Steel Heart

by R. J. Blain

  Everyone I knew would die if they wanted to completely destroy the current government, which I assumed was their main goal.

  Marie narrowed her eyes. “You lie.”

  I shrugged. “Why would I lie? He doesn’t care about anything other than his goals. If you want your herd to emerge intact, I recommend you make sure Todd isn’t in Charlotte when Ferdinand begins his plans—if you can get back to Charlotte in time without being caught.”

  “That’s no problem. I have a train ticket for tomorrow morning. That’ll give me almost a month to plan.” Marie scowled. “That would be like Ferdinand. No matter. I’m strong enough to keep the herd intact until Todd recovers, should there be a fight like that. I will make certain Ferdinand remembers my husband isn’t to be killed. Driven out of Charlotte should suffice.”

  Bingo. While I’d known the group needed two weeks and Ferdinand had discussed something happening in a few weeks, I’d narrowed the window to between two weeks and a month. The timeframe was much easier to work around than an unknown, and after I finished with Marie, I could work on exposing more of Ferdinand’s plans and notifying the Secret Service. “I wish you the best of luck convincing him to leave. You’ll need it.”

  “He will. Herd before guild.”

  Poor Marie. I’d seen people like her, blind in their fanaticism to their cause. “I’m not usually allowed out. Walk with me for a while? It’ll be a few hours before Ferdinand comes.” I’d figured that much out from his schedule, which only allowed for a short meeting with Todd’s mare between his other treacherous tasks.

  She rose from her seat and dusted off her skirts, an outfit Todd liked on his wife and she wore often.

  I would hate staining the pale fabric with her blood, but it would make a suitable burial shroud for her when I hid her body beneath piles of stone. If Ferdinand decided to use his nose, he’d discover I’d been at the site, but I would do what I did best, lying to him and playing stupid.

  Marie frowned. “He doesn’t let you out much?”

  “I’m not useful to him or his pack. I’ve been told I should be grateful he allows me to serve. I don’t have a choice in the matter. That’s how wolf bites work, Marie. You should know this.”

  “I’ve heard rumors…”

  “Well, they’re true rumors.” I allowed my bitterness to emerge in my tone, aware I needed to convince her of my unwillingness to cooperate. “A wolf’s bite is law. I may not disobey. Neither can any of the other women in his pack.”

  “A necessity. Everyone will be better off for your sacrifice, although I am sorry. I hadn’t thought a wolf could truly take someone’s free will.”

  I didn’t believe her, not when she struggled to hide her smile.

  When I didn’t say a word, she shrugged. “You’ll see soon enough.”

  I pointed into the woods in the general direction of the crater, far enough off the beaten path no one would see—or hear—when I put my letter opener to good use. “What’s over there?”

  “You must have been cooped up a long time if a bunch of trees and a meadow are actually interesting to you. There is a pond and a stream; there are a lot of those here. The meadow is nice enough, I suppose. This way. There’s a deer track.” She headed in the direction I had pointed without waiting to see if I followed.

  How often had Marie come to see Ferdinand that she knew the area so well? How did she keep leaving the herd unattended for so long without drawing Todd’s suspicions? The stallion would be able to tell me, assuming I made it through the next few weeks intact and sane.

  People could go mad from long-term pain, and the constant pressure from so many bites already drove me closer to the line than I liked.

  A quick, painless death would serve my needs, and what happened to the bitch’s body after might keep me from snapping for a while. Drawing in a steadying breath, I tailed her, the forest around us still, as though it held its breath waiting for the moment I lived up to my name and struck, adding another body to my tally. I wouldn’t add to my guilt despite carrying plenty around already.

  I maintained my oath to kill only those deserving of their deaths. I would maintain my oath to kill with mercy even when mercy wasn’t deserved. I couldn’t send her to painless sleep, but I would improvise. I could only hope Steel Heart’s dire gift would give my letter opener the strength and sharpness needed to severe her spine in one blow. If not, my tiger claws would do the job, albeit not as cleanly or mercifully as I would like.

