"Powerful characters and their heartfelt need to survive combined with lots of exciting action."
Reviewed by Mandy Burns
Posted December 3, 2009
Romance Paranormal
Audra Madison's terror started eight years ago when her
family was attacked by monsters; she has no other words for
them because of the horror they inflict. They kidnapped her
youngest sister, leaving another sister with a broken mind
and dying body, which left Audra feeling inadequate at
failing to save them both. Now Audra puts everything into
helping other families find the children stolen from their
homes, only to find that too often she is too late to save
either their bodies or their minds. Audra is tired and
drained, but her will to help overrides anything she may
need to survive. This is why she finds herself facing the
monsters from her nightmares with only a shotgun and the
need to protect the young and innocent. Being a Sentinel Warrior, Paul's time is limited. The
leaves on his tattoo are dooming him to a slow death unless
he finds a woman meant to restore his soul. Paul and his
friends have a promising lead thanks to the bloodsucker,
Logan. They are successfully following that lead when they
come upon a woman in dire need of help as she faces too
many monsters to survive. Foremost in Paul's mind is the
anticipation that she will be able to help him, but he's
afraid. The last time he bonded himself to a woman, she
threw away his love and power leaving him to the fate of a
slow death. But before she can be anyone's salvation, he
first must rescue her from her situation. This is the second book in The Sentinel War series, and
those of you following the story will not be disappointed.
The powerful characters and their need to survive are
heartfelt with plenty of action. Some questions are
answered, while providing new information that will leave
you anxious for the next book. A completely enthralling
story! I loved it!
SUMMARY
Sentinel warrior Paul has been searching for centuries for a
woman like Andra. To find her, he strikes a bargain with a
bloodhunter that could cost him his life. Now, his desire
for Andra threatens to destroy his much-needed control.
Against her wishes, Andra agrees to join Paul on a journey
fraught with danger- and leading directly to the Synestryn
who victimized her family eight years ago.
ExcerptOmaha, Nebraska
July 14
The little boy's frightened whimpers grew weaker by the
second. Andra Madison could barely hear him now, even though
her ear was pressed to a crack in the brick wall of the
abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Omaha. Those
muffled, mewling sobs of fear broke her heart and made her
want to tear the monsters who had kidnapped Sammy apart with
her bare hands. Or blow them apart with her shotgun. That
worked, too.
Even at three in the morning, the July air was still hot
and thick with humidity, making it hard to breathe. Then
again, maybe that was just her reaction to fear talking.
There were at least four monsters in there guarding
Sammy-twice as many as she'd ever managed to defeat before.
And that battle had been a close call. She wasn't quite sure
yet how she was going to get the boy out alive. She'd have
to wing it, and pray for the best.
One of the monsters let out a deep growl that sent a jolt
of primal fear ripping through her system. Sweat broke out
on her forehead as she fought the urge to flee. She planted
her boots hard and gritted her teeth until the need to run
away washed over her and started to fade. She was left
shaking and dripping with sweat, but at least she'd held her
ground.
Andra knew just what these creatures were capable of-had
seen it with her own eyes on more than one occasion-and the
sound they were making now wasn't a good sign. The monsters
were getting ready to feed.
The image of Sammy's small body being ripped to shreds by
claws and teeth filled her mind and made her stomach heave.
She couldn't let that happen. Not this time.
Andra had officially run out of time to scout the
building and plan her attack. Plan or not, she had to get
little Sammy out of there right now.
She hopped up three cement stairs and twisted the knob on
the old warehouse door, but it was locked. Of course. The
windows were too high for her to climb through, and she
wasn't about to go wasting any time trying to find another
way in. There was no time left, and she'd promised Sammy's
parents she'd bring their baby home alive.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
She never should have made promises she might not be able
to keep, but when faced with so much fear and panic in the
pleading eyes of helpless parents-so much love-she couldn't
help herself. She'd foolishly wanted to give them hope.
After all the times she'd failed to find a stolen child,
or rescue them before it was too late, she should have known
better than to make any empty promises.
