War

by Kim Faulks

  “It’s okay, we’ve already been through that.”

  I flinched at the growl as Pestilence stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.

  “They’re gone searching. I told Seb we’d keep a close eye on you.” He crossed the room to stand beside War. “And I plan on keeping that promise.”

  It was just us…just them…and me. “I don’t understand any of this. Not you…not this world…not me.”

  “I know you don’t,” War murmured. “But the world isn’t here to be understood, and neither are we. We’re here for a reason, Harlow, and that reason is you.”

  “But, why? That’s the thing I can’t seem to understand. You look at me as though I’m supposed to do something or say something. And they…” I lifted my head to the closed bedroom door. “They look at me as though I’m here to save them.”

  The words hung in the air…I couldn’t take them back now. I couldn’t take any of it back. “I can’t do that. I can’t save anyone…not even myself. I’m just me, don’t you understand that? Just me.”

  “Better than anyone else alive,” Pestilence murmured, and moved close. He lifted his hand, brushing hair from my face, and then cupped my cheek. “Trust, Harlow, trust yourself, trust us. The world is changing, whether you see it or not.”

  Hold on…

  Those words echoed as Pestilence leaned over Angel to kiss my cheek. She grunted, snuffled, and then pushed us apart to climb to her feet and spring from the bed.

  I wanted to call her back…I wanted to call anyone.

  “You’re afraid of us. And I get that.” Pestilence moved in, brushing his lips against my cheek. “But we’re not here to hurt you. We could never hurt you.”

  His mouth moved to mine, stealing my breath, taking my lips. The kiss was hungry, filled with desire.

  Fingers brushed my arm. I flinched at the touch as the kiss deepened. My heart thundered, thoughts raced, as Pestilence broke the kiss to stare into my eyes and murmur, “So that’s why you’re going to sleep.”

  “What? Why?” A devilish glint sparkled in his eyes as he pressed against the pillows. “Because, Harlow. Even though you’re like a drug to both of us, the fact is, you’re a damn handful.”

  The hand on my arm moved to my shoulder. The pressure was gentle, pushing me against the pillow. I glanced from one to the other as both men rose from the bed.

  I thought…for a second, I could’ve sworn…

  What? That they wanted me…that they would somehow…

  War reached for the buttons on his shirt. He never once took his eyes from mine as he spoke. “We’ll never force ourselves on you. Never give you more than you’re willing to take. If you want something, all you need to do is ask.”

  I stared at the perfect skin of his chest as his fingers moved lower…and lower. The smooth, hard swell of his chest rippled as he peeled the shirt free. “And now I’m going to wash and change.” He tugged the shirt free of his trousers and then reached for his buckle.

  My heart pounded, my mind froze. The kiss was one thing…but there was part of me that expected more. “Wait. Just wait a minute.”

  He turned as his fingers popped the button on his trousers. “Yes?”

  Call them…that voice urged inside my head. I glanced at the thick dressing around my thigh, and then murmured, “I want you to stay.”

  Pestilence froze, and slowly turned his head. “Which one?”

  “Both of you.”

  And that ache inside took flight, calling for more than their presence. I lifted my hands. I wanted them, so help me God, I wanted them. “But not here. Not in my parents’ bed.”

  Pestilence leaned close. “Then your wish is our command.”

  My arms went around his neck as he slid one arm under my legs and gripped my back with the other. “Gentle,” he whispered. “I don’t want to cause you pain.”

  The stab of pain across my thigh was brutal. I caught my breath and held on tight as War opened the door and Pestilence carried me through.

  And, as fast as the agony came, it went, leaving me gripping him close. He was beautiful in a sullen, brooding kind of way. There was no mistaking they were not human…or monster. There was an element of other about them, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

  “He came to me, you know? By He, I mean, God. Once in the train station, and before, in the truck.” The words hadn’t quite come out right, sounding unhinged and incomplete.

  Deep brown eyes found mine as we turned sideways and stepped through the door. But there was no answer, no hint of surprise. “He told me to conquer the four horsemen.”