  The deer track meandered through old trees, and sections of it had been destroyed long ago. Charred husks of trees promised some form of destruction had rained down. I pointed at one, which had been reduced to a tree-shaped chunk of charcoal. “Do you know what happened to these trees?”

  “Starfall,” she replied, and she gestured in the general direction of the crater. “It was a combustion stone, and fragments still litter the forest. When they burst, trees burn and end up like this. But since it’s not a combustion zone, the fires don’t spread far.” Marie joined me, crouched, and picked up a stick, poking around at the soil. “This one is new, so there’s a chance the stone is still here. It will sell for a lot, and I know Ferdinand is a skinflint.”

  Marie’s kindness in her final moments would haunt me, but I couldn’t forget or forgive her treachery and intent to harm those I loved.

  Because of her, Simmons was dead.

  My fingers closed around the letter opener’s handle, and I freed it from my pocket. Steel Heart’s sparks danced over its edge. I supposed Todd had kept my secrets well; a wise woman wouldn’t have turned her back on a known assassin. Ferdinand likely knew parts of my identity, but I couldn’t tell if he believed me a good mercenary or if he knew about my darker work.

  A letter opener shouldn’t have had the strength or sharpness needed to fully sever a spine in a single blow, but the weapon cut deep, slicing through the bone at the base of Marie’s skull with so little resistance my hand thumped into the back of her neck. I firmed my hold on the handle and gave a twist to be certain of my kill.

  Bone cracked, and her body slumped to the ground. As that somehow didn’t seem enough, I slit her throat. Between the two injuries, she didn’t last long, and I hoped the damage to her spine prevented her from feeling the life flee her body—if only to spare the members of her herd.

  I waited for her eyes to dim and begin to glaze before rolling her over, checking her pockets. The hundred bucks wouldn’t get me too far, but I’d be able to return to the market on the way back to the pack’s house for something a little better than just a pack of spices.

  The pregnant women didn’t eat enough as it was, and while it wouldn’t help much, it was better than nothing.

  I waited for her neck to stop gushing blood before activating the feather in my hair and erasing the evidence of my crime. The magic, as though understanding I killed for more than one reason, cooperated and cleaned the body as well. It reminded me of tribe honor, and how they, too, took brutal steps for justice.

  I wondered how they would feel about me when I came to them and confessed my many sins.

  As I wouldn’t have much time once I got her body to the crater, I rolled her onto her back and carved my mark deep into her forehead, making certain the letter opener dug into her skull. My anger over the pointlessness of my agent’s death surged, and I took my fury out on her body. It didn’t help. It couldn’t do much of anything at all, but it unleashed some of my misery over my situation.

  Her corpse didn’t care what I did to it, and the brutal marks I inflicted on her, some to or through the bone, would leave a message throughout the years.

  The broken ruins of her body would serve as evidence of acquiring justice and preventing more misery in my family. A deep, relentless part of me grieved for Todd, who wouldn’t know the how or why of Marie’s death until I found the courage to tell him.

  I harbored some hope he would understand when I told him she had played her part in Simmons’s death. No matter how hard I tried
to forget, I remembered the feel of his cooling skin as I’d closed his eyes one final time.

  Pain deeper than any of the bites plaguing me surged, and I slammed the letter opener into her breastbone, yanked it free, and continue to stab her until my arm burned from the effort and I panted. Then, when I couldn’t bring myself to pierce her again, I dropped my weapon, sat beside her body, and cursed.

  Something dark rolled to me, and when it touched the letter opener, the metal turned black and crumbled to dust, leaving a smear on the leaves, barely distinguishable from the soil. My eyes widened at the smooth, polished surface, much like a child’s marble and darker than an overcast night in the heart of winter.

  Sunder.

  Having Steel Heart show up at the pack’s house had been daunting enough, but the black Starfall stone terrified me; its ability to destroy rather than create set an even fouler omen than the body cooling beside me.