Andra took a deep breath for courage, said a quick prayer
for luck, gripped her shotgun tight, and slammed the heel of
her boot against the rotting door. Chunks of splintered wood
burst into the giant room where Sammy was being held
prisoner. Andra crouched low, using the frame of the door
for concealment as she peered into the warehouse,
frantically searching for some kind of plan that would get
them both out alive.
It was dark in there, with only a few streaks of grimy
yellow streetlight flowing in through the broken windows set
high in the walls. The building was old, and it showed every
one of its years in fallen beams and cracked mortar.
Graffiti covered the walls, and trash was heaped in little
mounds here and there. The wooden floor was filthy where it
wasn't simply missing, leaving ragged holes to whatever
space lurked below.
Along the far side of the room she saw Sammy. He was tied
to one of the few columns still strong enough to hold up the
roof. His eyes were huge with fear, and tears streamed down
his face, leaving narrow lines of clean skin in their wake.
A dirty rag had been stuffed in his mouth, but Andra could
hear Sammy's pitiful whimpers coming from behind the gag. He
was still alive, thank God. Now all she had to do was get
him out of here in the same condition, and back home where
he belonged.
Piece of cake. Or it would have been, had it not been for
the hungry, salivating monsters standing between her and the
boy.
Andra had been hunting these things for eight years and
she still had no other word for them besides monsters. They
were the size of large dogs, with the head of a wolf and the
body of a chimpanzee. They had long, sharp claws and teeth
to match. Oily, matted black fur covered their bodies, and
long strings of glowing yellow saliva dripped from their
too-wide jaws. And for reasons Andra still had not figured
out, the creatures that kept these things as pets liked to
steal children.
She didn't see any of those six-foot-tall insectoid
monsters around, but she knew they wouldn't be far away from
their precious pets.
Her explosive entry had pulled the monsters' attention
away from the little boy and placed it squarely on her-a
much better place for it, as far as she was concerned.
They prowled toward her on all fours, their long claws
leaving ragged scratches in the old wooden floor.
Fear threatened to make her sluggish, and once again she
had to fight back the urge to flee and leave the boy to fend
for himself. She wasn't frightened easily, but these things
had the ability to make her blood congeal and her breath
freeze in her lungs. There was something unnatural about the
fear they caused. It was more than just being face-to-face
with so many claws and teeth. It was more than simply
fearing for her life. There was some instinctive knowledge
buried deep inside her that warned her that when she faced
these monsters, she was facing something bigger and darker
than she was able to imagine. And after all the things she'd
seen, she had a pretty vivid imagination.
Andra forced herself to even out her breathing, stay
calm, and focus on getting Sammy out alive. She shut out
that unnatural fear and pretended she was just facing down
rabid dogs. A terrified corner of her mind giggled at the
ridiculous notion, but she ignored it as best she could.
Andra prayed her hands would stop shaking long enough to
get a clean shot; then she stood from her crouch and leveled
the shotgun at the largest of the beasts. There were still
almost a hundred feet between her and them, and anything
less than a point-blank shot would just piss them off.
So she stood there, just outside the doorway, where they
could come at her only one at a time, and waited for the
monsters to close the distance.
***
"We're close," said Logan.
"How close?" asked Paul. Excitement prowled through his
system, making him grip the steering wheel tighter.
He glanced at the Sanguinar as he sped through the
run-down industrial area on the edge of Omaha. Logan's eyes
gave off an eerie silver glow in the darkness, and he was
staring into the distance at something Paul could not see.
He wasn't sure Logan knew what he was doing, but he sure as
hell hoped so. Paul's future-his life-hung in the balance.
If they found the woman and she was the one, the power
that had been building inside him for decades, and the pain
it caused, would finally have an outlet.
"We've been driving all over the Midwest for days,"
griped Madoc from the backseat. "Fucking bloodsucker doesn't
know what the hell he's doing. He's just jerking you around."
