Page 8

Marinah

There was something odd about Garret. He said all the right things and acted the way a good politician should. Maybe that was the problem. I had taken on King’s dislike of politicians in general, and I didn’t see that changing anytime soon. Trusting him would take time, and even then, I wasn’t sure if I’d fully get there. I was at the wait-and-see stage.

The outpost that had been attacked was about six hours away if we ran the entirety. King, however, didn’t want to waste that much time. Instead, we were being dropped close to the village by parachute.

I had never parachuted before. The thought didn’t terrify me, exactly, but surviving would be nice. I just needed to get the first jump out of the way. Outside of the extremely short Federation instruction in case the plane went down on my original trip to Cuba, I’d had exactly two lessons. My confidence would be higher after I survived.

Over the roar of the plane’s engine, King yelled at me, “Remember what you learned about untwisting your rigging lines if needed! You’ll have plenty of time to set yourself up for landing!”

We stood at the open cabin door, and my stomach felt like it was lodged in my throat. King adjusted my harness one last time and gave me a quick kiss.

I flashed him a thumbs-up that I didn’t feel. King was jumping first, and I’d immediately follow. Labyrinth was next, then Garret, Axel, and finally Beck. King was taking Garret at his word that he could keep up. I had my doubts.

King scanned the terrain, waiting for the perfect time to jump, while I desperately tried to focus on something other than falling. My thoughts drifted to Ruth. Leaving her behind hadn’t been easy.

“You said you would train me!” she had yelled defiantly when she found out I was going with King.

“I will train you,” I had snapped back. “And one of the first things you’ll learn is that the world doesn’t revolve around Ruth. Men, women, and children died. Everyone here is in danger, including you and your mother. I’m putting your safety and everyone else’s ahead of your wants. Get over it.”

She had spun on her heels and stormed off. I didn’t envy Missy, not one bit, and I was sure Missy wanted to kill me right about now.

“It’s time!” King’s shout jolted me back to the present. I ran my hands over my straps, adjusting my backpack beneath the harness. I was as ready as I’d ever be. King jumped, I counted to three and made the leap. Airborne. Falling. At least we avoided the plane’s engines. That had been one of my worries.

Wind whipped across my face, the cold seeping into my bones as we plummeted. King arched his body and drew closer to me. I mimicked his movement, so the land approached faster, which was ludicrous. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the others. Taking a deep breath, I allowed myself a moment to look at the beauty below. If it weren’t for the wind slapping against me, I could almost believe I was suspended in midair rather than dropping at 120 miles an hour.

My gaze locked onto a clear area below us. Following King’s example, I tightened my body, streamlining into an arrow to guide myself toward the spot. For the first time, I caught sight of Beck above us, descending fast.

“Open, open, open,” I muttered aloud, just as King gave the signal to open our chutes. I yanked the cord, and the sudden tug as the parachute caught air sent me lurching upward. The exhilarating sensation stole my breath, and a laugh erupted from my throat. This was a wild and crazy thrill that surprised even me. Marinah, meet your new idea of fun.

The ground rushed toward me, the landing area now within reach. King hit first, making it look effortless. I had seconds to prepare before my feet were running across the earth. My Doc Martens connected perfectly, gripping the dirt, and I managed to stay upright just like King.

Coming to a stop, I looked over at him, unable to hide the huge grin on my face. “That was amazing,” I said, laughing.

His smile was even wider, but his tone turned all business. “Collect your chute,” he said, already gathering his own.

Within ten minutes, we’d hidden the parachutes and were ready to move out. King was giving Garret a brief rundown of what to expect. “Looking into a Shadow Warrior’s eyes is never good. After we’ve shifted, it can be deadly. Whether I’m in Beast or human form, stay away from Marinah, or you will lose your head. I don’t trust you enough to explain why, but I suggest you take what I’m saying to heart. Your life depends on it.”

“Got it,” Garret said solemnly.

I was impressed. No questions, no argument. He just followed orders. Maybe he would prove useful after all. Time would tell. He watched us shift with quiet curiosity, keeping a smart side-eye on the process without drawing unnecessary attention to himself. Another point in his favor, so why was something bothering me?

We set out running at a steady pace, midstride for us, a manageable speed for Garret. We ran in the same order we’d jumped from the plane, and the miles passed quickly. The sharp, unmistakable stench of death hit about an hour later, and I knew we were close. There had been no place to land the plane near here, so this part of the journey would have been on foot no matter how we’d arrived.

“We burned the bodies, including your Shadow Warriors,” Garret said a few minutes later, the smell clearly reaching him too. He wasn’t too winded and had kept pace with us so far. If we needed to move at full speed, he would struggle, but for now, he was holding his own.

What annoyed me, though, was how quietly he moved. He’d clearly had practice at making little noise while running. I’d been working at it for months and still wasn’t as good as he was. It grated on me, which was something else that wasn’t in his favor.

King remained silent, and I could see clear signs of tension in his movements. The loss of Shadow Warriors hit him hard. He hadn’t said anything to me, but I could feel his fury simmering beneath the surface. We would mourn after we killed those responsible.

The babies, Ms. Beast lamented within me.

Our revenge will be for the babies and the Shadow Warriors, I told her silently.

Kill, she whispered, flooding my system with an extra dose of K-5. It was nice to be on the same page, though I reminded her now was not the time.

An eerie sensation started at my toes and worked its way through my body as we entered the outpost. An old magazine, partially buried in mud, ruffled in the wind, and a few stray papers fluttered across the ground, adding to the oppressive silence brought by death.

We’d been told the attack happened early in the morning. The three Shadow Warriors on patrol were the first to be taken out. Garret said their bodies had been discovered late yesterday and burned along with the others. Six Warriors died in total. When the hellhounds entered, there had been no alarm. The only survivors were two teenagers, a brother and sister, who’d gone fishing early in the morning. They’d come back and hidden, unable to stop the slaughter.

The sister could barely speak through her tears when King questioned her at the other outpost. Her brother had filled in the gaps, describing the sheer brutality of the attack.

We walked to the mass grave and stood with our heads lowered for several minutes. We weren’t praying. We were contemplating revenge. For now, we kept our beasts under control, but soon, we would unleash hell.

If I got my wish, General Smythe would be leading the Federation soldiers. I owed him a set of teeth buried deep in his throat.