Part III

ARDENT

Chapter 16

We didn't use the Sector Two gate. The guards escorting us were supposed to open it so that we could go through, but we weren't going to stand around waiting for them to return. Not when they could come back with an angry Prince and a squadron of vampire Elite, having been fed some crazy story by Stick on how we'd tried to kill him.

Instead, Kanin took us into the tunnels, somehow finding a sewer entrance beneath the hulk of a crumbled building, and we dropped into the Undercity once more.

"Well, it's official," Jackal said, his voice echoing down the long corridor. "This is the most I have ever been in the sewers in one place. If someone had said to me a month ago, 'Hey, Jackal, guess where you'll be spending most of your time in New Covington? Ankle-deep in shit!' I would've ripped their lips off."

"This way," Kanin said, ignoring him. "It's a long walk to the old hospital, and we'll probably have to use the streets once or twice. Let's not waste any time."

He started off down the tunnel, and we followed, heading deeper into the sewers. No one spoke, which gave me plenty of time to remember what had just nearly happened. What I'd almost done.

I almost killed Stick tonight. The realization sent a cold shiver through me, as well as a bitter flood of anger and regret. I really had been about to kill him. Stick, the boy I'd looked after nearly half my human life, who had relied on me for everything. Who was weak, frightened, unable to fend for himself. I'd almost killed the boy I'd once considered my only friend. If Zeke hadn't stopped me...

Wonder what he thinks of you now.

Zeke walked behind me, making very little sound even through the puddles and scattered debris, the narrow pipe forcing us to stay single file. He didn't say anything about the incident with Stick, and I wondered what he was thinking. Did he regret being with me now, kissing me, putting such blind trust in a vampire? Did he realize the implications of tonight, that if I could kill Stick, someone I'd known far longer, what would stop me from turning on him, as well?

I warned you that I would always be a demon, I thought, skirting a trickle of water seeping down from above. Zeke followed, his presence close at my back, and I closed my eyes. I should have heeded my own advice. Who am I trying to fool?

Ahead of us, Kanin came to a stop at a rusted ladder that led to a sealed hole above. "The tunnel ahead is collapsed," he stated, turning back to face us. "This leads into the Fringe, very close to the Inner Wall. We can reach the hospital by going through the Undercity most of the way there, but we'll have to travel aboveground for a few blocks, so be ready."

"What if we run into bleeders?" Zeke asked. "They're sick and crazy, but they're still alive. Still human."

"Try to avoid them if possible," Kanin replied. "If the situation is as dire as the Prince says, we don't want to attract a crowd. But if you must, do not hesitate to cut them down, cripple them, whatever you must do to stay alive. That is the first priority. We won't be helping anyone if we get ourselves killed, is that clear?"

Zeke nodded reluctantly. Kanin went up the ladder, shoved back the opening and climbed out of the hole. Jackal followed, then Zeke, and finally me, emerging onto the deserted streets of the Fringe.

Even though it wasn't my old sector, the Fringe still looked familiar, with its cracked streets, crumbling buildings and frost-covered weeds pushing through everything. A layer of snow dusted the rusty hulks of cars scattered about, and the puddles in the road had iced over, making the ground slick and treacherous. Back when I was human, this was the most dangerous time of year, when everything was hard and frozen, and food was virtually nonexistent. Every winter, someone in the Fringe would die, frozen in some lonely back alley or dead of hunger in their beds. I remembered many mornings that I'd woken up shivering under my quilt, dreading the task of venturing outside in the freezing cold to scavenge for food. But if I didn't, I would starve, and so would Stick, curled against me for body warmth, refusing to leave the room.

I didn't have to worry about that anymore. And neither did Stick.

Movement on the street corner caught my attention. A body lurched out of a distant house, shambling and awkward, walking barefoot across the icy ground. I caught the gleam of red covering its face, the wet strips raked down its arms, as it mumbled and chuckled to itself, not watching where it was going.

"Quietly," Kanin told us, and glided into the shadows, becoming part of the night. We hurried after as silently as we could.

As we moved swiftly through the Fringe, we caught sight of several more bleeders, laughing or talking to themselves, sometimes shrieking at nothing, clawing at their faces. As we ventured farther from the Inner Wall, we began stumbling across bodies sprawled in the street, stains of dried blood around their lips or spattered on the ground beneath them. Some were frozen, covered in snow, having lain there a few days. Others were more recent, having died that very night or the day before, their self-inflicted wounds still fresh and seeping. There were more bodies this time, a lot more than when Jackal and I had first come through. The final stage of the virus was emerging full force.