"You didn't have to come with us," said Paul. He didn't
care much for the loner in the backseat. He took too many
chances and wouldn't have recognized a team player if one
had been sitting in his lap. He was the kind of man who left
body bags in his wake. His only saving grace was that
usually, the bad guys needed more of those body bags than
the good guys did.
"Joseph decided otherwise."
"Since when do you follow orders?" asked Paul.
"I've got my reasons," said Madoc.
"Which are?"
"None of your fucking business. And, for the record, just
because I'm here doesn't mean I don't think this is a load
of shit. If it was so easy for Logan to find female Theronai
then why didn't we know about this particular skill a
hundred years ago, before our men started dying off?"
"What if you're wrong?" asked Paul. "What if Logan can
track Helen's bloodline and find more women like her?"
In the rearview mirror, Paul saw Madoc sneering at Logan.
"We've been so busy following this supposed trail we haven't
killed a demon in days. My sword arm's gonna be one big
marshmallow by the time you figure out Logan's full of shit.
He's leading you on for your blood, man. Don't you get that?"
It might be true. Paul knew it was possible. The
Sanguinar were not the most trustworthy of men. Their need
for blood made them . . . unpredictable. If Paul hadn't been
so desperate to find a woman like Helen, he never would have
bargained with Logan.
But he was desperate. The pain was becoming unbearable.
He wasn't sure why his body didn't explode, why the power he
housed didn't just rip through skin and bone and tear him
apart. He was up to three hours of meditation every day just
to be able to function, to get out of bed each night. He had
only a couple of leaves left clinging to his lifemark, and
at the rate they'd been falling, he wasn't sure his soul
would live more than another ten days. After that, things
would get ugly fast.
"Go left here," whispered Logan in a strained voice.
"I've found her."
A bright bubble of hope swelled up inside Paul as he
gunned the engine and took a hard turn. He blasted right
through a stop sign, but it was past three a.m. and no one
was around in this aging industrial area. Besides, if the
cops wanted to ticket him, they'd have to catch him first.
"You sure?" asked Paul. "You've really found a blooded
woman?"
"You're such a fucking sucker," spat Madoc in disgust.
"There is no woman. We're going to show up and he's going to
give you some story about how we just missed her, just like
every other night this week."
Logan didn't respond to Madoc's accusation. His face was
serene as he stared off into the night. His eyes flared
brighter for a moment and he sucked in a harsh breath.
"Hurry, Paul. She's not alone. I sense Synestryn."
Fear of losing the woman who could save him before he
even found her made Paul's gut clench. He ground the
accelerator to the floorboard just as he saw movement at the
end of the street. There wasn't much light, but there was
enough for him to make out the shape of a woman standing in
a doorway. "There she is!"
"I don't fucking believe it," said Madoc.
Neither did Paul. Logan had actually tracked down a woman
who might be able to save his life. A woman with some of the
same blood running through her veins as Helen, who was the
first female Theronai to have been born in over two hundred
years. They still had no idea where Helen had come from, but
after seeing the miracle she'd been for Drake, he hardly cared.
Paul screeched to a halt outside the old warehouse,
nearly running the SUV into the metal railing that bordered
the parking area. His headlights shone on the remains of a
wide doorway and the woman standing in it. She was
tall-nearly six feet-though maybe her commanding stance and
the confident grip on her shotgun made her seem taller.
Paul had already unfolded himself from the car and
unsheathed his sword when he saw two Synestryn
demons-sgath-charging her, and two more behind them. Shotgun
or not, she was no match for that many teeth and claws.
They'd slice her to pieces before she had time to pull the
trigger twice.
"Get out of there!" he shouted at the woman as he raced
up three cracked cement stairs toward her. He could hear the
heavy footsteps of Madoc and Logan pounding behind him.
She didn't turn to look at him, or even bother to
acknowledge that she'd heard him. In fact, she showed no
sign of the greasy, paralyzing fear the Synestryn usually
caused in humans. She appeared to be completely calm, as if
she waited for demons to attack her every day.
