Excerpt: Sin Underground: Veritas

Vol knew something bad would happen, but he never thought it would be this.

Smoke filled his lungs as he rushed through the cottage. Where were they? Where was his wife? Voletrius screamed out for his family, unable to find them in the haze of thick, black smoke. Something caught his eye in the back yard. Could it be? Vol burst himself through the back door, his eyes filled with rage and fear.

"Acacia? Ma? Sis?" His heart clenched painfully at what he saw.

The bodies of his wife, mother, and sister were laid out in the grass. Their clothes and various body parts were charred beyond recognition. They looked... dead. But they couldn't be dead. He tried to reassure himself. He could save them. Vol knew he could save them all. He didn't care what it took. He would do it.

Fear gripped his heart as he rushed over to them, trying to listen for breathing. He picked up his fragile wife and shook her, angry tears running down his cheeks.

"Acacia..." He choked her name out, "Acacia, please. Don't leave me behind, love. Don't go."

An immense grief settled in him. They were all dead. The smoke and their wounds from the fire were too much to handle. Vol's hand settled over his wife's pregnant belly and he sobbed, something in him snapping finally.

Rage filled his every pore. Who had done this? All of their cattle and sheep were gone. Every bit of food that they had saved up for the winter was gone as well. Someone had to have set the place on fire as they were sleeping. They woke up too late.

Vol clutched Acacia tightly to his chest. She would never touch his face and call him an oaf again. He would never feel her kisses. He would never hold her as she slept. The child inside her womb would never kick when he sang. He would never get to see Acacia glowing as she held their child to her chest.

He screamed. It was animalistic and raw; full of anger and hatred. Grief. He couldn't bear these wounds. He couldn't keep going. He would destroy whoever did this and then he would let himself go with them. He swore to himself. He would have revenge.

A shadow darted through the woods to the east. A beast emerged, silver fur gleaming red in the reflection of the fire. It raised its muzzle and howled, feeling every bit of Vol's anguish.

This was his beginning. It was time.

Three Days Earlier...

It was the evening of Vol's 24th birthday.

His family was gathered around the tiny wooden table that his father had built for them so many years before. The Whelon clan had feasted like kings that evening, all of their tummies filled to the brim with Ma Whelon's coddle. Sausage, bacon, potatoes, and onions boiled to perfection. It was one of Vol's favorites.

Vol leaned in his chair, balancing on the back legs and angering his mother in the process. He grinned boyishly and looked over at his sister. Iris smiled at him and kicked her leg out inconspicuously, knocking the precariously balanced chair legs out from under him in one fell swoop. Roseyln Whelon looked at her offspring with fire in her eyes. Iris shrugged innocently as Vol pushed himself up off the floor and set his chair upright again.

"Now don't you be scuffing up my new chairs while you're actin' the maggot, Voletrius." Roselyn cuffed him in the back of the head with her dish towel before taking the rest of the dishes to the sink. "Don't think your wife would be proud of ya."

"Acacia would have loved to see me fall on my face, Ma." Vol got up from his chair and smacked his sister in the back of the head as he walked toward Roselyn. "You know how she is. She's more fire than water, that's for sure."

Roselyn shook her head, "That lass is perfect for you." She smiled at him, a hint of sadness in her vivid, green eyes.

Vol knew that his mother was thinking about his father. He died in the war when Vol. No one knew how it happened and they never got his body back. There was a small, empty grave out behind farm up on a hill that overlooked their land. When his father died, Vol became the man of the house. Even when he married Acacia, they stayed to help his mother and sister take care of the farm.

"I'm sure Da misses you wherever he is, Ma." Vol patted her on the back and kissed her forehead as he began to wash dishes.

Roselyn did not look up at him. She continued to wash the dishes, wish a small smile on her face.

Iris bumped Vol out of the way with her hip and gave him 'the eye'. "Go back home to your wife. I'm sure my niece or nephew inside of her is kicking up a storm and they only stop when you open your big gob." She elbowed him in the gut as punctuation.

Vol shook his head and hugged both of the Whelon women hard, a goofy grin on his face. "I'll be back in the morning to pick up the supplies I need. Is there anything you need from town, Ma?"

"Nothing, dearest. Go home to your wife. Take some of the leftovers with ya. She'll need them." Roselyn smiled at her son proudly. "Happy birthday!"

He smiled wider at her words and kissed her on the forehead again. Large, calloused hands scooped up a dish to take back to his wife before he made his way out of the door.

The cold night air tossed his disheveled hair into his eyes as he shut the door. Vol made his way down the dirt path to his home. He couldn't wait to curl up to Acacia and rub her swollen belly. His mother had said that the baby would be here anytime. Soon enough he would be a father. It was pretty scary to think about, but it was exactly what he wanted. His family would be complete.

He imagined the way that Acacia would look with their child in her arms. The image made his heart seize up for a moment, his throat closing with emotion. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that he would be so in love with his best friend. Everything in his life was slowly coming together and he could not wait for the future.

Vol pushed open the door to the cottage and set the dish of coddle on the table. He was still grinning as he called for his wife, "Acacia?" Nothing. He assumed that she was asleep, but he knew she would be angry if he let the food go to waste. Money had been tight lately and Acacia's cravings had been at their max. So he would feed the love of his life and then put her to bed. She always made a fuss when he coddled her, but he knew that she secretly loved it.

He snuck into their room and smiled at what he saw. Acacia was curled up on her side, dark eyelashes casting shadows on her cheek in the dim candlelight. The blanket was halfway across her swollen belly, her small, pale hand curled around it protectively. Even in her sleep, her instincts flared up.