"This city is screwed," Jackal remarked as we ducked through an old grocery store, roof blown off, windows shattered. Narrow aisles lined with rubble and glass now bulged with corpses, pale and bloody in the sickly light coming through the ceiling. We picked our way over sprawled limbs and sightless, staring faces, wary in case one leaped up and came at us, howling. "If I was Salazar, I'd let the virus run its course, wipe everyone out and start over again with the humans he has left. He's got enough bloodbags in the Inner City to feed himself and the rest of them. But noooooo, he has to send us on a wild-goose chase to find a madman and a nonexistent cure."

"He doesn't," Kanin said quietly from up ahead. "Not if he wants to keep the city alive. There aren't enough humans to feed all the vampires in New Covington, not without severely limiting the blood supply. Some of them would go mad and have to be destroyed. The humans in the Fringe are their greatest source of food. If they all die, New Covington will be threatened with extinction."

"Oh, well, my bad," Jackal said, stepping over a body lying facedown in the aisle. "Thanks for clearing that up, old man. I just have one more question for you. Why the hell do we care?"

"Because there are still people who can be saved," Zeke replied in a voice of cool contempt, deliberately not looking at Jackal. "Because there are still people in the Fringe who aren't infected, who are locked out of the Inner City and don't have any way of protecting themselves."

"Right, okay, let me revise that question," Jackal said, giving the human a disgusted look. "Why the hell should the vampires in this party care if the Prince's city goes up in flames? The plague isn't going anywhere. New Covington is as isolated as they come. Look, we can turn around, go back through the sewers, slip under the Wall and be outside the city by midnight."

For a second, I felt a blaze of anger at Jackal's callousness. Not just his complete disregard for the humans in the city, or even his fellow vampires-that was expected. Now he was willing to let Kanin die, knowing he didn't have a lot of time, knowing we had only a few days before our sire was so far gone nothing would save him.

But then, I remembered that Jackal didn't know about Kanin's sickness. Because Kanin hadn't told him. Or Zeke, either. I was the only one who knew about Salazar's betrayal, and the infected blood killing him from the inside. I didn't know why Kanin was keeping it a secret, but I guessed he had his reasons. And knowing Kanin, this was something he would reveal himself, if it came to that. I didn't like it, but if he didn't want them to know, I wasn't going to tell them.

"Come on then, old man," Jackal urged as the other vampire continued through the aisles, ignoring us all. "Let's get out of here, what do you say? Wasn't it you who taught me not to fight battles we can't win? Forget Salazar. Forget this hellhole. Let Sarren come to us."

I snorted. "Your compassion continues to astound me. James."

He shot me an evil glare. "Oh sorry, I should've been more clear. I'm only interested in the opinions of real vampires."

"Well, if that's the case, why don't you go find Sarren without us? I'm sure you two have a lot to talk about."

Kanin finally turned then, giving us both a weary look that said, Are you two quite finished? "We can't stop," he stated calmly. "We keep moving. Hopefully Sarren will have left something in the lab that we can use."

"And if he hasn't?" Jackal asked.

Then Kanin is dead, I thought numbly. Because there won't be enough time to develop a cure, not for him. He'll rot away until he looks like that vampire in the hospital room. Sickened, I clenched my fists, not knowing how Kanin could be so calm about it.

"Then we find another way," Kanin replied, still talking to Jackal. "We hunt down Sarren, if we must. But I am not leaving the city until this is over. You, however, are free to go." He nodded back the way we came. "I'm not keeping you here, I never have. If you want to leave, I'm not stopping you."

"You'd love that, wouldn't you?" Jackal's grin turned vicious. "What's the matter, Kanin? Don't want your newest spawn to hear about your greatest disappointment? What you created and then tried to kill?"

Kanin didn't answer, though I saw a flicker of regret pass through his eyes. Regret that he'd tried to destroy Jackal, or that he hadn't been able to? "Is there anyone you haven't pissed off so much they want to kill you?" I asked Jackal, who sneered at me.

"Hmm, lemme think. Well, there was this one chick who... No, wait, never mind. That didn't end well, either."

A shot rang out behind us.