The sgath closed in to within fifteen feet and showed no
signs of slowing. He was still too far away to help her. He
was going to see her die before he even had a chance to
touch her and learn whether she was meant to be his, whether
she could save him.
She fired her shotgun at the closest sgath. Her body
rocked slightly against the force of the weapon and the deep
boom echoed in the stillness of the night. She'd hit one of
the demons. It flew back a couple feet, spraying black blood
across the warehouse. Beneath the thick, oily drops, the
wooden floor began to sizzle as the caustic blood ate away
at it.
If any of that blood had hit her, it would eat away her
skin just as easily.
Paul finally reached the woman. He wanted to stop and
touch her, but there was no time. Another sgath was right
there, only feet away. Whether or not she could save him,
the fact that she faced the sgath down without fear proved
she was a rare gift and had to be protected at all costs.
Paul shouldered her out of the way and charged through
the doorway, sword poised and ready to strike. She hit the
wall a little harder than he'd intended and let out a pained
grunt, but at least she was out of harm's way.
An uninjured sgath saw Paul charge and its eyes lit with
a sickly green fire of excitement and hunger. It lifted its
muzzle and let out a haunting howl to the rest of its kind,
likely alerting them to the food that had just arrived.
There was nothing the demons liked more than to feed on the
flesh and blood of a Sentinel, and Paul and his companions
were a walking feast.
***
It took Andra a couple of seconds to recover from being
slammed into the brick wall. Good thing it had been her
shoulder that had hit first instead of her head. Otherwise,
she'd have been out cold. When this was over, she was going
to have a long talk about manners with the man who'd pushed
her, but right now she had to get Sammy out of here.
By the time Andra had shaken off the impact, two of the
three men who'd shown up were already inside the warehouse.
She wasn't sure who they were, or why they were here, but
she wasn't about to question her good fortune. Or their swords.
The monster she'd shot was still on the floor, but it was
moving sluggishly, lapping up pools of its own blood with
its long, forked tongue. She knew from experience that if it
got enough of its blood back inside, the thing would stand
up again, all patched up and good as new.
Andra couldn't help but shudder at the sight. It was one
that was going to stick with her for a lot of nights to come.
Great. Like she needed any more nightmare fuel.
Another monster was backing away from the man who'd
pushed her. He had dark blond hair and stark, angular
features. He wielded a sword a little shorter than his arm,
and from the muscular width of his shoulders and the ease
with which he moved the weapon, it was obvious that he'd had
plenty of practice with it. Thank God he was apparently on
her side.
The monster crouched, then sprang up unnaturally fast,
but the man was ready for the attack. He ducked below the
monster's leap and swung the sword in a powerful arc that
sliced open its belly. The man leapt aside gracefully,
dodging the spray of filth and gore that spilled from the
monster.
The thing landed with a wet, squishy sound and let out a
roar of defiance as it tried to regain its footing. The man
moved in what appeared to be an almost lazy circle, and his
sword gleamed in a dim yellow arc of light. When he came to
a stop, the head of the monster lay ten feet away from its body.
Black smoke rose up from where the thing's blood pooled
on the wooden floor, burning it. The smoke created a stench
so violent that Andra had to fight back the urge to puke.
"How we doing, Madoc?" asked the man, never moving his
eyes from the remaining threat.
On the far side of the warehouse, Andra watched the
second man-an angry-looking guy with blunt features and
thick black hair-as he cut down another one of the monsters.
He wasn't even breathing hard.
"One down, one to go," he said as he prowled closer to
the last monster standing. The thing had backed itself into
a corner, and Andra was pretty sure that it wasn't going to
make it back out alive.
"I smell more closing in," said a deep voice from behind
her. Too close.
Andra jumped in surprise and whirled around, pointing her
shotgun at the third man in the group. As she laid eyes on
him, her brain leaked out her ears and she stood there,
staring, unable to do anything else.
He was beautiful. Heart-stopping, seizure-inducing
beautiful, with dark hair, bright silvery eyes and a
cover-model face. He was a little thin for her taste, but he
made it work well enough that she changed her mind right
then and there.
