Dead Village

by Holly Copella

  “How is she?” she asked.

  Ravin approached Devon with both glasses of wine and extended one to her. She accepted the glass while watching him.

  “She’s holding up pretty well considering she was nearly chopped apart with an ax,” Ravin muttered and sipped his wine. He was obviously preoccupied and most definitely hostile.

  “It’s my fault, isn’t it?” she asked softly. “If I would have acted sooner--”

  Ravin stared at her with surprise and shook his head. “No, Devon, you did a great job. You saved Gemma.” He took a deep breath and looked out the window into the darkness. “I’m the one who should be apologizing to you. I made you do something you clearly didn’t want to do, and I’m going to guess you’ve been avoiding doing that for a long time.”

  “I can’t control it,” she said softly while staring at her glass of wine. “I’m not strong enough.”

  He turned to face her. “That’s bullshit,” Ravin remarked sternly. “You just haven’t developed it yet. You can control it, and you’re most certainly strong enough.”

  She didn’t want to have this conversation. “I should see if Vander is back and warn him about Sonya,” she announced while setting her glass of wine down on a nearby end table.

  “No,” he growled, alarming her with his gruff tone. “I don’t want you going anywhere alone. You’re my responsibility. Vander knows you’re with me. When he returns, he’ll know to look for you here.”

  She stared at him and wasn’t sure how to react to his hostile mood. “Okay, you’re acting a little creepy, Ravin,” Devon announced. “What’s wrong?”

  “What’s wrong?” he scoffed. “My girlfriend was nearly butchered by a disturbed, sociopathic bitch wielding an ax, and you want to go traipsing around the hotel by yourself.” His look was frightening to her. “Whether you’re seeking permission or not, the answer is no.”

  Devon stared at him with surprise and concern. She slowly sat on the arm of a nearby chair and studied him. She knew something more was bothering him. Perhaps it was a feeling of helplessness. Or did he feel guilty about not killing Sonya with the first swing? She was afraid to open her mind even a little to dig deeper for an answer. She was afraid of what would happen, what her mind would show her.

  Ravin groaned softly, allowing his shoulders to sag, and avoided looking at her. “I’ve never lost control like that before,” he said softly as if answering her silent question. “I’d never even thought about striking a woman in my life, but I wanted to kill Sonya.”

  “But you didn’t kill her.”

  He suddenly glared at her. “That’s because my pool stick broke and she took off. Believe me, Devon, given the opportunity; I would have taken her head off without thinking twice.”

  She stared at him and wondered if she should be concerned. He was definitely on the edge of sanity. Not only did she have Ravin to contend with, but also her concern for Vander was getting the better of her. If she just opened her mind, would she be able to see if he was okay? What if something happened to him? She wasn’t sure she could handle seeing his death playing out like some homemade horror movie. There was an urgent pounding on the door, alarming both. Devon jumped to her feet and looked at the bolted door. Ravin snatched her pool stick from the coffee table and approached the door. Devon grabbed the ax and joined him. Ravin looked through the peek hole.

  “Ravin!” Tyson yelled from outside the door. “I know you’re in there, you son-of-a-bitch! Open this fucking door or I’ll break it down!”

  “Ravin’s not here,” Devon suddenly yelled back. “Considering your sister tried to kill Gemma, there’s no way I’m letting you in either!”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” Tyson demanded. “Ravin tried to kill Sonya! He busted her face open right after he killed Felicia!”

  “If Ravin hadn’t struck Sonya with that pool stick, Gemma would be dead,” Devon yelled back.

  “Pool stick?” Tyson suddenly demanded. “She said he struck her with a hammer!”

  “A hammer?” Devon scoffed while staring at the door beyond Ravin. She suddenly laughed. “Think about it, Tyson. If Ravin had hit her in the face with a hammer, she’d have a hole in her skull!”

  There was silence from the closed door. Ravin and Devon exchanged looks. The sound of running feet could be heard in the hallway leading away from the door. Ravin looked out the peek hole then back at Devon.

  “He’s heading for the stairs,” Ravin announced.

  “Do you think he’s warning her?”

