The Breaking

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Finding the Full Bloods wasn’t difficult. Even a blind man would have been able to follow the growing crescendo of howls drifting from the east end of town. Paige met Al and Jesse outside a convenience store that had been all but gutted by shapeshifters or looters. While filling the tanks of both pickups at a set of pumps, she slapped the window behind Al’s head until Jesse slid it open. “Any word from Milosh or Nadya?”

“We don’t need them Gypsies,” the Skinner replied.

“We need everyone we can get. We’ll swing by to pick them up.”

“For all we know, that poor bastard’s dead.”

“Then we’ll pick Nadya up. Besides, we need to check in with the Mongrels too.”

“They’ve been getting their asses handed to them since we got here,” Bill said. “I don’t know what you Chicago guys do, but we don’t work with animals.”

“Fine. I’ll let them know to pass you by if you need any help. In case you’re blind, though, I should remind you that these Mongrels have been fighting the Full Bloods just like we have. Since I’m not quite ready for the ol’ blaze of glory, let’s just work with whoever we can.”

“I’m with her,” Al said.

Bill’s narrow face twisted into a disapproving sneer, but he kept the rest of his comments to himself. The group piled into their vehicles, and Paige checked in one more time with Cole as she drove north into a residential area.

By the time they got to the house where the Amriany had been taken after leaving the autobody shop, the sky was dark enough for the stars to shine brightly overhead. The sight was even more breathtaking thanks to the pale glow of a mostly full moon and no competition from the darkened town. Al pulled up to a two-car garage and Paige parked the green truck directly behind him. The garage door was already on its way up, so she hunched over and walked beneath the door. When she stood up straight again, Nadya was staring at her over the top of her FAMAS.

“How’s Milosh?” Paige asked.

“He won’t turn into a Vitsaruuv, but some of the others in these houses weren’t so lucky. I could hear their screams. The Breaking Moon must be allowing Full Bloods—”

“I know. Ready to do something about it?”

“Yes!”

But it wasn’t Nadya who answered her question. Hobbling down two wooden steps that connected the garage to the house with the remains of his left arm bound in bandages and towels, Milosh gritted his teeth and shuffled across the cracked, oil-stained garage floor.

“You’re barely conscious,” Nadya scolded. “What do you think you’ll do in this fight?”

“He made it this far,” Paige pointed out. “Can he fire a gun?”

“You’re damn right he can,” Milosh replied. “And if I fall over or bleed out, go on without me. I’d rather get picked off out in the thick of it instead of hiding and waiting for the fucking axe to fall.”

“Has Quinn been here?”

“She has been gone for a while, but another Kushtime remains in the basement to watch us.” Picking up steam with every step he took, Milosh continued his arduous journey to the driveway. “Get me to the plane. We’ve got some more weapons that might help us.”

“No time for that. Unless you’ve got another Blood Blade stashed in that wreck, we have to make do with what we’ve got.” Raising her eyebrows, Paige asked, “You don’t have another Blood Blade stashed in that wreck, do you?”

“We won’t have any more of those for at least another month, but there’s guns and some blades that were charmed to do some damage.”

“Forget it,” Paige sighed. “We need to stick together if we’re going to cover as much of this town as possible.”

Someone else walked up from the basement. Because of all the dirt caked into his fur, it was impossible to make out Burke’s features until the Mongrel shook some of the grit from his coat. “I can cover a lot more ground than you. What do you need?”

“Can you tell me about any Mongrels working with the Full Bloods?” Paige asked.

After a pause, Burke said, “There are some of us who have decided that joining the Full Bloods is the best way to end our troubles. Most of those have been tempted by the Full Bloods’ twisted promise that they can change us into their kind. Even the thought that some of the Full Blood longevity can be passed on has been enough to draw entire packs to their banner. What’s happened recently only sped the process along.”

“So why should we trust that you would want to fight on our side?” Paige asked.

“My pack and I are not under any Full Blood control because we haven’t allowed ourselves to be tainted by their bite. If you don’t believe that, then you can go to hell. Just know that we’ve been in contact with Kayla and Ben from Kansas City and they say you’re good for your word. You fight against the Full Bloods and so do we. If we survive this war, we think we can trust you to work out an amicable arrangement.”

“War?” Nadya asked. “Has it come to that?”

“Better here than in our country,” Milosh grunted.