He gave her a knowing smile full of bright white teeth
and said, "I'm Logan. My friends and I have been looking for
you."
Andra gave herself a mental shake and blinked so she
could stop staring at him. "I'm not taking on any new cases
right now. Kinda got my hands full with Sammy here."
He frowned slightly in confusion and waved an elegant
hand. "We'll talk later. Right now, we need to get inside
before the rest of the Synestryn show up."
Just then, Andra looked over his shoulder into the
surrounding darkness and saw the faint glowing green eyes of
more monsters closing in. "Right. Inside."
Andra peered through the door into the warehouse and saw
both men slicing and dicing the remaining monsters. They had
their hands full at the moment, and Logan didn't look like
he'd be much good in a fight as thin as he was. In fact, he
looked downright breakable, which revved up her protective
instincts.
Andra grabbed Logan and hauled him through the door with
her. She picked up the biggest part of the door she'd
wrecked and propped it across the open doorway. Thank
goodness she'd been hitting the weights lately or she never
would have been able to lift the solid oak slab.
"Start shoving these old pallets in the way to slow those
things down," she ordered Logan. "I'm going to get Sammy."
She sprinted across the floor, leaping over a gaping hole
in the wood. They had only a few seconds before those new
monsters arrived, and with any luck, they could free Sammy
and find a back door out of this place before the nasties
broke through the barricade.
She reached Sammy, but he was silent and staring off into
space, which wasn't a good sign. His eyes were wide with
shock and fear, and he cringed away from her as she
approached. Tears still overflowed his eyes, and were so
abundant they wet the collar of his pajama shirt.
Andra was wasting precious seconds, but she couldn't
stand the thought of adding to his fear. She found a smile
somewhere and forced herself to wear it. "It's okay, Sammy.
Your mom and dad sent me. I'm here to take you home."
As gently as she could, she removed the dirty rag from
his mouth and sliced through the ropes that bound him. It
took only seconds, but by the time she was finished, the
blond sword-wielding man was standing a few feet away,
guarding her back.
The monster she'd shot and barely damaged was now lying
in several sloppy pieces strewn across the warehouse floor.
He'd done that for her, and from the black blood leaking out
of the rest of the monsters, he'd done more as well.
"Are you hurt?" he asked her.
"No, but Sammy doesn't look good."
The man nodded once, as if he understood exactly what she
meant. Then again, he seemed prepared for a fight like this.
Maybe he did know what was going on here.
"I'm Paul. I'm going to get both you and the boy out of
here alive."
It didn't sound like an empty boast. His words were solid
and heavy with confidence.
"So, you've done this before, Paul?" she asked him in a
conversational tone.
He turned and gave her a wink. "Once or twice. Stay well
behind me. Their blood is caustic."
"I'm going to take Sammy and look for a back door."
"No. Stay where I can see you. There may be more hiding
out in the building."
Andra thought about arguing and realized he could be
right. She wasn't willing to risk it, especially since Sammy
would be with her.
The first monster hit the barricade. The broken door and
rotting pallets shifted easily.
Paul moved toward the barricade. The angry-looking man
stepped up beside Paul, facing the threat. They both lifted
their swords like they knew how to use them. Then again,
there was proof of that fact scattered all over the
warehouse floor.
The beautiful Logan moved to the back of the warehouse
near Andra. "I'm going to go locate another exit. Paul and
Madoc have handled worse than this before, but it pays to be
prepared."
"Didn't you hear what Paul said? There may be more hiding
in here."
"If so, I'll be able to smell them coming. Don't worry.
I'm not one to risk my life needlessly." He smiled at her
again, only this time she was pretty sure she'd seen fangs.
Lovely.
Andra picked Sammy up and backed away until they were
against the far wall. Whoever these men were, they weren't
normal. Until she found out more, she wasn't going to let
Sammy get close to any of them.
