Madman’s Cure: Madman Duet Book Two

by Mason, V. F.

  “Well, too bad, because you’re about to,” Arson says, spinning us around and shooting whoever has come close to my side. “Now!” And with that, he turns us again, all while firing, and I see a guy pointing a gun at me. Thank God for Dad’s hunting trips where he showed us how to use a rifle, even if I hated the sport.

  I remove the safety from the gun when Arson points it out, and with shaking hands I fire, leaning on him a bit.

  He doesn’t budge though, still shooting, and the man falls to the ground, mumbling something.

  But then among all this madness, from the corner of my eye, I notice Uncle fisting Liam’s hair and pulling him in the direction of the waiting car while his guards stand as a protective wall around him.

  He wants to get away?

  Liam extends his hands to me, silently begging me to save him, and ignoring everything else, I run to them.

  Picking up a sword on my way, fury unlike anything I’ve known before fuels my blood while my body hums in anticipation of a real kill.

  Uncle halts his movements, motioning with his hand for me to join them, and barks at the guards, “Make room for my heir.” There is no way to describe how much I fucking hate this word on his lips.

  Walking straight to him, I swing my sword back and forth while he rushes me. “Come on, boy, or we won’t make it. I knew you’d be on my side,” he says with so much pleasure, but it transforms into a loud cry when the tip of the sword pierces his body, sticking out of his back while I hear his guards falling on the ground, bullets taking them one by one.

  Stabbing the sword right into his heart, I watch with enjoyment as he gasps with shock, fear shining brightly for everyone to see on his face and in his eyes.

  He falls to his knees, and I slide the sword back, watching him fall and take his last breath before he is finally gone from this planet.

  One stab and so much satisfaction, my knees almost wobble.

  All these years in his captivity, physical and psychological abuse with constant fear for my loved ones. So many sacrifices like losing Arianna forever, destroying the bond with my twin, and finally, resenting my father for not noticing what was wrong with me.

  All this is no longer important though, because the monster is gone, and I can finally find freedom away from this hell.

  Throwing the sword beside him, because it burns my skin knowing all this is the product of his creation, I spin around only to come face-to-face with several different men who study me curiously.

  I tense inwardly, because even though they killed everyone here, I have no illusions that they are good guys. But then even in the darkness, a cure can be found.

  They all stand on different sides of the blond man in the middle who wears all dark clothes and has a metal cane in his hand that should look out of place on him since he is young, but oddly it doesn’t.

  His blue eyes study me for a fraction of a second before he steps forward, extending his hand to me while I continue to watch him warily. “My name is Lachlan Scott.”

  And that meeting changed my life forever.

  Because after this, the monster inside me awakened and craved the blood and the screams of the persecutors, to make them the victims.

  I lived for the opportunity to get my payback all the fucking time, and in a way killing gave me that.

  I fully committed to the darkness surrounding me, because it gave peace to the little boy living inside me.

  I missed something crucial on that day though.

  Ignored one universal rule that is absolute.

  When one monster is killed… another one is born.

  And if he was fed nothing but hatred and resentment his whole life…

  He becomes one of the worst kinds who won’t ever stop until he gets enough blood, pain, and agony from his victims to feed his cravings.

  However, for the likes of him, there is never enough, because nothing can soothe their nightmares.

  That’s why everyone has to pay for it no matter if they are guilty of the crime or not.

  I celebrated my uncle’s death.

  I should have checked his legacy instead.

  Maybe then it wouldn’t have cost me everything.

  Cassandra

  Closing the laptop, I tangle my fingers in my hair, still reeling from all the information Dr. Allegra dumped on me.

  Her words ring in my ears.

