by Kim Faulks
“Did you hear me? This can’t happen again.”
His thumb rolled across the flint. A flame burst to life before he cast the lighter though the air. “It’ll happen as many times as it takes, Marcus.”
I closed the distance between us. He reeled to meet me head on. “You brought the sheriff’s department to our door, Zadoc. Do you hear me? You exposed us.”
“Really? You want to throw that card in my face when we have a house full of wolves?”
“Living in a forest and running from a rival pack isn’t against the law. Murder is.”
“No one touches a woman, or a child, and lives. Not while I breathe fire and walk this earth.” Zadoc snarled.
I shifted my stance as the stench of burning flesh filled the air. White smoke billowed, stinging my eyes. There was no changing his mind. The man was as stubborn as his sign. “You’ll have to find somewhere else to hide the bodies for a while.”
“The wolves know the bodies are here. I saw it in their eyes the moment they climbed out of the car. The men walked away disgusted, but the women….” He turned. “The women understood. They smiled at me, Marcus. They smiled at me. I’ve never had a woman smile at me.”
The deputy would be back. I was certain of that and he’d bring more men. I placed my hand on Zadoc’s arm. We were up against a lot more than a few dead bodies. Humans would come and like the war a thousand years before, that would spell disaster, for us.
“I can’t leave you.”
My throat thickened. I nodded.
“You don’t understand. I don’t know… I can’t see.”
My shirt pulled taut under Odessa’s grip.
I gripped her hand and stared into her tormented gaze. “I have to do this. There’s no other way.”
Thick tears slid down her cheeks. I combed my fingers through her scraggly hair, then yanked her hard against my chest.
She clutched my shirt and trembled. “I saw you kiss the dragon. You were swallowed by the fire. But you weren’t burned. You weren’t burned. The flames wrapped around you, comforting you.”
I dropped my hands from her shoulders. Marcus.
Odessa’s eyes glistened as she shook her head, tearing me away from his memory. “I see only darkness now. But it’s not the darkness that’s terrifying, Abrial. It’s the screaming. I can’t stop them. No matter how hard I try, I can’t stop the sounds.”
I clenched my fist to still the shake and ran my knuckles along her hair. “I hear her too. But she isn’t just screaming, Odessa. She’s calling my name.”
My heart was as heavy as boots as I swiped my tears. “Did I ever tell you my mother was a witch?”
A spark lit up the night in her eyes. She answered with a rush. “No.”
I nodded, soothing myself with the motion of my hand, fighting, just to get the words out. “My sister too.”
“I… I didn’t know that.”
The silence gripped my heart. “I want you to do something for me. Tell Marcus, I’m sorry. Tell him… even with the crash I had a nice time… with him.”
The ground blurred as I stumbled and heaved my pack from the ground, swinging the weight up and over my shoulder. The straps bit into the muscle. I gripped the webbing and kept on moving, leaning into each stride, leaving what remained of my Bloodstone pack behind.
The crystal at my neck smacked against my chest with each stride, reminding me what was important—reminding me what was really a home—and that was family.
I yanked the stone from my shirt and traced the surface. My thumb stilled on the sharp ridge. I pressed my chin to my chest, yanking the leather strap free and stared at the shattered crystal.
Broken stone.
A broken pack.
A broken heart.
Because I’m cursed. Because we were cursed.
What are you doing back here? I don’t know you. Wait….
The memory resurfaced with a rush. I shook my head, desperate to get away, but the vision was relentless. I was in the shadows of the Echo pack. I’m sorry. Those words resounded inside my head. They were empty words that dragged me down.
I reached for my throat. I could still feel his hands, clawing. The panic rose with the memory. I clutched the crystal against my chest feeling every tremor.
I murdered him. Murdered him in cold blood. I closed my eyes. Go away… just go away. Yet, the dead never stay dead. Unseen fingers fumbled with my necklace.
His grasp had slipped, then found a hold in my shirt. The collar pulled taught, choking me as he wrenched me from my feet. No. Stop. My hold on the knife slipped. I slashed the air blindly then slammed into a wall.
