Boreal and John Grey Season 1 (50 page)

Chapter Three

Warrior

Two hours. It felt like a lifetime, and the minutes spilled through Ella’s fingers like the blood dripping from Finn’s chest.

Unwrapping the gauze from her hand, she took a long look at the deep, jagged cut in her palm. Jesus, she was lucky the nerves and tendons were still in one piece. Served her right for grabbing things in the dark. From the looks of it, she’d shared a handshake with a sharp piece of metal.

Great, Ella. Spectacular job so far. Plus you’re using up the medical supplies you brought along for Finn
.

With a sigh, she set about cleaning the cut, applying disinfectant and butterfly bandages, then wrapping it tightly again. Shallow cuts on her arms, from the shards of the broken window at her apartment, had stopped bleeding. She cleaned them up and put her shirt back on.

Ready
. As ready as she ever hoped to be.

Color was touching the sky outside, red spreading over the sea. Seagulls wheeled over the docks. Where the hell was Norma? Ella had asked for a couple things to wear as a disguise, and had answered Norma’s questions the best she could without revealing Finn’s true nature.

Had Norma believed her? Would she betray Ella and lead the police to her?

Ella shook her head. She was mad. This plan was insane. But she couldn’t think of another.

She paced her room, unable to rest or get warm. Chills wracked her body and a ghost pain bloomed below her heart.

Where Finn had been shot.

Or maybe it was her stomach aching from the tension. She’d get an ulcer if things didn’t calm down soon.

Calm down?
That almost set her into hysterical laughter and she went to turn on the television, hoping the inane chatter from some reality show might distract her.

After five seconds of watching a woman with huge silicone boobs explain how important said boobs were in her life and how everyone should get the same, she changed the channel and came across a breaking news announcement.

Apparently strange happenings had been reported downtown.

Close to her neighborhood.

She backed away and sank on the mattress. Odd disturbances in the atmosphere. Albino animals clawing their way out of thin air only to drop, half of their bodies missing. A snake-like thing had managed to bite a woman before it fell, chopped in half. A child reported a winged dragon flying at her, then tumbling out of the air and hitting a storefront. Its hind parts were missing. Gore and blood was everywhere. The military had arrived. There was talk of an invasion, and they’d begun evacuating that part of the city.

She barely heard the rest.

Dear god
. She hadn’t been wrong. Finn was still here, still alive. Probably unconscious, caught in nightmares. Opening Gates.

And Dave had to know it, too.

She straightened. Enough of reeling and feeling like she’d been the one shot. Finn had to be downtown. She couldn’t wait any longer.

But rushing into the fray only to be arrested or shot on sight wouldn’t help Finn.

Unable to sit around any longer, she went down the stairs, into the small lobby with its bored receptionist. She paced, stealing glances at the television mounted on the wall. The evacuation had begun.
Damn
. Sweat trickled down her back. Her pulse pounded behind her eyes.

Helpless. Depending on Finn’s friend, a stranger. Without her weapons and friends. Could things get any worse?

A picture was flashing on the television screen, and it took Ella a moment to realize what she was seeing: it was her own face, expression open and smiling. The caption said, ‘Wanted. If you’ve seen this person please contact the police.’

Oh fucking hell
. Without waiting to see if the receptionist was paying attention to the news, Ella walked as calmly as she could to the automatic door and stepped outside into the pale colors of dawn.

A black sedan entered the parking lot as she hurried across the cemented area. For a moment, hope flared bright and Ella slowed. Maybe it was Norma come to pick her up.

But an old woman was driving, and behind Ella the receptionist was shouting her name.

Just perfect
.

Ella took off running. She exited into a street, her boots hitting asphalt, and she kept running, hoping to reach a busy avenue and find a cab.

Faster. Go faster
. The backpack thumped against her back, the straps digging into her muscles, the old injury sending sparks of fire up her thigh.

A car engine hummed behind her. The vehicle overtook her and slowed. It was the old woman in the sedan again.

“Are you Ella?” the woman shouted. “Ella Johnson?”

Ella stopped and bent over, a stitch in her side. “Who are you?”

“I’m Norma Jones.”

“No way.” But it was that same raspy voice she’d heard on the phone.
God
. To think that even for one moment she’d assumed Norma had been Finn’s girlfriend.

The old woman was regarding her with open curiosity. She was dressed in a pink sweater, the color matching her lipstick. Her hair was cut short, a bluish white, and golden hoops glinted on her ears. Her eyes were dark and warm, and currently narrowed on Ella.

“Are you Ella Johnson?” the woman insisted.

