Ancient Wings : Book 1 - Aegis

4 - Heart Out

Troubled, Cidney straightened.

"Three, not five," he mumbled as he walked around the table to the next body.

Another young girl. The same destroyed chest cavity, the same missing heart. Three more burns against the surrounding tissue.

"Damn it," he bit out as he took off his gloves and threw them away. He turned to Benjamin. "I need copies of their files, please."

Benjamin simply nodded and walked out the door.

Cidney gestured to the newest victim. "Can you take a look and tell me what you see?" he asked his companion.

Kraten gave him a patient look. "There are other ways to determine if it's a demon kill," he lectured.

He gave him a patient smile.

"We already know it's a demon kill, we're looking for what kind," he reminded him. "Now, look at the wound, please."

Kraten adjusted the light and looked closely into the remains of the chest cavity. When he stood up, his face was dark.

"Three scorch marks," Kraten said.

He nodded. Kraten went on to examine each body. When he was done, he cursed in another language. It sounded old, ancient even. He turned back to Cidney.

"They all have it, which means-"

"It wasn't done by a possessed human," he finished for him. "A full demon got through the barriers."

Kraten's gaze ran over him with approval. "It would seem so."

Kraten looked back at the bodies, his face drawn. Cidney moved back to the freshest body and pushed up the sleeves of his own shirt and coat.

He took several deep breaths and reached out to touch her forehead. An olive-colored hand stopped him. He looked up, surprised.

"What are you doing?" Kraten bit out, his eyes hard.

"Looking at her last memories," he answered.

Wasn't it obvious?

Kraten looked at him, his face furious.

"Do you understand how dangerous that is?" Kraten asked as he straightened to his full height. "They can suck you in and kill you too."

"If you make a mistake, yes, it's dangerous," he explained as he met his eyes. "I don't make mistakes."

Kraten stepped between him and the gurney.

"No," Kraten stated, an accent starting to come through. "It is too dangerous. Especially for..."

"For?" he asked.

Kraten clenched his jaw. "For an omega. Right now, there are only a few of you left."

He blinked in surprise.

"I know if you do this, you could find out exactly what killed these women. But I still can't let you."

"You just met me, Kraten," he reminded him. "You don't really know me or my abilities."

"I'm aware of that," Kraten whispered. "My job is to keep you safe. Letting you do this wouldn't be keeping you safe."

The look in Kraten's eyes was serious. He wasn't going to let Cidney do this.

He pulled his hand from his.

"Alright," he said, his voice resigned. "I won't look at her memories. Let's just get the files and go."

When Kraten looked at him, relief filled his eyes, it almost made him feel guilty. He moved away from the gurney towards the door to the coroner's office.