There were actually two small huts on the bluff. As we drew closer, I noticed the nearest one had a partially collapsed roof and a missing door. The other was built right into the hillside and was only slightly larger than the outhouse farther up on the hill. The hut appeared to be uninhabited, but I went ahead and checked things out first. Approaching with my sword—wishing it was my M4—I cleared the tiny cabin, finally relaxed, and took a moment to study our new digs.
Roughly ten by ten feet, the place looked more like an animal burrow than anything else. The wall abutting the mountain was made of huge stones the size of tires. The other three walls were a combination of irregular wood beams, more stones, and, plugging a few cracks, rolled-up towels and magazines. There were three wooden platforms for laying out sleeping bags, the highest one barely eighteen inches below the ceiling timbers.
A fireplace was built into one wall. Above it, rusted pots, spoons, and knives hung on a wire. They clanged together with the wind that swept through the open door like something out of a nightmare. I was starting to understand why this place was free. On the plus side, I didn’t see any sign of rats or mice, and the two small windows seemed to be in working order.
“I like it,” Daryn said.
No one chimed in. The place itself was fine with me. I wasn’t going to miss towel service or a mint on my pillow. But I didn’t like the idea of us being on top of each other again. We were all definitely in need of some personal space.
“It’ll work,” I said. “First choice of bedroom’s yours, Daryn.”
She pushed her backpack onto the top bunk. Marcus and Jode quickly claimed the other two. Selfish assholes. But I let it slide because we were all smoked and it was starting to get cold.
“We need firewood,” I said. “And some kindling, before it gets too dark.”
“I’ll do the kindling,” Daryn said, stepping outside first. I couldn’t blame her. She’d just spent a few days with four bitter guys who hadn’t showered in … well, in a few days. Frankly, I was grossed out for her.
When she left, we all stood there for a few seconds absorbing her absence. Absorbing how she changed us. Her composure was contagious. She brought something to our group that was palpable. Without her around, a tide of tension came rushing in.
After a moment, Jode sat on his bed platform. “I’m knackered. I’ll just stay here.”
“You don’t get to pass because you’re tired,” I said. “Get up.”
“I’ll cut firewood tomorrow,” he said, yawning. “I’m more in need of sleep than I am of a fire.”
Marcus didn’t even bother responding. He just crashed on the other platform.
Anger revved inside me. Did they think this was a vacation? Didn’t they understand what was at stake?
That was the problem. They didn’t understand. Neither of them had experienced what I had. Neither of them knew how it felt to have a demon crawling through your mind, to feel its evil linger, to be polluted by it.
“Listen up,” I said, drawing on the last of my self-control. Bastian was leaning against the wall, the only one listening. He watched me closely, like he was worried about my next move. “This is how things are going to work. Daryn’s in charge. She gives us orders, we follow them. When she’s not around, I’m the guy you listen to. If you don’t like it, speak up now.”
Total silence. Marcus rolled over, turning his back to me.
Sebastian pushed off the wall and got in front of me, probably saving their lives. He herded me outside, over to the edge of the bluff. We came to an outdoor gathering area that resembled a mini-Stonehenge in the dim light—a half dozen flat stones arranged around a fire pit. Moonlight fell through the clouds in long beams and the air felt so thin and pure, it was almost painful to breathe. I sucked it down in deep drags.
“Gideon…” Bas said. “Bro, you gotta calm down.”
I peered over the edge of the bluff. It was too dark to see anything but I felt the drop of hundreds of feet. I took a step back.
“I’m calm,” I said.
“No, you’re not. You’ve been amped for days. What the Kindred did was messed up. It sucks. But you have to try and take it easy on us, you know?”
I looked at him. I had only vaguely described Ra’om’s mental torture to the group—they needed to know what the Kindred could do—and now I regretted even that.
Bas sighed. “I’m just going to say this one thing, okay? I know you’re not sleeping great. If you want, I can help.”
“You’ll … what? You’re offering to put me out? You want to be my sleeping pill? That’s so nice of you, Bas.”
He waved a hand at me. “This is what I’m talking about, Gideon. This right here.”
I checked myself—and yeah. I was being an ass. I knew I’d been this way for days. Tougher to be around. No one was ever going to call me the nicest guy in the world but this was too much. It wasn’t me. I had a wound and it wasn’t fast-healing. It wasn’t healing at all.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, okay?” Bas said. “But you gotta nip this in the bum.”