The wood shuddered. Splinters gouged my cheek, stinging my face as he forced my head against the wood.
Who are you?
My ear burned, stinging with the force of his hand on my head as he ground my face into the wall. I’m going to die here. His cruel grip faded with the thought. I’m going to die here and no one will ever know.
My knees trembled. His hold slipped. I slid down the wall until the leather strap around my neck pulled taut.
Why are you here?
My neck crunched as he yanked my head backwards. His breath hot against my skin. My hair pulled taught. Fresh tears blurred his white teeth. Why are you here? Who sent you?
The corded muscles of my neck strained, until my tendons burned. He twisted my head, spittle splattered across my face as he snarled. Who sent you!
I wrenched my head until my scalp tore. Pain lashed my head. I stabbed the air behind my back, hitting something hard. My heart burned as he grunted against my ear. I swung again, twisting my hair in his grasp until I couldn’t see—I could only feel.
The crystal wedged tight between the slates. I smashed my head into the wall, then jerked. Something snapped. I stumbled free, cleaving the air with the blade as I swung. The tip stopped with the impact. I charged, driving him backwards, one foot after another. Those heavy thuds now a patter, racing to catch up. He hit the wall, momentum took over. Cold steel sliced through muscle and flesh to the hilt. His inky blood coated my hands
It was all for nothing. I killed the man for nothing.
I’d turned my back on my Bloodstone pack. Those thoughts weighed me down. They turned me into an animal. But it was the dragon who haunted every damn step. It was the dragon who gripped my heart and squeezed.
All because he almost hit me with his car.
And with the thought the memory continued. The sound of an engine had stilled my steps as I raced for the road. I was high on adrenaline and blood-sickened. A flash of silver sparkled like the morning sun on a lake and for a moment I didn’t understand what it was. I forced my steps faster at the sound, until the growl died in the distance.
A car. The damn sound was a car.
The trees hid me well. I crouched in the grassy shoulder, waiting for the cars to pass before I clambered over the rise. My feet hit familiar ground. Brakes squealed in my mind. Headlights blinded me. My heart hammered as I tried to get over the rise. Too fast. Too fast!
Our gazes collided. Dark eyes widened, before the car swerved. Air buffeted my body as a black blur raced past, missing me by inches. I glanced over my shoulder as I stepped through the grass. Broken branches waved at me from the other side.
The water in my container sloshed at my hip wrenching me from the memory and I glanced up at the harsh sun.
I grabbed the bottle, taking enough to wet my mouth and kept on moving. The knee-high grass gave way to a rocky mound. My boots slipped on the loose gravel as I started the climb. I slapped my palm against the hard ridge, finding a foothold and scurried over. Voices echoed to me, turning to howls of pain.
I scanned the trees and the bushes as a blanket of ice wrapped around me. The cold stole my thoughts moving in like a predator and I was its prey. I tried not to fight the energy—I’d felt its poisoned effects before. Dark magic hid the Echo pack well. No mortals would come here, not alone anyway.
I held out my hands
, waiting for the magic to recognize me. “Sol is waiting for me. Let me through.”
But it wasn’t just the power I felt this time, there was something else there, waiting. I stood, bathed in the harsh sun, yet I felt no warmth. I felt only the darkness. My lips trembled. I’ve waited so long, Rowen… you’ve waited so long, and now I’m here.
Shadows welled from the belly of my soul and trickled over the edges. I tried to ready myself for the impact, but there wasn’t enough steel, there wasn’t enough stone. The tremor in her words sliced deep.
You left me, Abrial. Why… why? Daddy, please don’t make me go.
Momma?
Momma….
Where are you Abrial?
I hate you.
I hate you!
Please don’t leave me here.
Don’t leave me here with him.
I love you.
I love you Abrial.
Why haven’t you come for me?
Don’t you love me anymore? Don’t you love me Abrial?
