“I don’t know. But they did it so suddenly. They made her go down on her knees in front of us all. She was so brave, but you could see the terror in her eyes.”
Tannis almost swayed at the tidal wave of guilt that washed over her. This was her fault. She had let this happen.
“It was quick—a shot to the back of the head. The high priest did it himself. He enjoyed it—you could see it in his eyes.”
“And the Trog?”
“He went crazy, absolutely wild. They couldn’t hold him. In the end he broke free, leaped for the priest, and the guards shot him as well.”
“Where was Rico?”
“He was unconscious. They’d given him something. Maybe they thought he was too dangerous, or maybe he was dead even then.”
“No, they’d have to do more than that.” Rico had told her once—a stake through the heart, decapitation, or burning and scattering the ashes. But she thought it probably wasn’t wise to go into those sorts of details with Skylar right now.
“And Jon was cuffed,” Skylar continued. “But they had a gun to Alex’s head, he wasn’t moving.”
“Is Alex okay?”
“She was when we left. At least she was alive. When they picked Jon as the next to die, she lost it. I was sure she would shift and they’d kill her, but she managed to stay human. When we didn’t hear from you…” Skylar closed her eyes. “Well, Jon was cool, but he was about the only one.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Stop saying that,” Skylar snapped. “They held us until you sent the comm showing the planet on fire, and then they let us go. Except Rico and Alex. I didn’t want to leave, but the others were a mess. They’d knocked Jon out as well by then. I had to get them away, and I thought there would be time. I never thought they would kill him straightaway.”
“They probably knew we’d come after him.”
Skylar blinked and huge tears welled up, intensifying the deep purple of her eyes. “The others, they were falling apart, I had to hold them together. Now you’re here, and I need…” She shook her head. “I can’t believe he’s gone.”
She whirled around and ran from the room. Tannis made to follow, but Callum stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Let her go,” he said. “She’s hurting, and there’s nothing you can do. Nothing anyone can do. Only time will help her now, and she has plenty of that.”
“And getting Alex back.”
Jon paused his pacing and came to stand in front of her. He appeared truly scary, his eyes half wolf, and she had to make herself stand her ground. “We’ll get her back.”
“And kill that priest,” Daisy said.
Tannis turned to look at her. She’d never known Daisy want to hurt anyone, now she looked fierce. Tannis nodded. “And kill the priest.”
Exhaustion tugged at her and she swayed. She peered over her shoulder and saw Callum’s worried frown quickly wiped clean. She couldn’t get ill yet; it was too soon. She’d thought she might have years. That’s what they’d told her at the research station. Two years of slow death.
“How long do I have?” she asked Callum.
He shook his head.
“Tell me.”
“I don’t know—it’s different with each person.” He held her gaze, and she saw the sadness in his eyes. “But I’m guessing not long.”
“What’s going on?” Jon asked.
“I didn’t get the treatment and I’m poisoned and I’m dying.” There was no point in circling around this.
It was ironic. Now when she would have gladly allowed Rico to turn her into a sex-craved monster, he was gone. If only she’d done it earlier. But earlier it hadn’t seemed an option, and now it was too late.
Callum studied Jon speculatively. “You saved Alex when she was dying. Could you do the same for Tannis?”
She looked at him sharply. It hadn’t even occurred to her, and a little flame of hope burst to light inside her. She thought she’d accepted the fact of her death, but now she realized that was an illusion—she didn’t want to die. She glanced at Callum and saw her excitement reflected in his eyes.
But Jon shook his head. “I’m sorry. It doesn’t work with GMs. They always go insane, and they always die. At least this way you keep your sanity.”
Callum wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. Tannis shoved down the despair, she needed to be able to concentrate. They had to make a plan to free Alex. Time to think about dying later. Or not dying. There was one more chance, however remote. If only she could hang on long enough.
“Do we know where they are now?” she asked.
“We’re pretty sure they headed back to Trakis Four.”
“Shit, that’s not good news.” Trakis Four was the Church’s main headquarters. It would be almost impossible to get in there and out again with Alex.
“It’s not that bad,” Callum said. “Their forces must be pretty thinly spread right now. I’ve been in contact with the colonel. They’re still under siege on Trakis Five. That must be taking up most of their ships and men.”
“Maybe. I still don’t see how we can get in and out.”
“We need some sort of distraction,” Jon said.