But he did look royally pissed.
When the crawlers turned Maximus towards the oak tree and he saw me his eyes widened, then narrowed. I could see his mouth working around the gag, but it was tied too tightly for any intelligible words to escape.
“You know, I never liked him,” Travis said.
“Shut up,” I said tersely.
“Whoa. Harsh much? I thought we were best friends.”
“We’re not friends because you’re not Travis.”
“If I’m not Travis then how do I know your favorite pizza is pepperoni and black olive – totally gross by the way – and you hate math and you still don’t have your driver’s license?”
I pinched my eyes shut. If Anthony’s intention was to break me he’d found a damn good way to do it. I didn’t know how much more of this I could take.
“You’re not Travis,” I repeated. “Travis is dead. Now shut your mouth before I shut it for you.”
He chortled under his breath. “Still the same old Lola. This is going to be so much fun.”
The crawlers led Maximus to the steel pole and handcuffed him to the chain while the female drinker watched, her hands on her hips. When Maximus was secured she directed her attention to me.
“Anthony wants her untied.”
“You got it.” Stepping behind me Travis made quick work of the ropes binding my hands. The instant the rope fell away I grabbed onto my left wrist, wincing in pain. It was better than it had been, but it was still swollen and bruised and pretty much useless.
I looked up when everyone around me stiffened, including Maximus.
With all the regal bearing of a king Anthony walked out of the farmhouse. His dark eyes lit up when he saw me. “Are you ready?” he asked.
I glanced around. Everyone except for Travis had stepped away from the oak tree, leaving us standing alone at the edge of the mowed circle. From his post ten feet away Maximus made a loud growling sound and rattled his chain.
“I will be the first to admit it’s a bit crude,” Anthony said. “In my day we would have used an actual arena. But alas, there wasn’t time to build one. Catch, my dear.”
I barely had time to throw my hand up as a knife came flying straight at my head. By some miracle I managed to grab it by the handle. The knife wasn’t long, six or seven inches at most, but it was sharp and curved and definitely counted as a weapon. “What am I supposed to do with this?”
“Do with it?” Anthony’s head tilted to the side as though my confusion genuinely bewildered him. “Why, use it to kill your best friend of course.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Blood Games
THE CRAWLERS HISSED AND HOWLED as the female drinker shoved me into the middle of the circle. I whirled around, the knife gripped tightly in my right hand.
“No way.” Black hair tangled around my shoulders as I shook my head. Travis might not have been Travis, but that didn’t mean I would be able to kill him. Look into the freckled-face of my best friend and plunge a literal dagger into his heart? I would rather die first. “Not going to happen. You might as well slit my throat right now because there is no way I’m going to play your sick, twisted game.”
Anthony sighed. “I thought you would say that. Which is why I have… Gloria, what’s that clever saying the humans use when they play cards?”
The female drinker’s smile was pure evil. “Up the ante.”
“Ah yes. That’s it. I am going to up the ante. If you kill Travis, I will let you and all of your friends go.”
“You’re lying,” I said flatly.
“Me? Lie?” He flattened a hand against his chest. “Never. I am nothing if not a man of my word. Kill Travis and you and your friends will be set free. Refuse to fight and you and your friends will pray for death before I am done with you. The terms are really quite simple. And rather generous, if I do say so myself. So what will be it be, my dear?”
Mind racing, I looked down at the knife and up at Travis. Could I really do it? Could I really fight my best friend to the death? If I didn’t, Anthony would kill everyone I loved. And if I did…if I did I would be killing myself.
“What about Maximus?” I said, jerking my chin in his direction. He was staring straight at me, muscles bulging from the force he was exerting trying to free himself from the chain that kept him tethered to the pole.
Anthony’s eyes narrowed. “What about Maximus?”
“If I fight, he goes free. Even if – even if I die.” I swallowed hard. “That’s part of the deal.”
“Oh, very well. I suppose I can always hunt him down later. I do like a good chase.”
“Fine. I’ll do it.”
“Excellent!” Anthony declared, clapping his hands together. “Travis my boy, are you ready?”
Moonlight reflected off Travis’ fangs as he grinned. “Ready.”
“Then let the blood games begin!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Broken
TRAVIS STEPPED INTO THE CIRCLE. He didn’t have a weapon, but then he didn’t need one. We squared off, both of us crouching low as we circled one another. He snapped his teeth together and feinted left, testing me. I held my ground, keeping my gaze pinned on his electric blue eyes, using them to remind me that the boy in front of me wasn’t a boy at all, but a monster.
“I’ve waited a long time for this,” he said as we continued to go around and around, each one of us looking for an opening. “You always thought you were better than me. Cooler than me. Smarter than me.”
I clenched my jaw together to keep myself from answering. If I was going to do this and not get killed in the process then I couldn’t afford to break my concentration, even for a second.
“Now who’s better?” he hissed. Without warning he lunged forward, right arm extended. I brought the knife up between us. The blade glanced off his arm, drawing blood. In unison the crawlers jeered and booed and shook their fists in the air while Anthony watched in silence, his dark gaze bright with anticipation.
