for a brief, irrational moment, resentment flickered. He probably wasn’t thinking of what had happened the night I’d come through his territory, and if he was, he didn’t care. But I remembered. Darren’s screams when Jackal had thrown him into a cage with a rabid and let it rip him apart, just to set an example. Fighting an army of raiders to rescue the rest of Zeke’s group, and setting a building on fire to escape. And, of course, the fight atop Jackal’s tower, where I’d faced my blood brother for the first time, and he’d nearly killed me.

      Jackal caught me looking at him and raised an eyebrow. “What’s that look for?” he challenged.

      I faced the road again. “Nothing.”

      “Bullshit.” Jackal’s gaze lingered on me. “You’re thinking about Old Chicago and the last time you came through. You’re remembering all those fun little moments when I killed your humans, tortured them, threw them into the ring with rabids—all those good times.” His gaze narrowed. “Don’t try to deny it, sister. It’s written all over your face.”

      I snarled at him, baring fangs, tempted to draw my sword and slash it through his smirking mouth. “Don’t you ever shut up?” I spat. “Yes, I’m thinking about Old Chicago, and what a bastard you were when we first met. I’m wondering why the hell I’m even talking to you now and not trying to cut the stupid head from your body. We should’ve had that rematch a long time ago.”

      “Aw, sister, I’m hurt,” Jackal mocked, putting a hand to his chest. “That’s not how I remember it. I remember discovering I had a blood sibling. I remember offering to share everything with her. Because, why not? She was a decent

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