My knees buckled. I hit the ground. Agony rammed like wooden spikes through my knees. I dragged my feet along the dirt, curling my knees against my chest. Thick tears blurred the sun, and yet I couldn’t feel the glow. I couldn’t feel the warmth.
All I felt was her. Her pain. Her loneliness and I was a five-year old girl all over again. I lifted my hands. In my mind I saw my tiny fingers. The beds of my nails bleeding and torn. The sting was instant, even after all these years. A dull ache ate at the muscles of my arms.
No! You can’t take her. You can’t take my sister. My heart boomed, rocking my chest with every blow. I still remembered the panic, the terror. I’d kicked and screamed, clutching hold with all the strength my little arms had to offer.
Still, they dragged her away from me and as they walked the Echo pack took my mother as well. The killed my mother, a powerful witch and turned my sister into a weapon. The dark power swallowed me and under the hurt and the hate a little girl still lingered. “I’ve missed you, Rowen. I’ve missed you so much.”
The pain bloomed just as fresh as it’d been all those years ago. Please don’t make her go Daddy. Don’t take my sister away.
My father answered and his words had haunted me for the rest of my life. Do I save one, or save many Abrial, answer me that? Well… answer me. One, or many?
One.
All I ever wanted was for him to save one.
But which one?
I touched the heat of my cheek and my fingers came away wet, glistening with fresh tears.
After all these years would she recognize me? Would she care for me at all? It doesn’t matter. I love her, and that’s enough. I clenched my eyes shut. Hold on, Rowen. I’m finally coming to get you.
I wiped my cheeks with the back of my hand and shoved myself from the ground. My knee screamed as I tested my weight. One step and the pain died to a throb. I forced myself to move, taking the steps slow until the ache burned away under desperation.
The trees gave way to long grass. I scanned the small rise and the thick woods
Voices filtered through the forest, cries followed. The scent of a cooking meat drifted, making my stomach howl. I wiped the sweat from my drying lips and scanned the trees, then edged closer.
The thick butt of the pine hid me well. I clung onto the bark and peered around the edges. Women and children crowded the corners of makeshift pens. My stomach sank as I scanned the row. Thirty, forty women now sat in the dirt and the filth, their arms outstretched, pleading with the men who passed by.
The sun glinted on the iron shackles at their feet. My hand slid from the bark as the foul stench hit me. Bile scalded my throat as my stomach rolled. I slapped my hand over my nose, straining to see their faces. Was she in there? Was my sister chained like a damn animal?
My gaze drifted to the cabin. I fingered the sheath at my waist. Was the real Alpha inside, would Sol honor the trade? Hope welled dark and dangerous. He had to, I had no other choice.
Me for her, that was the agreement.
Me, for her.
The snap of a twig cut through the air. I hit the tree and spun, searching the crowded woods. White blonde hair drew my gaze. Sol clung to the base of a pine, hovering in the shadows, right where he belonged. He watched me with interest, before he shoved off the tree and stalked toward me. His deformed arm smacked against his hip as he shuffled. I tried not to stare as he flanked me, losing sight as he moved behind the tree.
“I was wondering if you were really going to show up.”
I heard every step, every breath. He watched me like a hawk.
“You’re so pretty, as pretty as your sister.”
I closed my eyes, flinching as his fingers brushed the hair from the nape of my neck, exposing my throat. Cloth scraped on bark before his hot breath slipped across my skin, mixing with my sweat to drip down my neck. I followed the touch. Not his tongue. Not his tongue. My mind played tricks.
“She calls out your name in her sleep. Did you know that?”
Venom slipped into my words. “You bastard.”
“You’re more alike than you know.” My hair pulled taut under the brushing of his hand. “One fire. One night. I watched you kill that night. I made Rowen watch too. Did you feel her watching you, Abrial? Did you feel her in the shadows?”
I closed my eyes. He can’t hurt me. He can’t do any more than he’s already done.
“They said he couldn’t be killed you know? They lied, didn’t they? Sons of fucking bitches they lied. They said whoever landed the killing blow would be cursed. Tell me, are you cursed Abrial?”
