Chapter Two
Octavia’s finger hovered over the trigger when she recognized the soldier. “Thomas.”
“Tavia.” He reached up and ripped off the mask covering the lower part of his face, her name a low growl.
That sound used to make her sigh with longing.
Now it sent a shiver of dread down her spine.
He didn’t seem happy to see her, and her heart squeezed painfully to be face-to-face with him once again. He had been her only family as a child. They’d grown up in the foster care system together, each protecting the other, before they were conscripted into the Kronos program as cadets.
It showed how much things had changed when he refused to lower his weapon.
His eyes flickered to the man she was shielding with her body, and she tensed. “Don’t even think about it. You and I both know you won’t be fast enough to get off a shot.”
His scowl deepened, his look of disgust shriveling her heart. “Just go, before I change my mind. If you’re caught, don’t expect me to rescue you.”
He lowered his gun and turned away.
She tightened her lips, but she couldn’t hold back the spew of bitterness that erupted. “Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten. I learned that lesson the hard way.”
He tensed, his stride slowing, then he turned to glare at her over his shoulder. “You’re the one who betrayed everything we were trained to believe when you left.”
Octavia struggled to swallow the lump in her throat. “And yet you’re the one who betrayed me when I told you the truth about what was happening. What they were doing to us. You didn’t believe me. You still don’t.”
Instead of ducking his head, he lifted his chin, his stubbled jaw like granite. “And if you had bothered to wait for an explanation, you would’ve learned that we’re trying to protect the human race from these monsters you so love.”
“You mean monsters like me?” Octavia spread her arms, her chin high. “Don’t you ever wonder what happened to the other soldiers who were in training with us? Do you honestly believe they were just reassigned or released? Did you even bother to dig deeper into their medical records? Not one of them made it out alive.”
“Lies.” Thomas gave her a pitying look, his brown eyes harsh and jaded. It broke her heart to know the boy she once knew was gone forever. “They gave you a gift, gave you the ability to protect humans from people who would slaughter them, and you ran away from the responsibility they entrusted to us.”
Octavia raised her eyebrows, then jerked her chin toward the square that was now teeming with soldiers. “Oh, you mean by opening fire on a group of innocent women and children?”
“They’re not human!” He took a threatening step toward her, but she held her ground.
“That you can say that without flinching, that you honestly believe it, means neither are you.”
He flinched as if she’d struck him, but she refused to feel remorse.
“Soldiers don’t get the luxury of emotions. We follow orders.” Without another word, he turned on his heel and strode away.
And she let him.
Whatever had been between them died the night she discovered the military was experimenting on them—on her—and killing innocent people to produce a serum that gave soldiers superhuman powers. She freed as many test subjects as she could from the military research facility before she was discovered.
Before Thomas caught her.
Instead of listening to her pleas, he set off the alarm.
She should consider herself lucky he’d allowed her to escape, but the part of her heart that broke that night had never mended.
Kronos soldiers had been hunting her ever since.
She was one of the few soldiers who managed to bond with their poisonous cocktail without any of the pesky side effects like dying.
Turning away from Thomas, knowing she had only a few minutes, she reached down for Eldon and pulled him upright. He let out a tortured groan when she hauled his arm over her shoulder.
“Leave me,” Eldon wheezed under his breath. “You and I both know that I won’t survive. No need for both of us to die.”
Octavia tightened her hold on his waist, taking most of his weight, feeling her muscles burn as her abilities kicked in to high gear. “Not happening, old man.”
He didn’t know what they would do to him. If he was caught alive, draining his body of blood would be the least of his worries. Even in death, he wouldn’t escape the horrors of their medical testing.
Rage lashed through her, and it was all she could do not to go back and destroy them.
She knew giving in to the desire wouldn’t stop the war.
More soldiers would be dosed, their physiology altered, created to take the places of their fallen comrades.
Octavia reached the far end of the alley. A rusted gate was torn off its hinges, the sharp metal canting dangerously. As she pulled him through the small gap in the gate, she did her best to shield him, the torn edges of metal gouging into her back and thigh.
The old man stifled his groan as she dragged them free. She practically carried him the next block and a half, breathing a sigh of relief when she came upon her beaten-up truck. She propped Eldon against the dented box and groped for the handle. She wrenched it open, the door screeching in protest like a prehistoric pterodactyl.
Eldon slumped forward, his ragged breathing letting her know he was still alive.
She scooted him over, leaving him leaning weakly against the seat, then she wiggled around him, climbed into the truck, and carefully gripped him under the arms and dragged him inside the cab, wincing when he let out another tortured groan.
“Almost there, old man.” She leaned over him and yanked the door shut, the metal letting out its own tortured screech. Despite the distance between them and the fight, she knew they weren’t safe.
They would never be safe.
She twisted the key, and the engine turned over with a purr.
While the truck didn’t look like much, she made sure it ran like new. The people on the streets knew it was hers and left it in peace. They’d stolen it only once before they learned not to touch anything that belonged to her.
