Dying Wish: A Novel of the Sentinel Wars

by Shannon K. Butcher

  Half an hour later, she’d fallen completely silent. He spared her a quick glance, and saw she was pale and sweating from the sustained effort.

  “We’ll stop here,” he told her. “You need to rest.”

  “No. I’m okay. Keep going.”

  He almost argued with her, but he could feel her determination sliding through their link. She wanted to do this, and he couldn’t resist giving her what she wanted.

  The sooner she got away from him, the better off she’d be.

  Chapter 11

  Murak found the girl’s house without effort. It was clustered around fifty other houses just like it—cattle in their pens.

  Her bedroom was on the second floor, as if that were going to stop him from reaching her. Humans were such amusing, unimaginative creatures. It was no wonder they were beneath him on the food chain.

  He summoned a breath of power and lifted himself from the ground to peer into her window. Darkness cloaked his presence, saving him the trouble.

  The light from a TV cast a flickering glow over her spindly body. She huddled into herself, rocking, as she stared at a TV screen. He could sense the blood of his kind coursing through her, calling to him.

  Retrieving her was going to be as easy as it would be enjoyable.

  She lifted a cell phone, and her fingers trembled as she typed a text message.

  Murak found it interesting that she’d begun to settle back into a normal human life so quickly. It showed a resilience that would serve her well in the years to come. Bearing Synestryn young was difficult on humans, and only a small number of them survived long enough to breed a second time. He was certain that this child would be one of those special creatures.

  All the more reason to return her to her place beneath the earth.

  He unlatched and removed the screen with a mere thought. Unlocking the window was effortless, though he took the time to do it slowly, allowing no sound to give away his presence. The girl continued splitting her attention between her phone and the TV, her knees pulled tight against her chest in a defensive posture.

  As soon as his path was no longer barred, it was time to move fast. He flung the window up and sailed through the opening, knocking the lightweight sheers from his path as he went.

  The girl saw him and immediately froze in terror. Her lips parted around a silent scream.

  Murak landed on the floor by her bed, close enough to touch.

  The poor, shaking creature shifted slightly, and a second later, a searingly bright light burned his eyes.

  He hissed in pain and instinctively brought his arm up to shield himself.

  A camera. That flash had come from a camera on her phone.

  As soon as he realized there was no threat of sunlight, he reached for her. Her hair brushed across his fingertips as she rolled away, landing on the far side of the bed.

  “Dad!” she screamed, a ferocious, wrenching sound of panic.

  Murak had only seconds before the girl’s father arrived, and in that time, he was going to have her securely in his grasp and out through the window.

  He lunged over the bed, reaching out his long arm. She scrambled back like a crab, staring in terror at his clawed fingers.

  The girl was quick. He’d give her that. But she was pinned against a dresser now, with nowhere else to run.

  A grin stretched his mouth, displaying his teeth. The girl began to shake violently, and he knew she had to be remembering all the times his kind had fed from her silky throat.

  “Don’t worry,” he told her. “I won’t drink too much. We need you.”

  He grabbed her arm, ignoring her ineffective attempts to pry his fingers loose. She struggled, kicking and clawing at him, but his skin was too thick for her to damage. All she was doing was wearing herself out, which would make the rest of his trip that much easier.

  “Dad!” shouted the girl again, her shrill scream ringing in his ears.

  The bedroom door flew open so hard, the wood cracked. A furious human man rushed in, pointing a double-barreled shotgun at Murak.

  He swung the girl around, intending to use her as a shield so her father wouldn’t fire, but before he could, she dropped to the ground, her deadweight nearly ripping his arm from his shoulder.

  The gun went off. Pain splintered Murak’s body, flinging him backward against the opening of the window. He could smell his own blood, and sudden, ravenous hunger washed over him.

  It wasn’t until the girl skittered away on her hands and knees that he realized he’d lost his grip on her arm. His prey was gone, and her father was preparing for another painful assault.

  Murak tossed his weight back and fell through the window. He used his power to slow the fall, and then hid himself from sight.

  The man peered out of the window, the barrel of his weapon preceding him. He stared into the dark for several seconds, scanning the area. “Are you okay, Autumn?” he asked his daughter.

  Murak heard a whimpering, pitiful sound, but couldn’t make out the words.

  “Okay, sweetie. Don’t you worry. He’s not coming back, and even if he does, we won’t be here. Get your coat. We’re leaving.”

  Which meant that not only did Murak have to take the time to heal from his wounds—he also had to find his prey again. But first, he had to feed, and there was an entire neighborhood of cattle just waiting to serve him.

  By the time they reached Dabyr, Jackie was weaving in her seat. Exhaustion bore down on her, making it hard to keep her burning eyes open. Even so, the sense of satisfaction she’d gained in doing what needed to be done was one she’d almost forgotten. It glowed inside of her, pepping up her spirits and reminding her that she had once been a force to be reckoned with. She’d once been strong and capable.

  She’d missed feeling like that, but until now, she hadn’t realized just how much.

  Iain turned off the engine. She tried to reach for the door to open it, but her arm was too heavy, her fingers too weak. Her whole body was trembling, making her wonder how she was going to make it back inside.

