by Sarah Gilman
“You’re strong for a… How old are you, little one?”
The child leaned back slowly, wiped at his eyes, and murmured, “I’m not little. I’m five and a half.”
“I’ve never met a stronger five-and-a-half-year-old.”
A ghost of a grin pulled at the corners of the boy’s mouth.
“What’s your name?”
“Bryce.”
“I’m taking you home, Bryce.” Jett stood and tried to maneuver so that the kid didn’t see the two dead humans. It didn’t work. Though the shaking resumed, Bryce craned his neck over Jett’s shoulder and hissed.
“Easy there.”
Bryce hissed again and growled. The sound, not par-ticularly menacing coming from a young boy, lightened Jett’s mood as he headed for the woods.
A strange whistle filled the air and pain exploded in Jett’s lower back. He sprang forward the last couple yards to the cover of the evergreen trees and, supporting Bryce with one arm, pulled a small dart free from his backside. The colorless liquid in the dart could have been anything, but the rapid numbness spreading throughout his limbs told him all he needed to know. His legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground on his side. Bryce scrambled to his feet.
“Run, Bryce.” Jett slurred the words. Fuck, how had a human snuck up on him?
“Guardian?” Bryce shook Jett’s shoulder, tears reap-pearing.
I’m not a Guardian. Jett stared at the child, unable to do anything else, even blink, the drug’s grip on him complete. Run, damn it.
A new human scent carried on the breeze: Leather. Cigarettes.
Run!
Bryce crouched at Jett’s side. He hissed as a figure emerged through the trees. The human, dressed in jeans, a black sweater, and a skull-tight black cap, walked forward with a dart gun slung over his shoulder. Damn weapon appeared military grade.
Bryce turned his back on the man and hid his face in Jett’s chest. No emotion whatsoever bled into the human’s expression.
Get away, damn you!
The human pulled a dart from a pack at his hip, held it like a throwing dart, and let it fly. The needle landed in Bryce’s shoulder. The child jerked and his grip on Jett tightened. A few seconds later, his body went limp.
The kidnapper gathered Bryce in his arms.
Motherfucker! Jett writhed within his cement-like body. Despicable coward!
The human stared at Jett for a moment with an unreadable expression, turned on his heel without a word, and strode off toward the road. A moment later, the SUV roared to life.
…
Lexine tore through the undergrowth of the forest. Thick, humid air made it hard to breathe as she ran. She strained to see, as blind as a human in the post-midnight darkness. She stumbled over an exposed root and landed in the muddy, rotting leaves on her knees and palms.
Damn my defective eyes!
With a curse, she stood and rubbed her ankle. Her pain trivial compared to her missing brother, she ignited demon fire on her hands and pressed forward in the crimson light.
The loss of her older brother sat in her stomach like a cluster of shrapnel, but she refused to sit and grieve. She needed to act. Losing Bryce, too, wasn’t an option.
The Guardians had long since outpaced her, their attention focused on tracking the humans who’d taken her little brother. They left only the whispers of the forest in their wake. She stopped, shut her eyes, and listened. Leaves rustled. Water dripped. A swollen stream roared after a week of thunderstorms. Faint voices drew her attention ahead and to her left.
She scrambled in the direction of the distant shouts. Branches scraped her arms and ferns snagged her feet, but her crimson fire lit her way. Ahead, one of the many old logging roads in Sanctuary’s vicinity came into view.
Lexine extinguished her fire to avoid being a visible target if any humans remained in the area before stepping out into the open. The moon cast silvery light over the road and the adjacent field. Strong scents of humans, Bryce, and the Guardians filled her nose along with the choking stench of engine exhaust.
“Lex, what the hell are you doing out here?” Moonlight reflected off a pair of eyes to her left. The speaker stepped out of the trees, dark clothing and hair putting his pale skin in stark relief.
“Vin!” She ran up to the Guardians’ leader. “Where’s Bryce?”
He caught her by the shoulders. “He’s not here.”
“But his scent is so strong!”