I spun around, ready to draw my sword or attack. Zeke stood with his gun drawn, pointed down the aisle behind us. Several yards away, a human screeched and collapsed, pitching forward from an all-out charge, crashing to the ground. Another human leaped over the body and came rushing down the aisle, shrieking and waving a hammer, and Zeke's pistol barked once more. The body slammed into the shelves, laughing, twitching, clawing at its face, before it slumped and finally stopped moving.

Zeke holstered the weapon, his face grim, and I forced my nerves to calm down. "I know I'm the only human here," he said in a low, even voice, glancing back at us, "but maybe we can move the vampire family discussion to a later time? Maybe when we're off the streets and out of the open?"

I blinked at him, and even Kanin raised an eyebrow, a flicker of amusement crossing his face. But he only nodded and turned away. "Come, then. We're not far from the next stretch of tunnels."

Leaving the store, we walked swiftly through the ruins of the Fringe, wary this time of bleeders who might've been drawn to the noise. Kanin led, with Jackal close behind him. Zeke and I brought up the rear, hanging back a few paces.

"What's the story with Jackal and Kanin?" Zeke asked after a few minutes, his voice soft. "Kanin Turned him, right? What happened between them that made him change his mind?"

"I have no idea," I replied. "In fact, I was wondering that myself, but good luck getting a straight answer from either of them. Kanin has never spoken about his past, and Jackal will be a bastard just on principle. Why?" I glanced at Zeke, forgetting for a moment that I was trying to remain aloof. "You've never been curious about them before. What brought that on?"

"Nothing." He looked away, sounding evasive. "I was just wondering."

It hit me then, and my eyes widened. "Because you want to know if Kanin is planning to kill Jackal before you have the chance to," I guessed, and Zeke winced. "You're still planning to fight him when this is over."

"He killed my father, Allison." Zeke's eyes met mine, angry and hard. "Jebbadiah and Darren and Dorothy, even Ruth-they're all dead because of him. And I'm sorry, but I can't let that go. Yes, he's helping us now, but what happens after that? It doesn't change the past. My family is still dead."

"Killing him won't bring them back," I said softly.

"I know." Zeke looked away again, his face tightening. "I just...I need to find some kind of peace. If I can send him to hell where he belongs..."

My stomach clenched. "Jeb thought he would bring a vampire back to hell with him," I said, not really knowing why I was telling him this. "That was me."

He glanced back sharply, but at that moment, a sudden crackle buzzed in the silence, making us both jump.

"Zeke?" came a faint voice, and Zeke's hand went to his belt, pulling out that strange rectangular box. The voice came from the device, broken and hissing with static. "...there? Mole men...coming...you gotta..."

"Roach!" Zeke put the device to his mouth, his face intense. "Can you hear me? What's happening? Where are you?"

"...help us!" the box spat back. "Everyone is...sealed the entrance...mole men...will kill us!"

The device buzzed, then faded into an unbroken string of static, despite Zeke's attempts to contact the voice on the other end.

"Dammit," Zeke muttered, and I blinked. I couldn't remember ever hearing him swear before. He looked back at me, guilty but determined. "I have to go."

"Go?" Jackal repeated, having circled back with Kanin. His yellow eyes regarded Zeke curiously. "Where exactly are you going, bloodbag?"

"The refugees are in trouble," Zeke continued as Kanin stepped up, his dark gaze searching. "The mole men are moving on the base and will kill them if they get in. I have to help them."

Kanin frowned. "Refugees?"

"A bunch of noninfected humans living in the tunnels," I answered, watching Zeke eye the road behind us, like he could barely keep himself from rushing off. "It's on the edge of mole man territory, though, and they don't want them there anymore. They were threatening to drive them out when we came to find you."

"How many?" Kanin asked Zeke.

"Close to two dozen or, at least, that's how many there were when I left." Zeke raked a hand through his hair, looking distressed. "I can't leave them. They've locked the gate and sealed themselves in, but the mole men are waiting for them outside and they don't have any food. I promised I would come back if there was trouble, especially now that Salazar isn't sending any help."

"Have fun with that," Jackal said, crossing his arms. "They'll probably be dead by the time we get there. But don't let us stop you. We don't have time to play with bloodthirsty cannibals."

He was more right than he knew. Time was our enemy now, more than ever. Kanin's seconds were ticking away, even as we stood here and argued. But I also knew Zeke would never abandon those he'd sworn to help. "You go on," he told us all, backing away. "Keep looking for the lab. I'll catch up when I can."

