Night of Never Page 16

  “But it was better.” Nola spoke through gritted teeth. “You have to admit I’m getting better.”

  “Not good enough,” Raina whispered in her ear. “Don’t make me regret letting you out of the domes.”

  “I helped you escape.” Nola gasped as Raina let her arm go.

  “I could have left you behind,” Raina said. “Let them keep you locked in a glass cage where it’s safe.”

  Nola shook blood back into her fingers. “You wouldn’t have done that. Mostly because you keep your word, even though you like to pretend you’re all rogue, but a little bit because for some weird reason you like me. And you don’t like many people.”

  Raina stared at Nola, her lips twisting into a sneer.

  Feet planted and ready, knife in her hand, Nola waited for Raina to laugh or to charge and stab her in the heart.

  “If you think my considering you worthy of the oxygen you consume means you’re any more likely to survive with subpar fighting skills, then we might as well light your funeral pyre now,” Raina said. “You can collect the wood yourself. It will save the rest of us the trouble.”

  Nola kept her chin up and her gaze locked with Raina’s.

  “Let’s go again,” Raina growled.

  “Good.” Nola softened her knees, waiting to see which direction Raina would attack.

  “Raina.” The young blond vampire burst through the tunnel door. “Raina, you need to come right now.”

  “What is it?” Raina slid her knife back into its sheath.

  “I’m not sure,” the girl said. “But there’s a pack of them coming up the hillside.”

  “Dammit.” Raina was through the door before she finished her curse.

  Nola hesitated for only a moment before running after Raina.

  “Nola!” Jeremy’s footfalls thundered behind her. “What are you doing?”

  “If the guards are coming to kill us all, I’d rather see what’s happening than wait in the dark to die.”

  Jeremy slipped his fingers through hers, still holding his staff in the other hand. “If things go badly, and I say—”

  “If you say run, we run,” Nola said. “But if they were going to drop fire, they wouldn’t be sending their own people up the mountain.”

  “They sent them into the city,” Jeremy said. “We can’t predict what they’re going to do, not anymore.”

  Four people waited at the first window. Raina stood in front of the opening, arms crossed as she stared out into the moonlight.

  “What is it?” Nola whispered.

  “Zombies.” Raina shook her head.

  “What?” Nola peered out the window.

  Halfway down the mountain, a group of six shuffled up the slope in the darkness. They didn’t climb with deliberate steps as an Outer Guard, vampire, or werewolf would, nor did they stumble tiredly up the incline. Their gait lurched as they wove closer, barely avoiding ramming into the trees, their movements more like sleepwalkers than people who had deliberately chosen a path.

  “I’ve never seen them travel in packs like that,” Jeremy said. “You usually find them one at a time.”

  “Why are they coming up here?” Nola asked.

  “Scent.” Raina leaned on the window sill. “At least that’s what we’ve found. Blind them, plug their ears, and the zombies hunt by scent.”

  “They’re smelling Nightland?” A wave of bile surged into Nola’s throat.

  “Yep,” Raina said. “But they can’t get up here, so let the chompers hunt.”

  “We can’t,” Jeremy said. “Six moving that quickly. Most zombies make it, what, a week after taking a bad batch of Vamp or Lycan?”

  “Some make it two,” Raina said. “I’ve seen one at three weeks, couldn’t move though. Mostly just a pile of snarling goo.”

  Nola covered her mouth with her hand, swallowing the vomit that burned her tongue.

  “If they’re moving that well, chances are they injected after the fire in the city,” Jeremy said. “They could still be carrying bottles with trackers hidden in them.”

  “And six moving together might be enough to get the domes’ attention.” Raina pulled her knife from her belt. “Come on, kids. Let’s go kill some zombies.”

  “I’ll come.” Jeremy stepped between Nola and Raina. “Nola can go tell Emanuel what’s happening.”

  “She comes, and that’s final. She needs to start fighting for herself, and what better way to learn than with the undead?” Raina said.

  “She’s right,” Nola said.

  “You don’t need to go out there and kill people, Nola,” Jeremy said. “I know you need to learn to fight, but killing is different.”

