Burning Alive

Drake wasn’t sure. At least he wasn’t sure he wanted to.



“You’ve got to do something,” said Helen. Her voice was so sweet and clear, and just the sound of it helped him focus.



“There’s nothing I can do. I’m sorry.”



Drake thought about begging Logan to knock him out, but then he wouldn’t be of much use to anyone in a fight. He had to beat this thing. He’d lived with pain for decades. He was tough. He could take it.



“I can’t let him suffer like this,” said Helen.



“I’ll be okay,” said Drake. “Just give me a minute.” God, was that his voice? It sounded like his vocal cords had been shredded.



“I have to do something.” She sounded as though she might be crying and Drake forced his eyes open. He couldn’t let her cry.



“If he doesn’t recover in a moment, then you can touch him. Be patient.” That was Logan. Calm, sure, not at all upset by Drake’s pain. Then again, he was the closest thing they had to a real doctor and if pain freaked him out, he was in the wrong line of work.



Logan had a hand on Helen’s shoulder, keeping her from reaching out to Drake. It made Drake want to kill him for touching her. It gave him something to fight for. He forced himself to accept the pain. No one else was ever going to touch Helen. Only him.



It seemed to take forever, but he started to become accustomed to the pressure. It still hurt like a son of a bitch, but at least he wasn’t writhing on the floor wishing he’d die.



“See?’ said Logan. “He’s already recovering.”



Recovering. Hell of a way to put it. He felt like he’d been forced to swallow a truck, but at least that truck was no longer on fire. As a recovery, it sucked, but it sure beat the pants off last time.



Drake let his breathing slow before he tried to move. When he looked at Helen, her hazel eyes were bright with unshed tears and she reached out to touch his face.



Logan’s hand shot out faster than a lightning strike and grabbed her wrist. He shoved his body between them to serve as a barrier. “Don’t touch him. He’d have to go through all of that again and I’m not sure his body could take it right now.”



“I promise it couldn’t,” panted Drake.



“Sorry. I don’t know what I did to hurt you, but I’m sorry. Whatever it was, I didn’t mean . . .”



Drake still hadn’t caught his breath and he hated looking weak in front of her. “It wasn’t your fault.”



“I should go check on Miss Mabel now.”



“Wait a minute,” said Logan. “I need to make sure you’re okay, too.”



Something in Logan’s tone bothered Drake, but he wasn’t at the top of his game right now and he couldn’t figure out what it was. The Sanguinar stood up and followed Helen to where she stood with her hand on the door. Drake could see her body shaking a bit, but that wasn’t completely unexpected, considering what she’d been through tonight.



“I’m fine.”



“Just let me look you over. It will only take a moment.”



“No!” She backed away from Logan, her eyes widening with fear.



Damn, Drake hated seeing that look on her face. He pushed himself up from the bed, surprised that his legs held him up. Barely. “Let her go, Logan. Let her go check on her friend.”



“This is important,” said the Sanguinar. “She’s not okay.”



“Yes, I am. I’m just worried about Miss Mabel.”



Drake had to shove his hands into his jeans’ pockets to keep from reaching out for her. He wanted to pull her into his arms and tell her everything would be fine over and over until it was true. Which would be never. One of them still had to erase the memories of tonight from her mind—at least the parts that involved anything that could endanger her or give her nightmares. That process alone was no fun, and since he couldn’t touch her, he wasn’t going to be the one to do it. The thought of Logan’s hands on her made Drake want to reach for his sword.



Logan turned around and glared at Drake. Pretty-boy didn’t have a chance at intimidating him, no matter how powerful he might be. Drake was able to stand toe-to-toe with Thomas without backing down and that was no small feat. Thomas knew a thing or two about intimidation.



“She’s not okay,” Logan ground out, barely above a whisper. It was as though he didn’t want Helen to hear. “Something is wrong with her. I really should figure out what it is.”



Drake felt anxiety slither in his belly. If he’d done anything to hurt Helen he’d never forgive himself. Everything that had happened to her from the moment he walked over to her in the diner was his fault. He could have stayed in his seat. He could have ignored the pull she had on him. But he hadn’t. He’d dragged her into his world and he was now responsible for her.



“What do you want to do?” Drake asked him.



“She needs to come with us,” said Logan. “Back to the compound.”



“You know what that means.” Once she went there, she’d stay there. Her normal life would be over.



“Yes, but there’s no other choice.”



“Stop talking about me like I’m not here, damn it! What is it with you guys? You act like I’m some kid who can’t make up her own mind.”



Dealing with humans was so unnecessarily complicated. “You’re right. I’m sorry,” said Drake. He looked at Logan, who didn’t look at all apologetic. “We’re sorry.”



Helen rolled her eyes, slipped out the bedroom door, and slammed it shut behind her.



