The Jackal

by J. R. Ward

  So this was right.

  Where was the damn guard?

  Narrowing his eyes, he regarded the tunnel ahead of him. And waited.

  Warning bells started to sound out in his head. The guard should have been passing by now, transitioning to being off shift. Had they changed their schedule?

  That would be a problem. Their predictability was critical.

  Pressing on, he made a turn, hit a straightaway, and then came up to a branch that was marked with a white paint spot on the rough-cut archway of the tunnel head. Before he penetrated the area, he made sure he was not followed. Then he strode forth, staying close to the left-hand side of the walling. His black and gray clothes, loose garments that allowed him to move freely and fast, were the color of the walling, but the bald lights strung every twenty feet overhead on wire meant that he was a sitting duck—

  The Jackal stopped dead.

  Lifting his nose to the air, he breathed in deep.

  The scent that came down to him was tantalizing on a level he had never known before—and it was utterly foreign. For all the years, the decades, the century, he had spent here underground, he had never come upon it before, and it was a sad commentary on his life that he had to reach so far back in his memory to put a definition on it.

  Fresh flowers.

  Closing his eyes, he drew in another breath, greedy for more of the fragrance. Yes, fresh flowers, and not the sickly sweet kind that had proliferated in the grand houses he had once visited and lived in. This was lush and lovely in an honest way, not a cultivated one.

  And it was getting stronger.

  The Jackal willed off three of the loose light bulbs, creating a sixty-foot-long stretch of darkness.

  The sounds of footsteps were faint, and on the approach, there was one and only one explanation for them.

  Somebody who shouldn’t be in the prison had found a way in.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  The taste in Rhage’s mouth was a scourge upon the tongue, spoiled meat and crushed, molded strawberries in concert. But that was the lesser of the ills that plagued him. As he lay upon the grass, his eyes were sightless, everything dark around him such that he could not orientate himself unto the hour by the constellations. He had no concept of time’s passing, no clue how close he was to dawn—and with the pain in his arms and legs, his torso and head, he couldn’t tell whether his skin was sending him messages of warning as to the approach of sunlight or whether the agony was his beast’s parting salvo.

  Rolling onto his side, Rhage retched as his stomach roiled and revolted. He had consumed many slayers. He knew by the nausea in his gut and that taste in his mouth. But how messy was the scene? Human attention would be especially bad the now, and dead bodies—or rather pieces of them—were something that garnered notice.

  His ears were the only thing he could rely upon, and they provided him with nothing good. A dripping sound was close by. Something was leaking. His own blood? Or was it a slayer’s? Or had he punctured a container of mead? His nose was too clogged with the stench of the undead to provide him with any clues. For that matter, was he as yet in the clearing down by the river or had he roamed—

  “My brother.”

  At the familiar voice, Rhage exhaled in relief. Darius was the last male he would have sought out, but the very perfect aide in this situation. Further, it meant there was still darkness, still time to get unto cover.

  “You must move me.” His voice was but a weak rasp. “I must be moved.”

  This, though again, he knew not where he was. The beast could take him far from where it first commandeered him.

  “Yes.” In the pause that followed, Rhage imagined the brother looking around. “Indeed.”

  “Where am I?” Rhage asked.

  “I have a horse. Allow me to lift you upon it.”

  “I am feeling rather ill.”

  On that note, he became sick, and it was a while before the expulsions passed sufficiently for him to speak again.

  “Help me, please.”

  “I have you, my brother.”

  As arms came around him, Rhage groaned in response, and then things got so much worse. The movement was awful, his sore limbs and aching, bloated torso screaming as Darius picked him up under the knees and at the waist, and shifted him onto a horse that stamped and whinnied in protest. Because of the smell? The weight?

  “Dearest Virgin Scribe,” Rhage grunted as he was draped facedown like a sack over the saddle.

  The pressure on his swollen stomach was untenable, and he fumbled to push his palms against something, anything, to relieve the constriction.

  “No, no, no—” And then he was sick anew.

  After that round was over, Darius cursed and lifted him off. Back upon the ground. More retching.

  “I’m going to hide you,” the brother said. “And then I shall return—”

  Rhage lost consciousness behind his unseeing eyes, his awareness disappearing not on a gradual fade, but in the sharp manner of a gaslight being extinguished.

  There was no way to ascertain the further amount of time that passed, but the next thing he was aware of was a levitation that roused him. Throwing out his arms, he fought against air in the event this was not one of his own.

  “No, no, be of ease, my brother.” The sound of Darius’s voice instantly calmed him. “Tohrment and I are removing you upon a pallet.”

  “Thank you. Both of you.” At least that was what he was trying to say. He wasn’t sure what was coming from his mouth. “Return me unto my abode—”

  “You need tending to.”

  “This is merely my recovery—”

  “You have been shot at least four times.”

  “ ’Tis not the first—”

  Tohrment, son of Hharm, spoke up from the compass point of Rhage’s feet. “Be of silence and save your strength. We have some travel ahead unto Havers.”

