She steeled her expression and ground her teeth, fists tightening at her sides. “Not a chance.”
“That’s what I thought. How many are there?”
Meridan shrugged, but just as she did, Addison’s boisterous voice joined the conversation.
“Seen at least four of them chasing us,” she said, carrying a heavy pack of metal on her shoulder as she and James headed for the boat. “But there’s more than that, I assure you. Just never put my neck on the line long enough to count.”
“Where would they take her?” I asked.
“How should I know? She’s a siren. But if she were human, she’d be taken to the square or to the water for them things to tear her to pieces.”
“The xhoth?”
Meridan nodded. “They’ve been feeding villagers to them. And likely other sirens.”
Aeris’s words lingered in my mind. Everything she said about the Kroans being adversaries to all was as starkly truthful as it could be. They posed a threat even to their own kind.
I stuffed the slug into my gun barrel and slid it back into my baldric.
“What’s the plan, cap’n?” Mullins asked.
I paced slowly, grinding my teeth together. I had to remind myself to blink when my eyes started to sting. I was so focused on a strategy, I was barely aware of what I was doing.
“We need some things from the ship,” I said, staring at the muddy road that led into Dornwich, now paved with fallen villagers. “Come nightfall, I’m getting Dahlia back.”
“I’m coming, too,” David said. “Not about to sit by and do nothing if she needs us.”
“Me, too,” Meridan said.
“Shit, if you’re all going, I’m going, too,” Mullins joined.
“Can we get off this damn beach?” Addison called out from the boat, which she and James had loaded andpulled into the water.
I’m your devil
To remind you what lies in darkness
~ Julian Burrows
“Wake up,” a voice whispered. “Wake up.”
I strained my ears against the darkness, trying to pinpoint where the voice was coming from, but it slipped just beyond my grasp. When the silence lingered, doubt crept in, and I convinced myself it was just a dream. I attempted to push it away, seeking refuge from whatever shadows it came from.
“Wake up!” it roared, accompanied by the searing burn of a slap on my cheek.
My eyes shot open, and I found myself surrounded by torchlight illuminating a cobblestone square. I was in the center like a sacrificial offering, my body aching from the beating I'd taken after being dragged from the wagon. The cold, damp ground pressed against my back, and my wrists were bound tightly above my head with leather twine and fastened to a wooden post. My legs were free, but that hardly mattered, as Lyla was crouched acrossmy belly, her face glowing against the orange flames as she smiled. She tilted her head, her teeth elongating to points.
“There you are,” she said in a childish tone. “You’re so sleepy.”
“Get off of me,” I snarled.
She stood, one foot on either side of my waist. “Fine.”
In a fit of desperation, I kicked my leg up to try and knock her away. The other sisters stood around the square in their tattered rags for clothing, watching us. Even a few villagers stood around holding additional torches, their eyes so empty, they already looked long dead.
When my foot connected with Lyla’s back, she twisted around, grabbing my ankle and biting into the flesh of my calf. There was no leather boot to protect me. Those had been taken. Her teeth sank right through my britches into my skin and I screamed in anger.
She drew back, her smile now stained with my blood.
