Savage One: Born Wild Book Two

by Augustine, Donna

  I dropped to the ground not far from him. Fuck!

  “Thank the Wilds that shitshow is over,” Hess said. “I know I’m a beast and all, but I didn’t have the stomach for his guts all hanging out in the mud.”

  I heard some more talking, but I didn’t have the energy left to listen.

  Callon was kneeling beside me. “What’s wrong with you?”

  I leaned my head on my elbow. “I’m not sure.” How was I supposed to tell everyone Tuesday had just screwed me? Maybe I could pretend I got a sudden flu?

  Callon came closer and cupped his hand behind my head, forcing me to look at him. “You can’t just give, can you? You need to take in order to give.”

  I let out a sigh. “Maybe.”

  He straightened. “Dammit, Teddy.”

  “What’s going on?” Tuesday asked as she was walking over. “Teddy, why do you look like you’re the one about to die?” I didn’t have time to answer before she looked at Callon. “Why does she look like this? What’s wrong with her?”

  “She gave some life but didn’t have any to give other than her own,” Callon said, his jaw shifting.

  Tuesday turned to me, and I watched as confusion turned to comprehension, then to horror, as what she’d done struck her. “Oh, fuck!”

  “Now what?” Koz asked, coming to stand beside us. Tuesday was hysterical and turned into his arms. Zink and Hess edged closer. Zink had the nerve to shake his head at my stupidity. Hess was scratching his, as if it couldn’t quite compute.

  I tried to lean up a bit. It wasn’t a good move, because I wavered, and Callon grabbed me underneath the arms and dragged me over to prop me up by a log. It was wholly undignified. I didn’t have to see myself to know it.

  Tuesday pulled out of Koz’s arms and waved her hands in the air. “It’s okay. We have to find someone for you to kill and it’ll be fine.”

  “Watch her. I’ve got to go get a person,” Callon said.

  He was about to walk off when I attempted to yell, “I’m not just killing someone to live. They’ve got to be bad.”

  He turned back around, his brows an inch lower. “I saw plenty of men back there standing behind Ivan that I’m sure the world wouldn’t miss. Give me a name and a description, because I know there were others there that helped Turrock, and enjoyed it, running around this forest right now.”

  “I don’t—”

  “I’ll go with you,” Tuesday said, running over to Callon. “There were a bunch of sadistic fucks there. I’ll ID them. I don’t have a problem with this at all.”

  “Watch her,” Callon said to the guys before the two of them left.

  Thirty-Two

  Koz squatted next to me, holding out his canteen. “You’re not going to be weird about it when they bring the person back, right? You know you’ve got to do this.”

  “I know.” I accepted the offer, taking a long swig. All my water had ended up on Turrock’s face.

  “Because you can’t get picky.” Koz took the canteen back and closed it up. “If you end up all fucked up because of what Tuesday did, she’ll be devastated, and we can’t have that.”

  Hess and Zink were standing a little ways away, but they were listening too.

  “I know, and I’m going to try. As long as it’s a bad enough person, it’ll go fine.” Hopefully Tuesday would pick a good victim. If they were one of the worst offenders? I might be able to kill in cold blood. There were plenty of people back in the village who’d relished doing horrible things at Turrock’s command.

  Then there were the others who fell into the grey zone. Some had committed the same atrocities, but out of fear. If they brought back one of them, I wasn’t sure I could do it. Who was I to steal their life when I’d wronged people out of fear? I’d tied Callon to me because I’d been afraid.

  “We should start a big, warm fire near her. I think that would help,” Hess said.

  There was a look that passed between the three of them that was off. Did they think I was going to die? I wasn’t. I wouldn’t win any races at the moment, but I’d make it.

  “Isn’t that dangerous with all the people from the village being out in these woods now?” I asked.

  Koz waved a hand toward me. “Nah. No one is going to bother you with us here.”

  They built up a pile of wood in front of me that could’ve been enough to burn for months. Koz lit it and slowly arranged the wood while Hess and Zink piled more logs beside him. It was freezing out, but I didn’t think we’d be staying long enough for the bonfire they were creating.

