Burning Alive

“Then how is that not certain?” asked Helen.



“You weren’t listening. I said if you live that long it will come to pass. You may always choose otherwise.”



“You mean suicide?”



Sibyl’s soft blue eyes shone with sadness. “If you do not like one death, then it is your right to choose another.”



What great news that was. “How much time do I have?”



“Not much. All of us are running out of time, Helen.”



“What do you mean? Who’s all of us?”



“The Sentinels. The human race. The kingdom of the Solarc. All of us. The Synestryn grow more powerful with each moonrise and now that they have another Sentinel blade at their disposal, it will only get worse.”



“You mean Kevin’s sword is going to allow the Synestryn to win?”



Sibyl frowned and was silent for a long moment as if looking at something only she could see. “It is a turning point for them. That’s all I can see. What I do know is that if they have Kevin’s sword, they will be able to free the souls of the creatures slain by his blade and their army will grow. The Sentinels cannot afford such a setback—the work of an entire warrior’s life undone.”



“Then we have to get his sword back.”



Sibyl shrugged a dainty shoulder. “I do not concern myself with such things. They are the matter of warriors and I am not one. You, on the other hand, are.”



“A warrior? Hardly.”



“Yes. You are. Regardless of what the Gray Lady would have you believe.” Sibyl’s voice was as cold and hard as ice—not at all that of a child. “You’re not trained, but the potential is there. If you live long enough to fulfill that potential.”



Helen felt a little shiver of unease slide down her spine. Sibyl was not what she appeared to be. Not by a long shot. “Gilda said I would be useless in battle if I can’t use fire. She thinks my inability will end up killing Drake.”



“If you try to fight the Synestryn beside Drake without the ability to call fire, then Drake will die. About that, there is no question.”



“Then Gilda was right. I can’t fight.”



Sibyl rolled her eyes. “You aren’t listening. This is why I refuse to see people like you. You never listen.”



“I’m trying, but you aren’t making any sense.”



Sibyl gave Helen a hard stare. “No, I’m just not telling you what you want to hear. You want me to tell you that everything is going to be fine and that everyone will live and be happy and we’ll sing and hold hands and no one will ever hurt or be hungry again. That’s not the way it is. That’s not the way it will ever be. The truth is much bleaker than that and nothing I can do will ever change it. Nothing.”



Helen suddenly felt sorry for the girl. What must it be like for her to know things she shouldn’t? Helen only had one vision and it had been hard to bear. From all accounts, Sibyl had a lot of visions and she was only a child. It had to be frightening and lonely for her. “I’m sorry,” said Helen, reaching out for the girl’s hand.



Sibyl jerked away before Helen could touch her. “Don’t. I don’t want any more of your life in my head.”



That didn’t sound good. “What can I do to help you?”



“There is nothing anyone can do for me. I am as I was created to be.”



“But you’re suffering.”



“We all suffer, Helen. If you truly want to do something for me, then try not to be stupid. Let your love for Drake guide your actions.”



Love for Drake? She liked him. He was sexy and caring and courageous. How could she help but like him. But love? That was too scary to think about, so she set the thought aside for now. She’d figure out how she felt about him later when her emotions weren’t so scattered.



“Tell me one thing, please. If I do decide to . . . choose my own death, does that guarantee Drake’s safety?”



Sibyl shook her head, making her blond ringlets bob. “The only guarantee we are given when we are born is that we will die. Even for one of our kind who lives for centuries, death is inevitable. My advice to you is to embrace your death rather than fear it. Let it come at a time and place of your choosing and give it meaning. A meaningful death is the best any of us can hope for in life.”



That was the saddest thing Helen had ever heard a child say, and she had to fight to keep from pulling Sibyl into her arms to comfort her. Only the worry that it would hurt her allowed Helen to hold herself back. “If you ever want to talk, or if you ever need a friend to just listen, I can do that for you, Sibyl.”



The little girl blinked as if confused. “No one has ever offered to do that for me before.”



“I think the people here are all a little afraid of you.”



Sibyl tilted her head to the side. “Of course they are. I know how every one of them is going to die.”



That was too freaky to think about for long. “Me, too?”



“Yes.”



Helen just stared at her for a moment, stunned into silence.



Sibyl casually sipped her tea. “Aren’t you going to ask me how you die?”



“No. Knowing I’m going to burn alive if I don’t kill myself sooner is more than enough stress, thank you.”



Sibyl gave Helen a sly, almost sinister smile. “You don’t know nearly as much as you think you do. Nothing in our world is what it seems.”



“Does that include you?”



Sibyl ignored the question. “You should go now. Your window of opportunity is narrow.”



“What’s that supposed to mean?”