  The curl of his lips made something inside me clench tight as War answered. “Two down, two more to go.”

  But this wasn’t conquering. There was no battle, no fight. They’d come to me like moths to a flame, and, in that moment, I realized where the real battle lay. It wasn’t with them, it wasn’t even this world, or the hunger, or The Mighty.

  It was me…it was all me.

  His hands tightened, curling my body closer against him. Desire moved in like a silent predator, ready to stake its claim. I eased my grip around his neck and leaned close as we stepped into my bedroom.

  His steps slowed as he craned his mouth closer. Soft lips brushed. His mouth opened, letting me take the lead. The bedroom door closed with a soft thud and, seconds later, fingers speared through my hair.

  I broke the kiss, turning my head to find War. They were hungry, pressing closer, and I was caught between the two.

  “Do you want this?” Pestilence murmured in my ear.

  I slowed another kiss enough to nod. It wasn’t just about want for me. I’d felt it the moment War stepped around the corner of that building and into sight.

  The thrum of power grew tighter inside me, coiling in my belly like a snake ready to strike. Something was coming…I could feel it in my soul.

  Something was changing, evolving.

  And it was more than just me, it was this world, these people; hunger, pain, desire…all entwined in a tornado of need.

  My shirt was tugged from my waistband, warm hands slid underneath. I arched my back as War skimmed my stomach and then cupped my breast.

  My breath caught, trapped somewhere between the feel of War’s fingers and Pestilence’s lips. Cool air licked my skin, traveling higher as War’s fingers slipped under the edge of my bra.

  Two steps and I was lowered amongst the familiar scent of my bed. Agony stabbed along my thigh as Pestilence slipped his arms from around my body and moved to my feet.

  He held my foot and jerked my laces, careful not to jar my thigh, taking his time pulling one boot free, before he moved to the other.

  But War wasn’t as relaxed, climbing along the bed toward me. My shirt was shoved higher, his fingers fumbled, slipping the soft cotton cup of my bra up before he bent his head.

  Heat flared with the feel of his lips. Teeth gently grazed tender skin, followed by the slow lap of his tongue. I closed my eyes as the heavy thuds of my boots hit the floor.

  And it was as though all this had played out before. War’s hands on my body, Pestilence’s touch in my mind. Green flared inside my mind as Pestilence whispered, “It’s okay, Harlow. Give in to us.”

  The soft pinch on my nipple dragged a whimper free. Hands fumbled at the button of my jeans, and the slow slide of my zipper followed.

  “Relax,” the whisper breathed into my ear. “Let us take care of you.”

  My body tightened as heat rushed. A tremor raced as Pestilence worked my jeans over the curve of my ass. The flare of pain made me hiss as fabric found the bandage on my thigh.

  Slowly and carefully, he eased the torn jeans over the wound. Warm fingers brushed tender skin before the soft kiss of lips followed.

  Pain moved to the back of my mind as fingers slipped under the edge of my panties and tugged. A tiny flare of pain was followed by a hungry mouth, drawing tender flesh into a warm cavity.

  I was lost to the feel of
their hands and the warmth of their tongues. Lips ran along the inside of my knee and travelled upwards.

  My hand slipped between my legs as War lifted his head. Stars sparkled in his eyes as my fingers met the soft strands of hair.

  Tears blurred his perfect face as he moved close to kiss my lips.

  The warm slide stilled at the sweep of his calloused thumb.

  And yet he didn’t ask why?

  Pestilence kissed higher, moving to the top of my thigh and then to my navel.

  “Together,” they both murmured at once. “At last.”

  The stony wall inside me shattered. I held on to them…until I lost track of whose hands were where and whose lips found my skin. The heat of our bodies merged.

  Pestielnce gripped my hips and rolled, as War pressed in from behind with the hard thrust of his cock against the crease of my ass.