Drake’s head pounded, his bones ached, and his stomach twisted with guilt. He’d handled this whole night so badly and he wasn’t sure how he was going to fix it.



He wasn’t left much time to ponder the problem, though, because a few seconds later, he heard the sound of glass shattering in the living room followed by the distinctive snarl of Synestryn demons.



A heartbeat later, Helen screamed.



Chapter 5



Helen’s front window blasted into the living room. A splinter of glass sliced across her cheek, but she barely noticed. Her attention was fixed on the monster standing in the middle of her living room. It was vaguely wolflike, but twice as big. Its muzzle was all wrong, though. It had the wide jaw of a shark and was filled with rows of serrated teeth. Where its eyes should have been were empty black holes surrounded by singed flesh, as if they’d been burned out of its head with a hot poker. Rust-colored fur covered its body and it shook off bits of broken glass like a dog did raindrops.



Blood trickled down her cheek and the thing swiveled its head around and stared at her with those empty black holes. Even without eyes, she was sure it could see her.



Helen screamed.



She was still standing partly in the hall and saw Thomas rush by from the kitchen with a gleaming sword in his hands. His big body blocked her from the monster’s sight, giving her a chance to pull herself together.



“Out of the way!” shouted Drake from behind her, and she pressed herself against the wall to allow him and Logan room to pass.



Drake also wielded a sword—a big heavy one that had to have been longer than her arm. He leapt past her just as a second monster jumped in through the shattered window. Drake stepped to his right so that he was between it and her. The thing stared past him, looking right at her with empty sockets. It bared its shark teeth and let out a rattling hiss that froze her in place.



“Time to go,” ordered Logan. He grabbed her arm and started tugging her down the stairs toward the front door.



“Miss Mabel! We can’t leave her behind.”



Helen jerked away from his grasp and saw Miss Mabel rising unsteadily from a kitchen chair. She ran to the older woman’s side to help her up. There was a door leading out to the deck, but it was a whole flight of stairs down to the backyard. Miss Mabel would never make it in time and Helen wasn’t strong enough to carry her.



Before she could yell for help, another monster slammed into the glass of the back door, trying to break it, and it no longer mattered. They were trapped.



Logan was there by her side again. “I’ll get her. You get yourself out of here.”



Helen nodded. Logan lifted Miss Mabel into his arms, surprising her with his strength. He was too thin to lift her that easily, but Helen wasn’t complaining.



The monster flung its body against the glass again, and this time the frame around the door splintered. The door banged open and the monster stepped inside on silent paws.



“Go. Now!” shouted Logan.



Helen picked up one of the nearby fire extinguishers and pulled the pin. “You first.”



“Like hell,” said Logan. “Drake! Kitchen!” he bellowed.



The monster sniffed the air, and once again she was on the receiving end of an eyeless stare. It was only eight feet away and looked like it wanted to come closer.



Helen aimed the fire extinguisher and pulled the trigger. Yellow powder spewed out, hitting the thing right in the face. It let out a roar of pain, opening its shark mouth wide.



Drake ran into the kitchen and she saw something oily and black dripping down the blade of his sword. He stepped in front of them, facing the monster. His shoulders were wide, the muscles in his back and arms coiled and ready to strike. He wasn’t frightened or breathing hard like she was. In fact, he looked like this was just another normal day for him. Get up. Go to work. Kill some monsters. Go home. No big thing.



The monster prowled forward but Drake held his ground. “Get her out of here.”



Logan had no free hands to grab her, but Miss Mabel did. She clutched the strap of Helen’s tank top in her bony hand and didn’t let go so that Helen had to either follow along or risk hurting Miss Mabel. Logan headed for the front door, but through the narrow sidelight windows, Helen could see at least three more of the monsters sniffing around, looking for a way in.



They weren’t going to make it out of here. No way.



“We’ll go out through the garage,” Logan told her. “My van is just outside and the keys are in the ignition. If you can get out, don’t wait for the rest of us. Just go.”



“I won’t leave you all behind.” Helen grabbed her purse from the table by the door.



“We know how to take care of ourselves. If you stay, you’ll just get in the way.”



Before she had a chance to respond, the wooden door that led into her garage shuddered under the weight of an assault. They weren’t getting out this way, either.



“Any more exits?” asked Logan.



“Just through the bedroom windows.”



“How far up are they?”



“Eight or ten feet, maybe.”



Logan glanced down at Miss Mabel. “That’s not going to work.”



“Don’t you dare stay behind for me,” said Miss Mabel. “I’ve had a good run. Just give me one of those fire extinguishers and I’ll hold them off so you can get out.”



Helen’s heart broke a little in the face of Miss Mabel’s selfless courage. She thought that because she was old, her life was of less value than the others’. For all Helen knew, Miss Mabel had a lot more years to live than she did. “Not going to happen,” replied Helen. “We’re all going to get out of here.”