Ruthless Idols
Michelle Hercules
Contents
1. Rufio
2. Daisy
3. Bryce
4. Daisy
5. Rufio
6. Daisy
7. Bryce
8. Rufio
9. Daisy
10. Daisy
11. Rufio
12. Morpheus
13. Daisy
14. Rufio
15. Phoenix
16. Daisy
17. Daisy
18. Bryce
19. Daisy
20. Daisy
21. Daisy
22. Bryce
23. Phoenix
24. Morpheus
25. Daisy
26. Daisy
27. Daisy
28. Rufio
29. Daisy
30. Daisy
31. Rufio
32. Daisy
33. Bryce
34. Daisy
35. Daisy
36. Rufio
37. Daisy
38. Daisy
39. Daisy
40. Daisy
41. Phoenix
42. Daisy
43. Morpheus
44. Rufio
45. Daisy
46. Phoenix
47. Morpheus
48. Daisy
49. Daisy
Also by Michelle Hercules
About the Author
Ruthless Idols © 2019 by Michelle Hercules
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover Design: Book Cover Luv
Editor: Hot Tree Editing
1
Rufio
Morpheus’s parents live in Everdale, which is an hour away from school. I made the trip in thirty minutes. By the time I pulled in front of their two-story home, Morpheus was almost completely frozen. He had stopped screaming, but his silence was more worrisome.
Morpheus’s mother took him into a room as soon as she laid eyes on him and only came out to answer the door for two Idols dressed in elaborate robes. We’ve been waiting for nearly six hours for an update.
“This is crazy. What the hell are they doing there?” Phoenix asks, sounding as anxious as I feel.
Shoulders hunched forward and leaning my elbows on my knees, I stare at my phone. I’ve been calling Bryce since four in the morning and nothing. He’s never gone off the grid so long before.
“Still no word from your brother?” Phoenix continues.
“No.”
I’m about to call him again when the door at the end of the hallway finally opens and the two Idols who had come in earlier exit Morpheus’s room. Both Phoenix and I jump to our feet.
The men walk silently toward the exit, but hell if I’m going let them leave without giving us an update.
With long strides, I cut across the room and block their way. “How is he?”
Both men just stare at me blankly. It takes me a few seconds to realize both are blind. But are they deaf too?
“Hello? My friend asked you question.” Phoenix applies pressure.
“We did what we could. Now we must wait.”
“Wait for what?” I ask, my voice rising.
In that precise moment, my phone begins to ring. I glance down and see it’s Bryce calling. Finally.
“For Morpheus to take back what the shadows stole,” the second man replies.
“What kind of bullshit is that?” Phoenix asks, amplifying his Idol power. It doesn’t change their neutral expressions at all.
Fuck. We're not getting anything from these guys.
I whirl around and answer Bryce’s call before it goes to voice mail.
“Bryce, where the fuck were you? We’ve been calling nonstop,” I say.
“I can’t explain right now. What’s going on? Where’s Daisy?” He sounds agitated.
I run my hand through my hair as I look at Phoenix. The mysterious Idols are gone. Great.
“Shit, man. A lot’s happened. You picked the wrong weekend to disappear,” I reply finally.
“Just answer the question already. Is Daisy all right?” he snaps, putting me on high alert. Why is he so worried about Daisy? Does he know what happened at the beach?
“I don’t know. But listen, Bryce. You have to get back to school as soon as you can. Shit happened last Saturday, and Daisy isn’t safe.”
“Why aren’t you in school?” he asks.
“Morpheus got really sick, and we had to bring him to his mother.”
“What happened to him?”
“We still don’t know. But don’t worry about Morpheus. Phoenix and I got this. You need to check on Daisy.” I put extra emphasis on the latter. I’m fucking worried about both Morpheus and Daisy, but Bryce doesn’t need to be. I want him focused on Daisy’s safety for reasons still unknown to me.
You’re so full of shit, Rufio. You know very well why. I stomp on my pesky thoughts, refusing to believe my motives have anything to do with feelings I abhor.
The call goes silent all of a sudden.
“Bryce? Are you still there?” I ask, getting no response.
“Call dropped?” Phoenix approaches.
“Yeah. Fuck. Today is turning out to be hell.”
I call my brother again, only to get his voice mail instead. “Son of a bitch. I think his phone died.”
Phoenix rubs his chin and focuses on nothing in particular. “We messed up, Rufio. We were supposed to let Daisy drown.”
There’s no conviction in Phoenix’s tone, but I get angry all the same. “I’m not done with her.”
Phoenix peers over his shoulder, brow furrowed. “Cut the bullshit, Rufio. You don’t want to kill her or even hurt her anymore.”
I open my mouth to offer a retort, but I can’t. I just begged Bryce to protect Daisy. I could say I’m protecting her from others because I’m the one who wants to torture her, but what would be the point? It’d be a lie.
“If it makes you feel better, I don’t want to hurt her either,” Phoenix continues.
