Broken (Otherworld 6)

"I'm only saying she should be kept safe. If Shanahan gets hold of her--"

"No one needs to remind me of that," Clay snarled. "I'm taking care of my wife and--"

"But you're injured, are you not? If you can't protect her--"

Antonio caught Hull's arm and propelled him backward, out of Clay's reach. Clay didn'

t move, though, just fixed Hull with a look that said he wouldn't waste the energy on him.

"I think--" I began, then noticed a familiar face bobbing through the crowd. "Oh, here comes--"

I didn't even get Jeremy's name out before Hull had wriggled out of Antonio's grasp and was scampering across the road to his protector.

"Where's Jaime?" I asked as Jeremy reached us.

"She went back to the hotel. She insisted on coming to the end of the road, but when she found the victim was--" A quick glance at Hull, as he realized he had to be careful what he said. "--gone, I persuaded her to head back for a rest."

My cell phone went off. I glanced at it and saw a hospital name flash across the screen.

"Hold on," I said. "It could be Tolliver."

A moment later, I returned to the group.

"It's him," I said.

"And?" Jeremy prompted.

"He has Shanahan," I said, and handed Jeremy the phone.

"You cannot be serious," Hull said, staring at Jeremy as if he'd just announced plans for a mission to Mars. "After--after this?" He waved in the direction of the crime scene. "You cannot negotiate with these people. They aren't people at all. They--they're monsters. In league with Satan. Go to that meeting if you must, but I pray to God it's to kill them."

"If it comes to that, yes," Jeremy said. "But we gave our word to Tolliver that we would negotiate in good faith."

Hull's eyes bulged. "Faith? You're a good man, Mr. Danvers, but creatures such as that will never act nobly. They will lie to you, and cast magics against you. Negotiation? Annihilation is the only way to treat such beasts."

"Antonio, please call a taxi for Matthew. I want to be sure he arrives back at the hotel safely."

Hull shook his head. "No, if you go, I go--"

"That isn't open for negotiation. This is dangerous business, and you need to keep out. You deserve to live long enough to enjoy your new life."

Antonio left to hail a cab.

"But that madman could come after--" Hull began.

"Me," I said. "That's what we just finished discussing, right? That this murder suggests I'm still the primary target. So you'll be a whole lot safer at that hotel than hanging out with us."

Hull looked from me to Jeremy, openmouthed and wide-eyed. "Surely you don't plan to take her to this meeting? After what just happened? If you need any further proof that she's in danger--"

"I don't," Jeremy said. "And I didn't before. But the safest place for her is with us."

Jeremy had wanted a private, wide-open place, to avoid the possibility of being ambushed by the zombies. Tolliver still insisted that Shanahan wouldn't know how to control a zombie if someone handed him a user's manual, but he'd suggested a small community center where he coached an after-school soccer program. It was closed for the summer, but he had access.

The community center was indeed tiny--little more than a gymnasium, changing rooms and a meeting room. The property was a decent size, though, with basketball courts, soccer fields and a thickly wooded strip in the back. When Jeremy saw that small forest, he was much happier with Tolliver's choice. If things went bad, we could get Shanahan to our turf quickly.

The ball courts and field were community property, but in late afternoon, with the summer sun cranked on full, no one much felt like playing ball. The empty court and field added an insulating layer of emptiness between the building and the surrounding town houses.

We didn't break into the community center. No qualms about B&E, but there was always the chance that Tolliver and Shanahan were watching, or had set up a sorcerer security alarm. If we were seen going inside, that could suggest we'd gone in to prepare a trap, which would be grounds for canceling the meeting. So we settled for peering through windows and mapping out our plans that way.