  “Isn’t this overkill?” I asked, after the flames reached Koz’s waist.

  “No. I think we could use it a hair bigger, to be honest. You’re not looking so good, and it’s freezing out here. You die on us and Callon’s going to be pissed. Bigger the better.” Koz grabbed another log and carefully managed to get it onto the heap without getting burned.

  The heat it cranked out was nice. Like he said, it was cold out here, and the chill seemed to be sinking deep into my bones. Who knew how long it would take for Callon and his murderous accomplice to get back? It was their fire. If they wanted to keep building it, so be it. I closed my eyes, listening to the crackle of burning wood, knowing I was safe with three beasts around me.

  I was on the verge of sleep when I heard the crows cawing loudly. They didn’t usually carry on unless I was doing something stupid that they could get a good laugh at. Well, maybe today had qualified, considering my current state.

  Someone grabbed at my jacket. I jerked back but didn’t make it far, as the man over me wouldn’t release it.

  “I’ll be taking that,” he said, ripping the jacket from my body as I was sent rolling. I knew him. He was from the village, used to tend the lumber and fires in the winter. I used to watch him walking back and forth with wood, his hair greasy, and his eyes always had a sneaky look to them. He’d always steered clear of me. He must not recognize me now.

  I looked about, but none of the guys were there. These assholes had left me sleeping beside the biggest damn fire they could build and taken off? Really? They might as well have wrapped a bow around me for the first murdering bastard to come along.

  “I need these, too,” he said, tugging my boots from my feet.

  “Get off me,” I yelled.

  Boots and jacket torn from me, he paused to take another look at what he could get. He smirked as he looked me up and down, discovering something else he was interested in.

  He dropped my jacket and shoes beside me as he knelt down. “Might as well have a sampling of all the goods while I’m here. Don’t like to be wasteful.”

  I shoved weakly at his hands, as they moved to my pants, and yelled, “Koz.” My voice barely carried, but they had good hearing. He’d hear me. Someone would.

  I looked to the side. A small girl stood in the distance, long red curls framing her face as she watched. She must’ve run from the village with the rest of the residents. Had she gotten lost in the chaos?

  “Go,” I tried to yell to her, but my warning came out a whisper. She shouldn’t see this. She probably had enough mental scars from that place already.

  He clamped a hand over my mouth, yanking my head away from the girl. “Your friends took off on you fifteen minutes ago. I watched them gather their shit and leave, but let’s not push the issue. I’m going to take this knife and hold it to your throat. If you don’t fight me, you get to live. If you give me a problem, you don’t. Either way, your body will still be warm while I fuck it. Are we clear?”

  I was going to kill him. In my vision, I saw his eyes go wide before he dropped dead.

  I nodded under his hand, and he lifted it.

  “I don’t want trouble. As long as you don’t kill me, I’ll help.” My weakness made it easy to fake acceptance for what he was going to do to me.

  I must’ve really looked the part, because he didn’t hesitate as I reached out, laying a cold hand on top of his. His head jerked to mine at the soft gesture. I smiled, kno
wing I was going to kill him. I locked my fingers around his.

  There was a flicker in his eyes as he felt the odd sensation of his life force draining out of his body, weakening him, the transfer of strength so subtle, so foreign, that he didn’t understand what was happening. He didn’t try to pull back, believing he was the one still in command. By the time he realized something was terribly wrong and tried to pull his hand from mine, it was too late. I had sapped him of his life, and he was falling over.

  I watched the light leave his eyes as life flooded through my veins. I shoved him away from me as I stood, buttoning my pants and grabbing my jacket from where he’d dropped it on the ground. The girl was gone, and I hoped she hadn’t seen what I’d done.

  I sat on the log, pulling my boots on, not nearly as cold as I’d been. Footsteps approached from behind. I turned, watching as the three of them made their way closer. Zink gave the body a kick before he nodded. Hess went straight to the fire, outstretching his hands. Koz joined him.

