Willing Sacrifice

by Shannon K. Butcher

  A surge of rage swelled beneath her skin. Her hold on the child tightened. But instead of screaming in pain and dragging Tori’s guard in here, the child yawned.

  She hadn’t hurt it. Her vow had kept it safe.

  Tori backed up to the only chair in the hut and sat. The chair rocked beneath her, reminding her of a time when she’d rocked her dolls to sleep as a child. She’d been a real girl then, not the empty, pitiful thing she was now.

  Whatever she was, the baby didn’t seem to mind. It just stared up at her as she cradled it in one arm and began rocking.

  The slow, rhythmic motion had a calming effect. After a few minutes, the rage she lived with every day trickled away, leaving an odd blank feeling.

  If she hadn’t known better, she would have thought it was peace.

  Tori leaned her head back and kept rocking. She had no idea how much time had passed when she finally looked down.

  The baby was asleep. Tori was freed from her punishment. All she had to do now was stand up and set the child in its box.

  Why, then, didn’t she get up? Why was she still sitting here when there was hunting to do? Killing was more fun than this torture.

  Wasn’t it?

  She wasn’t sure anymore. All she knew was that there was a kind of quiet inside her for the first time in years. Even the screaming in her head was silent, and that had been part of her for so long that she hadn’t even realized it was there until now.

  Maybe hunting could wait. There were always going to be things for her to kill. This precious silence was going to end soon. Then it would be just her and the tortured screams in her skull.

  • • •

  It had been a long time since Torr had practiced with any weapons other than his sword, but he went through the motions of fighting with a war hammer, repeating drills from his youth. His technique was a bit rusty, but the knowledge was still there. With each swing, his body flowed more easily, settling into a familiar rhythm.

  When the time came, he would be ready to face the Warden.

  Dawn spread through the sky, turning it from black to crimson. The animals of the forest began to quiet, and the scent of dew-damp leaves filled the air.

  Grace lay sleeping on the far side of the dead fire. As soon as he’d sensed she’d fallen asleep, he put it out so as not to attract company.

  She’d barely shifted through the night, but every time she did, she let out small pain-filled sounds that tore at his heart.

  She wasn’t meant for this life. She deserved to be safe, surrounded by soft, beautiful things that made her happy.

  Once again he was reminded of just how wrong he was for her—how far apart their worlds really were.

  He didn’t know how to let her go.

  She opened her eyes and looked at him. His whole body reacted to her gaze. A slight shiver of pleasure raced across his skin, and a sizzle of excitement coursed along his spine, vibrating the carved disk as it passed. He wanted to slide in beside her and take her in his arms, while at the same time he felt the need to push her away for her own safety.

  “Sleep well?” he asked.

  She stretched and yawned. The move thrust her breasts toward him in a completely innocent, completely intoxicating way. The urge to peel that tunic down and suckle her nipples was strong enough to make his legs shake.

  “I did. Did you get any rest?”

  “I don’t need much.”

  “Must be nice.” She sat up and ran her fingers through her tousled hair. She looked like he imagined she would after a long night of marathon sex. The image had his cock swelling with painful speed.

  When he spoke, his voice was thick with lust he couldn’t control. “It’s time to head back to the village as soon as you can see well enough to travel.”

  “What about the crystals?”

  “I’ll use them after I drop you off,” said Torr.

  “What are you going to do with them?”

  “Close the portal.”

  “You don’t even know where it is.”

  “I’ll find it.”

  “How?”

  “I’ll follow the Masons. They were sent here to build it. My guess is that they will only spend as much time as they must building Hunters. Once they think they have enough to protect them and their work, they’ll go back to their primary task.”

  “Do you think they’re going to open a doorway to Earth?”

  “Maybe. It could open to Athanasia, but I promise you that wherever it leads, there are all kinds of nasty things we don’t want coming here. Brenya controls the Sentinel Stone in the village, but she won’t have any control over what flows through this one.”

  “Once we destroy the portal, what’s to stop the Solarc from sending another group?”

  “Brenya seems to think that if she has no direct hand in destroying them, the Solarc will assume she’s not here.”

  “Because if she was here, she’d fight back.”

  “Exactly.”

  “I don’t like it,” said Grace.

  “Neither do I, but I tend to believe that Brenya knows what she’s doing. If she thinks this is our best shot, then that’s my plan.”

  “I want to help.”

  “I know, but the way you do that best is by staying out of danger. If I’m worried about you, I can’t think straight.”

  She looked at the forest floor, frowning. “That’s the way I feel, too.” When her gaze lifted, it was blazing with determination. “Which is why I’m going with you to follow the Masons. I know you think I’m weak, but I can help. I will help, Torr.”

  “I don’t think you’re weak, but there are some jobs that you’re not suited to. Battle is one of them.”

  “The lives of everyone I love are in danger. You can’t ask me to just sit around and hope for the best.”

  “And you can’t ask me to put you in harm’s way.”

  “What if you get injured? Or worse? How will Brenya even know she needs to summon reinforcements?”

