Changeling Dawn (26 page)

Read Changeling Dawn Online

Authors: Dani Harper

“Try this sequence,” said Devlin, holding some tiny device in his hand.
Culley’s fingers flew, then he banged his fist on the doorframe. “Man it was so close. I got five characters in before it shut down this time.” He looked over at Josh and Kenzie in exasperation. “But it changes the goddamn password every time I fail. I can do this, but it’s going to take time.”
“If anyone can do it, you can,” said Kenzie, and it was true. Devlin’s field was physics, but Culley could work miracles with computers.
Usually
, she amended as he cursed again. Miracles took time and they didn’t have much.
 
Josh donned the radio headset that Devlin tossed him. “You there, Stanton?”
“Hey, Tark. We’re working on the problem.”
He snorted. “Which one?”
“Can’t fix the gate for you, but Birkie’s been working on the guards in the ATV shed. She says another couple minutes and we should have some results.”
“Good. Keep me posted.” Josh couldn’t imagine what was going to help the situation unless the woman came up with a machine gun–wielding moose, but decided it was better not to ask. Instead, he focused on other problems. “James, do you think that Humvee could take out the gate?”
“Hard to say. It’s a civilian version and not nearly as tough as military issue.” He continued to watch out the window.
“Tougher than a pickup truck?”
“Maybe. Heavier than those ones over by the ATVs at least. Might work if we got it going fast enough, took a run at it.”
“Birkie’s doing something about the guards,” said Josh. He noted that James merely nodded as if the older woman took out nests of guards with guns every day. “As soon as it’s clear, send a couple of guys to rig the Humvee.”
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll keep my eyes open for something to jam the accelerator with.” Suddenly a grin crossed the big Viking’s face, changing his entire demeanor. “Will you look at
that
.”
Josh crawled over and peered through the bottom of the window. Six men spilled out of the ATV shed, slapping and swatting furiously at themselves. Guns tumbled to the ground, the fight forgotten. Two men threw themselves down and rolled, batting at their faces and yelling. Josh shook his head in amazement. Obviously Birkie had found herself an army of very small allies. “I’m going to kiss that woman.”
“Get in line,” said James, rising and shouldering his rifle. The wolves sprang to their feet around him. “I’ll go round up the idiots, including that roomful upstairs. Then I’m sending my buddies here through the hole in the fence so they can go home.”
“Thank them for me, will you?”
James nodded, then called over to the newly rescued Changelings. “Hey guys, I need a couple of volunteers to help with prisoners and a couple more to crash the gate.” Four men scrambled to follow him and Josh handed his rifle to them as they passed. The pack of wolves trotted after the group.
Another volley of curses flew from the closet. “Forget the password, guys,” said Josh, leaning back against the wall. Christ, he was tired. “Now that the guards have been neutralized, we’re going to take out the gate the old-fashioned way, using that piss-yellow Humvee out there.”
Culley held out his hands as if weighing something. “Computer finesse or wanton destruction, hmmm... .”
“Wanton destruction gets my vote,” said Devlin.
“Hell, yeah.” Culley looked at Josh. “We’ll get started on the cleanup then.”
On the way out, the twins passed Kenzie, Nikki and Anya, who had their arms piled high with what looked like first-aid supplies. Josh kicked himself mentally—he hadn’t even seen them leave. “Dammit, the situation wasn’t secure yet, Kenzie. You shouldn’t have been wandering around.”
“Hey, not dumb here. We raided a couple of the labs on the east side of the building,” explained Kenzie. “We stayed low and we had at least three concrete walls between us and the shooters outside, which, let me point out, is more than we have here.”
“Just the same, I’d like to get used to you not being in danger for a while.”
“Nikki said we needed to get you some more bandages,” added Anya.
Josh looked down at his leg. He’d left a wide smear of blood as he’d made his way over to the window. “Guess she was right.”