  He came around to her side and opened the door. He stared at her, his face impassive. “You’re too weak to walk, aren’t you?”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “I can carry you inside.”

  She hated the idea of being weak and helpless. Even more, she hated the idea of people seeing her being weak and helpless. “No. Please.”

  His chest expanded with a breath she knew would come out as a frustrated sigh. Instead, he leaned forward and cupped his left hand at the nape of her neck.

  She felt the subtle click as his ring latched on to the necklace she wore. The heat of his bare hand sank into her skin, while a torrent of power flowed into her, driving away her exhaustion. A hot shiver wiggled down her spine and settled in her belly.

  She let out a sigh of contentment and felt a smile tug at her mouth. “That’s incredible.”

  “I should have done it while we drove, but I couldn’t reach you, and I didn’t think it would be a good idea for you to lie down in my lap.”

  It sounded like a lovely idea to her, but right now she wasn’t exactly thinking clearly. Her head was fogged with warmth and a resonant hum of power. His touch was intoxicating, lowering her inhibitions and making her forget what was really important.

  A moment later, he pulled away and all those tingly feelings were gone. She mourned the loss of his touch, but said nothing.

  “Better?” he asked.

  She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

  “You’ll need to sleep now.”

  “I’m fine. Besides, I don’t have time to waste. There’s too much to do.”

  She moved to slide out of the truck, but Iain’s big body blocked her way. His expression was hard and demanding. “You will sleep or I’ll find a way to make you. What I did is temporary, and I only did it so you wouldn’t be ashamed of your weakness. Don’t make me regret that decision.”

  Arguing with him would have been foolish, so she decide t
o patronize him. “Fine.”

  “Good.”

  He followed her inside, tracking her footsteps all the way to her suite. On the way, she considered the wisdom of inviting him inside, but her decision was taken from her hands when she found Joseph waiting for them outside her suite. The look on his face was grim, and his shoulders sagged with weariness.

  “What are you doing here?” asked Iain.

  “Nicholas said you’d just arrived. I thought you’d want to be in on this.”

  “On what?” asked Jackie.

  “Not here. My office.”

  Jackie followed behind, both curious and apprehensive about what was going on. Whatever it was, it wasn’t good. With every step she took, some of the bubbling energy zinging through her began to fade.

  Iain was right. Whatever he’d done wasn’t going to last long.

  They filed in to find Joseph’s office already filled with people. Helen and Drake were standing in one corner, their heads close together, in quiet conversation. Nika sat on a corner of Joseph’s desk with Madoc hovering over her. He seemed pale, and, if she didn’t know better, afraid. Tynan lounged in Joseph’s chair, his elegant fingers steepled under his chin. He was by far the prettiest person in the room, including the women, but Jackie admired him about as much as she had the demons who’d held her hostage. Any creature that lived on the blood of others was not to be trusted.

  “Shut the door,” ordered Joseph as he walked in.

  Iain was the last one in, and he closed the door behind him. Jackie found herself inching toward him, seeking some kind of comfort in a room where none was going to be had.

  “Two hours ago, I was contacted by Henry Mason. Synestryn tried to take his ten-year-old daughter tonight.”

  Jackie swayed on her feet as the meaning of his words sank in. A child—a little girl—had been attacked by the demons.

  Iain’s arm slid around her shoulders, steadying her. She couldn’t help but lean against him. It made her a weaker person, but the horrors she’d seen in those caves came slamming into her, reminding her of just how much danger this child was in.

  “Again?” asked Tynan, rising to his feet.

  “What do you mean, again?” asked Helen.

  Joseph’s nostrils flared with anger as he nodded. “Autumn was one of the girls we rescued the night we found Jackie.”

  That little girl had been in that same system of caves? Jackie had probably seen her, though she hadn’t known her name. There had been so many of them coming and going. After a while, she’d stopped wanting to know about them. All she needed to know was that it was her job to keep them as safe as she could for as long as she could.

  She’d failed. Over and over she’d let them down. They’d been raped, killed. Eaten. She hadn’t been able to stop it.

  “We’re leaving,” announced Iain, his grip tightening around her. “This is too much to ask of her right now.”

  Iain was talking about Jackie—about her discomfort. She was so used to being on her own that it felt odd to have someone else defend her.

  She looked up at Iain and took his hand. Her fingers threaded through his. They were thick and strong, callused from swordplay, and so incredibly warm. “I’m okay,” she reassured him.

  “You’re pale, shaking, and scared out of your mind. I can feel it. And I can’t let it stand.”

  “Autumn is smart. She snapped a photo of the Synestryn that tried to take her,” said Joseph.

  “A photo?”

  “With her phone. Henry sent it to me.” Joseph pulled a folder from his desk and held it out to Jackie. “Will you look at it and tell me if you recognize him?”

  Iain snatched the folder away, glaring at Joseph. “What part of this is too much to ask of her right now did you not understand?”

  Joseph was not cowed. “I could ask the children we found that night, but the Sanguinar have taken away most of their memories. All it would do is scare them.”

  Jackie couldn’t let that happen. “I’ll do it. I’ll look at the photo. If it is him—Zillah—you can’t make those kids remember anything he did to them.”

