Page 72 of Whispers of Ruin
“Yes. They attacked us, destroyed the stones, and eradicated half of our number. We fled into the jungle and have lived a nomadic lifestyle ever since. We’ve had no other choice. A few times, we tried to settle into a new area and claim it as ours, but they always found us and destroyed it. We lost all hope of ever knowing peace again after the last time.”
A bit of sympathy tugged at him for this woman and her brethren. They had tried to contain themselves, but predators made it impossible. That sympathy wasn’t going to stop him from killing her though.
“Why did we hear your whispers throughout the valley?” he asked. “Were you stalking us the whole time?”
“No. As I said, we’ve been here for as long as we can remember. We areonewith the valley, a part of it. We speak with the trees; they listen to us and spread our message.”
“Did you ever think of telling those trees to inform people to stay away from this area instead of making nonsense noise?”
He knew the truth when the woman’s gaze moved away from him. They didn’t like what they did at night and tried to contain themselves, but once freed from the stones, they also embraced their darker nature.
They were torn between the thrill of the kill and their conscience. After so many centuries, he was surprised their bloodlust hadn’t buried their conscience, but somehow, they’d maintained one… or pretended to.
“You figured if anyone made it this far, they were fair game,” he stated.
Her chin lifted defiantly. “Just kill me. Without my family, I have nothing; Iamnothing. We both know you’re never going to let me live, and I don’t want to be alone in this world. I can’t imagine being the last of my kind and having no one to share this burden with.”
Brokk wasn’t going to argue with her. She was right; he wasn’t going to let her live. Holding the woman’s gaze, he pushed down on the sword. She didn’t try to fight him as she stared up at the sky until he severed her head.
CHAPTERSIXTY-SEVEN
Kaylia hidher fear for Brokk as she sat beside him in the small shelter he’d created. He’d managed to walk back to the protective barrier on his own, with his head high and a steely look of determination on his face, but once inside the shelter, his shoulders slumped as his head bowed forward.
Kaylia rested a hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I just need some rest. I can’t remember the last time we had a good night’s sleep.”
“Neither can I. I have an ointment that will help heal the injury on your neck.”
He lifted his fingers and felt across the wound; his brow furrowed as if he’d forgotten it existed. “Okay.”
“I’ll be right back.”
She ducked out from under the shelter and hurried to her small space. Before she got there, Ryker intercepted her.
“How is he?” Ryker asked.
Kaylia had no idea, and the uncertainty of it was chewing at her like a rat on wires. She kept hearing what that woman said about no one ever escaping them before and having no idea if he would recover from this.
She resisted wringing her hands. “He’s tired, but he’ll be fine after some rest.” She really hoped this was true. Ithadto be true. “I’m getting an ointment for the wound on his neck.”
“Good. We’ll spend the day and night here. We have to return our dead to Tempest, and we could all use some rest too, especially after last night, but we have to move on tomorrow. We can’t stay here; it will only spell more death for us if we do.”
Kaylia gulped as she glanced back at Brokk’s shelter. She had no idea if he would be ready to move on tomorrow but didn’t voice her doubts. There was no reason to when a night of rest might make all the difference.
She told herself this, but she wasn’t so sure. However, she’d do everything she could to help him heal and get through this.
“I’m sorry for your losses,” she murmured.
Ryker looked away from her, but not in time to hide the sadness in his eyes. “Thank you.”
Not knowing what else to say, Kaylia rested her hand on his arm as she started to pass him.
“Kaylia.” She lifted her head to meet his turbulent, mercury-colored eyes. “How could he resist them, and we couldn’t?”
Kaylia didn’t tell him that she hadn’t felt the effects of those things as strongly as them either. And it hadn’t been only the amsirah who felt the impact of the mandarus; she’d seen the glazed look in the witches’ eyes too.
Those monsters had entranced everyone… except her and Brokk, and she had no idea why.