“The humans took him in a vehicle only minutes before we got here.” The Guardian squeezed her arm in a chaste show of comfort. “I’ve sent trackers after them.”
She held her breath and squeezed her hands into fists. Panicking wouldn’t do anyone any good.
“Jett tried to help your brother.” Vin released her arm. “He had a good head start on us.”
She wiped at her moist eyes with the back of her hand. “What happened?”
“They hit him with some sort of drug. Probably the same one used when they ambushed Jac and the kids.”
“Is Jett…?”
“No, they didn’t kill him. Bizarre, considering he killed two of them. I admit he’s not above suspicion.”
“You think he helped the humans?”
“It’s possible. Jett’s loyalties are highly questionable, given his past and the fact that the humans left him alive. This way.”
Lexine followed Vin toward the evergreens, puzzling. What little the Guardians knew of Jett’s story had long been common knowledge in the colony. Kidnapped himself as a child, he’d been raised in some sort of human research facility. Later, he’d been employed—forcefully—by the poacher who’d held the archangel Raphael captive for years. Jett had revolted, freeing the archangel eleven months ago. Granted, Jett hadn’t embraced the colony or responded to Raphael’s repeated invitations to join the community, but why would he revert his loyalty to the humans?
Beyond the lush branches of the trees, several Guardians knelt near Jett, who lay on his side on the ground in tattered jeans. His black, long-sleeved shirt and jacket set off platinum-blond hair that fell across his face in mismatched angles. He must have hacked it off with a knife. Cuffs bound his hands and ankles.
She arched an eyebrow at Vin.
“We can’t risk him bolting on us when the drug wears off,” Vin said.
Lexine paused and breathed in Jett’s scent: the smoky edge of any demon, plus rich honey and dark tea. She knew it well from the cemetery, which she tended a couple days a week. He’d been visiting the burial ground more and more often, leaving his thick fragrance among the stones.
She’d grown accustomed to his presence in the last couple of months. Though she’d never seen him.
“Do you think he’ll wake up soon?”
A growl drew her gaze to Jett and she stepped back.
“He’s awake,” Vin said. “Just paralyzed. But apparently, he’s coming out of it.”
“He can blink and move his fingers,” another Guardian added. “But mostly he just glares and growls at us.”
“I’d be pissed at you, too.” She folded her arms. “What if he’s done nothing wrong?”
“What if he aided in Bryce’s abduction?”
Lexine scowled at the Guardian and knelt at Jett’s side. Bryce’s scent—light citrus and pine—clung to his shirt. “Jett. I’m Lexine.”
He blinked and stared at her from under thick, blond lashes with eyes the darkest shade of copper she’d ever seen, like rust polished to a crimson shine.
“The boy you tried to help today is my little brother.”
His lips parted and closed.
“When you can speak, will you tell me everything you can that might help us find the humans who took Bryce?”
He blinked, the movement slow.
“I hope that’s a yes.” She stood and rubbed her shaking hands together. She couldn’t chase away the mental image of Raphael in the woods, holding Jac. Forcing back more tears, she bit her lower lip. Keep it together, Lexi, keep
it together.
Vin turned to the gathered demons. “The rest of you, spread out and study the scent trails. I want to know every step the humans and Jett took.”
The Guardians dispersed into the darkness, their movements as silent as owls hunting in the forest.
Lexine’s pulse pounded so loudly in her ears, she almost missed Jett whisper, “They won’t hurt Bryce.”
Vin knelt. “Care to elaborate?”
In a sluggish movement, Jett pulled at the handcuffs. The chain links chimed against each other. His voice strengthened and darkened. “Get these off me.”
“The sooner you talk, the sooner I consider taking them off.”
Jett got an elbow under his body and, with far more effort than normally necessary, righted himself into a sitting position. He leaned back against the tree. “I stopped being anyone’s bitch the moment I walked out of Thornton’s little fun house last year. Get these handcuffs off me.”
