Free Blood & Dust by Jason Nahrung Page B

stick-on stars and
moons. It struck him that the false sky was possibly the most honest thing in his life right now. He
was, apparently, a monster, one of many, and out there somewhere, out there in the world that he
thought he'd understood but was clearly false, other monsters were hunting him. What in the hell
could he do about that?

NINE
    Reece leaned against the bonnet of the rental, feeling every minute of his 70-odd
years. Not that he looked that old, of course. The past 40 hadn't left any marks - not on the
outside, at least. Maybe he should just leave, find a beach somewhere and grow old disgracefully.
Give young Felicity her chance to step up from Gespenstenstaffel to Hunter, to be Mira's new
favourite. Favourite - he hated that word. Made him sound like a flavour of ice-cream. Maybe
it was a little too close to the truth. He rubbed his face, wishing for a cigarette, but the Strigoi
hated it when he smoked - the smell, the taste, do you squander my gift?
    This was risky. The three of them out here like shags on a rock. He'd blown his cover with Diana
Matheson, but Mira seemed happy with how things had gone. She'd had her tongue down Felicity's
throat since they'd got back to the car; gasps and a metallic scent told him Mira was enjoying a
celebratory drink. To hell with them.
    He lit a cigarette, his hand trembling, and kept his focus on the forlorn house in the distance,
its outline uncertain against the cloud-dark night. They'd done a drive-by when they'd arrived, then
parked well down Barlow's Siding Road. And they'd got lucky: Taipan's red-eye had come in from the
highway. If she'd noticed Felicity keeping watch, she hadn't given any sign. Any moment now…
    Screams.
    He straightened, hand on his pistol as he peered into the dark. Who knew how many Night Riders
could be stalking them. The red-eye might've been a decoy or a lure.
    'Our boy's up and about, then,' Mira said, her voice husky.
    'Christ,' Felicity said, and he saw, from the corner of his eye, her brace against the car with
one hand as she stumbled, her collar open, her throat smeared darkly. 'Is he killing them?'
    Mira lifted a set of night-vision glasses while Reece fought the compulsion to run back to the
house and jam his HeartStopper against the boy's ribs and put him down. A boy has to eat ,
Mira had said. Reece's stomach turned. This was wrong. So very wrong.
    'There, across the paddock,' Mira said. 'The boy and a new friend. The Riders have collected
their waif.'
    The front door opened, a flash of light, and Reece could just discern the figures stumbling down
the stairs: Diana and the young woman. What had Kevin called her? Meg. She had a patch of white - a
towel, maybe - on her throat, and wasn't walking very well. Diana left her propped against the
stairs and went underneath the house. She drove out in an old Falcon and helped the girl in, then
sped off, heading Charleville way.
    'Let's follow them,' Mira said. 'We'll have to make sure the girl gets treated properly at the
hospital. Felicity: get an alert issued for the grease monkey. The Riders will think it strange if
we don't throw up a few roadblocks.'
    'You don't want to follow the boy?' Reece asked.
    'Let them think they've got away.' She held up her hand; the blood bracelets crawled sluggishly
around her wrists. 'The bloodlink's working. Once our reinforcements arrive, we can reel them in.'
    Reece drove; letting pale, excited Felicity make the calls from the passenger seat while Mira
sat, silent and expectant and scheming, in the back. Felicity eyed him cheekily, the cat that had
taken the canary, as though being munched made her special.
    At the hospital, he made sure Diana saw him, and her look of pure hatred wasn't something he'd
forget any time soon. But she and Meg played along and Mira had a word with the attending physician
and was satisfied he'd take the money and keep his mouth shut. A nasty bite, she reported; the
grease monkey had taken a good slurp before doing a runner with