Zombies Sold Separately

TWENTY



Colin and I left the Pit after the Tracker meeting and headed for the Bronx, the area he and I were covering tonight.

Thoughts of Zombies wouldn’t leave my mind.

I wore black leather like most Trackers did when we went out at night. The leather was enough to chase away what little chill would bother me. I’d tucked the stone into a pouch on my weapons belt next to one of my Dragon-claw daggers.

“How long have you been in New York City?” I asked him as we headed up the street in the direction we needed to go to eventually make it to the Bronx.

“Not long.” Colin had an Otherworldly hint of an accent to his voice.

We came to a stop at the light. “Two years ago for me.”

At the Tracker meeting tonight I’d doled out all kinds of information about the attacks in Otherworld, but I didn’t mention the stone my father had given me.

The other Trackers were ordered to avoid touching any “Sentients” that might be carrying “stones” or the stones themselves. I described them as best I could without actually saying I’d seen one, and though I mentioned having met a Seer I avoided saying that she was a Magi.

I’d explained that we had been told by the “Seer” to not kill Sentients or Hosts, yet it was okay to kill Zombies, but we weren’t clear about what the Seer had meant. How could we tell the difference?

Of course I hadn’t shown the stone I hid in the pouch on my weapons belt. For one, I didn’t want to touch it, and two, the Magi said not to let anyone know I carried it with me. No matter that they were all fellow Trackers, every one of them someone I’d trust at my back, times were a little strange right now. And the Magi. I needed to heed the Magi.

When Colin changed the conversation it caught me off guard. “I was in another part of Otherworld when the Elvin people were being murdered and taken,” he said. “I heard of what was happening and that other races of beings intended to rally together to help the Light and Dark Elves. But the threat was gone before they were organized enough to aid them.”

“I didn’t know that other beings had been planning on helping,” I said. “I’ve always thought that we’d been left to our own fate while Fae and Other alike went on with their lives.”

“How old were you?” Colin asked as he met my gaze. “It surprises me that you weren’t aware of that.”

“Five.” I brushed a strand of hair from my face. “Too young for my father to have shared that kind of information with me,” I said. “But it’s good to know that there were those who’d planned to help.” Unfortunately it had been too late.

“You were just a babe.” Colin gave me a smile that was drop-dead spectacular. I wondered if his Dragon charm was on auto, but realized the flip in my belly was purely a reaction to his natural male magnetism.

I knew better than to ask, but I still said, “Oh, and how old are you?”

“If your father wasn’t King of the Drow and as old as Elves are young, I’d say I’m old enough to be your father.” Colin laughed. “As it is, I’m only a youngling in comparison to him.”

I raised an eyebrow. “And that is…?”

“Tell you what.” His grin turned devious. “I’ll make a bet with you. We’ll have a little race.”

“Oh?” I managed to keep a straight face even though his naughty little boy expression made me want to laugh.

“If you win, I’ll tell you how old I am,” he said. “If I win, you’ll buy me a beer when we’re done with tracking for the night.”

“You’ve got it.” I shook hands with him. With my air element to help me, I’m faster than a cheetah. However, I have endurance where a cheetah is only good at his maximum speed for short sprints.

“We just need to go somewhere not in the zones with the high number of attacks and disappearances,” I said. I had my team focusing on areas with the most instances. “I need to be able to do a little exploration with my elements and it’ll be much safer in a place with no people.”

“I have a great idea.” His smile was like a man who knew he had it in the bag, which made me want to win even more. “Beat me to the Bronx Zoo entrance. I’ll even give you a head—”

I was gone before he finished the end of the sentence.

He was waiting for me when I got there.

I put my hands on my hips and walked to where he was standing, beneath the Bronx Zoo sign. “How did you beat me?”

“You owe me a beer,” he said.

The zoo animals sounded a little agitated. I wondered if they could scent a Dragon.

“How about best two out of three?” I wasn’t ready to give up that easily.

He shrugged. “I’ll just win again.”

That remark made me want to beat him even more.

