into his pocket. “Anyone have any ideas?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Rico grunted. “Don’t mess with the Full Blood while it’s all wrapped up nice and tidy. Guess the boat’s sailed on that one.”
“What about killing a Full Blood?” Paige asked. “If you Vigilant guys are so great, you must have put something together for that, right?”
“Hey!” Cole shouted. “This isn’t Birkyus or any of those others. This is Cecile! She’s just a kid!”
“Not anymore,” Rico said. “She’s a Full Blood, and once she gets her wits about her, she’ll be a real pissed off Full Blood. I’d rather take my chances jogging into a tornado than being in the same room with one of those without a goddamn weapon in my hand.”
“We don’t have to kill her,” Cole insisted.
Paige stood beside him with a weapon drawn. “We may not have a choice. Jessup, what have you got?”
“Dr. Lancroft created something that allowed him to kill a Full Blood over the course of several weeks,” Jessup replied.
Before Cole could protest, Paige asked, “Do you have it here?”
“Yes, but I’ll need to get real close without a weapon in my hand. Someone’s going to have to keep that thing still.”
Cole smirked. “We may have just the thing.”
Chapter Six
C racks spread across Cecile’s face, shoulders, and chest in a chain reaction that quickly marred what had once been a smooth, almost pristine surface. As he stormed back down the stairs after a quick trip to the car, Cole could see layers of the rocky coating flake off and fall to the floor of the cell. It had originally been put on her by batlike creatures preserving their meals for so long that the human race either worshipped the statues left behind or eventually called them gargoyles. The true gargoyles had enveloped Cecile’s entire body and entombed her layer by layer. Now, as each layer peeled away, Cole knew it wasn’t going to be nearly as easy to get the Full Blood under control again.
“Where did Jessup go?” he asked. The spear in his hands had grown to full length thanks to the thorns in its handle that pierced his palms. Although the weapon was connected to him on several levels, there was no way for it to obey every command he was giving it at that moment. That is, unless a charmed piece of wood could fly him off to a quiet cabin somewhere. When he reminded himself of the bad luck he’d had at the last secluded cabin he visited, he purged that dream from his mind and steeled himself as Rico approached the bars.
“Why hasn’t she busted out yet?” Cole asked.
Rico had his Sig Sauer in one hand, aimed at the Full Blood, as he used his other hand to touch various runes etched into the bars. “We been studying this one up close since we got her in custody. That’s one reason I joined up with these guys.”
“Why didn’t you mention that when you stormed out of New Mexico?” Paige asked.
“Because it wouldn’t have made a difference. Also, I’m still pissed that you two were so quick to shack up with the military when so many Skinners were still on the run from Nymar or the cops. Did you ever stop to think that those Army assholes were just using you to draw more of us into one big net? The cops are still looking for a lot of us, you know!”
She sighed and shook her head, tightening her grip on the baton that slowly shifted into a weapon with a thin handle and a wide, curved blade extending from it. Just like the main spearhead of Cole’s weapon, the edge of Paige’s sickle blade was coated in a metallic substance created from melted fragments of a Blood Blade. That portion retained its curved shape after being reformed by a burst of strength that had allowed her to finally stray from the clunky machete she’d been forced to use because it was the only shape she could form with her wounded hand. When she spun the sickle around, the weapon cut through the air before catching light cast from the bulbs on the ceiling. It wasn’t as
“Yeah,” Rico grunted. “Don’t mess with the Full Blood while it’s all wrapped up nice and tidy. Guess the boat’s sailed on that one.”
“What about killing a Full Blood?” Paige asked. “If you Vigilant guys are so great, you must have put something together for that, right?”
“Hey!” Cole shouted. “This isn’t Birkyus or any of those others. This is Cecile! She’s just a kid!”
“Not anymore,” Rico said. “She’s a Full Blood, and once she gets her wits about her, she’ll be a real pissed off Full Blood. I’d rather take my chances jogging into a tornado than being in the same room with one of those without a goddamn weapon in my hand.”
“We don’t have to kill her,” Cole insisted.
Paige stood beside him with a weapon drawn. “We may not have a choice. Jessup, what have you got?”
“Dr. Lancroft created something that allowed him to kill a Full Blood over the course of several weeks,” Jessup replied.
Before Cole could protest, Paige asked, “Do you have it here?”
“Yes, but I’ll need to get real close without a weapon in my hand. Someone’s going to have to keep that thing still.”
Cole smirked. “We may have just the thing.”
Chapter Six
C racks spread across Cecile’s face, shoulders, and chest in a chain reaction that quickly marred what had once been a smooth, almost pristine surface. As he stormed back down the stairs after a quick trip to the car, Cole could see layers of the rocky coating flake off and fall to the floor of the cell. It had originally been put on her by batlike creatures preserving their meals for so long that the human race either worshipped the statues left behind or eventually called them gargoyles. The true gargoyles had enveloped Cecile’s entire body and entombed her layer by layer. Now, as each layer peeled away, Cole knew it wasn’t going to be nearly as easy to get the Full Blood under control again.
“Where did Jessup go?” he asked. The spear in his hands had grown to full length thanks to the thorns in its handle that pierced his palms. Although the weapon was connected to him on several levels, there was no way for it to obey every command he was giving it at that moment. That is, unless a charmed piece of wood could fly him off to a quiet cabin somewhere. When he reminded himself of the bad luck he’d had at the last secluded cabin he visited, he purged that dream from his mind and steeled himself as Rico approached the bars.
“Why hasn’t she busted out yet?” Cole asked.
Rico had his Sig Sauer in one hand, aimed at the Full Blood, as he used his other hand to touch various runes etched into the bars. “We been studying this one up close since we got her in custody. That’s one reason I joined up with these guys.”
“Why didn’t you mention that when you stormed out of New Mexico?” Paige asked.
“Because it wouldn’t have made a difference. Also, I’m still pissed that you two were so quick to shack up with the military when so many Skinners were still on the run from Nymar or the cops. Did you ever stop to think that those Army assholes were just using you to draw more of us into one big net? The cops are still looking for a lot of us, you know!”
She sighed and shook her head, tightening her grip on the baton that slowly shifted into a weapon with a thin handle and a wide, curved blade extending from it. Just like the main spearhead of Cole’s weapon, the edge of Paige’s sickle blade was coated in a metallic substance created from melted fragments of a Blood Blade. That portion retained its curved shape after being reformed by a burst of strength that had allowed her to finally stray from the clunky machete she’d been forced to use because it was the only shape she could form with her wounded hand. When she spun the sickle around, the weapon cut through the air before catching light cast from the bulbs on the ceiling. It wasn’t as
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