“You bet I am,” said Nikki. “From the looks of it, what you need is a hospital, but you’ll have to make do with me because you can’t keep bleeding like this. I’ve got everything from scissors and sutures to butterfly bandages and pressure pads, so let’s get at it.”
Kenzie helped Josh prop his leg up on a chair so Nikki could access it. He hissed a breath through his teeth as she began unwrapping the wound, releasing the pressure that had held it intact and kept some of the pain at bay. Anya laid out a couple of towels on the floor under the leg, while Kenzie used the scissors to take the pant leg off.
Jesus H. Christ.
Josh had seen battlefield injuries that looked better. The wolf’s fangs and scissor-like teeth had punctured flesh and muscle on both sides of his thigh, then torn it at an angle. The bleeding was profuse, although the vet agreed with Kenzie that the femoral artery had been missed.
Thirty minutes later—a damn
long
half hour filled with peroxide and sutures—Josh was surveying his neatly bandaged thigh. His T-shirt was soaked in sweat, but he was grateful for the doctoring, even from a veterinarian. All he needed now was some calories and fluid to compensate for blood loss, and Anya had gone to raid a vending machine for him. Nikki was already working on her next patient, one of the Changelings who’d caught a bullet in the top of his shoulder.
Taking advantage of a moment alone, Kenzie leaned in and kissed Josh soundly. “Thanks,” she murmured as she nuzzled his face and planted delicate kisses on his eyes and brow. “Thanks for coming back for me.”
He cupped his hand behind her neck and directed her lips back to his. Feasted on her luscious mouth. There were a few whistles from the Changeling posse but he ignored them and took his time. “I is ectwould never have left you here. Never.”
Not while I was breathing.
She was straddling his lap and it was a damn shame that his leg was in such tough shape.... As part of his anatomy began to rise to meet her just the same, he decided he needed to move that tempting ass of hers to a less distracting location. “Come sit beside me,” he suggested.
“Sorry, too close to your leg, aren’t I?” She snuggled in under his arm.
It’s not the leg that’s the problem.
Josh pulled her tight against him and reveled in the feel of her. The unusual warmth of her body seeped into his. He wanted to kiss her again, long and slow, wanted to feel the weight of her full breasts in his hands ... but he needed to let his body cool down. They were in the middle of a rescue operation after all. Not to mention how awkward it would be if her brothers walked in and found him with a hard-on ... “You’re sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine. You know, you called in my family,” Kenzie said, pressing an accusing finger to his chest. “I’m not sure how I feel about that.”
He grabbed the finger and kissed it. “I would have taken on IBC alone if I had to. But the chances of successfully getting you out of here were a helluva lot greater if I had some backup.”
“I guess I can’t argue with your reasoning. But you better stick up for me when they chew me out for getting myself captured.”
“Hell with that, I’m on their side. You went off on your own because you were pissed at me.”
She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed. “You’re right and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken off and I
especially
shouldn’t have been angry with you. It was a knee-jerk reaction and a crummy one. I’m pretty ashamed of myself for it.”
“That’s okay. You can make it up to me with sexual favors later. And believe me, I have a list.” She laughed, no doubt knowing he was only half-joking.
“So what was the cleanup that Culley was talking about?”
“We came here to spring you, but while we were waiting for full dark, we decided that we needed to eliminate as much information on Changelings as possible. IBC has a ton of data we don’t want them to have.”
“How much of that information has already gone to their headquarters?”
The million dollar question.
“No way of knowing. Maybe all, maybe some, maybe none. Culley talked about sending a computer virus to IBC, ma
ybe even uploading one to the satellite, just to try to take out their existing data. Talented fellow, that brother of yours.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” said Kenzie.“I have Culley to thank for all the IDs in my passport pouch.” She explained how difficult it had become for Changelings to hide their longevity—and of course, telling her actual birth date to the government was out of the question. Culley manufactured identification for the entire family, and his formidable hacking skills allowed him to manipulate official records to reflect the facts he’d created. “So I guess now you know enough to put us all in jail.”