He let out a soft, hopeless whimper. Andra looked down
and he was staring back at her with unseeing eyes. She'd
seen that exact look before on a night much like this one,
and every week since, for the past eight years.
She was too late. Even if she got him out alive, Sammy
was lost forever.
The monsters crashed through the barricade-two more of
the wolf-chimpanzee things and two of the larger, roachlike
monsters that kept them as pets. They were easily six feet
tall and walked upright on short, spiny legs. Their tiny
heads held four beady black eyes that zeroed right in on Sammy.
One of them let out a metallic hiss that sounded like the
word, child, then pointed toward Sammy and Andra. The other
nodded, let go of the leash it held, and unfurled a wide
pair of wings. It leaped up into the air and landed clinging
to one of the warehouse support beams.
The furry monsters charged the pair of men while the
second roach thing held back.
Andra set Sammy safely behind her and aimed her shotgun
at the roach thing on the beam. She fired and her shot took
a big chunk out of where the monster had been.
Unfortunately, it had jumped out of the way, avoiding her
blast. She scanned the ceiling as she reloaded, looking for
it, but it was nowhere in sight. She heard a buzzing noise
behind her and whirled around to find the roach thing flying
right toward her and the boy.
She didn't have time to finish reloading and get off
another shot. She grabbed the barrel of the shotgun and
leveled it in front of her face to keep those snapping
insect jaws away.
It slammed into her. She heard something crack and pain
screamed up her arm. She screamed right back at it, unable
to hold in her cry of agony. The weapon clattered to the
ground, and Andra tried to bring her hands up to grab a hold
of the roach's neck, but her left arm didn't respond. It
hung uselessly at her side, burning with bone-deep pain that
made her stomach spin.
She managed to get one hand against the roach's chest,
but it was strong. It pushed her back easily, making her
boots slide over the wooden floor. Sammy was being pushed
back with her, his little body limp and rolling along behind
her.
Andra took a quick look over her shoulder and saw that
they were speeding toward one of those gaping holes in the
floor. Sammy was going to fall first if she didn't do something.
Unfortunately, nothing came to mind.
A roar of outrage billowed up from somewhere in the room,
but she couldn't figure out where it had come from, or what
it meant. It was all she could do to stand upright and try
to slow the thing down.
From the corner of her eye, she saw a metallic gleam
flash past her; the roach thing's head flew off and its body
started to fall forward.
Every beat of her heart made her arm throb, but she
ignored it and put the last of her strength into shoving the
roach thing to one side. It toppled over and hit the floor
in a dry rattle.
"You okay?" asked Paul. His sword was coated in slime and
the roach's head was rolling around near his feet.
She did a quick survey of the warehouse and saw only
corpses. All of the monsters were dead, thanks to these men.
She never would have survived tonight without them.
Andra nodded. "My arm's broken, but I'll live."
Now, if she could just stay upright and not crumple at
his feet, that would be great. Very professional.
She focused on Paul in an effort to not think about the
pain. His hair had the look of being perpetually mussed. He
was several inches taller than Andra, which was no small
feat, as she was five-ten barefooted. She could tell, even
under his clothes, that he was muscular, but not so bulky
that it hindered his movements. She'd seen his grace
firsthand and had to admire anyone who could move that fast,
that smoothly, while still looking like he was using no more
effort than he did to walk down the street.
But more than any of that, it was his face that held her
interest. He wasn't model beautiful like Logan. She wasn't
even sure she'd call him handsome, but there was something
in his face that intrigued her-drew her in. Weary lines
framed his mouth as if he'd been through hell, but his
stance was strong and steady. He might have suffered, but he
hadn't been defeated.
Andra had nothing but respect for a man like that, which
was foolish, because she knew nothing about him. The notion
that she could read him by looking at his face was just
plain stupid. Then again, stupid was the theme for the night.
Whoever he was, he'd saved her life tonight, and for that
she was grateful.
"Thank you," she told him.
Paul reached toward her as if he were going to touch her
face. "It's my pleasure."
"Don't," shouted Logan. "Not here. It's too dangerous.
