Page 89 of Born Savage

The thunderbird remained aloft for a few seconds before his wings fell toward the ground and he lunged downward, spiraling until his huge body slammed into the earth.

Cringing, I closed my eyes, taking comfort in the strong arms holding me.

Another moment of silence settled in. The lack of noise even more terrifying.

“Okay, guys. I think that’s enough,” Vicious said from somewhere several feet away. “Where there are… ten, there are more. We need to get going.”

Rage jerked his head up, staring me in the eyes. I’d seen him snarl before, but this time his eyes were on fire, admonishment already curling his lips. “What the fuck did you think you were doing?”

“You were gone so long I thought something happened.”

He stood up, yanking my arm. His chest rose and fell, the scent of anger swirling around us. As he shook his head, I sensed there were several things he wanted to say and none of them I wanted to hear.

“I just wanted to make certain all of you were okay.”

“Did you see that goddamn bird?” His face was red, his chest heaving even more than before. “Did you?”

“Yes. I saw him.”

“Do you know what he could have done to you? To the damn dog?”

I took a step closer, baring my teeth as I did. “He’s not a damn dog.”

“Okay, guys. Can you fight about this later? Please? I don’t have the heat seeker with me, but I will make a bet we have whole new crew of those things heading in our direction.”

Vicious’ voice was full of agitation.

“Of course,” I said, hissing when I did. Yes, Rage had saved my life. Again. But that didn’t mean I needed to hear about breaking some rule or going against some brotherhood plan. The only active plan was one of survival. Including our adorable little canine friend.

While Rage snapped his head in his friend’s direction, I walked away, yanking the sword from the earth while cradling the puppy in my arms. When I passed Vicious, he dropped his head but moved by my side, which was good since I had no freaking clue where I was going.

Almost two days ago, we’d set out on an adventure. Or that’s what I’d told Wren we were doing anyway. Whether she understood, I had no idea. We’d left the only people I’d ever truly known and trusted in hopes of fulfilling a prophecy told but yet to be fully understood.

We’d made camp one night in an old farmhouse barn. While not comfortable, we’d been safe.

Of course, the words in my mind weren’t said lightly nor were they done with excitement. I was a nervous wreck, terrified of what we would face and despondent from the loss.

In hugging my mother, my beautiful and soon to be healthy mother, I’d felt a sense of relief as well as gratefulness that she’d been spared. For how long didn’t really matter. She was free of the sickness that had stripped her from a quality of life.

All because of a child no older than I’d been when I’d been cast aside. The true meaning of the term cathartic was buried somewhere in the concept, only I was too on edge to try to determine the reason.

The two Humvees were vehicles I’d known existed and they’d been used before, but only for short hauls and not for heading to the City of Lights. They were worth their weight in any currency, marauders killing without question to get their hands on such a find.

I’d known about how specialized the community’s patrons had been in their former lives, their expertise a commanding reason for why we were still alive. And in a sense, we’d been thriving for years, far removed from the treachery of others.

Leaving them was bittersweet, although since seeing the Garuda, I had a different sense of the future. I didn’t know what that meant as we still didn’t have all the answers, but what my father had said to Rage as well as what Wrath had thrown in had provided some light in an abysmal tunnel of terrifying darkness.

I jerked to a stop. “Hold Jake for a second.”

His eyebrows lifted, clear amusement on his face. “Yes, ma’am.”

With a hard swing that caused him to wince, I pulled the sword into the air before slowly easing the blade into the sheath.

“You’re a true savage with that sword.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” I gathered the pup, kissing him on the top of the head.

“As soon as he realized something happened to you, he went nuts.” Vicious didn’t usually say very much, but he’d kept a watchful eye on me.