  Torr decided it was best not to tell her that he didn’t think Brenya still had enough juice to summon anyone. “I’m sure she has her ways.”

  “She’s weak, Torr—stretched too thin from keeping the village protected.”

  “And she’s probably worried sick about you right now. That’s not going to help her recover her strength.”

  Grace got right up in his face and poked her finger against his chest. Her expression was fierce, reminding him of the battle maidens from his youth who helped slaughter entire armies through sheer force of will. “These are my people. I’m helping, with or without your permission. You can either let me work with you, or I’ll figure out a way to be helpful on my own—even if it means drawing the Hunters away from the village by crashing through the woods so I’m easy to find.”

  She’d do it, too. Torr could see she wasn’t bluffing.

  “I should tie you to a tree.”

  “Maybe. But you won’t. You vowed to protect humans, which means you’d be too worried about what might happen to me if one of those Hunters came slicing through it.”

  “My vow also means taking you back to the village, where you’ll be safe.”

  “But I won’t be safe there, because I won’t stay there. And you can’t make me stay if you’re not there with me. Even Brenya couldn’t make me stay. That means the safest place for me is by your side.” She cocked her head and smiled. “How’s that working for your vow?”

  “Not well at all,” he said between clenched teeth. “You’re not playing fair.”

  “No, I guess I’m not. I’d tell you I feel bad about manipulating you, but that would be a lie.”

  “So you won’t lie, but you will manipulate.”

  “To save your life? Absolutely.”

  “You clearly have little faith in me if you think I can’t handle this on my own.”

  “Actually, I’m sure you can handle it. But things go wrong. People get hurt. Remember your injured knee? I don’t want one little mistake b
eing the difference between my entire village surviving or not. At least if I’m here with you, I can run away and warn the others that danger is on the way.”

  She wasn’t going to budge. He’d seen this exact look on her face before, and while she was the sweetest, most selfless person he’d ever met, she also never let anyone get in the way of her doing what she thought was right.

  Obviously she thought putting herself in danger was right.

  “Will you do exactly what I say when I say it?” he asked.

  “Probably not.”

  Not the answer he thought he’d get. “What?”

  “I’ve already played this game with Brenya enough times to know how it goes. First you get me to agree to something. Then you convince me to make some vague promise that seems harmless. Once you’ve got that, then you tell me to do something I don’t want to do and I’m forced to comply. I’ve scrubbed enough pots to have learned my lesson.”

  “What lesson is that?”

  “Don’t make promises to those more powerful than I am.”

  He wanted to throttle her, or better yet, toss her over his shoulder and carry her back to the village, where he would tie her to a tree.

  “You might as well accept defeat,” she said. “You can’t force me to do what you want without hurting me, which I know you won’t do.”

  She was right, and while her trust that he wouldn’t hurt her was humbling, the fact that she knew his limits left him in a weakened position.

  “You will do what I say,” he warned.

  She smiled sweetly. “Anything is possible.”

  • • •

  Grace waited until Torr’s back was turned before she dropped her smile.

  Her knee was killing her. She’d done her best to cover it up, but she knew she wasn’t going to be able to hide her pain for much longer.

  They packed up camp, and she waved for Torr to lead the way back to the stream where they’d temporarily killed the Mason. If he was in front of her, she didn’t have to hide how hard it was for her to keep up.

  Each step shoved a bolt of lightning up her spine, but she managed to keep up with the pace he set. When he finally stopped by the edge of the stream, she was sweating and shaking from the pain.

  Something about his posture tipped her off to danger. He was too still.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “The Mason is gone. I don’t see even a single grain of sand.”

  “We could go see if they’re back in that crater, making more Hunters.”

  He turned and looked her up and down. “How are the cuts on your thighs?”

  Okay. So he could see she was in pain, but hadn’t guessed why. She could work with that. At least he didn’t know she had yet another injury.

  “They’re sore, but I’m okay. I can keep going.”

  His mouth twisted a bit as if he were holding back a curse. “I’m going to help you into a tree. Then I’m going to run over to the crater and check things out. You will stay where I put you, or so help me God, I will find a way to convince the biggest, strongest woman in the village to sit on you and hold you hostage.”

  Because her knee hurt too much to argue, she didn’t. “Fine. I’ll stay, but if you don’t come back fast, I’ll assume something went wrong and come find you.”

  “Agreed,” he said. “I’ll be back within an hour.”

  Torr helped her climb a thick tree. The dense canopy of metallic blue leaves hid her position well.

  He loped off and was back inside of fifteen minutes. His expression was grim.

  “What?” she asked.

  “I was too late. The Masons are gone, and I have no idea which way they went.”

  Chapter 20

  Brenya greeted Torr by grabbing his ear and dragging him into her hut.

  “Nice to see you, too,” he told her between gritted teeth.

  The older woman’s tone was crisp and frosty. “You were gone too long. I worried.”

  He stepped back, nearly ripping his ear off to get her to let go. “I’m sorry about that. We ran into trouble.”

  “Of course you did. Why else would I have need to send you if not to deal with trouble?”

