The Queen Of Zombie Hearts

Nana squeezed me tight. “Don’t you worry about him. He’s doing well. Better than any of us expected. Ankh hauled him to the house to feed him.”

Relief was, oh, so sweet. “So it’s safe to go back?”

“Safer by the minute,” Mr. Holland said with a nod. “When Ankh isn’t playing doctor, he’s working on the security. As soon as he’s satisfied there are no other hidden vulnerabilities, we’ll be able to go in and out the front door. Until then, we are to sneak through the tunnel.”

“What about the other slayers?”

The vim and vigor seeped out of him, and his shoulders slumped. He looked away from me, no longer able to hold my gaze. “We don’t know where they are.”

But he knew something. He just didn’t want to tell me what it was. Hands beginning to sweat, I said, “Text them. Tell them to come here and—”

“I want to,” he interjected with a shake of his head, “but I won’t. Anima could have their phones.”

He was right. Dang it!

He scrubbed his fingers through his hair. “Every news station has been running a story about last night’s eruption of ‘gang violence.’ They claim Cole is the leader of one gang, and his rival, a street thug named River Marks, decided to get rid of him and his crew.”

“Wait. How did they know Cole was any kind of leader?” And did the police know I’d shot and killed someone in his home?

I sucked in a fiery breath. Oh, glory, I’d shot and killed someone.

Compartmentalize.

“No.” Mr. Holland’s features softened as he computed the direction my thoughts had taken. “I snuck back to the house this morning. Someone had come by and cleared away the, uh, collateral damage. The cops saw that the house was broken into, and Cole’s blood was on the wall, but nothing more.”

Anima had gone back, then.

“For now,” he added, “we lay low. We let Anima wonder who survived.”

And who didn’t, I finished for him, taking a few seconds to breathe. The problem with such a plan was that we had to wonder, too.

“Again,” I said, “I’m unsure how the police connected the dots to Cole. They should have just assumed he was a victim.”

Mr. Holland worked his jaw. “Apparently, a mysterious source called in the information.”

Mysterious. In other words, Anima.

Nana rested her head on my shoulder. “Tell her the rest, Tyler. Better it come from you than someone else.”

My heart dropped. “What is it?”

He closed his eyes, but not before I caught a flash of grief. “Cruz is... He’s dead, too. He was found in his bed, a bullet in his brain.”

No. No, no, no. Another friend lost. A beautiful life ended far too soon.

Compartmentalize!

“I’m going after the others,” I announced. They were out there. They were alive.

They had to be alive.

I was going to find them and bring them back.

Mr. Holland didn’t hesitate. He nodded, surprising me.

“I’m taking Kat and Reeve with me,” I added. They weren’t ready for war, no, but I couldn’t drive and search and defend myself and patch injured slayers.

Even superheroes needed sidekicks.

“God save me,” he muttered, scrubbing a hand over his face. “After what happened with Ethan, Ankh will never allow you to put Reeve in Anima’s path.”

Ethan. My hands curled into fists. Reeve had dated Ethan before she’d started dating Bronx. He’d secretly worked for Anima, gleaning her secrets, our secrets, and ultimately leading to her kidnapping and my torture.

“I hate to break it to you,” I announced, “but what you said about Kat is true of Reeve, as well. She’s already in their path. Whether she’s with me or not, she’s in danger.”

He flashed a quick smile. “Save the arguments for Ankh.”

Mr. Ankh, the world’s most stubborn male. And that was saying something, considering Cole was in the running. “I will.” Now, to circle back to the start of our conversation. “Free the girls. I’ll take them to the house, and the three of us will do whatever’s necessary to get through to boss-man.”

“Free them yourself.” He pulled a chain from around his neck, a key dangling at the end, and tossed it at me. “I just came from the house, and I’m not going back.” His gaze swung to Nana. “I’m taking your grandmother out of state. For her protection,” he added with more volume.

Ah. Their earlier fight suddenly made sense.

Nana morphed from calm to practically spewing fire in the snap of fingers. “I told you before, but I’ll tell you again, because you are obviously hard of hearing. I’m not going anywhere. Did you understand that time? Anywhere.”

We’d see about that, too.

I cupped her cheeks, and stared into dark eyes so like my mother’s and little sister’s—eyes that both broke me and made me stronger. “You must,” I said gently. “For me.”

Astonishment wafted from her. She shook her head, uttering one succinct word. “No.”

“These people are ruthless, Nana. They kidnapped me, tortured me, and when they finished with me, they would have killed me in the most painful way possible. Yesterday, they did kill three of my friends.” Hot tears suddenly streaked down my cheeks. “They must be destroyed.”

“But—”

I cut her off with a firm “I know these people. They won’t hesitate to hurt you to get to me. So please. Please! Go with Mr. Holland. Stay safe so that I can stay focused.”

A beat of silence...another...each crackling with tension.

“I will go with him,” she said, surprising me. Then she added, “But only if you’ll come with us.” I heard the despair in her tone. “My husband is dead. My daughter is dead. My only other grandchild is dead. I can’t lose you, too.”

Destroying me. “Nana. If I don’t do this, you’ll lose me anyway. I won’t be...me.” I’d been born for this. I wasn’t afraid. I was ready.

“At least let me try to protect you.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Mr. Holland pull a syringe from his pocket. Going to drug her like Mr. Ankh had drugged me? Oh, man. When she woke up, she would be tee-icked.

Worth it. I clasped her hands in mine. “I’m needed here,” I said, and she once again shook her head. “Only slayers can fight Anima and zombies. And you know we’ll be facing both.”