“Why sixteen-year-old volunteers?” she asked. “Why so young and why cut the age off at twenty?”
“That was not my decision. The humans believed that younger people would have an easier time accepting what they would see and learn here. Even still, more than a few humans haven’t been able to handle this revelation. They’ve been secluded for their own safety and the safety of those around them. Some have killed themselves and others have fled into the wilds, never to be seen again. The volunteers aren’t considered soldiers until they’ve been through two solid years of training and can pass all stages of the training.”
“What happens if they don’t?”
“They take care of the animals, make the clothes, the food, and take care of other things requiring maintenance in every camp along the wall.”
“I see. How many other people, like me, have you found over the past four years?”
“Throughout all of the establishments and camps in the world, a couple hundred possibilities have been uncovered. Some of them actually could do things, some couldn’t, but none of them were the person we’re searching for.”
“And I am a possibility?”
“Yes.”
Her fingers curled into her shin. “Were all those people brought here?”
“No.”
“But you’re the one looking for them?”
“Demons have been established in many camps throughout the world in order to work with the humans and focus on our goal. They know the requirements we are searching for; the person will be brought to me if they’re uncovered.”
“How will they get here if they’re on the other side of the world?”
“There is still an open airport in Canada and one in London as well.”
“Could demons travel through the hole in the dimensions to the other side?”
“We could,” I confirmed. “But no human could survive Hell. It has also become too volatile to risk more of our members. We can get in without a problem, getting all the way through without notice is an entirely different matter. Guardians of the gate have been established on both ends to try and stop more demons from exiting Hell and to report to us if Lucifer makes his move out of Hell.”
Her foot hit the ground with a thud. “Shouldn’t you all be there in case that happens?”
“Right now, our best option is to defend the wall and keep them back from invading the lands beyond. There will be no protecting or controlling the humans anymore if the Craetons get beyond the wall. Demon attacks on top of panicked humans would only result in massacres.”
She shuddered; her hands ran up and down her arms as her gaze went beyond me.
“Many of the nightmares of Hell now roam free in the middle of your country as well as Europe,” I told her.
“What about Africa, Canada, Australia, and South America, are they still mostly out of it?”
“Australia is; the ocean has kept them secluded from the chaos. Most of Canada still is, but there are some problem areas on the wall along the border. There was a breach in the southern wall and an influx got through into Mexico. South America is still somewhat safe, but it’s only a matter of time before it too falls. There are also reports of Africa having been breached.”
Her gaze came back to me, and she chewed on her bottom lip as she studied me. “Why did you settle in this area?”
“I travel to all of the encampments on a rotating basis to check on things. I just happened to be here when you were brought in.”
“Do you bring all the possibilities you encounter in to talk with them?”
I poured us both some more wine. “No, you are the first.”
“Why me?”
“Because you are the first who has refused to go with the others and who didn’t turn into a blubbering mess once the secrets were out.”
“Have the others all been older than the volunteers, like me?”
“No, some were younger.”
“No wonder they started to cry; they were children.”
“You’re not much older than a child.”
“Maybe not, but I was never really able to be a child either.”
I folded my fingers together and rested them on the table as I studied her. Her fingers rose to fiddle with her necklace again; her eyes shadowed and distant. “What are those?” I inquired of the pink and white decorations around her neck.
She pulled it forward, her eyes crossing as she smiled down at it. “Seashells. Have you never seen them before?”
“I have never seen the sea.”
“Not even through the oracle?”
“I didn’t look often or for long.”
“You must see it; it’s beautiful. It’s life,” she breathed with a reverence that made my skin tingle. “The smell of it, the sounds, they’re all something I could never fully describe, but once you stand on the beach, with the birds soaring in the sky, the breeze blowing over you, and the water crashing on the shore, you’ll know.”
Her words captivated me, and the serene expression on her face had me mesmerized. Had I considered her simply pretty? She was breathtakingly beautiful with that look on her face. I could never understand her sense of peace; I’d never felt peace in my life. My existence had always been about battles, war, and death.
“What will I know?” I inquired, my voice hoarser than I’d expected.
She blinked, and her head turned toward me. Though her peaceful reverie vanished, she smiled at me. Her smile kicked into my chest, causing my breath to hitch as she watched me.
“That you’ve come home,” she murmured and released her necklace. “If you get the chance, you should see it.”
I’d never had the inclination to do so before, but I did now. The smile slid from her face. I despised the melancholy creeping over her features again. The compulsion to draw her into my lap and hold her there seized me. I shook my head to clear it of the notion. Grabbing my goblet, I drank more wine as I realized she had some kind of a strange effect on me that I couldn’t understand.
“You have to train with the others,” I told her brusquely. “You must know how to protect yourself on this side of the wall. I understand your resentment and frustration, but if you continue to refuse the training, you will get yourself killed. You must learn from us how to survive.”
