I bite my lip and punch him as hard as I can in the arm, cursing his name. “Damn lovable Haunted asshole.”
He kisses me, quick and gentle as if I am a cracking piece of glass. “Stay with me,” he says. “Saving you might be the last good thing I ever get to do.”
I could deny Julien a lot of things but never that.
I nod curtly, fighting back the spew of emotions I want to shout at him for changing my mind. He breathes a deep sigh of relief and grabs my hand. He pulls me back out into the fight, dashing down the hallway. “Cover us!” he yells to Sadie as she sends pieces of broken vases flying through the air at warp speed.
“Where are you taking her?” Reid shouts.
“To find Lyric, and then to hide out somewhere safe until this is over!”
Reid’s face is full of doubt, but he is too far away to object. The lights rumble above our heads, the entire hall going black as Sadie steals the light from the room. “Quick!” he screams. “I can’t hold the darkness forever.”
I grab tighter to Julien as we fumble through the blacked-out hall. I sense movement near us, and I suspect the guards we pass are looking for us, their hisses coming out only feet away from where we step. The lights flash back on as we reach the corner, and I look back in time to see Reid’s face.
Reid.
I don’t want to leave him. It feels wrong.
Julien jerks me around the corner. I can’t suppress the tears that bloom in my eyes. I want to go back, but Julien rushes me forward.
“Did you cry for me?” Julien’s tone is harsh.
I glance up just in time to see a black rim disappear from around his eyes.
“Sorry,” he says under his breath. “I can’t concentrate.”
He darts in and out of rooms looking for Lyric. We find nothing but a few stray guards. Julien disposes of them quickly. I swear I heard him say my name as he killed one of them.
Julien is impatient now. He starts to slam doors. Empty room after empty room. I start to think Lyric has vanished into thin air. Then a hand catches my throat.
I squeal, but nothing comes out around the cold, ruthless fingers that cut off the air to my lungs. Another hand clamps over my mouth, and I fall backward.
They drag me, roughly, jerking me as I fight against it. The panic causes energy to surge into my fingertips. Electricity bursts out of me. Their hold drops, and I immediately scream bloody murder.
“Julien!”
My captor has recovered by the time Julien’s figure emerges from the room, and hands take hold of me again. “Damn, witch.”
The voice is distinctive. I recognize it immediately.
Julien dashes for me, but I flinch as six guards rush past me and wrestle him down. I look over my shoulder, prepared to defend myself.
Roux’s fist finds my face, and I’m lost to unconsciousness.
Chapter 21
ROOFTOP HELL
Dried blood. I cough it up and wipe it from my lips. My vision wavers. The room still spins. There are voices, though. They surround me. All of them familiar.
“Can we please get this over with now?” Roux is clearly annoyed.
I focus, watching as his hazy figure paces back and forth across a long room. The heels of his shoes tap impatiently against the hardwood floor.
“Settle down.” François’s voice is superior. Softer, but more lethal somehow. “They will all be dead soon. I am curious, though. How did you manage to find them?” He sounds impressed, or he might have been faking it for Roux’s benefit. It is hard to tell the sincerity of evil.
“Your son,” Roux says with subdued amusement. “Lyric trusts me. It’s more than I can say for Julien or his little witchy girlfriend.”
The room brightens into perfect clarity. We’re in a small library. The tall walls are outlined with giant shelves. François sits idly in a sleek leather chair behind a desk while Roux stands cross-armed in front of him. Before my mind can comprehend an escape plan, my hand darts out in front of me, only to slam into some type of clear barrier.
I shake my now-bruised knuckles and immediately try a different approach. I use my powers instead of physical force, but it still doesn’t break.
My obvious frustration is enough to catch the attention of Roux and François, and they both laugh as I again try to use my power to break through. It’s then I start to really panic, when I take a good look around me to see I am trapped inside a crystal-clear box the size of a small cage.
“Well, you were right about one thing,” François says, smiling at me. “Your contraption works. She won’t be able to escape us now.”