You know what happened to Drake once he touched Helen."
Paul's hand closed into a fist and he let it fall back to
his side.
Maybe it had been her imagination, but the closer his
hand got to her, the less her arm hurt. Now that he was
backing away, the pain flared up again and she locked her
knees to stay upright.
"It's bad, isn't it?" he asked her.
"It's not great," she admitted.
"I can help you," offered Logan. "Mend your arm and take
the pain away."
"Touch her blood and you're a dead man," said Paul, his
voice rough with menace.
Andra glanced at her arm, panicked that she might be
bleeding. The monsters seemed to be able to smell her blood
and it sometimes drew them to her. "What blood?"
"That's not what he meant," said Logan. "He's simply
being a bit possessive."
"Drake warned us all about what you did to Helen. You're
not going to do that to her."
Andra had no idea what they were talking about, but right
now, she really didn't give a damn. She wanted to get Sammy
out of here and get her arm set so that maybe it would stop
making her sick with every throbbing heartbeat. "I really
appreciate the fact that all of you were here tonight, and I
hate to ask for more help, but there's no way I can drive a
stick. Can one of you guys drive my truck to the hospital
and drop us off?"
"A hospital won't help the boy," said Logan. "But I can."
Andra didn't trust him. No one that pretty was human. As
far as she knew, he was one of them.
She stepped in front of Sammy and gave Logan a level
stare. "Stay away from him. He's my responsibility and
you're not touching him."
"She's got good instincts. I'll give her that," said the
angry-looking man.
Logan's voice dropped to a warning tone. "Stay out of
this, Madoc. It doesn't concern you."
"It doesn't concern you anymore, either," said Paul.
"Your job was to help me find her. Now you have."
"We have a bargain," said Logan.
"And I will uphold my end."
"I know. But what if she isn't the one? You haven't
touched her yet."
Andra was hurting too much to keep up with their
conversation. She knew she was at the center of it, but she
had no idea why. And frankly, she couldn't bring herself to
care right now. "Can we please get Sammy to the hospital?"
Logan looked like he was going to say something, but Paul
spoke over whatever it was. "Absolutely." He knelt in front
of the boy, but was still looking at her. "What's your name?"
"Andra."
"Andra what?" demanded the man they'd called Madoc. He
had blunt features that looked like they'd crack if he tried
to smile.
A wave of pain rushed over her and she had to grit her
teeth to stay upright. Already, she could feel the skin
below her shoulder starting to swell. "Madison," she grated
out. "And just so we're clear, don't even bother asking for
my phone number. I don't date guys who carry swords."
Truth was, she didn't date, period. She never had time,
not with the recent increase in the disappearances of
children across the Midwest. She was lucky if she found time
to sleep and eat. More children disappeared every month and
she needed to be available to find them.
Not that her efforts had done Sammy any good. Poor little
guy was lost now-locked inside the terror that he'd seen
tonight. At least she could tell his parents which
facilities would care for him best. She'd researched them all.
"Logan," said Paul. "Fix her arm."
"Are you a doctor?" asked Andra.
"Not exactly," said Logan.
"Then you're not touching me. All I need is a lift out of
here and we'll be on our way."
"I can mend the bone," said Logan. "It's a simple enough
task so soon after a break."
As bizarre as that news was, as leery as she was of
taking any more help from these not-quite-human strangers,
Andra was tempted to accept their offer. Being in a cast for
six weeks didn't sound like a lot of fun to her at all.
Taking that much time off work wasn't going to be good for
all the missing children, either. "How?"
"I'd simply reach inside you with my mind and put the
pieces back together."
Andra was stunned silent for a moment. He sounded
serious, a fact that creeped her out even more. "Right. I
think I'm ready for that ride now."
"I wouldn't let him touch you if it wasn't safe," said Paul.
She breathed in too deeply and another sharp pain stabbed
through her arm. "I don't know who or what all of you are,
but I'm not sure I want to know more. As far as I'm
concerned, this planet is already messed up enough as it is."