  Rhage wanted to fight the tide that was carrying him forth, but he lacked the energy—and mayhap that was the point. It was hard for him to discern which pain was from what source, and therefore, how much of his weakness was due to blood loss from bullets.

  Mayhap it was best to take the word of those who could see the damage done.

  Similar to when the beast came out, he now had no choice but to release dominion over himself and his body, and he tracked the trip he was taken upon by its sounds and sensations: A breeze over bare skin as he was carried over onto something hard. Movement up, and then a swaying as he was transferred by pallet. Creaking as he was settled into a coach of some kind. Stomping hooves and a whinny, as if he made the horses uneasy. Jostling with a sway as they set on their course at a steady clip.

  By the time they halted, sometime later, more of his senses were upon him and he was aware of a ringing pain in his side. There were three other focal points of similar nature, but it was the one under his ribs that made him think his brothers had been correct in taking him unto the species’ healer.

  Another transfer upon the pallet. A door opening and closing.

  Voices now. A number of them.

  Along with the scents of roasted beef and lamb. And… quite distantly… the sound of a string quartet?

  This made no sense.

  He turned his head back and forth, the movement doing nothing to aid his sight.

  “Is this the healer’s abode?” he mumbled.

  And then a voice he recognized, but that further confused him.

  “Of course, he will have a room. The very best room my home has to offer.”

  What the hell was he doing at Jabon’s estate?

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Every step forward Nyx took was a fight. Even though the tunnel she was going through was empty, no barriers in front of her and no stalkers behind, she had to force herself to keep going on the gradual descent. She had her flashlight in one hand, the guard’s gun in the other, and her anxiety riding her back like it had thrown a saddle over her spine and put on spurs. As she approached another
turn and things flattened out underfoot, she couldn’t believe how far she had gone, and to make sure she didn’t get lost, she took only lefts. At any of the branches she came to, she went to the—

  Coming out of a corner, she stopped.

  Up ahead, there was a stretch of darkness, the lights strung along on the ceiling extinguished.

  Nyx jumped back out of sight of that which she could not see. Putting her shoulder blades against the damp wall of the cave-like cutout in the earth, she willed the light above her off—

  The hands that grabbed her and pushed her face-first into the wall were hard, biting into her upper arms. And before she could react, the gun was taken. Her flashlight, too. Then her pack was ripped off and a palm clamped on the back of her neck to hold her in place.

  Not a word was spoken, and the speed was such that it seemed to all happen between one heartbeat and the next.

  As Nyx was pinned to the walling, she grunted and fought against the male. The punishment for the attempt to get free was an even greater pressure on her nape—and the muzzle of that gun pressed to her temple.

  “You do not belong here.”

  The voice was whisper-quiet and very, very deep. There was an accent to it as well, but she didn’t waste time trying to place it.

  “Let me go,” she said tightly.

  “How did you get in here?” There was the draw of an inhale. “And you killed one of them, didn’t you. I can smell the blood on you.”

  Before she could calibrate a response, a soft, rhythmic sound registered in her ears.

  “Damn it,” the male hissed.

  And that was when her chaotic brain put a definition to that noise. Marching. There were a number of people marching in unison. And going by how the sound was getting louder, they were on the approach.

  “Don’t make a sound,” the male voice ordered.

  As the pressure eased up on her neck, Nyx did some quick math. Whoever this was had her weapons and considerable control over her—for the moment. But she didn’t think he was a guard. Which meant he was a better bet than those boots that were heading her way. Like she had a choice, though?

  She looked over her shoulder at the male—

  In the dim shadows, she couldn’t believe his eyes. Blue-green. They were brilliant, glowing blue-green eyes that reminded her of pictures she’d seen on TV of the tropical sea.

  The rest of her first impression came in fast: Black hair pulled back. Big shoulders, tall body.

  Lips that shouldn’t have even been on her notice list.

  As he pulled her arm, she tripped, but regained her balance quick. He took her back the way she had come, the lights hanging from the ceiling going out as they approached and coming back on as they went by. And then he stopped short.

  “Here,” he said softly.

  There was a whirring sound, and then a different smell came to her nose. Before she could place it, she was pushed forward into a pitchblack space and the whirring came again.

  “They’re going to kill you if they find you,” he whispered as they were closed in together. “Especially with the blood of one of their own on you.”

  In the sensory void, his disembodied voice made everything feel like a dreamscape, and Nyx’s eyes strained against the darkness, even though there was no point. Meanwhile, outside wherever the hell they were, the sound of those multiple sets of boots hitting the hard ground in coordination grew louder.

  “I want my gun back,” she said as the guards seemed to pass by.

  After the marching sounds faded, a candle flared.

  Nyx blinked in the warm glow, and was glad she’d gotten a look at his peepers out in the tunnel. Otherwise, she might have shown surprise. Or… something else that would have been really stupid to share.

  Still, she was captivated. His stare seemed to be backlit from inside his skull, unlike anything she had ever seen before. Jewels. Paraíba tourmalines. Only more beautiful than that.

