Unnaturals (40 page)

No more secrets. Everything secret had been laid out before her in a terrifying bloody afternoon. Her world meant nothing any more. There was only this one, Wil's world, and she was surprised to find she could deal with it — if she could have him.

Wilson stood beside Mason and what lay on the floor. Mason barely moved. Light seeped out of him into the twisted form under his hands.

`Nikki?' Renee breathed.

Sally swallowed again. Gone were Renee's vivid green eyes, replaced by black orbs streaked with bloody tears.

`Help me. Please, Wil,' Mason muttered, hunching over. `She's pregnant.'

Sally moved closer, trying to see more. The room hummed with energy around her but she felt no fear.

`I heard,' Wilson said, joining Renee and Mason. Sally glanced at Lilly, standing wide-eyed. `He frightened the crap out of me.'

`He?' Mason looked up. `You know?'

`Sure, he literally screamed his message into me.'

Sally blinked. She hadn't heard anyone scream.

`Focus, please,' Renee said. Nikki's body glowed under their combined touch. `I don't know how much longer I can keep this up.'

Sally watched as the black ash of the body changed. She caught a glimpse of what they were trying to do. How could it be possible?

`We have to do this together.' Mason said.

Lilly knelt beside Wilson. `I can't heal but what I have is yours to use. If you'll have it.'

`Please.'

Lilly put her hand over Wilson's.

`You're healing her?' Sally asked.

`Yes,' It was Wilson who answered. `Dad thinks we can. But Nikki is hurt very bad.'

Lilly sagged against Mason. `I'm spent. How can you keep it up?'

`She is family.'

Family? What sort of family? Mason's body glowed as he held Renee's and Wilson's hands.

Lilly crawled away from Mason, staggering as she tried to stand. Sally helped her up.

`He is doing it,' Lilly whispered, leaning hard on her. `The impossible.'

The body under Mason's hand twitched. Unbelievable.

`They're beating death.' Lilly's breath was hot on Sally's neck. `They're breaking all the rules.'

Sally watched, as Lilly clung to her. Flakes of ash had become charred skin, which in turn fell away to reveal pink skin. `What is he?'

Lilly lifted her head. `I am not sure. What they're doing, I've never heard of any of our kind being able to do that before.'

`Wil. Is he like them?'

`Yes,' Lilly said. `But like me — new to this. Some humans call us Unnaturals.'

Sally touched Lilly's arms, looking at her. `In the forest — you killed them, with your voice.'

`True.' Lilly let her go. `But I'm not like them. I have a small gift but I cannot hold the true power of the dark energy. I don't have the focus or the anger to give me strength. But today I did discover how to focus my gift to kill one person.'

Sally bit her lip. `And those things, in the forest?'

`Bloodells,' Lilly almost spat. `A clan of Unnaturals with no regard for life of any sort.'

`They came for you,' Sally whispered, hearing a murmur. Renee cried out in relief.

Lilly said nothing. Wilson stood up away from Nikki, naked on the charred floor. The glow began to fade from Mason.

`Do you remember?' Wilson said. He was looking at Nikki, but his question was aimed at Lilly. `They knew you. Said your mother is a Bloodells.'

Sally felt Lilly tense under her hands. She knew Wilson cared for Lilly, more than he would admit. Had he loved her? She was like him. Sally was the one who felt different.

`Michelle,' Nikki said hoarsely. She was sitting up with Renee's help. Mason slumped against a wall. `Your mother is Michelle. She came here seeking you out.'

`I didn't know. Michelle?' Lilly said the name, rolling it in her mouth like it hurt to say it.

Nikki sat up. `Lilly, Michelle is High Priestess of the Bloodells.'

Quiet filled the room. Mason didn't move. Renee had stopped crying but held her sister tightly. Nikki looked so calm and beautiful that Sally caught her breath. Lilly squeezed her hand. Too hard.

Wilson, standing, watched Lilly. Sadness flickered across his face, and Sally realised Ruth should be here. Where was she?

Mason slumped against the wall looking like he'd lost all hope. `She took my Ruth.'

`Our Ruth,' Nikki whispered, leaning against him.

He touched her hand. `Our Ruth.'

Sally's mouth was dry. Lilly seemed so white and still. Wilson looked torn between sadness and anger. She shuddered as full understanding flared.