“Which Seer did you go to?” Colin asked as a monkey shrieked from inside the zoo.

“Guess we all have our secrets,” I said, teasing him back.

During the Tracker meeting, I hadn’t mentioned that the Seer Angel and I had visited was a Magi because paranorm leadership wanted to keep the Magi as safe as possible. That included not mentioning them in combination with anything they might have assisted with.

“Fair is fair.” He acknowledged me with a nod. Then he said, “What you talked about in the meeting tonight. Do you have any other theories as to what the Seer meant when she warned that we can only kill Zombies, not Sentients and Hosts?”

“Honestly, I have no idea.” During the meeting there’d been some speculation based on what other Trackers had seen during attacks they’d fought off, but it was all only speculation.

I’d mentioned that the Seer told us to find a certain Sorcerer in the city and I’d explained that I was attempting to locate him now. I managed to avoid naming him.

There were a few other things I’d kept to Rodán, Angel, and myself because the information seemed too important to release on a broad basis.

That included the fact that I’d located the Sorcerer and hopefully would have a meeting with him tomorrow. For ten thousand dollars I certainly hoped so.

I really did love the painting.

“You didn’t mention the Sorcerer Desmond’s name to all of the Trackers,” Colin said. “Just to the team members.”

“It was an executive decision.” I tilted my head back and felt the soft fall of snow on my face. “The fewer who know that detail, the better. Once we have more information, we’ll share it with all of our Trackers.”

A big cat, possibly a lion, gave a low rumble from inside the zoo.

Colin’s amazing burnished gold eyes studied me. “What do you think about Lawan having been missing for a couple of days? Is that why you held back on the Sorcerer’s name?”

“She’s one reason why we didn’t share everything tonight. We need to be careful.” We started to walk away from the zoo entrance. “Although she sure seemed like herself tonight.” I frowned. “But the day before she went missing she thought someone was watching her.”

“Has Rodán considered taking her off duty?” he asked.

“Yes.” I thought about the conversation I’d had with him earlier. “But there’s no proof, and no reason to. Lawan’s twin sister, Malee, did arrive from Thailand like Lawan said. We’re just being cautious for now.”

Colin nodded. “Cautious is good.”

“Let’s see what we can locate.” I took a deep breath. “We need to see if there’s any Zombie activity going on around here.” I looked at him. “You’ve got my back?”

Colin gave a nod but didn’t say anything. He watched as I stood with my feet shoulder-width apart, my hands at my sides. I took another deep breath and closed my eyes.

I sent out my elemental magic. I couldn’t use too much at one time without weakening myself, so I used what would take the least amount of energy. When there was snow, it was one time of the year when I could use my water magic easily to explore.

At the same time I let my water elemental cover the ground through the snow, I released my air magic and sent it searching.

I searched for any imprints of beings that did not belong and for activity that might be wrong. Behind my eyelids, I saw flashes of people and streets and cars and businesses closed for the night. Nothing wrong or out of the ordinary.

No Zombies.

The magic I used to search such a large area put a strain on my body and I knew I needed to reel myself back in.

I gasped as I came fully back to myself as if I hadn’t been breathing the entire time my essence was traveling with my elemental magic.

“Nothing right now,” I said when my gaze met Colin’s. “All’s quiet for the time being.”

Snow had started to fall thicker and I noticed Colin shiver. Unlike other Trackers, Colin wasn’t wearing leather. He wore jeans and a T-shirt beneath a dark blue jacket that looked warm and comfortable. He’d pushed his long blond hair over his shoulders away from his face, and his nose and cheeks appeared a little ruddy from the chill.

“Dragons can’t handle the cold?” I said as I shook off the remnants of the out-of-body experience I always felt when I used my elements to search large areas like I just had.

“Not too crazy about it.” Colin smiled. “Since we don’t have snow in Otherworld, it’s going to take some getting used to. Rodán thinks I should wear black leather that has been spelled for the weather and durability like the rest of the Trackers, but I’ve never been good at falling in with the crowd.”

