“Yes,” Kobal said.
Kobal gazed at the carnage before studying the hundred or so survivors picking their way through the field. They pulled survivors from beneath the dead and gestured for the nearby medical personnel to bring over cots. Kobal had given orders to try to separate our dead the best they could, and when they finished, he planned to have the drakón torch whatever remained.
They’d removed two surviving enemies from the dead too. Kobal didn’t think the survivors would talk, but he planned to speak with them before destroying them. Most of the survivors were demons, but a few humans managed to make it out alive. More soldiers guarded the wall, but I guessed we’d lost nearly two-thirds of our fighters in the battle.
The hounds released a low, mournful howl. It took all I had not to wince as the melancholy sound carried across the field. “Were the dead hounds mated?” River asked.
“They both were,” Kobal said.
River glanced at the hounds before resting her hand on Kobal’s arm. He laced his fingers through hers and drew her closer. If both the hounds were mated, then that meant two more of them would die today. The hounds mated for life, and when one mate died, the other one did too. I didn’t know how that death would come, but I suspected they wouldn’t be here at sunset.
“With the fire, you can’t track the horsemen now. Get some rest and come to the hall in twelve hours,” Kobal said.
No one spoke as he lifted River and carried her across the field toward the hounds. The beasts parted as he set River down before kneeling beside the two hounds. The hounds sat on either side of him and rested their heads against his thighs while he rubbed their heads.
* * *
Aisling
I climbed out of the shower and stumbled out of the room before collapsing onto the bed ten feet away from the door. It had taken almost a half an hour of scrubbing my skin before the water stopped running red with blood. By then, there was no hot water left, but I’d grown accustomed to taking cold showers.
I should’ve left this place, but I didn’t have the energy to lift my head off the pillow, never mind trudge back up the hill to return to my tent. And there was a chance my tent wasn’t standing anymore. I had no idea whose house Hawk brought me to, and I didn’t care.
I didn’t care that I had no clothes to wear; I’d grown accustomed to being naked around others. In Virginia, when I first started living with the demons, I’d refused to shower naked in front of other demons like they did. Instead, I would return to my old house in town and visit with my friend Sandy before taking a shower in my old room.
After a couple of months, I realized, if I was going to embrace what I was now, then I had to accept everything about their culture. The first couple of times I showered naked in front of them, I spent the entire time with my cheeks burning and shielding my breasts.
Eventually, I realized no one was paying attention to me and relaxed enough to stop blushing. I would still hang out with Sandy a couple of times a week, but I stopped keeping my shower supplies at her house.
The scent of soap wafted to me seconds before the mattress sank. I cracked open an eye and discovered Hawk sitting on the edge of the bed with his gaze focused on the wall. His wet hair stood on end, his shoulders were still damp, and only a towel covered his waist. For some reason, I almost rested my hand on his leg.
Don’t be so human.
But youarea human, or at least you’re still part human.
When I first learned I was becoming an immortal demon, I didn’t exactly shout for joy. No, there were some definite “pity me” moments. I also spent a whole lot of time inspecting myself for horns and a tail, but thankfully, I never sprouted either.
I’d felt so lost in a world that was so regimented and certain the day before. I was one of many who volunteered to become a soldier and live at the wall where I learned the truth about demons coming to Earth. Every day I woke up knowing I would eat, train, be on guard duty, and sleep.
At the time, I was sort of dating a guy. He was super cute, one of the funniest people I’d ever met, but not that great in bed. The fact he made me laugh so hard I almost piss myself made up for him rarely getting me to the finish line.
Then, one day, I woke up and everything changed. I’d always seen the souls of others, but I’d never set my sheets on fire before. I didn’t even know how I activated it before flames were consuming my bed and Sandy was running in with a fire extinguisher. I stood, gawking at the mattress as Sandy doused it with white foam.
“What happened?” she demanded when the fire was out.
“I… I don’t know,” I stammered as I gazed from the fire extinguisher dangling from her hand to the bed and back again.
Sandy rested her hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay.”
But I didn’t know if it was okay or not as I lifted my hands to gaze at my palms.
“The fire came from you?” she asked.
“Yes.”
She set the extinguisher on the ground and grasped my hands. “You have to tell someone.”
I felt the blood rush from my head at the idea and rested my hand on the wall to keep from falling over. What would they do? Would this make me more of a freak? I could conceal the soul thing, and I did from most people, but how did I hide becoming an overnight flamethrower?
