Savage One: Born Wild Book Two

by Augustine, Donna

  Zink didn’t argue, but I knew what he was thinking. We were all thinking it. The mud from one of the Hell Pits had followed me before. There was a high likelihood it was me it was pointing at. There was an old saying that if something quacked like a duck, it was a duck. Well, this thing was quacking like all its feathers were being plucked beside a spit and a roaring fire.

  There was rustling in the trees that didn’t make anyone jump except me. Callon gave me a shake of his head, as if to say it was all right. Sure enough, Dax stepped into the clearing a few seconds later.

  He stopped and looked around, all of us with matching wide eyes and varying degrees of gaping jaws still.

  He shook his head before he finally spoke. “I’ve seen some shit in my life, but nothing like that.” He shook his head again, as if that might settle something in his brain and make this puzzle fall into place.

  “Where are your guys?” Callon asked.

  “Heading home. I told them I’d catch up.” Dax was a man that didn’t appear to rattle easy, but as he ran a hand over his hair, I’d say he’d been shaken up like a rattlesnake’s tail right before a strike.

  “Do you know what the fuck that was?” Hess asked.

  Dax scratched a shaded jaw. I wasn’t sure if it was always darkened, he was coming off a few rough days, or it was just another mark of the beast. They seemed to sprout hair faster than human men. “I have a little knowledge of where they might’ve started. I’m willing to share if you’ve the stomach for it.” Dax was looking at me as he made his last remark.

  “You’d be amazed by the things I can stomach. Don’t hold back,” I said. I had more of a vested interest than anyone here.

  Dax smiled, but it was fleeting and gone before he began talking. “Have you ever seen people that have a black mist around them? That’s how they look to Plaguers, and since you have the gift of vision, you might be able to see it too. They’re called Dark Walkers.”

  “No.” The term Dark Walkers chimed in some distant memory, settled in somewhere between the old stories of beasts eating babies and winged demons that came out at night and stole virgins. I’d never thought they were real, but I was now certain it was going to be the case.

  “Long story short, there were two ancient races that had a conflict of interest. When they warred, one race cursed the other so that they couldn’t walk in the light anymore. The only way they could survive was to wear the skins of people who had a certain natural magic in them. The easiest way to find these people was to weed them out with a disease. That disease was the Bloody Death. The people, as I’m sure you’re guessing, came to be known as Plaguers.

  “The Dark Walkers would clothe themselves with the skins of these Plaguers, but the magic would only keep the skins alive and fresh for so long until they’d need another one. When the skins they wore went bad, they’d ‘shed’ them. I have reason to believe that these Hell Pits originated from the places that the Dark Walkers shed their skins.”

  “How sure are you about this?” Callon asked.

  I was glad he could still talk. I was on overload. My brain couldn’t handle much more after finding out these creatures destroyed an entire civilization so that they could rob a select few people of their skins. Billions of people dead so they could harvest flesh. At least it made sense why they smelled like pits of rotting bodies. I’d bragged about what I could stomach, and Dax had certainly taken me at my word.

  The only thing that kept me standing there listening was fear that if I fainted now, no one would ever want to give me the truth again. If every time you heard an unpleasant truth, you dropped to the floor and played possum, people would leave you out of the loop. I knew because I’d do it too. Life was too short to be waving around smelling salts all day. I couldn’t afford to be left out of the loop this time.

  That didn’t mean I wouldn’t mind a chair. I’d kill for one, but I stayed standing, pretending I was made of iron, even as I caught Callon’s glance that made me think my color might have lost a shade or two and my bones resembled something closer to glass.

  Dax’s head was shaking again as he was staring off into the distance. “As far as what happened? I’m guessing some of the Dark Walkers’ powers shed along with the skins, blending with the Plaguer magic. I believe something that wasn’t planned has mutated in these areas.” He shrugged and threw up a hand. “But it’s all just guesses.”

  None of us said anything for a few seconds, because when you talked about mud pits from hell that were really dark magic shifting into a monster, well, it could rob you for words if you really gave it some deep thought.

