Malachi by Shiloh Walker Read Free Book Online Page B

happen under the light of the sun.
    Skin would begin to burn, and then blacken. Fire would erupt as though something from within had exploded. There would be pain as it charred his flesh from his bones.
    And Malachi waited for it. Even welcomed it.
    Alys had burned for his failures. Seemed only fitting that he burn as well.
    But the only thing he felt was that mild itching. As the sun rose ever higher, his skin blushed a fair pink, but it did not redden with burns, did not blacken, and there was no true pain.
    Rising, Malachi stood on the rock and glared into the fiery golden glory of the sun. Snarling, he leaped from the rock and began to pace. “Can not even death come to me easily?” he demanded.
    But there was no answer. Just the distant sound the animals made in the woods and the rushing of the river.
    Despair hung around him, weighing him down, as he finally turned away from the sun’s light and walked into the sheltering dark of the forest.
    His simple home was gone. The priest had sent men to smoke it out and to watch and wait in case any more monsters lingered. Malachi could have dealt with them. But he wanted no more blood on his hands.
    And living in the cave he had shared with Alys did not appeal to him.
    But he found he could not sleep in the open. Even though it seemed the sun was little threat to him, he could not rest so exposed. He took his rest in an empty den, his arms wrapped around his chilled body.
    It was a cold, miserable way to sleep.
    When sleep came, he was prepared for the dreams. Dreams in which he would hear Alys’ screams while his imagination painted him a picture to go along with those horrible, pain-filled screams.
    But he did not dream of Alys.
    His dream lady came to him, and her voice was quiet and husky with tears. I am sorry, she told him, keeping her distance. She wrapped her arms around herself and stood facing away from him. This is my fault.
    Malachi felt a new chill settle inside his bones as he studied her. “You knew.”
    I knew something awful was going to happen. But I did not know what it was.
    If Malachi had thought he felt guilty before, it was nothing compared to what flooded him now. She had come to him yesterday to warn him and he had ignored it, seeking out the pleasures of her body instead. Had he listened, he could have saved Alys. He would have watched her better.
    Instead, he had satisfied his physical needs and then lashed out at his lady in anger, chasing her away.  Without her to bind him to the dream, Malachi had woken and whatever she could have told him that might have saved Alys was lost.
    You are angry—I don’t blame you.
    Malachi was silent, seething. His hands opened and closed into tight fists and he wanted to hit something. Anything.
    You were right. I was jealous. She doesn’t just get to sleep with you. She was able to be with you, all the time, she said and her voice broke a little. But I want you to know that I would have never wished anything like this. I am so sorry.
    Malachi closed his eyes, shaking his head. His voice was gritty as he replied, “You tried to tell me. It is my fault I did not listen.”
    She inhaled softly and he heard her moving nearer. Spinning around, he held out a hand. “No. Do not come near now. Please—just go.”
    And then he was alone, and that was when the torment started. Because now, not only did he hear Alys’ screams, he also heard his lady sobbing.

Chapter Five
     
    She was there again.
    Malachi came out of his sleep to feel the presence of that woman again. Her name was Rachel—and she was the first woman of his kind that he had seen since Alys.
    How long had it been since he had lost Alys?  Malachi did not know but it had been a very long time, long enough that even the memory of how she looked had faded.
    Indeed, Malachi had not seen any men like him until recently. Men had come, like this woman, seeking him out. Telling him that he had a destiny, a calling. But he had to travel to the lands in the