  With a trembling hand, I picked it up. I expected a chilly, lifeless thing, and its warmth startled me. Unable to think of what else to do, I put it in the pouch with Steel Heart, hoping the theory Sunder wouldn’t destroy other Starfall stones proved to be the truth.

  Then, as I couldn’t go a day without bitter irony biting at my heels, I spotted the smoldering fragment of a Starfall stone among the leaves, flickering between red and orange. While nameless, its power awed me, a flicker of flame where nothing could otherwise burn. It had played a part in Marie’s death, and I took up her stick and poked the fragment. The red darkened, much like a cooling ember. I expected to get burned, but I reached for it anyway. While hot, it had cooled enough to handle. Much like the fragment in the stiletto, the Starfall stone was more of a jewel than a rock, a red diamond waiting to burst into flame again.

  If it burned me, I deserved the pain. I put it in the pouch with the other two Starfall stones, wondering what I would do with it.

  Maybe once I freed the pack, I would take the women somewhere peaceful and quiet and show them a fire, allowing them to capture moments of peace in a world that cared too little for them.

  Maybe I’d give it to Todd after telling the truth of how his wife had perished at my hands.

  Maybe I’d keep it to remember my sins.

  I rose to my feet and hauled Marie’s body through the forest towards the crater, where I would hide her deep beneath the stone and soil, where no one would find her until it was too late for it to matter.

  Without a shovel, I couldn’t traditionally bury Marie’s body, but I found a good spot to dump her into the crater and roll stones onto her corpse. It took me at least an hour to cover her, but enough loose stone fell off the crater’s side as I worked to mask her final resting place. After making sure the area seemed disturbed by nature rather than someone hiding a body, I activated the feather to clean my clothes and remove the remaining evidence of my sins.

  The magic warmed my skin, as though the feather understood what I had done and why, accepting the woman’s death at my hand. I’d have to ask the tribe about it later. I’d never had such a reaction from the feathers following acts of self-defense. Perhaps the nature of the eagles had something to do with it.

  They, like me, were predators.

  On my way out of the crater, I picked a smooth stone for Lauren and put it in my pocket with Steel Heart, Sunder, and the unnamed fragment. If the Starfall stones had any mercy in their cold hearts, they’d do something to the rock to help protect the pregnant woman and the rest of the captive pack. I didn’t expect anything from the rocks, but I hoped for something to help the women when my plans came to fruition and Ferdinand died.

  I returned to the market and browsed the goods, purchasing extra fresh herbs along with a large bag of potatoes and a disgusting number of carrots. Neither would help pregnant predators as much as I wanted, but bad food was better than no food, and I had no idea when Ferdinand would feed them properly again.

  Then, taking the remainder of Marie’s money, I purchased three chickens and two large beef roasts. The women would have to hide the excess meat from Ferdinand, but it might make a difference for them. I wanted to purchase one of the live chickens for the eggs, but the damned dictator of a wolf wouldn’t let the women keep it—and he’d probably eat the hen while making them watch.

  When I killed Ferdinand, it would be with my claws, and I would savor the feel of his throat tearing beneath my first, lethal swipe.

  I lugged my ill-gotten gains to the pack’s house, and Rachelle met me at the door. “Ferdinand was here.”

  Of course. If it weren’t for bad luck, I would have no luck at all. “And?”

  “I told him I had sent you to the market for herbs, and that I wasn’t sure if some of them were still in season, so that I expected you to take a while, as you would check every market before accepting defeat. He believed this, as it seems you have a reputation of doing things like that.”

  I supposed I did. “I used the time to acquire some extra funds and get some things for the pack.” Per Ferdinand’s idiotic rules, I needed to wait for Rachelle’s every order, and she invited me into the house with a wave of her hand. I lugged everything to the kitchen and set the bags on the counters. “I hope you have a place to hide this.”

  “Easily. He doesn’t check the refrigerator or the freezer. He doesn’t particularly care. Thank you for making the most of your time out today. I appreciate it. I’m sure the others will, too.”