Her jaw clenched, and her hands balled. For a second, I believed she would fight me and I would have to force her into it. Instead, she nodded. “I don’t like it.” She gave me a pointed look that I returned with a smile. “But you’re right. I don’t intend to be demon food.”
“Only some kinds of demons would eat you.”
“Good to know. You’re involved in the training?”
“Not normally, but until I know what to make of you, I will work with you personally.”
She snorted. “There’s not much to make of me, Kobal.”
Hearing my name on her lips made more blood pulse into my throbbing cock. What would it be like to hear her scream my name as she moved beneath me, I wondered.
“I think there’s more to you than you give yourself credit for.”
Her head tilted, and I noticed a slight hitch in her breath as her gaze fell briefly to my lips before darting away again. “You’re going to be disappointed.”
“Not so far.”
Her eyes came back to me, and her fingers fiddled with her necklace again. Her heartbeat increased, but more than that, so did her enticing scent. I wasn’t the only one becoming aroused, I realized. If I pulled her into my arms, she wouldn’t resist me.
It would be so easy to draw her close—
She’s a possibility, I reminded myself sternly. She could be the key to everything, and you could ruin it because she’s the first human you’ve ever desired to bed.
To be honest, she was the first woman who had ever wound me up this much and had me walking the fine line between everything I had always sought to be, and something I craved. It would be best for me to put some distance between us, to turn her over to Bale an
d Corson, and let them figure out if she was the progeny, but I knew I wouldn’t.
Raising her hand to her mouth, she stifled a yawn. “If you don’t mind, I didn’t get any sleep last night.”
I subtly shifted my erection to keep it hidden from her as I rose to my feet and extended my hand to her. She studied my hand for a minute before taking hold of it. An electric jolt slid through my body when her flesh touched mine. For the briefest of seconds, I thought I’d seen a spark flare to life between us, but it was gone too fast to have been real.
I followed her graceful movements as she rose to her feet before me. If I stepped closer, I could feel her body flush against mine. I could have those breasts pressed to my chest, my hand in her hair, and my mouth on hers in mere seconds. I’d never wanted to kiss a woman as badly as I did her.
Kissing was not something I partook in often. Demons rarely kissed, unless they were each other’s Chosen. For the rest of us, there was no need when we were simply coming together to ease a need. Humans tended to want to kiss more, and a few of the human women I’d been with had insisted on kissing, but it was not something I thought about. Now, all I could think about was running my tongue over her lips, feeling her breath mingling with mine as I tasted her in long, slow thrusts of my tongue. Thrusts that would mirror what I wanted to do to her body.
I could possibly be throwing away everything I’d worked for by doing so. If we ever found the progeny, I would drag them kicking and screaming into what needed to be done. However, I knew some humans equated sex with emotions, and if she turned out to be the progeny, I could not take the chance that an entanglement with her would lead her to believe there could be more. A scorned woman was not one I wanted to deal with.
I released her hand and stepped away from her. She watched me as I took hold of her elbow and led her toward the flap. I lifted it for her and followed her into the night descending over the camp. I didn’t look back at Corson and Bale, but I sensed them hovering in the shadows, watching us as we walked down the hill.
Keeping her close to my side, I steered her through the patrols on the streets until we arrived at the main house. Mac answered the door after my firm knock. His eyes widened on the two of us, but he hastily stepped aside when I released her arm.
“Good night, River,” I said when she stepped into the candlelit interior of the house.
She smiled at me over her shoulder before vanishing into the shadows.
“You think it’s her,” Mac said the second she was out of earshot.
“I don’t know if it is or not. She’s definitely different than any other human I’ve encountered. I’m going to work with her during training.”
Behind his glasses, his eyes sharpened. “If you’re not sure it’s her, then why would you do that?”
Very good question. “I might be able to find out faster if I do.”
I said the words, turned on my heel, and walked away, but as I was making my way up the hill toward my tent, I knew there was more to it than that. River Dawson affected me in a way no other had, and I wasn’t going to let anyone else get close enough to touch her.
CHAPTER 15
River
By the end of two weeks, the only thing I hated more than being here was Kobal. I’d never had my ass so thoroughly kicked before in my life. The fact he had a good foot or so on me and probably about a hundred and fifty pounds didn’t deter him in the least. It was because he was a demon; I was certain of it. He took amusement in continuously knocking me on my butt. My bruises had bruises and sitting had become an uncomfortable ordeal I went out of my way to avoid.
When I’d arrived, I’d sworn I wouldn’t fall into line with the others, but as much as I resented it, I’d rather go along with the training then become some demon’s meal because I’d refused to learn how to defend myself against them. I was also determined to learn how to take Kobal down, just once. It would make my entire freaking year if I did.
