“She opened a gate.”
“And that’s bad, right?”
He nodded. “The creatures are called the Hungers. They exist only on the other side of magic, in the realms of death.”
“Well, I think they’re setting up a vacation home in Cathedral Park.”
He spared me a brief smile. “I need to go.”
“Are we going to hunt them?” I asked.
“No.
We
aren’t going to do anything,” he said. “Shamus and I will take care of them. It’s what we’re trained to do.”
“No,” I said. “Hell, no. You are not going after those things alone. I am going with you. I have to learn how to kill a nightmare sooner or later, right?”
“Allie. .”
“Consider it on-the-job training.”
“Bad idea.”
“Why? Keeping me in the dark about these things will not keep me safe,” I said. “Not anymore. Not if I’m going to be a part of your world.”
“Nola?” I said over my shoulder.
Zay caught my wrist. “Allie, listen. The disks are involved. The only person out there that we know of who has a disk is the Necromorph. He knows your dad is in your head. And he is willing to kill you.”
“I can handle myself.”
“That’s not my point.”
“Then point,” I said.
“Did you ever think that hurting Davy, involving Tomi, and calling you to the park to watch Tomi release the Hungers might have been planned? Might have been a way for the Necromorph to draw you to him?”
“That’s crazy. If he had wanted me there, why didn’t he show up?”
“I don’t know. Maybe something didn’t go the way he expected it to.”
I thought about Tomi’s shock. How she had seemed really out of it. So much so that even her spell casting had been jerky. Maybe she was the weak link in the Necromorph’s plan.
“He doesn’t want me, Zay,” I said.
“No, he wants your dad. And you’re giving him to him.”
Nola came out of the bedroom. “Did you call me?”
“Yes,” I said. “We’re leaving.”
“Going to tell me what you’re up to?”
“We’re going to go Hound the place where Davy was hurt. I gave a bunch of people my home number. Two men Hounds named Sid and Jack. One woman Hound named Bea. And also the nurse at the ER. I asked that they call me if they hear about Davy, or if they need someone to sit down at emergency, waiting to hear about him. Do you mind handling phone duty?”
“I can do that. But first.” She strode into the living room and then came back. “Take these with you.”
I don’t know what I expected. Maybe a cell phone. Or a gun. Nope. Nola dropped two palm-sized cookies in my hand. Oatmeal chocolate chip, and still warm.
“Come home safe,” she said.
I took the cookies. “Lock that door and do not open it for anyone but us. Call 911 if something funny happens. Call Stotts too, if you need to. Be careful, okay?”
“Me?” she said. “It’s not me who’s mixed up to her eyeballs in magic.”
I gave her a quick smile and then headed out the door, not waiting for Zayvion to catch up to me.
“What?” I asked him once he was striding alongside me.
“Aren’t you going to share those?” He pointed at the cookies.
I bit into one of the warm cookies. Delicious and moist and buttery. “Absolutely not. You probably already ate a dozen of these.”
“Your point?”
We jogged down the stairs. “So, how hard is it to take care of these Hunger things?” I asked.
“It’s not easy. Hardest to do it so no one notices. I think you should stay here.”
“Not on your life.”
We hit the lobby at a fast walk. “How hard will it be to find them?”
“We know how they move.”
“And what, exactly, do they do?”
“Hunt people and magic. Then consume. Kill.”
Comforting. “Car’s this way.” I dug in my pocket and tossed him the keys. He caught them and we strode out the door to the back parking lot.
I realized last time I’d been in this building with Zayvion, he’d been nearly passed out from exhaustion. “You are feeling okay, right?” I asked as we hit the cold late-afternoon air.
“I’m fine,” he said. “Shamus has his uses.”
“Oh? Like what?”
“Like mitigating burn-out. He’s really quite good at what he does. Just don’t ever tell him I said that. I’ll deny all knowledge that this conversation ever took place.”
I shook my head. “You like him, don’t you?”
“Like the brother I never got around to killing.” He flashed me a bright smile, and I couldn’t help but smile back.
“Killing?” Shamus walked out from behind some bushes in the parking lot. “You mean the brother who has saved your sorry ass a hundred times. A little respect, here.”
“That was respect. You’re still alive. Do you have everything?” Zayvion asked.
Shamus pulled one hand from behind his back. A strange collection of leather and silver and glass dangled between his fingers. “I’m always ready with the ass saving, now, aren’t I? Apologize.”
“Sorry you can’t stop thinking about my ass.”
Shamus grinned. “True. It’s just so tight and muscular. Want me to shove these in your trunk?”
“I’d rather you put them in the car.” Zayvion opened his car, and motioned for me to get in the passenger’s side while Shamus put the contraptions in the trunk. Zay walked around and stood by the open trunk with Shamus, like two men comparing guns or tackle boxes or something.
Satisfied with the inventory, they slammed the trunk shut, and Shamus crawled in the backseat while Zayvion got into the driver’s seat.
“There might be some blood back there,” I said.
Shamus shrugged one shoulder. “What’s new?”
Zayvion took a moment to adjust the seat for his legs, and the mirrors. “Safety first,” he said.
“Always,” Shamus agreed.
Zayvion started the engine and turned the car toward St. Johns.
“So, tell me what to expect,” I said.
“Blood, death, horror.” Shamus sat forward so he was nearly between us. “The usual.” He pulled out his cell, hit a button.
“Who?” Zayvion asked.
“Who do you think?” He sat back and answered the phone. “Chase, darlin’. Want to do a job?”
At the mention of Chase’s name, Zayvion tightened. It was only for a second before the Zen took over and he looked relaxed, calm again. But I could tell it was an act. That woman bothered him.
“Should I be worried?” I asked while Shamus kept right on talking behind us.
“About the hunt?”
“Yes. And Chase.”
Zay stopped at a light. Even though it felt like the longest day ever, it wasn’t even dark yet. It was three or four at the latest, and as light as a cloudy day in Oregon could be. To the west, a patch of blue sky opened up, and sunlight shot down in liquid gold, painting the wet city in van Gogh fire. It seemed strange to be going out hunting nightmares in such nice weather.
“Chase is a Closer,” Zayvion said. “She’s good at her job. You don’t have to worry about her.” The light turned green, and Zay moved along with traffic, angling north toward the St. Johns Bridge.
Why did I not believe him?
“The hunt isn’t something I want you to be involved in. At all,” he added, like maybe I hadn’t heard him before. “If we’re dealing with Hungers, they are creatures that have crossed through the gates from death to life.”
“Like the Veiled?”
Zay shook his head. “The Veiled are the thoughts and memories and bits of magic users’ souls impressed on the magic that runs beneath the city. They aren’t so much dead people as a recording of people who were once alive.”