by Kim Faulks
I stood on the corner and watched him leave as faint voices caught the wind. He said people didn’t live here, but the faint smell of searing meat caught the wind.
Someone lived around here…
My stomach tightened, a strangled howl escaped. I licked my lips and stared into the darkness. It’d been days since I’d eaten. But I’d gone longer than that before. The voices grew louder, until suddenly they quieted.
I stared into the darkness…waiting…watching. The faint sound of footsteps cut through the night. But there was only one…She came from the edge of my vision, head down walking with purpose. I gently cleared my throat and lifted a hand. “Not a weirdo, I promise.”
The woman wrenched her head up at the sound and stopped in the middle of the empty street.
“Parry…” I started, searching the darkness for the old man, but he was long gone. “He just left me.”
Her shoulders slumped, ease settled across her face. “He tends to do that when he doesn’t like someone.”
“Said no one lived here.”
She took one tentative step and then another. “There’s a few of us who’ve stayed. We keep to ourselves, mostly. Parry looks out for us, brings us meat when the hunting party heads out. Amaris makes sure we’re safe. It’s the noise…down there. I can’t handle it. Makes me feel like the damn walls are closing in.”
My damn throat burned with hunger. But the more I stared the more drawn she became. Sunken eyes, hollow cheeks. She licked her lips and hugged herself harder. Jesus, she was damn near starving.
Her thin knee-length coat was wrapped tight around her. Her arms were crossed…self-defensive. She was scared…scared of me.
“I’ll let you be on your way,” I murmured. “If you can just point the way to get out of here.”
Her lips curled, eyes brightened as she lifted her hand. “Keep heading south. You want to stick to this side of the street and then when you get to Baker cross over. The lava isn’t as hot down there, and once you hit the third block over you should see the main road to take you all the way to the city limits.”
I nodded, following her finger into the dark and gave a nod. “Okay, got it.”
“Take care, Guardian,” she murmured.
My brow narrowed. Was I that damn obvious? Her footsteps answered my question as she strode past. I glanced over my shoulder to the direction and took a step.
A shadow rose out of nowhere, slinking close to the ground. The damn thing crawled on hands and feet before it stood and scanned the darkness. I wrenched my gaze toward the woman. “Hey stop!”
But the shadow moved faster than my words could reach her ears, lunging through the air to hit her front on. Pain lashed my side as I shoved forward, punching my heels into the asphalt.
The sickening tear of flesh, followed with a crunch of bones. The sound dragged me into the past, to days before when the Lowest Kynd attacked, leaving our home bloody, broken, and some of the wolves in our pack dead.
“No!” My steps were a blur as I tore across the street and hit the damn thing head on.
Its head snapped upwards, long white fangs dripping with fresh blood shone in the dark. I could see it clearly now. It was once a woman…and now it was a thing. It clawed and hissed, sinking fangs into my palm as I swung.
“The fuck you do.” My hand went around its neck.
A squeal ripped free, feral and piercing. It kicked, driving its bare feet into my shins. But there was nowhere to go now. Nothing left for it but vacant and broken. I clenched tighter. Bones snapped, and crunched to fragments. Blood spilled out its mouth…Hellhound blood.
Her blood.
I cocked my arm and swung, throwing the damn thing across the road until it hit a power pole with a thud.
“Hey.” I dropped to my knees and reached for her.
Blood spilled on the ground from the gash in her throat. I clamped my hand over the wound and pulled her close. “Hey can you hear me?”
She stared into nothing as the rise and fall of her chest softened.
“Hey.” Blood slipped between my fingers. “Come on now…”
She blinked and shifted her gaze to mine. Her lips moved but there were no words, there was nothing at all as the foul creature lifted its head. Bones crunched and snapped into place. The thing was regenerating in front of me, pulling its head upright to stand.
Catalyst…
The whites of her eyes were all I saw.
Catalyst, I need you here.
The Vampire stumbled forward, white fangs shone in the dark. The hiss made the hairs on my arms stand on end. I dragged the Hellhound closer, lifting her head against my thigh. “I’ll kill you…” I growled as a hiss slipped from the woman’s lips in my arms. “I’ll kill every last one of you.”
The thing stumbled forward as the Hellhound gave a tiny shudder and was still. An ache ripped across my chest, born from something deeper than flesh and blood. I glanced down to see her vacant stare.
There wasn't any flicker of fire in her eyes now—her flame snuffed out by a thing that should never have existed. My hold slipped. Her head smacked my thigh and rode the slope all the way to the ground. Rage spilled like lava inside me as I shoved against the ground and rose.
“Why are you here?” I growled and took a step forward. “How did you get here?”
The newborn never answered only stared at the blood on the ground and licked its lips. The truth shimmered under the surface like a reflection in the water. I reached for that glint, plunging through the surface in search of the answer.
It was here…the day I demanded counsel with the Hellhound King. The day I was to meet Heron. I saw him…a memory rushed in. Two men standing in the dark…I moved closer to the memory and the faces sharpened. His skin glinted so white and pale under the moon as I hunkered behind a dumpster and watched. They were talking, raised voices still gave me nothing.