  “We got slowed down a couple of times. First there was Grace’s near hypothermia to deal with, then my busted knee. And both Grace and I felt it necessary to stop and warn the women in the southern village about the danger the Hunters pose. We did the best we could. Just be glad we made it back in one piece.”

  “One piece? Grace was limping.”

  “I noticed that, too. She tried to hide it, so I played along. She’s got it in her head that she’s weak, and I didn’t think it would be nice to make her feel that way.”

  Brenya’s mouth tightened with her scowl. “Foolish games. I sent her with you so that she would learn to trust you. How can she do so when I am no longer certain you are worthy?”

  “Wait just a minute. What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “Did you ask her to heal you?”

  “No. You know Grace. She just decided to do that on her own. I couldn’t have stopped her from making that nasty concoction if I’d tried.”

  “Concoction?”

  “Yeah. The knockout juice she forced me to drink—the one she said you taught her how to make.”

  Brenya’s anger faded between one second and the next. She seemed to deflate, growing shorter and older in an instant. “You did not ask her to use the disks to heal your injuries?”

  “Hell, no. I’d never do that. I didn’t even know it was possible.”

  “It is. As long as she is connected to you, she can choose to take on your ailments. I had hoped it would take her longer to learn the trick.”

  Suddenly the pieces clicked together in Torr’s head. “You’re telling me that the reason Grace is limping is because she healed my knee?”

  “Yes. That is the way the device works. She takes the injury upon herself.”

  “But what about the other times I’ve been wounded? She wasn’t hurt then.”

  “Healing must be a conscious choice. Once that choice is made, it cannot be stopped. And the more she comes to care for you, the easier it will be for her to activate the disks’ magic.”

  Torr could see Grace now, sitting beside him, wishing she could do more to ease his pain. “Fuck,” he spat, furious that he hadn’t seen this coming. “What do we do now?”

  “Hope she does not already understand what she has done. Hope she remains ignorant long enough for you to rid Temprocia of the Solarc’s minions and get her settled in her rightful home.”

  “She’s smart, Brenya. She’s going to figure it out fast.”

  “Then I suggest you try harder to limit your injuries. Your body can withstand much more abuse than hers. If she decides to heal the wrong wound . . .”

  He held up his hand to keep her from saying any more. “Believe me, I know.”

  Grace wasn’t going to stop. As soon as she figured out what she could do for him, she would do it. Over and over until it was too late. He’d lose her, all because she had no sense of self-preservation.

  “I see you understand the situation clearly,” said Brenya. “We have the crystals now. All that is left is for you to discover where the portal is being constructed, wait for its completion, then destroy it. There is a place you must go. A lake miles from here.”

  “Can you handle things here if I leave?”

  “I will do what I must, as I always have.” Her expression changed in an instant, going from weary acceptance to fear. “My defenses faltered. I was not exerting enough energy. You must go to the western perimeter. Now!”

  “Why?” Torr asked.

  A child’s scream of fear tore through the air and he no longer needed an answer.

  His response to the sound was both primal and immediate. He burst through the hut door, racing toward that terrified sound—one he’d heard too many times before to mistake it for anything else.

  As he cleared the Sentinel
Stone, he saw a woman’s body lying on the ground in a pool of her own blood. Nearby stood the little girl with the white-blond hair who’d nearly been eaten by the lizard when he’d arrived. She was staring at the gory sight, screaming and immobile.

  A few feet away from her was a sleek stone Hunter. One of its eyes rotated until it was looking at Torr. The moment it saw him, it charged the little girl, still wearing the blood of its first kill.

  • • •

  One second Grace was getting a drink from the well, the next she was standing in Brenya’s hut, dripping ladle in hand. The flash of light from the portal was still blinding her when the other woman grabbed her arm.

  “I cannot be seen by the Hunter,” she told Grace. “I will take the others to the southern village. You must not let the invaders find us there. Keep them busy.”

  “How?”

  Outside, the screams of fear mingled discordantly with those of battle. Of all of them, Tori’s high, ferocious cries were the loudest and easiest to recognize.

  Dry fingers settled on Grace’s brow just as her vision was beginning to clear. Instantly, all of her aches and pains vanished.

  “This is all I can teach you,” said Brenya. “There is no more time.”

  Pressure built behind Grace’s eyes until she was sure they would soon pop out of her head. As fast as the sensation came, it passed, leaving her dizzy and disoriented. “What was that?”

  “Knowledge. It will unveil itself as you need it. I am sorry. I had hoped to spare you this.”

  “Spare me what? I don’t understand.”

  “I know, child. But you will. Too soon.” She picked up the box of crystals Torr had collected. “Come for these if you live. I will protect them until the time is right.”

  Before Grace could ask more questions, Brenya disappeared in a flash of light.

  All the screams outside suddenly stopped.

  Panic tore through Grace, shoving her forward on numb feet. She flew past the door so fast some of the sticks it was made of broke. She was sure that everyone outside would be dead—killed by whatever had attacked.

  Instead, she saw no one but Torr and one of the Athanasian women who had only recently come here to have her child. She had been so horribly slain that her body was nearly unrecognizable. Everyone else had vanished.