The Darkest Whisper

CHAPTER 24

Gwen had locked her sisters up. I’m as bad as Sabin.

She was inside Torin’s room, standing behind him, arms crossed over her chest. He kept his back to her, as if he didn’t have to worry about her approaching. He didn’t. But at the very least, he should have feared a bullet in the brain. She was a Harpy, after all.

“I think I just made the biggest mistake of my life and it’s too late to fix it.” If her sisters forgave her, and if she forgave Sabin, they’d still want to punish her for her actions. Oh, who was she kidding? Everyone she loved—well, kind of liked, sometimes, in Sabin’s case—was stubborn to their very cores. There’d be no forgiveness.

Her gaze landed on one of the monitors, the one that showed her sisters. They were pacing, cursing and beating at the bars, to no avail. They were fast healers, so she had perhaps a few days before they were able to bust out. And punish her for betraying them, of course. Gwen’s chest constricted.

Taliyah had put up the greatest fight, and Gwen still bore the wounds. There were multiple gashes riding her ribs and neck. She couldn’t believe she’d actually beaten them, even weakened as they’d been. All her life, they’d been the pinnacle she’d longed to reach. Stronger, prettier, smarter. Better. She’d constantly compared herself to them and always came up lacking.

Now, here she was, a warrior to the core. If she succeeded with the Hunters, would they be proud of her?

On one of the other monitors, Maddox and William paced, both weighed down with too many weapons to count. Ashlyn and Danika were behind them, wringing their hands.

“I’m worried,” Danika could be heard saying. “The dream I had last night…I saw Reyes trapped in a dark box, his demon screaming and screaming and screaming for release.”

Ashlyn rubbed her rounded belly, her features pale. “Maybe we should travel to Chicago. I can listen, learn whether Hunters have hidden them and where.”

“No,” Maddox said.

“Good idea,” Danika said, speaking over him. “But what about what Torin told us? Hunters are out there in Buda even now.”

“Better head into town,” Torin suddenly said, drawing her attention from the monitors, his voice no longer dryly amused. “Just got a text from Sabin. Aeron and Paris are injured and being stuffed inside a van, Hunters are swarming and Sabin’s about to initiate battle.”

Gwen’s stomach twisted painfully. “Where are they?”

“I’ve got a tracker in Sabin’s cell and it’s showing his location as two miles north of here. Head out the back door and down the hill. Don’t take any turns and you’ll run right into him.”

“Thanks.” She needed weapons. Lots and lots of weapons. An image of the chest in Sabin’s closet filled her mind. Perfect! She spun on her heel, meaning to stalk out of Torin’s bedroom.

“Oh, and Gwen.”

She turned, faced him.

He opened a map of the surrounding forest on the far computer screen, a red line highlighting the way. “There are traps here, here and here, so be careful as you descend or you’ll be blindsided.”

“Thank you.” With another sigh, she raced to Sabin’s bedroom. The chest was no longer locked, thanks to her sisters, and nearly picked clean. There was only a gun and a knife. She took both. There’d been no time to train with a semiautomatic yet, but pointing and shooting didn’t sound too difficult.

“Here goes,” she muttered, wings fluttering frantically. Out of the fortress and down the hill she raced, not even glancing at the SUV parked in back. In Harpy form, she could get there faster.

The two-mile trek took her less than a minute to make. And it only took that long because she had to dodge the Lords’ booby traps. The town was bursting with pedestrians. Thankfully, blur that she was, no one had spotted her yet. Some felt her, though, looking confused as she breezed by and wind caressed them.

Once she reached her destination she continued moving swiftly, eyes drinking in the scene. A group of military types surrounded an open van. As Torin had said, there were two unconscious men lying inside. Three guards crouched beside them, guns at the ready, smoke wafting from their barrels.

There was not a driver in front. Odd, she thought, until she realized Kane was behind a building and killing anyone who approached the wheel. The front glass was already shattered, blood dripping from the wheel. Four bodies were sprawled outside the open door.

When a Hunter approached him, Kane simply switched locations and hid, keeping his gun trained on the van.

Where was Sabin?

Why weren’t humans screaming?

Even as she questioned herself, her gaze fell on a young girl who had her arms outstretched. A soft voice whispered through Gwen’s mind: Stay calm. Go home. Forget that you came into town. Forget what you saw.

That beguiling voice made Gwen want to do as it suggested, the memories already fading, her body already spinning toward the fortress. Perhaps she would have obeyed completely if not for her Harpy. The dark side of her nature squawked and clawed inside her mind, drowning out the voice, reminding her of her purpose.

