Colonel Hueber’s jaw works as if he’s chewing over Rollick’s suggestion—and doesn’t think it tastes all that good.
“From what I hear, things like you have something to do with this threat.” He waves toward the city. “All this shadowy smoky stuff. It comes out of you too, doesn’t it?”
I can’t keep quiet. “The same blood comes out of you as would come out of a terrorist gangster!” Although possibly not one from outer space, I suppose.
Several pairs of eyes, including the colonel’s, jerk toward me.
Oops—I wasn’t looking to become their new target.
I lift my hands in surrender, and Falkor squirms around one of my arms all the way to the other.
Hueber’s lips part in momentary astonishment before he regains his grip on himself. “What the fuck is that thing on you, lady?”
The slender, softer man next to him clears his throat. “I don’t think she’s actually a lady, sir, at least not in the traditional sense.”
“I can figurethatmuch out for myself, Major Yin. I was being polite. Don’t know why I’m bothering with these damned mutant freaks or whatever they are.”
I peel my self-declared pet off my arm and tuck him against my chest, where he deigns to coil up in my embrace. “We aren’t mutants or freaks, and we do appreciate politeness. We can be polite too. I don’t know what this little guy is, but he hasn’t hurt anyone either.”
Raze sounds as if he’s swallowed a growl. “Don’t you think we should focus on the actual dangers here, like Rollick said?”
Hueber squints at us as if recalibrating, trying to work out just how many of the figures he’s faced with are inhuman. “You’ve rounded up all these people from the city. What do you think you’re going to do with them? Are you casting them out so you can take over the place for yourselves?”
Jonah steps up next to Rollick. “I’mhuman. I’ll bleed for you if you need me to prove it. And I can tell you that our allies in this catastrophe can’t survive in whatever’s happened to the city either. The creatures that’ve been coming out of it are different from anything any of us are used to. We’re just trying to protect as many people as we can. Isn’t that what you want to do too?”
Again, the colonel appears to deliberate. I’m not sure that is what he wants. But it would probably sound bad if he claimed to be more interested in spraying us with bullets indiscriminately, which works in our favor.
Before he can say anything else, one of the shell-shocked evacuees meanders forward. She swipes her mussed hair back from her forehead and darts a nervous glance toward Rollick and my team before speaking. “They’re telling the truth. I didn’tknow what to do—I was feeling sick, but everything outside looked just as awful—they came and helped us leave.”
Her voice quavers but doesn’t falter in her declaration of support.
Another of the humans pushes toward the soldiers with an energy that’s almost manic. “Yeah. Even if they’re freaks—wewere totally freaking out without them. They’ve been looking after us. Got us food, gave us a place to lay low now that we’re out. That one even stopped one of those real monsters that was going to pounce on me.” He points a shaky hand at Raze.
Murmurs of agreement ripple through the refugees who’ve gathered to watch the confrontation. Threads of wariness still lace their moods, but relief and gratitude sweep over me faster, comforting as a hot cinnamon bun.
As more voices are raised with their own accounts of how various shadowkind helpers came to their aid, a tingle spreads over my scalp. I realize my hair must be glowing my happiness at the same moment as Major Yin’s eyes widen in my direction.
Colonel Hueber notices before his underling can say anything. “What in the blazes?—”
He jerks up a pistol he was holding at his side. Even as I flinch, the major jumps in with a brisk but warm tone. “Look, they’re even providing a light in the darkness. That’s fascinating. Who would have imagined talents like that actually exist outside of movies? They could make pretty handy allies in more than just this situation.”
I don’t love the way Hueber’s expression turns thoughtful, but he does lower his weapon.
The colonel motions to the gathered soldiers without acknowledging Major Yin’s words. “Let’s speak to some of the city’s residents and get their full accounts. As long as none of the… strange ones interfere, we can?—”
One of Rollick’s assistants pops into view and bursts out a desperate warning. “Over by the rift—a whole swarm of the warped creatures just barged out, and they look like they’re on a rampage.”
6
Jonah
You know you’ve got a problem when the humans around you are scarier than the monsters.
Had I enjoyed observing the violently fucked-up shadowkind creatures we’d come across while evacuating the city? Hell, no.
But even when those beasts were behaving in ways I couldn’t make sense of, I knew they were driven by instinct and self-preservation, however warped those instincts might have become as well.
When it comes to the soldiers stomping down the street around me? The glint in their eyes and the sheen of their guns makes my stomach flip over.