  As a general rule, I limited my interactions with the others to the point I still only knew two of their names. At Ferdinand’s demand, Rachelle managed me, but she kept her distance, too. I played my part in that, hiding at every opportunity.

  I wasn’t a wolf, I would never be a wolf, and I wasn’t a part of their pack, for all Ferdinand deluded himself into believing he controlled me and that I was.

  The incessant ache from my tiger’s nips, nibbles, and bites might drive me insane long before I killed the bastard in a few days—forget the estimated few weeks I had needed to last for. Fighting my desire to snap at the woman, I sighed. “Do you need me for anything else?”

  “No. You look tired. Go get some rest. When Ferdinand returns, I will tell him you walked across most of the city to find the herbs, and I’ll cook something nice tonight so he can see for himself. He’s a foolish man at times.”

  At times? Rather than argue with her, I excused myself and shuffled up the stairs to the hallway closet I’d claimed as my nest, crawling inside and closing the door. The tight space and the darkness served as reminders of everything I stood to lose if I couldn’t put an end to Ferdinand’s plans. Killing Marie before she could give Ferdinand extra information might help my cause.

  It might force his hand.

  If her death forced his hand, I might be able to do something. If he began to make a move, even without the information I needed, I would tear his throat out and ransack through any properties he had in the area. I was aware of one townhouse, a nice place that he rarely invited his women to. From my understanding of the situation, those invitations usually led to a child. I tried not to think too hard if Rachelle was the first to be issued such an invitation. If she wasn’t the first, what had happened to the other women and their children?

  The more I learned about Ferdinand’s treatment of his pack, the harder it became to leave him alive long enough to learn more.

  I worried for the unborn. Perhaps time with Todd, Gentry, and Anatoly had spoiled me, but even with my help in increasing their food budget, no one ate as much as I thought they should. If my tiger discovered how little I ate and how much weight I’d lost in the past few weeks, he would become a terror hellbent on destruction. I would enjoy the show, but I couldn’t afford having him—or any of my family—come close to Ferdinand.

  I had no idea how many in the city were in league with the wolf. Once I had a better idea of when things would happen and where Ferdinand’s allies were, I could make a plan.

  Simmons would have been proud of me for stopping and thinking through the co
nsequences of my actions for a change. Considering how much time I spent lurking in the pack’s house and hiding in the closet I’d claimed as mine, I’d had too much time to think about the consequences of my actions, both past and planned.

  I burrowed into the blankets, but I couldn’t bring myself to cry for Simmons. The tears refused to fall.

  My work wasn’t done, and there would be time for my grief once I made sure all of Ferdinand’s schemes fell to dust.

  Chapter Twelve

  Someone knocked on the closet door, and as it wasn’t yanked open with a growl, either dinner was finished or Ferdinand had demanded my presence. If they had cooked one of the roasts, dinner would be served long after nightfall, and Ferdinand would have discovered his meeting with Marie unexpectedly cancelled. I yawned, wondering how much time I’d spent in the darkness, my tiger’s bites a constant reminder of the wolf’s treachery. Making any of them wait would cause me trouble later, so I squirmed in my tiny space and pushed open the door.

  Rachelle waited, an apron covering her heavily swollen belly. “Ferdinand is here, and he is upset over something, but not so upset he is putting a stop to dinner. Unfortunately, he has decided to join us.”

  Unless the wolf stalked at her heels, he wouldn’t hear her complaints.

  “For dinner? He has?”

  “He brought a roast, which is currently in the oven with the roast you’d purchased. He said to make both, and we’d eat well tonight.”

  The oven and stove, a marvel mixing technology and Starfall magic, had a stone buried somewhere inside allowing combustion. The technology somehow controlled the flame’s temperatures, which were usually fueled with coal unless the stone burst, in which case it produced its own flames on demand. It was the only luxury Ferdinand had offered the women beyond having a roof over their heads.