What should I do? And what was up with all the kids she was suddenly seeing? One of them, a little boy, was moving through the town almost as fast as Gwen was. Only reason she saw him was that he left a slight trail of light in his wake. He was obviously searching for the Lords, and when he spotted one—Cameo, this time—he stopped and began to yell.

Frowning, clearly reluctant to hurt him, Cameo grabbed the boy and pinched his carotid. He went down like a brick. Sweat ran down her face, along her chest, soaking her T-shirt to her body. Gwen had never seen the female warrior so upset and tired.

But at least one question had been answered. The kids were obviously helping the Hunters.

There was an infuriated growl behind her. “Come out, come out wherever you are. You can’t beat us, and you can’t call for reinforcements. We’ve got your friends. You’ve never been more ripe for the plucking.”

Gwen spun, but another voice called out, “Why don’t you give yourselves up, save yourselves the humiliation of failing?”

“You claim you’re not evil—well, now’s the time to prove it! Turn yourselves over to us and give us the girl. Let us find a way to remove the demons from your bodies. Help us return the world to what it once was—good and right and pure.”

“Maybe beg us for forgiveness, too,” a male sneered. “Had you been locked up as intended, sickness would never have been introduced into the world and my son would still be alive.”

Wow, Gwen mused. Hunters really were fanatics. As if the Lords were responsible for all of the world’s evil. Humans had free will. Hunters, too. They’d chosen to lock Gwen up. They’d chosen to rape females of the otherworld. That made the Hunters evil—and unworthy of mercy.

Someone screamed, drawing Gwen’s attention. Her eyes widened when she saw Sabin dance through a mass of men, two daggers clutched in his hands. His arms moved gracefully, slicing through humans with lethal procession. One by one they fell around him.

Nearly every inch of his clothes was bright crimson, as though his entire body was cut up. Hopefully, that was not the case. Hopefully, he wore his enemy’s blood.

Gwen felt the now familiar surge of her Harpy taking over, mind and body, nothing holding it back. At first, she experienced her instinctive fear. Then the fear faded. I can do this. I will do this. Her vision tunneled to red and black, and her mouth watered for a taste of that sweet red nectar. Her hands itched to hurt…maim.

Just before she gave over completely, she thought: Please don’t hurt Sabin or his friends. Please don’t hurt the children. Please take as many as you can to the fortress and lock them up. That’s what Sabin would want.

Wings swishing more frantically than ever, Gwen scooped up the sleeping child Cameo had taken down—don’t hurt, don’t hurt, don’t hurt—and carted his motionless body with her as she swooped through the masses and chop-blocked Hunters, fractured their kneecaps so they couldn’t stand and slammed the hilt of her blade into their temples.

Should have brought the SUV, after all, she thought as she gathered one of the unconscious Hunters in her other arm and headed toward the fortress. She deposited her cargo in one of the dungeon cells and rejoined the fray. The total journey took five minutes. She repeated the action sixteen times before realizing she was shaking, slowing a little. The crowd, at least, was thinning.

Sabin was still on his feet and Cameo was at his back, each dispatching threats from a different direction. Kane still had his weapon trained on the van.

Aeron and Paris, she thought, working her way toward them. She had to remove them from the area. They were clearly injured and in dire need of help. But a Hunter stepped into her path and she slammed into him, losing her breath as she soared backward. When she landed, broken pieces of concrete jabbed into her back, cutting.

Sabin dispatched him and was at her side a moment later, as if he’d known exactly where she was the entire time despite her speed, and jerking her to her feet. “Torin texted me, told me you were here. You okay?” he rasped.

The feel of his hand on her…divine. Momentarily made her forget where she was and what she was doing. The sweat and blood glistening off him reminded her. “Yes,” she rasped. She was panting, tired, overheated, aching and trembling. “I’m fine.”

He swayed, scrubbing a hand down his face as if to clear his line of vision. Never had she seen the fierce, vibrant warrior so near the end of his tolerance. “Can you get Aeron and Paris to safety?”

At least he wasn’t trying to send her away. “Yes.” She hoped. But just then she wanted to take Sabin to safety, rather than his friends.

Sabin grabbed the semiautomatic from the back of her waist and removed the safety. “You mind?”

“Not at all.”

“I’ll get you to the van,” he said before she could grab him, and off he went. A rapid boom, boom, boom followed.

Even with the blocks her ears were sensitive and the sound of that gunfire had her cringing. In fact, she felt warm liquid trickle from her eardrums. Thankfully, the blood somehow muted the volume.

Once again bodies began falling around him. Gwen moved forward, noticing that only one child remained among the masses. The little girl keeping the townspeople at bay. Gwen had several kids locked up, but thought the Hunters must have taken some of the others and run. What kind of monsters brought children into war?