Vin sat back on his heels. “Well, that’s disappointing. I really thought, considering how you helped Raphael, that there was more to you than a hermit who used to work for poachers. No demon I know would put his own pride over a child’s safety.”
Jett’s voice remained quiet, but filled with threat. “Don’t you dare get all holier-than-thou on me.”
“Hey.” Lexine gave Vin her best back-the-hell-off glare, sat on a large tree root, and put her hand on Jett’s shoulder. He glanced in her direction, more surprise than anger in his expression.
“My older brother was killed tonight. Please, I need to get my younger brother back. You said the humans won’t hurt him. How do you know that?”
“Because they need him alive.” His tone softened. He shifted and faced in her direction, giving Vin his shoulder. “The humans who took Bryce work for Victor Lawrence, a scientist who studies demons. I was his guinea pig for most of my youth. Assuming the nature of his work hasn’t changed, he’ll need Bryce both alive and healthy.”
Lex leaned forward, her mouth dry. “Did you help these humans take Bryce and murder the others?”
“No, and I’m going to tear Lawrence’s throat out with my teeth. I know where to find him.”
“Thank God.” Her eyes burned and a tear ran a hot trail down her skin. “But then, why did they spare your life?” Heat rose to her cheeks. “Don’t misunderstand. I’m glad you’re safe.”
“I don’t know why they left me alive.”
With a muttered curse, Vin pulled a key from his pocket. He bent forward and unlocked Jett’s ankles.
“Change of heart so quickly?”
“My instincts are never wrong, and they insist you didn’t do this,” Vin said. “All I care about right now is getting that child back safely.”
Jett held out his cuffed wrists.
Vin rubbed the key between his thumb and forefinger. “I want to know everything you can tell me about Lawrence.”
“I will deal with Lawrence myself.”
“You will help my Guardians find Lawrence. You don’t want tonight to happen again, do you?”
Tension thickened the air as Vin and Jett stared at each other.
“Please.” Lexine touched Jett’s arm again.
Jett glanced at her. “Your brother will not grow up in that place, I promise you.” He returned his attention to Vin. “If I won’t be restrained we have a deal, Guardian.”
Chapter Three
Jett sat at the base of the tree, staring up at the first hints of a colorful sunrise that filtered through the branches, waiting out the last of the paralytic drug’s effects. He itched to get on his feet and go after Lawrence. The son of a bitch would not live to regret taking the child. Even if the Guardians caught up with the human’s SUV and brought Bryce back, Jett would hunt Lawrence down as soon as he could walk.
He needed a vehicle. It would take days to get to Lawrence on foot. He loathed the idea of working with the Guardians, but what choice did he have? Besides, going after Lawrence and killing him would have been one thing. Jett could have done that alone. Getting out alive with a small child, past Lawrence and his security? Like it or not, he needed the Guardians. Didn’t mean he had to trust them, though.
“Damn me.” He should have gone after Lawrence months ago, as he’d intended to during his first hours of freedom from Thornton, the poacher who’d imprisoned Jett for years. Instead, he’d given in to the damnable urge, the borderline addiction—something he didn’t even understand—to make sure the archangels were indeed safe. If nothing else, he owed Raphael that much for saving his life.
Now, several children and an adult demon were dead, and Bryce kidnapped, because Jett hadn’t stuck to his guns. He’d feel the weight of his screwup in his gut until he made it right.
Vin walked away, ranting into his cell phone, giving orders with military focus and precision.
“What for?” Lexine sat at Jett’s side on the tree’s knotted, exposed roots, her hands clasped between her knees. Bryce’s older sister. How much older? She appeared to be in her midtwenties, but so did all demon adults for hundreds of years of their life.
“Huh?”
“Why should you be damned?”
He shifted his gaze to her face, framed by her black hair, which she’d braided and wrapped around her head. Such an unusual, exotic hair color among the mostly blond and redheaded demon population. “Because I excel at putting others in harm’s way.”
She tilted her head. “Looks to me like you excel at rescuing people. Raphael—”
“Raphael would have died because of me had Wren not shown up with that healing ability of his.”
