Dying Wish: A Novel of the Sentinel Wars (38 page)

Especially him. The demon who’d broken into her bedroom was different. Stronger. She’d felt him before at the school play. She hadn’t seen him, but she knew how he felt—the chaotic way he made her veins vibrate. She’d thought it was all in her head, right up to the time he’d lunged for her.

Autumn’s mouth went dry and her palms sweated enough to leave damp spots on her jeans. She hugged her legs closer, trying to remember that the sun was still up. He couldn’t hurt her right now. They’d be safely inside Dabyr before dark. She didn’t need to worry.

Dad pulled into a gas station and started filling up the tank. They still had hours to go until they could stop, and after it was dark, she wasn’t getting out of this car until they were safely behind Dabyr’s walls.

“Mom, I’m going to go to the bathroom.”

“I’ll come with you.”

Mom took Autumn’s arm and pulled her close. Before
her capture, Autumn would have been too cool to let Mom do that, but not anymore. She’d spent months crying for Mom, and now that she had her back, she wasn’t going to do anything to push her away.

Autumn took care of business and came out of the stall. A young man in a hoodie had Mom in his grasp, his hand clamped over her mouth. He pressed a funny-looking, long handgun against Mom’s ribs.

Shock rooted Autumn in place as she sorted through what was right in front of her, trying to make sense of it.

“Autumn Mason?” asked the man.

“Y-yes.”

A smile split his gaunt face and made his sunken eyes light up.

“Good.”

The gun went off. Mom let out a sharp cry of pain and crumpled. Her head hit the sink, and she landed on the ground, unmoving on the filthy bathroom floor.

Terror and pain exploded in Autumn’s chest. She lurched toward her mom, but didn’t even make it to her knees. The man wrapped a skinny, incredibly strong arm around her waist and dragged her through the door.

She screamed and called for her dad. She clutched at whatever she could reach, knocking over food and displays of chips and snacks. The man behind the counter lay bleeding on the floor, his throat cut and his blood spilling onto the cracked tile.

“Dad!” Autumn screamed louder. She could see her father outside, pumping gas, but he couldn’t hear her. The wind was howling, and the highway traffic was racing by.

She fought against her captor, kicking and clawing at him. Nothing helped. He kept moving toward the exit on the opposite side of the store—one out of sight of her father.

Autumn grabbed a twelve-pack of soda from a shelf as they passed, and slammed the heavy box into the
man’s face. He grunted in pain, but kept moving. “Behave, bitch, or I’ll tell Murak to feed you to his pets.”

Murak
.

Oh God. She knew that name. She’d heard it before. He was the one who’d come after her.

Whoever this man was, he was working for the demons, taking her back into her nightmare.

A rush of strength filled her skinny limbs, and she twisted around enough to dig her thumb into his eye. He screamed in pain, and a second later, Autumn’s world came to a shocking halt. The strike of his gun against her head barely had time to register before her vision winked out and she descended into darkness.

I
ain stared straight ahead, watching the road pass beneath them, so he wouldn’t be tempted to watch Jackie sleep. He was free, thanks to her. Free to find a death of his choosing.

He hated the idea of leaving her. There was also a momentary twinge of guilt over leaving his brothers, but that paled in comparison to the way he felt for Jackie.

He’d let himself get too close to her. He’d become attached.

His monster paced inside its cage, testing the bars for weakness. Iain refused to let him out. He just had to hold on a bit longer.

Iain had no idea where he was going. He simply drove, following where his instincts led him. Eventually, he ended up at a Gerai house nearest the caves where he’d found Jackie. Andra had used her magic to collapse the cave entrance, preventing other Synestryn from using it as a nesting site. Gilda and Angus had died not far from here, crushed under tons of stone. Their bodies had been recovered and buried at Dabyr, but there was still a sense of loss hanging over everything nearby.

Those caves seemed like as good a place as any to die. At least there, he wouldn’t taint another place with sadness, should anyone care enough to mourn him.

Jackie would. She already did grieve for him in some ways. Her heart was too tender not to feel bad.

