Willing Sacrifice
Page 1
Praise for Shannon K. Butcher’s
Novels of the Sentinel Wars
Falling Blind
“A taut mixture of action and suspense.”
—Smexy Books Romance Reviews
Dying Wish
“A superb paranormal suspense.”
—Genre Go Round Reviews
“Butcher’s rise to the top of the paranormal and romantic suspense genres has been swift. . . . Her hallmark is consistent, superior storytelling that combines emotional punch with high-adrenaline danger—a recipe that can’t miss!”
—Romantic Times
Living Nightmare
“There’s only one way to describe this book to me: fabulous!”
—Night Owl Reviews
“[An] action-packed story of the brooding and angry warrior Madoc and his journey to the future. This series rocks!”
—Fresh Fiction
“Utilizing her ability to combine excellent characterization with riveting danger, rising star Butcher adds another fascinating tier to her expanding world. You are always guaranteed generous portions of pulse-pounding action and romance in a Butcher tale!”
—Romantic Times
“Ms. Butcher’s written word began to grab hold of my imagination and lead me on a ride unlike anything I have read before.”
—Coffee Time Romance & More
Running Scared
“What an entertaining and thrilling series! The characters are forever evolving, secrets are revealed, powers are found, new details come to life, and love is the cause of it all. I love it!”
—Fresh Fiction
“Superb storytelling. . . . I am amazed how Ms. Butcher’s intricacies and subplots continue to expand the story without bogging down the overall plot.”
—Romance Junkies
“This book jumps right in the fray and keeps you hooked till the end, and I was unable to put it down. Emotionally dark, this is a wonderful blending of paranormal romance and urban fantasy [with] many twists and turns.”
—Smexy Books Romance Reviews
Finding the Lost
“Exerts much the same appeal as Christine Feehan’s Carpathian series, what with tortured heroes, the necessity of finding love or facing a fate worse than death, hot lovemaking, and danger-filled adventure.”
—Booklist
“A terrific grim thriller with the romantic subplot playing a strong supporting role. The cast is powerful, as the audience will feel every emotion that Andra feels, from fear for her sister to fear for her falling in love. Finding the Lost is a dark tale, as Shannon K. Butcher paints a forbidding, gloomy landscape in which an ancient war between humanity’s guardians and their nasty adversaries heats up in Nebraska.”
—Alternative Worlds
“A very entertaining read. . . . The ending was a great cliff-hanger and I can’t wait to read the next book in this series. . . . A fast-paced story with great action scenes and lots of hot romance.”
—The Book Lush
“Butcher’s paranormal reality is dark and gritty in this second Sentinel Wars installment. What makes this story so gripping is the seamlessly delivered hard-hitting action and wrenching emotions. Butcher is a major talent in the making.”
—Romantic Times
Burning Alive
“A wonderful paranormal debut. . . . Shannon K. Butcher’s talent shines.”
—New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh
“Starts off with nonstop action. Readers will race through the pages, only to reread the entire novel to capture every little detail . . . a promising start for a new voice in urban fantasy/paranormal romance. I look forward to the next installment.”
—A Romance Review (5 roses)
“This first book of the Sentinel Wars whets your appetite for the rest of the books in the series. Ms. Butcher is carving her way onto the bestseller lists with this phenomenal nonstop ride that will have you preordering the second book the minute you put this one down.”
—Affaire de Coeur (5 stars)
“Absorbing. . . . Butcher skillfully balances erotic, tender interactions with Helen’s worries, and intriguing secondary characters further enhance the unusual premise. Fans of Butcher’s romantic suspense novels will enjoy her turn toward the paranormal.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Ms. Butcher offers fresh and delightfully creative elements in this paranormal romance, keeping readers engaged as the story unfolds. Burning Alive is a well-crafted beginning to this exciting new series, and will have fans of the genre coming back for the next adventure in the Sentinel Wars.”
—Darque Reviews
“An exciting romantic urban fantasy. . . . Shannon K. Butcher adds her trademark suspense with plenty of tension and danger to the mix of a terrific paranormal thriller.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Burning Alive is Shannon K. Butcher’s first foray into paranormal romance and what a doozy it is! Filled with sizzling love scenes, great storytelling, and action galore; fans of paranormal romance will rejoice to have Ms. Butcher finally join the genre!”
—ParaNormal Romance
“A different twist on the paranormal genre. . . . Shannon K. Butcher has done a good job with Burning Alive, and I will definitely be reading the next in the series.”