“Are you kidding? I just got you out.” Josh realized there was nothing criminal intended by Culley or the rest of the Macleods, only survival. Just like what they were doing right now in rescuing one of their own. But how much longer could they keep this up?
Sooner or later, the existence of Changelings would be revealed. And what would happen to them then?
Chapter Twenty-three
 
T
he massive gate gave way with a satisfying crash before the bull-like onslaught of the speeding Humvee. Surprisingly, the driverless vehicle
continued
to run, leaving a trail of parts and pieces, including the hood, the grill, the front bumper, and both front quarter panels. The heavily potholed road eventually slowed it down and changed its trajectory so it meandered into a steep ravine and turned turtle in a creek, its tires still spinning.
Stanton and Birkie had rushed into the main building as soon as the gate was down. The old vet had approved heartily of Nikki’s treatment of Josh’s leg and Dan’s shoulder. Birkie had hugged Kenzie hard, then sat down and taught Anya how to make origami ducks using office paper. Meanwhile, the others had performed a building-by-building search and rounded up the rest of the IBC staff without any resistance. Culley and Devlin had gone along behind them through the bunkhouses and snatched up any computers, cell phones, flashdrives, and so forth. All of the staff, including those held in the cage runs, were transferred to the end bunkhouse and guarded there. The confiscated technology was piled in the main building’s office.
“We’ve got hair and tissue samples, slides, photographs, security cameras, and all kinds of data in every lab in this building,” Devlin reported to Josh. “We’ve got seven bodies—”
“
Seven
?” exclaimed Kenzie, glancing quickly to make sure that Anya was out of earshot. “Where the hell did we get
seven
?”
“There were three more bagged in a freezer in a storage room,” he said grimly. “That’s six Changelings altogether and the remains of one of the human guards. What I’m saying is that there’s so much evidence here that I think the only sure way to destroy it all is to torch this building.”
Josh glanced around the room. “It’s a steel-clad concrete building—how the hell are we going to get it to burn?”
“Culley and I have put together some chemicals that’ll act as an accelerant. And Birkie says she can take care of the rest. Don’t ask me what that means, but if she says she can do it, I believe her.”
“Let me get out of the way then.” Josh let Devlin and Kenzie help him to his feet. It didn’t hurt quite so much to put weight on his leg now. He was weak from loss of blood, but he wasn’t about to complain. At least he still
had
his leg, which was more than one of his buddies from his unit had.
“Will you take Anya and Nikki outside?” Kenzie whispered in his ear. “We have some Changeling business to attend to in here before we bring the place down.”
He nodded his understanding. “Sure,” he said and kissed her forehead.
It was a relief to get outside. Anya was restless and Nikki volunteered to take her for a walk, along with Guillermo and Shaggy Sam. Josh leaned against the building, not quite ready to sit down, although his leg was throbbing. Daybreak was still a couple hours away, but the breeze was cool and fresh. The heavy night clouds had cleared away, leaving a few bright stars pinning the dark blue sky and the declining moon was still visible behind the far mountains. Suddenly Josh heard wolves off in the distance and realized it was the pack they’d freed. He noticed several of the Changelings paused to listen—and smile. He smiled too.
So did a tiny figure over by the helicopter. Josh sucked in a breath but let it ou buo lt easy. He waved his hand at the little dark-haired girl, and whispered
thank you
. Vision or spirit or creation of his own mind, she’d helped him. She laughed, a sound like tinkling bells, waved her red scarf over her head and danced as she vanished into the night air.
A firm hand on his shoulder made him jump. “Who the hell are you waving at?” It was Stanton. “You’re awake, aren’t you, Tark? Because we need to talk.” Birkie was with him, and she wasn’t smiling.
“What’s wrong? What’s happened?”
