“But I promised Allison that I would help you stop Sarren.

That finding him comes before everything else. So, at least until we get to Eden, I’m with you. I can’t promise anything beyond that.”

“And if Sarren uses you again to stop us?”

“Then kill me,” Zeke replied. Stated so bluntly, so matterof-factly, that my stomach turned. “If something happens where it’s either Sarren or me, don’t hesitate. Stop him, even if you have to kill me, too.” He avoided my gaze as he said this, his voice dropping to a whisper. “It would be a mercy.”

“Oh, don’t say that, bloodbag,” Jackal said, ever-present grin back in place. “I was just starting to like you.”

Chapter 11

We left Old Chicago that night, heading east toward Eden once more. Only this time, things were vastly different. One, Zeke was with us. Still shaken, dispassionate, and numb with what had happened to him, but alive. I was determined to keep him that way. And two, we had a working vehicle again.

“Not the prettiest hunk of metal on the road,” Jackal remarked as we walked across the floating barge, passing rows of motorcycles to where a rusty old van was parked at the end of the line. “I would suggest bikes, but fuel’s running a bit low, and it’s a bitch to find more. Better to have to fill one tank instead of four.”

Kanin regarded the van impassively. There were slats across the windows, and metal spikes welded to the hood and bumpers, making it bristle with ill intent, but he didn’t say anything. Zeke also observed the van without emotion, which worried me. A van like this had been used to kidnap his people and take them to Old Chicago, but if he was remembering that night, it didn’t show.

Wrenching open the side door, I peered inside. The interior was empty, seats torn out, rotting plywood laid across the floor. An old, flat tire sat in the corner, and a skull-sized hole, the edges lined with rust, was punched through the opposite wall. Water and snow had obviously seeped in, for the whole thing reeked of mold.

“Really?” I looked back at my blood brother. “We’re going to Eden in this hunk of metal? It’s two steps away from falling apart.”

“Sorry, sister. I didn’t realize you were such a car expert.”

Jackal sneered at me. “Does the chariot not meet her majesty’s approval? Were you expecting white horses and gold wheels?

You could always walk to Eden, you know.”

“You’re the king of Old Chicago. Can’t you demand a better vehicle?”

“This is the better vehicle.”

The growl of the engine interrupted us. Kanin had slipped into the driver’s seat and turned the ignition, making the van cough and sputter to life. It stood there, shaking and wheezing like some ancient beast, and the Master vampire drummed his fingers on the wheel, staring out the front window. Clearly, he was done waiting for us to make a decision. Zeke stepped into the van without hesitation, sitting cross-legged against the far wall, and Jackal opened the passenger door with a smirk.

“Shotgun.”

“What?” I said. But he had already slammed the door behind him, leaving me standing there by myself. Glowering, I stepped into the flimsy, rotting interior, pulled the door closed, and settled against the wall with Zeke. The van coughed once more and began to move, rolling across the barge, over a shaky, rattling bridge, and into the streets.

Back on the highway, Kanin turned the van east once more, weaving through cars and dead vehicles clogging the road, until we reached the outskirts of the city and the lanes opened up. As we picked up speed, the broken skyline of Old Chicago faded into the darkness, until it vanished from sight, and only the road was left, stretching on to Eden.

That first part of the night, the ride was hushed. Kanin drove, and Jackal rode beside him with the seat back and his hands behind his head. I sat with Zeke on the floor of the van, watching his still form and wishing I could reach out to him, somehow. He seemed to have retreated deep within himself, and my few attempts to talk to him were met with polite but vague one-word answers. He didn’t want to talk, or he wasn’t ready to talk, and the more I prodded, the further he withdrew. Eventually, I gave up and sat next to him in silence, just letting him know I was there. When he was ready, he would come around. Until then, I would let him sort everything out in peace.

The van lumbered on, the only sounds being the sickly whine and cough of the engine, and the occasional thump of tires rolling over debris. Sometimes, the road was clear. Other times, Kanin had to slow the van to a near crawl, weaving through clusters of abandoned, overturned vehicles or trees that had fallen into the road. Once, when he drove carefully around a rock slide that covered most of the pavement, the engine sputtered and died, and it took several tries to get it started again. I was relieved when it finally coughed and turned over, albeit very reluctantly. Ancient and unreliable as the van was, we were still covering ground much faster than had we been on foot.

“Oh, my, it’s awfully quiet back there,” Jackal remarked after several miles had passed and nothing had happened. Of course, my blood brother took personal offense to peace and quiet, and I could practically hear the grin in his voice. “Are you two making out?”

“Shut up, Jackal.”

He snickered. Kanin drove on in silence, determined, I suspected, to ignore us all and the annoyances that were looming. I shifted closer to Zeke, just so that my arm brushed his, and waited for Jackal’s next comment.

“So, little bloodsucker,” the raider king went on, confirming my suspicions. “How’s life as a vampire these nights? Not that I care, mind you, but we are chasing your crazy-as-shit sire. If he has something nasty waiting for us in Eden, I’d kinda like to know about it. Any hints as to what your psycho daddy is up to?”

“No,” Zeke answered simply. “I haven’t seen him since he left Old Chicago, a few days before you showed up.”

“Well, that’s unfortunate.” Jackal crossed his arms, his voice contemplative. “Haven’t seen the psychopath at all, huh?” He gazed up at the roof. “If only there was some sort of link that would let you know exactly where he is.”

I jerked up. The blood tie. Of course, how could I forget? Zeke was Sarren’s offspring, disturbing as that was, so he should be able to sense where the crazy vamp was through their shared bloodline. I wondered if we could somehow track Sarren down without alerting him to Zeke’s presence. I also wondered how I could tactfully suggest that to Zeke without completely freaking him out.

But Kanin shook his head.

“No,” the Master vampire stated, the first thing he’d said since leaving Chicago. “It’s too soon. The blood tie takes time to develop, depending how strong the new vampire is.

Sometimes it takes months. If neither sire nor offspring is a Master, it can take even longer. Often, it is triggered by intense emotion or pain; when one member subconsciously calls for help, it is felt by the whole bloodline. But I fear it is too soon for Ezekiel to have developed the link to his maker, at least not one that he can feel. The tie usually emerges after the offspring has been a vampire for a while.”

“Huh.” Jackal didn’t seem pleased with this, but I was relieved. Zeke certainly didn’t need that kind of burden, having to feel Sarren’s presence, like an evil taint, lingering in his consciousness. A constant reminder that he was still out there, waiting. The thought made me shudder.