The Black Tide (Outcast 3)

I snagged the oblong-shaped device and then jumped back quickly as the lightning came uncomfortably close to wrapping itself around my arm.

The rift’s movements eased once I moved away again. I frowned down at the device, turning it over in my hands, trying to figure out what it was. It wasn't a weapon—there was no trigger, barrel, or clip. It also didn't appear to be any sort of communications unit. It was just a heavy, black metal brick.

So why was Branna carrying it? It obviously had some use, otherwise, why would he have gripped it with such determination?

I glanced back at the rift and realized its surface was the same greasy black as the brick. Were the two connected? Was this device the reason Branna had been able to traverse the rift without the hideous side effects that always affected me?

I guess there was only one way to find out.

With a deep breath that did little to steady my nerves or the sick sensation of dread, I once again walked toward the rift.

The minute I was close enough, two bands of energy once again snaked out, capturing both my wrists and ankles. Though their touch still felt like fire, it didn't burn into my skin as it had on previous occasions. Even the ferocity with which I was dragged into the rift was muted. As its darkness enclosed me, its energy charged through me, tearing me apart atom by atom, until there was nothing left of my body but specs and memories. But there was also little in the way of pain this time, just the endless darkness and the odd sensation of movement. Then that movement ceased and I was slowly but carefully put back together. The whips holding me disintegrated and I was pushed out of the darkness and into the light.

Sunlight, not artificial.

I blinked and looked around. I'd landed in a forest, not another military bunker, as I'd half expected. I couldn't immediately see any buildings or even any indication of life, but there was a vibration running through the ground under my feet and the air was tainted with the thick smell of rot and death.

And that meant there was a vampire nest somewhere near.

I rubbed a hand across gritty eyes and swore softly. This day was just getting better and better. A nest was the last thing I wanted to tackle alone, especially when I wasn't overly equipped with either weapons or ammo. I'd barely survived the last time I'd entered one, and I'd had all those things and more.

But the sun was still high in the sky, so if there was a nest in the area, the vampires would at least be comatose—and they needed to be, given I had to get past them to uncover if they were in any way connected to Dream.

I raised a hand to press the ear-mic and said, “Landed. Will update more when I discover where.”

“Be careful.”

“Always.”

I turned it off before he could reply to that particular statement, and then made good on my promise to call for Cat an

d Bear. Once I’d shoved the black brick into Branna’s leather pouch and put it into a pocket, I checked which direction the foul scent seemed to be coming from and walked that way.

The wind pushed me along, its touch cold and filled with the promise of rain. I glanced up, but the canopy was so thick in this section of the wood that even the sunlight struggled to get through—and the beams that did were tinged with green. At least if it did rain, I'd have some protection.

I continued to follow the well-worn path up a steepening incline. Eventually, it plateaued, and the trees gave way to sunshine with a suddenness that made me blink.

Below me lay a city.

Or rather, the broken remains of one.

It ringed the hill on which I stood, and—like Carleen—had obviously been bombed into oblivion during the war. There were small sections of metal curtain wall defiantly standing tall, but for the most part it was a melted, twisted mess. What remained of the rest of the city was laid out in a grid pattern, but the buildings themselves were little more than piles of concrete and metal bones.

There was no obvious place for vampires to hide but this city, like old Central and Carleen, would have had a vast network of underground systems in place to service its occupants’ needs. That’s where they’d be.

I walked on, but the path ended abruptly and the ground gave way to a steep cliff. I carefully peered over the edge and saw not only the piles of dirt, rock, and tree roots at the bottom of it, but also several exposed and broken pipes that stuck out like stiff fingers from the cliff face.

There was a sewer system running under the hill, and the stench coming from it.... I gagged and stepped back. There had to be a lot of vampires under the hill for their smell to be this strong from such a distance.

I pressed the ear-mic and said, “Jonas, you there?”

“Not only here, but on the move. We're about half an hour out from your location.”

“Which is?”

“Fairhaven.”

“That's not a place I'm familiar with.”