"Zeke, no." I stepped forward, stopping him from running off. "There are too many. You're going to get yourself killed." And, knowing that he didn't fear death like he should, like all sane people did, I added, "If you die, you won't be able to help anyone."

Zeke hesitated. Stared at me, as if he was about to say something then thought better of it. Then, in a very quiet voice, he murmured, "Come with me, Allie?"

It was a question. Not a demand, or even a request. He was giving me a choice: human or vampire. Help the refugees, or continue on with Jackal and Kanin. I didn't know what to do. I wanted, desperately, to go with Zeke. I couldn't let him rush off to face an army of mole men by himself. He would be killed, and I'd never forgive myself.

But...Kanin was dying. He literally had hours left. If we couldn't find Sarren and a cure, Kanin was doomed. I couldn't leave him, either. If I returned to find my sire dead, killed by Sarren or the insidious virus working its way inside him...

Dammit. How could I choose between them? This was impossible.

I could feel the eyes of all three on me, waiting for a decision. Frustration and despair rose up, and I stifled the urge to snarl and drive my fist through a wall. "Zeke," I began, not really knowing what I would say next. "I..."

"Where are they?" Kanin suddenly asked.

Surprised, we all looked at the Master vampire, who waited calmly for Zeke's answer, no emotion crossing his face. "Sector Four," Zeke replied, and glanced at me. "Allison's old district."

"That isn't far," Kanin murmured, sounding tired and resigned. He closed his eyes, as if preparing himself, or coming to a decision, then sighed. "All right. Let's go."

"What?" I gaped at him as he stepped forward, brushing by us. "Kanin...are you sure? What about..." I trailed off, certain he knew what I was talking about.

My sire looked back and gave me a weary nod. "Don't worry about that, Allison. This is important, a debt I must pay. I..." He hesitated, briefly closing his eyes. "I have an obligation to fulfill," he almost whispered. "Yours and his both. You came to New Covington for me, and I owe you several lives for that. Let this be the start of my compensation." He shook himself and gestured at Zeke then, motioning him forward. "Come. If we hurry, we can be there in a couple hours. Let's hope your people can hold out that long."

"Wait, I'm confused," Jackal said as we began walking back the way we came. "Did the entire world just get turned on its head? Now we're going to save a bunch of dirty meatsacks from a bunch of dirty cannibals? Why don't we rescue some orphaned kittens and put food out for stray puppies while we're at it?"

It took longer than we'd hoped to get to the tunnel that would lead to Sector Four. Bleeders roamed the streets between buildings, forcing us to hide, sneak around or wait for them to pass. This irritated Jackal to no end. They were only human, we should just carve a path right through and let God sort them out. But the rest of our party, Zeke especially, were opposed to needless killing, besides the fact that we didn't know how many of them were out there. The last thing we needed was a huge mob to come rushing down on us.

The last stretch to the tunnel was eerily silent. Kanin took us through an abandoned lot overgrown with frosted weeds and grass, crumbling buildings lining either side. I didn't like how exposed we were, even less so when I tripped over something large in the weeds and discovered it was a corpse, eyeless face turned to the sky.

Wrinkling my nose, I hurried on. It was too quiet. The houses sitting on the edge of the lot seemed to watch us with silent intensity. I could feel eyes on me, and though everything was deathly still, the air was thick with the smell of blood and open wounds.

"Kanin," I whispered, catching up to him, "I don't like this. Are we almost there?"

He nodded, and I could see that he was tense, too. "Very close. The entrance to the sewers is about another hundred yards from-"

And the screaming began.

Figures appeared in the doorways of the buildings, dozens of them, a huge ragged swarm. Bleeding, wailing, reeking of blood and pain, they burst through frames and windows and came shrieking at us, catching us in the center of the field.

Snarling, I drew my sword as the roar of Zeke's pistol joined the screeching chaos closing in from all sides. Spinning toward him, I saw him shoot two more bleeders, draw his machete as one came leaping at him and slash it across the human's throat. The man gurgled a wild laugh and pitched forward into the weeds, still clawing at him. Zeke stepped away, nearly bumping into me as I lunged in to help, and I spun around to guard his back.