  There are a lot of causes of DID, but mostly it happens when the person wants to dissociate from the situation that’s too hard for them to bear. Think about wanting to run away from something, but it’s physically impossible. So the mind chooses an alternative sort of disappearing and another person is born, who can bear it all. It’s not so much like a new personality but rather a piece of himself that he leaves behind. However many personalities he has living inside him, it’s wrong to assume they are entirely different people. Sometimes they just allow themselves to do things the host is not brave enough to do. In the case of abuse, there is always one alter who faces it; he might become violent or feel resentment toward the host for being weak. It’s rare for him to have only one alter though. Are you sure there are not more of them living inside him?

  What could have possibly happened to him as a child for his subconscious to create someone as violent as Eunan? I might have thought it all started with Eachann dying, but it doesn’t add up with his father’s cold behavior toward his older son.

  Maybe his mother leaving affected him so much he couldn’t handle it? But would such a desire create an alter ego? Lots of kids lose their parents through divorce; somehow, I don’t think it would be the cause of it.

  In his case though, the alter doesn’t hate him or consider him weak, no. He loves Eudard and wants to protect him, even if the host body is a serial killer.

  Which is another thing.

  It’s not his alter who craves blood and the desire to kill; it’s Eudard himself. Otherwise, an alter wouldn’t have accepted living as a priest and preaching goodness to people, no matter how much he loved the host. So even if a DID episode causes amnesia where one doesn’t remember what happened to him because the mind is protecting the host, for Eudard to develop these urges, it means he had to be present for some of them.

  No one is born a monster; they become one under certain upbringing or situations. Serial killers always have a signature that allows for one to understand what happened to him and who he is killing over and over again when he does his horrifying deeds.

  It’s like each time he wants to repeatedly punish the one who created him, either after killing the source of his fury or fighting for the likes of those the creator might touch.

  Even the smallest of things can trigger him.

  One thing is clear though.

  I won’t leave Eudard alone in the darkness again. I’ll listen to him and put everything out in the open.

  Glancing at the clock on the wall, I frown, noticing that around seven hours have passed since I’ve arrived home. All things considered, shouldn’t Eudard be here demanding me to come back or worse, kidnap me?

  Why isn’t he here?

  The minute this thought flashes in my head, I hear a loud thumping on the door and jump up from my seat, rushing to the door, because it might seriously break under such blows.

  Without glancing in the peep hole, I open the door, ready to face Eudard’s fury before soothing it with my acceptance, but my eyes widen in shock when I see Cole standing on my porch, his hands fisted tightly while he seethes in my direction.

  “You!” I try to shut the door in his face, but he forcefully pushes himself inside, causing me to stumble back while he points his finger at me. “You ruined everything for me!” He darts toward me, but I move back swiftly, avoiding his lunge at me and darting to the side. He groans in pain when his hip collides with the hallway table. “You turned Dorothy crazy and destroyed Patricia's marriage.” There is so much hatred coating his voice, and I can almost taste his anger on my lips; this is how much he tarnishes the energy around us
. “A few days ago, I had two sponsors for my art. Patricia planned to open a gallery just for me in this town. But now it’s not going to happen!” he screams, pushing himself from the table and extending his hand toward me. But once again, I lean to the side, and he hits the wall this time, groaning as he clutches his hip. As he continues his tirade, I hectically search for any kind of weapon I can use on him to defuse his madness.

  I should have predicted that one way to break Cole is to threaten his art; that’s his one true love that no one can touch.

  He destroyed my spirit just to paint me on canvas. That should have been enough for me to have anticipated this outcome, but I stupidly ignored the warnings.

  “I have nothing now! Nothing!” He pulls at his hair, groaning and chanting. “I had everything, everything.” His eyes focus on me, and such darkness crosses them I blink in surprise from the impact of it as chills rush down my spine. “You came to this town all beautiful and destroyed everything.” He hits his chest. “I even wanted to paint you,” he announces like I should be flattered or something, so I can’t help but chuckle at this.

  It only fuels his anger more. “How dare you laugh at me? Everyone in this town hates me now! What have I ever don—” The words stick in his throat and his mouth drops while his gaze is practically glued on me, and I think he must have stopped to breathe for a fraction of a second.