“Benson,” Ella said. “Ella Benson.”

“Well, hop on inside then, Ella Benson, what are you waiting for?”

Ella climbed into the car and set the backpack between her legs. “Please, step on the gas. My face’s all over the news.” It left a sour taste in her mouth. “How am I ever going to make it past the police downtown?”

“Take a deep breath, young lady.” Norma drove slowly, so slowly Ella looked back to make sure the receptionist wasn’t still running behind them. “It’s going to be fine.”

Fine?
Finn had been shot.
Oh Jesus
. Ella drew a shaky breath. “Sure, whatever you say.”

Norma smiled. It was easy to see why Finn had been drawn to her. She had a motherly air about her that spoke of freshly-baked cookies and comfort. What Finn craved.

“Have you found anything that could help me go behind the lines?”

“As I said, I used to be a nurse.” Norma tapped a hand on the wheel. “So chin up, girl. Nobody looks twice at someone in uniform.”

Ella nodded. Why hadn’t she thought of that?

They stopped at a gas station and Ella went to change in the ladies room. She came out squirming in her borrowed clothes. She hoped they’d do the trick but she felt damn uncomfortable. The light blue shirt and the knee-length skirt were bad enough, but she was also wearing a pair of Norma’s shoes — high heels ‘from her youth’. Ella hoped they didn’t hold any sentimental value for the old woman because she’d chuck them into a dumpster as soon as she found Finn, if not earlier.

And with her hair loose, she felt like she wasn’t herself at all. Here was to hoping she’d fool others, too.

“I thought nurses wore low, comfortable shoes,” she grumbled.

“You look great in them,” Norma informed her.

Ella sighed and settled in the seat. She couldn’t complain. She was grateful. “Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it.” She cocked her head to the side, regarding Norma. “You really like Finn, don’t you?”

“Yes. Why, don’t you?” Norma smiled, setting off again, and Ella nodded, her eyes stinging.

Loved him, in fact. So much that the thought of losing him was killing her.

“You said you had medical problems,” Ella said, to break the downward spiral of her thoughts. “What’s wrong with you?”

“I have a congenital heart defect.” Norma kept her eyes on the road. “It can’t be fixed. It’s all down to luck now.”

“I’m so sorry,” Ella whispered.

“Ah, it’s okay, dear. I’m happy. I left work to spend what’s left of my life doing what I’ve always wanted.”

“And what’s that?”

“Gardening and playing poker with friends.”

Ella opened her mouth and closed it again. “Poker?”

“Yup.” Norma grinned. “We try to avoid strip poker, though. Don’t want to frighten ourselves silly.”

“You play
strip
poker
?”

Norma huffed. “Of course, but only on special occasions.”

Ella snorted and rolled her eyes.
Finn’s friends
. She watched the houses and shops roll by. It was taking forever to reach the city center. “Can’t you go any faster?”

“Patience,” Norma said, unruffled, her thin hands steady on the wheel. “Which way now?”

Patience?
Ella blew her dark hair out of her face as they passed through more familiar neighborhoods.
Please, Finn, be alive
. Her stomach was a knot of tension, fear making her palms clammy and her throat tight.
You promised
.

“And when we are downtown?” Norma asked. “What’s the plan, honey?”

“Just drop me there and wait. We’ll find you.”

***

Ella’s pulse drummed in her temples as she walked down the avenue a few streets down from her building. She tried to look confident in her high heels and prayed she wouldn’t stumble and break an ankle. A briefcase, borrowed from Norma, was tucked under one armpit, and she’d even slapped on red lipstick and mascara.

Norma had brought along more make-up tools than Ella had ever owned. That was easy, given she hadn’t owned any since she was seventeen. Not much use when you ran into Shades on a daily basis.

She licked her lips nervously and grimaced at the waxy taste. Resisting the urge to wipe her mouth on the back of her hand, she kept going, taking note of police. Nothing out of the ordinary, at least on the surface.

Deep breaths, Ella
. If anyone asked, she was with the Salvation Army. Her clothes didn’t sport the initial of the organization, but she’d say she was new. A plastic badge pinned to her breast pocket read ‘Norma Cole’, Norma’s maiden name. Norma hadn’t explained why she’d abandoned her profession to work at the diner where she’d met Finn. There would be time for questions later.

At least she hoped so.
Fingers crossed
.

Her reflection winked at her from the glass of a store front and she stopped so suddenly she almost fell over. That was her? Framed in weak sunlight, she looked taller and thinner in the high heels and skirt, and the loose hair made her look...
flirty
somehow.
Ugh
.