Page 47 of Bold Mercy

“Sir,” I said, calmly. “Joe can drive you home. You need to get out of here. The cops are on the way.”

He didn’t look like the type who’d want to talk to the police. I felt sorry for him, really. He and the other humans would have no idea what they’d done or why they’d done it. The others who’d fled would hopefully lose their demons quickly. They might try again, but I doubted it. They’d tried and failed, and they’d seen a demon slayer with a killing blade take out some of their own. Whatever deal they’d had with the vampires wasn’t worth dying for.

“Kev,” he shouted, delivering another quick kick. And finally, Kev woke up. He was as disoriented as the first guy, but we stood back a comfortable distance and watched as they both managed to stumble down the street toward the stone exit gates.

Rick Moreno slowed as he passed them, but then he drove on to where I stood with Joe and Zach. He took his time climbing out of his car, then stood with his fists on his hips as he surveyed the area. I didn’t rush him. Finally, he made his way to me.

“There’s a dead guard at the gates,” he said. “And a dozen abandoned pickup trucks at the side of the highway.” He looked around at the weapons on the ground, the pools of blood wetting the pavement, and the human lying a few yards away who had yet to awakened. “Is he dead?”

“No,” I said, though honestly I wasn’t entirely sure. He was sprawled face down with one of his arms at an awkward angle, and I vaguely remembered peeling half his face off with my blade. “Wake him up, Joe, and send him on his way.”

Zach went to retrieve the scattered guns. When the detective and I were alone, he said, “The mayor wants you to come see him. I’ll take you.”

“Good,” I said. “I need to speak with him, as well.”

He eyed my bloody clothes but didn’t comment upon them. He was used to seeing me dressed in rags and blood. “What happened, Kait?”

“The humans came.” I couldn’t help but shudder at the remembered image of those armed humans and the damage they’d caused. “They were full of demons. I killed some of the demons. The rest ran.”

“And the humans?”

“They’ll be okay once the demons take off. They won’t remember what happened. The ones you saw had no idea why they were here.”

“That’s lucky,” he said, his voice grim. “How did they get into Shadowfield, Kait?”

“They had help.”

“Just the demons, or from the inside?”

I hadn’t wanted to consider there was a traitor in Jared’s pack. They wouldn’t have appreciated hearing that—not from me. And I’d probably be the first one they’d accuse. Or my mother. “The demons,” I said. “And the vampires, and the magic Avis Vine is using.”

We watched quietly as Joe succeeded in getting the last human up off the ground. He dusted him off and helped him down the street. After a few steps, the man pulled a cell phone from his pocket—probably to call someone to pick him up.

“Joe,” I called. “Get him outside the gates.” I didn’t want whoever he called to come into Shadowfield to fetch him.

Zach walked in the opposite direction with an armload of guns, probably to drop them in one of the small storage buildings for the wolves to deal with later.

“Where is everybody?” the detective asked.

“They came in shooting, Rick,” I said, and I know he heard the sorrow in my voice. “One of them shot Jared.” I swallowed hard, then forced myself to continue. “They shot him in the back of the head with silver.”

“Son of a…” He blew out a hard breath. “He’s dead?”

“No. He’s with his people in the woods, and he’ll heal. This time.” I wrapped my arms around myself, suddenly cold. “But even though they were filled with demons and didn’t know what they were doing, the humans will be back. One of these times, they’re going to find the wolves, and the next time, Jared won’t tell his people to stand down while he tries to calm the humans. They will fight. The wolves will kill the humans. Shadowfield will be lost. The wolves will be forced into hiding. Humans will kill humans thinking they’re supernatural creatures.”

“They’re doing that now,” he said, “because of the vampires. The world is now full of monsters and the humans are losing their minds.”

“We’re not monsters,” I said, but I kept my voice emotionless.

“Sorry.” He squeezed my arm. “Kait.”

Shadowfield began filling up again as the wolves slipped from the woods. It wasn’t something I saw, but I felt it. I felt the alpha, most of all. Gradually, voices began to drift to us, and fully clothed people walked from buildings and stood in clumps to talk. They’d all gather in the admin building where discussions would begin about what had happened and what their futures held. They’d been taken off guard. They were nonhumans, yes, but they’d integrated so deeply into a human world that they’d become careless.

It wouldn’t happen again.