I called Tina and asked her to come over and stay with Mab. She let out a whoop of excitement before she cleared her throat and tallied up another favor I owed her, so I didn’t think I was inconveniencing her too much. Then I called Clyde and told him I was expecting her, so he wouldn’t get too apoplectic when she breezed past his desk.
Next, weapons. To make the trial run as close to the real thing as possible, I needed to arm myself the way I planned to be armed tomorrow night. I unlocked my weapons cabinet and made my selections. I strapped on a double shoulder holster and filled it with pistols: bronze bullets on the right, silver on the left. Two thigh sheaths held daggers: I stuck with the pattern of bronze on the right and silver on the left. I slid a silver throwing knife into each boot. Last, I strapped on a vertical back sheath designed for the Sword of Saint Michael. It held the sword straight up-and-down, the hilt behind my neck. To draw it, I just had to reach back, grab the hilt, and pull the sword up and out in an arc, I practiced a couple of times.
A knock sounded on the door. “Just a minute!” I called. I took a coat from my closet—the coat was leather and midcalf length, with a hood—and pulled it on. I flipped up the hood to hide the hilt of my sword. Then I answered the door.
Tina came in, carrying a thermos. “Chicken soup,” she said. “For your aunt. My mom used to make it for me when I got sick.”
I took the thermos. “Feels kind of light.”
“I only had a little, to make sure it tasted okay.” I set the thermos on the coffee table as she made a beeline for the kitchen. “Did you get a chance to buy more ice cream? Because—” She stopped and spun on her heel, gawking at me. “What are you wearing?”
“My coat. I’m taking Killer out again.”
“No, no, no. You can’t wear that. You look like Little Goth Riding Hood.” She came over, examining me.
“The coat is fine. I’m going—”
“Well, at least don’t pull the hood up like that. Here . . .” She yanked on the hood, pulling it down and exposing the hilt of my sword. Her eyes grew wider. “You’re carrying a sword to walk your dog?” Her hand flashed out, and she pulled my coat half off my shoulder. “Oh my God, you are totally armed. Where are you really going? To fight some demons?”
No need to tell Tina I was sneaking out of Deadtown in violation of the containment order. “Yeah, that’s right. I’ve got a quick demon extermination to take care of. I’ll be back before curfew.”
I headed for the door. Tina stepped in front of me.
“What kind? I’ve been studying. Go ahead—quiz me.”
“Um, Harpies. I don’t have time to quiz you now.” I pulled my hood back up.
“Harpies, really?” She wrinkled her nose. “Those weapons are, like, total overkill for fighting revenge demons. What are you going to do with that big sword, shish-kebab them?” She lifted the side of my coat. I slapped it back down. And you’re carrying silver, too—what’s that supposed to do against Harpies?”
What a time for Tina to get all smart about demon fighting.
“Gotta go,” I said. “Come on, Killer.” I opened the door. Kane, wearing Roxana’s charm, shot out from wherever he’d been hiding and ran to the hall. I was right behind him.
“You’re taking your dog on a demon extermination? What—?”
I shut the door on her incredulous face.
There’s a saying that a little learning is a dangerous thing. But who’d have thought that Tina’s little bit of learning about demons would be so dangerous to my sanity?
DEADTOWN’S STREETS WERE CROWDED. NOT ONLY HAD every single resident returned to Designated Area 1, they all seemed to be rushing to get groceries and light bulbs and beer and whatever other emergency supplies they thought they’d need before curfew confined them to their homes.
We pushed through the crowds and made our way to the side street where Kane’s network of secret tunnels began. There were so many people around, I thought I’d never get a chance to pull open the bulkhead door and slip inside. Kane sat on the ground, and I lounged against the wall, trying to look nonchalant. Of course, since everyone else was out running errands, standing still made me stick out as much as a huge boulder in the middle of a rushing stream. Zombies shot curious glances my way as they passed.
One man stopped in his tracks as he came even with us. He turned his head sharply, nostrils flaring. Uh-oh. Werewolf. And he smelled Kane. A charm wouldn’t disguise his scent to one of his own kind.
Kane stood, hackles rising with him. He barked sharply. Then he lowered his head and growled.
The werewolf stepped back. He glanced at me. “Sorry,” he muttered, and hurried away.
“Nice dominance display,” I told Kane. He sat and thumped his tail. I wished it had been that easy with the werewolf bachelorettes.