“Ouch.” For an instant Travis looked like his old self as he glanced down at the cut on his arm. Afraid. Unsure. Nervous. But as I waited for his next move, struggling to keep my emotions in check, the cut healed itself and when he lifted his head I saw nothing familiar in his cold, cunning expression. “You’re going to pay for that.”
This time when he lunged I couldn’t get my hand up in time. He shoved me to the ground. I landed hard on my back, the breath knocked out of me.
With a savage growl he brought his fist up and I managed to roll out of the way just as he brought it crashing down where my head had been. My knee screamed as I twisted my body and jumped to my feet behind Travis. He spun around to face me and I launched myself at him.
It was like hitting a solid brick wall.
He laughed when I bounced back, dazed from the impact. Black dots danced in front of my eyes and I shook my head as my vision blurred.
Travis was strong. Stronger than I’d thought he would be.
And I had no idea how I was supposed to beat him.
“Not so much fun when you’re weak, is it?” he taunted as he circled me. “Now you know what I felt like all those years when you pretended to be my friend.”
“I never pretended anything,” I bit out.
“Sure you did. After all, why would someone like you ever want to be friends with someone like me? I’ll tell you why. Because it made you feel powerful. It made you feel strong. But you’re not strong, Lola. You’re just a screwed up girl with daddy issues.”
I ducked when he went for my throat and he caught my hair instead, ripping it out as he went flying past. Snarling, he spun back and attacked again. This time instead of deflecting the blow or trying to dodge it I met it head on and we went down to the ground in a tangle of arms and legs.
His claws caught my cheek. My knee jabbed into his stomach. We rolled across the grass, kicking up clods of dirt while the crawlers shrieked and howled.
I screamed when Travis sank his tee
th into my shoulder. Shaking his head like a wild dog he ripped out a chunk of my flesh and spat it out before leering down at me with a bloody, gruesome smile.
“Not bad, Lola, but not quite good enough.”
I closed my eyes when his fangs went for my throat and brought my hands up between us with all of the strength I had left.
Travis’ eyes bulged as the knife slid between his ribs and plunged into his heart. With a bloody gurgle he rolled off me and onto his back, blue eyes glazing over as he stared up at the stars.
The crawlers went silent.
Somehow, someway I managed to stand up. My arms went limp and the knife, the knife stained with the blood of my best friend, dropped to the ground.
“There,” I said flatly, lifting my head to glare at Anthony. “It’s done. Now keep your word and let my friends go.”
He rubbed his chin, his face devoid of all expression. “It’s not done yet, my dear.” His gaze dropped to Travis who was gasping for air, each breath more shallow than the last. “You know what you have to do.”
Yes I did, but knowing it and doing it were two completely different things.
Steeling myself I picked up the knife and fell to my knees beside Travis.
He turned his head ever-so-slightly. “Hey…you.”
“Hey you.” Tears flooded my eyes and spilled over my lashes. Biting back a sob I brought my hand up and gently cupped his cheek. He leaned into the pressure and closed his eyes. When he opened them again they were brown instead of blue and I felt my heart shatter into a thousand pieces.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“No.” I brushed my thumb across his freckles. “You have nothing to apologize for. I’m the one who’s sorry. I should have been a better friend, Travis.”
“You were…the best friend…I ever had.” A trickle of blood spilled out of the corner of his mouth. He looked at the knife I held clenched in my hand. “Do it…please.”
“I can’t.” I didn’t care that I was openly weeping. All I cared about was that I finally had Travis back and now I was going to lose him all over again. “I can’t do it.”
“Yes you can. I…I don’t want to be this anymore. Please,” he gasped, “don’t make me be this anymore.”
“Okay, Travis. Okay,” I repeated softly. “Close your eyes and think of something happy. Well?” I asked when his mouth curved in a smile. “What are you thinking about? Girls in bikinis or what?”
“Us,” he said as his smile grew even bigger. “I’m thinking about…us.”
Blinking back tears, I lifted the knife up…and brought it slicing down.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Unfinished Business
IN THE END ANTHONY WAS true to his word. He let all of us go. Maximus. Dad. Hunter. Hayley. The Jocks and the rest of the Barbie Squad. Even crazy Fiona. I didn’t know what happened to Rose.
And I really didn’t care.
We got the four-wheelers out of the woods. I rode with Hunter. Fiona went with Maximus. She babbled the entire way back to the middle school, making up one silly rhyme after another.
I didn’t say a word.
Ms. Siegel and Becca were waiting for us at the front door. Leaving Hunter and Hayley to explain what had happened I walked around the back of the school and threw up in the bushes. Wiping my mouth with the hem of my t-shirt I staggered over to the playground and sank down onto one of the swings. When Dad came up I just shook my head. After a moment of awkward silence he walked away, his hands buried in the front pockets of his jeans. I wanted to talk to him but I couldn’t. Not right now.
I swung mindlessly back and forth as dawn slowly unfurled, painting the sky in long streaks of gold and red and orange. It was a beautiful sunrise. The kind that poets wrote about. But all I could think was that Travis would never see it.
Because of me he would never see anything again.