The pain he caused her was his fault for letting her get too close. He never should have left Dabyr with her. He should have seen what a risk to her it had been. At the time, all he’d known was that he could keep her safe until she decided to choose one of his brothers. He never could have predicted that she would end up tying herself to him.
Until you’re as good as new.

Which he’d never be, but his death would free her soon.

As soon as the sun went down, he’d leave Jackie here. He’d walk to the caves, cut himself to draw the demons. Then he’d go down fighting.

The sun sank lower, inching toward the horizon. It was a pretty day, with a clear sky and a light breeze. He’d never really cared enough to notice such things before, but he noticed everything now, knowing it was his last chance to do so.

Jackie’s sweet scent filled his lungs. Her skin was soft and warm under his fingers. Until now, he hadn’t realized he was holding her hand. He could hear her steady breathing as she slept.

Her dark hair hid her face from him, so he brushed it back, soaking up the sight of her. So pretty. Her lips were parted, making his mouth water for a kiss, but he held back. She needed her sleep after all the power she’d handled in order to free him. There was no sense in waking her until the last minute, as he’d promised he’d do.

Iain simply watched her sleep, enjoying the sight, while the sun’s color deepened to a rich, golden yellow that matched her luceria perfectly.

The Golden Lady. That suited her. It filled him with a sense of pride, while the monster in him let out a possessive growl of longing.

The beast wasn’t going to go down without a fight. It didn’t want to die. Iain was going to have to keep it in
check until the very end, no matter what. If he didn’t, the monster would fight its way free and go back to her.

She wouldn’t be safe until both he and his monster were dead.

Jackie opened her eyes and blinked the sleep away. They were bloodshot—a sure sign she’d been wielding too much power.

She smiled at him, and then as reality set in, that smile faltered. Her gaze stayed fixed on his, unflinching. “You waited.”

“I promised I would.”

Sadness pinched her mouth and fell through their link, heavy and painful.

He didn’t know how to make it better. It was his job to make her life a full, happy place, and he’d failed hideously.

“Don’t be sad,” he said.

Tears pooled in her eyes, gleaming in the waning sunlight. “I can’t help it. I don’t want you to do this.”

He couldn’t expect her to understand why he had no choice. She hadn’t seen the violence and ruin that someone like him could cause. Before, when his emotions had been dead and cold, he hadn’t cared if what he did hurt someone, so long as it helped his brothers, but now, staring into her eyes, he did care. The person he was most likely to hurt would be her, and that wasn’t something he could allow himself to do.

“Hush,” he told her. “Everything is going to be fine.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Words weren’t going to do any good. There was nothing more he could say that wouldn’t cause her more pain, but there were still a few more minutes of sunlight left, and he wanted to spend every one of them with her.

“Let’s go inside,” he said.

She nodded, getting out of the car and gathering up some of the things she’d brought with them. Iain found the key under a flowerpot and unlocked the door.

He’d been here before once or twice. Like all the other Gerai houses, it was modest and unassuming, keeping people from poking their nose too close. Not that they’d find much. Stores of food and spare clothing. Maybe a sword tucked away in a closet. Clean linens, and sometimes, if they were lucky, fresh food was stocked in the refrigerator.

The furnishings were worn and out-of-date, but clean and sturdy enough to hold the weight of him and his brothers. This home had only two bedrooms, both with large beds and closets filled with clean clothes. Wood was laid in the fireplace, and he lit the kindling, hoping the warmth would help comfort Jackie.

He wasn’t sure how he was going to slip away from her. She wasn’t going to let him go easily. He could tie her up, but she would probably just burn through the bindings. He could knock her out, but that would leave her open to attack, and that was unacceptable.

There was only one thing he could think to do: call Cain to come and physically restrain her while Iain did what he needed to do.

Iain waited until Jackie slipped into the bathroom before he lifted the phone from the kitchen wall and dialed Cain.

“It’s Iain,” he said.

“Where the hell are you? People were turning Dabyr upside down looking for you. I got out just before they started checking lifemarks. Thanks for the warning, by the way.”

