seemed to be
watching them intently as the Mavericks finished loading the truck
and Cam and Roarke continued to bicker as they came to bottom of
the steps.
Jessica’s eyes narrowed as
the bird’s eyes shifted to red and its wings began to flap.
“Roarke?” she spoke quietly but heard the wind pick up, and the
voice it carried worried her.
“They seek to protect the
chosen one but it took two sacrifices to keep it at bay this long,”
it seemed to howl as the bird began to fly at them. “Refusal will
cause the ultimate price but the boy will die alone before he sets
foot on that sacred land.”
She saw the bird’s eyes and
realized what it was. “Roarke!” she screamed, starting down the
steps faster but it was too late.
Hearing the girl’s panic,
he had begun to turn when he felt the wave of energy strike his
chest, then there was nothing but white-hot pain and blinding
images as he went down, and his helpless friends could do
nothing.
Killarney Hospital,
Present:
“Sit-rep, Peter?” Cameron
Young brought himself back to the present by the approach of his
main medic and wanting a situation report.
An odd type to be on a
mercenary team, Peter Daniels was a thin, slender young man who had
been born in Alabama but raised in Germany. His light eyes were
usually hidden behind wire-rimmed glasses and his black hair kept
short.
Right then he was pushing even his skills
since there was just so much one could do when he couldn’t define a
condition.
“I’ve had to restrain him
because he’s still convulsing too much,” the medic spoke in his
quiet, oddly accented voice, eyeing his leader grimly. “Physically
there’s nothing wrong with Roarke except for his old scars and some
of the newer wounds he’d gained. His MRIs, cat scans, X-rays, blood
work have all come back normal.”
Pushing his glasses up with
a finger, Peter frowned. “I’ve tried giving him sedatives, a pain
killer to dull whatever’s making him scream like that but nothing
is doing any good.”
Scowling at this, Young
knew his medic well enough to read between the lines. “Alright, now
hit me with the rest of it.”
“Roarke has had a link with
Jessica since they were younger, you said.” Peter closed the chart
to face his leader fully. “Whatever this is, is affecting her
because she’s getting paler and more upset that she can’t make him
better. Plus, she keeps saying that something’s taking his
soul.”
“Do I need to scare up a
priest or an exorcist for this?” Cam asked, hearing the elevator
ding and pulling his ever present Magnum when a hunch told him not
to. “Oh, never mind. I can ask you to tell me what the hell is
happening since I didn’t sign on for soul eaters.”
Kerry Fitzgerald had gotten
the basic story from those mercs holding the lower floors when he,
his brothers, and Mary Margaret Cavanaugh had arrived at the
hospital.
This statement, however,
took him totally off guard. “Ian, stay here with the young lady,”
he spoke softly but firmly to the youngest Fitzgerald but motioned
to Mac. “Mac, come with me.”
“Yes, he was this intense
even when we were lads,” Mac cut off Maggie’s unspoken question
even as he was tossing his jacket over a chair but caught her eye.
“Keep him here.”
The red-haired pixie-like
woman could read the younger boy’s dislike of these orders but also
understood them. She was the youngest child so she immediately
caught onto to the overprotective element happening
here.
“Big brothers are a pain at
times, boyo,” she laughed lightly, sitting down and hoping the edge
of tension and power she was picking up wasn’t what was going on
further up the hall.
Ian slumped in the chair,
very close to sulking. “I know they’re protecting me but they won’t
be able to ‘cause I can see what they can’t.”
Maggie’s eyes shot up at
this, knowing that at certain times some magic was stronger in
certain users, but even she hadn’t been expecting this
watching them intently as the Mavericks finished loading the truck
and Cam and Roarke continued to bicker as they came to bottom of
the steps.
Jessica’s eyes narrowed as
the bird’s eyes shifted to red and its wings began to flap.
“Roarke?” she spoke quietly but heard the wind pick up, and the
voice it carried worried her.
“They seek to protect the
chosen one but it took two sacrifices to keep it at bay this long,”
it seemed to howl as the bird began to fly at them. “Refusal will
cause the ultimate price but the boy will die alone before he sets
foot on that sacred land.”
She saw the bird’s eyes and
realized what it was. “Roarke!” she screamed, starting down the
steps faster but it was too late.
Hearing the girl’s panic,
he had begun to turn when he felt the wave of energy strike his
chest, then there was nothing but white-hot pain and blinding
images as he went down, and his helpless friends could do
nothing.
Killarney Hospital,
Present:
“Sit-rep, Peter?” Cameron
Young brought himself back to the present by the approach of his
main medic and wanting a situation report.
An odd type to be on a
mercenary team, Peter Daniels was a thin, slender young man who had
been born in Alabama but raised in Germany. His light eyes were
usually hidden behind wire-rimmed glasses and his black hair kept
short.
Right then he was pushing even his skills
since there was just so much one could do when he couldn’t define a
condition.
“I’ve had to restrain him
because he’s still convulsing too much,” the medic spoke in his
quiet, oddly accented voice, eyeing his leader grimly. “Physically
there’s nothing wrong with Roarke except for his old scars and some
of the newer wounds he’d gained. His MRIs, cat scans, X-rays, blood
work have all come back normal.”
Pushing his glasses up with
a finger, Peter frowned. “I’ve tried giving him sedatives, a pain
killer to dull whatever’s making him scream like that but nothing
is doing any good.”
Scowling at this, Young
knew his medic well enough to read between the lines. “Alright, now
hit me with the rest of it.”
“Roarke has had a link with
Jessica since they were younger, you said.” Peter closed the chart
to face his leader fully. “Whatever this is, is affecting her
because she’s getting paler and more upset that she can’t make him
better. Plus, she keeps saying that something’s taking his
soul.”
“Do I need to scare up a
priest or an exorcist for this?” Cam asked, hearing the elevator
ding and pulling his ever present Magnum when a hunch told him not
to. “Oh, never mind. I can ask you to tell me what the hell is
happening since I didn’t sign on for soul eaters.”
Kerry Fitzgerald had gotten
the basic story from those mercs holding the lower floors when he,
his brothers, and Mary Margaret Cavanaugh had arrived at the
hospital.
This statement, however,
took him totally off guard. “Ian, stay here with the young lady,”
he spoke softly but firmly to the youngest Fitzgerald but motioned
to Mac. “Mac, come with me.”
“Yes, he was this intense
even when we were lads,” Mac cut off Maggie’s unspoken question
even as he was tossing his jacket over a chair but caught her eye.
“Keep him here.”
The red-haired pixie-like
woman could read the younger boy’s dislike of these orders but also
understood them. She was the youngest child so she immediately
caught onto to the overprotective element happening
here.
“Big brothers are a pain at
times, boyo,” she laughed lightly, sitting down and hoping the edge
of tension and power she was picking up wasn’t what was going on
further up the hall.
Ian slumped in the chair,
very close to sulking. “I know they’re protecting me but they won’t
be able to ‘cause I can see what they can’t.”
Maggie’s eyes shot up at
this, knowing that at certain times some magic was stronger in
certain users, but even she hadn’t been expecting this
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