  What’s going on?

  “Violet eyes,” he finally whispers, and I gasp, remembering I haven’t put my contacts in. “Only one person in my memory had eyes like that.” He shakes his head in disbelief, slapping his cheeks several times while still looking at me. “Arianna,” he says, and I lift my chin high, nodding, because fuck him and everyone else.

  I don’t give a shit about keeping it a secret anymore. I want to finish this vengeance once and for all, so I can understand what’s going on with the man I love.

  All I want is their suffering; no more prolonging it or playing games.

  “Yes.”

  “So that’s why.” His demeanor instantly changes; his face softens, and he presses his palm against his mouth. “Your portrait has been my greatest artistic accomplishment.” He sighs in wonder. “You’ve been my one true love.” Freaking what now? “But you ruined me!” He crouches slightly and jumps on me. I slam into the kitchen wall with nowhere to escape, ready to scream.

  Cole is pulled back right just as he’s about to touch me.

  “Eudard,” I whisper when I see him move from behind Cole and twist him around to face the wall, knocking him into it. A loud scream accompanies the crack that echoes in the house.

  He is wearing black jeans, shirt, and boots, along with leather gloves. All this combined with his looks and sinister aura that dominates the energy around us almost makes me think we’ve entered hell and are being greeted by the devil.

  He pays me no attention as he pulls a groaning Cole back and then slams him into the wall again. I’m so shocked by the sight I don’t even care about Cole’s blood smearing my walls.

  All I can do is stare at Eudard as none of his muscles even twitch; instead, his face is blank as he hauls Cole back once again. But this time, before slamming him, he says in a tone so deadly and low I rub my arms from the goose bumps breaking on my skin, “You hurt what’s mine.” And another slam with Cole’s whimper reverberates around the walls. “Only a fool does that.”

  Cole breathes heavily, and when Eudard lets him go, he slides down the wall, falling on his side and splaying on his back with blood dripping from his forehead and nose.

  He appears unconscious. Only by his chest rising and falling do I know he is alive.

  Eudard and I have eyes only for each other, though, as he removes the leather gloves finger by finger and then throws them on the floor before he steps over Cole, moving toward me. I do the same, ending up in his arms, but he doesn’t hug me.

  Oh no.

  Instead, he cups my nape, tilting my head back, while his other hand slides from my neck to my shoulder then waist. His eyes track his hand burning me with his touch. “Are you all right?” he asks as our gazes clash, and I nod, basking in his warmth and thinking what an idiot I’ve been.

  Did I really think I could run away from us?

  It’s impossible now.

  I think it was always impossible; I just never wanted to admit it.

  His hand slides to my hair, fisting it as he brings us closer with his mouth a breath away from mine. “You are mine. Always have been, always will be,” he says, and I freeze at the harshness of his words. “There is no place where you can hide from me, no people who can keep you safe from me. No matter where you run, I’ll always catch you and trap you. Do you understand?”

  Each of his words ring with possessiveness and desire so strong it sends a thrill down my spine, and I sway toward him, but he is not finished.

  “Do not ever run away from me again. I might be a monster, but I’m your monster.” His lips rub against mine, while he whispers over them, “But other monsters aren’t yours. And as such, they can hurt what’s mine. Put yourself in danger one more time, Arianna, and I swear to the devil, you won’t like it.” Even though he says these words, it’s hard for me to imagine him ever hurting me.

  And that should have been a clue for me all along that I’m forever safe with him.

  But it doesn’t change the fact that I don’t know him, and we have no future if he doesn’t share.

  He presses his forehead against mine, inhaling my scent, and I exhale in relief from the earlier shock. As long as he is close, I’m okay, and maybe that should worry me.

  That I give him so much power. But it doesn’t.

