Doranna Durgin - Night of the Tiger

He hadn’t touched her. He hadn’t come close. But he felt the first stirrings of guilt.

No, not just guilt. Admiration. She was terrified—of that he had no doubt. And her words stung. “We put ourselves on the line,” he said, his voice low and ragged. “Every day, we’re out in that field, taking the hits—from the Core, and from the rest of the world. Sentinels. We protect this earth, and we protect the rest of you along the way.”

She produced the world’s smallest violin with her thumb and forefinger. “Hooray for you,” she said. “Do you think we’d need it, if the Core hadn’t once been so alarmed by the very nature of what you are?”

“And you,” he shot back at her. “You’re one of us, whether you like it or not. But you still could have opted out—lived outside brevis activity altogether. Light-bloods have that choice. The rest of us don’t.” The rest of them were, by default, regional field agents in the age-old conflict with the Atrum Core.

“I told you,” she said, her voice brittle and tight. “The Core got hold of me early. Between your kind and their kind, I wasn’t left with any choices at all.”

He snorted. “You had your choices. You’re a grown woman.”

“I was a child,” she said, and now she stalked him, stepping forward so he had to move back. “I was a little girl, and the Core filled my head with fear and whispers. Where was brevis then, tiger? Who protected me from the bully, and who protected me from the Core? Don’t you talk to me about choices. I’m doing the best I can.”

He found himself without a response. He found her words landing hard…and sticking. She had been a little girl….

And she had been unprotected.

And that wasn’t right.

Not that she was done. “I’m not one of them,” she said. “I never meant to do anything but balance the scales. I never knew anything about Core D’oìche and I never knew about the silent amulets. I’m just a damned good systems tech who probably won’t ever have a normal life. But at least I take responsibility for my screwup. I deserve to be here, no matter how little choice I had along the way.”

“You—” he said, and then stopped, facing too many choices—and too many questions. And then her words finally hit him—the significance of what she’d said earlier. His anger gave way to a keen curiosity. “How did you know?”

The question took her by surprise—and, denied his angry response, she eased back into a perplexed frown. “How did I…what?”

“You knew,” he said. “I didn’t introduce those agents in the lounge as wolf or bobcat or jackal. I gave you their names.”

She stepped back, crossing her arms beneath her breasts, a move that only served to highlight fit curves. “It was obvious.”

He shook his head. “Not everyone knows, Marlee. Not even the full-bloods. Maybe you’re more one of us than you think.”

She shook her head. “Don’t exaggerate. I’m observant, not Sentinel. Besides, you said you wanted my help.” The bitter edge came back. “To redeem myself, as if that’s ever going to happen. So what is it, exactly, you think I can do down here?”

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