“Yes it has come to that,” Burke said. He shifted his slitted eyes to Milosh. “And it has only started in this country because this is where the biggest source of Torva’ox is to be found. The Full Bloods will not stay put once they have gathered their power. They will either return to their territories or try to acquire new ones. Either way, no place is safe.”

“I’ve heard some news myself from New Mexico,” Paige said. “The Full Bloods are fighting among themselves.”

“If they whittle their numbers down far enough, the survivor will be the most powerful creature on the planet and will be able to shift all humans into Half Breeds or possibly something worse. Our legends are filled with these warnings, which is why we fight when we could just as easily hide to let the storm pass us by.”

“There’s more than legends and old grudges on the table,” Paige said. “Now that the military is involved, there’s little things like air strikes and nukes to worry about.”

“Nukes?” Milosh said. “It would come to that?”

“I’ve spoken with men who represent the military, even if it may be on a sketchy basis. They’re willing to work with Skinners, but only because they want to get rid of the things that are tearing apart our cities. If we don’t step up and do our job, they’ll fall back to the best way they know to kill big things as quickly as possible. I’m doing my best to keep them in line, but if things keep escalating like they have been, I wouldn’t be surprised if the fingers over those big red buttons start getting twitchy.”

The unearthly howls outside were becoming more musical and jubilant, as opposed to the wild, hungry sounds earlier. Ironically, that strangely beautiful sound sparked genuine fear inside all of those gathered in the garage.

“We can sit here talking doomsday scenarios all night long,” Paige said. “It doesn’t matter if I’m blowing things out of proportion or not. Things have already gotten way out of hand and we’re the only ones that can do anything about it. Kawosa’s taken the authorities out of the picture for now, but help is on the way. What we need to do is draw the Full Bloods to a spot where Cole, my partner, can meet us.”

“Where’s that?” Milosh asked.

“About five or six miles north of here at the Atoka Reservoir. Water acts as a natural booster for supernatural energies, and the Dryads who will transport him here need all the help they can get to do their part. Finally something the MEG guys got right.” She smirked at the memory of days when a call to the ghost hunters was all she needed for her and Cole to know what to do next. “Plus there’s fewer civilians out there. Drawing as many shapeshifters away from here gives the survivors here a bigger chance to see tomorrow.”

“We don’t owe them nothing,” Milosh snarled as he rubbed the stump of his left arm.

“Miro,” Nadya snapped in her native tongue, followed by a string of words. Since Milosh clamped his mouth shut reflexively, Paige assumed that’s pretty much what she’d just told him to do. Looking to Paige, she said, “Among our people, we are known as both cursed and chosen. Above either of those things, we are protectors and so are Skinners. No matter what the quarrel is between our peoples in the past, this is a problem that will affect us all. But there must be an understanding.”

“Be quick about it,” Paige said as the howls outside grew more ecstatic.

“Us helping you now means the start of a true joining of Amriany and Skinner. We fight on your soil tonight and you must fight on ours in the future.”

“This thing is gonna go on for longer than one night,” Paige warned.

“Your fight becomes our fight, just as ours becomes yours. However long it takes.”

Paige extended her hand and Nadya shook it. “Fair enough, but I can’t guarantee all of us will be crazy about setting the past aside. I’ll vouch for you, which will go a long way with some. Then we’ll talk sense into the rest.”

“As will I. It is decided then. Right, Milosh?”

The wounded Amriany muttered in his own tongue, but nodded.

Bill walked into the garage carrying a shotgun. “Are we doing this or not?”

And that was that.

When Paige walked away from the garage, the only thing in her world was the fight that lay ahead. Even though there was no target for her machete, she tightened her grip around its handle until the thorns punctured her palm. The wood creaked and the weapon shifted. After climbing into the back of the red pickup, she noticed a more familiar sickle in her grasp.

Paige stared at the weapon as the truck’s engine roared to life and the vehicle rattled down the road. Unlike the sickle she’d forged throughout the course of her training, it was more like what that weapon would have aspired to become once it grew up. The handle was thicker and shorter, which allowed the blade to become wider and longer. Until now, the fact that she’d been unable to shift the weapon’s cutting edge had been attributed to the coat of metallic glaze added to the varnish. The edge was still there and its shape was mostly the same, but it was bent around the crescent edge of the sickle. Even as she marveled at the feat she’d been unable to perform ever since the injury to her arm, she could feel the potential for more. Looking up at the moon, feeling the wildness Kawosa had promised, she wanted to howl.