  Reflex took over, splaying my legs until the smooth skin of his cock rubbed my core. There was a hunger in Pestilence’s eyes, something animal and unhinged, urging me to give in to them—urging me to love.

  “You okay?” War whispered in my ear.

  I lifted my hand and reached over my shoulder, finding the nape of his neck. It was all he needed. The slow thrust against my ass drove my hips forward into the warmth of Pestilence’s body. His lips found mine, fingers splaying through my hair. “Look at me.”

  And I was lost. Lost in rhythm. Lost in his eyes.

  Lost in the feel of War as he slipped inside.

  But together we were one.

  Green glinted at the edge of my mind. Red flared against the dark, burning like the faint glow of a meteor behind darkened clouds.

  I knew him then. Knew the power that came with War, and, as the gentle thrusts turned urgent, I knew this moment was more than physical…and deeper than faith.

  Lips found mine, stealing the rushed breath, as War dug his fingers into the flesh of my hips and held on. The hard thrust sent a lick of fire through my veins. I was lost in Pestilence’s eyes as the heat raced.

  I arched my back, shoving my ass harder against his thrusts, until, with a whimper, stars ignited behind my eyes.

  Nails dug into flesh. Pestilence gripped my hands as War gave a grunt, slamming me against Pestilence, and that’s where I stayed.

  My breath was a sawing shudder. The heat bounced from Pestilence’s skin to mine as the grip on my hips eased and War slipped his hands around my waist.

  I closed my eyes to the warmth and floated. The touch at my belly sent a quiver along my skin. I gripped them, touched them, pressed their fingers to my chest.

  This life was so fragile…no one knew that better than me.

  And, as War snuggled harder against me, for this moment I found peace.

  There was no more fighting them.

  No more surviving on my own.

  They came from nowhere.

  They say they came for me.

  Only I didn’t know why…

  11

  “You need to eat,” War murmured. His fingers traced the jutting bone of my hip and then travelled between my thighs. “If we’re going to keep doing this…and I certainly hope we do, then you’re going to need to keep your strength up.”

  The bed dipped as he rolled and I was drawn by the scars on his back…the same scars that marred Pestilence.

  I reached out and pressed the tips of my fingers against the jagged silver lines. “What happened to you…to both of you?”

  He turned his head. Something passed between them, some unspoken question, until Pestilence gave a nod.

  “None of us are what we are in this moment. We haven’t always been like this…”

  “Like War, you mean, and Pestilence?”

  There was a moment of silence, where I was desperate for them to speak, to say the words I needed to hear.

  I wanted normal. I wanted the world back the way it’d been before the government decided mother nature should be harnessed.

  “Do you believe in resurrection?” War murmured and then shifted on the bed to stare into my eyes. “Do you believe that those still alive serve a purpose? One greater than any plague, and mightier than any war?”

  The shake of my head was automatic. There was no purpose to the world.

  No need for all the terror.

  “Did you know, around thirty-five hundred years ago, there was a story carved in the walls of the Temple of Luxor, in Egypt?”

  I scrambled to keep up with what he was saying…and failed. What did a story in Egypt have to do with anything here?

  “The story was a sequence of drawings about the great Mother Isis and the miracle conception of her son, Horus. It was beautiful, so raw in its form. I’ve been to that temple a hundred times, and I’ve stared at that drawing until I couldn’t see anything else…I pressed my fingers against the stone and prayed until I became the words pouring out of my mouth.”

  “We all have,” Pestilence murmured. The covers fell in a heap on his lap as he pushed upwards. “Every one of us.”

  I clawed for a glimpse of understanding and found nothing. “I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”

  Sadness darkened War’s eyes. He leaned forward and kissed my lips and whispered, “I know you don’t. But that’s okay. You will, in time. But for now, food and rest, just what the doctor ordered.”

  They moved as one, slipping out from under the covers, Pestilence still dressed in nothing more than faded blue jeans. I gripped the sheets and winced as I dragged my leg toward the side of the bed. “Rest, maybe, but food, definitely. I need something to do. Something that will keep you two and the doc off my back. I’ll make rat traps.”

