War

by R. S. Broadhead

  The mention of my name caused a resounding shift in the way each one of them regarded me. Some looked scared. Others sized me up.

  “Do you think it’s safe to be around her?” came another’s shaky voice.

  The leader scoffed, amusement splashing across his features. “Take a look around us.” His arms cocked to the sides. “She’s all alone and outnumbered.”

  That statement gained laughter from the group. Slowly, each one moved. Desperately, I fought to keep watch on them, but there were too many. I twisted at the waist, twirling as the panic set in.

  They were all around me, circling like vultures ready to rip away my skin and pick apart the bones. I sighed. “Fuck,” I muttered under my breath. This had to go down as the longest night in history. One fight was bad enough, but two? Couldn’t a girl catch a break? With a quick flick of my wrist, I unsheathed my knife. My attackers eyed me with curiosity as they continued to stalk me. I gripped the handle of the blade tighter, swaying from side to side and ignoring the pain in my already injured knee. Why hadn’t I brought more weapons with me? Stupid! Oh well, guess this one would have to do.

  One leaped toward me. I spun to the side, catching it in the back of the skull with an elbow. It stumbled forward into two more that had decided to charge. Whirling around, I dipped low under a Valk’s arm and weaved to the left. My blade embedded easily into the solar plexus of one of them as I kicked the one that tried to hit me. Before I could move, another’s shoulder drove deep into my midsection. I doubled over as the power from the hit ricocheted my body backward into a tree. I sputtered, gasping for air.

  I looked up to see a large fist plummeting in the direction of my head. Snapping to the side, I barely missed the blow. It drove straight into the trunk, sending bark showering over me. The Valk pulled back and struggled to free its submerged hand. I planted my hands down on the ground, using them to spring up on its back. The Valk’s free hand flung around in an attempt to grab me. I stabbed into its neck and gave the handle a violent twist. Reaching up, the Valk grasped the wound. Blood sprayed out and covered my face. In moments, I was blinded. I swiped my eyes, trying to clear the red haze. Pain crushed the side of my face as something plowed into it.

  I struggled to stand. Focusing, I attempted to use the tattoos. Fire would be good right about now, considering I was getting my ass handed to me. Nothing. I tried again, feeling more aggravated then anything. Nothing. Something sharp pierced my side followed by searing agony. I arched back. A large hand wrapped completely around my neck and pushed me against the ground. It squeezed. Just a bit more pressure and it could snap my bone like a twig. I waited for it. Somewhere deep down I wanted it. Then all of this would be over. I hated myself for thinking that way. But at least I could say I went down with a fight. I could be with Steele again.

  “We could kill her right now. Why wait?” a deep voice above me snarled. I blinked, tears pooling in the corners of my eyes and streaming down into my hairline.

  “Because he’ll want her alive. The Snake Demons will want to see her die for what she did to Varcies.” Geez. Word traveled fast.

  The grip loosened for a split second before returning. “But we can hurt her, right?” That garnered laughter from the others, which were now directly around us. Without an answer, a Valk drove a heel straight down. My nose snapped, and the pressure built in my face as the swelling pulsed. Another strike landed against my forehead, then another. My vision blinked in and out of focus. Just get it over with. But I knew they would stop before I crossed that line. They would leave that task for Dermetheus.

  Suddenly they stopped.

  “Quiet,” one commanded.

  “What was that?” another asked in a shaky voice.

  “Search the area. Find it—” He didn’t finish the sentence. Peaceful silence landed over me, then a faint wail.

  Heat flooded my veins. My gut twisted as a prickle of awareness mauled its way up my spine. I pressed my palms against the cool soil and clamped down on my tongue to keep the scream in before forcing my aching body up.

  A sound resonated from the darkness. It sounded like an animal. I squinted and stepped forward. “Hello?” I called out. Silence. I winced, touching my temple. My vision started to get fuzzy around the edges. Gripping a tree, I leaned on it. My chest heaved, the pants becoming more pronounced. Sweat beaded above my brows, running down my face. I squeezed my eyes together, fighting the dotted vision now hindering me.

