Stricken (The War Scrolls Book 1) (7 page)

Aubrey took a deep breath, refusing to remind him, yet again, that she didn’t need a keeper. He’d probably ignore her, anyway.

“Lead the way,” he said, shaking one of the bags.

“What did you get?” she asked, glancing back over her shoulder as she shuffled across the living room toward the kitchen.

Killian didn’t answer, instead setting the bags down on the table and reaching inside. He pulled out a Styrofoam container and held it out to her.

Aubrey accepted it gratefully and eased down into a chair. She hadn’t eaten anything more substantial than popcorn in God only knew how long.

Killian reached into the bag again and pulled out a can of Dr. Pepper and a bottle of water. “I wasn’t sure what you liked,” he said apologetically.

“Water is fine,” Aubrey responded. She popped open the container and nearly groaned at the sight of the massive burger and pile of steak fries waiting for her. Her mouth watered. “This looks great. Thank you.”

“No problem. I figured you might be hungry.” Killian pulled another container from the second bag before sliding into a chair across from her.

Aubrey lifted her burger from her tray and bit into it, refusing to tell him she could have cooked something. Her eyes rolled backward. The burger was amazing.

Killian opened his own tray.

“Veggie burger?” Aubrey asked after swallowing.

“Yeah.” Killian popped the top of his soda can and took a long drink. “We don’t eat meat.”

She paused with her burger halfway to her mouth. “Do you mean angels in general or your family?”

“Angels.”

“Oh.” Aubrey took another bite and chewed thoughtfully. “Why not?”

Killian arched a brow.

“I’m not trying to be rude,” she hurried to explain. “I’m curious. Is it a religious thing?”

“No, it’s not a religious thing. It’s a practicality thing.” The corners of his mouth tilted up into a smile. His blue eyes lightened. “There was no slaughterhouse in Heaven.” He took a big bite of his burger, watching her.

“Oh.” Aubrey shook her head, unsure what to make of that. “What are they like? Angels, I mean.”

Killian swallowed. “They’re unyielding, stubborn. Most of the Seraphim—the Dominion—act as if they’re wingless and stuck on earth by choice.” He scowled, his blue eyes seeming to catch fire. “They’re a bunch of bastards for the most part.”

Aubrey felt her eyes widen. He sounded so…bitter.

“You asked,” he pointed out when she continued to stare at him, at a loss for words.

“Did God really tear out their wings?”

“Yes. No angel cast from Heaven or their offspring has wings.”

“Oh.”

Killian took another big bite of his burger.

“Do you live with them?” she asked.

“Sometimes.”

“But you don’t like them?”

“As a collective? No, I don’t.”

“Aren’t your brothers full-blooded angels?”

“They are.” Killian bit into his burger again. “But Abriel and Dahmiel were born here. They’ve never stepped foot in Heaven. They fight to protect your people because it’s the right thing to do.”

“And the others don’t?”

“Some do, but most of those who fell fear Heaven. They believe once they’ve suffered for their sins long enough, Heaven will take them back.”

“What about you?” Aubrey asked. “What do you believe?”

“Me?” Killian stared off into space for a long, silent moment while Aubrey ate her fries. “I believe they’re fools,” he said then. “Heaven will never forgive the Fallen for the damage they’ve caused and will never welcome them back. God is not merciful, especially not to those who defy Him.”

“Then why do you fight beside them?”

Killian pursed his lips. “My mother was human, and Heaven stopped sending warriors to defend this world long ago, but the Fallen remain. Despite their faults, they keep your people from being overrun by Hell because they believe this world is worth saving. They believe your people, people like my mother, are more than souls to be used up in the final battle and spit out.”

“Oh.”

Is that how God viewed humans? As nothing more than a means to an end?

Aubrey didn’t believe that. She wasn’t sure what she believed, exactly, but she wasn’t as cynical as Killian. God hadn’t abandoned humanity to its fate. He wouldn’t.

She and Killian ate in silence for a long moment before she felt compelled to speak again.

“What happens now?”

“Now we figure out why the Elioud are looking for you.”

“How?”

Killian took another long swallow of his soda before answering. “To start, I’d like you to show me where they found you.”

Aubrey’s stomach rebelled at the thought of purposefully revisiting those unpleasant memories. “Will it help?” she asked, pushing her burger away from her.

“Yeah, I think it will.” Killian shot her an apologetic smile.

Aubrey sighed. “Fine. I’ll do it.”

Chapter Six

“How long has the virus been active?” Aubrey asked an hour later, staring out of the car window at the fading light. St. Jude’s loomed overhead. The streets around the hospital seemed more ominous and frightening than they ever had before, as if the monsters lurking in the shadows had changed the familiar landscape, painting it with stark lines and dark streaks of hopelessness.

Aubrey kept her arms wrapped around herself, her hands clenched against her sides. Fear whispered through her in a disquieting cacophony, stirring up unease and questions better left unspoken.

“It started spreading in the United States four months ago,” Killian said.

Four months?

“Good God,” Aubrey whispered, stunned
La Morte Nera
had spread so quickly and done so much damage in such a short amount of time.

