I crossed my arms, glancing at Zayne. He was still in his Warden form. “Are there demons out there that can control zombies?”
“Not that I know of, but all you’d need is to have a Poser bite one human and then bring more to be infected.”
“Some of them looked like they were a second away from being nothing but a skeleton.”
“They decompose fast. The rough-looking ones could’ve just been here for a few days,” Zayne explained.
That sounded terrible. People snatched off the streets to be turned into the walking dead, left here where there wasn’t even something to eat. Well, unless there’d been any homeless in here, seeking shelter from the heat and the storms.
And that sucked more.
“Dez is here,” Zayne announced.
I turned just as a part of the wall swung open, a hidden door screeching on its rusty hinges.
The dark-haired Warden was in his human form, and I could tell the moment he saw the mess in the pool and on the deck, because he drew to a sudden halt. “You weren’t exaggerating.”
“Unfortunately not.” Zayne moved to stand beside me.
“Hi.” I waved a bloodied hand at Dez. “Ever seen anything like this?” I gestured behind me...and around me.
“I’ve only seen five zombies in my life, and each sighting was years apart.” He lifted a hand and thrust it through his dark hair. “You said you sensed a demon and it led you here, where these poor SOBs were waiting?”
“Yes,” Zayne answered. “We’re thinking it—”
“—was a setup?” Dez cut in, and the unease resurfaced with a vengeance. “You didn’t see the demon?”
“We didn’t.” I stepped forward. “Why do you think it was a setup? Because we were starting to think the same thing.”
When Dez spoke, his voice was as tired as any battle-weary solider. “Because about ten minutes ago, Greene was found dead. Eviscerated and hanging inside the damn Eastern Market.”
“Where?” Zayne asked as my stomach dropped.
“Eastern Market Metro platform,” Dez confirmed. “Only a few blocks from here.”
* * *
Based on the way Dez was eyeing me as I climbed into the passenger seat of the SUV, I figured he wanted to crack open a fire hydrant and hose me down but was resisting.
As Dez jogged around the front of the vehicle, I stared out the window. All I saw were the vague shapes of trees, but I knew Zayne was still in the building and within minutes, other Wardens would be arriving to help clean up the mess and scour the rest of the building to make sure there were no zombies left.
I hated to leave Zayne there by himself after learning that one of his clan had been murdered, and right where we’d just been.
The demon leading us to this abandoned building couldn’t have been a coincidence. Had the Harbinger been out there, stalking Greene, and we’d had no idea? Or had Greene been in another area of the city and was brought there as a twisted message to let us know that we’d been seen?
That we’d been played.
The SUV rocked as Dez folded his long body into the driver’s seat. I looked at him, able to make out his profile in the streetlamp. Dez was young, only a handful of years older than Zayne, and he was already mated, with two adorable twins who were just learning to shift.
A lot of Wardens grew up parentless, having lost either their mother during childbirth or to demon raids and their father to the never-ending war. The statistics weren’t in the twins’ favor, but I hoped Izzy and Drake didn’t meet that same fate as so many others.
“I’m sorry about what happened to the Warden,” I said as Dez hit the ignition button.
He glanced at me, expression hidden in the shadowy interior as he pulled away from the curb. “Thank you.”
I wanted to ask if Zayne had known him well, but that seemed insensitive. “Had he been with the clan long?”
“Yeah, he’s been here for several years,” he answered, and my heart squeezed. “He wasn’t mated, and I guess that’s a blessing.”
How sad that had to be tacked on, as if the reminder that it could’ve been worse needed to be spoken. “But he’ll still be missed.”
“Of course. He was a damn good fighter and an even better friend. Greene didn’t deserve to go out that way.” He sighed. “None of the ones who were killed before you got here did.”
A knot filled in my throat as I turned back to the window, unsure what I could say or if anything other than I’m sorry could be said. I went to chew on my fingernail but stopped when I remembered my hands were caked with zombie blood. “We were right there, no more than thirty minutes ago. That part of town was virtually empty, and we didn’t sense anything other than the demon. If we had, or had known what we were looking for...”