Now, trudging my way through the line of young volunteers in the high school cafeteria to get my food, I was so focused on my own unhappiness that I didn’t notice those around me had stopped speaking and were exchanging looks. I lifted my head and glanced around tiredly, but I didn’t see anything that would cause such a reaction. Then, I noticed that most of their curious stares were directed at me as they whispered behind their hands.
I removed an apple from a basket at the end of the line and placed it on my tray next to my chicken. I walked over to the table I normally shared with a group of teens. They stopped speaking when I neared. I placed my tray on the table, grabbed a chicken wing, and leaned against the wall to eat it. There was no way my tailbone could handle sitting on the wooden bench today.
I studied the crowd of hundreds of volunteers gathered within the cafeteria. I’d been relegated to staying with the new volunteers I’d arrived with and designated official ass-kicking plaything of a demon.
New volunteers arrived each day, sometimes we worked together, but they were on different levels of training than my group was. It wasn’t until we were done being divided, whipped into shape, and beaten and battered for the morning or afternoon that we were allowed to mingle together at all with the others. However, there were groups of volunteers still out patrolling and drilling now. I didn’t think I’d ever get a chance to see everyone here.
The cramps growing in my calves and thighs had me eyeing the bench with longing, but thinking about sitting on my bruised butt made me want to cry. One of the girls stood up and came back a minute later with a rubber ring. She placed it at on the empty seat before my tray.
“It will help,” she said when she turned toward me.
I blinked at her; it took me a minute to finally recognize her as Carrie, the girl from my town who I’d seen volunteer in a vision. She’d cut her hair into a bob below her chin. Her brown clothes hung off her slender frame, a frame made thinner by the endless miles we’d run, walls we’d had to climb, and hand-to-hand combat we’d been going through daily. Most of them had been battling against other humans during these drills, whereas I’d been taking on a mountain who went by the name of Kobal.
“Thank you,” I murmured as I fought against the tears of gratitude burning my eyes. I hadn’t encountered much kindness since arriving here.
Her cat-green colored eyes twinkled when she stepped aside. “No problem.”
As I settled carefully onto the soft rubber cushion, my shoulders sagged and my eyes closed. My feet and legs screamed their thanks as my bruised ass finally found some comfort.
“Better?” Carrie asked when she settled in across from me.
“So much,” I said eagerly.
I’d never noticed her at the table before, but I’d been so exhausted every day, I probably wouldn’t have noticed an angel floating before me and knocking me on the head. I lifted another chicken wing and was about to bite into it when I noticed everyone staring at me. Sitting on a rubber ring probably wasn’t the most normal thing, but it didn’t warrant all the strange looks. Even if it did, I was contemplating strapping the thing to my ass from now on; I didn’t care if they all stared at me and my new padding.
I turned away from them to find Carrie focused on me too. “What is it?” I inquired.
Carrie glanced down the table as their attention shifted to her. I could feel their minds urging her to go on, but I didn’t need any extra abilities for that; it showed on their faces. The one good thing about being so exhausted was I’d had absolutely no visions, or knowledge of anything, since arriving here.
Carrie glanced around before leaning forward on the table. “We’re all curious as to why they brought you here? You’re older than us and it was obvious they made you come.”
I shrugged and pulled up the sleeve of my shirt when the motion caused it to slip off my shoulder. Carrie wasn’t the only one who had lost weight since coming here. We had more food available to us here than any of us had at home, but it still wasn’t enough to keep weight on. Given our training regimen, we w
ere burning calories faster than we could put them back in.
“I am older and they did.”
They all exchanged a look before focusing on me again. “So why did they take you? Did it have something to do with the fliers?” Carrie pressed.
I sighed and placed the chicken wing on my plate. “Yes, my mother believed I could be one of the people they were looking for.” I saw no reason to deny it; some of them had been there when I’d been escorted from my house.
“Wow,” the girl next to me breathed.
I didn’t know how to respond, so I returned to eating my chicken.
“Are you able to do anything special?” Carrie asked.
The half-chewed chicken wing dangled from my fingertips as I stared at her. “I’m just me.”
More volunteers from other groups edged closer to us. “Then why has Kobal spent so much time with you during training?” a woman with blonde hair and brown eyes demanded of me.
Judging by the forest green uniform she wore, she had completed volunteer training to become a soldier. She looked older than me but not by much. Though the room was filled with volunteers mostly, there were some soldiers mingling throughout the crowd, grabbing their lunch before heading back to whatever job they had or the training fields.
The volunteers saluted the soldiers moving through the room but no one saluted the woman; they were all too focused on me right now, and I refused to salute anyone here. Even if I managed to complete training, I would never be the soldier they were trying to turn me into.
“All of the demons train with us,” I said to the blonde woman.
“But he pays far more attention to you. He’s never done that when he’s been in this encampment before; he usually ignores the recruits still in the training stage. So why you?”
Good Intentions (The Road to Hell Series, Book 1) Page 11