Roux eyes me with contempt. He steps closer, running long, pale fingers down the glass, making it screech. His lips curl into a snarl as he studies me. “Your mother outsmarted me. I’ll admit that. I’ve learned from my mistakes. You can’t cast any spells from inside there or make any attempt to free yourself.” He smiles wickedly, straightening his glasses.
He laughs again when I angrily slap the glass in front of me in a poor attempt to somehow reach his neck. I want to strangle the smugness out of him.
He turns on his heels and pulls out a knife, holding it out to François. “Let’s do this,” he insists, tossing the knife to his accomplice. “Choose a son already.”
François stands from his chair, and I see both Julien and Lyric handcuffed and gagged behind him. Lyric’s eyes widen at the sight of his father holding the knife. He screams through his restraints, but Julien only looks at me.
Guilt. Regret.
It’s all there. I instantly return it.
“I forgive you!” It comes out muffled through the barrier. “I promise, I forgive you!” I beat against the glass, but it’s no use. I’m powerless to stop it.
A tear leaks down Julien’s cheek as François pulls Lyric to his feet. Lyric continues to scream, though muted through the gag in his mouth. François pays him no attention, as if murdering his son is no different than simply waking up in the morning. François places the blade at Lyric’s neck.
The building rumbles again. Books fall. The large desk skids across the floor. I rattle like a rag doll inside my cage.
Roux grits his teeth as he falls forward to hold onto the desk for support. “Could someone please find that witch?” he screams over his shoulder at four guards who blockade the door. “I’m sick of the damn earthquakes.”
After finding his balance, François quickly reattaches his hold on his son, more determined than ever to end Lyric’s life.
The room shakes again, but this time the impact is much closer to home. I slam back against the wall behind me, skidding to the floor as the door to the room bursts open. Shards of wood fly through the air. Julien ducks, trying to cover his head. François and Lyric are thrown to the floor. Roux lands at the foot of my cage, his face bloody from a piece of debris.
The room is invaded at every corner. Abby comes in first, quickly followed by Anders and Sera. Roux jumps to his feet, and the guards help François take cover.
Anders frees Julien from his restraints and then moves to help Lyric, who lies semiconscious on the floor. Julien scurries across the room toward me, grabbing a large chair before bringing it over his head and down against the side of my cage. I flinch, but it barely makes a crack in the thick glass. I don’t know what Roux made it out of, but the glass is proving to be almost indestructible.
I yell from my spot on the ground, but it is already too late. As Julien prepares to smash another chair against the glass, Roux grabs him from behind. Spells, weapons, and a variety of miscellaneous objects fly across the room. Julien fights against Roux’s hold. Anders fights off two guards as he protects Lyric, who is very slowly coming around.
I beat against the small crack in my cage, hoping to break free so I can help my family, but nothing I do seems to work. Julien continues to struggle with Roux. Each of them claw and fight to gain the upper hand. I fight harder against my cage, watching as Roux takes control. He pins Julien against the floor,
snatching a shard of the broken doorway from the floor. “You may not be an Innocent,” he says through clenched teeth, placing the sharp edge against Julien’s heart, “but you can still die like one.”
I scream. Someone has to help him. Julien’s impending death is blocked when Lyric flies out of nowhere to tackle Roux to the ground. “I trusted you!” Lyric grabs the shard of wood. “I trusted all of you!”
Lyric’s eyes melt to blackness, and he lances Roux’s throat. Quick. Ruthless. Exactly what he deserved.
The mood in the room shifts upon Roux’s death. The guards, including François, are stunned as Roux’s screams die with him. My family begins to retreat. Abby urges Anders to help Julien while she holds off François and his guards. Julien stumbles back to his feet, keeping an eye on his tearful brother. Lyric still looms over Roux’s dead body.
With help from Anders, Julien finally manages to break my glass cage, and I crawl through the small opening into his arms.
Anders grabs Lyric. His hands shake, his eyes not quite back to normal yet. In the foyer, there is already another fight. A gang of people guard the door. Zeke is among them. He stands in the back, the frailest amongst his other cousins.
