Page 98 of The Hive Queen

Pen shrugs. “Even if my sire can get us a meeting, he can’t force Lord Talkis to help us.”

“It’s still a good chance at finding out more information than we have right now.” I frown as I gaze around the room, something that’s been bothering me since the beginning finally clicking into place. “Where are the bees?”

Amalia’s lips twist in disgust. “Are you trying to borrow trouble now?”

I shake my head. “It’s just…there’s honey and wax all over downstairs, and honey at all the crime scenes. Pen was even stung at one of them. So where are the bees?”

“They might be in a different part of the house,” Marc suggests.

“We should search the whole place,” Pen adds. “If we can locate the eggs and destroy those, it will at least slow the Hive Queen down.”

“Basement,” Marc says. “That shit is always in the basement.”

“It’s a big house. It will take time to search.” I scrub a hand over my face, wiping the dust from my eyes, and notice the zombie shuffling by. I turn back to Flint. “Are you still not able to pull the spirit back?”

He leans heavily against Marc. “I can, but…” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the shattered remains of a spirit bottle.

I stare at it in dismay. “Can you put it in one of the other bottles?”

Flint shakes his head. “I left them in the van because I didn’t want to risk them breaking.”

I take a breath to calm my nerves. “The tactical van?”

He shakes his head again.

“Okay. This is fine.” I turn to stare at the zombie. “It’s dark, and at least there’s no blood from the stings.” I turn back to Flint. “Can you sustain the zombie until we clear the scene and can get back to your van?”

“I don’t know,” he admits, looking like it pains him.

“What about letting him possess you?” My stomach tightens at the idea. “Like you planned to do to allow him to drink.”

“It’s too dangerous with Flint so weak,” Pen says with a hard stare at Flint before he can answer. “He could lose control of his own body.”

Nodding, I turn to gesture Mayn over. “Get Flint and that zombie out of here ASAP.” Then I realize we’re missing someone and look around. “Where’s Anny?”

A soft bark comes from the stairway, and the fox pokes her head into the room.

“Some familiar you are,” Flint grumbles. “Running as soon as the fight gets tough.”

Mayn moves to kneel in front of Flint. “It will be faster if I carry you.”

Flint releases his hold on Marc and falls gracelessly onto Mayn’s back. “The hits to my pride just don’t stop.”

The siren hooks her arms under Flint’s legs and stands easily, then turns to the zombie. “You do not have human limitations. Keep up.”

Without another warning, she takes off, and the zombie darts after her, freakishly fast, with Anny right on their heels.

Stuff of nightmares, there.

Marc half steps forward to follow before shaking his head and turning back to the room of wounded and unconscious.

It’s a grim hour of bringing them out to the front of the mansion. Luckily, none of my people are dead, though quite a few will need to be observed for concussions and Troy won’t be on hunting duty again for a while.

We don’t have enough handcuffs for all of the tranquilized drones, which is good, because it means we neutralized more than we killed. That surprises me, considering how Mayn and Pen tore into them to clear a path to the Hive Queen, but we had been severely outnumbered.

Many of the drones here must have come from neighboring cities where the other deaths took place. We’ll have to reach out to their missing-persons teams once the dust settles.

By the time we get everyone moved down to the ground floor, the paramedics arrive, patching up those who can walk and loading the first few immobilized people onto stretchers to carry them through the woods to the road.

---