Dying Wish: A Novel of the Sentinel Wars Read online

  Praise for Shannon K. Butcher’s

  Novels of the Sentinel Wars

  Living Nightmare

  “[An] action-packed story of the brooding and angry warrior Madoc and his journey to the future. This series rocks!”

  —Fresh Fiction

  “In the latest chapter of Butcher’s Sentinel Wars, two extremely damaged individuals face danger of the body and heart. Utilizing her ability to combine excellent characterization with riveting danger, rising star Butcher adds another fascinating tier to her expanding world. You are always guaranteed generous portions of pulse-pounding action and romance in a Butcher tale!”

  —Romantic Times

  “Ms. Butcher’s written word began to grab hold of my imagination and lead me on a ride unlike anything I have read before.”

  —Coffee Time Romance

  Running Scared

  “What an entertaining and thrilling series! The characters are forever evolving, secrets are revealed, powers are found, new details come to life, and love is the cause of it all. I love it!”

  —Fresh Fiction

  “Superb storytelling…I am amazed how Ms. Butcher’s intricacies and subplots continue to expand the story without bogging down the overall plot.”

  —Romance Junkies

  “This book jumps right in the fray and keeps you hooked till the end and I was unable to put it down. Emotionally dark, this is a wonderful blending of paranormal romance and urban fantasy [with] many twists and turns.”

  —Smexy Books Romance Reviews

  Finding the Lost

  “Exerts much the same appeal as Christine Feehan’s Carpathian series, what with tortured heroes, the necessity of finding love or facing a fate worse than death, hot lovemaking, and danger-filled adventure.”

  —Booklist

  “A terrific grim thriller with the romantic subplot playing a strong supporting role. The cast is powerful as the audience will feel every emotion that Andra feels from fear for her sister to fear for her falling in love. Finding the Lost is a dark tale as Shannon K. Butcher paints a forbidding, gloomy landscape in which an ancient war between humanity’s guardians and their nasty adversaries heats up in Nebraska.”

  —Alternative Worlds

  “A very entertaining read…The ending was a great cliff-hanger and I can’t wait to read the next book in this series…a fast-paced story with great action scenes and lots of hot romance.”

  —The Book Lush

  “Butcher’s paranormal reality is dark and gritty in this second Sentinel War installment. What makes this story so gripping is the seamlessly delivered hard-hitting action and wrenching emotions. Butcher is a major talent in the making.”

  —Romantic Times

  Burning Alive

  “A wonderful paranormal debut…Shannon K. Butcher’s talent shines.”

  —New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh

  “Starts off with nonstop action. Readers will race through the pages, only to reread the entire novel to capture every little detail…a promising start for a new voice in urban fantasy/paranormal romance. I look forward to the next installment.”

  —A Romance Review (5 roses)

  “This first book of the Sentinel Wars whets your appetite for the rest of the books in the series. Ms. Butcher is carving her way onto the bestseller lists with this phenomenal, nonstop ride that will have you preordering the second book the minute you put this one down.”

  —Affaire de Coeur (5 stars)

  “Absorbing…Butcher skillfully balances erotic, tender interactions with Helen’s worries, and intriguing secondary characters further enhance the unusual premise. Fans of Butcher’s romantic suspense novels will enjoy her turn toward the paranormal.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Ms. Butcher offers fresh and delightfully creative elements in this paranormal romance, keeping readers engaged as the story unfolds. Burning Alive is a well-crafted beginning to this exciting new series, and will have fans of the genre coming back for the next adventure in the Sentinel Wars.”

  —Darque Reviews

  “An exciting romantic urban fantasy…Shannon K. Butcher adds her trademark suspense with plenty of tension and danger to the mix of a terrific paranormal thriller.”

  —Midwest Book Review

  “Burning Alive is Shannon Butcher’s first foray into paranormal romance and what a doozy it is! Filled with sizzling love scenes, great storytelling, and action galore, fans of paranormal romance will rejoice to have Ms. Butcher finally join the genre!”

  —ParaNormal Romance

  “A different twist on the paranormal genre…Shannon K. Butcher has done a good job with Burning Alive, and I will definitely be reading the next in the series.”