  “Not that this display of ownership is not amusing as fuck or anything,” an unfamiliar husky voice says from behind Eudard, “but I’m starting to get bored.” Grabbing Eudard’s arms, I lean to the side to look at the man perching against the doorjamb, cocking his head to the side while he watches Cole. “Now this”—he points at him with his glove-covered finger—“looks like fun.”

  Yeah.

  He must be another serial killer.

  Is there like, a never-ending supply of them or something that they keep up with one another? How do they find each other anyway?

  I should have thought about this harder back at Lachlan’s mansion, because apparently I’ll have to face these guys often now.

  My brows furrow at this realization, because for all I know, maybe Eudard is not friends with them.

  Eudard tenses against me and then throws over his shoulder “Join in if you want.”

  The stranger rubs his hands together, winking at me. “My pleasure.” He steps forward, and I can study his features. My mouth almost drops at how… unusual he looks, but I stop myself at the last minute, not wanting to seem rude or anything.

  Which is hilarious in and of itself, all things considered.

  He is wearing a leather jacket and jeans, that showcase his muscled physique and broad shoulders, and boots. He must be as tall as Eudard is. The stranger has purple hair—which suits his tanned skin—that falls slightly below his ears with half of his head shaved.

  But that’s not the most striking thing about his features.

  This honor belongs to his different eyes with one being deep brown while the other light green, creating such a contrast on his face I’m not sure where to focus my attention.

  Despite his amused tone, there is so much ice in his gaze that I can feel the cold from it even here.

  I wouldn’t want to meet this guy in a dark alley is all I’m saying.

  Ignoring the man completely, Eudard swings back to me and orders, “Pack your things.”

  “Why?” I ask absently, still wondering who the hell this guy is who kicks Cole and then presses the tip of his leather shoe to his chin, twisting his head back and forth, chuckling once again.

  Cole must be hilarious entertainment for the guy.

  “I’m taking you to my mansion.”

  My brows furrow, and I step
back only to be dragged to his chest again with him growling at me in warning. “I won’t go anywhere,” I tell him, but by how much his body tenses, I know he doesn’t appreciate my refusal. “Especially to your house.” I’ve never set foot there since he treated me like crap after we turned six. Whenever I showed up there, he would scream that the help shouldn’t be around and shit like that.

  Not to mention what his father did to my family, after all the threats… no freaking way.

  “I’m not asking.” His voice drops an octave and his hold on my arm tightens, making me wince slightly. I try to twist away from him, but he doesn’t even budge. “Either pack your bag or I’ll drag you with me without it.” By how hard his jaw is set, I know he absolutely will follow up on his threat and won’t care about my protests one bit.

  With annoyance nipping at my skin at his behavior with me—in front of a stranger no less, like I have no mind of my own or should do whatever he wants me to—I almost slip into our familiar pattern where I fight with him till my last breath and blame him for all the evilness in this world.

  But I promised myself not to run, and Allegra’s words ring in my head.

  If the alter is violent only on the outside but protects the host, then he will never hurt the one the host loves.

  Eudard hasn’t shown these obsessive tendencies toward me before, but maybe I’ve been too blind to notice them.

  In any case, I’ll break all our patterns and focus only on discovering the truth between us.

  Only then will we have a chance, which gives hope to my heart while my mind curses me with never-ending words, claiming I’ve lost my mind for falling in love with a monster.

  Taking a deep breath, I say quietly, “Please let go of me.” He closes his eyes at my request, breathing through his nose, but his hand slips away from me, even though his green pools flash in anticipation once their gaze is back on me, ready for the fight he thinks is inevitable. “Thank you.” Then I address the man behind him who still inspects Cole, even though I have a suspicion he is listening to us curiously. “Hi, my name is Cassandra. You are in my home.” I state the obvious, and he smirks. “I haven’t invited you. Next time, do not enter my house without my permission.” Then I turn my focus back on Eudard. “Give me twenty minutes, and I’ll be back with my bag.” Surprise crosses his face, but he says nothing. “And get him out of my house.” I point at Cole, sparing him one last glance, and dwell on my feelings.