I thought I had felt pain before, but it was nothing compared to this. I was numb. Empty. Drained. Part of me wished I could have died along with Travis, because surely that would have been better than this. This feeling of complete and utter despair.
Travis’ death hadn’t just broken my heart. It had stolen a piece of my soul.
Just like Anthony had intended.
He never wanted to kill me. That would have been too easy. Too quick. Too humane. Instead he’d wanted to make me suffer as he had suffered. And for that he needed more.
Had I really thought death was the worst thing that could happen to a person?
How naïve I was. Death would have been a merciful kindness compared to stabbing a knife through my best friend’s heart.
I didn’t jump when I felt a hand press into the small of my back. I didn’t even turn around. I knew who it was. I knew what I wanted to say. And despite the anguish tearing me apart from the inside out my voice was calm and steady.
“Go away, Maximus.”
“Your shoulder needs tending,” he said quietly.
I bit back a hysterical laugh. My shoulder? What was an injured shoulder compared to a broken heart? “Someone else can take care of it. I don’t need you to fix me up anymore. You’ve done enough damage.”
I didn’t hate Maximus. I wanted to. I wanted to hate him more than I wanted to breathe. But I couldn’t. Even after everything I had gone through, even after all of the lies and the half-truths and the secrets he’d kept from me I couldn’t hate him.
But I couldn’t trust him either.
“You should have told me about Anthony.”
Maximus’ hand fell away from my back. “I know.”
I could have asked him why he hadn’t. I could have screamed and yelled until I was blue in the face. But what would be the point? We’d already been down this road before. “I want you to leave, Maximus. I want you to leave and this time I don’t want you to come back.”
“Lola–”
“Tell me about Daniella,” I said, cutting him off before he could use his words to manipulate his way back into my heart. Stopping the swing I looked at him over my shoulder and saw the flash of pain in his eyes before his expression grew shuttered.
“I do not want to talk about her.”
“She was human, like me. And you loved her.” Like me. I didn’t say the words out loud but they hung in the air between us all the same. “Anthony killed her, didn’t he? So you killed Angelique.”
His jaw clenched. “I killed Angelique to protect you.”
“You killed Angelique,” I repeated, “but not before she turned Travis. It was her, wasn’t it? I thought so,” I murmured when Maximus gave a curt nod. Another puzzle piece tumbled into place. “This was never about me or him. It was always about you and Anthony. Travis and I just got stuck in the middle.”
“It is far more complicated than that. You don’t understand.”
“And I don’t want to understand. You might pretend like you’re different than the other drinkers. Like you’re better. Like you’re human. But you’re not, Maximus.” I met his gaze. “You’re not different. You’re not better. And you’re not human. I want you to leave now.”
His jaw clenched. “You don’t mean that.”
“Leave,” I said emotionlessly. “I don’t care where you go. I don’t care what you do. Just leave.”
He stared at me for a few seconds longer, as though he was committing my face to memory. Then without another word he turned around and walked away.
WHEN I LIMPED INTO THE gym everything was packed up and ready to go. We were heading for the Poconos just like we’d originally planned. The four-wheelers were lined up out front, ready and waiting. Everyone looked somber, but there was underlying note of excitement in the air as they picked up the last of the bags and headed for the door.
“Stop,” I whispered. It was the first word I’d spoken to them since we’d left the farmhouse.
No one heard me.
“STOP!”
Hunter turned around first. Dropping the duffel bag he was carrying he sprinted across the gy
m. After a moment of hesitation everyone else followed.
“Lola, what is it?” Hunter asked, his green eyes filled with concern. “What’s wrong?”
What’s wrong? I thought bitterly. What’s wrong is that I just killed my best friend.
“We can’t leave. Not yet.”
“What do you mean?” Hayley asked. “We’re ready. Everything’s packed. Are we missing something? Becca, did you get my makeup bag?”
Becca nodded. “It’s on top of your t-shirts.”
“We can’t leave,” I repeated.
Hunter gently took my hand. “Lola, we have to leave.”
“And do what?” Fire snapped in my eyes as I looked up at him. “Run? Keep running? They’ll just chase us.”
He shrugged helplessly. “What other choice do we have?”
“We can fight. The drinkers have taken everything from us. Our families. Our friends. Our homes.” My nails bit into my palms as my hands curled into fists. “And they’ll just keep taking. They’ll never stop. Unless we make them stop.”
“Lola.” Dad stepped up on my other side and rested his hand on my shoulder. “I know you’re upset about Travis and you have every right to be. But staying here won’t help anyone.”
I set my jaw. “I don’t want to stay here.”
“Then what do you want?” Hayley asked.
“What do I want?” One by one I looked at everyone in turn, holding their stares, defying the fear I saw reflected in their eyes.
This was bigger than us now. More important than any one individual. The drinkers had drawn their line in the sand and we could either turn the other way…or take that line and wrap it around their throats.
“I want to bring the fight to them.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jillian Eaton grew up in Maine and now lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and their three goofy dogs. They are expecting their first child soon. Jillian loves horses, coffee, getting email from readers, ducks, and staying up late finishing a good book.
The Lola Chronicles (Book 2): A Day Without Dawn Page 20