“A Changeling bit your leg. Not just a scratch but bit it deep.”
“Richardson gave me a souvenir. So?”
“You have a decision to make, Josh,” said Birkie.
He sighed. “I know, I know, but I can’t figure out how the hell to report that I shot him. He’s still got a wolf body and—”
Birkie put her hand on his arm. Her voice was quiet and kind. “No, honey, you don’t have to worry about that. But you do have to decide whether to stay completely human or become Changeling.”
Josh stared at her, then looked at Stanton. The old vet’s face was as solemn as a funeral and his eyes were troubled. “What, you mean like a goddamn werewolf movie? I get bit by a werewolf, so I turn into one?”
“Only if you want to,” said Stanton, clearing his throat. “If you want to be a Changeling, we don’t have to do anything. The first Change will happen involuntarily at the next full moon, and then whenever
you
want it to after that.”
Birkie nodded. “But if you wish to remain as you are, son, we have to treat you, and we have to do it soon.”
He wasn’t sure if his wounded leg gave out or his knees, but he sat down hard on the ground. “Jesus H. Christ.”
Stanton crouched down beside him. “Silver nitrate has to be administered within twelve hours of the bite, or it won’t work. So you have a little time to think about it, Tark, but not much.”
“Does Kenzie know about this?”
“Every Changeling knows about this. Our most basic law is
never to harm a human
. And the second law is
never to turn a human without consent
. So yes, she’s very aware of your situation.”
My
situation.
Pretty mild terminology for having to choose what species you wanted to be. And what would Kenzie want? If he decided to be like her, then she’d have no reason not to accept him and all their problems would be solved, right?
“Fine then, I’ve made my decision.” He told them. Birkie nodded as if he’d chosen exactly what she expected but Stanton’s wild eyebrows went up.
“Tark, are you sure about this?” he asked Josh.
“Dead certain.”
 
Kenzie stood with the others on the far side of the compound. Nikki was watching over Beau and Rico, who were slowly coming out of their drug-induced stupor. The young veterinarian had asked to go with the Macleods when they left, saying she wanted a new start. Kenzie knew that James’s wife, Jillian, would love to have Nikki’s help at her wildlife rehab center. She’d have to thumb-wrestle Connor for her, though. He wanted Dr. Yeung at his chronically understaffed animal clinic. The real winner might be Devlin, however. Kenzie had caught him looking in Nikki’s direction several times. Wouldn’t it be great if they hit it offheyffed?
Thinking about her brother’s love life brought hers to the forefront. How could she be so glad to see Josh and feel so awkward around him at the same time? There was no question that she wanted him, wanted to leap into his arms and stay there. But now things were even more complicated. Before, it had given her pause that he was human. Now, he’d been bitten and he’d have to choose. Thankfully, Birkie and Stanton had said they’d handle it—Kenzie didn’t want to be the one to tell Josh what was about to happen to him. She was afraid she’d consciously or unconsciously try to influence his decision. She already felt guilty for wanting him to be like her, but it would be the perfect answer to everything for them. And she wanted so much to share the world of the wolf, the exhilaration and the joy of it, with this man whom her own inner wolf had claimed as a mate.
It was obvious, too, that her brothers were going to accept him. Culley and Devlin were already treating him like one of the family. And she’d witnessed James clasping Josh’s shoulder, quietly saying “Good job, bro,” before heading off to some other task. Those few words represented immense approval coming from her taciturn brother.
She glanced around until she spotted Josh sitting with his back against a bunkhouse and grinning at her. He patted the grass beside him hopefully.
Oh good grief.
How could she resist an invitation like that? Just as she was about to sit down with him, however, a small hand slipped into hers.
“Kenzie?” Anya had Birkie in tow as well.
“Yes, honey?”
“Did anybody find my mom?”
Omigod.
Kenzie exchanged a stricken look with her friend. Birkie gave her a slight nod, which confirmed what she already knew. It was time to tell Anya
now
and it was very clear that it was her job to do it. But what on earth was she going to say?
