Forsake My Broken Hart

Chapter 8

Despite the cool weather, a thin trickle of sweat dripped down my back as I held myself completely still, like that of a predator. None of my guys moved, not even a twitch, as we watched the biter.

The boy's amber eyes were eerie, as if his stare alone could suck me into the depths of whatever soul he had left. The fingers on his left hand spasmed, causing all of us to either bring our weapons up a little higher or fall into defensive positions.

"He has a heartbeat." Azrael's whisper was filled with shock and curiosity. Looks were sent his way, not many had seen Azrael taken aback before. "I can sense the infection in him, but he his heart is still pumping. Something is off, but I don't know what it is. I can't discern it."

Rowan looked to me, almost hesitant. "Atalia, I think this is your area of expertise, not mine."

Lovely. "Way to throw me under the bus." I mumbled too low for anyone to hear except Azrael, who turned his head to hide a smirk. "What do you mean by that, kid?"

The boy shrugged and blinked, breaking eye contact for the first time. "That's what my Oma says."

Reality snapped into place, as if the biter before us turned from predator to innocent child. Chills ran down my skin, and I fought the urge to rub my hands along my arms.

"Where is your Oma?" Chogan asked the boy gently.

The boy frowned at Chogan. "Are you a ghost?"

Ryder bit his knuckle to stifle a chuckle, while Kaito turned his head, smiling. The boy must have senses similar to Azrael. Chogan was essentially invisible to other biters.

He sighed. "No, I'm not a ghost. We're different, too."

The boy nodded his head as if that was the only answer he needed. "My Oma and the others went to find food."

My spine stiffened. From my peripheral, I could see the guys tense up, too. Were these others like this boy? And what food were they looking for? Were the others in danger? A thousand questions ran through my head, but I didn't have a single answer for any of them. My indecision made me hesitate.

Rowan didn't have that problem. "Kaito, run to the others. Alert them and stay there."

Kaito took off back towards our camp. We weren't too far away. We would have heard shouts and noise if they'd been attacked. Even if my ears couldn't pick it up, Azrael's definitely would have. The sound of a stick snapping jerked my attention to the tree line.

From the shadows of the trees, a small group of people emerged. Rowan motioned for everyone to gather closer together. Ryder side stepped until he was next to me, Chogan taking up the place on my other side. Rowan and Azrael stood slightly in front of us. We kept our bodies angled enough to still see the boy.

As the group stepped closer into the light, an older woman became visible, clearly leading the rest of them. She looked completely normal. The same couldn't be said for some of the others. The woman's eyes darted towards the boy, the back towards us. She furrowed her brow and raised a single hand to halt the group.

She lifted both hands in a peaceful gesture. "We mean you no harm. Please let the boy come with us, and we will leave peacefully."

The sun caught on a few pairs of amber eyes as they reflected back at us. I stepped forward a bit, brushing my hand along Rowan's arm to let him know I was there.

"He's obviously a biter. Tell me why he shouldn't be put down." The boy was obviously different than the biters we'd previously come across, but I wanted to see what the woman knew, even if that meant threatening him.