"Silly woman forgot to put out the candle." He chuckled as his hand slipped into her mane of thick, crimson hair. "Acacia." He whispered lovingly to her, his lips grazing her ear.

She stirred at the sound of her name and the feel of him so close to her. Hazel eyes peered up at him, irritation easily read in their depths. That was his Acacia.

"What do you want?" She scowled at him for a moment before curling her fingers with his.

"Ma sent some coddle over for ya." Vol kissed her temple, his hand stroking her hair back from her face as he spoke. "Thought you'd want to eat before it got cold."

Her stomach growled and Vol laughed. Once again, he was right.

Acacia tried to push herself up from the bed, having problems with her balance. "You'd think I'd be used to this after nine months. But here I am, struggling to get up out of bed." She patted her stomach as she spoke to it, "I love you, dearest, but I can't wait to have you out of me and into the world."

Vol smiled at her words and kissed her forehead before he helped her up. She fussed at the help, but she took his hand like she always did.

"Are you ready to go to Dublin, tomorrow?" Acacia looked up at him, her arm curled under her giant tummy as she walked toward the kitchen.

Vol nodded at her, his arm curled protectively around her waist. "Everything's packed in the cart already. I'll be off before the sun rises."

She smiled at him and it took his breath away. It always did. His arm curled tighter around her as he pulled the chair out from the table and pushed the dish of food toward her.

"Promise me you'll be safe." Acacia wouldn't look at him as she spoke the words, fear evident in her voice.

"I promise, love." He reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I'm not going anywhere. Our family's just beginning and I want to see it to the very end."

Acacia smiled weakly at him before she picked up her fork and began to eat, her stomach growling fiercely at her.

Vol smiled back at her, his wide mouth stretching. He would keep that promise to her. Vol swore to himself that he would come back safely to her with lots of treats from town that would hopefully appease the growing child in her belly.

The two laughed and smiled. Talked about the future together and guessed what their child would look like. Acacia believed it was a boy and Vol swore it was a girl. Soon enough, the food was all gone and Vol realized how exhausted his wife was. The two curled up in bed together and drifted into a dreamless sleep, unaware of the tragedy that was just around the bend.

Vol left before the sunrise, just as he promised. He spent one day in the cart on the way to Dublin, another day in town getting all of the supplies that they needed for the winter, and then another day making his way back home. It was a tiring journey, but he would never send his family to go do it; especially not in this day and age where it was full of territorial wars and unhappy villagers.

Dublin was uninteresting at this time of year and he felt uneasy as he shopped around. Vol made sure to buy extra supplies just in case. Everything went by in a blur as he rushed to finish up all that he had to do in town. Then he left as soon as possible so he could get back home to his wife.

After a full day of riding on that god forsaken cart, Vol began to notice the familiar stretch of land that lead up to the Whelon farm. He was so relieved that he could have cried. That uneasy feeling only seemed to grow the closer that he got home and he wanted to get there so he could reassure himself that everything was fine. Acacia would have the baby soon and all would be fine. He just hoped that he hadn’t missed the delivery. Perhaps that was what had him on edge. Maybe she gave birth while he was in town. He knew that would be his luck.

The cart creaked as it went over a hill. Vol looked up into the sky and noticed a thick, black plume of smoke curling up toward the moon. Something twisted in his gut and he tried to see where it was coming from. It couldn't be his house, could it? He rushed his horse, wanting to ease his fears.

It was his home. Both his & Acacia's cottage and his Mother and Sister's cottage were up in flames. He jumped from out of the cart and shot up the hill to the cottage in an inhuman burst of speed.

"This isn't happening." He whispered as he pushed his way into the burning house, screaming out his family's names.

It was happening.

Vol clutched Acacia's dead body to his chest, his lungs rattling painfully with each jagged breath. Everything felt so surreal to him. Just a few days ago, he and Acacia were thinking of names for their baby and now they were both gone. Vol couldn't save them. He wasn't strong enough to.

His ears perked up at the sound of a howl in the woods. He looked toward them, mist curling around the bases of the trees. Something in him was drawn to the woods. He gently set Acacia down and walked toward them, his heart heavy with grief and his sanity completely frayed. But something urged him on.

Another howl pierced the air as a dark shadow drifted lazily through the trees. Vol maneuvered himself in between the trees, tears still pouring down his cheeks.

That was when he caught site of it. A brown wolf stood in the mist, staring at him with inhuman eyes. It looked as if they it exactly what had happened to him, grief etched on its face. Vol took a step toward the creature, noticing it was much too large for a normal wolf. Something in him felt like this was what he needed to do. The wolf nudged its head into his outstretched palm and licked a finger gently.

Before he knew what was happening, the wolf began to change. Bones crunched as limbs elongated and the torso stretched into a human shape. He stepped away from the creature, positive that his grief caused him to hallucinate.

A beautiful woman stood before him. Long, wavy brown hair went down to her hips and she had the exact same inhuman, green stare as that of the wolf. What was this magic?

Vol felt disoriented, his body falling back and hitting the ground before he knew what was going on. The woman leaned down to him, sorrow still evident in her gaze.

"I've waited a long time for you, Voletrius." She smiled bitterly at him.

"What are you talking about? Who the hell..." Suddenly he felt sleepy, his eyelids too heavy for him to bear. He closed them weakly, still able to feel the woman's presence.

"I promise you, you will understand everything within time. I am so sorry." Her voice was soft, yet commanding all at once.

It felt as if thousands of needles pierced into the tender flesh of his shoulder. The woman was biting him, her long canines tearing through his flesh. He could feel his lifeblood pouring out of the wound, pulling him deeper into unconsciousness.

The last thing he remembered was the feeling of air rushing around him as his body was cradled in the wolf woman's arms.