The Darkest Whisper lotu-5

by Gena Showalter

  “—pissed his pants,” one laughed.

  “Should have seen his face when I shoved those spikes under his nails. And when I cut off his hands…” More laughter. “I hope he continues the silence. I’ve never had so much fun in my life.”

  “Demons. They deserve this and more.”

  Sabin’s heart sank even as his demon stirred. I want to play, Doubt said gleefully.

  Have fun.

  Needing no more encouragement, the demon swooped out of his mind and into theirs.

  The other Lords are going to be angry. They’ll come for you, make you pay. Everything you’ve done to their brethren will be done to you—magnified by a thousand, I’m sure.

  One of the men shuddered. “We know the other demons will come for their friends when they’ve healed from that last battle. Maybe we should, I don’t know, pack up soon.”

  “I’m not a coward. I’m staying here and doing whatever’s necessary to pry information from our prisoners.”

  Then you’ll be gutted like a fish, I bet.

  Now the second speaker shuddered.

  “Uh, guys. Save it. My beeper just vibrated. An alarm has been tripped. Either someone’s escaped or we’re under attack.”

  They jumped to their feet. None of them had spotted Sabin yet. Silencer on—check. Chamber loaded—check. At one time, he would have drawn their attention, taunted them about their coming death and taken joy as they paled. Now, he simply shot them one after the other in the back of the head. They slumped in their chairs, what was left of their foreheads hitting the glass tabletop with a thump.

  He kept moving, rounding the corner. A group of children were splashing around in a pool. One of the boys had a hand extended, water rising and balancing above it.

  “Throw it at me,” a little girl implored. “See if it can get through my shielding spell.”

  With a laugh, the boy tossed the water at the girl. Not a single drop touched her.

  Sabin had suspected they would be here, but was still shocked to see them. Despite their unusual abilities, they were just children. How could the Hunters use them like this? Place them in such danger?

  Sabin replaced one of his semiautomatics with a tranq gun. He didn’t want to do this, but it was the best—and safest—solution for everyone involved. What was Gwen doing? Was she inside? Hurt? Without pause, he began nailing the kids with darts. One by one, they sank into unconsciousness. He quickly dragged them out of the water and laid them in the shade, never once releasing his weapons.

  Finally, he was ready to enter the house. To help Gwen.

  “You filthy animal! What have you done?”

  Sabin whipped around. A Hunter had just taken aim at him, fired. A bullet slammed into his right shoulder. Wincing, he hammered out another round from his Sig. One bullet hit the Hunter’s neck, the other his chest. He slumped over, gasping. When his skull cracked against the ground, the gasping stopped.

  Bleeding, unconcerned by the pain, Sabin rushed inside the building, sheathing the tranq in favor of the second semiautomatic. Already Hunters littered the floor, motionless. Gwen. Sabin’s heart swelled with pride. Maybe it was wrong of him, but he really loved her dark side. She was magic on a battlefield.

  He followed the trail of adult bodies through the winding hallways. Some of the rooms were bedrooms with multiple bunk beds, some were classrooms. There were tiny desks and artwork on the walls; every single piece showed a demon being tortured. There were even signs. A perfect world is a world without demons. When the demons are gone, there will be no sickness, no death. No evil. Lost someone you love? You know who to blame.

  Oh, yes. The children were being trained to hate the Lords from birth. Fabulous. Sabin had done some bad shit in his life, but never had he taught hatred to an innocent.

  “Bastard!” he heard Gwen shout, followed by a howl of pain.

  Increasing his speed, Sabin followed the sound, saw a man hunched over and grabbing his crotch. He didn’t know what had happened and he didn’t care to stop and ask. He simply aimed his Sig and fired three rounds. No one hurt Gwen.

  Gwen whirled around, claws bared. Those tiny wings fluttered madly under her shirt. The death-glaze faded when she realized who stood before her. “Thanks.”

  “Anytime.”

  “I found your friends. They’re hurt, but alive. I released them, but two are missing. Gideon and Anya.”

  First—she’d already found and released them? Holy hell. She was faster and better than even he had known. Second—where the hell were the others? Locked up? “Anya?” he shouted. “Gideon?”