  —Fallen Angel Reviews

  NOVELS OF THE SENTINEL WARS

  Bound by Vengeance

  (A New American Library e-Special)

  Dying Wish

  Living Nightmare

  Running Scared

  Finding the Lost

  Burning Alive

  THE EDGE NOVELS

  Razor’s Edge

  Living on the Edge

  DYING

  WISH

  THE SENTINEL WARS

  SHANNON K. BUTCHER

  A SIGNET BOOK

  SIGNET

  Published by New American Library, a division of

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,

  New York, New York 10014, USA

  Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto,

  Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

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  Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices:

  80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  First published by Signet, an imprint of New American Library,

  a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  First Printing, March 2012

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Copyright © Shannon K. Butcher, 2012

  All rights reserved

  EISBN: 9781101576892

  REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA

  Printed in the United States of America

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

 
If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  For Mandy, whose optimism and determination never

  cease to amaze me. Thanks for keeping me sane.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 1

  Missouri, April 2

  Jackie Patton was dressed to kill, and if one more of those burly, tattooed Theronai warriors tried to grope her, she was going to do just that.

  Her red power suit was far too dressy for the occasion, but it made her feel better, almost normal. The thought sent hysterical laughter bubbling up from deep inside her. Normal was such a distant concept that she couldn’t even remember what it felt like.

  Two years. That’s all the demons had stolen from her. She could never get them back, but she was free now, and determined to live that way.

  She smoothed her hands over her suit jacket, ignoring the way they trembled. What little she had was already packed. She’d regained access to her bank accounts. Her house was gone—foreclosed and sold at auction—but she’d find another. She had enough money to live on while she found a job, and despite the tight job market, her résumé was impressive. A good position was just around the corner. She could feel it.

  All she had to do now was let Joseph, the leader of this place—this compound—know she was leaving. Today. Right now.

  Jackie went to the door of her suite, hesitating with her hand on the knob. She was safe here. There were no demons roaming the halls, no monsters lurking around the corner. But there were men out there. Suffering, desperate. Dying.

  She’d been told she could save one. All she had to do was give up her life and dive into this world of monsters and magic.

  They said it like it was no big deal, like she’d gain as much from this bizarre union as the man she chose would. Not true. She was free now. There was no way in hell she was giving up that freedom after having lost it for two years. She wouldn’t tie herself to any man. Not now, not while she was still broken and barely holding it together.

  Don’t think about that now. If you do, you won’t leave your suite today. Again.

  Jackie sucked in a long, deep breath and focused on her task. Simple. Fast. She’d be on the road within the hour.

  That thought calmed her, and gave her room to breathe. She could do this. She had to. No one else could do it for her.

  She grabbed what was left of her self-confidence and gathered it around herself like a cloak, holding it close. There had been a time when she could have faced a crowd and spoken to them without breaking a sweat, but those days were long behind her. Now simply leaving her suite made her shake with nerves.

  She was a different person now, not the powerful, confident corporate exec she’d once been. She was a refugee.

  No, a survivor. That sounded better. Stronger.

  She left her suite, feeling moderately less miserable. She had almost made it to Joseph’s office when she rounded a corner and came face-to-face with one of the giant warriors who called themselves Theronai. As he towered over her, nearly seven feet tall, his gaunt body seemed to grow taller by the second. A shaggy growth of dark beard covered his wide jaw, and his amber eyes, shadowed with fatigue, lit up with the realization of who she was.

  Jackie’s heart squeezed hard, flooding her body with adrenaline. Survival instincts honed in the caves where she’d been held captive kicked in. She went still, hoping he’d pass by and leave her in peace, as Joseph had ordered all his men to do. But this man didn’t pass. He slowed, coming to a stop only a few feet in front of her.

  “You’re the one,” he said, his voice ragged, as if he’d been screaming for days.

  “I’m late for a meeting,” she lied.

  His long arm reached for her, and she jerked back. “Let me touch you. Let me see if it’s true.”

  Panic exploded in her chest, but she was used to that. She’d learned the hard way to hide her fear and terror, and now that skill rose easily, allowing her to speak.