  She could not look away.

  In her peripheral vision, other details of him registered. He had a freckle under the eye on the left, and its contours were unusual. Like a heart. His clothing was dark gray and loose, but not rags. He was clean and relatively well-fed. His scent was…

  She refused to let herself think about his scent. Nope. That was not going to help things.

  “We need to get you out of here,” he said grimly.

  As his words sank in, she had a thought that she wanted just a little more time to stare at him so she could memorize all the details of his face. But that was ridiculous.

  “I’m not leaving,” she countered.

  * * *

  The Jackal closed his eyes briefly. In spite of the reality of his own situation, and the overriding focus it mandated, he had a thought that he must get this female out of the prison. With her strange-looking clothes, her provisions, and the flashlight he’d stripped from her, it was clear she didn’t belong here. And with what she had done to one of the Command’s guards? If they got a hold of her with those bloodstains on her jacket, she was going to learn things about pain that would make death look like a gift.

  She was not his responsibility, however, and he was not in a position to take on any further ones. And it wasn’t like she was fragile or weak.

  On the contrary. The female was meeting him right in the eye, and even though she’d been disarmed, she was ready to fight. The resolve was in her braced stance, her unwavering stare, the fists that were up in front of her chest. Her hair, which was black, was pulled back, the tail of it long enough to curl over her shoulder and extend below her collarbones. Her eyes were the color of brandy in good lighting.

  By the weight of her pack, and the way it moved, he knew she had more weapons with her. Probably ammunition, too.

  “Give me my shit back,” she demanded.

  The Jackal frowned. “I beg your pardon.”

  “You heard me, asshole.” When he didn’t reply, she snapped, “I already know you speak English, so don’t pretend you’re confused.”

  “I understand every word you’ve spoken. I’m simply not used to hearing females curse as readily as you seem to.”

  She blinked. Leaned in a little, like maybe he was stupid. “Exactly where do you think we are? A gourmet restaurant?”

  “I just believe that the fairer sex has better ways of expressing themselves.”

  The female put her hands on her hips. “Just my luck. I get mugged by Emily Post.”

  “Emily who?” He narrowed his eyes. “And I did not mug you.”

  “Then why do you have all my shit.”

  As she drew out the enunciation on that last word, something unfamiliar woke up in the back of his brain. To cover up the thoughts and feelings, he forced himself to focus.

  “Where do you think you’re going,” he said.

  “You don’t have to worry about that.”

  “I’m asking the wrong question,” he muttered. “Why are you here.”

  “Also none of your business.”

  Heat went through him, and he studiously ignored the area between his thighs where it pooled. “You don’t seem to understand your situation. You are going to die if you don’t get out of here, and unless you have some help getting free of this hellhole, your grave is a sooner-not-later situation.”

  “I’m not leaving.”

  “What is worth more than your own life?”

  “It’s not about me.”

  When she simply stared at him, the Jackal looked away. It felt odd to hide his eyes from a stranger, but it seemed vitally important that she guess nothing about him. Especially not what was happening to his body.

  Although something told him she wouldn’t be shocked. The female was brazen, and not just with her vocabulary.

  “Who are you looking for?” When she crossed her arms and narrowed her stare, he smiled. “Ah, it would seem I got it right, and spare me the games. You’re not in a position to play them. You have no idea where you are, where you’re going, or how t
o find someone in the maze down here.”

  “I will figure it out.”

  “No, you won’t. I’ve spent a hundred years in this prison. I know more about the tunnel system than anybody else still alive in it. You have no idea where you are. Now tell me, who are you here to find.”

  The female broke off from him and walked around. As he gave her the space to come to the inevitable, he was acutely aware of what was going on outside the secret passageway. A squad had gone down to where she had gained entrance. And the guard whose presence had not been accounted for, who had not been where he should have been, was the one she had killed.

  “Where did you put the body?” he asked. When she stopped short and glanced over with feigned regard, he rolled his eyes. “Stop the acting. After you killed him, where did you leave him?”

  Silence. And then she started to pace again.

  As he thought about his own prime directive, he lost interest in the art of persuasion. She was stubborn and she was arrogant, and life had corrections for that. Especially here, underground.

  He had too much to lose himself to spare her the evolution.

  The Jackal went back over to the sliding panel. Listening carefully, which was easy because the female sure as hell wasn’t saying anything, he heard nothing out in the tunnel. Triggering the panel to retract, he was aware of a tightness in his chest as he off-shouldered her pack and tossed it back across to her. Her gun and flashlight followed, and she caught each with a suspicious surprise.

  “Good luck,” he said as he turned away. “The panel will close in three seconds on its own. Whether you’re in or out is up to you—and where you go next is the same. Good luck unto your quest.”

  Stepping out into the tunnel, he walked off in the direction of the Hive. He had to hurry to catch up to where he should have been on his route G, although with the disruption the female had caused, there was a chance that all guards would be out of sync for the rest of the night.