Ecstasy Untamed (Feral Warriors #6)(55)

"That we may need to kill the ones that have been marked? Allow the animal spirits to mark the ones they should have in the first place? Yes."

Faith felt the blood drain from her face.

Olivia surged to her feet. "Ewan . . . Polaris . . . does not deserve to die for this! Maybe he wasn't the one meant to be marked, but I'll bet he was in the top three of that polar-bear line. He's a good man, every bit as strong physically and morally as any man here. I've known him for centuries. There's no evil in him. None."

Lyon nodded. "Polaris is a good man and a good fighter. But he tried to kill Hawke." He held up his hand, forestalling Olivia's argument. "We're all but certain he's under the influence of magic, but that doesn't make him any less dangerous. If he can be cured of the darkness, perhaps he'll make a fine Feral Warrior. The same can't be said of all of them."

Good heavens, that was an understatement. They had no idea. She was going to make a terrible Feral Warrior. She barely knew how to kill draden!

As Olivia resumed her seat, Wulfe leaned back. "So why were they marked? Polaris is a good guy, the sabertooth clearly isn't. Eigle got himself killed in his first fight. I understand that the Mage magic probably kept the animal spirits from marking the ones they wanted, but who did they mark?"

Lyon looked to Kougar.

Kougar pursed his mouth thoughtfully. "I'm inclined to believe they were marked at random. Some may make good Feral Warriors . . . or would have if they hadn't been infected . . . like Polaris. Others are the dregs of the race. But most are probably decent men who should never have been chosen."

Or women, Faith thought. Decent men or women.

"The Shaman should take a look at the three we've captured," Kougar said.

Lyon nodded. "I agree. If we're right, Fox will be free of the magic, and we can let him out of the prison. The other two will remain locked up until we can find a cure. If any other new Ferals arrive, they'll join them in the prison. In the meantime, I'll enlist the aid of the enclave here in digging into the backgrounds of everyone who's been recently marked. I want to know who these men are."

"Does it matter?" Kougar's question hung in the air.

Lyon tilted his head. "You think it shouldn't?"

"If we want to maximize our chances of defeating Inir and his army, we need the strongest Ferals. Period. If, goddess forbid, Inir succeeds in freeing the Daemons without us, and I'm no longer certain he won't, then we absolutely must have the strongest. The ones marked are the wrong men."

Faith's stomach cramped. Kougar thought they should all be killed. Even if they were cured. Her pulse began to pound, instinct yelling at her to run. Fight or flight. Deep breaths. She struggled to get control. They didn't know she'd been marked. Yet.

Lyon cleared his throat, and all eyes turned to him. "We need to find a cure for the infection. If we succeed, we'll decide where to go from there. If we don't, then we'll have no choice." They would kill them. His expression grew hard. "I don't need to tell you that this discussion goes no further than this room. The new Ferals absolutely cannot know their fates lie in the balance."

"Where are they?" Vhyper asked.

Wulfe nodded. "I've been wondering the same. And why did they run? They caught us by surprise. If they'd kept fighting instead of taking off, they could have made certain Jag and Paenther were dead. They might have succeeded in killing one or two more of us, too."

For a moment, all were silent. Faith didn't know the answer any more than they did.

"They're Mage creations," Kougar said slowly. "Possibly even Mage puppets. And the puppet master, Inir, most likely, didn't want his puppets destroyed. The fact that they ran instead of continuing to fight supports the theory that the animal will only infect the first Feral he marks. Inir, or whoever was controlling the new Ferals in that battle, must have feared he'd lose too many. It was better to pull them out of there, regroup, and attack again later."

"Not only were they outmatched," Hawke said beside her. "But the puppet master was losing his hold on some of them. On Grizz, at least. He may have feared more would slip from his grasp. He called them to him to reinforce that control."

"To steal their souls," Tighe muttered.

Hawke nodded. "Possibly."

"We have to find them." Lyon began to pace, the general planning his battle strategy. After several minutes, he started issuing orders. "First, we retake and secure Feral House. Then we interrogate the prisoners with the Shaman's help - learn what we can from them. Tighe, have Skye contact the Mage resistance, let them know we're hunting the new Ferals and they may be heading for a Mage stronghold."

"I'll drive up to Harpers Ferry," Wulfe offered. "To make sure they haven't gone back there."

Lyon nodded. "Once Feral House is secure, and I no longer need you there." His gaze swung to Kougar. "Find a cure." He straightened and addressed them all, his gaze sliding from one man to the next. "But our number one job is to protect our Radiant."

Heartfelt, murmured assent erupted around the table.

"The new Ferals need her radiance as much as we do, now. Their first goal is almost certainly to steal her."

"They're not getting her," Wulfe growled.