Last Chance (DarkWorld: SkinWalker Book 3) (28 page)

I came to a sudden halt, my monologue ending in an awkward, stiff silence. I hoped she would listen to reason, anything to make things easier to handle over the next few hours. I could only hope.

I let go of her and stepped away, intending to leave her alone with her thoughts, but then she called out, “Kai?” Her voice wavered, tears and emotions playing with her tone. When I turned to face her, she gave me a weak smile. “I heard everything you said, dear. It’s just a lot to process. I promise I won’t be antagonistic. But I can’t promise I’ll make friends.”

I smiled. “No need for friends, Grams. We just need to be sure none of us is out to kill each other while we’re trying to free Mom.”

Grams gave a snort, the sound wet and amused. “I promise I won’t try to kill any one of our team.”

With a soft laugh, I said, “Thanks, Grams.”

***

When I left the room, Illyria handed me a gun. “Oh, thanks. But I already have plenty of weapons.”

She shook her head and smiled. “It’s not the gun you need. It’s the ammo.”

I raised my eyebrows, already guessing what they’d done. “You did it?” I asked, almost breathless.

She nodded, grinning widely at me. The expression was odd, especially when it made the little wrinkly lines at the outer edges of her eyes widen and resemble vents.

“That’s incredible. You must have an amazing scientist.” Illyria hesitated, then looked from her general to me. It felt like she was about to say something, but I watched the exchange between her and Wren closely. He gave a slight shake of his head as if to say no. Then she fell silent, her expression a little odd. I had to admit I was disappointed. I’d thought they could be trusted, but they were holding out on me, and I didn’t like it. “What are you not telling me?” I asked, my tone a little frostier than a minute ago.

The Rebel leader smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry, Kailin. We just need to be very sure before we take the risk of revealing the identity of our scientist. What you need to know is he is efficient and very dedicated to our cause and to protecting humanity. I just wanted you to know he worked long and hard on cloning the ammo.” Her speech was well thought out, but something didn’t click about it. Why did I care who her scientist was?

“Have you tested it?” I asked, changing the subject.

She nodded. “We have used it in two raids since you left, and though it’s not deadly, it incapacitates long enough for the Wraith to be taken prisoner.”

“It doesn’t kill?” She shook her head. “But my poisons are deadly,” I said, finding it strange they hadn’t been able to fully clone the poison.

She shrugged. “It must have something to do with the cloning process. Your poison is deadly, but the cloned version only dulls the senses for a short period of time. Whatever the case, we are satisfied. It gives us an upper hand in the raids.”

I snorted. “As long as the technology doesn’t get fed to Widd’en’s men, you mean?”

“What do you mean?”

“Widd’en’s men have been bleeding my mother. No other reason to do that unless they know about my glow.” I stated the words a little too coldly and cursed myself for the lack of control. But it was my mother I was talking about, so I didn’t give a fuck about control right now.

Illyria’s eyes widened even when it seemed it wasn’t possible, her eyes being already unnaturally large. “I have been working on discovering the mole. I’m not very far from receiving the notification.” She was trying to give as little information as possible, and from the ripple of anger that ran across Wren’s expression, I knew why. He didn’t appreciate being on her list.

Too bad, dude. If you’re our man, you just better hope you aren’t found out,
I thought.

Then Illyria continued. “Thank you for letting me know. I’m sorry your mother has to bear the brunt of Widd’en’s destructive goals.”

I gave her a sharp nod, then turned and strode to the table. Four thirty. Sunrise in just over an hour. To Logan, I said, “So are we ready?”

He nodded and handed me a walkie-talkie like no other. I raised my eyes and examined the device. It looked like a smart phone, no antenna, no bulky speakerphones. Then he handed me a tiny earpiece, which I stuck in my right ear, followed by a tiny microphone, which I pinned to my collar. I certainly couldn’t fail to feel very FBI.

“We are all in contact. The frequency has been programmed and the lines are tested and in good order.”