  Dax shrugged again, a mental hands up in the air. “At least we don’t have to deal with the Magician anymore.”

  Finally someone else saw the teeny-tiny silver lining here besides me. I knew I’d liked this guy for a reason.

  Dax turned his full attention to me. “Any idea why it was interested in you?”

  “We don’t know what it was pointing at,” Callon said, jumping in before I had an opportunity to answer. On very rare occasions, his controlling nature had an upside. Although I didn’t think sticking to denial was helping right now. The shit had pointed at me. It yelled in agony when I left. We were way past denial and definitely into the bargaining stage.

  Dax switched his attention to Callon, looking a little like Zink had a few moments ago. “It was pointing right at her.”

  “It might’ve been pointing at all of us,” Callon said, taking a step toward Dax.

  Oh, for fuck’s sake. Callon had to give it up. If I didn’t believe the bullshit, and I was the one with the most to gain from sticking my head in the sand, nobody else was going to go along with it.

  “I don’t know why it wants me,” I told Dax, destroying Callon’s pretense. That weird mud was coming for me and there was no point in denying it. It might as well have said my name. Who knows, maybe that growl we’d heard was mud-speak for “I’m coming for you, Teddy.”

  Callon didn’t say a word, but his expression charred me where I stood. I tried to shoot flames out of my eyes back at him. Mine must have sizzled out on the voyage, because he seemed unfazed.

  Dax looked pointedly at Callon. “I’ll keep what happened under wraps, but there were a lot of witnesses. That thing wanted her and we all saw it. Look, if you can make the trip out to the farm, I think you should come see Bitters. He might be able to help.”

  “Bitters is still alive?” Callon asked, finally breaking off his stare of death aimed at me.

  Bitters? I knew that name. I’d heard him mentioned before. Wasn’t that the guy who made up weird riddles?

  What was that thing the witch Hecate had told us he’d said? When the dark trickery rises, the beast must dance among the shadows of death. As the world shudders with wounds unhealed, the reckoning will come at the cost of souls. Yeah, still made no bloody sense.

  “That wizard will outlive us all,” Dax said. “He might be old and crazy, but he knows a few things. If that shit wanted me or one of my people, I’d be looking for answers anywhere I could get them.”

  “You’re a lot closer to Newco. Is that a good idea?” Koz asked.

  Dax turned to Koz. “There might be some who don’t believe the Magician is truly gone and want to curry favor. My guess? Once they believe it’s final, you won’t hear from them again. They won’t want to follow in his footsteps.”

  “Is it final?” I asked. Yes, the Magician had gotten swallowed by the Hell Pit, but that didn’t mean he was definitely dead, did it? I had learned very well that death was a blurrier line than most believed. Like, some real grey shit that wasn’t anywhere near as dependable as people gave it credit for.

  Dax turned back to me. “I had the luxury of hanging back another couple minutes, since I wasn’t in the direct line of fire. I’d say that was about as final as you get. The mud collapsed back into itself and then puddled on the ground. There was no trace of a body left in its place, or one that would revive, at any rate. I’d bet my life
that he’s gone for good.”

  What a relief that would’ve been if a thing dubbed a Hell Pit hadn’t replaced him.

  “I’m going to head out. I’ll send word if anything changes near me.” Dax’s eyes darted toward me before he took off.

  Callon turned back to us. “We keep this quiet at the lodge until we know more. I don’t want mass hysteria that a lake of mud moving in our direction is capable of killing people.” Callon looked about our small group for nods.

  Zink and Hess went along with the request quickly. Koz and I looked at each other, with the same obvious conflict of interest. Callon would have to settle for quiet-ish. There was no way I wasn’t telling Tuesday about this. It was too serious by far.

  Koz and I cracked at the same time, both of us saying, “I’m going to have to—”

  “Tell Tuesday,” I said, finishing for us both.

