Page 29 of Such a Feral Little Lamb
“How long was I asleep?”
“All night.”
“Yeah, but—” I check my watch. It’s past ten, which should be impossible. Sure, I didn’t sleep yesterday, and I only ever get a few hours the night before a job, but I can run on fumes for longer than that.
“Sleeping Beauty wakes,” Blake spits as he walks past and I raise an eyebrow at him. “Thought maybe you’d died overnight.”
“I take it no zombies came?”
“Not like you’d know,” Blake says, but Autumn’s already shaking her head.
“It was quiet all night.”
“Not entirely,” Blake says. He frowns—does he not like that he volunteered information—and then rolls his eyes. “Some of the creepy fucks were up and about. Watching us.”
“And zombies?” I ask.
“Nothing,” Blake replies, jaw set as though he’s saying it begrudgingly. He snatches up something from his bag and stalks off again. Dane is waiting for him by the entrance to the church. Light streams in through the open door and over the stone floor.
“Rae asked me to tell her when you woke,” Autumn says and then flits off herself, expression betraying her desire not to be alone with me for too long. Sour bitterness floods my mouth, and I force myself to stand and begin getting ready for the day. There must be something we can do, even if Nia doesn’t want us here.
Nia appears before Rae does, emerging from the doorway that leads into the underbelly of the church. She doesn’t smile when she sees me, but the tight lines around her eyes relax, just a little, before she makes her way over.
“I hope you’re well-rested,” she says by way of greeting. From anyone else, it might sound like an insult, but her straightforward tone tells me she means it.
“I am. Thank you for letting us stay here.”
“Don’t mention it. Mason told me you killed a zombie yesterday.”
I nod and when she looks at me questioningly, I quickly outline what happened the day before. She doesn’t need every detail of Mason playing in the park or asking me personal questions.
“Strange that they’d be back now,” she says. “We’ve not had an attack on our people in years.”
“We can help you get rid of them.”
She eyes me for a moment. I don’t know her well enough to read her dark eyes, but I’ve been dissected under such thoughtful gazes before.
“All right.” Nia eventually relents. “You and your team can help. But some of ours will go with you, and when you return to the Citadel, you will not breathe a word of the people you’ve seen here.”
There’s nothing she could do if we did, but we both know that. She’s trusting me with this, and I’ll do my best to ensure that trust is not misplaced.
“Fine. We’ll find them. Wherever they’re hiding.”
Nia nods and gives me a final searching look before she moves past me and strides out of the church. Rae takes her place, staring mistrustfully after her.
“What did she want?” she asks.
“We can hunt,” I say. “Where’s Otto?”
“Outside. He’s been out since the sun came up. Autumn.”
Autumn nods, looking a little apprehensive—likely due to the idea of talking to Blake and Dane more than Otto—but she scurries out of the church all the same to gather the rest of our wayward team. I quickly change while she’s gone. Past ten means there are still hours of daylight, but we will have to move quickly.
Rae points out another bathroom up here, just a small room with a toilet and a sink, and I’m surprised to find the plumbing actually works, though there’s no hot water. I avoid my reflection, but when I glance up, I see a blue mark reflected behind me.
I frown and turn. There, on the cistern, is a blue symbol. It’s similar to the tattoos I’ve seen, a swirling shape, but I don’t think it’s identical.
Rae knocks on the door. I step back out to find the others have gathered and snatch up my bat, ready to join them.
