“Well, that sucks,” I said, narrowing my eyes. I stifled a shiver. “And those demons...”
“Silent gallows,” answered the jinni. “Horrible lesser demons. Born from the depths of the Netherworld with only one purpose—to kill. But not before they suck all the blood from your body while you’re still alive.”
“Nice.” A quiver rose and fell in my middle.
He looked at me. “Where’s your gun? We heard the shots.”
Shit. “Lost it,” I answered, looking at the fire. “I dropped it in the pond I think. It wouldn’t have helped anyway. I ran out of bullets.”
Jeeves said nothing as his expression grew serious. I could tell the jinni was thinking of something. Even if he wore a different face now, you could never truly remove the jinni completely.
I was the reason Jeeves had been sent back to the Netherworld, a place he hated. Granted the elf’s magic did the actual removal, but I had led him to the jinni. It was my fault Jeeves had been sent back. So why had he saved me?
I knew there was something he wasn’t telling me.
“Why did you save me?” I asked, watching his face.
Jeeves stared at the fire for a moment. Then he raised his head and looked at me. “Because, love. I’m getting off this bloody island and you’re going to help me.”
10
It took about a week for the next chopper to arrive and drop off the next prisoners on the island.
According to Jeeves, they never landed in the same spot twice in a row. They’d alternate between four different landing zones at different times, so you never knew where and when they’d land. Every day as soon as the sun rose, the three of us would split up and go scout our designated spots. Should one of us see the chopper on its way, we were to run and alert the others.
We’d also disabled all the cameras we could find—twenty-six and counting. Take that, Big Brother.
The plan was we were going to hijack the chopper. Yeah, not the best plan, but it was our only shot at getting off this stinking, demon-infested island. And there was only one rule; don’t kill the pilot. Seemed reasonable enough. None of us knew how to fly that thing, so killing the pilot was a big no-no. The other GHOSTS were a free-for-all, for all I cared. They were making bets on our lives, on how long we’d survive the silent gallows. They deserved to die.
I crouched down in my usual spot and sat with my back against the massive white pine, cushioned by a blanket of needles and breathing in the scent of the sap. I was up on one of the smaller mountains, and before me spilled a vast world of green and blue. The sun was high, savagely baking the top of my head. The ground fell from my feet like a mountain turned inside out. A wind pushed my hair around, and I tugged the wild strands behind my ears, those that weren’t already plastered to my face with sweat.
My stomach grumbled. God, I was starving. I’d refused to eat the squirrel and rabbit Ingrid had caught. As a werewolf, she was a skilled hunter and trapper. I’d been lucky enough to catch three fish from the small bay at the north end of the island, but the last one was yesterday evening. I hadn’t had anything real to eat since then. Not to mention that I smelled musty, like I’d spent a week at the gym without showering. Damn, I missed my soap.
After a week of living on this god forsaken island, I couldn’t help but start to feel that I might never get off alive. Negative and morbid thoughts flooded my mind. I couldn’t help it. I did my best to think positively, to think that somehow Gareth had managed to find a way to locate me with his elf magic. Soon I’d see him wash up in a big boat, sexy as hell as he rushed through waves, up the beach to crush me in his arms. A slight exaggeration, but it was a good dream.
There was also the issue of my sentencing. If I wanted to live a normal life once I got off this bloody island, I needed all the charges on me dropped. I needed to be exonerated.
But whenever I thought of Lisbeth, of the winning smile she gave me back at the trial, anger slid through me, enough to erase all other thoughts except for one. I was going to kill her.
And to do that, I had to get off this stinking island.
“Rowyn!”
I turned to see Jeeves running up towards me, his face red and sweaty. I recognized the excitement in his eyes and I jumped to my feet, heart hammering.
“Ingrid saw the helicopter. It’s coming towards the north beach. Come on! Hurry up!”
Bingo. Time to go home.
I ran after the jinni who was surprisingly fast for using an angel-born body and not a vampire or a werewolf. Maybe he’d helped it along with a little jinni magic.
