“Hey, I’m just throwing out suggestions. And don’t scowl at me, puppy. You certainly didn’t have any qualms dicing a few minions to get us where you wanted in Old Chicago.”

Zeke’s lip curled, showing fangs, and I put a hand on his arm. Now was not a good time for a fight to break out; the rabids would notice and be on top of us in a heartbeat. “Kanin?”

I asked instead, watching my sire. “Any ideas?”

Kanin stayed silent, observing the swarm claw and leap at the barrier. Without answering, he reached up and flipped on the headlights, then almost instantly switched them off again.

He did this several more times, flashing the lights in a strange pattern I didn’t recognize. Three short flashes, followed by three longer ones, then three short ones again. Several of the rabids noticed and broke away from the wall, edging toward the vehicle.

Jackal cocked his head, watching the approaching monsters.

“Well, if you were trying to get their attention, old man, congratulations. Here they come. Not sure they get the whole Morse code thing, but who knows?”

Beyond the swarm, at the top of the wall, a light suddenly clicked on, the quick gleam of a flashlight. It flashed three times, and Zeke straightened quickly.

“Someone is up there,” he said, his voice threaded with relief.

Kanin nodded. “Let us hope it is a human and not Sarren,”

he murmured, and glanced over at Jackal, still slouched back in his seat. “I’d roll up the window, were I you,” he added.

Jackal frowned. “Roll up the window? Why…oh.” Jackal quickly swung his boots off the dashboard. “Shit. Guess we’re gonna go knock on the door after all.”

His words were almost lost as Kanin slammed his palm into the center of the steering wheel, sending a piercing wail into the air. The rest of the swarm jerked up, spinning around at the noise, and hundreds of blank, dead eyes fastened on us.

“Well, here we go.” Jackal sighed as the entire mob gave earsplitting cries and sprinted toward us over the pavement.

Kanin put the car in Reverse and sped backward down the road, inciting the horde into a frenzy. When he was a few hundred yards from the gate, and about fifty yards from the rabids swiftly closing in, he slammed on the brakes and wrenched the car into drive again.

“Allison, Ezekiel?”

“Yeah?”

“Hang on to something.”

The car leaped forward with a squeal, gaining speed, as we hurtled straight for the approaching swarm. Kanin didn’t slow down but flipped on the headlights just as we crashed full speed into the first wave, knocking them aside with wet thumps. Rabids flung themselves at the vehicle, smashed into the windshield, and were hurled away. They leaped onto the hood, clinging desperately as they screamed and clawed at the glass, soulless white eyes peering madly through the barrier.

One rabid’s skull hit the windshield as it leaped at us, and a spiderweb of cracks instantly spread across the glass.

The wall loomed in front of us, the space in front of it clear, though the massive iron gates were still closed. With a few rabids still clinging to the van, we sped unerringly toward the metal barrier, Kanin not slowing down. Zeke muttered something inaudible and grabbed the back of Jackal’s seat in a death grip. I followed his example with Kanin’s.

“Hang on,” Kanin muttered, and spun the wheel sharply to the left. The car gave an earsplitting squeal as it spun sideways, left the road, and smashed into the wall, crushing a few rabids between layers of metal. The impact threw me sideways, too, nearly wrenching my arms from their sockets as I clung desperately to the seat. There was a moment of chaos, of grinding metal, screaming rabids, and breaking glass, and the vehicle rocked to an abrupt halt.

“Let’s go.” Kanin jumped out and pulled open the side door, letting Zeke and I scramble free. The car lay in a crumpled, smoking ruin, the broken bodies of rabids lying beneath it or smashed into the wall. In front of us, farther down the road, the horde was coming back, screaming and bounding over the pavement.

“Get to the gates!” Kanin barked, and we ran for the entrance, which was still firmly closed. We crowded in front of the steel doors, drawing our weapons, as the frantic shrieks and wails drew closer. Zeke called up to the watchtower, banging his machete hilt against the metal, but there was no answer.

“This ass**le had better open the door,” Jackal growled, spinning his fire ax in a graceful arc as the horde came on.

“I didn’t come all the way to Eden to be eaten at the damn gates. Some might call it ironic, but that just pisses me off.”

The first rabid lunged at me, howling, fangs and claws going for my face. I brought my katana up and sliced through the spindly middle, cutting it in half in a spray of dark blood.

Another bounded in, and Zeke’s machete sliced down, hammering into it and tearing the head from its neck.

With a deafening groan, the gate shuddered and finally cracked open, just wide enough for a single person to pass through. I turned just as a soldier poked his head out and beckoned frantically to us all.

“Get inside! Hurry!”

“Go!” Kanin snapped, and we didn’t need encouragement.

Zeke ducked through first, with Jackal right behind him. As the horde descended upon us, screaming and wailing, I cut down one last monster and backed swiftly away with Kanin until we reached the door. We slipped through the opening, and Kanin joined Zeke and the soldier in pushing the heavy gate shut. A rabid hit the gate and started to squeeze through, hissing, but my katana flashed, and it fell as its head bounced to the road. For a moment, peering through the crack, I was staring at a sea of rabids rushing toward me. Then the gate shut with a hollow, clanging boom, a heavy bar dropping into place as wailing, scratches and frantic thumps sounded on the other side.

I slumped in relief, then turned…to face a squadron of suspicious, hard-eyed soldiers, their assault rifles already trained on us all.

Okay, this wasn’t starting off well.

The monster in me growled, urging me to attack, to take out the threat before it was too late and they shot us full of holes. I pushed down the bloodlust and lowered my sword, trying to appear nonthreatening. I hoped these weren’t the same soldiers I’d encountered the first time I’d come through the checkpoint—the ones who would recognize me as a vampire. They had to believe we were just a group of normal humans looking for Eden. But something was definitely wrong. The checkpoint was on high alert, and the soldiers seemed twitchy; it hadn’t been this way the first time we came through.

Sarren’s doing? I wondered . Or something else?

Jackal snorted.

“Nice reception,” he drawled, gazing at the squad of armed humans with a mix of amusement and disgust. “I feel so welcome here. Do all visitors get the red carpet treatment, or are we just special?” He shot a glance at Zeke, his smile dangerous. “Hey, puppy, I think your welcoming committee needs a few things explained.”

Zeke quickly stepped forward, facing the squad. “It’s all right,” he said, as the soldiers turned, their eyes wary and hard.

I watched him, hoping he was calm, that he had his monster under control, as well. Thankfully, he seemed composed as he continued, speaking to the soldier out front, the one who looked like he was in charge. “My name is Zeke Crosse. I’m a resident of Eden.” Some of the men straightened, definitely recognizing the name, as Zeke continued. “Dr. Richardson knows who I am. If you tell him I’ve come back, he’ll sort everything out.”