  Callon was scowling. Koz straightened his shoulders, but there was a little bowing in his spine. His forehead wrinkled up like a newborn baby as he prepared to withstand the wrath.

  As soon as Callon shook his head a couple times, it was obvious he was going to cave. “If she says a word, it’s on you two.”

  Tuesday wasn’t so hot with secrets. I’d have to avoid her until Koz got to her first. Then I’d reap the benefits of being able to talk it over with her without the burden of keeping her quiet. Win-win for me, and I needed a win in a bad way right now.

  * * *

  The trip back to the lodge wasn’t anywhere as leisurely as the trip there had been. We barely stopped. When I was too tired to walk, Callon carried me on his back. When I was going too slow, Callon carried me on his back. When I begged to stop for a minute, Callon ignored me and carried me on his back. You’d think a piggyback wouldn’t be so bad until you couldn’t feel anything south of your kneecaps.

  There was no talking or jesting to break up the misery, either. It was straight suffering. The tension had been bad before, but not like this. On the way there, we’d known our enemy and knew we might be able to defeat him. What was coming now was a complete enigma. How did you fight this?

  But that wasn’t the worst of it. I could feel Callon’s muscles bunched underneath me, and they hadn’t relaxed once. It had been like holding on to a stone the entire trip back, and it wasn’t the strain of carrying me.

  When we finally got to the edge of our territory and he stopped, I was ready and waiting. There was a fight brewing. I slid to the ground and then grabbed a tree, cursing and stamping my feet, praying the feeling would come back soon.

  “We’ll meet you at the house,” Callon said to the guys.

  Oh, there was definitely a fight brewing. If I’d known why, it would’ve helped me prepare, but as always, there were so many things it could be.

  The guys barely nodded before they took off like there were burning coals beneath their feet. I was left to burn in Callon’s gaze. He waited for them to get out of earshot, which prolonged the anticipation and made me wonder if there was anything secret at the lodge, or were there always a set of ears listening?

  He tilted his head slightly in the direction of home before he turned toward me.

  “Why did you tell Dax the Hell Pit was coming for you after I’d denied it? Did you not think I had a reason?” The tone, the angle of his head, even the way he ran his hand through his hair before resting his palm on the back of his neck—it all screamed brawl. I was ready.

  He wanted to tell me where to go, and now he thought he was going to tell me what to say? And to what end? The jig was up. Everyone there knew. There would be no hiding it.

  “He already knew. There was no point in denying it. It was obvious to every single person there.”

  “I stood there and denied it to everyone, and you couldn’t keep your mouth shut to save your own ass.” His eyes flamed red.

  I was exhausted and here he was, dangling the beast like a red candy apple in front of a kid with a sweet tooth. If he shifted, maybe he’d take me up to that cave? Man, I could really use a good sleep, and I was doomed without him. I’d just added another monster to the horde waiting for me to shut my eyes at night.

  Maybe I could push Callon over the edge? There had to be a way. What would do it?

  I stepped closer, crowding him. “That was your friend, your ally. If I can’t be honest with him, maybe I shouldn’t trust your judgment? Do you even know what you’re doing?” I’d wanted to set him off, but that might have been a little more dynamite than I needed.

  His eyes narrowed, as if he were warring between killing me and asking me if I’d lost my mind. I was asking myself the very same thing.

  But if I pushed even harder, would it make him shift? Most people would call me insane, absolutely fucking bonkers for trying to lure the beast out. Those same people also slept when they crawled into a bed. Nothing was scarier than fighting for another night of sleep, and the beast was right there, right below the surface, and ready to give me what I needed.

  “What? Did you not hear me?” I moved forward and slapped both of my hands against his chest.

  His eyes flared; his skin burned under his shirt. I could feel a rumble in his chest.

  He turned and was gone.

  Dammit. That wasn’t what was supposed to happen. He was supposed to take me with him. Now not only would I not get sleep, I had to walk the rest of the way to the lodge on my own.

  Fuck!

