Chapter Ten
I t’s light when I wake. I’ve slept the entire night through, which is a surprise, but what’s more surprising is that it isn’t the light that wakes me.
It’s sound. The sound of people coming in and out, moving around me.
I jerk upright and Autumn looks over at me. She’s clearly been awake for some time; she’s fully dressed and doesn’t look tired at all.
“You all right?” she asks, shoulders a little tense.
“How long was I asleep?”
“All night.”
“Yeah, but—” I check my watch. It’s past ten, which should be impossible. Sure, I didn’t sleep yesterday, and I only ever get a few hours the night before a job, but I can run on fumes for longer than that.
“Sleeping Beauty wakes,” Blake spits as he walks past and I raise an eyebrow at him. “Thought maybe you’d died overnight.”
“I take it no zombies came?”
“Not like you’d know,” Blake says, but Autumn’s already shaking her head.
“It was quiet all night.”
“Not entirely,” Blake says. He frowns—does he not like that he volunteered information—and then rolls his eyes. “Some of the creepy fucks were up and about. Watching us.”
“And zombies?” I ask.
“Nothing,” Blake replies, jaw set as though he’s saying it begrudgingly. He snatches up something from his bag and stalks off again. Dane is waiting for him by the entrance to the church. Light streams in through the open door and over the stone floor.
“Rae asked me to tell her when you woke,” Autumn says and then flits off herself, expression betraying her desire not to be alone with me for too long.
Sour bitterness floods my mouth, and I force myself to stand and begin getting ready for the day.
There must be something we can do, even if Nia doesn’t want us here.
Nia appears before Rae does, emerging from the doorway that leads into the underbelly of the church. She doesn’t smile when she sees me, but the tight lines around her eyes relax, just a little, before she makes her way over.
“I hope you’re well-rested,” she says by way of greeting. From anyone else, it might sound like an insult, but her straightforward tone tells me she means it.
“I am. Thank you for letting us stay here.”
“Don’t mention it. Mason told me you killed a zombie yesterday.”
I nod and when she looks at me questioningly, I quickly outline what happened the day before. She doesn’t need every detail of Mason playing in the park or asking me personal questions.
“Strange that they’d be back now,” she says. “We’ve not had an attack on our people in years.”
“We can help you get rid of them.”
She eyes me for a moment. I don’t know her well enough to read her dark eyes, but I’ve been dissected under such thoughtful gazes before.
“All right.” Nia eventually relents. “You and your team can help. But some of ours will go with you, and when you return to the Citadel, you will not breathe a word of the people you’ve seen here.”
There’s nothing she could do if we did, but we both know that. She’s trusting me with this, and I’ll do my best to ensure that trust is not misplaced.
“Fine. We’ll find them. Wherever they’re hiding.”
Nia nods and gives me a final searching look before she moves past me and strides out of the church. Rae takes her place, staring mistrustfully after her.
“What did she want?” she asks.
“We can hunt,” I say. “Where’s Otto?”
“Outside. He’s been out since the sun came up. Autumn.”
Autumn nods, looking a little apprehensive—likely due to the idea of talking to Blake and Dane more than Otto—but she scurries out of the church all the same to gather the rest of our wayward team.
I quickly change while she’s gone. Past ten means there are still hours of daylight, but we will have to move quickly.
Rae points out another bathroom up here, just a small room with a toilet and a sink, and I’m surprised to find the plumbing actually works, though there’s no hot water. I avoid my reflection, but when I glance up, I see a blue mark reflected behind me.
I frown and turn. There, on the cistern, is a blue symbol. It’s similar to the tattoos I’ve seen, a swirling shape, but I don’t think it’s identical.
Rae knocks on the door. I step back out to find the others have gathered and snatch up my bat, ready to join them.
“What is it?” Blake drawls.
Dane’s eyes devour me, but he doesn’t speak. Giving me the silent treatment, then.
“Nia’s told me we can go hunt today,” I reply.
Blake bristles immediately, and Dane’s expression stiffens. Autumn gives them both a fleeting glance, then takes a minute step to the right.
“Said there hasn’t been a zombie here for years before the ones we saw the other night.”
“She gave you conditions?” Dane asks.
His voice is a knife’s edge, and Otto’s face darkens as he steps up between him and Autumn. Rae tightens her grip on her axe.