—Fallen Angel Reviews
NOVELS OF THE SENTINEL WARS
Falling Blind
Bound by Vengeance
(A Penguin Special)
Dying Wish
Blood Hunt
Living Nightmare
Running Scared
Finding the Lost
Burning Alive
THE EDGE NOVELS
Edge of Sanity
Razor’s Edge
Living on the Edge
WILLING SACRIFICE
THE SENTINEL WARS
SHANNON K. BUTCHER
SIGNET
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) LLC, 375 Hudson Street,
New York, New York 10014
USA | Canada | UK | Ireland | Australia | New Zealand | India | South Africa| China
penguin.com
A Penguin Random House Company
First published by Signet, an imprint of New American Library,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) LLC
Copyright © Shannon K. Butcher, 2014
Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.
REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA
ISBN 978-1-101-62783-9
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Contents
Praise
Other Novels by Shannon K. Butcher
Title page
Copyright page
Dedication
Character List
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chap
ter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
For Terri L. Austin, a fabulous writer and even better friend
Character List
Drake Asher: Theronai warrior, bonded to Helen Day
Briant Athar: Sanguinar
Connal Athar: Sanguinar
Logan Athar: Sanguinar, blood hunter, Hope Serrien’s mate
Aurora: Athanasian servant
Cain Aylward: Theronai warrior, Sibyl’s protector
Angus Brinn: Theronai warrior, bonded to Gilda
Gilda Brinn: the Gray Lady, Theronai, bonded to Angus
Maura Brinn: Theronai, Sibyl’s twin sister
Sibyl Brinn: Theronai, Maura’s twin sister
Canaranth: Synestryn, Zillah’s second-in-command
Meghan Clark: blooded human
Helen Day: the Scarlet Lady, Theronai, bonded to Drake Asher
Eron: Athanasian prince
Neal Etan: Theronai warrior
Madoc Gage: Theronai warrior
John Hawthorne: blooded human
Mabel Hennesy: blooded human
Dakota Kacey: Theronai, bonded to Liam Lann
Lexi Johns: the Jade Lady, Theronai, bonded to Zach Talon
Nicholas Laith: Theronai warrior
Liam Lann: Theronai warrior, bonded to Dakota Kacey
Samuel Larsten: Theronai warrior
Thea Lewis: human woman living at Dabyr
Tynan Leygh: Sanguinar
Lucien: Athanasian prince
Andra Madison: the Sapphire Lady, Theronai, bonded to Paul Sloane
Nika Madison: Theronai, Andra’s sister
Victoria (Tori) Madison: Theronai, sister to Andra and Nika
Torr Maston: Theronai warrior
Beth Mays: blooded human, Ella’s sister
Ella Mays: blooded human, Beth’s sister
Jake Morrow: human, member of the Defenders of Humanity
Blake Norman: human, Grace Norman’s stepbrother
Grace Norman: blooded human, Gerai
Jackie Patton: Theronai, daughter of Lucien, bonded to Iain Terra
Andreas Phelan: Slayer, leader of the Slayers
Lyka Phelan: Slayer, Andreas’s half sister
Joseph Rayd: Theronai warrior, leader of the Sentinels
Viviana Rowan: the Bronze Lady, Theronai, bonded to Neal Etan
Hope Serrien: Logan Athar’s mate
Cole Shepherd: blooded human
Alexander Siah: Sanguinar
Paul Sloane: Theronai warrior, bonded to Andra Madison
Carmen Taite: blooded human, Gerai, cousin to Vance and Slade Taite
Slade Taite: blooded human, Gerai, cousin to Carmen, brother to Vance
Vance Taite: blooded human, Gerai, cousin to Carmen, brother to Slade
Zach Talon: Theronai warrior, bonded to Lexi Johns
Iain Terra: Theronai warrior, bonded to Jackie Patton
Morgan Valens: Theronai warrior
Zillah: Synestryn lord
Chapter 1
Kansas, November 9
Torr Maston would rather have fought a hundred poisonous demons bare-handed than face the man lounging on his motel room bed.
Nicholas Laith pointed the remote at the crappy TV, not even glancing away from it as Torr stepped out of the cramped bathroom. If Nicholas had found him, then more of his brothers would be close behind. They’d all gang up on him, try to convince him that he should return home. And when that failed, words would turn to force.
Torr really didn’t want to hurt any of his brothers.
“Nice shower?” asked Nicholas. His face was heavily scarred, the crisscrossing marks making it hard to read the man’s expression.
“How did you get in?”
“Electronic key card lock. Easy to open.”
Torr silently cursed Nicholas’s techie skills as he forced his words out slow and even. “Why are you here?”
“You asked me to come.”
“No, I didn’t.” Company was the last thing Torr wanted. Isolation was better. Easier.
“Not directly, maybe, but you definitely issued a challenge by disappearing like you did. You knew I’d have to come looking for you just to see if I could find you.” A grin creased his scar lines. “Surprise. I win.”