  Eleven

  By breakfast, it was clear that Koz had run straight to Tuesday and spilled everything. There was a permanent crease on her forehead while she ate like a bird. This time, her lack of appetite might have been genuine. It seemed breakfast was to be an awkward affair, with a lot of chewing but not a lot of talking. Tuesday and the guys, the only people I really talked to other than Issy, all sat zombie-like, stewing in their dark thoughts. I hadn’t seen Callon since he’d taken off last night.

  I was imagining they were thinking much like I was. We knew these Hell Pits were slowly moving closer to here and weren’t that far from our borders. That had been disturbing enough. Watching what one could do to the Magician? It was hard not to gasp from the memory alone. Add in that the thing had basically called me out? I didn’t think I’d be getting sleep for a year, and I was already walking around like a zombie.

  Callon appeared at the entrance to the great room about twenty minutes after I’d been sitting and eating silently beside Tuesday. He tilted his head toward the other room, making a point of giving me a direct invitational stare.

  Shit. I ate the last piece of sausage off my plate before lagging behind, letting the guys beat me there. The topic of the day was far from my list of things I wanted to discuss. Another minute of respite was appreciated as I tried to wrap my mind around it. Tuesday lagged even farther behind as we fought for last place. Considering she wasn’t invited to this meeting, I let her win/lose the race.

  Callon was already seated by the time I walked in. He glanced up before he immediately shifted his gaze to Tuesday, following behind me.

  He looked away, and I could hear the exhale before the slight shake of his head.

  Tuesday couldn’t read him as well and missed the signs of resignation.

  “It’s hardly right to exclude me.” She walked past with her chin up and proceeded to take a seat next to Koz along the wall.

  With a small smile, he gave her thigh a pat. It was hard to tell if it was condescending or encouraging, but being short on pats myself, I would’ve taken either variety.

  Meanwhile, I found the farthest free wall space to lean against while Callon and I shot daggers at each other across the room. We had so many issues at this point that I wasn’t sure who was mad about what anymore. It was like rummaging through a garbage heap. Was he still mad because he was stuck with me? Because I’d admitted the mud was following me to Dax when I’d known he was trying to keep a lid on it? Or that I’d tried to force the beast to come out while we were fighting? There were so many pieces of toxic debris between us that
it wasn’t worth worrying about which one it was anymore. I just had to dodge the fallout.

  My answering anger had lots of fuel too, not that he’d want to hear about my side of things. At least I knew what I was most mad about. Before we’d gotten to the village, when Callon had crawled into that tent, I’d wanted him to undress and have his way with me. That was a Tuesday term I’d never quite understood until now, but whoa, was it accurate. I’d wanted him to rip my clothes off and then do all the things Tuesday kept telling me about.

  Wanting him was the best reason to be pissed off, and it didn’t matter if it made sense or not. I was fuming.

  Callon leaned back in his chair, his eyes narrowed on me, as if he could sense my dark turn of thoughts.

  I squinted back at him. Nothing to see here. Keep it moving.

  He didn’t keep anything moving. He kept staring. My breathing increased, because I was mad. Real mad. Furiously mad.

  Zink broke our eye contact as he passed between us and then took a seat on the edge of Callon’s desk. “There must be a way to contain it.”

  I let shuttered eyes slip back to Callon. He was leaning to the side, looking at Zink, but saying nothing.

  What was that supposed to mean? Did Callon agree it could be stopped or not? He wasn’t allowed to be silent. I’d tell him if I was talking to him. If Zink was the only one who was going to speak, we were in worse shape than I’d imagined.

  “We don’t know how many there are and we can’t be sure they’re going to keep coming toward us,” Koz said.

  Nope. We’d been better off when it had only been Zink talking. We already knew the Hell Pits were migrating toward us. If Koz wasn’t among the very few people I still liked, I would’ve been rolling my eyes and making exaggerated sighs in his direction.

  The entire room looked at him, even Tuesday, and it wasn’t her normal adoring face. It wasn’t the skeptical look I was giving him. But it was a strong departure from the celestial for sure.