Holocaust (The Deadwood Hunter Series Book 3) by Rachel M Raithby

know I have hidden away, but no more. We are all going to walk away from this. All of us. I will find a way. Marcus, take her to the infirmary. I’ll see you later.”
    No more death. No more blood.
    Striding away, Lexia called upon her need for revenge and held it around her like a shield. To the outside world, she was Maura: cold, unfeeling and deadly. Yet in reality, she was torn and fractured, held together with a strength born from hate. It fuelled her, drove her into tomorrow, and when she finally had her revenge, when she finally freed her people from the torture they endured, she planned to rid the earth of one last monster. And maybe then, she’d find her peace.

    Rain pelted against her, dripping down her face in torrents. The wind held the cold edge of a winter intent of not giving up. Lexia watched her unit, the group of hunters who still had their humanity, however small. These people only survived because of her, yet she’d failed them. They followed her because they hoped she’d save them, yet Lexia had no idea how. She’d been hiding from all of them, hiding from the pain of living without her mate and from the grief and anger she felt over her father’s death, and from the many innocent lives Maura had destroyed.
    “Is this necessary today? The forecast is better for tomorrow,” Derrick shouted above the howl of wind and splatter of rain.
    Lexia didn’t look at him. Her eyes tracked those of her people, slipping and scrambling in the mud below her, running laps around the compound. “War doesn’t wait for good weather. They need to be ready.”
    “We’re going to war now?” Derrick asked, stepping closer to hear her over the weather.
    “What’s the matter, Derrick? You’re the one who warned of the storm coming.” She turned her head to face him, so he could see the tears streaming from her distraught blue eyes, mixing with the rain running down her face. “The storm is here. Are you afraid to fight?” His face filled with pity, his eyes softening with a sadness Lexia felt she didn’t deserve. “Don’t give me your pity, Derrick. I do not deserve pity. Everything that has happened, I’ve brought upon myself.”
    The saddest of smiles formed on his lips and he reached out for her hand, clasping it as he turned to face the hunters below, still running, fighting against the rain and mud. “You never asked to be born this way, Lex. Yes you’ve made mistakes but you do not deserve any of this. I will fight, fight by your side until my last breath.”
    “What have they done with Alice?” Lexia asked sadly, needing a change of subject.
    “She’s sedated in the infirmary. Lucy left shortly after you. I’ve left someone watching her. She’ll be okay.”
    Derrick’s words only made Lexia hate herself even more. Alice would never be okay. Lexia failed her friend. “She’s been turned into a hunter, Derrick, which will never be okay.”
    “We’ll help her; help her cling to the light left inside of her.”
    She shouldn’t have to. She should have been safe.
    The tears started again. “It was never supposed to be this way,” she sobbed, clinging onto Derrick’s hand. He was the only thing keeping her standing. Her whole body felt as if it were shaking, the churning, and the dread within her uncontrollable. She felt like screaming; screaming until her voice was raw and her lungs burned for oxygen. She wanted to find her mother to hit her and keep hitting her until every ounce of anger left her. Lexia held a flurry of emotions and feared she may rip apart and never be put back together again. So broken inside, Lexia marveled at the fact she was still up and walking.
    God, I’m so tired, so tired of fighting, of life… Just hold it together a little longer, Lex. Just win this fight and then it can end.
    No longer able to stand still, Lexia let go of Derrick’s hand. “I need to run,” she called as she slid down the slope toward the unit running below. Her hands dug through the