While she hated not being completely human any longer, it guaranteed no one would mess with her either.
She tore out of the abandoned neighborhood with a chirp of tires and the engine roaring. Reaching behind the bench seat, she pulled out the few medical supplies she stashed there. Flipping open the flimsy plastic container, she grabbed one of the big packets resting on top, tearing open the pressure packages with her teeth.
“Here.” She handed them over, wincing to see them already stained with blood that coated her hands. His blood. The old man knew better than to argue, and haphazardly slapped the gauze over his injuries.
They were soaked instantly.
Even without her enhanced sight, she could see the spark that normally surrounded him was fading, the slight glow to his eyes already dimming.
The old bastard was drifting away from her and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do.
“What the hell were you doing out there?” She was so furious, the magic inside her began to churn in agitation. Tiny sparks snapped inside the cab before she could force the volatile emotions down. If she lost her shit, there was a very good chance she’d blow up the truck…with them in it.
“Some of the kids were being tracked. We were smuggling them out of the city, away from your Kronos team, when we were attacked.”
She flinched when he called them her team, but she swallowed down her protest…because he was right. If she had been stronger or faster, she would’ve taken them out when she had the chance instead of running and hiding.
It didn’t matter that she was barely sixteen at the time and afraid for her life.
The captured kids were younger and would suffer much worse tortures because of her cowardice.
She glanced at Eldon, saw the sweat beading on his brow, his pale face clammy. E
very word he spoke was a struggle. “They must…have known we were…moving the kids…tonight. Someone must have…tipped them…off.”
“I know where the soldiers will take them.” Her resolve firmed. If she couldn’t rescue the kids, she could at least grant them a clean death. “I can get into the compound, let myself be captured and—”
“No!” His protest ended when a violent cough racked his body, leaving his hand even bloodier. “You’d be playing right into their hands. The adults knew the risk and signed up for the mission anyway. The kids will be fine until they reach the age of maturity and gain their daemon powers.”
She’d told Eldon the truth about what they were doing to the daemons they captured—draining them of their essence to create a serum that could make humans stronger and faster.
Creating their own army of soldiers to combat the growing threat of daemons.
“Why the hell didn’t you call me? I could’ve gotten them out of the city.” But she already knew the answer.
He’d been trying to protect her.
Long ago, Eldon made her promise to keep her true identity secret. He called her Valkyrie, and gave her small missions to help his cause, but nothing that would draw the attention of Kronos or the daemons. The few daemons she met in passing thought she was one of them. If they knew the truth, that she wasn’t created by the gods but by humans, she would find herself targeted by both sides.
She was an abomination.
“They’re going to come for you now.” He sighed, the conversation seeming to exhaust him.
Octavia flashed him a confident smile, but her insides trembled at the sight of his pale face. She slammed her foot on the gas pedal until it was flat on the floor. Thankfully the streets remained mostly empty. “They were always coming for me, old man.”
He gave a tired shake of his head. “You’ve come to our rescue one too many times. You’ve become a nuisance. You’re vulnerable out here alone.”
She lifted a brow at him. “I hate to be the one to tell you but nowhere is safe for me. Never has been. Whether in a group or on my own, the soldiers are getting increasingly bolder.”
She peered over at Eldon. They’d met almost five years ago, when she was running scared on the streets, hunted by those she’d considered family. He’d taught her how to escape detection and hide from people who were more than human.
That’s when she learned the truth about daemons…people like Eldon.
They were creatures created by the ancient gods to protect humans. When the gods of old were destroyed, their magic gave the daemons human form. As daemons matured into adulthood, their powers would awaken, and they would be trained in the old ways.
Only the old ways were changing.
Some daemons no longer felt the need to guard humans.
They wanted what the humans took for granted.
They wanted freedom and would do or sacrifice anything to get it.
Thomas’s opinion of daemons wasn’t far off—thankfully, while some were pure monsters without a drop of humanity, they were a small fraction.
Not sure she trusted the daemons any more than Kronos, she kept mostly to herself. She couldn’t risk daemons finding out the truth and killing her, not until she figured out a way to stop Kronos once and for all.
“Here…” Eldon held out a blood-red card. She wasn’t sure if it was colored that way or if his blood had soaked into the linen fibers and stained it. One prominent word was imprinted on the front in silver lettering.
War.
Not ominous.
Not ominous at all.
Ignoring the tremor in his hand, she took it and quickly scanned the address.
Anxiety clawed at her insides—the location was on the other side of the fucking town.
“They can help us…if anyone can.” The raspy word ended up in a ragged cough.
At the thought of losing Eldon, the crushing pressure on her chest made breathing difficult.
He was her only true friend since her life went to hell.
The only one who didn’t think her a monster…even when she thought of herself that way.
She couldn’t lose him.