After several more minutes of waiting, the crowd thinned and I saw our chance. I grabbed the handle to the bulkhead door and pulled. And nearly wrenched my back. I pulled again. The door was locked.
“Is there another way in?”
Kane shook his head.
“Okay, let’s try plan B.” Always have a contingency plan.
I led the way to Deadtown’s northern boundary, where there was a dead spot in the electric fence. What I found was a big, new sign that read: DANGER. HIGH VOLTAGE. DO NOT TOUCH. I didn’t stand around long wondering if the sign was for real. A moth flitted past, attracted by portable floodlights trained on Deadtown from the other side. It bumped the wire, and got zapped into oblivion.
So much for our contingency plan.
“THERE MUST BE SOME WAY OUT,” I SAID. WE WERE IN THE bedroom, having a strategy meeting with Mab. Tina was in the kitchen, cleaning up. Again. I could hardly believe it.
“You could shift,” Mab said. “Become a bird, for example, and fly over the fence. Although there would be several drawbacks.”
“I’ve thought about those. I couldn’t carry out any weapons, and there’s no telling how long the shift would last.” Not to mention I’d wake up naked in some strange place, perhaps miles away from my goal. My human mind and personality didn’t have much control over whatever animal I shifted to, so if the bird decided it was time to fly up north to its nesting grounds in Nova Scotia, that’s what it would do.
“What about the man who made my ID? Can he help?”
“I already called him. He can smuggle documents, but not people. He didn’t have a clue.”
My shoulders sagged. Kane, lying on the floor, put his head on his paws.
“Think, child. We must get you past the boundary.”
The door opened, and Tina stuck her head in. “Is that all you want to do? Get out of Deadtown?”
“Tina, this is a private conversation,” I said.
“Sorry, I couldn’t help overhearing.”
“Through a closed door?”
Mab held up a hand. “Let her speak, Victory. We need all the ideas we can get.”
Tina came in and sat at the foot of the bed. “I sneak out of Deadtown all the time. It’s easiest in the winter, because then everyone’s all bundled up with hats and scarves and stuff and nobody can even tell you’re a zombie.”
“Are you thinking of that dead spot in the north fence?” I asked. “Because it’s got lots of juice now.”
“I’ve used that spot, but there are lots of other ways.” She bit her lip and looked at each of us, considering. “Okay, I’m not supposed to tell anybody this, but there’s this club. We sneak out of Deadtown and visit different places in Boston. It’s fun.” Sort of like a zombie version of the urban exploration club Roxana mentioned.
“Tina, do you know how much trouble you’d be in if you got caught outside of Deadtown without a permit? They’d call in the Removal Squad.” Zombies who got removed were never heard from again. And that was true even when there wasn’t a containment order in place.
She shrugged. “So we don’t get caught.”
“And right now it’s too dangerous. They’ve fixed the electric fence. They’ve added police patrols. They’ve even called in the National Guard.” I turned to Mab. “I’ll have to shift. It’s not ideal, but it’s the only way.”
“It’s not the only way. Some of us are sneaking out tomorrow night.” Tina flipped her hair behind her shoulder. “What? If it’s too easy, it’s no fun.”
Mab laughed. “That young lady,” she said, shaking a finger at Tina, “reminds me of myself at that age.”
Tina puffed up like a preening cockatoo.
“Okay,” I said. “Where are you planning to sneak out? I’ll go take a look now.”
“I don’t know yet. I haven’t heard from Brendan. He’s the one with all the maps and police information and stuff. He’ll text us tomorrow and tell us when and where to meet.”
“I don’t like it,” I said to Mab. I didn’t want to be caught with a bunch of teenage zombies trying to sneak out of Deadtown on a lark. And if I had to wait until tomorrow, there would be no chance for a trial run.
“Let’s reserve judgment until we learn of this Brendan’s plan,” Mab said. “If it doesn’t seem feasible, you can still get out by shifting.”
“Awesome!” Tina said, bouncing on the bed with excitement. “This will be so fun. It’ll almost be like we’re out fighting demons again.” She got up. “I know, I know. You don’t have to say it. I’m not your apprentice anymore.” She grinned. “But it’ll still be fun.”
TINA LEFT TO MAKE IT BACK TO HER GROUP HOME BEFORE the curfew took effect. About two minutes past ten, there was a knock on my door. I went to answer it, wondering why Clyde hadn’t called to announce the visitor. Then I realized he was under curfew, too. He’d be home, like everyone else.
Everyone but the Goon Squad. Because that’s who was at my door.