When she reached the van, Sabin continued to fire, even though there were no longer any Hunters around the vehicle, the last few having taken off to hide. Or maybe they’d been nailed by Kane. She hefted a warrior on each shoulder, nearly toppling under their weight. No way she’d be able to cart them both at the same time.

She placed Aeron on the seat as gently as she could and tightened her grip on Paris. He wore the most blood. “Have to come back,” she said, hoping Sabin heard her, and sprinted for the trees. This journey took a little longer, her sprint slowing. Finally, though, she reached her destination.

Huffing, she deposited the hulking warrior in the foyer of the fortress. Torin must have seen her coming and alerted Maddox and William, because the men had let the women out of hiding. When Ashlyn and Danika spotted Paris, they rushed forward.

Fear gleamed in Danika’s dark green eyes. “Is he…”

“No. He’s breathing.”

“What’s going—” Ashlyn began.

“No time. Have to go back for the others.” Gwen didn’t wait for a reply but rushed back to the city.

Sabin was still at the van, a group of Hunters now holding shields and pushing their way toward him. Clearly they’d come prepared for anything. Still trembling, and fatigued beyond imagining, Gwen lifted Aeron and took off at a run.

Before she reached the forest’s edge, a bullet pierced her left thigh.

She cried out, dropped to the ground. Aeron grunted, but didn’t wake, and blood gushed from her. Damn it! An artery had been hit. The trembling became almost violent, but she pushed to her feet. Black winked in and out of her vision. Keep going. You can do it. She surged ahead. Took her ten minutes this time, but reaching the finish line had never been sweeter.

Again, both Danika and Ashlyn were waiting for her, doctoring Paris there in the foyer while Maddox and William rushed to get them whatever they needed.

Gwen dropped Aeron beside his friend, too weak to be gentle this time. When she stumbled to the door, Danika grabbed her arm.

“You can’t go back. You can barely stand.”

She jerked loose. “Have to.”

“You won’t make it. You’ll faint on the hill.”

“Then I’ll drive.” ’Cause there was no way she was staying here. Sabin was out there, needed her.

“No.” There was steel in Danika’s tone. “I’ll drive you. Just let me get the keys.”

“William,” Maddox called.

The warrior sighed. “I know what that means. I’m supposed to do the driving.”

Still Danika rushed off. Ashlyn stepped up and placed two fingertips at the base of Gwen’s neck. “Your pulse is too fast,” she said on a sigh. “Breathe slower. That’s the way. In. Out. Good girl.”

She must have closed her eyes because the next thing she knew, her leg was bandaged and William was at her side, grabbing her hand and ushering her toward the door.

“Danni gave me the keys. If we’re gonna do this, let’s do it.”

“Be careful,” Ashlyn called.

Once they were settled in the SUV, William peeled out, burning rubber through the forest. Gwen was thrown against the door, and her temple slapped into the window. That’s gonna leave a mark, she thought dizzily.

“You holding on?”

“Yes,” she said, the word weak, even to her own ears.

“Hey, listen. Thank you for bringing Aeron and Paris home. Anya loves them and would have been devastated if they’d been killed. Much as she irritates me, I want her happy.”

“My pleasure.” And pain.

When they reached their destination, the battle had already wound down. Sabin, Kane and Cameo were bleeding profusely, cut up and nearly broken, but they continued fighting the stragglers.

Seeing the SUV, they jumped back, out of the way. Gwen braced herself as William hit the gas and ran over the humans. “Gods, this is fun,” he said on a laugh. The vehicle bounced once, twice. Before it stopped, Gwen threw open her door. Sabin sprinted to her side and dove in. The others claimed the backseat just as swiftly.

“Go, go, go,” Sabin commanded, and William once again burned rubber. Sabin’s arm wound around Gwen’s waist, squeezing tight.

Now that he was with her, alive, what little energy she possessed drained away completely. Weakness consumed her, overshadowing all else. Even the Harpy was eerily silent.

“Gwen,” Sabin said, concern drenching his tone. “Gwen, can you hear me?”

She tried to respond, but no words would form. No sound would push past the sudden lump in her throat. She didn’t know what to say, anyway. She was still furious with him, still wanted to hurt him for what he’d done to her, still wanted to cry for the way he’d doubted her.

“Gwen! Stay with me, darling. Okay? Just stay with me.”

William must have hit another body because Gwen bounced back and forth again. Or maybe Sabin was shaking her. There were two white-hot bands wrapped around her forearms.

“Stay with me! That’s an order.”

She’d just saved his life, and he thought to order her around? “Go to…hell…” she managed, then darkness claimed her and she knew nothing more.