Good Intentions (The Road to Hell Series, Book 1) (8 page)

River

I pushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear as I surveyed the group of a hundred or so volunteers gathered around me. I folded my arms over my chest, feeling as though I stuck out like a sore thumb. I may only be six years older than most of them, but as I stared at their pimpled, youthful faces, I felt decades older.

Maybe it was their enthusiastic expressions, the way they stood with their shoulders thrust back and their eyes riveted on the group of older soldiers gathered before them. They looked like puppies ready for a treat; I felt like a sullen cat looking to claw the eyes out of anyone who tried to touch me.

Mac stood in the center and slightly in front of the soldiers across from us. The soldiers were all dressed in green uniforms, while us newbies had been given drab brown clothes to wear. The only color on my clothes, and on the clothes of the volunteers surrounding me, was the yellow band encircling our right biceps to differentiate us from the other groups of volunteers. Groups I could see training in the distance with other soldiers.

Tilting my head back, I glanced up at the top of the wall. The red lights still flashed, but they weren’t as vivid or as noticeable in the morning sun. I could also see men and women walking on top of the wall now. The sunlight glinted off the scopes of the rifles strapped to their backs. Last night, they had blended in with the shadows. Now they were small figures moving back and forth as they surveyed a land far beyond what anyone on this side of the wall could see.

Looking away from the wall, my gaze slid past Mac and the soldiers to the landscape beyond them. Past the houses and trees, the horizon stretched on endlessly. It all looked so peaceful out there, but all night, cries had echoed across the land. The awful sounds had to have been the ones igniting the rumors of monsters beyond the wall. They’d made my skin crawl as I tossed and turned throughout the night, caught between the urge to punch something or cry out my misery and loneliness.

I knew one thing, all of these little sixteen-year-old volunteers may be eager to please and do what was expected of them, but if they expected me to run or do anything else, they’d be in for a rude awakening. They’d forced me to be here, but they couldn’t make me follow their rules. I’d come here without a fight because of my brothers; that didn’t mean I’d be a compliant captive.

I stifled a yawn as I leaned against the cold concrete of the wall. Amid the exuberant young volunteers, I spotted Carrie with her head bent close to another young girl.

What are we all doing here?

From across the way, the man I briefly met last night strolled across the front of the soldiers. I frowned when he stopped beside Mac and they exchanged a few words. Around me, the others all stopped speaking and straightened up. I felt the current of astonishment that went through the crowd, heard the indrawn breaths, and saw the looks they exchanged when they got a good eyeful of Kobal. They probably didn’t know what to think about his strange eyes and imposing size, I sure didn’t.

I remained leaning against the wall, my arms folded over my chest as my eyes ran over him again. There were mountains smaller than he was, I decided. He stood a good foot over my five-nine frame, and more than a head above most of the people around him. The width of his shoulders blocked out two of the soldiers standing behind him.

A sheen of sweat coated the thick muscles of his biceps and caused the thin shirt he wore to cleave to his hard pecs and flat stomach in a way that revealed every etched detail of what lay beneath. While the men and women around him were all dressed in green, he wore a thin black tank top and black pants that hugged the powerful muscles of his thighs and ass. I had no idea where he’d found clothes big enough for him, but I couldn’t stop myself from admiring the way he looked in them.

In the light, I could see that though his hair had appeared black last night, there were actually deeper shades of brown in it. Strands of his hair fell to the corner of one of his entirely black eyes. There were no whites within his eyes; I had no idea what had caused the odd phenomenon, but what should have been unnerving, I found fascinating and strangely attractive.

Around me, people shifted back and forth uneasily, but I still wasn’t scared of him. He was the largest, strangest man I’d ever encountered, yet the only reason my pulse picked up around him was because I found myself wanting to get closer.

I’d never seen eyes as black as his before, and though they were so black that movement was impossible to notice, I felt his gaze the instant it landed on me. His eyes burned into me like hot coal.

Judging by the small lines around his mouth and eyes, he looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties, but it was difficult to tell for sure. I didn’t know if I’d consider him gorgeous, but there was something so striking, feral, and captivating about him, that it made me itch to run my fingers over those carved muscles in a way I’d never longed to touch a man before.

His full lips thinned as he watched me, and his square jaw, which tapered into a pointed chin, clenched. His eyes narrowed over his aquiline nose as we stayed locked in a stare. I didn’t know what he was looking for from me, but I didn’t think he was going to find it.

Mac said something that drew his attention away from me. Now that I could look away from his stare, my gaze was drawn to the intricate tattoo on his left arm. Black flames started at the tips of his fingers on the back of his hand. They wrapped around his wrist before rising up his arm to encircle two snarling wolves on his bicep. The wolves were so realistic looking they appeared ready to leap from his bronzed skin at any second.

Continuing onward from the wolves, the flames disappeared briefly beneath the strap of his tank top. When they reappeared, the tips of the flames licked against the base of his neck but didn’t rise any higher. Hints of black beneath the tank made it seem as if there was more on his chest, but the only way to know was to see him with his shirt off—a prospect that was both scary and mouthwatering.

Unable to see any more of the tattoo, my gaze traveled to the tattoo on his right arm. Like his left arm, this one also started at his fingertips and encompassed his entire arm. It didn’t involve wolves but was made up entirely of black flames all the way to the base of his neck, just like his left side. I thought I saw something more within the flames, some strange symbols or something, but I was too far away to make out what they were.

Sensing his eyes upon me again, I lifted my gaze to his and jutted my chin out. His face remained impassive as he stared at me, but I felt his intense scrutiny. I had no idea where this man had come from, but he was unlike anyone I’d ever seen before. Even his name was odd.