  “Leave me alone,” she warned, trying to make her tone as stern as possible. It was a complete bluff. There was nothing she could do to defend herself against him. She was weak from her prolonged captivity, and even if she hadn’t been, his overpowering strength was so obvious, it was laughable she’d even consider fighting him.

  Angry desperation filled his gaze as he stared down at her. “I don’t give a fuck about what you want. Grace is dying. If I claim you, we might be able to save her.”

  Claim you.

  The words left her cold, and sent her careening back into the caves where she’d been held. The monsters who’d abducted her had treated her like a thing—a trough from which they fed with no more concern for her than they’d have for the discarded paper wrapper from a fast-food burger.

  She couldn’t do that again. She couldn’t allow herself to be used or she’d be all used up, with nothing left of herself to salvage.

  But what about Grace?

  Jackie had heard rumors of Grace. She was a human woman who’d sacrificed herself to save a Theronai warrior who’d become paralyzed. She’d taken on his injuries, freeing him, while she lay trapped and dying, her human body too weak to combat the poison that had caused his paralysis. No one had been able to save her. Not even the vampirelike healers these people called Sanguinar.

  “Stay away,” she warned, working hard to make her voice firm and unyielding. Sometimes that tone had worked to keep the smaller monsters away. For a while.

  She backed up, holding her hands in front of her to push him away if he got too close.

  His eyes shut as if he was waging some internal struggle. When he spoke, his voice was gentler, pleading. “I’m Torr. I’m not going to hurt you. But I need you. Grace needs you. You may be her only hope.”

  Jackie covered her ears before she could hear more. She didn’t want to be anyone’s only hope. All she wanted was to regain her life. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”

  The man lurched forward and grabbed her arms. He moved so fast, she hadn’t even seen it happen until it was too late. Violent, harsh vibrations battered her skin wherever he touched. They shook her bones and made her insides itch.

  He stared down at the ring all the men like him wore on their left hands. A rioting swirl of colors erupted beneath the surface of the smooth, iridescent band. Jackie watched as his matching necklace did the same.

  The luceria was what they called the jewelry. Two pieces linked irrevocably together by magic she didn’t care to understand. They were used to unite couples the way her sisters had been united to their husbands—to channel magic from the man into the woman. While that link allowed the women to do incredible things, Jackie wanted no part of it. This was n
ot her world.

  He took her hands in his and brought them to his throat, curling her fingers around his necklace. “Take it off. I need you to wear it.”

  The slippery band felt warm. A cascade of yellows and golds rushed out from her fingertips, flying along the smooth band.

  “No. Leave me alone.”

  His lip curled up in a snarl. “I won’t. I can’t.” His grip on her hands tightened until her fingers began to tingle from lack of blood.

  “Please,” she begged him. “Let me go.”

  The frantic desperation in his gaze grew until his eyes were fever bright. He backed her against a wall, pushing hard enough to knock the wind out of her. “Do it!”

  Jackie couldn’t bear to look at him and see his need. She knew he was in pain—all the men like him were—and she wanted to be the kind of person who would help, but she’d paid her dues. She’d been used for her blood, fed on for two years. She’d kept other women and children alive. Not all of them, but some. She couldn’t let this man or any other use her now, not when she was finally free.

  His body pressed against hers. She could feel the hard angles of bones and muscle, feel him vibrating with anger. She didn’t like it.

  Fear built inside her, but she was so used to it, she hardly noticed. Her fingers went numb and cold. She tried to shove him away with her body, but it was like trying to push a freight train uphill. He didn’t budge an inch, and her efforts seemed only to anger him further.

  “Stop fighting me. I told you I’m not going to hurt you.”

  “Then let me go.”

  He let go of her hands, wrapped his arms around her, and lifted her off the floor. “We’re going to go see Grace. Then you’ll make the right choice.”

  No. Jackie didn’t want that. She didn’t want to witness any more suffering. She’d had her fill of watching the pain and torture of others.

  She kicked him, landing a solid blow against his shins. He didn’t even grunt. Instead, he tossed her over his shoulder. His bones dug into her stomach, and a wave of nausea crashed into her. She struggled not to puke over his back while she pounded at him with her fists.

  “Put me down!”