For a fraction of a second it was full color—orange couches, pieces of bright abstract art framed on the walls—and the next it was black. A were near me started howling. Moonlight filtered in through the skylights I always forgot our lobby had. The blackness was like a mist—I could see it—a cold, damp fog that smelled faintly of digestive juices. And then color resolved anew.
Helen was the only one who completed her leap. Her wolf form hit the ground, legs splayed out to catch itself, claws grating on linoleum tile. The parka-wearing woman was gone.
“No killing fights on feeding grounds,” whispered something that was not human before the acrid tang of stomach acid went away.
Neither the guard nor any of the other visitors in the lobby reacted—just the weres, who clustered around a now naked Helen, kicking away an empty paper cup. Nice of the Shadows to clean up the spill hazard too. Always thinking about safety, that was them. I put a hand to my mouth and let out a squeak into my palm.
Naked yet still self-possessed, Helen made a thoughtful growl. “One of Viktor’s women. I’m sure of it.”
“I saw him earlier on today. Downtown,” I said. “Near the Armory.”
Helen looked to her people. “Three of you—go.”
Three people at the back of her group peeled away and ran for the door, ignoring the security guard.
The rest of them continued as though nothing unusual had happened. They took off parts of their own winter clothing, handing them over to Helen. One gave her a knee-length trench coat, and between that and a black wool sweater she looked pretty normal, until you got down to the fact that her legs and feet were bare.
“Now, Edie, you were asking for Sanctuary?” she said.
I remembered Anna’s suggestion to make it sound official, and cribbed my words from Sike the other night. “On behalf of Anna Arsov, the near-ascended, yes.”
“Helen, the mother of the Deepest Snow pack, grants it.” She looked to her were-friends surrounding us. “Protect her as though she were me. Both of you—” she pointed at two more weres in the group.
I had an image of returning to Y4 with two weres in tow. Charles would hate me for sure, then. “No—I’m safe while I’m here—the Shadows—you saw.”
She petted the collar of her loaned coat and gave a smug smile. “Indeed. I’ll send someone to wait for you at the end of your shift in this lobby,” she said, then switched from regal to tired again. “I should get home. You’ll call me if anything changes with my father, right?”
“Of course,” I said, and nodded fast.
Helen and her retinue left then, her people clustered around her. The guard returned from outside, where the weres sent to chase Viktor had lost him. He panted, hands on knees, and watched the rest of the pack depart. None of them were running, so it was fine. Even if that one lady didn’t have on shoes. I could see it on his face, him thinking that he’d seen crazier stuff.
I knew for sure he had. Even if he couldn’t quite remember it.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
“Back so soon?” Meaty asked as I walked past the nursing station.
“You have no idea.” I rounded the bend, and Rachel looked up at my return.
“You got her to go home?” Rachel craned back in her chair, as though I were hiding a full-grown woman behind me.
“Yeah. Can I go on break?” I leaned forward to look at the clock inside Winter’s room. “I know it’s early but—”
“Sure, fine.” Rachel waved me away too. To her I looked like another kind of visitor, me and my two legs.
I walked back out the way I’d come. I wasn’t hungry, but I didn’t want to sit down and be normal just yet.
First, I wanted to change my scrubs. Helen’s coffee had stained the ankle of my pants when it’d fallen, and I still smelled tangy like stomach contents, at least to my mind. Maybe the Shadows’ vapor had singed my nose. Where had the parka-wearing woman gone? I didn’t think I wanted to know.
Did I feel safer about things now? I hadn’t ever done anything to Viktor—but between the dents in my car and the were-women, I didn’t know. Maybe he was insane. Since two weres had attacked me in the mall parking lot, and the Shadows had only killed one tonight, I didn’t feel safer, really. I pulled off my scrub top angrily.
Helen had been so controlled when she’d been attacked. It must be fabulous to have a power you could call on when you needed it, just wrap it around you like a cloak—or know that you were already dead, or partially dead, and therefore mostly invulnerable. I yanked off my pants and threw them into the soiled linen cart forcefully.
I liked my job. I liked knowing things. I didn’t think I’d like being normal. But I wasn’t so sure I wanted this anymore, worrying about my life and smelling like puke. I opened my locker and redid my ponytail in the little mirror magnetized inside. On the top shelf inside I saw my dish towel holding Anna’s ceremonial knife.
I’d made a promise. I’d see it through. But after that—who knew. I straightened my scrubs, pulled my lanyard to hang outside them, and slammed my locker shut.
The rest of the night passed in a haze. Winter’s care was like moving deck chairs on the
Since I didn’t have a report to give, I snuck out as soon as I could. How would I know if the were-escort for me was safe or not? I should have asked Helen for a password.
I got out of the last elevator and started walking toward the lobby doors, scanning the couches full of unfamiliar faces.
“Looking for someone?” said a voice I almost knew. I turned around, and Lucas unfolded out of one of the lobby’s chairs.
“Oh—it’s you.”
“Yeah.” He looked as rumpled as I felt. His clothing was wrinkled, his face was haggard, and he reeked of sweat.
“Have you been here all night?”
“I came straight from the fights. I was worried I’d miss you if I slept in my car.” He swung his arms around fluidly, waking dull limbs up, and grinned. “Thank God the moon’s near or I’d need you to go get me ibuprofen, Nurse.”
I snorted. “So sorry to inconvenience you. There’ve only been two measly attacks on my life.” If that woman had gotten to me last night, I’d have needed something stronger than an ibo to ease my pain.
“Sorry. I guess that wasn’t funny.” He jerked his head toward the lobby doors. “Let’s get out to the parking lot and away from all these people. Then we can figure out our plan.”
I followed him out toward the visitor parking lot, past the late day shift workers and bureaucrats coming in. Timekeepers and social workers, doctors and lawyers, all the bees that kept the hive running.
The visitor lot was nearly empty as we reached my car. “Did you find anything out the other night?”
Lucas shook his head. “Not yet. We’re still running Viktor down.”
“And you’re sure it’s him?”
“Viktor ran Winter down. You saw him do it, even if you don’t remember seeing it. Viktor’s after you because he feels guilty, and he’s scared you’ll tell,” Lucas explained with a shrug.
“You’re sure about all of that?” I asked. I sure as hell wasn’t.
“Trust me. Viktor and I have a lot of history. More than either of us would like.” He stared into the snow beside my car, then shook himself, almost dog-like, and his gaze rose to meet my own. He smiled. “Besides—do you have any other enemies I should know about?”
“Do you want the long list, or the short list?” I said, and leaned back against my cold car. “It’s just that I
