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Authors: Jordan L. Hawk
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madman,
screaming Caleb’s name until his throat was raw. It didn’t matter;
there were too many of them, and within seconds he’d been dragged
from the abandoned house.
Black vans with the SPECTR logo on the sides
sat in the street. The back doors of one flew open on some signal,
and the agents shoved him inside.
“ What should we do about the body?” one
of them asked.
“ Nothing,” Sean said. “It’s not
habitable for the drakul, not with most of the brain gone. It will
have moved on to the next corpse. Let the ghouls clean up the
mess.”
Sean climbed inside, and the doors slammed.
The engine of the van roared to life, and a moment later it lurched
forward, taking John further and further away from the abandoned
shell which was all that remained of Caleb.
* * *
The van rocked as it sped down the highway,
but John didn’t sway with it. He concentrated on holding himself
very, very still, because his skin had turned to glass, just a
thin, brittle shell wrapped around a scream, and any movement might
break him.
Tears slicked his face, running in a silent
stream from his eyes, and snot coated his upper lip. Clogged
sinuses made it hard to breathe, but he didn’t care. He might as
well suffocate here, seated between two armed guards, his hands
cuffed behind him.
“ You’re probably wondering where we’re
headed,” Sean said, as if the silence went on too long, and he
couldn’t stand it anymore. Maybe he couldn’t; there had never been
silence between them, just a conversation stretching back to their
first meeting as teenagers.
John didn’t look at him. Couldn’t. His oldest
friend. His best friend, the one who’d been there for him through
everything, pain and joy, sorrow and triumph. Who’d saved his
fucking life just two days ago, only to destroy it now.
“ RD,” Sean went on. “It’s…well.
Secure.” He shifted on his seat, a rustle of coat and a whiff of
stale cigarette smoke. “I’m sorry, John. Fuck, you have no idea how
bad I feel for you. It had to be done, and you’ll thank me for it
someday, but right now—”
“ Thank you?”
John almost didn’t recognize his own voice. Lifting his gaze at
last, he stared at Sean, who flinched back from meeting his eyes.
“You murdered Caleb. How could you…why…?”
Sean sighed, shoulders slumping, as if John’s
bewildered hurt took something from him. “Because you couldn’t have
exorcised the drakul. I called Forsyth as soon as I got off the
phone with you, talked it over with him. He knows things about
them, things you and I don’t. Not even the two of us together could
have gotten it out of Caleb. If it had stayed contained at RD…but
it had escaped once already. It was just too dangerous to risk
capturing it, at least while it was still in a living body.”
“ So Caleb had to die?”
“ Yes!” Sean met his gaze defiantly.
“Damn it, John, you’ve been out of control since this whole cluster
fuck started. I don’t know if the drakul screwed with your head, or
if it was all just your damn death wish. If we’d left it in a
living body, we would have ended up with something no one could
control. Do you have any idea how many people would have died,
starting with you?”
“‘ Forsyth told you this, did
he?”
“ Yes, but he didn’t need to. I saw it
for myself, long before. You would have, too, if your head was on
straight.”
How could this have happened? How could John
have missed the signs Sean had turned against him? “You take orders
from Forsyth now?”
Sean’s lower lip jutted stubbornly, an
expression so familiar it brought a fresh wave of grief washing
across the strand of John’s soul. “He tried talking to you, but you
were too loyal to Kaniyar. But he worried about the drakul—”
“ The drakul has a name.”
“ No, it doesn’t. Because it isn’t a
person!” Sean ran a hand over his face. “Just listen to me for once
in your damned life, John. Forsyth asked me to keep an eye on it,
and
screaming Caleb’s name until his throat was raw. It didn’t matter;
there were too many of them, and within seconds he’d been dragged
from the abandoned house.
Black vans with the SPECTR logo on the sides
sat in the street. The back doors of one flew open on some signal,
and the agents shoved him inside.
“ What should we do about the body?” one
of them asked.
“ Nothing,” Sean said. “It’s not
habitable for the drakul, not with most of the brain gone. It will
have moved on to the next corpse. Let the ghouls clean up the
mess.”
Sean climbed inside, and the doors slammed.
The engine of the van roared to life, and a moment later it lurched
forward, taking John further and further away from the abandoned
shell which was all that remained of Caleb.
* * *
The van rocked as it sped down the highway,
but John didn’t sway with it. He concentrated on holding himself
very, very still, because his skin had turned to glass, just a
thin, brittle shell wrapped around a scream, and any movement might
break him.
Tears slicked his face, running in a silent
stream from his eyes, and snot coated his upper lip. Clogged
sinuses made it hard to breathe, but he didn’t care. He might as
well suffocate here, seated between two armed guards, his hands
cuffed behind him.
“ You’re probably wondering where we’re
headed,” Sean said, as if the silence went on too long, and he
couldn’t stand it anymore. Maybe he couldn’t; there had never been
silence between them, just a conversation stretching back to their
first meeting as teenagers.
John didn’t look at him. Couldn’t. His oldest
friend. His best friend, the one who’d been there for him through
everything, pain and joy, sorrow and triumph. Who’d saved his
fucking life just two days ago, only to destroy it now.
“ RD,” Sean went on. “It’s…well.
Secure.” He shifted on his seat, a rustle of coat and a whiff of
stale cigarette smoke. “I’m sorry, John. Fuck, you have no idea how
bad I feel for you. It had to be done, and you’ll thank me for it
someday, but right now—”
“ Thank you?”
John almost didn’t recognize his own voice. Lifting his gaze at
last, he stared at Sean, who flinched back from meeting his eyes.
“You murdered Caleb. How could you…why…?”
Sean sighed, shoulders slumping, as if John’s
bewildered hurt took something from him. “Because you couldn’t have
exorcised the drakul. I called Forsyth as soon as I got off the
phone with you, talked it over with him. He knows things about
them, things you and I don’t. Not even the two of us together could
have gotten it out of Caleb. If it had stayed contained at RD…but
it had escaped once already. It was just too dangerous to risk
capturing it, at least while it was still in a living body.”
“ So Caleb had to die?”
“ Yes!” Sean met his gaze defiantly.
“Damn it, John, you’ve been out of control since this whole cluster
fuck started. I don’t know if the drakul screwed with your head, or
if it was all just your damn death wish. If we’d left it in a
living body, we would have ended up with something no one could
control. Do you have any idea how many people would have died,
starting with you?”
“‘ Forsyth told you this, did
he?”
“ Yes, but he didn’t need to. I saw it
for myself, long before. You would have, too, if your head was on
straight.”
How could this have happened? How could John
have missed the signs Sean had turned against him? “You take orders
from Forsyth now?”
Sean’s lower lip jutted stubbornly, an
expression so familiar it brought a fresh wave of grief washing
across the strand of John’s soul. “He tried talking to you, but you
were too loyal to Kaniyar. But he worried about the drakul—”
“ The drakul has a name.”
“ No, it doesn’t. Because it isn’t a
person!” Sean ran a hand over his face. “Just listen to me for once
in your damned life, John. Forsyth asked me to keep an eye on it,
and
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