“I need you to meet us. I’m going to do the right thing, but if you don’t come and stop Jackie, she’ll follow me right into the fight.”

“I don’t know,” said Cain. “If I do that, she’s going to hate me. It’s not exactly how I want things to start out, you know?”

“She’ll forgive you. Her heart’s too soft not to. But I need you to do this. For her, and for me. I need to know she’s safe so I can move on.”

Cain was quiet for a moment. “Yeah. Okay. You’re right. Her safety has to come first. Just tell me where you are.”

“The Gerai house near where Angus and Gilda were killed.”

There was a low exhalation of breath on the other end of the line, as if Cain was psyching himself up for an unpleasant task. “I’ll be there as soon as I can, but it will be a while before I can reach you.”

“I’ll wait. And please, don’t tell anyone where we are. I don’t want this to be any harder on Jackie than it has to be. I’m in control.”

“For now.”

“Just hurry. I want this done tonight.”

“I’m on my way now.”

Iain hung up the phone just as Jackie opened the bathroom door. Her hair was damp at her temples, and her nose was red. She looked as though she might have been crying, but with her eyes bloodshot from overexertion, he couldn’t be sure.

“Are you hungry?” he asked.

“No, but I should eat. It’s been a while.”

He rummaged in the fridge for something, but came up with only a couple of apples. The freezer held several labeled dishes that had promise. He pulled out some pot roast and popped it into the microwave.

Jackie plopped down at the table in exhaustion. Sadness radiated out from her in waves so strong they made his ring vibrate.

That was his fault. He should have stopped her from helping him escape, rather than going along with her plan. He hadn’t realized just how hard this would be on her.

“You’re going to be fine,” he said, hoping to reassure her.

“No, I’m not. I want you to promise me you won’t do anything stupid and kill yourself.”

He ignored her request and started a pot of coffee.

“I mean it, Iain. This isn’t a joke. If I have to, I’ll lock you up myself.” The venom in her voice would have been cute had he not believed every word she’d said.

“Let’s not talk about that. Let’s just enjoy a meal together.”

“A last meal? How the hell am I supposed to choke that down?”

Frustration gripped him hard, chafing against his skin. The beast growled, clawing the bars of its cage. It would have been so easy to just let go and give in to temptation—set the monster free and let her see what it was he was protecting her from.

But he couldn’t do that to her. She’d already suffered more fear and pain in the few years she’d been alive than she deserved. The sun would be down soon. Cain would come and restrain her. It would all be over in a few hours.

He knelt in front of her, taking her hands in his. Her fingers were cold and shaking. He rubbed them between his palms and looked into her eyes. He wasn’t very good at erasing memories, but his connection to Jackie would make the task easier.

Iain slipped inside her thoughts as if he had been born for the task. He gathered tiny specks of power from the air and channeled them along his skin. His hands heated, and he whispered thoughts of calm comfort to her mind. After a few seconds, her eyelids drooped and she swayed in her seat.

If he could have, he would have erased all hints of himself from her memory, but that was beyond his skills. Instead, he dropped a filmy veil over her grief and worry, shielding her from them.

He searched for something cheerful to brighten her mood, and what came instantly to hand was the image of little Samson cradled in her arms, and the memory of them entwined in passion. He gathered those images
and used them to hide her darker thoughts, making the happy things glow brighter so that her focus remained there.

At least for a while. He knew his fix was temporary, but for now, it would ease her and get her through the next few hours.

The microwave beeped. Iain set her now-warm hands in her lap and finished preparing their dinner. They ate in silence, her movements slow and methodical. He watched her the entire time, gauging the effects of his efforts.

Her gaze was distant, but calm. She seemed sleepy, but those distressing waves of grief were no longer seeping out of her.

Once her plate was empty, he said, “You should get some rest.”

Her eyes jerked upward as he spoke, as if he’d startled her. She blinked a few times, looking around in confusion as if she didn’t recognize where she was. “Rest?”

Iain rose from his seat and went around to her side of the table. Her head tilted back, and she gave him a dark, womanly smile that was filled with the promise of paradise.