  Iain’s entire posture screamed how pissed he was, but he handed over the folder. Jackie opened it, bracing herself to face the demon that had ended and destroyed so many lives. Instead, the face that greeted her was not Zillah’s. He definitely wasn’t human, with glowing green eyes and thin lips that barely covered his pointed teeth, but he wasn’t what she’d expected.

  There was something familiar about him. The candid shot was from a strange angle, pointing up, so that she got a good view of the inside of his nose. The skin of his neck was textured, as if he had scales of some kind. Maybe it was a trick of the light.

  His bony hand was held up as if to block the flash, so she could see the veins under his pale skin were black and protruding from his wrists. The expression on his face was one of feral hatred and hunger.

  That was it—the clue she needed.

  “I remember him. He visited the caves where I’d been held. Zillah let him feed off one of the women as some sort of peace offering.” It had been sickeningly polite, the way one would offer a guest a cup of coffee.

  Jackie didn’t care what politics went into the demons’ ability to barter human life. All she knew was that what he’d done had scared her to death, thinking one of the children would be next.

  “Murak,” whispered Jackie, suddenly remembering what Zillah had called him.

  “You know this demon?” asked Iain, his words lashing out cold and hard. “Did it hurt you? I’ll tear its fucking head off.”

  “He was there only one time that I saw, but there was some kind of dynamic going on between him and Zillah. A power struggle? Negotiations, maybe? I can’t be sure.” Jackie looked up at Joseph. “Where is Autumn now?”

  “I wanted her to come here, but her father feared for her mental health if they stayed in the area. Her family took shelter with relatives near Chicago. Only a handful of people know about the move. I’ve got a pair of warriors on their way to guard the family.”

  Jackie thought back, trying to remember what she’d seen and heard. Maybe it would help them find this monster before he struck again.

  “We could really use your help,” said Joseph, looking at Jackie. “You were held by them for a long time. You know their patterns.”

  “Chaos has no pattern,” said Iain. “You’re reaching for something that isn’t there.”

  “Maybe,” agreed Joseph. “But we’re doing this. We’re going after him. With or without your help.”

  They’d find him underground, where he and his kind lived. The idea of going into those caves made her skin go cold and clammy with fear. “I don’t think I can go back there,” she whispered in shame.

  “Of course you’re not going back there,” said Iain. “No one’s asking you to.”

  “Actually, we are,” said Joseph. “I am. This Murak is after Autumn because of her age. They’ve done to her what they did to Tori. They’re feeding her their blood in an effort to make her a viable breeding partner. I won’t let that happen.”

  Iain’s expression grew grim. “I’ve been hunting for these breeding caves for months, and only found a couple. How would we even know where to look?”

  Joseph ignored Iain and spoke to Jackie. “All I’m asking is for you to go scouting. You might recognize something.”

  “Back off, Joseph,” warned Iain.

  Jackie tried to find an excuse not to do this. She wasn’t strong enough. “They moved several of us, but it was always at night in vans with no windows.”

  “Unless they drove the vans into the cave, you might have seen something.”

  She had, but she’d been so terrified and weak, she wasn’t sure she even remembered it right, and what she had seen wasn’t any kind of distinct landmark—just tangles of brush and the slope of the land.

  Jackie offered what she could. “The trips weren’t long—a couple of hours. The caves were close to each other.”
r />   Iain shook his head. “I’ve searched those areas. The caves are there, and there’s proof of Synestryn activity, but by the time I get there, they’re mostly gone. Just a few stragglers are left.”

  If she didn’t do something, more little kids would be taken from their families. More people would be used for food, left to suffer and die in the dark. Autumn’s young life would be destroyed before it was cut short. Jackie had seen it before. She couldn’t simply stand by and ignore the problem. She had to think of something she could do, but something that wouldn’t put her back in the ground.

  She hated what she was about to force herself to say—what she was about to force herself to think about—but it was necessary. “All you have to do is catch them at the right time. When they’re unable to move.”

  “What are you talking about?” asked Joseph.

  “They have these giant creatures. I saw one once. It was bigger than any animal I’ve ever seen.” It was huge, pulsing with movement, like a maggot the size of a bus. “It’s the thing that gives birth to some of their demons. I heard Zillah and his lackey talking about it outside of my cell, when they thought I was unconscious.” She’d been so cold, so weak. Zillah had nearly killed her, taking so much blood her heart raced to keep her alive.

  “You don’t have to talk about this,” said Iain, stroking her back with a soothing sweep of his hand. “Not if you’re not ready.”

  She was never going to be ready to talk about her time in the caves, but it didn’t matter. If demons were trying to steal more children, she had to help stop them. “It takes these things a few months to produce a litter, but when they’re near the end of that time, they can’t move. They’re too big, and too valuable to abandon. If we can find the nest during this time, then they’ll be trapped. Or at least they’ll have to leave behind that thing for us to kill.”

  “How long?” asked Joseph. “Do you know any more details?”

  She shook her head. “They were talking about not being able to move for another week. I don’t know how long before that they were stuck.”

  “Where was this?” asked Iain.