Cry Wolf

Chapter 8

It was well past midnight before Sin made it back to the camp with his charges. He'd carried the tiny five-year-old girl most of the way, with the two older children trotting along beside him. They'd never complained, never once asked to stop for a rest or a drink.

After the first hour, when he'd realized they weren't going to speak up, he'd made a point of stopping as often as he felt they could spare and being sure they all sipped from his water canteen and took bites of the dried meat and fruit he carried in his pack.

Children should laugh and play and be free to talk. These children did none of that. He knew they were scared, confused by what was happening to them, and in a new place with a complete stranger. But their silence had been almost eerie at times.

He'd found himself talking to them in spite of their own quiet demeanors. He'd told them stories...certainly not ones he remembered from his own childhood, since there had been none. But stories of make-believe fairies, good wizards who loved children, and lands filled with sweet treats to eat.

Underlying his attempt at comforting babble, however, the question of what the Great Clan Leader had been doing with these children gnawed at him until he was nearly raw from it.

And with each step, he knew with a certainty he'd never betray the humans. He wasn't sure yet what he was going to do. He'd told Raul he needed two more weeks and hoped the Clan Leader would give him that reprieve. Two weeks to come up with his best story yet...a story to convince Raul he'd been unable to locate the human rebel camp and its mysterious leader.

And then what? Would he leave the humans and go back to work for Raul? The thought made him feel physically ill. He would never, could never, be Raul's well-trained puppet again. The taste of freedom he'd had these past weeks had shown him there was so much more beyond the gray walls of Raul's fortress. Life for the regular people of Old America was hard at times, he knew that. But there was also a joy that even Raul couldn't beat out of them.

You can't stay here. If you don't go back to Raul, he'll know you betrayed him and he'll come looking for you. Every human around you will be killed. That is if Rei and his people don't kill you first when they find out who you really are. Jax will gladly wield the blade that slices open your heart.

He couldn't think about it right now. One step at a time. One day at a time. First he had to find a story for Raul.

Or perhaps you could just disappear and never talk to Raul again? Leave here, leave Old America and travel to the outer realms.

No. If he disappeared, Raul would just send another in his place, someone who wouldn't find a soft spot in his heart for the humans. Someone who'd do exactly what Sin could not, who'd serve up Rein's head on a pike and crush all the humans and witches who followed him. No, before he could go anywhere, he had to first convince Raul that the leader of the human rebel, Rein couldn't be found.

Marta waited for him at the large delik tree in the woods just outside the camp.

"Come now, my tired darlings. Let's go get you a proper dinner, then a nice long sleep." She gathered the youngsters to her as she spoke to Sin. "Some of the mothers in camp are taking the children into their tents. We thought it best to put them with families where they can be with each other and some of the other children."

Sin nodded. He took the time to smile at and pat the cheek of each of his charges before Marta took them. She gazed at him with approval shining in her eyes. "You're a good man, Sin."

He shrugged off the praise, only feeling another round of guilt at her words. He knew she wouldn't have said such a thing if she knew who he really was. "They're good kids. Is everyone back?"

"All but my boys Wen and Jarad. I expect them shortly. I'd know if anything had gone wrong with them."

"Sixth sense?"

"Mother's sixth sense," she said with a smile.

She stroked the tree and brought down the magick barrier. "Rein's waiting for you. You look about to drop. Get some sleep."

Sin's tired feet carried him to the tent.

Rei met him at the entry. A single candle burned on the table, giving off just enough flickering light for Sin to make out the features on his face.

"Any problems?" Rei asked

"None. The children are so quiet, though."

Keiran sighed. "I know. It was the same with my group. Gods only know what their lives have been like. Or what would have happened to them if we hadn't retrieved them."

Sin yearned to tell Rein about the way he'd seen Raul treat witches and human children, of how he was using the village children as a threat to make Sin comply with his demands. But, of course, he couldn't tell any of that. Not yet anyway. And in any case, tonight he was dead on his feet and all he wanted--

Rein pulled him into an embrace and another soul-churning kiss like they'd shared in the woods earlier in the evening. But this time there were no children, no spectators, no interruptions. It was just the two of them. Alone.

And as tired as he was, as much as he longed to crawl into his cot and close his eyes...he wanted this closeness with Rei more. Wanted to feel the man's warm body moving against his. Wanted to feel needed, and alive, and lov-- The thought caught like a knife in his chest.

"Stay with me tonight," Rei whispered against his lips.

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