It was why I’d survived all these years. It was why I’d known when to break out of the facility, and it was why I knew in that moment, at least in the space of the next hour, we could trust Mario.
“Since the purge, I’ve been gathering as many abnormals as I can, keeping us all in one place. It sounds dangerous, but the Hiders I have can keep everyone safe. We go out only when we have to. But things are getting tight and we need to find a way to deal with these new monsters.” He approached a large brick building. “This is the closest thing to a rebellion headquarters as you’re going to find. I’ve managed to intercept a few deliveries to the different facilities, but it’s been difficult. The winged monsters they keep on retainer don’t react to any weapon we’ve come up with. They don’t like my fire, but I’ve been careful with that because if I go down—”
“The last of the abnormal world will sink,” Easter said. “You’re the last ship standing. That’s what you’re saying.”
He nodded and pushed the wide iron door open. He didn’t motion for us to go first, just walked in and Easter followed.
I stood in the threshold of the building, my nose assaulted by the smell of unwashed bodies and abnormals.
My eyes adjusted quickly to the inside of the building and I stared at the number of people there.
Maybe fifty, not what I was expecting. Because I knew how many abnormals there were in New York. Thousands. Tens of thousands. And I was looking at fifty.
Which meant the facilities were only for the strongest of the abnormals and everyone else was just . . .
Peter and Carlos, stood drawing my eyes to them. Carlos gave me a head bob, but Peter hurried over to me. “You made it. I wasn’t sure.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “The facility gave up on you, did they?”
He nodded. “One second they were gunning us down, the next they were pulling a U-turn and headed toward New York.”
Carlos made his way to me. “Your son is with Anita. She let me know he is safe with her, as is your daughter and their current guardian, a young female abnormal who has survived on her own for some time.”
Relief slid through me, but I kept it in check. It would only take me a moment tonight to slide into the mists to be sure Bear and his sister were indeed safe.
“They kill those they deem unworthy of their attention from what I can tell,” Mario said with a sweep of his hand.
Which reminded me of Cowboy lying underground, fighting for his life.
“You know Fred? The one who thinks he’s Chinese even though he’s as white as your ass?”
Mario barely held back a smile. “I do.”
“Well, he’s currently under the tourist shop on the corner of Third and Rochester,” I said. “And he has a friend of mine. Kid can blow an EMP pulse if he pulls through his injuries.”
Mario looked at a young woman whose dark brown hair was cut short, shaved along the back. “Lanny, go get him. That could come in handy if we can keep him alive.”
Lanny slid on a pair of shades and all but disappeared from sight. Camouflage abnormal. Like a Hider but even rarer.
“I hear you have something for Harden,” Mario asked as he led us deeper into the building.
“I do. A tablet from the facility.” I pulled the pocket-sized tablet out of my hip pouch and handed it to him. Inside, I could feel the three rocks that Fred had given me to pass on to Rio. I hesitated on them, feeling this wasn’t the right time.
He took it and tossed it to another guy who leaned against the wall. He flicked a tongue out and caught a few flies. Mario gave him a nod. “Harden, meet my sister. Can you crack that? Get the files and don’t get caught.”
“Betcha sweet assssss.” He drew out that last S on purpose. I didn’t bother looking at him after that. Acting tough was a sure way to show me how weak you were.
There was a tingle along my spine and my grandmother’s words came back to me.
Gather your team. This was the place to do it. I looked at Mario, really looked at him. He was ascendant, like me. Like Bear. I had a Magelore, Hiders, and Easter. A kid with an EMP pulse up his sleeve and maybe a few other top-notch abnormals.
Gather my team, and then I would have to do the one thing I dreaded. I would have to call up Bazixal. I was going to invite that fucking demon to my party because he was the strongest one I knew, and because I knew he would want to negotiate with me if he could.
That demon had lost me once. He wouldn’t want to lose me again.
“Where are you taking us exactly?” Easter asked and I snapped back to the moment.
“Medical level,” Mario said. “We snagged a few off a transport truck but they were pretty roughed up. We’ve got them sedated, but there is one giving us a real problem. Every time we try to bring him out, he about loses his mind. And if he blows his top, it’ll bring every monster down on us.”
Easter shook her head. “Seems stupid to keep him then.”
He looked over his shoulder, past her to me. “Ah, I don’t think my sister would like me much if I killed him. He’s shockingly handsome.”
Dinah sucked in a sharp breath and I was running before I could think better of it. There was no pretending in this, not for me.
“Take the next left!” Mario called after me as I hit the T intersection. I bounced off the far wall, pushing off with my feet and then pounded down the hall to the double doors at the end. I burst through them to