They were arguing. Fighting about something. One shook his head and turned, stepping into the glow of the moon…I knew that face—knew that voice…
“Austine…wasn’t it?”
It stumbled over the gutter, arms flailing, fingers poised with sharpened nails to slash high in the air.
My eyes…that was what it wanted. It eased back in its haunches.
“That’s who brought you here. He’s running…hiding.”
I advanced, swallowing the distance between us in three long strides.
This time there was no backing down.
This time there was no one to try to save.
Only one of us would survive.
The sudden splash of water filled my head. My Dragon carved through the deep to reach the light. My body shuddered, knees were weak.
Easy…I warned. But there was no slowing the Catalyst. He was the ocean…he was the rush. Waves thrashed inside my head, filling my nose with the heady scent of the sea.
The Lowest Kynd screeched, hunkered down and then lunged as my Dragon broke the surface. Fins carved the crest of the wave. Gills flattened against my neck.
He was here…he was here…
Scales glistened along my skin as I wrenched my hand high. Webbing spread between my fingers as I smacked the Vampire in the face—stopping her dead.
I wrenched my other hand into the air. My fingers lengthened, scales hugged the bones. “You should’ve stayed in the dark,” I whispered as I drew my claws high. “Down in the ground where you belong. And you should’ve kept your Master with you.”
I carved the air with my nails until I hit flesh and bone.
The thing screamed and thrashed as the side of its face opened under my wrath.
“Yes,” the guttural word slipped free. “You should’ve hidden Austine well.”
Eyes wide, screaming with fear now…but there were no sounds…there was no nothing as I dragged my claws through the air once more.
Violet flames mingled with red to splash against its skin, as though the Catalyst was on fire.
That’s not me…
My Dragon s
urged closer…riding that edge. My muscles rolled, skin stretched. Bones worked against the joints, desperate for release as the creature scurried backwards.
Under the scales my veins blazed with wild hunger. Fire and fury…my heart thundered driving the roar through my head.
Pain lashed like a fist unfurling in my chest.
Too much…
The thing hissed and snarled in my grip. It opened its jaws wide and gnashed the air…but my heart…my heart.
A cry tore free as the damn pressure tightened, gripping…clenching. The night swayed…the damn creature howled and bucked.
I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think…
You’re a Princess…a descendant of the true royal line.
Kane’s words came back to me…carving through the burn. A Princess…a Princess that just killed her father.
You think you know? Think you got it all figured out, huh?
Her words echoed as my knee trembled. My hold slipped…the thing tore free, screaming with rage and excitement. I stared into the void as the damn thing scurried…but the fire…the fire.
My knee buckled. I hit the ground. Violet and crimson slashed against the shattered asphalt. Rage…and hopelessness…that was all I felt…
You think you know?
Think you got it all figured out?
I did…I did have it all figured out. She killed her father in cold blood…she watched him die. She wore his damn blood on her clothes and on her hands.
I tried to gasp as my other knee collapsed and I hit the ground.
And yet all I could see was her face. Her sorrow. Her pain. Her fear and the fire, the pure fucking fire as she defended what was hers…
Her sister.
Her people.
Her world.
7
Amaris
“He’s gone.”
I didn’t lift my head, didn’t acknowledge the words.
“It’s best this way. Best for you, can’t have a damn Guardian hanging around, shoving his nose into our business…having him…”
Judge me. That’s what he was going to say.
Judge my actions. Judge my world. I shoved up from the table and stared at the map. Judge the next fucking move in this goddamn war. “It’s okay, Parry.”
“We still set?”
I tried to still the tremor and finally lifted my gaze. “You think it’s too soon?”
There was a twitch in his wrinkle. “We don’t have much choice, do we? Your people are starving and we’ve no food left.”
“It was too fast…too quick. We shoulda…”
He gave a shake of his head and shuffled closer. His hand slid against my arm and pulled me close. “We had no choice, love. Heron was on the move, it was either attack when we did or lose the chance of finding that snake in the fucking grass again. Don’t beat yourself up. Besides, we’ll hit east side this time, right under their fucking nose. They won’t be looking there.”
I wanted to sink into his comfort. He was so damn sure, sure of me, sure of everything. He was right, we needed food. We would’ve had it if Heron hadn’t made a run in the middle of the damn night. “Do you think this will ever end…this damn war?”
“It’ll end when it ends. Right now we focus on the fight. We focus on taking the bastards down at the knees. We’re closing in, love. Hold on a little longer, ‘cause we’re closing in.”
Every day was one day closer.
But was it a day closer to losing everything, or was it a day closer to winning this battle? A shudder raced. I felt old…I couldn’t see it in my face, couldn’t see it in my body—but I could in my eyes.
“Now, as long as you control Motor, then we’re good to go.”
I eased backwards, racked one brow high and muttered. “Didn’t think that through, did you? Motor controls Motor. Nothing we can do about that. Best to just leave him at the rear to pick up the kills.”
There was a twinkle in his eye. These two went head-to-head more times than I could count. Still they admired the Hell out of each other.
“Then we go. We’ve got a few hours before daybreak. Get out there, hunt and get back before anyone even knows we’re gone. Can’t leave it any longer, Amaris.”