A woman sprang at me, shrieking something about burning her laundry, swinging a chair leg at my face. I cut the weapon in two and plunged my sword between her breasts, yanking it out as she laughed at me and fell. A man with a bloody hole where his nose had been grabbed for my arm, insisting I give him a kiss as he raised a knife in the other hand. A flash of my katana, and his head toppled into the weeds.

"Keep going!" Kanin's roar rose above the shouts and laughter of the mob. Through a split-second break in the mob, I saw him and Jackal, fighting side by side. Kanin had his thin, short blade in hand, and he moved so quickly he was a blur: quick, lethal strikes that wasted no motion or effort. Every single cut or stab was a fatal blow, and he would move on to the next attacker before the previous one even knew they were dead.

At his side, Jackal bared his fangs in an evil smile as his attackers rushed forward, swinging his steel ax with lethal force. His blows knocked the humans off their feet, and they didn't get up again. One time, a human lunged in, grappling for the weapon, and Jackal simply drove his other fist into the man's chest, snapping bones as his hand vanished into the body and emerged wet to the forearm.

"Allison," Kanin called to me. "This way! The sewer entrance is about a hundred yards straight ahead!"

I slashed a bleeder through the ribs, ducked a wrench swung at my skull and cut the legs out from under him. "Got it! Zeke!" I glanced at him, my blood going cold as a bleeder rushed him from the side, slamming into him. Clinging to Zeke's arm, it howled in his ear and sank its teeth into his shoulder, growling like an enraged dog. I started forward, but Zeke planted his feet, shoved the man away and raised his gun as the human sprang at him again. His pistol barked, catching the bleeder right between the eyes, and it collapsed without a sound.

"Zeke!" I cut my way through two more humans to get to him, grabbing his arm as he retreated, his gun still raised and firing into the mob. "You all right?"

"I'm fine." Blood seeped through the collar of his shirt where the human had bitten him, two red splotches right below his neck. His jaw was set, eyes grim as he fired twice more, emptying the clip, and swung his blade up in front of him. "Get going, I'll be right behind you."

The bleeders screamed at us, insane and senseless. Slowly, we fought our way through the crowd to where Jackal and Kanin stood in the center of the lot. A square cement tube lay open at Kanin's feet, metal doors folded back, rusty ladder descending into darkness, but the bleeders, pressing in from all sides, prevented us from going down.

Jackal snarled, bashing the ax hilt into a woman's face, sending her reeling back with a wail. "Bloody persistent bastards," he growled, swiping at another who instantly crowded in, knocking it aside. "We move now, they're just going to follow us down."

"No, they won't," Zeke muttered, and pulled something from his vest. It was a green, cylindrical-shaped object with a handle and a metal ring attached to the top. I had no idea what it was, but Jackal looked back at it and swore.

"You've been carrying around grenades all this time?" He blocked a bleeder's stab to the head and back-fisted the ax across its face. "That would've been nice to know."

"This is the last one." Zeke looked at Kanin, standing at the edge of the sewer entrance. "Flashbang. We only get one shot at this." The vampire gave a short nod.

"Everyone, get down there, now," he ordered, pointing at me. "Jackal, Allison, move!"

Jackal responded instantly. Grabbing a human, he hurled it back into the crowd, turned and dropped through the hole, vanishing into darkness. Cursing, I slashed through one more bleeder and followed, landing on hard cement and instantly looking back for Kanin and Zeke.

Through the hole, I saw Zeke fend off a human, kicking it away, then draw back his arm and throw something into the crowd. Kanin snapped at him to go, and Zeke ducked into the opening, scrambling down the ladder and joining us at the bottom.

"What about Kanin?" I asked as soon as Zeke hit the ground and immediately backed away from the ladder. "How-"

A blinding flash of light, and a monstrous boom rocked the ground up top. The explosion echoed down the tunnel and caused dirt to rain from the ceiling, showering us with filth and bits of ice. I swore and looked desperately back for Kanin, but the Master vampire was already descending the ladder, closing the metal doors behind him.

"That should keep them distracted for a goodly while," he murmured, looking back up the ladder. He glanced at Zeke, a hint of approval crossing his impassive face. "You can keep your head in a fight," he said. "Well done. Are you injured?"

Zeke's hand went to his neck, his face tightening. "It's nothing," he said, dropping his arm. "I'm all right. We should get going."

Kanin nodded and turned away without a word, and we slipped into the darkness of the tunnels.