  “Sabin? Sabin, is that you?” a woman called from down the hall. Anya. “It’s about damn time. I’m back here. With a guard.”

  Sabin looked at Gwen just as three males flew into the room, their expressions wild. “Got ’em?” he asked.

  “Go on.” She faced the newest challenge. “Get Anya.”

  He took off in a run. He would have left any of his men, and Gwen was a better fighter than all of them put together, so he had no doubt of her success. No doubt. The thought made him smile.

  As he moved, he exchanged a gun for a blade. He was almost out of bullets. Thankfully, a knife never needed refilling. Where are you, Anya? He burst through one door—empty. He shouldered his way through another, hinges splintering. Nothing. Three more rooms, and there she was, eyeing a little boy, both her shoulders stained crimson.

  That boy turned to him, expression determined. There was something…off about him, as though he wasn’t three-dimensional.

  “Sabin!” When Anya darted to one side, the boy quickly followed, swiping out an arm.

  “I have to keep her here,” he said, but he didn’t sound happy about it.

  Slowly Sabin sheathed his blade and reached behind him, curling his fingers around the handle of the tranq gun.

  “Don’t touch him,” Anya rushed out, “and don’t let him touch you. You’ll go down without warning.”

  “Anya!”

  Sabin recognized the voice as Death’s, so he didn’t turn as footsteps approached. He kept his gaze on the boy, ready to jump at him despite Anya’s warning if he went after the goddess again.

  “Lucien! Stay back, baby, but tell me you’re okay?” Anya’s face lit with a mixture of pleasure and worry. “I have to know you’re okay.”

  “I’m fine. You? Oh, gods.” Lucien came up behind him and sucked in a breath. Sabin could feel waves of fury pulsing off him. “Your shoulders.”

  “Just a little scratch.” There was fire in the words, a promise of retribution.

  Keeping his hand behind his back, Sabin held the tranq out to Lucien. “Not sure it’ll do any good, but I’m going to leave you to it. Gideon’s still missing.” The warrior took the weapon without a word, and Sabin spun on his heel.

  He continued bursting into rooms. Several were padded. One was filled with computers and other technology. One was stuffed with enough canned food to last a lifetime. Down another hall he turned, shouting Gideon’s name. These rooms had thicker locks and fingerprint IDs. Heart pounding, Sabin pressed his ear to each door until he finally, blessedly heard a whimper.

  Gideon.

  Urgency flooding him, he pried at the slit in the center. His muscles strained, his bones nearly popped out of joint, his wound reopened, but he worked the edge until the metal opened enough to squeeze through. First thing he noticed was the broken and bleeding form strapped to a gurney. A sickening sense of déjà vu hit him.

  He crossed the distance, bile rising in his throat. Gideon’s eyelids were so swollen it looked as if rocks were buried underneath them. Bruises colored every inch of his naked body. Many of his bones were broken and protruding through skin.

  Both of his hands had been chopped off.

  “They’ll grow back, I swear to the gods they’ll grow back,” Sabin whispered as he pulled at the bonds. They were strong. Too strong, comprised of some sort of—godly? — metal. He couldn’t even hack through them with a blade.
<
br />   “Key. Not there.” Gideon’s voice was so weak, Sabin barely heard it. But the warrior motioned to a cabinet with a tilt of his chin. Sure enough, a key dangled there. “Didn’t taunt me…with it.”

  “Save your strength, my friend.” He spoke gently, but rage was pouring through him, consuming him, becoming the only thing he knew. Those bastards were going to pay for this. Every single one of them and a thousand times over. He needed to be punished as well, he thought. He’d sworn never to let this kind of thing happen to his comrade again, yet here they were, practically reliving the past.

  When Gideon was free, Sabin gently gathered him in his arms and carried him into the hall. Strider had been in the process of turning the corner, pale and trembling and stumbling. When the warrior spotted Sabin’s bundle, he released a savage cry.

  “Is he…”

  “He’s alive.” Barely.

  “Thank the gods. Lucien’s got Anya. He managed to tranq the kid guarding her. Reyes is somewhere in back. Stefano’s called for retreat, but you’ll never believe who’s stuck around.”