I leaned down, grabbed a handful of snow, and formed a ball. “Ever been in a snowball fight?” I said right before I nailed him in the face.

Colin sputtered and I scooped up another handful and hit him again.

Then I found out Colin wasn’t only fast when it came to racing, but he threw snowballs with the best of them.

We were both covered in snow and laughing by the time he held his hands up and said, “I give up. No more.”

“Are you up for something hot to drink? It’s got to be better than a cold beer for a shivering Dragon,” I said with a grin.

Colin grinned back. “Is there a place nearby where Dragons and Drow can go this time of night?”

“There’s a coffee shop owned by a paranorm here in the Bronx.” I inclined my head in the direction we needed to go. “On Arthur Avenue.” I gave him the address and said, “Best two out of three.”

And I was gone.

When I got there I looked around and didn’t see Colin. Ha. I’d made it before him.

Then he stepped out of the coffee shop.

Damn. “How—?”

“Come on in,” he said. “It’s cold out here.”

“Sheesh.” I followed him inside. “How do you do that?”

“I ordered hot chocolate for both of us.” He went up to the Witch at the cash register who only glanced at me with mild curiosity. I was unique in being the only Drow in New York City, but paranorms got used to seeing different types of beings and many seemed almost immune to the surprise of something new. Like a female with amethyst skin and blue hair.

Colin pulled out a wallet and paid while another Witch handed me two large ceramic mugs topped with whipped cream and marshmallows. The mugs were hot to the touch and the contents smelled of rich chocolate.

The café was empty save for the Witches, Colin, and me. We went to a round table in the corner and the mugs made a clunking sound as I set them on its surface. I positioned us in a way so that our backs were to the corner we were in, and we could both see the front entrance.

As I sat, I took a sip of hot chocolate and whipped cream. “Yum.”

Colin settled in his chair and I asked, “What made you decide to become a Tracker?”

His long blond hair had fallen over his shoulders as he leaned forward to take his mug. After he took a sip he said, “The Great Guardian asked for me. She thought my skills would come in handy.”

“The GG herself asked you?” My jaw dropped. “Or did she do it through Rodán or someone else?”

“The GG?” Colin tilted his head. “Are you talking about the Guardian?”

“Yes.” I wiped off whipped cream from the end of my nose. “She came to you?”

“She sent Rodán.” He gave a wry grin. “When one is requested by the Guardian, one listens.”

I shook my head while at the same time saying, “I suppose you’re right.”

“No supposing about it,” he said.

I nodded. “She’s something else.”

Colin looked at me as if wondering about my remarks and my obvious attitude. “What part of the city do you live in?” he asked instead.

“Upper West Side,” I said. “At 104th Street and Central Park West.”

“I’m around Sixty-sixth Road in Queens,” he said. “I cannot seem to get away from royalty no matter how hard I try.” I laughed and he added, “Although I don’t mind being around princesses. I don’t suppose you have a knight waiting in the wings to rescue you from a Dragon?”

Heat crept over my cheeks and I nodded. “His name is Adam.”

Colin shook his head, his expression pretend-grim. “I haven’t eaten human in a long time,” he said. “This Adam had best stay out of my way.”

Before I could even think of a response or have a reaction of any kind to what Colin had said, I felt a strange sensation creep down my spine. Tingling erupted near my waist where the stone was in the pouch.

A shuffling sound caught my attention and I looked toward the entrance. I frowned as a couple came through the door, neither of them wearing cold weather clothing. Both the male and female met my gaze.

I knew then what the Magi meant about Sentients versus Zombies. The pair I was staring at were not Zombies, but I could sense they were not of any paranorm race that I’d ever come across. I caught their faint unusual odor which was slightly different than Zombies.

They gave me the creeps, that horrible feeling, like grubs wiggling on my skin. Just like the male had in the coffee shop that night with Adam—the male that at the time I’d thought might have been a Vampire.

My fingers brushed the hilt of the dagger by my right hand. I sensed Colin’s attention on the beings too, and felt his tension mount.

The male and female came toward us—

And then the café started to fill with Zombies.