A frightening light flared in Sibyl’s eyes. “It means go. Now. And send Drake to see me for a moment.”



She might look like a child, but she was not one. No child had that much presence or force of will.



Helen stood clumsily from her chair and left the room. Right before she shut the door, she was sure she heard Sibyl’s doll giggle.



Chapter 21



Nicholas intercepted Helen and Drake right outside Drake’s suite. The men stepped a few feet down the corridor so Helen couldn’t hear them. Their secrecy annoyed her, so she used Drake’s power to eavesdrop. She channeled power to her ears, the same way she had her eyes in order to enhance her sight. When the rush of sound blasted her eardrums, she nearly gasped. She tuned the roar down until the beating of their hearts and the air moving in and out of their lungs didn’t drown out their conversation.



Nicholas handed Drake that blood monitor/GPS gadget they’d used to track the Synestryn before and a small silver vial. “There’s only enough blood in here for one shot, so you’ll have to find the nest tonight.”



Drake’s jaw tightened with determination. “I’ll have a chopper ready in case the nest is too far away to drive.”



“I don’t think it will be. All my data points to a gathering of Synestryn in a hundred-mile radius of here. I think they’re closing in on us, maybe gearing up for an all-out attack on the compound.”



Drake let out a low curse, but Helen heard it clearly. She could also hear the sudden angry rush of blood through his body, which was really strange. “Does Joseph know yet?”



“Yeah,” said Nicholas. “He’s calling in all available Theronai just in case.”



“Do you want to stay here, too, or can I convince you to come with us tonight? Helen and I sure could use your help.”



“I thought Gilda didn’t want you taking your lady out.”



“She doesn’t, but we don’t have much of a choice. We’ve got to get Kevin’s sword back.”



“Then let someone else go. You two stay here, safe and sound.”



Drake glanced over his shoulder at Helen, who tried to look as though she wasn’t listening. Apparently her ruse worked.



“I can’t do that,” whispered Drake.



“Why the hell not?” demanded Nicholas.



“Because Sibyl told me that if Helen doesn’t find Kevin’s sword, she’ll die within days. I can’t let that happen.”



Holy crap! Helen had not wanted to hear that. A sick feeling slithered around in her belly, but it was too late to turn back now. She had to keep listening.



Nicholas ran a hand through his dark blond hair, and his scarred face darkened with anger. “Well, shit. That’s just what we need. More creepy kid prophecies to muddy things up.”



“Tell me about it. It’s killing me trying to deal with my need to keep Helen safe and my need to do my job—our job. Things were so much simpler when I only had myself to worry about.”



“Don’t look for sympathy here, buddy. You found your lady. The rest of us are still suffering, so go cry to someone else.”



“Sorry. I shouldn’t complain.” Drake rubbed a hand over the nape of his neck. “I believe Helen isn’t alone. There have to be more women like her out there. Maybe even that waitress Zach is after.”



“I’ve already started looking for Lexi and others. I’d be able to look a lot easier if I got a sample of Helen’s blood to analyze.”



She felt a sudden spike of outrage shoot out of Drake. “After what Logan did to her . . . don’t ask me for that, please.”



Helen was beginning to think that whatever Logan had done when he’d used her blood to save Drake had more meaning than she knew. She was going to have to ask Drake about it as soon as they had a moment alone. As soon as enough time had passed so that he wouldn’t realize she’d been listening.



“I could ask Logan, if it would make you feel better,” said Nicholas. “He’d be happy to have an excuse to get more of her blood.”



“Goddamn it! Don’t you dare! If I see him anywhere near her I’ll have to kill him.” Drake winced in pain as he said the words. “I swear I will find a way, and that will destroy what little peace there is between us. We can’t afford a war on three fronts. Two is bad enough.”



Nicholas held out his wide, scarred hands in a placating gesture. “Chill, man. I didn’t mean to push your psycho button. Jeez. It’s just a little blood.”



“No, it’s Helen’s blood. Big difference,” said Drake.



“Fine. Consider the subject dropped. When will you leave?”



“In a few hours. If you want to come hunting with us, meet us at my suite after lunch, say two o’clock.”



“I’ll see what I can do. Joseph has me pretty busy tracking these nests, but it would be good to get out and whack on some bad guys for a while. I don’t want to get rusty.”



“Rusty,” snorted Drake. “If you were rusty, I’d leave you behind a desk, not ask you to come help me protect my lady.”



“Don’t make me blush, dickhead.”



Drake grinned as the men parted ways and Helen found the landscape print on the wall suddenly intriguing. Drake’s hand slid along her lower back. “Let’s go get some rest. It’s going to be a late night.”



“I’d rather practice,” she told him.



“Your eyes are still red and I don’t want you wearing yourself out. Tonight is the real thing.”