We ran. Legs and arms pumping. I followed Jeeves back down the hill towards the north beach, leaping over tree trunks and jumping over low boulders to make a beeline for the seashore.
Emotions ran through me. Excitement. Fear. Exhilaration. Fury. We couldn’t mess this up. This was our only chance. If we failed, they might never bring another chopper to the island ever again.
I hurtled over another rock and saw Ingrid. She was waiting by the side of a cliff, crouched behind a low rock wall next to a cluster of pine trees. Her makeshift bow was strapped around her shoulders, and three arrows were clasped in her hand. She turned at the sound of our approach, putting a finger to her lips and making a gesture with her hand for us to lower ourselves.
I threw myself behind one of the bigger pines. Jeeves followed my example and flattened himself on the one next to me.
With my pulse pounding, I could hear the chopper’s loud bata-bata-bata sound, but I hadn’t seen it yet. I peered over the tree and looked to the blue sky. I finally saw a small black dot. The helicopter. My ride home.
I almost smiled as I held my breath, the wind shifting my hair. “Remember,” I whispered, though I didn’t need to, “we only get one shot at this. We can’t screw this up.”
“You don’t have to tell us. We know,” snapped Ingrid, her eyes on the helicopter. She was biting her lips. Part of me wanted to slap her, but I didn’t want to do anything to screw up my chances of going home. And that included starting a fight with an angry werewolf female right when we were supposed to get off this island.
“We move as soon as it lands,” I said, turning back to the chopper, which had grown to the size of a green pea in the sky.
“Who the hell made you queen of this island?” shot Ingrid tightly. She took the time to glare at me. Damn. There was a lot of hatred there. “I don’t remember there being a vote.”
What the hell was her problem. “Look, I’m just saying—”
“You angel-borns are all the same,” she growled, her body tight with tension. “You think you have to the right to order everyone around. Don’t you? Because of your angel blood.” Her voice dripped with hatred and my tension spiked. This was bad.
Jeeves whistled through his teeth, but the bastard said nothing.
Now I was ticked. “That’s not it at all. I want to get off this island, same as you.” I really didn’t have time to get into my having demon blood as well.
Her eyes were bloodshot as she glowered at me, her skin pale, like I was the root of all her problems. “You’re not my alpha. I don’t have to listen to you. And I’m not. I’m going to do what I want. Don’t get in my way,” she threatened.
I shot Jeeves a look and the jinni just shrugged.
“Whoa—whoa—whoa,” I said, looking back at the werewolf, my anxiety swelling. “I thought we’d agreed to wait until they land. They’ll be busy uncuffing the prisoners, and then we move.”
“I never agreed to anything,” said the werewolf.
I clenched my jaw. “If they see you coming too soon, they’ll take off. We’ll miss our chance.” Damn. I was going to punch her out. I knew I was.
Ingrid gave me a defiant smile. “They won’t see me.”
“Really? How’s that?’ I smiled back, my pulse thundering in rage. “You’re not invisible. Are you? And you’re not exactly petite either.”
The werewolf female narrowed her eyes at me, pressed her li
ps in a tight line, and turned away. My God, this werewolf was unbelievable. She was going to screw this up for all of us. But I wouldn’t let her. Hell no.
I took a deep breath, trying to subdue my anger before I did something stupid like grab Ingrid’s head and smash it against the rock. “Jeeves?” I said, watching the chopper as it neared the beach and began to lower itself. “A little help here?” I could make out shadows of people inside, but it was impossible to tell how many there were. And how many had guns. Shit. This was not how I’d planned it to go.
Jeeves kept his eyes on the helicopter as is hovered and swayed over the white sand. “Ignore her. She’s just an ignorant dog,” he said, squinting. The wind moved his fair hair fitfully. “You can always kill her,” he said, his voice low so that only I could hear. Though I wasn’t so sure about that. Werewolves had incredible hearing.
I opened my mouth to object, but movement caught my eye. Ingrid shot between the rocks and sprinted down towards the beach.