  “They’re already dead, Jeremy,” Nola said. “Their bodies just haven’t stopped working yet.”

  “You.” Raina pointed to the blond who had come to the sparring room. “You’ve been all antsy. You get to come and be our runner.”

  “Really?” The girl’s face lit up. “I mean”—her smile disappeared into a façade of cool indifference—“if you need someone fast, I can help you out.”

  “Oh joy.” Raina walked down the hall, twirling her blade in her hand. “Remember, it’s the head and the heart, kids. And avoid the teeth. Zombies give a nasty bite, and we don’t want anyone to bleed all the way to the library on the way home from our field trip.”

  The weight of the blade in Nola’s hand grew as they neared the exit of Nightland. She had killed before. Her hand remembered the strength it took to drive a blade into a person’s heart.

  It’ll be easier now. I’m strong enough to break through bones.

  Her hand shook.

  “You don’t have to do this,” Jeremy said.

  “Yes, she does,” Raina said.

  “You can go back,” Jeremy said. “Three against six is fine numbers for zombies. I’ll be back in no time.”

  “I’m coming,” Nola said. “Hiding won’t stop it from happening.”

  “But it will keep you from remembering doing it,” Jeremy said.

  The back of Nola’s hand brushed Jeremy’s.

  Agree with him. Go back.

  “She needs to practice. End of discussion.” Raina stopped at the ledge. “If she gets killed the first time she fights, bad memories won’t matter for long.”

  Nola nodded, not trusting herself to say anything other than I can’t do this.

  “Keep together, and keep quiet.” Raina looked to the blond. “If this is a trap and the Guard come for us, we die before we give up the location of Nightland. If anyone slips and lets the Domers know where our home is, the blood of every man, woman, and child of Nightland will be on their head.”

  “Death before betrayal.” The blond nodded.

  “Good.” Raina winked at Nola and Jeremy. “Now let’s get some exercise.” She jumped off the ledge and moved down to the tree line.

  “Why didn’t she question us?” Nola whispered.

  “We saw the fire packs work,” Jeremy said. “Neither of us would let the domes do that again.”

  Nola nodded and leapt off the ledge. Her feet met the ground without bobbling. Jeremy landed at her side a moment later.

  The night air held the chill of frost. The cold tickled her skin but had lost the ability to freeze her fingers. The ground crunched under her feet as they crept toward Raina.

  She didn’t look at Nola and Jeremy as they approached but kept her gaze toward the base of the mountain.

  Raina signaled them forward.

  Jeremy stepped behind Nola as the group moved down the mountainside.

  Nola wanted to glance back to be sure he was still there. His boots made no noise as they crept onward.

  There were no shapes moving through the woods. Nothing but the shadows of the trees.

  Anything could be hiding out there.

  Images of a hundred Outer Guard lurking just out of sight flashed through Nola’s mind. Sweat slicked her palm. Her knife slipped in her grip.

  Jeremy.

  She tr
ied to keep her eyes focused on the woods, but she still couldn’t hear his boots.

  She glanced back. He walked four feet behind her, his forehead tense as he searched the shadows.

  Her heart slowed as she looked back to her own path.

  A flutter of movement cut through the trees beyond.

  Do I say something?

  An arm reached out from behind a tree.

  “There,” Nola whispered, pointing to what she had seen.

  Raina turned around, giving Nola an eye roll before following her pointing finger.

  A woman with bright red hair stumbled out from behind the tree. Black and red sores covered her face and bare arms. She swayed in place for a moment, then tipped her head, her blank gaze finding Nola.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “Go on.” Raina shooed Nola toward the redheaded zombie.

  “I can—” Jeremy began.

  “We’ve got a bigger one for you.” Raina grinned as a man even larger than Jeremy lumbered out of the shadows. His face had been burned, whether before he injected himself or after, Nola didn’t know.

  Jeremy ran toward the towering zombie, his staff raised over his head as a slender female appeared from the shadows.

  “Go, Domer.” Raina charged toward the female.