A tired frown hovered on Killian’s lips as he drove, easily navigating around the cars parked up and down the street. “It hit South America a week later. Europe and Asia lasted about a month. It’s been in Africa and Australia for less than two. Unless we find a cure, we may all be gone by the end of the year.”

Aubrey fell silent as they made their way around the north side of the hospital, not knowing what to say. To any of it. The entire situation was…well, her brain fired in a thousand different directions, and none of them were pleasant.

What did the infected want with her? How did they even know where to find her?

She didn’t have those answers. Part of her wasn’t even sure she wanted them. She wasn’t part of this world anymore, and it pissed her off to be dragged back now. More than that, though, being thrust into the middle of this earthly hell all over again frightened her. She hadn’t fared so well last time. And Aaron couldn’t protect her now. She had to rely on Killian, who confused and frustrated her in turns.

Given a reason, he’d kill her without blinking.

The unrelenting possibility that he might have a reason unsettled her.

They pulled into the parking lot she pointed out, still not speaking.

Killian maneuvered the car into an empty spot at the back of the lot and killed the engine.

Aubrey climbed out, exhausted. She hadn’t slept well. Part of her wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for a week. She kind of doubted that would happen anytime soon, though. Not with nightmares plaguing her.

Killian reached across the seat and grabbed a flashlight from the glove compartment before following her out. He glanced at her, opened his mouth, and then closed it without speaking.

“The first one found me over there,” she said, guessing that’s what he was trying to work up to. She pointed toward the far corner of the parking lot where her old Accord still sat.

“He waited for you?”

“Yeah.” Aubrey shivered, remembering.

One of her coworkers had called to say she would be late, so Aubrey had volunteered to stay. A little after nightfall, Madison had finally arrived, all apologies. Aubrey had reassured her it was fine and had then left. As she’d neared the lot, she had begun to get the sense she wasn’t alone.

She’d turned to look behind her but had seen no one and decided it was just her imagination. She’d never much liked being outside by herself, not since the Nephilim boy had kidnapped her. As she’d neared her car, though, a menacing snarl had sounded.

She’d jumped, dropping her keys.

When she bent to pick them up, she’d caught sight of the shifter.

“I thought he was someone’s pet,” she admitted to Killian. And then the wolf had stepped into the light. It’d taken her all of two seconds to grasp that he wasn’t a pet. He was too big. Too dangerous-looking.

Chills broke out all along her skin when she and Killian drew to a stop beside her car.

“What happened from there?” Killian asked, bending to examine the ground. He placed his palm against the cement as if trying to feel where she’d stood.

“I ran.”

Killian rose from his haunches, nodding for her to show him.

Aubrey bit her lip and then sighed before retracing her steps across the parking lot, weaving between cars as she had when the shifter found her. She’d hoped it’d slow the animal down, but it hadn’t. The wolf had stalked after her as she crisscrossed the lot, gaining ground where she lost it.

By the time she’d decided to turn back toward the hospital, it’d been too late.

“The second one came out of the trees here,” she said, pointing at a cluster of trees half a block from where they’d started.

“You were heading back to the hospital,” Killian murmured, his gaze flickering between their position and the hospital ahead. “Smart.”

Aubrey veered to the left then, taking Killian on the same path she’d taken when the second shifter appeared. “I tried to get back to the hospital several times, but every time I tried, they drove me farther away.”

“They were shepherding you?” Killian asked, a look of surprise on his face.

Aubrey nodded. By the time she’d realized what they were doing, she was over a mile away, too far to do her any good. She’d kept running, darting down side streets whenever she could. At one point, she had tripped and fallen.

“One of them leaped at me before I could get up.”

“Did he try to bite you?” Killian asked.

“No.” Aubrey shook her head. “He scratched me and then backed off. Like he wanted to scare me. Keep me moving.”

Killian stopped walking and glanced around. “They were driving you away from people,” he said.

Aubrey pointed up the road. “They shepherded me down Manassas Street, toward the industrial area. There aren’t many houses there.”

Killian frowned. “We found the first one near a warehouse not far from here.”

“I hid in the shed across the street,” Aubrey admitted. “There was no one around, nowhere to go. I thought if I could find somewhere to hide, they’d give up and leave. And then you and your brothers showed up.”

“I wondered why the second shifter was lurking around the shed,” Killian murmured. “I didn’t sense you. I assumed he was trying to hide from us. Why didn’t you say anything?”

Aubrey hesitated a moment. “I thought about it, but I heard you talking about what to do with the body. It scared me.” She shrugged. “I decided to stay in the shed until I was sure you were gone.”

She’d stayed curled inside for over an hour after they’d left, too afraid to venture out. Her entire body had ached. Scrapes and welts ran down the length of one leg where she’d fallen, and fear had tasted like copper in the back of her throat.

“They were waiting for you,” Killian guessed.

“Yeah. I started to make my way back toward the hospital, but I didn’t even make it half a block before two more showed up. I turned back around and ran.”

When Dahmiel had confirmed that the wolves were Elioud shifters, she hadn’t been truly surprised. She’d aimed at that truth for hours, but she’d avoided examining the possibility too closely, not wanting to believe it. When Dahmiel had spoken the word, though, she couldn’t deny it anymore. The world she’d run from had found her, and sometime over the last three years, that world had gotten a whole lot more frightening.