My mouth felt numb with the words. I felt bitterly cold. “Yes, but it isn’t because I slit a man’s throat.”
“Tell me how?”
I spun to face him, meeting those piercing blue eyes. The mutant leader, they called him. But never to his face. “Because, I’m a woman.”
Those knowing eyes widened for a second before he nodded. “I guess that’s true. This is an alpha world we live in, is it not? And no matter how strong, or how resilient you are, women aren’t alphas.”
The ice spread throughout my chest. “I’ve killed for you. I’ve lied for you. I’ve left my pack for you and I’ve handed myself over, to you. Now, it’s time for you to hold up your end of the bargain and take me to my sister.”
His smile widened. “The pleasure’s all mine. But I don’t think it’ll be the same for you.”
He slipped from the tree and for a second I thought he’d fall. I wanted him to fall, to be on the ground with me standing over him. I pictured this as I fell in step. I pictured that smug smile wavering right before I showed him just how brutal this woman could be.
He hobbled toward the pens, leading me right through the middle. The stink of mud and piss reached down to grip my belly with an iron fist. I kept my breaths shallow, staring at the women as I stumbled past.
Haunted eyes glared at me. One woman looked me in the eye, then spat at her feet as I passed. Her chains rattled as she hobbled for the railing. I searched her face, praying I didn’t see my own. “What are you looking at? You think you’re better than me?”
I shook my head. “No.”
I scanned the way ahead as we left the main camp behind and headed for a small rise. Soldiers watched me from the barn. Not one wolf said a word as I passed. I felt their gaze like pin-pricks at the back of my head. Where was he taking me?
I expected him to stumble at boulders that skirted the clearing, but he scurried over one mound at a time, using that mutated arm to balance. Was she chained here, forced to live separate from the others? I pictured her shackles. I pictured a pen and as I followed the second-in command over the rocks to a worn track, a thought hit me like a blow I never saw coming… was he taking me to her grave?
A blur of brown amongst the green had me faltering. I stumbled faster, passing trees that blocked my view. The bright splash of color drew my gaze. Flowers filled a small bed outside the tiny cabin, red, white and yellow. I
searched the dirt for a cross or a stone and found none. A shadow moved across the window. I caught the sound of steps inside.
“Where is she?” I forced the words through the desert in my throat.
He never answered, only stepped to the side as I passed. I gripped the strap of my pack and slid one arm out. The weight took over. My bag hit the ground at my feet and for a second I forgot to breathe. My heart hammered as the floorboard creaked and the figure stepped from the doorway.
Night.
This woman was nothing but night.
Black hair glistened in the sun as she stepped toward me. Her dark eyes held me. I saw no love. I saw no relief. The ground seemed to shift under my feet. I gravitated toward her, pulled by unseen hands.
The thud of her boots mingled with the boom of my heart. I dropped my gaze, searching her black pants and black shirt, searching for scars, for chains, and I stopped on her hand.
The spark caught my eye, something glinted that wasn’t black. My mind refused to understand, refused to accept—repelling like the slick of oil on a sodden road.
“Abrial, I’d like you to meet your sister, Rowen, my wife.”
“What do you mean she’s gone?”
I scoured the grounds, searching every woman and stopped at Odessa.
“I can’t help her. I can’t see her. It’s too dark where she is. I saw her kiss the dragon. But now there’s nothing but shadows and screams.”
I shook my head, unable to understand. “She left of her own free will? No one took her, no one hurt her?”
“No.”
So this was why she wanted me to take in her pack. Dump and run. I nodded and felt the sting. “I see.”
This wolf… Odessa fisted the hair at her temples, then slammed her hands against her head. “I can’t get through. I can’t stop fighting it to help her.”
“It’s okay. I understand.”
Her head snapped up. A storm brewed in her gaze turning aqua into tempest blue. “No. You don’t understand. I see everything. I feel everything. It’s all my fault. It’s all my fault.” She turned her head, her words slipped into a whisper that sent chills along my skin. “It’s a bad. It’s a real bad place, even for a mighty red dragon.”