  Not giving herself time to think, Nola ran toward the redhead. The woman stumbled in Nola’s direction, her jaw snapping like an animal determined to bite. Nola kept her knife near her center, ready to strike the woman in the heart.

  She swiped at the woman’s chest. The woman didn’t try to bat the knife away or even seem to notice when the blade sliced into her skin. She seized Nola’s arm in her grip, and dove her face toward Nola’s wrist, gnashing her teeth.

  Nola swallowed her scream and punched with her left hand, hitting the woman in the side of the head. She wasn’t sure if the woman could register pain, but she stumbled at the blow. Nola kicked, swiping the woman’s feet out from under her.

  A rasping snarl rattled from the woman as she fell, rolling down the mountainside.

  Nola chased after her.

  The woman slammed into a tree with a thud that would have meant broken bones for a normal human. Her arms shook as she pushed herself up to her knees.

  Nola kicked her, slamming her back to the ground. She raised her knife, aiming for the heart. Nola had expected her knife to meet bone and stop, or for muscle to slow the blade’s momentum. But the knife sunk through her back like she was nothing more than soft earth.

  The woman stopped struggling and lay limp on the ground, her red hair covering her face.

  A gurgling growl sounded behind Nola’s shoulder.

  A man in a black coat dove toward her. His teeth found her shoulder, digging deep into the muscle.

  Nola screamed before she could stop herself. She grabbed the man’s forehead, trying to push him away. He wrapped his arms around her, his vise-like grip pulling her closer. She stabbed, slicing into his stomach. Warm blood rained down on her leg, but her knife couldn’t reach his heart.

  Her fingers found his face. She pulled up, fighting to free herself from his jaw.

  A flash of movement, and the man fell to the ground.

  “Nola.” Panic filled Jeremy’s eyes. He tore the sleeve from his shirt, pressing the fabric to the bite on Nola’s shoulder. “You’re okay. You’re going to be okay.”

  “Where are the others?”

  Jeremy wrapped an arm around Nola as she swayed.

  “We got all six,” Jeremy said. “We’re done here, we can go inside. Raina will deal with the trackers.”

  “He tried to eat me.” Nola looked down at the man.

  Blood covered his mouth, but the rest of his face still seemed human. Only three small sores marked his skin.

  “We’ll take you to Dr. Wynne, but you should be able to heal on your own.” Jeremy had his arm around Nola’s waist, trying to lead her back to the ledge.

  Her feet wouldn’t move.

  The man didn’t have rings under his eyes or lines on his face from a hard life on the outside. The cut of his chin, the shape of his cheeks….

  “He’s a Domer.” Nola moved to kneel by the man, but the blood from his stomach had pooled on the frozen ground. She turned around, vomiting on the roots of a dying tree.

  “Really?” Raina strolled up. “You get a little bit of blood on you and you puke?”

  “He’s from the domes,” Nola coughed.

  “Are you sure?” Raina tipped her head to the side.

  “He looks familiar,” Jeremy said. “I never worked with him, and he’s too old to have been in our classes.”

  “Maintenance.” Nola leaned against the tree. “He worked in maintenance. My mother hated him. He used to hum while he mopped.”

  “Check the others. See if you recognize them.” Raina unzipped the man’s shredded coat.

  Nola looked away before Raina flapped it open.

  Jeremy took Nola’s arm as they walked toward the red-haired woman. He held her up as though he thought she might pass out at any moment.

  She wanted to say thank you but couldn’t find the words.

  Jeremy rolled the redhead over with his foot.

  Her eyes were as haunting and blank in death as they had been when she’d attacked.

  “I don’t recognize her,” Jeremy said.

  Nola shook her head, too afraid to open her mouth.

  They moved on to the next. A man with dark skin and a crooked nose. Neither Nola nor Jeremy had ever seen him before.

  Jeremy steered Nola away from the giant burned man. “I would have known someone that large from the domes.”

  “What about this one?” The blond held up a severed head.

  Nola covered her eyes with shaking hands.

  “No,” Jeremy growled. “Now put the head down.”

  “Just making sure the zombie doesn’t come back,” the girl said.