  Another animalistic howl pierced my ears, drowning out the beat of my heart. Stilling my nerves, I stumbled toward the sound. My steps faltered, but I didn’t stop. If I did, I wasn’t sure I would be able to start again. In the middle of trees, I jerked around searching for any sign of movement.

  Something large moved with quickness that was hard to keep up with. It was a black blur that seemed to whip around the trees. It circled me. A chilled air reached my skin. I shivered, partly from that but also because I had no idea what I was staring at. My strength dwindled. I dropped to my knees and then landed on my back. I closed my heavy lids unable to keep them open any longer. All I wanted to do was sleep. Sleep sounded good about now.

  Daylight streamed through the trees across the bottom of the forest. I cracked my eyes. It only took a split second for the pain to register. Everything hurt. I stared at a golden ray, focusing on the leaves that fell through the air around me. I couldn’t lie here all day. It was essential that I get up. The others would be looking for me soon if not already. What time was it? But before I went back, I needed to look for what had saved me. Had it been the dragons? The werewolves? Deep down I knew it was neither of those things. This was something different.

  I stood. When I wiggled my jaw from side to side, it popped. No doubt I looked like hell. I staggered forward, pushing into the woods to search for anything to give me a clue. A few tree limbs hung loosely, touching the ground for support. The ground was torn, dirt pushed to the sides. In the middle was a print. I kneeled beside it and studied the mark. Instead of it being shaped like a wolf, it was more like a hoof. I pulled back. From a horse? I blinked and rubbed my eyes. The same print stared back at me when I reopened them. I sat back on my heels and looked around me. What was out here with me? Something red clung to a nearby branch, mashed between leaves.

  I pushed up and went over to it. A patch of coarse hair. I plucked it from the spot and rubbed my fingers over it. Despite how it looked, it was silky smooth. A charred leaf landed on the back of my hand. I whipped it away. Black smut covered my dirty skin. My gaze flicked up, taking in the sights around me. Most everything was burned. My mouth dropped. This was a first, even for me. I glanced up to the trees hanging overhead. The bodies of the Valks dangled from the limbs, each one charred to the point of being unrecognizable.

  What did this?

  8

  Reese

  I wasn’t sure how I made it back to Rad Cliff. Most of the drive was a blur. I had never been more grateful when those sand dunes came into view. I parked the Jeep in between several other SUVs and rolled out. Part of me was pretty sure I left the door hanging open. I was too worn down to check. With a shaking hand, I turned the handle on the door and more or less toppled through it. I landed in Harley’s arms.

  “Where have you been?” He lifted me up as I went limp. “I was worr—” He stopped midsentence.

  I peeked at him through my swollen lids. “Got in a fight,” I said calmly. I tried to force a smile, but it hurt too badly. My legs were whisked out from under me as he effortlessly cradled me in his arms. I rested against his chest enjoying the way his body heat felt on my battered skin.

  His torso leaned back and tensed. A second later, he kicked open a door. “Fuzz! Doctor immediately.”

  The sound of footsteps neared. “What happened?” Fuzz asked.

  I didn’t bother answering. I was too exhausted. My part was done. I had made it back. That had taken everything in me.

  Harley’s arms tightened around me as if he were protecting me f
rom the memories. “Not sure. She just got here. Didn’t say what happened.”

  “Bring her to the infirmary. I’ll get the doctor.” Wow. He already had an infirmary and a doctor here. Part of me was jealous. Of course, he’d had years to perfect being a great leader. I had only done it for a day, and look at me now. A beat up lump of shit that couldn’t do anything at the moment.

  We started moving once more. When I opened my eyes again, a blinding white ceiling greeted me. The smell of alcohol burned my nose as my eyes watered. Harley’s grip on me loosened. I was placed on a tiny bed that wasn’t nearly as inviting as his arms.

  “Don’t leave me,” I called, reaching out. For a moment, I was back in the woods alone. I could practically hear the foreign animal cry of the thing that had saved my life. I shrieked. I wasn’t sure why; it just happened before I could stop myself. Why me? It was a question I had asked myself repeatedly on the drive here. It killed everything there but me. For some reason, I was spared.