Chapter Three
It was an hour later when she pulled up to a mansion nestled in the middle of nowhere, the forest concealing it from the road. The building was a bit of a fixer-upper, the paint chipped and peeling in places, the windows filthy, the shingles curling up around the edges.
Despite it being after midnight, the downstairs was still lit up. She glanced over to see Eldon was slumped against the door. He’d fallen unconscious twenty minutes ago, his breathing growing more ragged every second.
She was afraid to touch him in case he didn’t wake.
Turning off the engine, she checked the red and silver card one more time in the dim light, then slid out of the truck. Though the old man said these people could help them, she approached the front door cautiously, uncertain what to expect.
She checked the card again…Warrick…not War as she first thought.
Neither name sounded very promising.
She climbed the stairs carefully, keeping her steps light when the wood groaned in protest. She peered cautiously through the windows but couldn’t see any movement. Knowing she didn’t have time to waste, she wiped her bloodstained hands on her pants and knocked on the door.
A thunder of footsteps followed, and she cautiously backed away, clinging to the shadows. The door was thrown wide to reveal a guy about her age. He had longish black hair, like he’d forgotten to get it cut. Though the back and sides were trimmed, the rest of the strands were tangled in a wavy mess as if she’d just woke him up from a nap. Dark stubble shadowed his jaw.
But his eyes were what arrested her.
They were so brown they appeared almost black.
They glowed.
Black eyes shouldn’t be able to glow.
When she looked closer, there was a tiny ring of amber around them that explained the oddness. It also marked him as daemon. She wasn’t sure why the color changed from daemon to daemon or why humans didn’t see it and she could.
A cocky grin hovered around his mouth, mirth dancing in his eyes as he caught sight of her. He scanned her from head to toe, his scrutiny so penetrating she tugged the edges of her jacket together.
“Sorry love, we’re not looking for any cookies right now.”
Before she had a chance to open her mouth, the door slammed in her face.
What.
The.
Actual.
Fuck.
Stunned, Octavia glanced down at herself, unable to understand what it was about her bloodstained outfit that made him think she was selling fucking cookies.
It couldn’t be the recently re-loaded pistol strapped to her leg or the blade peeking out of her boot. She doubted it was the stench of blood and death that clung to her.
Grabbing the knife out of her boot, she pounded on the door with the pommel, the deep thud echoing in the house.
Eldon didn’t have time for this bullshit.
The door opened a few seconds later. The same male peered out at her with the same vacant smile. He clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Sorry, dear, but we’re not interested in having our carpets cleaned.”
Just when he was about to slam the fucking door in her face again, she thrust her foot in the way, then shoved her shoulder against the door and flung it open.
The guy stumbled back, his eyes widening in surprise, a confused expression on his face, and she realized that she’d used more strength than a normal girl should possess. Like a switch had been flipped, a gleam transformed his eyes…from playful to demented. He gave her a charming smile, his expression bloodthirsty as he circled her like a hungry shark.
“Naughty-naughty.” He wagged a finger at her. “Legends say you’re not supposed to enter without an invite. You best hurry. Sunlight is about to rise in a few hours. I’d hate for you to be staked out on the lawn when it does.”
She was tempted to reach over and break that damn finger. She brought up her blade and watched his eyes go completely dead. “Do I look like I’m trying to fucking sell you anything, you psycho?”
Another man sauntered into the room, his head bent over a book, his straight, dirty blond hair brushing his chin. He was taking a bite of his apple when the other guy cleared his throat. The man’s head jerked up, his amber eyes shining through his glasses. He was tall and slender, the nerdy look sexy as fuck. The rich golden brown of his eyes were mixed with shards of deep green…and ringed with silver.
He was a daemon
They were both fucking daemons.
She backed away while he studied her, his gaze assessing and warm. “Problem, Nikos?”
His voice was deep and smooth, the cadence calming.
“Avon calling,” the man chirped. “She’s very insistent that you need to buy something to cover that hideous face of yours.”
Octavia whirled and glared at the deranged fool. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“We believe he was dropped on his head as a baby. Repeatedly,” the guy with the apple answered with a sigh. He closed his book gently, setting it aside, the movement trapping her between the two men.
Though the new guy appeared innocent, it was a ploy. The graceful way he moved revealed he’d spent years honing his body into a deadly machine.
“I’m looking for Warrick.” She pulled out the bloodied card and held it out to them.
Both guys stiffened slightly, any playfulness vanishing, and they went on alert. The blond spoke softly, every inch the predator. “Why?”
Before she could speak, the door creaked open and Eldon staggered into the room, the front of him drenched in blood. If anything, he looked worse than when she left him, his haggard appearance now a pasty light gray. Ignoring the others, she charged toward him, catching him seconds before he would’ve crashed to the floor.
“Eldon!” She ignored the guys as they ran toward where she collapsed under Eldon’s weight. She tore off the bandages he’d haphazardly stuck all over his torso, and lost her ability to breathe when it felt someone sucker punched her. “He’s not healing.”
Daemon Grudge Page 2