Torr instinctively moved toward his sword, only to find that it had been relocated. His sword belt was on the nightstand across the room rather than propped just outside the bathroom door, where he’d left it. “How’d you find me?”
The man who’d been his friend a lifetime ago—before Torr’s world had been shattered—shrugged and switched to the next TV station. “You didn’t make it easy. Ditched your cell phone. Ripped out the truck’s tracking devices. Never used any plastic. You really shouldn’t have challenged me like that if you didn’t want me to come find you.”
Torr’s hand tightened into a fist on the damp terry cloth around his hips. “Do you think, maybe, that I disappeared because I didn’t want you to find me?”
Nicholas shrugged again and paused for a commercial selling videos of drunken young women lifting their shirts for the camera. “Don’t care what you want. It’s time to come home.”
“No.”
“No? That’s it? I track you down after you being AWOL for seven months, and you just refuse to come back? I found you fair and square. That means I win and you have to come home.”
“Since you’re apparently no good at taking the not-so-subtle hints I left behind that I want to be alone, I thought I should make it easy for you to understand. I don’t know how to be any clearer than a single word with only two letters.”
“You’ve pouted long enough. Time to move on. Get back to work.”
“Pouting? You think that’s what I’ve been doing?”
“I know you loved the woman, but she’s gone now.” Nicholas’s voice dipped low, to that gray area between sympathy and pity.
A flash of rage ignited just beneath Torr’s skin. One second he was standing several feet away from Nicholas. The next, he had his brother-in-arms pinned against the wall with a forearm digging into his throat.
The skin between the scars on Nicholas’s face darkened from the lack of air, but the man didn’t fight back. He just stared at Torr, his bright blue gaze calm. Accepting.
Torr wished Nicholas would fight back. Smashing heads would have gone a long way toward distracting him from his misery.
But Nicholas didn’t fight. He didn’t even blink. No way could Torr hit a man who wasn’t fighting back.
With a feral growl, Torr shoved away from his brother and stalked across the room.
Nicholas rubbed at the bruise already forming on his neck. “I’ll let Joseph know you’re not fit for duty.”
For some reason that pissed Torr off even more than if Nicholas had tried to drag him back. “I fight fine. I just need you all to leave me alone.”
“So you can get yourself killed?” Nicholas shook his head and started texting. “I don’t think so. You need to stay out of the field until your head’s screwed on straight.”
“I don’t take orders from you.”
“Are you still taking them from Joseph? Or have you stopped giving a shit about everything you used to hold dear?”
“I vowed to fight, to protect humans, to kill Synestryn. And that’s what I’ve been doing. It’s what I’ll continue to do whether you, Joseph or anyone else likes it or not.”
“Until one of the Synestryn brings you down. Which will
be soon if your state of distraction is any clue.”
“I’m not distracted.”
“No? Then how did I find you? I’ve been on your trail for a couple of days now, keeping my distance. You never noticed me once.”
“Maybe you’re just that good.”
He snorted. “Or maybe I’m not and you’re in no condition to fight alone. I know losing Grace has upset you, but—”
“Upset me?” Torr stripped off the towel and started dressing so that he wouldn’t attack his friend again. “I’m so far past upset I can’t even find a word to fit where I am.”
Nicholas’s tone turned gentle. “You will get over her. You’ve been alive long enough to know it’s true. It sucks, but it’s true.”
“I don’t want to get over her. I want to be with her.”
“It’s not possible. Even if she survived, she’s on another world.”
“I know that,” growled Torr as he fastened his jeans and belted his sword around his hips.
“You have to let her go.”
“Don’t tell me what I have to do. I know all the platitudes, all the hollow advice. Move on, stay strong, life goes on.” He couldn’t bring himself to look at his brother as he confessed, “I love her. She’s still out there. She may even need me. And there’s not a damn thing I can do to change any of that.”
The metal disk attached to his back pressed against his spine as he bent over to lace up his boots.
Grace had put the disk on him—embedded it in his flesh in an effort to save his life and reverse his paralysis. The magical device had worked, leaving him whole and strong. His wounds, his pain, his weakness—they were all hers now, slowly killing her human body and stealing from him the fragile spirit it housed. He would have done anything to take back those wounds and spare her, but the device worked in only one direction. She could heal him, but he couldn’t do a thing to help her.
His sweet, selfless Grace had sacrificed herself for him, leaving him both grateful and furious.
“There are a lot of things we can’t change,” said Nicholas, his voice ringing with absolute certainty—the kind that comes only from hard lessons learned. “And we’ve all lost people we love.”
“Knowing other people suffer doesn’t make me suffer less. I just need to be alone. Why can’t you get that?”