  Fingers wrapped through mine. “I’m not going anywhere.” He leaned down and ran his nose through my hair. “Promise.”

  A door opened. Fuzz entered the room with another guy dressed in a white coat directly behind him. I inwardly groaned. My body was battered enough. Now I had to endure the process of getting fixed. That was going to suck major ass, especially since I knew my nose was broken.

  “Hmm, this is going to take some work,” the doctor said, sounding more than annoyed. He glanced at Fuzz. “This one is going to be out of commission for a while. These injuries look pretty severe.”

  I wanted to scream at him that he could tell me instead of talking about me like I couldn’t hear. I also wanted to punch him in face for being such a smug dick about it. But I couldn’t. I was broken. Thankfully someone took up my slack without even asking.

  “I’m pretty sure she knows it’s severe better than anyone. You don’t have to be a prick about it,” Harley growled. He momentarily released his hold on my hand and turned toward the cowering doctor. “Unless you want me to rip your face off and shove it up your ass.” The shirt he wore seemed to become snugger as his large shoulders tensed. Even being in this bad of shape I couldn’t deny I enjoyed seeing the alpha side of him. It was incredibly hot.

  “He didn’t mean it to sound that way, did you Dr. Banks?” Fuzz countered before Harley could show the man that his threat was real. He practically shoved the shivering doctor toward Harley.

  Dr. Banks shoved the thick glasses back up his nose with a pudgy finger. “Of course. I didn’t mean anything by what I said. I’m sorry if it came off like something I didn’t intend. Now, is it okay to look at the patient? I mean, if it’s okay with you sir.”

  Harley crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his neck from side to side. “Make it as painless as possible.” He took one step closer to the terrified man. “Unless you want me to make you hurt right along with her.”

  “Nope. Nope. I’m good. I’ll get her fixed up in a jiff.” He turned to Fuzz. “Do you happen to have any of that paste we used at the other training facility for injuries? That would do wonders for her.”

  “Masey was working on some for me earlier. You know, just in case something happened.” His eyes narrowed practically seeing into my damn soul and cutting it with a hot knife. “Guess it’s a good thing I had her start on it. Be back shortly.”

  The doctor clapped his hands together. “Okay, let’s get started shall we?” He seemed way more uncomfortable without Fuzz here to make sure Harley didn’t kill him. He gave me a once over before deciding to start with my face first. Tears burned my eyes as he used both thumbs to press the swollen area. I squeaked and bit my lip to keep from crying out. He glanced over his shoulder at Harley before continuing his assault on my face.

  It took him a few hours to run all the needed to tests to make sure of the extent of my injuries. I’d ended up with a broken nose, two cracked ribs, and more bruises than anyone could accurately count. My guess was thirty-two, but Harley argued with me saying he got thirty-eight.

  Harley adjusted the pillow behind my head after I was cleaned up, the paste had been spread, and I was bandaged up. “That feel okay?” His brows contracted, studying it as if he had done a shitty job and was waiting on me to kick him out of the room. “I can move it around if you want me to.”

  “It’s fine.”

  The door opened, and Fuzz walked in. It was the first time he had been back since leaving to collect the paste needed for my wounds. “So, you feeling better now?”

  Uh oh. I knew that stare, although I had never been on the receiving end of it. It was mostly always Shayla. He crossed his arms, which made his muscles practically pop out of the sleeves of his shirt. Without waiting on me to answer, he jumped into the rant that I knew was coming.

  “You literally just got back here, Reese.” His jaw locked. For a moment, I thought his head was going to explode. “Do you have a death wish? I know things haven’t been easy for you, but going out on your own without telling anyone isn’t going to cut it. When I told you to regroup I didn’t know I was giving you advice to get into all this.”

  My shoulders wilted. “Sorry,” I scarcely managed to get out. I studied him. Dark circles ran underneath his bloodshot eyes. I wondered how long it had been since he slept.