“Ingrid! Wait!” I hissed as I saw the werewolf springing easily across the sand almost like she was hovering above it, making a beeline towards the chopper.
“Damn it!” I shot after her, pulling out my own makeshift dagger which was really just a thick branch with a pointed tip. Stupid. Stupid. Werewolf. If I made it to the chopper alive, I was going to kill her. And then I was going to leave her ass on the island because I felt like it.
Running through sand wearing boots wasn’t as easy as it would seem, and Ingrid had made it look so damn effortless. Instead, I looked like a drunk, running without any leg coordination as I trailed behind her, cursing as I prayed to the souls that the GHOSTS were too busy laughing at the new inmates that they hadn’t noticed us yet.
I had no idea if Jeeves was behind me. I kept my eyes on the chopper. It hadn’t moved yet. And Ingrid was almost there.
Strong winds blew in my face, and I squinted as the chopper’s rotor blade sent clouds of sand into my face and eyes, scratching my skin and making it burn. I raised a hand to try and keep the sand from blinding me, but the closer I got, the stronger the wind gusts and the sharper the sand.
I cursed as I pushed my legs faster, finding my way to the chopper half blind, my face burning like I’d washed it with sandpaper and then rinsed it with alcohol.
The silhouettes of the three GHOSTS with a new male prisoner still handcuffed showed clearly through the chopper’s cockpit. Nearly there.
Twin pops of a gun rang through the air, cutting through the noise from the chopper. I jumped.
Pushing forward, the chopper bounced into view and I nearly tripped over Ingrid. Two, bleeding holes marred her forehead. She was a very dead werewolf.
Damn. She’d been stupid, but I didn’t want her dead.
Instincts kicked in and I rolled, just as I heard the pop of another gun. I pushed myself up and flat against the cold metal of the chopper, feeling it vibrate through my bones. Four shadows jumped out of the helicopter.
Three of the figures landed expertly on the sand. One fell flat. Wiggling as it tried to stand up, its hands and feet were still bound by cuffs. It was the prisoner. Male and very young. Eighteen maybe? He was just a kid, too young to have been brought here. His expression was ugly as he struggled to free himself.
I heaved myself off and ran towards the back of the chopper—
Something jumped in front of me.
My eyes widened as one of the figures turned towards me. It was one of the GHOSTS, the one called Tiny. He wound up and kicked me right in the solar plexus. The air puffed out of me, and I curled in on myself, face grinding into the side of the chopper. I couldn’t breathe.
“Kill the Hunter bitch,” I heard someone shout. “And get rid of the evidence.” Blinking through the winds, I saw Tiny reach towards his waist.
I don’t think so, Tiny.
Just as he pulled out his gun, I had already thrust my wooden dagger.
A straight shot into his heart. Tiny’s eyes rolled and he fell. The big man never moved again.
Where the hell was Jeeves?
I was moving again. Making my way towards the front of the chopper. I met the pilot’s glare through the glass. I had seconds before the chopper’s pilot would take off.
I made it in time to see the young prisoner on his feet, hobbling away from the helicopter, and one of the GHOSTS standing behind him, pointing a gun at his back.
“You bastard!” I shouted as I ran forward, my hand reaching to my waist to find... nothing.
Damn it. I didn’t have a weapon on me. I had nothing.
“Jeeves! Where the hell are you!” I shouted.
The pop of a gun resonated out over the loud chopper.
“No!” I shouted in warning, hearing another two pops.
The prisoner ducked, but too late. He jerked as the three rounds exploded into his back. He stumbled, blood spitting out of his mouth as he went down, choking on his own blood. His shriek of pain over the sounds of the chopper chilled me.
His killer laughed maniacally, his face savage as he walked over to the dead prisoner and kicked him over with his boot.
My eyes widened, my pulse jumping in my throat. He’d just murdered that poor kid in cold blood. And then the bastard had the nerve to turn around and point his gun on me.
Bad idea, very bad idea.
The man disappeared. And then all I saw was darkness and death.
