Winter's Wrath: Sacrifice (Winter's Saga #3) by Karen Luellen Page B

be too near death to stop them.  He clenched his teeth willing the pain to subside.  It only intensified.
    “He’s coming around, Dr. Williams.”
    “Good.  Mr. Young?  Can you hear me?  Yes, I can see you’re in a tremendous amount of pain.  To be honest, I’m not all that worried about easing your discomfort.  You did quite a bit of damage to my property.  Not having the serum, yet again is—” the scientist inhaled sharply then forced an exhale, “irritating, to say the least.”
    “Then there are the seven metahumans you personally killed.  All in all, I’d say you deserve a very painful death.  Oh, and you’ll get what you deserve, after I get a fresh sample of your blood and DNA.  I have some scientist who will be able to work wonders with your blueprint.  Who knows?  Maybe your anomaly will be the answer I’ve been looking for all along.  In which case, hunting Margo Winter and the stolen assets will be more for sport than necessity.”
    Creed instinctively wanted to curl into fetal position, but couldn’t.  His muscles strained uselessly.  He was strapped to a gurney.  Feeling himself tied down was almost more agonizing as the pain itself. 
    “Oh, yes, you noticed the reinforced straps.  I had Chaunders install those just for you.  Even in your current state, I didn’t want to take any chances.  Don’t worry Mr. Young.  We’ll be arriving in Germany soon enough.  That’s when your real fun will begin.”
    Creed slipped in and out of consciousness.  He wasn’t sure, but he thought he felt Meg’s gentle quiver of emotion slip around him tentatively, searching and slipped away almost as quickly.  Left lingering in his mind was the scent of red, ripe strawberries.  As imagined as it probably was, his aching mind latched on to the essence and used it as a soothing elixir, desperate for any sliver of the girl he would give anything to see once more.  
    Meg.
    The girl whose eyes sparkled with light that seemed to come from inside her.
    The girl whose will and determination made her seem ten times bigger than her small body could possibly contain. 
    The girl whose strength came from her willingness to love by faith and not by sight, to open herself to emotion and pain out of sheer stubbornness—determined to be there for those she took under her beautifully protective wings. 
    She allows herself to be a mirror, absorbing everything around her, giving back only the most beautiful of what is thrown to her.  Her reflective soul act ed like a filter, allowing only the most precious pieces to be given back to the world—taking the evil and darkness away.
    …I nterceding for even a worthless monster like me to the God who blessed her with the heart of an angel , Creed thought.
    Creed knew it was Meg who saved him, even as he lay bleeding to death feeling his organs desperate to shut down, one at a time, out of sheer ruin.
    Before Meg, Creed knew he was a soulless, empty shell designed for evil.  He was a puppet to a devil.  She and her family brought him to humanity.  If he had a soul now, it was only because she breathed God’s life back into him.  He wanted to be a better man for her.  She made him want to take on the world and kneel at her beautiful feet just to be near her. 
    Creed knew with every screaming ounce of his being that it was Meg who filled him with her light and goodness.  He didn’t know why she chose to waste her time with a worthless monster like him, but she wrapped her lovely white blanket of goodness around his heart and freed him.   She taught him what it was to love, to believe and to pray.
    Even as the arid pain of consciousness made Creed’s body convulse, his mind was desperate to plead what would be only his second prayer ever.  He prayed for forgiveness for being so late to recognize the preciousness of life. 
    I am not worthy of any forgiveness, but I do have a soul, and if y ou choose to show me mercy, please take it from this body.