He was right. I knew he was right. I gave a slow nod and then turned to the doorway. “Right, then we’d better get out there.”
He gave a smile and stepped away. “I’ll send one of the scouts, make sure the old bastard is ready to go.”
We’d done this so many times now, it was easy to forget the danger. A few hours to drive out there under the cover of dark, kill what we could and get back. We had a hundred mouths to feed down here. A hundred to keep safe. A hundred to care for, to love, to protect.
And a hundred to lose when it all went wrong.
I stepped away and made for the door. “I’ll be ready in five.”
I turned right and made my way to the main tunnel and then tuned left.
“Bless you…bless you, dear. Thank you, Amaris…bless you.”
I nodded at their words as the band across my chest tightened. They’d had little food for days, and still they were grateful to be here with me. They whispered praises and prayers of hope for an easy hunt.
My smile was a mask, until I left them all behind and turned down a narrow tunnel that lead to four rooms. It was quieter down here. The dull roar of my people seemed to fade away. I glanced at Oryn’s room as I passed. She’d be with the children, singing, teaching them the stories our mother taught us. Stories of the mighty Guardians…and the days where the Seven roamed the earth.
Seven Hellhounds to protect the royal line.
Seven Hellhounds that belonged to Hell itself.
She liked that story…always that damn story.
Kane roared to the surface. Behind his back they called him One. The first level Hellhound, and the first to fall. The first they cursed…the first to find himself here in Hell’s Gate, on the outside of Hell, looking in.
Oryn thought I was hard on him…but I had no choice. I wasn’t going to lose another member of my family—not to him, not to anyone.
I moved past her room, and then mine before I slipped into the next doorway.
The air tasted stale and raw, emotions swirled around me, tightening the band around my chest one more notch. I dragged in the heat and stared at the empty bed. This was my quiet. This was my war. Fragments of silver and black caught my gaze. I stepped closer, to the small bench chipped out of the glinting black obsidian stone.
The silver hairbrush reminded me of days of old, soft white bristles just made for long hair. One long red strand of hair was tangled between the fibers. I drew the brush close and inhaled.
The soft smell of Night Jasmine lingered. My throat tightened, a hard lump wedged tight. I tried to swallow, tried to force the pain aside but there was no moving what couldn’t be moved, and no hiding what was already here… “I’m going to win this. You just wait and see. I’ll never give up on you…never…ever.”
My damn hand trembled as I placed the brush back onto the shelf. Don’t go. My feet refused to move, dragging, scuffing the edge of my boots as I made for the door.
I shoved aside the curtain and made for the tunnel. My mind was on the hunt now. Finding food for my people, and intel for the soldiers. The attack on Heron had been fast and brutal…one whisper from our scouts and we were on the move.
He thought he was free…thought I wasn’t watching.
Thought his actions had no consequences.
He thought wrong.
And he paid for it with his life.
The tunnel was a hive of activity. Husbands left their wives behind. The stronger the blood, the more we needed them. They surged forward, striding together as we headed for the end of the tunnel. The steady beat of my heart picked up pace, and the knife at my hip glowed with the power. It wasn’t just my mother’s blood that flowed through these veins…it was her power, her love…her devotion.
She loved her daughters. She nev
er gave up…never…ever.
“You ready?” Parry growled, and waited for a nod.
The white light from my sigil pushed back the darkness and bowed Hell’s light.
“Let me come, Amaris.”
My stomach clenched as I turned at the voice and held my sister’s gaze. “It’s dangerous out there and I need you here.”
Hurt flared in her gaze. “I’m not a kid…I’m not…”
Her…that’s what she wanted to say. She’s not her. “No, you’re not, I can see that now. I think it’s maybe time you and I have a discussion, we can talk about your role…and other things. But not tonight. Can you do that? Give me tonight and we’ll talk.”
Please Goddess make her say yes. Just tonight, that’s all I need.
Her sweat-clumped hair skimmed her shoulders as she nodded. I still saw her as a kid, still wanted her to be a kid. But she wasn’t, and it was time she understood the repercussions of our line.
I opened my arms, waiting for her to step close and the faint scent of Night Jasmine filled me. My fingers trembled, heart roared. I squeezed her tight and stepped away, taking one last look at my little sister and followed the men.
The blinding light burned the dark away as the trucks roared to life. I moved toward the front of the convoy and yanked open the passenger’s door as the end of the tunnel was swallowed with the glow.
“Let’s go!” Parry’s cry was consumed by the roar of engines.
He squinted, and shoved the four-wheel drive into gear. We lunged forward, hitting the radiant glare with a surge of power. Fire lashed my heart as the obsidian cavern wall melted into nothing.
The power of my sigil was more than my blood. It was the power of my mother’s royal line, and as long as we survived there was hope for these people.
I eased into the seat as went drove through the lucent glare and into the night. The others roared behind us, catching up as Parry downshifted and sped along the blistering streets. He glanced into the rearview mirror. I followed his focus staring out of the window to the hulking shadows behind us.
We used no lights, not until we were well away from the entrance to the tunnel, not until those inside were protected.
