Savage Wings: Book Three of The Whitechapel Chronicles

Chapter 9

I sat on the edge of the baptismal pool, cradling my head in my hands.

Behind me, Josiah and Harper raged at each other, their shouts filling the old chapel louder than the choirs that once crowded this room with joyful noise. I clasped my hands over my ears to muffle the commotion, but I couldn't drown out that one voice that screamed loudest of all. And the louder she screamed, the more I realised she sounded just like me, yet she couldn't be, could she?

The voice wanted Caelan dead and seethed because she had been cheated. The voice wanted a way out and she knew she'd just lost her one chance, all because Caelan had found a reason to live. The voice fumed at the utter injustice of it all. How could that be me? How could I have become so monstrous that I yearned for the death of another just to save myself?

Glancing up, I looked straight into the unwavering gaze of Lucius who sat opposite me, his knees drawn up into his chest and his arms wrapped tightly around them. His eyes buried deep inside and my cheeks reddened with shame and guilt. I wondered what he saw when he looked at me. Did he see the monster I had become?

A light touch to my head made me flinch and I wrenched my eyes away from Lucius' and looked up to find Harper there, his hand touching my hair close to where Caelan had almost ripped it from the roots. I hadn't even realised he and Josiah had stopped arguing, that voice in my head had been screaming so loud.

"You okay, angel?" he said and I could see he hadn't really calmed down at all. The fury lingered under the surface and this was just a momentary lull in the storm.

"N-no," I stammered, turning sharply to see Josiah not far away, watching us, looking every inch the boxer warily anticipating an attack and ready to defend himself. I struggled to my feet, my nose wrinkling in disgust. "Did you know?" I demanded of him. "Did you forsee all this, seer? Is this something you've been hiding in that twisted head of yours?"

Josiah growled in response. "I didn't see any of this. Do you actually think I wanted him anywhere near my sister? After everything he did to her? I told you I wanted him gone as soon as he woke up. I told you."

"And you expect me to believe that?" I spat, stepping towards him.

"I don't really care what you believe," he said scornfully. "But why on earth would I ever want her to set eyes on him again? Do you have any idea what she went through the last time she saw him?"

"You know, this is getting really fucking boring now," Harper drawled, rolling his eyes.

"Watch your mouth, assassin or you'll find yourself on the other side of the front door and she'll be here with me." Josiah jabbed a finger towards me.

"You'd have to put me out there first and although you might be able to look after yourself pretty well, I've got to be honest, I don't fancy your chances. But hey, go ahead, let's see who ends up on the other side of that door. Or six feet under. Either way is good for me."

The seer laughed. "You gonna kill me, Cain? Go on then. Do it. I'll even give you the blade to strike me with." He thumped his fist hard against his broad chest, over his heart. "Only, you and I both know that it wouldn't make a blind bit of difference to the deal between me and Megan. The contract is binding until she fulfils her end of the bargain."

"How can the contract still be binding when you're dead?" I sneered at him.

Josiah gave a sly smile. "Ask your boyfriend. He knows the score."

I glanced at Harper, who returned my questioning gaze with one of frustrated defeat. "Harper?"

"If the seer with whom you made the deal dies, then the ownership of the contract automatically transfers to the partner seer."