Josh moved first, gathering Anya in to his lap, and Kenzie sat beside him. Birkie stood a little ways off, and Kenzie was reminded of her own mother long ago, having to break the news to her that her uncle and aunt and cousins were gone. She took a deep breath, held Anya’s hand and stroked her hair. And in simple and plain words, she told the child that her mom had died. That the bad men were to blame and
especially
that it wasn’t the little girl’s fault. She threw an arm around Anya and together she and Josh rocked her as she cried her heart out. There were tears in both of their eyes too.
Finally, the tears slowed a little, and Anya looked up at them. “Where is she?” she hiccupped. “I want to see her. I want to see my mom.”
Oh honey, not that. Don’t ask for that.
Kenzie wracked her brain to think of something, anything, to tell the child. Because what was left of Anya’s mother was in no condition for viewing.
“I can help,” said Birkie. She knelt beside them. “Anya, sugar, I want you to lay your head on Josh and close your eyes.”
“I’m not tired! I want to see my mom.”
“I know, and I’m not asking you to go to sleep. I just want you to think about your mom for a moment. Think about being at home with your mom, doing something nice together. Can you do that?”
“Like when she reads me a story?”
“Just like that.”
“ ’Kay,” Anya sniffed loudly and scrunched up her eyes. “But just for a minute.”
Birkie stroked Anya’s silky blond hair and whispered an ’ something. It was so low and soft that even Kenzie had to strain to hear the words and even then they seemed to be in a language she didn’t know. Anya’s face slowly relaxed and the hiccups eased away. Soon she was breathing evenly and deeply.
“You made her go to sleep?” whispered Josh.
“Not exactly.” Birkie spoke normally, as if Anya could no longer hear her. “I can’t bring her mom back to life or prevent the pain and grief that Anya will have to go through, but I can give her a little closure so she can heal.”
“How?” asked Josh, frowning. “You’re not fiddling around with her memories, are you?”
Kenzie opened her mouth to protest, but Birkie patted her arm. “No, Josh, I’m not fiddling with a single thing in that child’s wonderful mind. All I’ve done is open a door for her. And I promise you that whatever she finds there will be just as real as you and me.”
 
“The little dragon ran and ran and ran, and as he ran, his wings opened up. Suddenly he was lifted right up into the air! The wind blew him all the way home to his cave in the mountains, where his mother was waiting for him with supper. ”
Anya had heard that story many times but this time something was different. She lifted her head from her pillow to look. “Mommy?”
“Right here, honey.”
And she
was
—sitting on the bed beside her, with Anya’s favorite pink blanket and a storybook just like always. Anya hurled herself at her mom and wound her arms around her neck, burying her face in her mother’s long blond hair. “The bad men took you, they took you
away
and I couldn’t find you and then they took me too, and Josh and Kenzie helped me but I still couldn’t find you and I looked and looked.” She burst into tears and her mother hugged her tight, rocking her back and forth until the sobs subsided.
“You were gone for so
long
.” Anya sniffed and rubbed her face on the shoulder of her mom’s sweater, taking in the welcome, familiar scent.
“I know I was. I’m sorry.”
“I did what you said to do. I ran away and I stayed a wolf for a long, long time.”
“Yes, you did. You did exactly what I told you, baby, and I’m so proud of you. I know it was hard.”
Anya looked into her mother’s face. “But the bad men got me anyway. I did what I was told—why didn’t it work?”
“Sometimes, even if we’re very, very good, bad things can still happen. That’s just life sometimes. The important thing is that you know it wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t your fault at all, Anya. You did everything just right. And you’re going to be just fine.”
Something was different. Anya could feel it but she didn’t understand what it was. She looked around. “When did we go home? I was with Kenzie and Josh. I helped them when one of the bad men was trying to hurt them and take me away.”

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