“But you didn’t know,” Dez finished. “You’re in the dark as much as we are, and I don’t mean that as a criticism. Whatever this thing is, it’s clever. It waited until you and Zayne had moved on.”
I nodded as unease unfolded in the pit of my stomach, spreading like a poisonous weed. The Harbinger wasn’t just clever. I had a sinking suspicion that, even though we had no idea who or what it was, it knew exactly who and what Zayne and I were.
* * *
My entire body jerked upright as I gulped in air, blood pounding so fast, I could hear the rushing in my ears as disorientation swept through me. It took me a moment to realize I’d fallen asleep after showering.
Dammit, I hadn’t meant to pass out. I wanted to be up when Zayne returned. I had no idea how long I’d been asleep or if Zayne—
“Trinity!” Peanut’s ghostly face was suddenly mere inches from mine, illuminated by the glow of the bedside lamp I’d left on.
“Jesus,” I sputtered, pressing my hand against my chest. “Why would you do that?”
“Trin—”
“Sometimes I think you’re trying to give me a heart attack.” I twisted away from Peanut, irritation buzzing through my veins like a nest of hornets as my eyes adjusted. I realized that the bedroom door I’d left open so that I could hear Zayne return was closed, meaning Zayne most likely had returned and closed it, because I seriously doubted Peanut would’ve done that. “Peanut, I’m being serious. The next time you do this—”
“Listen to me, Trin, there’s—”
“—I’m going to exorcise your ass right into the afterlife,” I snapped. “It’s not okay, Peanut. Not at all.”
“I wasn’t watching you sleep or trying to scare you!” Peanut flickered.
“Whatever,” I muttered and reached for my phone to check the time.
“Listen to me!” Peanut shouted so loudly that if he could be heard by other people, he would’ve woken up half the apartment building.
I’d never heard him yell before. Ever. I focused on him, really looked at him, and for a ghost, he looked freaked-out. “What?”
Peanut drifted back a foot. “There’s something here—something in the apartment.”
12
I shot off the bed like a rocket was attached to my butt. “What?”
Peanut nodded. “There’s something here.”
“You need to give me more detail.” I snatched up a dagger from the nightstand. “Stat.”
“I saw it in the other room, near the kitchen island,” he said. “It doesn’t belong here.”
Oh my God, Zayne was out there.
What if the Harbinger had followed us? It was possible, especially if it had known we’d been in the Eastern Market. We hadn’t sensed it, so it could be here undetected. Racing forward, I threw open the door and stepped into the common room, which was lit by the moonlight and the soft glow of the under-cabinet kitchen lighting. My gaze darted over the kitchen island to the couch—Wait. Something was behind the island. It was blocking out a section of the light.
I took a step forward, my hand gripping the dagger as I squinted. The shape was that of a...person, but it wasn’t solid. Every other second, I saw the lights from the cabinet blinking through, as if the shape was flickering...
“You see him?” Peanut questioned from behind me. “He’s not supposed to be here.”
I saw him.
Slowly, I lowered my dagger.
“He was looking around and stuff, checking out Zayne,” Peanut continued, staying behind me as if I was his personal shield. I inched toward the couch. “I asked him what he was doing, but he wouldn’t answer. He ignored me like he can’t see me, but that’s totes not the case.”
I spared a glance down when I reached the couch, and relief punched me center in the chest. Zayne was there, asleep. One arm was thrust behind his head, the other resting across his stomach. His face was turned toward me, and a sliver of moonlight kissed his cheek.
I jerked my gaze back to the kitchen, blood pressure settling. Zayne was okay, but the shadowy shape was still in the kitchen, and it wasn’t the Harbinger or a demon that had somehow gotten through my internal radar system.
It was a ghost...or a spirit.
Which would’ve been good for Peanut to have mentioned when he’d woken me up, instead of giving me a minor heart attack.
Ghosts and spirits, for the most part, were benevolent, even the ones who could interact with their surroundings, like Peanut. There were a few who became stuck and unwilling to acknowledge that they were dead, and their anger festered, rotting their souls. They became wraiths. You had to watch out for them, as they could be dangerous and violent.