Lilly's mother was the enemy the Douglas family wanted to kill.

Max winced, touching his broken nose. He could taste the blood. He'd also cracked a rib, he was sure; he winced again as he propped himself against a post.

`You're learning,' he said to Ralph, who was in Wolf form and staggering back onto all fours. `If this was a real fight three of your boys would be dead.'

`Nargh,' Ralph slurred, morphing back. `If this was real we would have run when you starting firing that bloody cannon.'

`How bad are you hurt?'

Ralph held his hand over his heart but blood seeped out from under it. `Nearly healed.' He checked Ricco and Jon on the floor, still unconscious. `The nano suit deflected most of the explosive rounds. These two took it full on.'

Max managed to stand. `You'll all need to learn how to deal with armed Bloodells. They use firearms all the time now.'

`Point.' Ralph leaned over Justin who was lying in a twisted pile. `He's fast. You only managed to clip him. He seems to be fine though — just out cold. These suits work.'

`They'd want to. I designed them.' Max clung to the post; his head throbbed and his rib hurt like hell. `That concludes today's training.'

`You could have killed one of us,' Ralph said.

Max ignored his glare. `It's the best way to train you.' He tried to not breathe too hard. `I did five years' active service in Special Forces before I came to work with Mason. It wasn't enough. Nothing can really prepare you for what is waiting out there. It's only if you survive the first time you learn how real this fight is.'

He pushed his pain away. No good reminding himself he was only human. He needed to stay sharp and have the pack ready for Mason. He felt his nose again. It needed to be set, and now would be best. Pinching it in his hand, he snapped it back into shape, cursing silently but unable to stop his eyes from watering. The Wolf didn't need to know how much it really hurt.

`What was he like before?' Ralph turned towards the kitchen as Justin twitched, coming out of it.

`Much as he is now — intense but without the rage issue,' Max replied, remembering. `Mason always had focus. He's strong physically and mentally. He can see how events take shape long before anyone else. A natural leader, I suppose. Never really comfortable with his money. Ruth likes it, though. I suspect he still has his first car. But he knows how to use money when he needs to.'

`What about, you know,' Ralph looked at his feet, `women.'

Max studied the boy. He was conflicted about something. But what was it he wanted to know about Mason's taste in women? The truth would have to suffice.

`Never looked or strayed. Plenty would have jumped at the chance, but it's not his style. And after the attack… Most women like a little danger, but he was just too dangerous.'

`He wouldn't be dangerous to someone like Renee?'

Max shrugged, unsure of what Ralph was asking him.

`I can't comment, Ralph,' he said dodging the subject. If Mason made it his business, then he could. `All I know is that Mason does not take relationships lightly. The Fund and Mason have powerful clan beliefs. You've experienced it and that's why you're here. Mason lives and enforces the clan beliefs. If he says you're family, then you are and everything that comes with that position is given freely. It's how the Douglas family have survived and grown strong over the centuries.'

`I got that,' Ralph said, looking past him as Justin struggled up. `It's a Wolf thing too. Like us four. We're not blood brothers but it matters little. We are brothers.'

`You understand, then.' Max walked carefully across to the fridge, seeking ice.

`Mostly,' Ralph said, tossing an ice pack to Justin. `He's much more intense than any Wolf.'

`And a scary son of a bitch,' Justin rasped, catching the ice pack and pressing it against his side. `Anyone who fucks with him must have a death wish. Glad he's on our side.'

Max dug around in the freezer, uncomfortable with the sudden thought of how Mason could have been exactly the opposite of what Justin said, if he had ever lost control.

`What's that bloody beeping noise?' Ralph said, reaching in past him to grab an ice pack and shove it towards him. `You hear that?'

Max winced as the ice pack touched his nose. `Hear what?'

`A beeping noise.'

Max tried to listen for it. `Can't hear a thing. My ears are still ringing from those explosive rounds.' The walls were pockmarked with shrapnel and his head still throbbed. Ralph's Wolf had hit him hard.

`Sounds like your computer,' Justin said, flopping down into a lounge chair.

`Crap.' Max headed towards his office.

Ralph joined him, following close behind.

Max pushed past his discomfort and took the stairs two at a time. Red filled his laptop screen.