I nodded, glancing around to see everyone else already wired, including the Wraiths. “Do we have a plan of attack?”

Logan studied my face and said, “I was hoping for your input before we decided firmly on anything.”

I cleared my throat, thrown off balance by Logan’s deference. I had almost expected him to take over, but I also did relish the idea that the mission was mine to lead. A little voice inside my head said,
Mine to fail too.
I tried not to listen, but I couldn’t deny that the doubt sat thick in my gut, like a layer of poisonous oil on a clear ocean. I stared at the sketch Logan had drawn on a large sheet of paper, a map of the warehouse area. “When did we get these?” I asked.

“Saleem and Cassie went out and did a little recon.” I glanced at them and gave them a grateful nod.

“Okay, I think we should break up into at least five smaller groups. One to take out the guards at the front gate, the other four to simultaneously dispense with the four sets of perimeter guards.”

Logan nodded approvingly. “Exactly what I was thinking.”

“So Lily and Anjelo, you two get as close as possible outside the gate and wait for our signal. You can use the long-range rifle and the bow to finish them off. How many were there?” I glanced up as two voices said two, both Mel and Cassandra. “Okay, so you guys pick your poison and your target, finish them off, and get over those gates.” The couple nodded, their faces both so deadly serious I wanted to smile.

“So the other four teams… I suggest a jumper with a non-jumper.” I studied the map markings that showed three guards on the rooftop. Tapping the little red circles with my finger, I said, “Grams, Larsson can jump you and Cassie to the rooftop. You guys eliminate those Wraiths, then leave Grams there to keep a lookout. Larson and Cassie will take the north corner. Mel and Drake east. Illyria and I will take south, and Saleem and Iain west. Logan and Wren, time your entry to after the outside guards are eliminated.”

Logan nodded. “A simultaneous entry would be stronger. All outside guards eliminated. We enter together for maximum effect.” I nodded. Looks like I didn’t do too badly with strategy. “The warehouse had three floors and the refrigerators are on the ground floor at the east end of the building. First team heads directly for Celeste. Kai, you head to her. Mel and Drake will meet you there. The rest of us will spread around the building. I think we have enough of a surprise factor with the jumpers to allow us to catch them off guard. But just be careful.”

“Yeah, they’re using human ammunition, so be extra careful. I want everyone out alive, please.” Nods all around. I guess they all wanted to get out alive too.

Logan went on to cover plan A and then plan B for the rest of the team. My team, though, had only one mission. Get Mom out of there.

Fast.

***

Everyone moved together, the jumpers taking us all to the site in small batches. Although weighed down by my old, ratty satchel filled to the brim with ammo and weapons, I moved fast, light on my feet. I drew on my panther senses, allowing night-sight to filter through, ignoring the burn of the physical change.

The chilly early morning air created visible clouds as I exhaled. I tried to breath out into the crook of my elbow and noticed Illyria doing the same. She didn’t seem at all annoyed with being split up from the general. We’d been deposited outside the building, near the fence, and hid behind stacks of wet wooden pallets. Rain had moistened the tarred ground between us and the south entrance, which happened to be a solid metal door with a giant metal padlock looped into the catcher. Two Wraiths guarded the door, taking turns walking the length of the building and then returning.

Hooded and shadowed, we couldn’t make out their faces, not even in the reflection of the lights on the puddles dotting the ground. The warehouse itself was a giant building constructed of brick and large multi-paned windows. Here and there, a pane was shattered, probably street kids chucking stones, but mostly the building looked intact. Lights were on inside, and every so often, a shadow passed over the sodden road as a Wraith guard paced his station inside.

Illyria and I crouched and watched the guards, waiting for Logan’s signal. We’d set our watches, but he planned to give the signal over the wireless feed just in case. I met Illyria’s gaze and pointed at the guard on the left, then to me. I’d take him down when the time came. She nodded.