I clamp my jaw shut. What am I supposed to say to that? In the past few days, Phoenix was the one thirstier for revenge.
“How is that going to make me feel better?” I reply. “She’s a Norm who, somehow, has managed to whip both of us.”
Phoenix’s eyes flash with anger. “I’m not whipped.”
Whatever. With a shake of my head, I veer toward the hallway. I’m done waiting for Mrs. Malek to give us an update.
“Where are you going?” Phoenix asks.
“To get answers.”
At least some answers. Figuring out why Daisy has a hold on Phoenix, Bryce, and me will have to come later.
Halfway down the corridor, the door to Morpheus’s room opens and his mother steps out. She looks distraught as she fixes her gaze on me.
“How is he?” I ask.
“I did what I could. The bracelets have been reinforced, but now it’s up to Morpheus to regain control of his powers.”
“What about the god who was punishing
him?”
There’s no need to get into details with Mrs. Malek. She’s the only adult who knows about what happened on that island of horrors. She’s the one who found us, after all.
A spark of fear shines in the woman’s eyes for a fleeting moment. “He’s gone for now.”
“We all disobeyed him. Why was he only punishing Morpheus?” Phoenix asks.
Mrs. Malek averts her gaze. “Morpheus wants to talk to you. I’m going to brew some tea.”
With quick steps, she walks around us and disappears through a set of double doors.
“For fuck’s sake. What’s up with everyone’s cloak-and-dagger attitude? Can’t they just give us as a straight answer?” Phoenix asks.
I snort. “Please. Since when do fucking parents make it easy for us? If we want answers, we gotta get them ourselves.”
I enter Morpheus’s childhood room, finding it as warm as a sauna. The curtains are open, revealing a room that hasn’t changed much since a young Morpheus occupied it. The shelves on the wall opposite his single bed are still filled with toys and children’s books.
Morpheus is sitting up on his bed, propped against a couple pillows. Several blankets are on top of him, including the bedspread depicting a cartoon superhero. He’s also wearing a wool beanie.
“Hey, guys,” he croaks.
“Dude, you look like hell,” Phoenix points out.
“Thanks for that useless observation, jackass.” Morpheus takes a sip of the steamy beverage in his hand.
I notice the shadows are still swirling around his wrists, but I can’t tell if they’re covering his entire arms like before.
“Your mother told us the god is gone,” I say.
Morpheus flinches a little. “Yeah. The Zions were able to kick him out of my head.”
“Zions? I thought those dudes were priests or some shit like that.” Phoenix rubs the back of his neck.
“Same crap, different name,” Morpheus replies.
“Did he tell you why he was punishing you and not us?” I ask.
Morpheus gives me a droll stare. “Do you think that asshole would give us any explanation for his actions? He’s a fucking god.”
“But you’re good now?” Phoenix moves closer to the bed.
Morpheus sets the mug on the nightstand and glances at his wrists. He pulls a sleeve of his sweater up, revealing the shadows are only concentrated around his bracelets.
“The Scions—” Phoenix starts.
“Zions,” Morpheus corrects him.
“Yeah, yeah.” Phoenix waves his hand dismissively. “They said you had to take back what the shadows stole. What did they mean by that?”
Morpheus shrugs. “I have no clue. My dignity?” He drops his chin, crossing his arms over his chest. “I hate this.”
“Why can’t you control the shadows?” I ask bluntly. “You’re as powerful as Phoenix and me, but you need those bracelets to contain them. I don’t get it.”
Morpheus’s dark gaze pierces me, leveling me with the weight of his hard stare. “Damn, Rufio. If I knew the answer to that, I wouldn’t be sipping hot chocolate in my old bedroom at my parents’ house.”
He pushes the blankets away and throws his legs over the side of the bed. “Let’s get out of here. The last thing I want is to bump into my father.”
“He wasn’t around when we brought you in,” I say.
“That doesn’t surprise me.” Morpheus stands, wincing as he does.
“Need help there, buddy?” Phoenix makes a motion to grab his arm, but Morpheus hisses.
“If you touch me, you’ll lose a limb.”
Phoenix takes a step back, lifting his hands in a sign of backing down. “Jeez, I was just trying to help.”
“Spare me.”
“All right, then. Let’s go.” I veer for the door.
Morpheus is not completely recovered, that much is obvious, but I won’t convince him to wait a little more. He’s a big boy, and most importantly, the urgency to return to campus is overwhelming.
I need to know if Daisy is okay, as much as the thought dismays me.
“You’re not getting any more warnings about the Norm, are you, Morpheus?” Phoenix asks when we’re out in the hallway.
“Nothing as specific as when I did last Saturday, but it doesn’t mean shit. My gift is linked to these damn shadows, and now that the bracelets have been reinforced, I doubt I’ll get a premonition any time soon.”