  “I’m assuming you were all watching?” I asked. Just because I knew why they’d done, it didn’t mean I liked them for it.

  “Of course. We wouldn’t leave you out here alone,” Koz said, almost as if the situation amused him.

  “How far would you have let that go?” I asked.

  Koz shrugged. Hess didn’t look at me.

  Finally, Zink answered, “Until you did what you had to. We all live at the lodge and pretend we’re civilized, but deep down, where it counts, we know what it takes to survive this world. You know it too. You’re too strong to get a free pass.”

  “What if I didn’t want to kill him?”

  Zink gave the dead body another nudge with his toe. “You think this guy was going to improve this world? I sure don’t.”

  “You want me dead. Why bother?” I asked him.

  He shrugged. “You still have your uses right now.”

  He wouldn’t go against Callon yet, not until it was past the critical point.

  I’d finished tying my boots, but I didn’t get up. I stared at the body a few feet away from me instead. What kind of monster was I? Yes, the guy had wronged me, but the way I could so casually deal out death? This was the second man I’d condemned to die in less than a day. I was now a confirmed killer, and I was no closer to answers than before. Maybe that was why the Hell Pits followed me. Maybe they’d killed the Magician because he was evil and I was too.

  My veins were pumping with life, and I felt like I could run miles. And yet I couldn’t get up from where I sat on the log.

  Hess stopped beside me. “Don’t be ashamed of what you are. You might be a killer, like us, but you’re also a savior. You do what we can only dream about, pull someone who deserves more time from the brink of the River Styx. You can save the people who deserve saving.”

  Callon rushed back into the clearing as if the giant bonfire built by his men was a call to battle. His eyes scanned the area and landed on me, then the dead body near my feet. He walked over to the dead guy, rolling him over with his boot for a better look.

  Tuesday ran to my side. “What happened? You look better physically, but like shit otherwise.”

  I waved a hand at the dead guy, shrugged, and shook my head. I couldn’t talk about it. It was too much, too quick.

  Tuesday nodded, putting a hand on my shoulder.

  “Is this why we have a bonfire?” Callon asked the guys. He was a lot quicker to pick up on what their plan had been than I.

  “You want her alive. She’s alive,” Zink said.

  Had Callon looked at me the way he was cold-eyeing Zink, I’d be reaching for the nearest weapon. Callon’s gaze shifted to me. “You okay?”

  “I’m fine,” I said, hoping that would be the last question about it. I got to my feet, grabbed my water canteen, and left in the direction of the stream.

  Thirty-Three

  From the minute I walked into the great room for breakfast, I sensed the shift in people’s attitudes toward me. Eyes glazed over me, as if they wished they hadn’t seen me. Now that they had, they didn’t know exactly what to do about it. No one would snub me outright, because Callon had pretty much tattooed his name on my forehead the night of the roast. It didn’t matter. I could feel it. After days of traveling, and now no better off than when we’d left, it was the last thing I wanted to deal with.

  I could deal with direct hostility. I wasn’t used to handling the nods of artificial courtesy. I took a plate from the pile and loaded it up with eggs. I headed straight to the seat next to Tuesday, the only friendly face in the room.

  “Did something happen while we were gone?” I asked softly. I didn’t care if they heard me, but damned if I’d let them know it was bothering me.

  “Apparently the Hell Pit had started moving away again while we were gone. By this morning, word was already spreading that it’s back to heading this way again.”

  “Well, that explains the warm welcome home.” If warm was a frigid winter. Tuesday cracked a tiny smile. At least I could amuse someone.

  It wasn’t like I could blame them for hating me. I could’ve made it easier if I went upstairs, but I had a limit to what I’d do to accommodate their distaste.

  A guy that worked on repairs around the lodge inched in closer, trying to be discreet about his eavesdropping.

  “Hey! Back up!” Tuesday yelled at him. She turned back to continue our conversation. “The people here are a bunch of assholes. Have nothing better to do than to stare and listen,” she said, not so quietly.

  The guy’s face went red as he backed away.

