Chapter 3 #2
“Yes, I do.” Which was probably why there’d been more of a sense of urgency to find her.
With a toss of my hand into the air, the other quieted so I could listen. While she knew how to remain silent, my hearing was keen, picking up everything.
Rats the size of dogs skittered past, but otherwise, the only other sound was her crossing the tracks once again so she could return to the car where she’d been hiding.
Rock joined me. “Do you want me to go after her?”
“Cut her off at the exit. Ghost, Wizard, ensure she doesn’t get past you on the opposite end.”
Wrath took a deep breath. “The child will be a problem.”
“We’ll deal with it.”
Excess baggage we didn’t need, but if taking the child would create a false sense of trust then so be it. The girl would be dealt with later.
Star.
Her name reverberated in my mind. Star.
A woman who I couldn’t dare desire, but my body wasn’t interested in surrendering to anyone’s rules.
I had no concern that our information was incorrect. She was everything I’d been told to expect. Perhaps even more. What I hadn’t anticipated was the deep ache furrowing in my loins. Yet our mission was clear.
Bring her safely to Eden.
There was no time to rethink how the task needed to be executed successfully. First, I needed to ensure she understood our intentions, although I had a sense that would be far less doable than discovering her location.
We were exhausted from the journey, the weeks of traveling leaving us aching for something that would never occur in our lifetime again. Peace. However, we’d fulfill our duties, prepared for others as soon as we were finished. What weighed on my mind continued to be why her importance.
And why so many had gone to the trouble of saving me and my men when we’d been prepared to die for the cause. Questions that needed answers. Those wouldn’t be on the agenda until this mission had been accomplished.
Whether or not the female agreed, she was ours to protect, ours to imprison if necessary.
I held her sword into the burnt orange light, twisting the hilt in my hand. The piece was magnificent, the markings indicating it was at least a couple of centuries old. The steel blade glistened with fresh blood, but the worn leather of the handle was stained with dated conquests.
All attributed to the female.
“We take her,” I told them. “But I will be the one to do it.”
I crossed the tracks at the same location she had, tracing her steps as if necessary. Before I reached the car where she and the child had been hiding, I felt vibrations, another annoyance keeping my mood on edge.
The Dweller didn’t notice any movement or the arc of the blade before it crashed against his arm at the shoulder. The angle split the monster in half, the force sending the two portions in different directions. I roared my anger to the sky.
A sharp cry behind me indicated I’d frightened the child. By now, she’d likely experienced worse. In two strides, I was at the doors, ripping them apart and off their tracks in seconds.
Another growl caught my attention just before a small canine lunged toward me, his sharp teeth plunging into my forearm.
The moment I shifted my arm to dislodge the creature, the child shrieked in desperation while the tip of a blade was driven against my jugular.
“If you dare hurt that dog, there will be nothing left of you or your friends.” Star’s voice was low and harsh, gravelly in a way that created images of pure filth in my mind. Nothing about her surprised me at this point, including her insistence she maintained some sense of control.
I lowered my gaze to the child, nodding only once before deliberately crouching. All while the female mirrored my actions, even digging the sharp point into my skin. Her face was so close my body was wound tight.
The child scuttled closer on her hands and knees, looking into Star’s eyes for direction.
“Get Jake. I assure you this beast will not hurt you lest he craves dying a nice, slow, and difficult death.”
“Puppy,” the child whimpered, placing her tiny hands on the dog. The scrawny mutt snarled, not eager to let go. His actions tore my skin, trickles of blood dripping down my arm.
The girl blinked several times, her small chest heaving as she lowered her face to the animal’s muzzle. Whatever she whispered in his ear even I couldn’t hear, but her words allowed the dog to relax, his jaws opening.
Star seemed pleased that I was injured. Her smirk matched the fire in her deep green eyes, the color almost iridescent in the rich hue.
With the dog in the girl’s arms, she began to shiver, her small body rocking. Whatever she’d recently been through, the child was in shock.
“We don’t have much time.”
“Time for what?” Star tossed back, her nose wrinkling as if in disgust.
“The Borgata are on a hunt. They cannot find us.”
“I’ll be just fine. And I don’t give a shit what happens to you.” Sight of my men outside the car caught her attention. While her tone was harsh, her scent was driving me crazy. She followed the trail of blood as a stream dripped to the floor.
