The Order of Brigid's Cross - The Wild Hunt (Book 1): The Wild Hunt Read Online Free Page A

willow tree limbs.   But instead of
soft leaves and tender branches, these limbs ended with twisted hands and
fingers. Elongated and spindly, their hands dragged against the ground as they walked,
and their sharp fingernails kindled sparks on the pavement.  
    They were monsters, monster soldiers, he realized as he
noticed the weapons they bore.   Nothing
like the weapons of today, but Jamal knew they would be deadly. Both sword and
bow, cast in bronzed metal, glimmered softly against the streetlights.
    Then he heard the shrill howl and his blood ran cold.   Peering between the soldiers and the horses, Jamal
could see wolf-like creatures prowling, snapping at each other with their
overlong canines dripping with pus-like drool.   Their eyes glowed red in the dark night, and their claws clattered
against the pavement.
    Then their scent hit him, and he nearly vomited. Death. They smelled like death.   He had smelled it before, finding a dead cat
back behind the projects, its body almost too far gone to recognize what it
was.   But that was a smell you never
forgot, and it was heavy in the air around him.
    Jamal bit his lip until it bled. He sat in horrified silence
as the legion marched past him and into the park.   He prayed they wouldn’t look his way.   He prayed he would be safe. Then he heard the
screams. Horrified human screams.   The soldiers had found their prey.
    Wrapping his arms around his legs, he bent his head forward
and wept like a child.  

Chapter Four

 
    Detective Sean O’Reilly’s stomach twisted as it did every
time he walked past the doors that opened into the lobby of the emergency room
of Cook County Hospital. He stepped onto the tiled floor and heard the noises
that were unique to a hospital. Soft-soled shoes against linoleum, the murmur
of the intercom, the quiet, anguished sobs of family members and the constant
beeping of monitoring equipment. Those sounds reminded him of the worst hours
of his life.
    It had been years since he had carried his sister, Officer Mary
O’Reilly, into the hospital with a gunshot to her gut.   Years since he and the rest of his family sat
in the waiting room, crying and praying that she would not die.   Years since he discovered she had thrown herself
between him and a bullet with his name on it.
    She was fine now, he reminded himself, more than fine.   She was on her honeymoon in Scotland with a
guy who worshipped the ground she walked on, and he’d better keep it that way.
Sean smiled slightly. Yeah, things were
good with Mary.  
    He shook off those thoughts as he watched Detective Adrian
Williams approach him. Adrian was a behemoth, six feet five inches of solid
muscle. He walked like a bodybuilder, Sean thought, with a grin. His damn arms
were so muscular he couldn’t rest them at his side, so he looked like he was
always carrying some invisible beach ball. Well, a beach ball that weighed 300
pounds.
    “Hey, Skinny,” Sean greeted his friend. “How are things in
the ‘hood?”
    Adrian had worked in the Gang Enforcement Division of the
Chicago Police Department for about six months.   Before that, he worked with Sean in the Special Crimes Unit. He’d been
Sean’s rookie detective and was a quick learner and devoted law-enforcement
officer.   Sean had beamed like a proud
daddy when Adrian had received his promotion.
    “Hey, Irish, nice to see you up and sober,” he teased back.
    Sean glanced at his watch. “Well, it’s only midnight,” he
replied. “The real drinking doesn’t start until two or three.”
    Adrian nodded, but the joking disappeared from his voice.
“Yeah, well, after what I’ve seen tonight I just might join you.”
    Noting the change in his friend’s demeanor, Sean’s smile
dropped, and he lowered his voice. “So, what went down?”
    “Worse throw down I’ve ever seen,” Adrian said, wiping his
hand over his eyes. “O’Reilly, you won’t believe the crime photos. The bodies
were hacked to