"She's not ready to accept us yet, Paul," said Logan.
"Give her some time. Once the pain is too much, she'll give in."
Not likely, but then again, they didn't know her very
well, so she could forgive his ignorance.
"If you change your mind," said Paul, "let me know."
"I won't. Just load Sammy into my truck, please."
Paul looked down at the boy with such compassion it made
her chest ache. Clearly, he didn't know it was too late. She
had been too late. She'd failed. Again. That failure raked
through her, hurting worse than any broken bone ever could.
Maybe it was time to hang up her shotgun. Stop using her
ability to find lost children for good this time. She tried
to be stoic, but at times like this, it was hard. She wanted
so badly to save them all.
"Hey, little guy," Paul said in a deep, soothing voice.
One wide, battle-scarred hand ran over the boy's limbs as if
checking for injury. On the man's left hand was a strange
ring-a simple band that pulsed with color, swirling in an
iridescent mix of baby rainbows. Andra had a hard time not
staring at it.
"I'm Paul, and I just want you to know that you're safe
now. Nothing is going to hurt you. Not while I'm around."
And even as cynical as Andra was-even knowing the things
she knew about just how many monsters roamed the night-she
believed Paul was telling the truth. That alone was more
incredible than the fact that real monsters existed.
Logan pulled in a deep breath through his nose. "We need
to hurry with the child. He's pulling away fast." He turned
and looked at Madoc. "You should do it."
"No fucking way, leech. I don't mess with kids' minds.
They're too easy to scramble."
"Scramble?" asked Andra, shifting her body between Madoc
and Sammy. "That doesn't sound so good."
"It's not," said Paul, then he turned his attention to
Logan. "If Madoc isn't up to it, I'll take care of the boy."
"You're too weak," said Logan. "I took too much blood
from you earlier. Madoc needs to do this."
Madoc shook his head. "I don't have that kind of finesse
and you know it. You want me to kill something, I'm your
man, but I don't go patching people up. That's your job."
Logan pinned Madoc with a bright stare. "Are you offering
to supply the power I need to heal the boy's mind?"
Madoc's face twisted in a snarl and he bared his teeth.
"You're not touching my blood. Ever."
Andra looked between the two men, trying to sort out what
was going on. If she'd been able to drive she might have
tried to slip out of here with Sammy while they argued. But
she couldn't even lift the boy, much less drive, and if she
tried, chances were she'd be more likely to kill Sammy than
to get him home to his parents. "You can really help Sammy?"
she asked Logan. "If all you need is blood, I'll give you
some of mine."
"No!" shouted both Paul and Madoc at the same time.
Logan fixed her with a stare that made her feel trapped.
Deer-in-the-headlights, doom-speeding-her-way trapped. "As
tempting as that offer is, I fear these men would cut me
down if I so much as plucked a hair from your head. Maybe
another time."
She wasn't about to let a couple of brawny guys stand in
the way of Sammy's future. Not while there was still a
shotgun lying a few feet away. She took a tentative step
toward it. She wasn't sure how she was going to finish
reloading with only one good arm, but she'd manage somehow.
"I want you to help Sammy," she told Logan. "Whatever it
takes." If there was hope for him, maybe there was hope for
Nika.
Andra crushed that thought flat before it could blossom.
She had no room in her life for false hope. She knew just
how bleak things really were, and it was best if she stayed
a realist, just like she'd always been.
"Don't you dare touch her blood," growled Paul in a tone
that made the fine hairs on her neck stand up. "I'll help
the boy."
"Are you sure?" asked Logan. "I took a lot from you
tonight so I could find her."
Paul's eyes flicked to Andra so briefly she wasn't sure
it had happened. "It was worth it. I'm sure I'm strong
enough for this."
"And if you're not?" asked Madoc.
Paul pressed his hand against his chest as if it hurt,
then handed Madoc his sword. "Then you know what to do."
What do you think about this review?
Comments
No comments posted.
Registered users may leave comments.
Log in or register now!
|
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy