“Dean,” I said slowly, straightening up. “Meet Cherish.”

  “Fuck,” he swore. “Was this--”

  “Not a setup,” Cherish and I spoke in unison. I glared at her as she grinned and continued. “Believe it or not, I was just out for a walk with my...friends.” A quartet of soldiers all smiled in unison. “But when I heard one of the candidates just hanging around with someone who sounded so unpleasant, well...I had to come check it out. Can't say I'm disappointed either; tell me, how is Victoria?”

  “Don't,” I snapped as a sudden red glow lit the ground between me and Dean. The soldiers now had their rifles pointed squarely at his face. Cherish giggled.

  “Delicious stuff,” she said, licking her lips. “A real opera, complete with inevitable tragedy that could have been easily avoided. If only either of you had a brain cell to share.”

  “I don't wanna hear that from the girl who almost set off her own bomb collar,” I spat. Her smug grin shrank a molar or two.

  “I see why Jack picked you.” That hit like a sucker punch.

  “What do you want?” I demanded.

  “A chat,” she replied simply. “Nothing too deadly, I just want to know the secrets you won't even tell your boss.” I stiffened.

  “What does she mean?” Dean's voice had a cold edge to it, and I couldn't even blame him.

  “It means you didn't get the whole story,” Cherish replied. “Oh don't feel bad, she already feels awful but you know all about that, right?”

  “It's just details,” I muttered. “Stuff that you really don't want to know, okay? Stuff that I wish I didn't.”

  “Lia you--”

  “He walks, Cherish.” I heard Dean's teeth click as he shut his mouth.

  “I'm inclined to disagree.” She twitched a finger and I leaped up.

  Dean had worn his armour under the sweats, so he was mostly bulletproof. The four rounds that struck my projection had been sent squarely at his unprotected forehead though. I grabbed his collar and pulled him down to his knees; I couldn't fucking cover him with so much of a height difference. I tore my pepper spray from my belt and fanned it in a wide arc, depressing the trigger and blasting all five of the fuckers in the face.

  I held as still as I could, dropping the spray and gripping Dean's hoodie to keep him in place. Screams of pain echoed around the neighbourhood briefly, before becoming roars of rage accompanied by peals of fire from the mind-controlled soldiers. Bullets plinked off my projection like a downpour. After just a couple seconds, the fire slackened and I let myself peek over my shoulder.

  “Putain,” Cherish spat and coughed, one eye shut. Her soldiers were fumbling to reload.

  “He walks, Cherish.” I flexed my hand. “Or you fucking don't.” She couldn't stop me. Dean might die, but she would too...unless she stopped me of course.

  “I could make you very agreeable,” she growled.

  “You could,” I replied as realization struck me. “But that's not the point, right? You're here to test me, aren't you?” I practically sighed with relief when I saw her face pucker like she'd eaten a tub of sour candy.

  “I fucking see why Jack picked you.” Cherish ran her fingers through her hair. “Run away, little squire, before I change my mind.”

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  “Lia what the fuck are you doing?” Dean hissed, rising shakily. The soldiers weren't aiming at him, at least.

  “Saving your life, unless your skull is bulletproof,” I muttered, then louder: “Your troops drop their guns or I break 'em.”

  “You're pushing your luck, stupid Ward.” Still, they complied.

  “Get out of here,” I said, slapping Dean's shoulder. “I'll be okay.”

  “And if not?” I sighed.

  “Then at least I know I can trust you next time.”

  “Don't you dare make this a 'next time' thing.”

  “I don't want to,” I whispered. “Please, go. Don't...don't make me wish for a next time.” Dean flinched

  He finally listened, giving me a single nod, then turning around and sprinting back the way we'd come. I kept an eye on the soldiers as they retrieved their weapons, but they simply held them idly. Cherish was giving me a baleful glare from her one good eye. That, at least, I had to smile at.

  “You should try milk,” I said flippantly, my voice only shaking a little. “Hear it works wonders.”

  “Follow me,” Cherish spat in reply, then turned on her heel.

  The soldiers boxed me in as I did. I had no designs on joining the Nine, in fact I had designs on killing at least three of them personally. Still, I figured the best way through was playing their game. There was no question it would be awful, already I wanted to throw up just wondering what she had in store.

  We didn't go far, just a few blocks to a squat, brick building that was totally blacked out. Cherish had said she wanted to chat, but didn't say a word besides tersely ordering me to sit in the living room of an abandoned apartment. I did, with one of the soldiers keeping me company. He had an idiot grin on his face, but his finger rested on the trigger of his rifle, not quite aimed my way. It wouldn't be effective, but I got the message. A few minutes later, the door opened and my stomach dropped.

  Eight people of various ages, in various states of dress, were herded in, the three soldiers striking them seemingly at random. With an excessive amount of force, they shoved each one to the floor. I saw a kid, nose dripping blood, staring at me fearfully.

  “So here's the deal,” Cherish said, sitting on the couch across from me and kicking her feet onto the coffee table. “You're going to tell me absolutely everything. All about how you knew we were in town, about Jack's nomination, all of it. Everything you were afraid to tell Dean, capiche?” There was an 'or' that I waited silently for. “Ask.” I chewed my lip quietly and she twitched a finger. One of the soldiers pressed their rifle to someone's head. “Ask.”

  “Or what?” I spat frantically, heart pounding. “Or fucking what Cherish, you'll shoot these people? Fucking duh.” She frowned. Fuck. A shot, a series of screams.

  “Correct,” Cherish said, her smile returning. “And I'd advise you don't mouth off either.” I swallowed the bile rising in my throat.

  “So, everything.” My gaze flicked over the soldiers, and the hostages. “You, get to know everything. Not them.”

  “Aww, afraid of your deep dark secrets getting out?” Cherish smiled and another hostage was threatened.

  “Yeah,” I admitted, thinking of two years from now, of... “And you should be too, if you're smart.”

  That made her pause. Cherish was damn stupid, insanely reckless, and impulsive enough to join the Slaughterhouse Nine. Just the same, if you thought someone was a precog and could tell when they were deeply afraid of everything they knew...

  “Fine,” Cherish said at last. “Come on.” She rose and led me into a bedroom off to one side. She sat on a chair and gestured for me to sit on the admittedly sick racecar bed. “Now talk.”

  “Well, I'll be honest, I'm not sure if you're going to believe me.” I took a deep breath as she narrowed her eyes. “Seriously, it's uh...kind of a story.”

  “We have time.” I flinched as another shot rang out. “Six more minutes, at least.” I swore under my breath.

  “It's going to take a little longer than that.”

  “I'm confident you'll...abridge things when appropriate.” Fuck.

  “Well, let's start at the start of...our relationship?” That got a snort out of her. “Tonight's not the first time you've listened to Amy fuck up her sister's brain. It is the first time you've spoken to me without killing me though.” Her eyes glittered.

  “Go on.”

  “It's simple.” I held up my hand and counted up on my fingers. “I live, I die, I live again. Four times against you and your friends now.” I licked my lips with a parched tongue. “PRT calls me a precog, guess Jack would too. I don't think I'm that lucky.”

  “That's not how you know though, is it?” She grinned.

  “Partly,” I hedged. “But uhh, this is where things get a little...crazy.”

  “I'm member eight of the Slaughterhouse Nine,” Cherish said with an edge. “I can handle crazy.”

  “Alright.” I took a breath and prepared to throw everything on the table to save six people I didn't know. “What do you know about parallel universes?”