Children of Night and Snow

45. Bad Omen

Lucia quickly packed up the materials she selected and handed the cashier his money. And then we followed the crowd to the source of the scream. I was about to joke about the sudden common occurrence of screaming in nearby neighborhoods but words got stuck in my throat before I had a chance to do so. In fact the scene which unfolded in front of us nearly made me vomit instead. There was blood. An awful lot of it, too. I could smell the iron in the air and from my experience during the hunt last month, I knew it was relatively fresh.

Still, the blood itself wasn't the problem. To the wolf inside me it even smelled nice. The problem was a few feet above the ground and the pool of dark red liquid, where a mutilated body of a man hung from a tree. It was a horrifying sight. His spine was practically ripped out, his face frozen in utter agony he must have felt in his last moments before he died. While I struggled to keep the contents of my stomach inside, next to me Lucia gasped and took a step back.

"Jason," I heard her whisper. In the months I've known her, I've never seen her like this. There was terror on her face and heartbreak, too. She was silently crying as she stared at the dead body in front of us.

"Did you know him?" I asked unsure of what else to do or say in the massive crowd of people who all came to see what was happening. I looked around for the source of initial scream, but really it could have been anyone. For all we knew, they could have been long gone by now, too.

"He is... was my childhood friend," Lucia replied. She was still frozen in place, unable to take her eyes away from the gruesome sight. I reached over and pulled her closer, offering a silent comfort.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered. There was nothing else I could say. Seeing Lucia like this made me think of Olivia and Sheyla. How would I react if I found them like this?

"Everyone move! This is a crime scene! Have some respect for your beta and let us do our job. Market is closed for the day. Go home," Guards were suddenly all over the place, sending everyone away.

"Beta?" Was my only question as we reluctantly turned and began to walk away. I could tell it took everything in Lucia to not beg them to stay and help. But she couldn't. No matter what happened between her and her family, or even between her and this Jason, she was a criminal now. A wanted one. The news of our recent heist already spread around the town and everyone was on a lookout. Even though we wore disguises that day, any interaction with law enforcement would be too risky. We had to look out for ourselves and our group first.

"Yes. He was. He fought really hard for that title. I don't understand how someone could take him down like this," Lucia said in disbelief.

"We need to get home. Talk to others," I said offering her my arm for support. She only nodded and we began to walk home as fast as we possibly could.

"You're home ear-" Nolan greeted us at the door, but froze when he saw the state Lucia was in. 

"What happened?!" Demi pushed past me to her wife, pulling her into a comforting embrace.

"Jason. He's... he's dead, Dem," Lucia broke into tears as if the presence of her mate gave her the feeling of safety she needed to fully let her emotions out.

"Jason? As in the beta of Duskfall Jason?" Devan appeared from somewhere in the house, likely the gym. Lucia nodded.

"Fuck!" Nolan hissed. Did they all know him? Was he their friend as well?

"This isn't good. Nolan, can you reach Az?" Devan asked my boyfriend, who was now nervously walking back and forth across the living room. Demi in the meantime helped Lucia out of her coat and led her to the couch.

"I can try. But it could be risky," Nolan replied. There was a sense of panic clear in the room. Whatever was happening, it definitely made everyone uneasy.

"What's going on?" I looked at them all hoping for an explanation.

"Things are moving too fast. And the rogues are clearly going further than last time. Killing none other than second in command of this town two days after the threat they left, it's a clear message. They are planning something bad. Likely worse than ever before. And much sooner than we expected," Connor explained as he brought a drink for Lucia.

"We have to risk it. We need to get the whole group together as soon as possible," Devan said towards Nolan, who simply nodded.

"Give me a few hours to track them. I'll be home soon," he approached me and kissed my temple before walking past me and downstairs. Next thing I heard was the metal door opening and closing beneath my feet. And Nolan was gone and I was anxious. The idea of him alone out there, when things seemed so tense. The idea of our group not being together right now. It made me feel horrible.

"He'll be fine. Tracking them should be easy. He doesn't have to show his face anywhere for that," Devan tried to calm me down. I gave him an uneasy smile as I nodded. There was nothing I could do anyway. At least not right now.

"We'll have to keep watch at night from now on. And finish our preparations. Luc, my love, did you get everything we need?" Demi asked the girl in her arms, who still silently wept for her friend. Lucia nodded and Demi tightened her hold on her.

"What exactly is the plan once they attack?" I asked. The attack was clearly inevitable. Despite the fact that our attackers literally announced themselves and most people seemed well aware of what their messages meant, nobody was confident that the attack could be prevented. The feeling of hopelessness this knowledge brought me was enough to keep me awake at night. I knew as much. Still, this clearly wasn't the first time my friends faced danger like this for they clearly had a plan. And I still had no clue what the plan actually was.

"It's simple really. We hide in the basement. We stocked up on food, blankets and clothes. Enough to last a few weeks if we're smart. Our part of town is generally attacked first. It's where the poor live and security here is nothing compared to the rich parts. So people here generally have a basement they can seal off and hide in until it passes," said Connor.

"So we're getting ready for a siege," I stated, uneasy.

"Yeah, basically," he shrugged as if it was nothing. I knew that the last such attack was too long ago for any of them to be alive, yet the casual efficiency in which they planned all this told me they knew what they were doing and this wasn't their first time.

"We'll be okay Freya, don't worry too much," Devan said as he put his arm around my shoulder and gave me a reassuring squeeze. And I wanted to believe him. But the fact he felt the need for such gesture considering how little emotion or affection he usually showed, it didn't console me at all.