“At least you didn’t leave him in that miserable place.” Her throat worked. “I know you won’t leave Bryce, either. I’m glad you’re here.”
His jaw slackened, but he covered the reaction with a cough. Had anyone, ever, been glad to have him around? He’d befriended Raphael, but that didn’t count. Jett had simply talked to the archangel to help pass the time, as opposed to taunting him and abusing him like the rest of Thornton’s thugs. It wasn’t as if Raphael had his choice of friends. Now, with all these Guardians around, why was Lexine looking to him?
He changed the subject before, heaven forbid, she made him blush or something equally horrifying. “You take care of the cemetery.”
Her face wrinkled, and she dissolved into sobs.
Okay, wrong thing to say.
“Yes, I do,” she answered, to his surprise. “You’ve been visiting often the last couple of months. And hiding in the woods. I haven’t worked a day recently without catching your scent on the breeze.”
“I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“My brothers,” she choked out, and shook her head. “You’re not upsetting me. Please. I need to talk about something, anything, or all I can think about is…” She cried some more, her face in her hands.
He rolled his shoulders and stretched, attempting to awaken his sluggish muscles from the drug. The sooner he got moving, the better. He needed to get on Lawrence’s ass, and out of this situation—what did he know about comforting a female? Nothing, that was what. “When I first saw you working in the cemetery, it was noon on a sunny day, and you had no sunglasses. I thought you were a human, so I stayed downwind and got closer to investigate. How can you see in full daylight?”
Lexine ignited flames on her fingers and held her hand to the side of her tear-reddened face. She lacked eyeshine, a characteristic of demon retinas that reflected light, enabling night vision. “It’s a rare earthborn defect. I can’t see well in the dark, and bright light doesn’t bother me.” She cleared her throat. “You must have realized I wasn’t human, though. Why have you kept coming back?”
“I got close to you that first day, but you didn’t notice me. If I’d been a hostile human, or even another demon with ill intentions, you’d have been caught off guard. You really should be more aware of your surroundings if you’re going to work alone.”
She half sobbed half laughed. “You’ve been pr
otecting me?”
“I’ve been keeping watch.”
“I’m not a silly little girl. If humans came near that cemetery, I’d hear them because they don’t know how to walk quietly in the woods—”
“Never make generalizations and assume you’re safe. Some humans are remarkably well trained, like the ones who took Bryce.” He paused. The cemetery, located on a hillside, had a good view of the archangel house, not that he couldn’t find just as decent a vantage point high in a tree. He’d chosen the cemetery because the illusion of having company had been…nice. “You object to me watching out for you, then?”
“No.” The corners of her mouth curved upward in a hint of a smile. “It’s sweet of you, actually.”
Sweet? He’d been called many things in his life. “Sweet” definitely did not make the list.
“Doesn’t matter.” He stood and tested his balance, but stumbled. He braced himself against the tree. “First, I’ll deal with Lawrence. Then, I’m going to move on from this colony.”
She opened her mouth but Vin returned, pushing a low branch out of this way. “They lost the scent trail on the main road, but they’re going to continue to search the area. I had a brief conversation with our liaison in Montpelier, and an Amber Alert is going to be issued.”
Jett blinked. “An Amber Alert? For a demon?”
“Not every available station will broadcast it, but yes. We do have some supporters out there.”
Lexine stood, maneuvered toward Jett over the sprawling roots of the old tree, and slipped. He caught her arm, but let go as soon as she had her balance. Her gaze lingered on him. “Thanks.”
Vin took a step closer. “I’ve called for cars, weapons, supplies, and my best available Guardians. They’ll be here momentarily. Where are we going?”
“New Hampshire.”
“Care to be more specific?”
“Not really, no. I don’t like you and I don’t trust you.” He sighed. As a youth, everything he’d done had been about self-preservation. As an adult, he’d worked for the poacher, under threat of being returned to the laboratory. His job had been to spy on, and be suspicious of, everyone, all the time.
