Free Living Nightmare by Shannon K. Butcher Page B

companion and less heavily muscled. There was a hungry look on his face—one she’d seen too many times over the past few months not to recognize it. He was in pain and he thought she could make it stop.
    Nika stilled as a familiar fear slid through her. She willed herself to run, but her muscles had clamped down, holding her still like a frozen little bunny. Time slowed.
    She tried to breathe through the fear, but it did no good. His hand was stretching out, reaching for her.
    A high, pitiful noise spilled out from Nika’s mouth.
    The man beside him—the second stranger—saw what was happening and grabbed the other man’s arm in a tight grip. “Not yet. You heard Joseph.”
    At the sound of his name, Joseph stopped and turned around, along with Paul and Andra. “Don’t!” shouted her sister. “You’re scaring her.”
    Joseph’s big body shot through the air and slammed into the pair of men, knocking them both into the wall. They landed in a pile of thick arms and legs.
    Nika shoved at her fear hard and fought it down enough to flee. She turned to run, but had forgotten all about the bone. It fell from her coat, clattering onto the hard tile. The small, child-sized leg bone lay there, dull and bleak against the glossy floor.
    Andra’s eyes zeroed in on the bone, widening in shock and revulsion. “How could you?” she whispered. “How could you desecrate Tori’s grave?”
    Nika knew that nothing she could say would make her sister forgive her. They’d argued over this too many times to count. Andra knew she’d buried their baby sister. Nika knew she was still alive. There was no room for compromise here. None.
    “I’m sorry you had to see that,” said Nika. She bent, picked up the bone, hid it from sight, and ran away. No words would fix the pain and grief and guilt lingering in Andra’s eyes.
    Nothing would except proving Tori was alive.
     
    Andra bit her lip to stave off the tears that burned her eyes. She would not cry in front of strangers.
    She’d thought Nika was getting better. She’d started eating again. She’d gained weight. The bouts of dizziness and weakness had grown farther and farther apart. She was even pushing at the boundaries Andra had set—a sure sign she was getting healthier, stronger.
    At least, that was what Andra had thought.
    The fact that Nika would resort to digging up their dead sister’s bones proved just how wrong Andra had been.
    “She really is crazy,” said Andra.
    Paul’s strong arm came around her, and she leaned into him, soaking up the comfort he offered. He pulled her away from the others and shielded her with his body to afford her a bit of privacy. “It’s only been a few months. You need to give her some time. Let her pursue this course if she needs to.”
    A wave of revulsion made Andra shiver. “She’s carrying around our dead sister’s bones. It’s disgusting.”
    “I know, but if it’s the only way she’ll give up her delusion, then it’s worth it, isn’t it? Do you really think Tori would begrudge Nika the proof she needs to heal?”
    “No. Tori would have given Nika anything. She was generous and loving to a fault. But that doesn’t excuse this. I told her she couldn’t do this. I told her it wasn’t fair to Tori that after almost nine years of lying in that cave, our sister’s remains are no longer safe in the cemetery, next to Mom’s.”
    “We already know Nika’s going to take Tori’s remains to one of the Sanguinar to see if they can identify them. I’ll talk to Tynan and make sure he understands the situation. I’m sure he’ll treat this with as much care and reverence as possible.”
    Andra was sickened by the thought, but what could she do? She knew that if she took the bone back and buried it, Nika would only slip away again later to steal it. And next time, she might not come back in one piece.
    She had to let this happen, no matter how much it bothered her. As disgusting as it was, it beat the heck out of burying