  One brow shot high as War neared. “A trap, huh?”

  “I’ve lived on my own for this long, haven’t I?”

  Fear sparkled like a honed blade in his gaze as he nodded. “Yes, you have, but not anymore. No pressure on that leg, and, whatever you do, make sure that wound stays clean.”

  My jaw tightened at his command. Pestilence moved in, spearing one hand through a clean shirt, and kissed me on the cheek. “Unless you missed it, he’s a little bossy.”

  “Oh, I got it,” I growled through clenched teeth.

  And in the space of a heartbeat, I was the child all over again, being protected, being chastised, and kept safe. But the child in me was long gone, and some part of me didn’t know how I could get her back.

  I knew how to keep myself alive. I knew how to scrounge for water and hunt for food within the confines of the concrete jungle.

  But what I didn’t know was how to feed fifteen of us.

  I gripped the edge of the bed and pressed my foot onto the floor. Pain sank fangs into the meat of my thigh. I bit down with the strain until my jaw popped.

  There was no resting, not now. The faint sound of voices drifted in from outside the apartment, there was a scrape of something heavy.

  I held my breath and took a step. Pain spread, stiffening my spine, as I reached for the pile of clothes beside the bed. “I need to do something.”

  But my will held as I snagged a pair of jeans and a sweater from the pile. I was stubborn…just like your damn father…

  Mom’s words raced through my mind as I gripped the shirt and yanked it over my head. My jeans were next…Movement came from the corner of the room. I didn’t need to lift my gaze to know Pestilence’s intention. “No. I’ve got this.”

  They waited, watching me as I sat back down and reached forward. Those goddamn fangs didn’t just bite, they ripped and shredded. A muffled cry slipped free. I bit the inside of my mouth and lifted my foot. Denim slipped over my toes as I yanked.

  Sweat beaded as I dragged the jeans high, and panting breaths followed as I balanced with one hand against the mattress and lifted my ass.

  “Very impressive,” War murmured. “At how stubborn you can be.”

  “This is nothing,” I snarled, grinding my teeth, and then shoved to my feet. “You just wait until I beat your ass at Monopoly.”r />
  “Monopoly?”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. It’d been the only game we had after the first wave of the plague hit. We’d locked ourselves in this apartment and tried anything to pass the time.

  Monopoly became the only thing we had…the only thing that stopped us from looking out the window and watching the city streets turn as silent as a grave.

  We knew what was out there. We heard the desperate pleas on the radio, and still we played, buying St. Charles Place and Indiana Avenue. “Never mind. You wouldn’t understand.”

  I dropped back against the bed and reached for my socks. The pain was constant now, but it was a constant I could work through. Stitches pulled taut as I slipped the socks over my feet and slipped my feet into my boots.

  “If you won’t let us help, at least talk to one of the women…maybe the girl?”

  I lifted my gaze and shoved up from the bed. The wave of agony was instant, washing me away from the shoreline. I held on and took a step as flashes of memories came back to me. “The girl…the one who was bitten, how is she?”

  Pestilence glanced at War and then gave a shrug. “I haven’t seen her.”

  I turned my head toward the lowering sun. “She has to be here. Maybe I could…”

  Could what? Take care of her…like your own sister?

  I flinched at the sting and shook my head. My hands dropped to the button of my jeans. I yanked the zipper, silencing that cold, savage voice.

  I just wanted to see her, make sure she was okay.

  That was all.

  I forced a step, and watched the room swim before I took another. The walls were moving by the time I hit the hallway.

  My leg was shuddering by the time I got to the front door.

  Fingers slipped around the knob as I yanked. Voices grew louder…orders were given and then repeated down the line. I stepped out onto the landing to catch sight of one of the children racing down the stairs.

  “So, you’re a great patient, just like Billy, here.”

  The bite of his words almost made me smile. I turned my head, catching sight of the doctor standing in the middle of the landing. He looked tired…more tired than when I’d seen him last.