“She’s sending people along with us.” I shrug. “The help won’t be unwelcome, will it?”
Dane opens his mouth, but his gaze flicks past me, and he snaps it shut again.
I don’t glance over my shoulder. There’s no point.
Already, I know Mason is standing there.
I feel the electric pressure that comes before a storm.
I never take my eyes from Dane as I take a breath, letting the feeling wash over me.
“No, it will not,” Dane says finally. Blake glares at him, but he doesn’t argue, either.
Mason scares them. I don’t quite know why, but then I don’t think they’d be able to articulate it if they even cared to.
“Are you all ready to go?” Mason asks, breath hot against my ear. He’s so close, the heat of him sears my back. “I’ll be accompanying you.”
A polite cough comes from Rae’s right. Emma is standing there, and she raises an eyebrow when I look at her.
Mason chuckles. “And Emma, of course.”
“Sal and Lucas are joining us too,” Emma says. She gestures at two men standing by a pew. The white man—Sal, from the way he perks up at his name—has the same mark as she does on the side of his throat. If Lucas does, it’s not anywhere I can see.
“I’m ready,” I say, and the others all murmur their assent.
“Let’s go then.”
Mason strides past me, not looking back, and when the others hesitate, I follow, listening to the thump of our boots on the stone floor of the church. I blink rapidly when we step out into daylight. It isn’t terribly bright, but the sky is overcast, white and dappled grey as far as the eye can see.
“Good day for it,” Mason says, apparently following my gaze.
“Is it?” I follow him through the ruined graveyard, forcing my eyes ahead so that I don’t look at the grave that fascinated me the other day.
“Lots of shadows. Easier for them to hide.”
Dane huffs behind us, apparently inclined to catch up. I hear Rae murmuring further back, though I’m unsure whether she’s speaking to Autumn or Otto or Emma.
“They don’t care about hiding,” Dane snarls, and Mason doesn’t even look at him. Dark eyes slide to me, sparkling like he wants me to share in his amusement. “They don’t have the mind for it.”
“Oh, really? Had many conversations with them, have you?”
“And you have? Apparently, you haven’t had a zombie around here in years.”
“We haven’t.”
Dane comes to a stop, boots scuffing on the cobblestones underfoot. I halt on instinct, and Mason does too, though his mouth pulls downwards.
“You need us for this more than we need you,” Dane says. “You don’t know shit about zombies. No wonder Isaac had to save your arse yesterday.”
Mason doesn’t appear ruffled by that. No. His gaze moves lazily from Dane to me, and the heat in it makes my stomach swoop. I swallow hard. I know better than to chase that feeling.
“Yes, he did,” Mason murmurs, voice curling around me like smoke.
Dane mutters something under his breath and when I glance back, the others have caught up. Like Emma and Callum, Sal and Lucas appear to have no intention of ingratiating themselves with us.
Does Mason have the same mark they do? I swallow. I haven’t seen it. Where could it be?
“Come on,” Mason says, still only looking at me. My skin prickles under the weight of that touch. “Let’s show them where we encountered the one yesterday.”
He strides off without waiting for an answer, and I don’t look at any of the rest of my team before I trot after him. Dane growls something again, and Blake replies, but it’s only a few seconds before they’re out of full hearing range.
Mason smirks over at me when I catch up. “Hopefully, today’s trip out will be fruitful.”
“You need to be more careful with him,” I whisper. “The angrier he gets…”
I trail off. Have I ever seen Dane truly lose his temper? No. And I believe he’s not one for killing for the sake of it, but he takes out zombies with vicious efficiency. That, combined with how clearly angry Mason is making him, is an unsettling mix.
“Oh, don’t worry about me.” Mason flashes me a smile. It isn’t fake, but it isn’t friendly, either. “I don’t worry about bullies like him.”
The way he says it makes my heart beat a little faster. His voice is playful, but there’s a menacing undertone that I…
God, I don’t hate it. I stare at Mason for a beat too long, cheeks heating, and that smile widens as he looks at me in turn.
I clear my throat and tear my gaze away. “Well, you should,” I mutter, passing my bat from hand to hand.
Mason chuckles. “I take it back. Keep worrying about me. I think I quite like it.”