  “I don’t know, but I think things are about to get ugly fast,” Ravin informed her. “I need to find Agent Hawk, assuming he made it back with Tyson, and warn him.”

  “What about Gemma?”

  “You stay with Gemma and don’t open this door,” he ordered sternly.

  “I’m going with you, Ravin,” Devon said. “You need someone to watch your back.”

  “We’ll both watch your back,” Gemma announced from across the room.

  Ravin and Devon looked toward the bedroom. Gemma stood in the doorway clutching a fire poker.

  “I’m taking that bitch down,” Gemma scoffed with a hateful scowl on her face.

  Ravin stared at Gemma and opened his mouth to protest. He sank into thought then closed his mouth and groaned softly. “Fine,” he reluctantly replied. “But if we’re going out there together, we need to be prepared.”

  Devon indicated the ax in her hand and silently responded with her eyes. Gemma slapped the fire poker against her palm, indicating she was prepared as well. There was an awkward silence. Ravin stared at Devon.

  “Where’s Sonya?” he asked firmly.

  Gemma glanced from Ravin to Devon with a look of bewilderment. Devon considered protesting and claiming diminished psychic capacity, but the look on Ravin’s face said he wasn’t going to accept that response. His stare left no room for protest. Devon took a deep breath and opened her mind just enough to allow a few images inside. The images flooded into her mind in a sudden rush. She clutched her head and attempted to close her mind. She saw Vander lying on the floor in the dining room among the dead bodies. There was a bloody baseball bat and a woman’s scream. Devon gasped. Vander was in trouble! Devon clung to her head and looked at Ravin.

  “The dining room,” she gasped softly while attempting to control her heavy breathing. “We should check the dining room.”

  Ravin studied her a moment then nodded. “Okay, we’ll check the dining room,” he said gently then gave her a reassuring look. “You’re doing fine, Devon. We need you. Don’t fight it. What you see could be the difference between life and death for us.”

  “You’re putting too much faith into my abilities, Ravin,” she announced and slowly lowered her hand from her head. “I see images, nothing more. It’s impossible to know what they even mean, if anything.”

  “You were right about Gemma and the ax,” Ravin insisted. “If you’re in doubt, tell me what you see, and I’ll translate it for you. I’ll take responsibility if my interpretation is wrong.”

  Devon looked at the ax in her hand. She suddenly saw an image of the ax penetrating someone’s body with blood erupting from the wound. She gasped softly and dropped the ax with a clatter. Gemma and Ravin looked at her with surprise.

  “What did you see?” he asked while picking up the ax.

  Devon stared at the ax in his hand. “Someone is killed with the ax,” she gasped softly.

  “Who?” Gemma cried out softly.

  “I don’t know,” she said with a shaken breath and subconsciously rubbed her own abdomen.

  Ravin watched her then looked at the ax he held. He looked back at Devon. “Was it you?”

  She trembled slightly, drew a shaken breath, and shook her head. “I--I don’t know.”

  “Do you want to wait here?” Ravin asked.

  She drew a deep breath, straightened proudly, and took the ax from him. “No, I have to go,” Devon replied.

  “No, you don’t h
ave to go,” he insisted. “Maybe the two of you should stay here.”

  Devon stared back at Ravin. “I have to go,” she insisted. “They want me there.”

  “They?” Gemma asked with surprise.

  “The ghosts?” Ravin questioned.

  “I think so,” Devon replied. “We need to go.”

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Vander slowly woke within the gym to Sonya hovering over him with a devious, twisted smile on her battered and bruised face. He gasped and immediately fought against the ropes binding him to an exercise machine. He was tied in such a fashion as if he’d been working out. His ankles were tied beneath the padded bar on the leg extension while he straddled the bench, and his wrists were tied to the pec deck handles on either side of his head. Sonya seductively flaunted a large hunting knife while keeping her body close to his.

  “I’m not allowed to kill you just yet,” Sonya informed him. “We’re waiting for some of your friends, and then we’re going to have a little party.”

  Sonya seductively ran the knife along Vander’s chest then mounted him, straddling his hips in a sexually compromising position while half sitting on his lap. She placed her arms around his neck and gently ran the blade of the knife along the back of his neck. Her face was only inches from his as she smiled lustfully and brushed her lips past his. Vander showed no reaction while staring at her.