So did the child and in an act that surprised the female as much as myself, the little girl gingerly placed her hand on the punctures.
“Wren. No. Enemy,” Star said through gritted teeth.
When the child lifted her head, I was allowed a much better look of her eyes. The were ice blue, her pupils foggy as if unable to see, but I sensed I was wrong.
The corners of the girl’s mouth upturned so slowly I almost didn’t notice. She was telling Star that what she was doing was safe.
While I knew the injury would heal at a much faster rate than if I had not been altered, when my skin tingled in an entirely different way than I’d felt before, I turned my attention to the girl.
Her touch remained light, but her fingers were moving, a dance as if playing an instrument. Mere seconds later, she lifted her hand, the slight smile on her face more for herself than either one of us.
Star gasped but instinctively, she pulled the child away. When I looked down again, I was finally surprised.
The wound had healed.
For whatever reason, the benevolent act annoyed Star more than it should.
Perhaps because in her eyes I was the lowly animal and not the canine.
What were the odds of finding a fire starter and a healer within the same few yards?
Perhaps this was what the Revelator had called divine intervention.
The holy man had been insistent a rise in power was imminent, toppling the regime still held by the king even though he’d suffered a grave injury at my hands.
I grabbed Star’s wrist, pushing her arm until the blade prickled my skin. She was shocked by my reaction, her eyes opening wide.
“Do it,” I told her.
Given the number of dead bodies because of her fearlessness, the hesitation seemed unfamiliar to her. Certainly unwanted. Yet the confusion riding her lovely features presented an opportunity. I snatched the knife from her hand, immediately pushing it against mine in the sheath.
Her shock was immediately masked with a momentary expression of horror after reaching for the throwing stars she’d forgotten she’d already used.
I pulled them from my pocket, twisting them in my fingers as if a magic trick. “Looking for these?”
“Bastard.”
“Perhaps. Stand.”
“No.”
On any other day, perhaps her defiance would spark more interest. Not now, when I was counting the minutes from the Empire to the subway station. “Do it or I will lift you myself.”
As soon as she started to stand, so did I. Taller by a foot, I peered down at her, allowing myself to enjoy the view. She didn’t move right away, which prompted me to place my hand on her hip.
She slapped it away, her mouth twisting in frustration. All while the others were fighting amusement.
“What do you want from me?” she asked, the tilt of her chin in such clear rebellion a reminder I needed to maintain a sense of control around her.
No matter how difficult. No matter if my body disagreed with my mind.
I doubted she was immune to using whatever method available to obtain the upper hand.
I beckoned Vicious to join us. The child instantly moved behind Star, clinging to her legs even while her curiosity allowed her the courage to study Vicious as he approached. Children were rare, so much so he seemed more fascinated by her than interested in doing his job.
He caught my look and smiled.
“Arms out,” I told her. “Do not test me.”
“What if I like testing you?”
Her deep breath was held, but she complied. While I rubbed my hands down her arms to her sides, she never blinked. Not once. She was obtaining information, searching for scars or other physical abnormalities. Something she could use in battle. I was more than curious about who’d trained her.
I continued searching for weapons, finding knives in an X sheath strapped to her back, a small handmade explosive in the deep pocket of her cargo pants. A rare sight, the carefully crafted weapon was worth its weight in gold. Something else we couldn’t allow the Borgata to get their hands on.
With every weapon discovered, I stacked one after the other into Vicious’ hands. He was as surprised as I was, more so in knowing she could and would use every one of them.
Only when I reached her legs to pat her down did she finally stiffen.
I was forced to crouch in front of her to finish the task.
I forced my breathing to steady for fear or giving away my body’s desire.
She closed her eyes when I reached her inner thighs, her hands fisted and I knew she’d strike me if my hands moved too close.
When I stood once again, she took a step closer, the momentary discomfort lost. “Those are mine.”
“And you’ll get them back when we reach our destination.”
“I’m not going with you.”
“You are and you will.”
“Then you’ll need to take me as your prisoner.”
Did she honestly believe her challenge would sway me or entice the beast she’d already awakened? I cocked my head, surprised to see a slight blush crossing from one side of her jaw to the other.