`That doesn't look good,' Ralph said from the doorway.

Max went cold. He'd linked the Douglas house security systems through the Fund's mainframe directly to his laptop. He'd dedicated a satellite to this and only this. Mason would not have approved of the cost but it wasn't his call.

He deactivated the alarm and the screen filled with a view of the house as seen from the satellite.

`Where's that?'

`The Douglas home in Queensland.' Max activated the satellite direct link with his authorisation code.

Ralph peered over his shoulder. `Looks like a bomb went off. Lucky they're still here then.'

Max went cold. He had broken a golden rule. Always make sure the Fund knew where Mason was. But only he knew about the teleport, and that was thanks to Wilson remembering to call in. Maybe Eleanor knew as well, but Ralph wouldn't know.

`Wait,' Ralph pushed him aside. `There,' he touched the screen. Max saw a red blur. `That's Renee — Huntress.' Yellow eyes focused on him. `How?'

`Mason can teleport.' He pushed the Wolf aside, punching in more activation codes. `Get your boys together, Ralph. We have to move fast.'

The floor vibrated under Ralph's exit. Loud voices echoed from downstairs. Max stared at the satellite image. Smoke rose from the house. A dark shadow was evidence of an explosion around it. A smudge on the corner of the screen made him widen the view.

`Shit.' He kept widening the view. A huge black scar showed where the forest had been incinerated. Then wreckage of a helicopter and an SUV came into view. It looked like a war zone. Max pressed Sir Robert's number on his speed dial.

If the Bloodells wanted open warfare, they had just got their wish.

 

Wilson sucked in a breath. He had never seen his dad so paralysed before. Never.

`Mason?' Nikki reached out, touching his face. `You did it. We're fine. The —
our
— child is alive.'

Mason didn't respond. He leant against the wall, eyes closed, breathing hard.

Wilson straightened. This was the moment. The one Mason had told him about back when they were in London on the one day they'd had together, alone. Few words had been spoken but an understanding had passed between them. What his father suggested had made him angry then, but now he understood completely.

Here and now, Mason was no longer able to be in control. When that happened, it would fall to Wilson. He would be The Douglas. He had to take responsibility.

`Renee, can you find them? The ones who took Mum?'

`There was no sign of them outside when I came in.' She was standing scowling, her face hard. `Not even a track or scent.'

`Teleport,' Nikki said. `She got in with a teleport, by line of sight down from the mountains, I bet. No one can jump without first seeing their destination or having been to it before.'

`So they can teleport as well?' Wilson glanced outside, up at the mountains.

`It's been only a rumour.' Nikki shrugged. `But, yes, she can do it too.'

`Means she could be anywhere.' He thumbed his nose, wishing the rules wouldn't keep changing.

`No one can do what your father did, Wilson.' Nikki touched her stomach. He couldn't help but look, thinking only that a brother would be cool, surprised at how her nudity no longer bothered him.

`It always has been a rare gift,' she was saying. `Limited to short jumps, good for warfare but not for travelling. She can't jump more than a few klicks at a time. And only line of sight.'

Mason moved, trying unsuccessfully to stand, and Renee went to him. He wasn't fit to hunt, which was ironic. Wilson had always wanted his father to stop, but not now. Now he wanted Butcher back. And hunting.

`Get dressed, we're leaving,' he said to Nikki. `Meet me in the shed out back — I need you to do something. Lilly, take Sal and get both of you changed. Jeans, strong shoes and jackets.' He turned to Renee. `Get some clothes on Dad and make sure you're downstairs ASAP.'

`You know what you're doing?' Renee asked as she and Nikki helped Mason stand. His father managed a small nod. He wants me to do this, Wilson thought. He's okay but drained big time.

`We always have a plan B and I'm it for now. Let's move.' He headed for his own room. A smooth stainless steel panel in the wall opened at his touch. He placed his hand on the screen and heard a soft tone as the complex sensors accepted and identified him. He punched in the four-digit code that Max had made him memorise — under duress. Now he was happy Max was such a control freak. Generators hummed underfoot, and the Fund would know he had activated the alarms.

Power levels flashed at him `Time for the big guns,' he said, looking at the screen. `Until Dad—' He grappled with what he would have to do if Mason didn't recover fast enough.