  “It’s going to be wild fun,” she cooed softly.

  “Untie me, and I’ll show you how much fun I can be,” he announced while raising a devious brow.

  “Hmm, I like your enthusiasm,” Sonya said sweetly, “but I’m saving that for Ravin.” She moved off his lap and casually walked away from him.

  “Didn’t he break your face?”

  Sonya frowned and gingerly touched her swollen, bruised, and bandaged cheek. She looked back at Vander and again smiled lustfully. “I’m willing to forgive him,” she replied.

  “You know, nothing against the creepy, little guy, but what’s your interest in him?” he asked.

  “He’s filthy rich,” she replied. “Despite what he tells people, he owns this hotel, the one hundred acres surrounding it, and most of the town.” She grinned and seemed pleased with herself. “I’ve got a special ‘love drug’ just for him. That whore Gemma is going to watch while he violates me three ways to Sunday. And right after we’re finished, I’m going to gut her.” Her pleased grin was disturbing. “Then Ravin will be all mine along with this hotel and the town.”

  “Do you honestly think your accomplice will allow him to live?”

  “As long as he remains drugged, I’m allowed to keep him,” she insisted while maintaining her grin.

  “Sounds like someone is lying to you,” Vander announced simply and appeared disinterested. “I’ve seen it many times before. The young, gullible accomplice falls for it every time.”

  Her look turned hostile or possibly concerned that he might be telling the truth. “You’re wrong.”

  “You’re being set up,” Vander announced while chuckling softly in his throat. “He’s trying to appease you long enough to frame you for the killings. You’ll take the fall, and he’ll reap the rewards and get off free and clear.”

  “Daddy!”

  Cody hurried from the men’s locker room while clutching his wrapped ribs and limped toward her with an irritated look. “Damn it, Sonya. What’s wrong with you?” he demanded. “You’re supposed to keep it quiet. What if someone comes here before we’re ready?”

  “He’s pissing me off,” she pouted with the appearance of a little girl. “Can I kill him?”

  “No, not until I say so,” Cody replied firmly. “You know we need him.”

  “He says you’re going to double-cross me,” she whined. “Make him shut up.”

  Cody groaned softly, gently took Sonya’s face in his hands, and stared into her eyes. “Don’t listen to him. He’s trying to work on your psyche--what little you have,” he informed her. “You’re my daughter, and I love you. I would never do anything to hurt you, would I?”

  She frowned. “No, of course not.”

  “That’s my baby.”

  Cody leaned closer and kissed Sonya passionately on the mouth. Vander stared in astonishment as Sonya returned the kiss with all the exoticness of a lover. Cody broke off the kiss, smiled, and took the knife from her.

  “I’ll handle this,” Cody informed her. “You go find that brother of yours, before he does something stupid.”

  Sonya smiled and left the fitness room through the spa doorway. Cody limped painfully toward Vander while studying him. Vander watched him and attempted to hide his disgust at what he had just witnessed.

  “You two are rather close,” Vander muttered.

  “You’ve got a big mouth,” Cody growled lowly. “I think you need something else to think about, so you’ll stop harassing my daughter--like wondering how far your left testicle will roll across the floor.”

  Vander looked emotionless but his entire body tensed in response to the threat. Cody held up the knife, chuckled softly, and grabbed Vander’s pants. Vander gasped and his expression immediately dropped from Cody’s sudden movement.

  Cody grinned deviously. “This may hurt a little--”

  A gun was heard cocking just a few feet away. Cody tensed while slowly straightening but kept the knife close to Vander’s face. He cast a glance alongside him. Tyson stood only a few feet away with Novak’s gun aimed at his father.

  “This isn’t how it looks,” Cody explained and managed a humored smile.

  “Looks like you plan to castrate the man,” Tyson growled under his breath.

  “Oh, then it is how it looks,” his father muttered without removing the knife from Vander’s face.

  “Drop the knife.”

  “Everything I did, I did for you and Sonya,” Cody informed him and still didn’t move.

  “Oh really? How long have you been fucking your own daughter?” Tyson’s rage exploded to the surface. His finger tightened on the trigger. “Drop the knife, or so help me, I’ll blow your brains out,” he snarled with conviction.