  At the moment, Sabin didn’t care. “Have you seen Gwen?”

  “Yeah. Down the hall and to the right.” Strider gulped. “I’ve been searching for you. I’ll take Gideon. You go help your woman.”

  Dread instantly mixed with his rage as Sabin carefully handed Gideon over. “Did something happen to her?”

  “Just go.”

  He ran, arms pumping, legs shaking, until he reached the chamber where he’d left her. She was still there, but she was no longer fighting human Hunters. She was fighting her father. And she was losing.

  Guess who stuck around, Strider had said. Of all the times for the bastard to grow some balls. Gwen was winded, panting, bloody, stumbling every time she lashed out as though her legs could no longer hold her weight. Galen had a long snakelike whip. No, not snakelike. It was a snake. Hissing, teeth gleaming with venom. And every time Gwen managed to cut off the snake’s head, another grew in its place.

  “The big, strong Lords of the Underworld, relying on a woman. And they call me the coward,” Galen sneered.

  “I’m not just any woman,” Gwen gritted out. “I’m a Harpy.”

  “As if that makes a difference.”

  “It should. I’m also a half demon. Don’t you recognize me?” She closed in despite the snake chomping on her calf and slashed for the warrior’s heart.

  “Should I? All their women look the same to me. Filthy whores.” He expertly dodged, jerking the whip out of her and making her cry out before cracking it again. This time it coiled around her wrist. He gave another tug. Once more she cried out. She fell to her knees, her entire body spasming.

  Sabin couldn’t watch this. Couldn’t let the bastard destroy Gwen, no matter how much Gwen might resent him for interfering. “Leave her alone. I’m the one you want.” Teeth gnashing, he withdrew several daggers and tossed all but one at the whip, severing its hold on Gwen. He threw the last at Galen, nailing him in the stomach. The warrior roared, fell, and Gwen lumbered to her feet.

  Sabin jumped in front of her, blocking her from the crouching Galen. “Finally ready to do this? To admit defeat?”

  Scowling, Galen pulled the knife from his gut. “You really think you’re strong enough to best me?”

  “I already have. We’ve plowed through most of your forces.” He was grinning as he palmed and aimed his Sig. “All that remains is your imprisonment. And it looks like that won’t be too difficult to obtain.”

  “Stop it. Just stop it.” Gwen staggered to a halt in front of him, shoulders squared. She swayed, but didn’t fall, her gaze locked on Galen. “I don’t want you taken until you hear what I have to say. I’ve waited for this day my entire life, dreamed of telling you that I’m the daughter of Tabitha Skyhawk. That I’m twenty-seven years old, and thought to be sired by an angel.”

  Galen laughed as he stood, but that laugh couldn’t hide his wince. He was bleeding profusely now. “Is that supposed to mean something to me?”

  “You tell me. About twenty-eight years ago, you slept with a Harpy,” Gwen said. “She had red hair and brown eyes. She was injured. You patched her up. Then you left but said you’d be back.”

  His lingering smirk faded as he studied her. “And?” He didn’t sound as if he cared, but he didn’t try to escape when he’d clearly lost the battle, either.

  Gwen’s entire body trembled, and Sabin’s rage darkened. “And the past has a way of catching up with people, doesn’t it? So, surprise. Here I am.” She splayed her arms. “Your long-lost daughter.”

  “No.” Galen shook his head. At least his amusement didn’t return. “You’re lying. I would have known.”

  “Because you would have gotten a birth announcement?” Now Gwen laughed, the sound tinged with darkness.

  “No,” he repeated. “It’s impossible. I’m no one’s father.”

  Behind them, the battle was winding down. The screams were stopping, the grunts fading. No more gunshots. No more pounding footsteps. Then the rest of the Lords were filling the doorway, each wearing expressions of hate and fury. Each dripping in blood. Strider still carried Gideon, as if afraid to set him down.

  “Well, well, well. Look who we have here,” Lucien growled.

  “Not so tough without a child around to shield you, Hope?” Anya laughed.

  “Tonight I’ll dine on your black heart,” Reyes snarled.