My attention shifted to Mac when he cleared his throat and began speaking. “I know you’re all wondering why you’re here, and before we begin your training, you will be filled in on some of the details.” My heart thundered at the possibility of
finally
getting some answers. “As you all know, a war was started in this country thirteen years ago, but what you don’t know is that the war still rages on to this day.

Now he had my complete attention.

“We still fight it every day.
You
will be amongst those working with us to take back our once great nation from the ongoing and ever-increasing threat against it.”

People shuffled around me; I could feel their distress ratcheting up at the knowledge the war had never ended.

“The war we fight has never been waged against another country, but against an enemy none had ever imagined thirteen years ago.”

What does
that
mean? Were King Kong or a T. rex running around somewhere out there after all?

“There are creatures out there you never knew existed, that none of us ever knew existed,” Mac continued. Beside him, Kobal shifted. “There are beings out there seeking to destroy us and growing stronger every day. The entire world is facing this growing menace.
You
will be trained to face this enemy head-on and to protect those who must remain innocent to what resides on this side of the wall.”

Around me, the crowd murmured with each other. My skin crawled at his words, and despite the warmth of the May day, my bones felt chilled. I’d resolved not to look at Kobal again, but my gaze flicked to him. I wasn’t surprised to find his eyes still on me.

“Protected from what?” someone near the front blurted.

The disapproving stare Mac gave the young man caused him to blush and look away. Turning his attention back to the crowd, Mac focused on us once more. “From demons that walk the earth, demons from Hell itself.”

I heard a few scoffs from those around me, some murmured “He’s insane,” and a couple gasped. Nervous laughter moved through the group, some of them having decided Mac must have been kidding. I continued to watch Kobal, standing there with his hands clasped behind his back. Why did he keep staring at me? I could feel him sizing me up, but why? What was he expecting from me?

I didn’t know what to make of what Mac had revealed. He looked as if he actually meant what he’d said, but it simply could not be possible. Places like Heaven and Hell didn’t exist, and if they did, neither spawned creatures that would attack Earth and blow things up. Did they?

Mac didn’t try to calm the crowd again; instead, he turned and gestured toward someone, or something I couldn’t see. Then, the soldiers gathered behind him parted to allow others to move forward.

And
others
was the best way I could think to describe them. I somehow managed to keep my mouth shut as people, or not quite people, spread out to stand before us. I remained leaning against the wall, but inwardly my heart plummeted. My mind screamed denials at me, and my feet were ready to run away, but I remained where I was as my eyes scanned over the fifteen or so new arrivals standing beside Kobal.

They were all so different in appearance from us and from each other. Some of them were truly disturbing looking with their tails, razor-sharp teeth, and horns the size of baseball bats. Others were extremely handsome or, in the case of the woman with the bright red hair and reddish skin, stunning.

Then, my eyes slid back to Kobal. And in his case, I realized, he was fascinating.

***

Kobal

I watched River carefully as she took in Mac’s words. Her forehead furrowed, but she still showed no signs of apprehension as Corson, Bale, and the others stepped forward to reveal themselves. Some of the new volunteers gasped loudly, all of them took a step or two back. Soldiers hemmed them in on all sides, making sure none of them ran off as they had in the past. A few screams went through the crowd, and more than a dozen of them began to cry.

After the years I’d spent working around humans, I’d become accustomed to reactions such as these. I didn’t usually come to the new arrival greetings anymore, as I’d seen enough of them over the years. Corson was right about the crying and screaming being annoying, but the humans would adapt; they had no choice. By the end of the month, they would be far more comfortable with everything they would learn and see today.

I’d come today to see her. It was
her
reaction intriguing me most. Her gaze flickered over everyone, lingering upon Bale before sliding back to me. I saw the realization in her eyes as they ran over me before meeting and holding my gaze. She was the strangest human I’d ever encountered, and I couldn’t stop watching her and trying to gauge her thoughts.

“Silence!” Mac commanded in a loud, clear voice. The crowd quieted, but sniffles still sounded as some of them stifled their sobs. “I know this is difficult for all of you to understand and accept. It’s a lot to take in, but you volunteered to be here for this. The demons you see before you will help train you and will teach you some of the dangers you can expect to find out here in the wilds.”

River’s eyes went past me toward the rolling land beyond my shoulder. She had no way of knowing what was really out there, not yet anyway, but she would learn; they all would. If they were lucky enough, they would survive it, but if she was the one we’d been searching for these last four years, her chances were slim; most wouldn’t survive what would have to be done in order to use her.

“Now that you’ve been better informed, it’s time for your training to begin,” Mac continued. “First things first, run.”

When no one moved, Mac stepped forward and pointed to the right. “Now!” he barked.

The volunteers all jumped, a few burst into tears again. The soldiers who had been fencing them in fell back to give them room to run past them. Some of the volunteers walked forward, others remained mulling around aimlessly, but when Mac yelled at them again and the soldiers stepped forward to push them on, they all broke into a slow jog.

Except for one. She remained where she was, leaning against the wall, her striking eyes watching the volunteers fall into line amid a bunch of yelling soldiers who would lead them on a five mile run. She turned and started walking toward Mac’s house.

“Ms. Dawson, where do you think you’re going?” Mac called after her.

“To sleep, hopefully,” she muttered the last word under her breath, but I heard it.

“Not today.”

She turned back to him and lifted her hand to her forehead to shade her eyes from the sun. I tilted my head as I watched her, intrigued by the gleam in her eyes. “And what am I supposed to do today, run?”