I staggered as my will surged in me, filling me with power, both light and dark, mixing without mixing, swirling with my innate energies until the two were one.
I gasped as it tightened in me. A sudden power flooded inside me, pure and untainted. Black and gold energy streaked from the tips of my fingers, slowly coming together to make a ball of energy in my palms.
And then two things happened at once. I saw him pull the trigger, and I flung out my hand.
My body quavered as a giant slip of dark and gold energy blasted out of my open palm.
It hit the man square in the chest, his gun falling from his grip causing his shot to go wide. Gold and black tendrils reared and coiled up around his body like a fire hissing. He thrashed madly, clawing at his face and neck and leaving bleeding gouges. Skin sizzled as the man squealed in pain, his arms and legs shuddering as the smell of burnt flesh filled the air.
And with a final twitch, he collapsed onto the sand.
My eyes opened wide as I looked at what was left of him, a scorched skeleton, coils of steam still rising from the remains.
“Oops, my bad,” I said smiling, impressed at my bad self. Damn. That had felt good. Really good. What was wrong with me?
“You stupid bitch!” Dan shouted as he lifted his gun at me. “What have done? You freak. You’ll pay for this! You’re dead!”
“No. You’ll pay for this.” Without hesitating, I flung out my hand and blasted Dan with a surge of my power.
It exploded all around him, a blaze of steaming energy blasting into existence, filling my body and soul with its seductive power, just as it filled Dan’s.
It only took a few seconds this time. I stared at Dan’s charcoaled skeleton, feeling nothing. I’d killed him and felt nothing.
But the power I felt. I basked in it, I breathed it in, feeling it pool in me like liquid gold and liquid night, washing away my fears and tingling all the way down to my toes. It was glorious, and I almost laughed. Almost.
The sound of the chopper rising sobered me right up. My head came up as the air changed.
“Jeeves!” I shouted. I doubled back and started running to the chopper. But it was too late, the helicopter was already in the air and rising fast.
I looked up and saw Jeeves waving down at me through the window, a self-satisfied smile on his face.
“Son of a bitch!” I shouted, hitting the air with my fists. I should have known. I should never have trusted him.
The bastard had stiffed me. Again.
11
So there I was, stranded again on a deserted island crawling with creepy
mute demons come nighttime, on my own without a single soul in sight, nothing to eat and no freaking soap.
Jeeves had conned me once again, and like the idiot I was, I had believed him. I believed we were a team. Believed that we were going to help each other get off the island. I had trusted a jinni and he had played me. When would I ever learn?
Okay so my master plan of hijacking the chopper didn’t work. Now they’d probably never send in another one.
I wanted to kick myself. I even tried to a couple times. I’d had worse days. That’s the great thing about being a Hunter. Things could always get worse.
Seeing as I was more stubborn than a mule on steroids, I wasn’t going to give up. No way. Giving up would mean Lisbeth would win. And I was a very poor loser.
With the sun still shining brightly right above me, I had a few hours before I had to hibernate away in my cave from the silent gallows.
I had an idea.
I was fueled by the anger of betrayal mixed with a sweet concoction of fear—not fear from the silent gallows, but fear that I had enjoyed killing those GHOSTS. That scared the living crap out of me. It had been only a window, a window into my darkened soul, to what I’d become if I let myself go. A monster. A death bringer. A demon.
There was only one thing left for me to do.
If Lucian didn’t want to come to me, I would go to him.
“I too can play that game, you chain-smoking bastard,” I breathed, heart pounding. I felt I was going to be sick.
Okay, so maybe this masterplan was a little out there, maybe even a little reckless with a touch of crazy. I was still doing it.
I’d had enough of being blamed for things I had no control over. Tired of being hunted, blamed, used and accused without proper trial. Once upon a time I was one of the best Hunters in New York. Now I was nothing. Reduced to a coldblooded killer.
But I wasn’t done yet.
I lowered myself onto the golden sand dune and crossed my legs, the wind sending my hair sticking on my sweaty face. I yanked some hair out of my mouth, spitting out some sand.
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