  Jeremy took Nola’s hands from her face. “Last one.”

  A girl with blond hair lay face down on the ground, a gash sliced through her back.

  Jeremy rolled her over with his foot. Her bare arm flopped to her side. There were barely any sores on her either. Only two marked her round face.

  “Lilly.”

  Jeremy’s arms wrapped around Nola before she even said her name.

  “How did she get out here?”

  Nola wanted to reach down and shake the girl, smack her until she woke from death and ask Lilly why she had left the domes with nothing but a bad batch of Vamp as a hope for survival.

  “You know this one?” Raina said.

  “She was in our class.” Nola’s voice shook, not with grief, but with anger. “She was in the domes when we left, and she wasn’t the kind to get kicked out.”

  “Maybe she decided to become a rebel and left.” Raina bent down, considering Lilly’s corpse.

  “Lilly wasn’t the type for that either,” Jeremy said. “She never made waves or a fuss.”

  “So why are they out here?” Raina asked.

  “Love affair gone wrong?” the blond asked. “No one wanted them to be together so they ran away?”

  “With the city burnt to the ground?” Raina pointed between Nola and Jeremy. “Not even those two are that dumb.”

  “Then why are they out here?” Nola asked.

  “No idea,” Raina said. “We need to tell Emanuel. You”—Raina turned to the girl—“search the bodies for trackers. Anything that looks strange, take it with you down to the row houses. Dump it and get back before dawn. I’ll send a group out to salvage.”

  “Salvage?” Nola followed Raina up the slope.

  “The world is ending, Domer,” Raina said. “Never let a pair of good shoes pass you by.”

  “You’re going to strip them and leave them to rot?” Nola said.

  “They won’t rot,” Raina said. “The scavengers will eat them long before rot gets them.”

  “Can’t we burn them?” Nola ran a few steps to catch up to Raina.
Warmth squished between her toes.

  “All of them or just the Domers?” Raina stopped below the ledge and rounded on Nola. “It’s the circle of life. We burn our own, the rest are food for the animals. Or do those two deserve extra pity for having lived a life of privilege? Should they get better because they come from the place that just burned an entire city?”

  “No.” The syllable rattled in Nola’s ears.

  “Let’s get inside,” Jeremy said. “We need to talk to Emanuel and figure out what the hell is going on.”

  “I’ll talk to Emanuel,” Raina said. “You get the bloody girl cleaned up before she has a break down.”

  “What do you…” Nola looked down at her feet.

  Blood coated her legs. Her shoes shone strangely as the red reflected the moonlight. Her fingers were stained crimson, as was the knife she still held in her hand.

  The blade slipped from her grip, tumbling end over end to the ground.

  “And she’s gone.” Raina crossed her arms.

  “Nola.” Jeremy tipped Nola’s chin up, making her look into his eyes. “Everything is going to be okay.”

  “No it won’t.” Nola wanted to reach out and touch him, but she couldn’t taint him with the death that coated her hands. “Lilly is dead, the other five are dead. Domers have gone zombie, the city is burned, and we don’t know why any of this is happening.”

  “But we’re going to figure it out,” Jeremy said. “You and me together. We’ll work it out, and we’re going to be fine.”

  “You and I will.” Nola stepped around Jeremy to line herself up with the ledge. “But just because we’re going to be okay doesn’t mean the rest of the world will be.”

  She jumped up, leveraging herself to land on her feet on the ledge above. Blood squelched in her shoes. She leaned over the side of the ledge and vomited again, the acid of it throttling her already raw throat.

  “Are you serious?” Raina growled.

  Jeremy jumped up behind her. “Let’s get you inside. We’ll get you into fresh clothes and—”

  “Am I supposed to be good at this?” Nola searched her sleeve for a clean bit of fabric to wipe her mouth. “Do you want me to be okay with blood between my toes?”

  “Never.” Jeremy brushed away the curls that had pulled free from her braid. “It’s not who you are. You care too much to be cold and indifferent to the pain and death around you. I will do whatever I can to make sure the world never pushes so hard you lose the ability to care for people.”