His eyes light up when he sees me, and he barks out an order which the rest of the men follow. Zeke pulls back, coming to my side, and Julien gives him a dirty look. “I’ve got this,” Julien tells him, but Zeke ignores him, scooting up closer to me. Julien rolls his eyes, but I know it’s because he feels guilty for allowing us to be captured in the first place.
As it turns out, we are trapped in the foyer. Anders falls back, as they can’t manage to fight their way out. “We’ve got to get Wilhelmina out of here!” Abby yells, looking to her mother.
Sera glances at me and then around the room as she continues to send powerful shockwaves at our enemies to hold them back. “Out the window,” she says. “We can send them out onto the fire escape.”
Abby gapes at her mother. “You mean the window in the room we just escaped from?”
“It’s our only option,” Sera says.
Abby sets her jaw and nods. “All right, everybody move back!”
Abby bursts into the room again, François’s guards flying in all directions. Sera motions for Julien and Zeke to take me. Julien holds me tight against his chest as we reenter the room, and Zeke clears our path toward the window. François screams orders from somewhere near us.
Zeke jumps through the window, breaking the glass. Julien picks me up and eases me through the shattered pane. I hop down onto the fire escape, looking back for him. He jumps onto the windowsill, and I move up the steps to allow him room.
He pushes forward, but a large hand catches his shoulder. François’s glaring face appears behind him, the shadow of death pulling him back. Julien’s face sinks. “I love you, Willa.” He grips the edge of the frame. “Remember that.”
Before I can move, François jerks his body back into the room. The window is empty.
“Julien!” I lurch toward the window, but Zeke catches the back of my shirt. He pulls me relentlessly up the fire escape. I struggle, yelling Julien’s name.
“Guards,” Zeke yells, ushering me forward. “Go!”
Bodies pile out of the window.
Yes, Julien. I cried for you too.
Zeke pulls me up the steps, but all I see is Julien.
Is he dead now? Did François finally get his greatest desire?
And what about the others? Were Sadie and Abby still alive?
Reid.
I can’t even think it.
I don’t manage to compose myself until I hear the heavy footfalls of our pursuers, and Zeke spins around to face them.
We are caught between the high wall leading up to the next rooftop and our approaching enemies. I stumble backward, my hand never leaving the safety of Zeke’s back. I clench my fist in his shirt as he growls menacingly at our foes. His eyes turn a striking shade of green. My breath sticks in my throat. Exposed blades glint in the light of the moon that beams over us.
There is nowhere to run. We can fight or die willingly.
A commotion breaks out along the roof behind us. I’m too paralyzed with fear to turn around. One of the guards leaps forward, but Zeke wards him off. They are only biding their time. They know Zeke and I are outnumbered. Victory is within their grasp.
A hand grabs my shoulder. I shriek as I am lifted from the ground. Only when I recognize Julien’s face does my heart start beating again. He pulls me up and over the ledge onto the roof of the next building. I don’t resist until he continues to pull me further away from Zeke, who stays at his post in front of us. “Zeke!” I call out, because I don’t know why he isn’t following us. “Zeke, come on!”
Julien’s hands grip tighter around my arms. Zeke glances briefly back at us. He doesn’t need to speak words for me to recognize the look in his eyes. Zeke is telling Julien to take me. He won’t be following us.
“No.” The words rip themselves from my body. “No, Zeke! You can’t!”
Julien drags me with increased force up the roof, and the guards become antsy, each darting forward to test Zeke’s hold. I begin to struggle, flailing wildly, trying to free myself from Julien’s grasp. “Let me go!” I sink my fingernails into Julien’s hands to pry them off me. “Let go! Zeke!”
With one effortless tug, Julien throws me over his shoulder. We are lost amongst the adjoining rooftops as he leaps easily from one to the next. I scream out in terror, my very soul breaking as I leave Zeke behind.