  He shook his head, clearly not satisfied with my apology. He, like I, knew it wasn’t heartfelt. I wasn’t sorry I had left. It had been my decision. He wasn’t my leader anymore. As a friend and ally, he was allowed to be angry with me.

  “Please, just next time take one of the phones I’ve got for y’all, or tell someone where in the hell you’re going so if you don’t come back we know where to look for your body.” With a huff, he sat in the chair near the foot of the bed and held his face in his hands. “Who did you even get into a fight with anyway? Some drunk idiots at one of these bars?”

  I sank deeper into my pillow until the covers reached the tip of my nose. “No. No drunk idiots.”

  He peered through his fingers. “Guess that’s a good thing. No need to cover anything up with the locals. So what was it then?”

  “I went out to where the old training facility was. I wanted to see it for myself.” I stopped and licked my lips. “There were Valks there. At least a dozen. I had no other choice but to fight them. Needless to say, I didn’t win.”

  Harley came closer the kneeled beside me. “If you didn’t win, how are you here now?”

  I glanced between the both of them. “There was something else there. It was fast. It tore through them like they were nothing. I’d never seen anything like it before.”

  Neither of them said a word. Their expression said everything. They were as lost as I was about the entire thing.

  Fuzz stood, his eyes lingering on me. “You’ll be down for at least a week. It would’ve been longer if Masey hadn’t done the paste for me. I’ve got the routine down to watch the portal, so no need to worry about that.” He patted my foot. “Get some rest, Reese, and please try not to think about anything other than getting better. We’ve got it covered out here.”

  “Sure,” I answered. This was only going to give everyone out there another reason to hate me. I had come back just to take another hiatus in the infirmary while they pulled double duty trying to figure out what to do about Abby and the portal. He left Harley and me alone once again.

  “Hungry?” He went over to a table and lifted the lid off a tray. The room filled the rich smell of burger and fries. As if on cue, my mouth salivated while my stomach rumbled.

  “Maybe a little bit.” I tried to sit up, but the pain stopped me in mid-motion.

  Within seconds, Harley was at my side. “Here, let me help you.” His hands hooked underneath my arms and easily pulled me to a sitting position. “What do like on your burger?” He twirled away and walked back to the tray of food.

  “Um, mayo and mustard.” I stared at his back, completely taken aback. I had done nothing but avoid this man ever since I emerged from
that cave. I had been a complete jerk about it. Now here he was, waiting on me hand and foot. “I really can manage if you have somewhere else you need to be.” I didn’t want him to leave, but I also didn’t want him to feel obligated to stay here.

  “This is the only place I need to be,” he said without turning around.

  Warmth filled my insides, and somehow his words made the pain so much more manageable. He wheeled the table over to me and lowered it enough so I could easily reach the food. I picked up a fry and dipped it into the mound of ketchup he had squirted next to them. I jammed it into my mouth as he plopped down in a chair.

  “Want a fry or something? I feel like a douche eating in front of you.” I held up a crinkle potato in his direction. “They’re really good.”

  He shook his head. “I’m good. I ate before you got back all dramatic like. Got to give it to you, you sure know how to make an entrance, don’t you?”

  I picked up another fry. “Maybe.” I half expected him to use this time to have the talk, but he didn’t. He only sat quietly letting me control where the conversation went. After the tray was empty and I had practically licked the crumbs from the plate, he removed it and sat back down.

  “I think I’m going to take a nap if that’s okay,” I said, covering my mouth as a yawn escaped.

  “That’s perfect. Actually picked up a book to read in case you wanted to doze off.” He opened a book and flipped through the pages until he found whatever spot he had left off on. “I’ll be here in case you need anything, so sleep tight.”

  My heart clenched. Why did he have to be so, so…great? I closed my eyes trying not to think about this gorgeous man sitting only a foot from me. I couldn’t help but to think back to his words before I entered the cave. He loved me. And here I was treating him like dirt. I rolled back to him.

  “Harley?” I bit the inside of my cheek as the nerves overtook me.