  “You want our town back, don’t you?” Cody demanded while casting a sideways glance at his son.

  “You have until three, you sick fuck,” Tyson growled while sneering at his father.

  “They had to die,” Cody explained while raising his brows and clutching the knife. “The hotel needed to fail.”

  “One--”

  “All those tourists were ruining our town--our woods,” Cody protested to his son while staring at Vander. “You said so yourself, remember?”

  “Two--”

  “Damn it! I’m your father!” Cody yelled at Tyson while turning his head to look at him. “You do what I say!”

  Tyson pulled the trigger without flinching. His father’s head snapped back to a dead center head shot as blood and brains erupted out the back of his skull. He collapsed to the floor.

  Tyson’s look remained emotionless. “Three.”

  Vander stared with surprise at Cody’s lifeless body as blood rapidly spilled from his head. He hesitantly looked at Tyson, who slowly lowered the gun. The door from the spa was thrown open to reveal Sonya. She saw her father lying on the floor in a pool of rapidly collecting blood near Vander’s feet.

  “Daddy!”

  Tyson suddenly aimed the gun at Sonya. She saw him, gasped, and darted back into the spa. The gun fired twice. Sonya stepped back into the doorway with Vander’s gun and fired at Tyson. Tyson took a shot to his arm. He leaped to the floor and immediately fired back at Sonya. Her gun clicked empty. She gasped as Tyson aimed and fired. She disappeared into the spa. The bullet struck the doorframe. Tyson straightened and again pulled the trigger. His gun clicked empty. He cast the gun aside with disgust and looked at his bleeding arm.

  “Son-of-a-bitch!”

  Tyson grabbed the discarded knife and quickly approached Vander. Vander tensed at the sight of the knife in Tyson’s hand.

  He glared a
t Vander and appeared offended. “I just saved your ass, and you still don’t trust me?” Tyson demanded. He shook his head and cut the ropes to Vander’s wrists and ankles. “You have some major trust issues, G-man.”

  Vander jumped to his feet. “We have to stop her,” he blurted out. “She wants Gemma dead.”

  “So I heard. Gemma’s safe with Devon in Ravin’s suite,” Tyson informed him. “Besides, it’s not Sonya you need to worry about. My father could never have orchestrated something this big. My uncle’s behind this, and he’s not going to go down so easily.”

  “Okay, so this is Dino’s party,” Vander announced. “Where will we find him?”

  “Looking for Ravin,” Tyson replied. “He hurt Sonya. He’ll want to make him suffer.”

  “We need to go to Ravin’s suite.”

  “Devon said he wasn’t there.”

  “She lied,” Vander informed him. “He wouldn’t leave Devon and Gemma alone, and if he tried, Devon would follow him. Trust me; he’s there.”

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Ravin cautiously entered the dining room with Devon and Gemma following closely behind him. All three made faces from the foul stench of decaying bodies that lingered within the massive room. They scanned the large room filled with dead bodies seated and posed around the tables. Devon watched the ghosts circulating around the room as if looking for something or perhaps just some answers. They wouldn’t know peace until their bodies were laid to rest. At least that was how it usually worked in Devon’s experience. She’d never been a witness to such violent, mass death before, so she was still attempting to make sense of their behavior. Ravin stopped both women with a raised hand and scanned the room with a sweeping look. He hesitated and, with a nod, indicated a woman with strawberry blonde hair seated at the table with her back to them. From behind, the woman could have been Sonya.

  Hiding among the battlefield of dead corpses was genius. It seemed almost improbable that Sonya would think of something that clever. They silently approached the blonde woman from behind. Ravin poked her in the shoulder with his pool stick. The dead, decayed woman collapsed across the table, startling all three. Gemma groaned softly and held her chest. Sonya suddenly leaped up behind Gemma from a nearby table and hit her over the head with an empty, glass water pitcher. As the glass pitcher shattered against her head, Gemma gasped and fell to the floor. Sonya grabbed Gemma’s discarded fire poker as Ravin swung at her with the pool stick. She blocked the pool stick with the fire poker and grinned.