A few minutes later, the guards swapped position and now my target was sitting while Illyria’s was pacing up and down, splashing in the pooled water. So much for well-laid plans. I looked at her over my shoulder and found she’d focused on the guards, her eyes flitting back and forth between the two.

I lifted my bow, aiming left, while Illyria aimed her pistol right. Just when I thought it was past time to move, Logan’s voice sounded in my ear. Call for attention. The pacing guard was inches within my sight. I pulled a veil of calm over me, listening to my heartbeat as it slowed. Finger on the trigger, getting the guard in my sights. Seconds later, my phone vibrated softly in my jacket pocket. Sunrise. And Logan’s voice whispered, “Now.” I adjusted my aim and pulled the trigger.

The bullet hit the Wraith’s neck with a soft thud, no louder than the tap of a heel on a carpet. The guard dropped slowly to his knees, then slumped forward, his hand hitting a puddle of water with a flat splash. I winced and ducked down behind the pallets, not waiting to see his final demise. Peering over at Illyria’s target, I saw a Wraith leaning against the door, his head hanging forward as if he’d just fallen asleep. Seconds later, he began to disintegrate, his body breaking into tiny little particles of solid blackness. The shadows danced around him as his body began to deflate, the Wraith cloak suddenly all that was left of the guard. I watched the cloak fall straight to the ground in a silent splash of fabric.

The Rebel leader turned her eyes to me and grinned, then gave me a quick thumbs-up. I smiled in response, wondering how it was that she remained unaffected after watching the death of a fellow Wraith. Even if Collins were dying at my feet, I’d feel something to mark his death. Maybe her lack of emotion was because she was a woman bred of war, had probably spent most of her life in the midst of battle.

We counted down the seconds to the next phase of the mission. Moments later, Logan gave the go ahead, and Illyria and I scuttled across the wet tar and pasted ourselves against the wall beside the dead guard.

I rifled through the cloak, grabbed the weapons, which amounted to three pistols, and snatched up the fat key that had hung on a thick chain around his neck. All done, I handed the key to Illyria and kept a panther eye out while she jiggled it in the lock and snapped the padlock open. She slid it out carefully, then dropped it onto the pile of fabric that had once been a Wraith.

She pulled the door, the slit of light growing ever larger as she opened it wider to slide inside. After a quick, “We’re going in,” to Logan on the wireless, I followed her through the slim opening, then pulled the door shut behind me as gingerly as I could.

The door snapped closed with a click that sounded deathly loud to my oversensitive ears. When no guards came running, I figured we’d bought ourselves some time. The layout of the warehouse was simple. Three floors with two stairwells, each on the north and the south ends.

Illyria and I ignored the stairs and headed right, toward the refrigerators. Inside, the warehouse appeared abandoned, but that was probably only the appearance of the ground floor. The building looked like it had been abandoned a while back, the distribution floor empty except for a few broken pallets and some empty cardboard boxes strewn about.

Nothing moved.

Illyria and I tiptoed slowly, silently across the floor toward a large set of double doors. The doors were set with frosted glass that annoyed me. But Illyria seemed unaffected, just vanished through the wall beside the door, then reappeared to give me the okay.

She also gave me the chills.

Seeing her pass through a solid wall, even knowing she was a Wraith, made my stomach turn. I refocused my attention, dialing up my panther senses. My inner feline seemed to sense the urgency of the situation and clawed at me to let her free. It was strange that suddenly she had the urge for freedom, but now was not the time.

Illyria was about to open the door when I put my hand on hers and keyed up my hearing. There, I knew I’d heard something. The soft fall of a heel on concrete. The hiss of breath, almost silent, but not to my ears. I lifted a finger to my lips and moved away from the door, crouching beside a wall that I hoped was far enough away that the guard wouldn’t see me the moment he came through the doorway. I didn’t want to use my guns yet, and the crossbow’s silence was perfect. As soon as the door opened, I let loose the arrow. Only afterward did I consider that the Wraith might actually have been Wren’do.