  Sabin studied the grim set of his friends’ faces. These warriors had been tortured, and they weren’t done exacting their revenge. Much as he sympathized, though, he couldn’t let them have it yet.

  “Galen is ours,” Sabin told them. “Stay back. Gwen?”

  GWEN KNEW what Sabin was asking. Allow him to imprison her father, or let her father go. That he was leaving the choice up to her proved his love as nothing else could have. If only she could give him what he wanted.

  “I–I don’t know,” she said, voice cracking. Peering into those sky-eyes, eyes she’d once only dreamed about, she was struck anew with the knowledge that her father was here, in front of her, that he represented everything she’d ever wanted as a little girl and then as an adult, while she’d been trapped in that cell in Egypt. How often had she yearned to be held and protected by him?

  He hadn’t known about her. Now that he did, would he love her? Would he want her with him, as she’d craved all those years?

  Galen eyed the warriors glaring at him menacingly. “Perhaps I spoke too soon. We will talk, you and I. Privately.” He stepped forward and reached out to her.

  Sabin snarled, and it was the type of sound a beast made just before it flew into attack. “You can leave, if she allows it, but you don’t touch her. Ever.”

  For several seconds, it looked as if Galen would argue. The Lords certainly were. They wanted this man in chains and didn’t like that Sabin had offered him freedom.

  “No child of mine would choose to be with the Lords of the Underworld.” Galen held out his hand and waved his fingers at her. “Come with me. We will leave, get to know each other.”

  Did he truly wish to learn about her or did he simply hope to use her as another weapon against his hated enemies? The suspicion hurt, and Gwen found herself grabbing Sabin’s gun, barrel aimed at Galen’s head. “No matter what happens, I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  Sabin hated him. This man had done cruel things. Would continue to do cruel things.

  “You would kill your own father?” Galen asked, clutching his heart as if she’d truly injured his feelings.

  In her mind, he was suddenly wrapping his arms around her, holding her close, telling her how much he loved her. Hope. It was there, in her chest, blooming through her entire body. Did it stem from him? Or from herself?

  “You were so quick to dismiss me,” she gritted out. “You said you had no children.”

  “I was merely in shock,” he explained patiently. “Absorbing the news. After all, it’s not every day a man is given the priceless gift o
f fatherhood.”

  Her hand trembled.

  “Your mother…Tabitha. I remember. She was the most beautiful sight I’d ever beheld, or have since. I wanted her instantly and meant to keep her, but she left me. I was never able to find her. Had I known about you, I would have desired a place in your life.”

  Truth or lie? She lifted her chin even as her arm fell. Maybe there was good in him. Maybe he could be saved. Maybe not. But…“Go.”

  He reached for her.

  “Go,” she repeated, a hot tear streaming down her cheek.

  “Daughter…”

  “I said go!”

  Suddenly his wings jerked into motion, spreading, fast, too fast, flapping, wind gusting around them. Before anyone could blink, he burst up, through the ceiling and out of the building.

  Unable to hold back any longer, the other warriors fired at him, even tossed their blades. Someone must have nailed him, because there was a howl. It wasn’t too bad an injury, though, because Galen didn’t fall back inside. Gwen hated herself for the relief she felt.

  The sound of heavy breathing filled the room, blending with muttered curses, stomping footsteps.

  “Not again,” Strider groaned, finally placing Gideon on the floor. “Why would you do that, Sabin? Why would you let her do that?” A second later, the hulking warrior was beside his friend, writhing in agony.

  Sabin’s hesitation had given Galen the chance to escape, and Galen’s escape had meant defeat for the Lords. Defeat for Strider. My fault, she thought. She’d just proven Sabin right. She couldn’t be trusted with his greatest enemy. She’d hesitated to do what was needed.

  “I’m sorry,” Sabin said to his friend.

  I’ll make it up to him. Somehow, some way. She spun, meaning to grab on to him and make him listen to her apology. Instead, she gasped. “You’re bleeding.”

  “I’m fine. I’ll heal. How are you?” His gaze raked her, taking in every bruise and cut. A muscle ticked below his eye. “I should have taken him down when I had the chance. He hurt you.”