  Issy walked in and took the seat on the other side of me with her mug of tea. “You look like you could use some reinforcements.” She took a sip of her tea. Issy got up with the sun. It wasn’t a surprise she’d already heard the news.

  “It’s true, by the way.” I didn’t whisper or worry who was listening. What was the point? They knew. And if they didn’t, they’d find out soon enough.

  “You mean about you being confirmed as the reason we might be run out of our home? It was all they could talk about before you came down, until I told the lot of them to shut the hell up. I’d be sleeping in a dirt bed if it weren’t for you, and I know it.”

  Issy’s time of ignoring what I’d done for her seemed to have officially passed, even if I would prefer a little more subtlety. I’d liked it so much better when we didn’t discuss what had happened. I gave her a quick smile and hoped she’d move on to a different topic—even going back to me drawing the Hell Pits here was preferable.

  “No matter what happens or what people say, you’re a good person. I’m not certain how you managed to save me, but you did. And I’m not asking right now, either. I’m not sure I want to know.” She was smart enough to figure out she probably wouldn’t like the how.

  Tuesday leaned forward so she could see past me to Issy. “It’s for the best you don’t.”

  If the subject bothered Tuesday, the feeling didn’t make it to her stomach, as she moved onto a muffin. She had a lot of calories to make up for with all those missed meals on the road.

  Issy didn’t say another word after Tuesday’s warning. Telling her that I’d sucked up one person’s life and given it to her wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have over breakfast. There were too many other hard subjects I needed to tackle today. I was going to have to leave here, and soon. My days were numbered. I needed to make a plan as best I could.

  I couldn’t look at Tuesday when I thought about it.

  Hess ducked into the great room. “Callon is calling a meeting on the back lawn,” he said loudly to the room. Tension spread through the crowd like a palpable wave.

  Most people didn’t waste any time getting up and exiting. Tuesday grabbed a couple of muffins and gave us both a let’s go see what this is all about look. Issy grabbed her tea and followed. I was the last in line. News didn’t tend to be good these days, so I didn’t see a need to rush out there.

  Callon was on the back porch as peopl
e gathered around him. His eyes passed over me but didn’t pause. I took that as a good sign. Maybe this would have nothing to do with me for a change.

  Callon cleared his throat, signaling he was ready. “Most of you here know about the poison pits. There’s been word that they’re shifting positions. One seems to be moving quite steadily in our direction. I’m looking for a team of people to help build a trench between here and it. It’ll be quite a bit of work, but it might be our only option to slow it down.”

  A man near the front raised his hand. I vaguely remembered his name being Levi. I was positive he’d die from a heart attack in about five years as he was digging a hole somewhere else.

  “Levi is our first,” Callon said.

  Levi waved his hand again. “No, that’s not what I meant. We’ve all heard that the Hell Pit is coming because of her. Is that true?” He turned and pointed at me.

  Callon’s eyes went hard. “We don’t know for certain why it’s heading this way. Only that it is.”

  “But that’s not what my sister heard,” another woman, who lived in one of the surrounding cottages, said. “She told me that everyone knows it’s her.”

  Callon’s shoulders straightened. “Then she was wrong, because nobody knows anything.”

  I weaved my way up to the front of the group, even as Callon’s eyes shot to me, then flickered back to the corner where I’d been.

  I ignored the suggestion. I wasn’t going to lie to these people. It didn’t matter what he wanted. Everything they’d heard was true, and there was no denying it. All they had to do was go look at the jar that was in Callon’s office and then watch me walk across a room. The sludge didn’t lie, that was for sure. I wasn’t going to either.

  I didn’t stop until I was standing in front of Callon, who was crossing his arms and frowning at me.

  “Callon is right. We don’t know for sure if it wants me. But it does appear that way.”

  “Can’t you go?” Levi asked.

  To give the man credit, it wasn’t said maliciously, more like recommending the best course of action. As much as I was about telling the truth, this wasn’t the moment I was going to come clean and tell them it was my conclusion as well.