A blanket of silence descends on our group. Too much has happened in only a few days, life-altering events, and I, for once, am clueless of what my role in this new reality is. I’m an Idol, taught to hate Norms and sworn to destroy the weak. But when the call came, I ignored it.
We all should have listened to Morpheus when he said Daisy was bad news. There’s no doubt now that he was right, and yet I don’t care. The yearning and raw need I felt when I didn’t know who she was at Unearthly Desires has only grown. There’s a fine line between hating and wanting someone, and I’ve crossed that line with the Norm. It’s like there was a vital piece of me missing all these years, and Daisy is it. The brutal truth is that if she’s meant to be our destruction, I want her to wreck me.
2
Daisy
We’re surrounded by several people, a mix of faculty and students. But the teacher who tossed me out of the window is not among the crowd, mercifully. Principal Fallon breaks away from the group and approaches us. Bryce holds me tighter, angling his body so he’s protecting me.
“Miss Woods, are you okay?” she asks.
“She’s fine now, but no thanks to you,” Bryce snaps.
His harsh tone matches the energy I sense surrounding his body. Strangely, the sensation is different than when I felt his power before. It’s more acute.
“I’m okay,” I say.
Bryce turns to me, his eyes filled with savage intensity. I prefer the passion from before.
“Who threw you out the window?” he asks in a voice that’s low and dangerous.
“I don’t know his name. It was a teacher.”
His nostrils flare and his eyes narrow. My body begins to shake, but it takes me a second to realize it’s not me who’s trembling. Bryce is.
“I’m going to kill him,” he grits out.
“Mr. Rogers has been detained, and he’ll be dealt with by the authorities,” Principal Fallon says.
“We’ll see about that.” Bryce stares Principal Fallon straight in her eyes, and even though he’s in a lower position, he still feels more threatening than her.
As for me, I’m confused as hell. I’m pretty sure I died, but somehow Bryce was able to heal all my injuries. That he could do that was a surprise, but not as astonishing as the fact that he wanted to save me. The earth-shattering kiss that followed was just the cherry on top.
Bryce slides his arms under my body and stands up. It feels amazing to be cradled against his chest like this, but I don’t want to appear weak.
“Bryce, you can put me down now. I can walk.”
He watches me closely for a moment, his eyebrows furrowed together. I reach for his cheek, something I’d never thought I would do to an Idol ever.
“Seriously. I’m okay.” I smile a little to make my point.
The tension on his face eases a tad, but it’s not enough for me. I get that he’s worried, and the notion fills my heart with a powerful emotion that makes me giddy. Feeling bold, I brush my thumb over his lips. They part as he takes in a sharp breath. He brings his mouth closer to mine, but a throat clearing halts his progress.
“Bryce, Daisy needs to see the nurse immediately,” Principal Fallon says.
With a sigh, Bryce puts me down, but he doesn’t let go of me. Circling his arm around my waist, he pulls me flush against his side.
The contact feels incendiary, but despite my crazy hormones, a new emotion takes hold of me.
Fear.
“What happened to Toby?” I ask Principal Fallon.
“He’s in the infirmary. Broken a
rm.”
“Let’s go, then.” I take a step forward, but it’s hard to move when I have an over-six-foot guy attached to my hip. But Bryce seems hesitant to let go of me.
As one, we head for the main building, trailing after Principal Fallon. She warns the students to return to class, but people seem disinclined to heed her words. Everyone is too occupied with staring at me.
As I walk near some students, I hear one say, “How can she not have a scratch?”
“Maybe Bryce caught her before she crashed,” someone answers.
The murmurs continue, but it’s easy to push them to the background. They can gossip all they want. I have bigger concerns. A teacher tried to kill me. I’ve always thought the most dangerous individuals at Gifted Academy were the students, Bryce included. I was wrong.
When we move away from the crowd, I quicken my steps to walk side by side with the principal. “What’s going to happen to Drusilla, Cherise, and Renata?”
Before Principal Fallon can reply, Bryce cuts in. “What did they do?”
Ah shit. Bryce is still riding his rage. Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned the dreadful trio in front of him. I don’t want him to get in trouble on my account.
“They, uh, were picking on me just before Mr. Rogers decided to throw me out the window,” I explain.
“Did they use their powers against you?” he asks.
“Yes.”
There’s no point in lying about it. There were plenty of witnesses, and I’m sure Bryce could find out the truth quickly.
“Those bitches,” he says under his breath.
“Don’t even think about going on a revenge spree, Bryce. Those girls will be disciplined by me,” Principal Fallon interjects.
Bryce makes a strange sound in the back of his throat, almost a roar. “What did they do to you, Daisy?”
I nibble on my lower lip. Bryce is a level seventeen. He could easily do some real damage to Dreadzilla and her friends. They deserve punishment, but I don’t want him to be the one doling it out. They attacked me. I should be the one putting them in their place, but that’s not likely to happen in this lifetime.
Ruthless Idols: A Paranormal High School Bully Romance (Gifted Academy Book 2) Page 1