“You know how the night ended,” she told Killian, looking up at him. “I ran into the abandoned house as the van turned the corner.” She’d stumbled along through the house, the shifter still behind her. Killian and his brothers had entered, and those terrifying yellow eyes turned away from her. They’d turned back for an instant, boring into hers, and then the wolf was gone, ghosting through the house on silent paws.

“I snuck out the back and made it around the side of the porch before I had to stop. I didn’t know if there were any more or if—” She cleared her throat. “Well, if you’d try to hurt me if you found me.”

“What made you think we’d hurt you?” Killian asked after a moment.

“You mean other than the fact you seemed to have an unnatural ability to arrive at precisely the right instant?” Aubrey frowned as they neared the abandoned house. It wasn’t far now. Half a block if she remembered correctly. She felt pretty confident she did. No way would she forget that house anytime soon or the pervasive chill she’d felt when she’d plunged headlong into the darkness. “You moved too quickly and fought too well. I wasn’t sure what you were, but I knew you weren’t human. Not sticking around to confirm that suspicion seemed safer.”

“We figured they were after something.” He sounded as if he hadn’t expected their prey to be a girl. “We didn’t know what, though. I’m glad you decided to come to us.”

“I didn’t decide to come to you.” Aubrey drew to a stop at the corner as the abandoned house came into view, looking more ragged and wrong in the dying light than it had in the dark of night. The broken windows and gaping door gave the house the appearance of a face. More of an old skull, really, with empty eye sockets and a slack jaw.

“Oh?”

“When I heard the other one, survival instinct kicked in, I guess. I just ran. I didn’t stop to think about what I was doing.”

“Either way,” Killian said. “I’m glad you came to us.”

Aubrey wasn’t. Physical hurts were only one kind, and unlike others, they left scars that healed. Anything that happened to her physically she could live with. But emotionally? She already felt completely wrung out. The virus, the fact she was being hunted…the blows kept coming. Much more, and she suspected she’d find out again exactly how much more emotional wounds could hurt.

Even if Killian didn’t kill her later, being near him was hell on her peace of mind. And it wasn’t because of the situation, either. It was Killian himself. The questions he asked, the answers he demanded, the way he seemed to calm her without even trying, and just
him
in general. He made her heart race and her palms sweat. He was a sunspot on the edge of her vision, too big and shining too bright for her not to notice.

She had enough self-preservation left to know that wasn’t a good thing.

“When the virus strikes, it destroys the mind,” Killian said.

Aubrey narrowed her eyes on the house across the street, thinking. The shifters hadn’t been like Aaron, but they hadn’t exactly been zombie-like, either. They’d been…determined. Terrifying, but determined. As if some shared purpose drove them and nothing would stand in their way.

“So how’d they know to lead me away from people, then?” she asked.

Killian scrutinized the area and then sighed as if whatever he’d hoped to find by walking her through the ordeal hadn’t surfaced. “And why even bother?”

“Good question.” Aubrey snorted.

“You didn’t recognize any of them?”

“No.”

“I should have told Abriel to wait,” Killian muttered.

“Wait for what?”

He looked at her for a moment and then away, as if he couldn’t quite meet her gaze. “For you to take a look at the bodies before he burned them.”

“Oh.” Aubrey swallowed the bile rising in her throat at the memory of charred human flesh. She pushed it away, refusing to let the image take root.

“Too late now.” Killian sighed.

Aubrey didn’t say anything.

“Did you see anything else? Anything unusual?”

“Other than four wolves chasing me through Memphis, you mean?” Aubrey shook her head. “No, nothing. I haven’t noticed anyone following me the last few days, either. No one lurking around outside my house or the hospital. No strange phone calls. Nothing.”

Killian eyed her oddly.

She dipped her head, hiding her face from him instead of answering the question in his gaze. She’d vowed long ago not to be caught off guard by an assailant again. The first time had almost killed her.

Apparently she hadn’t been vigilant enough this time around, either.

“We didn’t see anything in the house. Maybe we missed it, though,” Killian said, stepping into the street. He was halfway across before he realized Aubrey wasn’t following him.

“I’m not going back in there,” she said, crossing her arms and planting her feet when he turned back around to look at her.

“Then wait out here.” He shrugged and continued across the street.

Aubrey stood where she was for a full five count before cursing under her breath and hurrying after him. Killian waited for her to catch up before he started walking again. He didn’t comment on her change of heart.

The closer they got to the house, the more frightening it appeared. Brown grass stood knee-high in the yard. Weeds had broken through the sidewalk long ago, buckling it in places. Pieces of paper and empty beer bottles littered the yard. At some point, someone had lost a shoe. It sat upright, the once-white fabric black in spots where mold had taken root.

Off to the side, a large patch of trampled and discolored grass drew Aubrey’s eyes. She stared for a full minute before realization dawned. Killian and his brother had killed the last of the shifters there. She jerked her gaze away and scurried after Killian, who’d reached the steps to the porch.