I can’t even relish the joy of Julien’s return, because I now hate him for taking me, though Zeke let him off the hook. It still doesn’t make it right. A true friend would rather die at your side than take advantage of your good nature. I want to die with Zeke, to fight at his side for things we want to save. At least with the three of us, we might have stood a chance, but now with Zeke alone, he will surely fail.
I still fight. I beat against Julien’s chest as he sets me down on my feet. My back slams against a wall. We are at a rooftop garden. The wall is a part of the greenhouse they built out of leftover bricks of varying color and size. I do my best to push Julien away from me, but he pins me against the wall. “Stop fighting me.” He holds my hands tight to my stomach. “There is no going back now.”
I jerk free and slam my fist against his chest in anger. “I can’t believe you left him!”
Julien’s face falls against mine, his lips greedily taking me. I jerk away. He nestles his lips against the nape of my neck, and it makes me sick inside.
“He left me too.” Julien breathes against my neck.
“Please.” I’m crying. “Let me go back to him!”
“There is no going back,” he says roughly. “The kid is dying anyway. They’re just going to put him out of his misery.”
Bile rises in my throat at his words. I shove him with such force and hatred that he stumbles back. “How dare you—” I start to scream, but a hiss rings out between us, and before I know it, Julien’s hand is at my neck. I tremble as I lose my breath. My knees buckle beneath me, fear paralyzing me as I skid down the wall. My entire body heaves as the sharp edge of a blade grazes my side.
Never, even when I watched him kill those guards earlier, have I seen such a complete lack of emotion on his face. Every ounce of life has been drained from his eyes, leaving nothing but a cold, blank stare.
François is dead. Julien has transformed.
“I should have known.” My heart splinters. “My Julien would have never left Zeke to fend for himself.”
He scoffs. The blade pierces me. “People die. My father learned his lesson the hard way, as will your little friend.”
I cough, because I can’t scream. I choke down air as the pain rips me inside out.
This Julien, a new, horrible version of the wonderful man I used to know, just laughs at my frightened expression. Excitement flashes across his face. “Gotcha first.”
He moves forward, digging the knife deeper.
I hit him with as much power as I can muster, but I’m weak now. It’s only enough to knock him off his feet. The blade falls between us. I grab my side, sinking to the ground.
The damage is done. Blood puddles in my hands. Julien stands back up. “You can’t fight me now. Your mistake for trusting the Haunted.”
“I trusted my friend.” I pant. I’m dying. I feel it. “He earned it.”
His hand catches my throat. Slowly, he squeezes the air from my lungs. “And look where that got you. You think I didn’t know what I was doing?”
I press my lips together. I refuse to believe the lies. I promised Julien I would forgive him for whatever he did to me during his new life. I will keep my word.
I raise my hand and slap him across the face. My nails leave streaks of his own blood across his cheek. His eyes flare. He grabs the knife and holds it to my throat.
I can’t feel the pain of the blade pressing into my skin. My head is light and my body too weak to move. I sit limply against the wall as his hand clenches in my hair. “Kill me.”
He wants to. I see it. My death is his greatest desire.
“Not yet.” He bends to look me in the eye. “Not until you watch him die first.”
I know he means Reid. I grit my teeth, and it makes him smile. “Foolish witch,” he says, smiling at me. “I always knew you favored him more.”
I grab his arm, searching for every ounce of power I can manage. It isn’t nearly enough. It’s barely a sting against his powerful rage.
“But before I do, I’ll have one last taste of you first.”
I struggle as he holds me down. He pulls my neck to the side. The razor-sharp edge of the knife scathes across my skin. Blood runs freely down the side of my neck. My life starts fading away, my strength draining from me as I fear Julien won’t be able to stop this time.
My vision blurs, and my limbs go lax. I imagine my mind would have faded to blackness if a sound hadn’t broken. A sound I thought I would never hear again. The low growl of a wounded friend roars in my ears. My eyes focus to find a bleeding but vengeful Zeke sauntering toward us.
Frog Hollow (Witches of Sanctuary Book 1) Page 23
