Cruel Mercy (Book 2)

by Lola StVil

  She raises her hands in the air and spreads them wide.

  “Rise again. Rise again and avenge me, your leader and your friend,” she shouts.

  A crack of thunder splits the air and a bolt of lightning flashes down. The ground begins to shake violently, and we are thrown to the ground. Lucas grabs my hand as we fall and holds on tight. I grip his hand. I’m not letting go of him ever.

  As we are thrown from one side of the ship to the other, I hear a tearing sound, like the ground beneath us is opening up.

  “Shit. She’s a fucking necromancer. Now we know why the demon cursed her.”

  I remember hearing about necromancers. They can call up the dead at will. Arianna is summoning up an army.

  A horrible thought flashes through my mind.

  How do you kill something that’s already dead?

  The ground evens out again and the shaking stops. I jump to my feet, Lucas beside me, my hand still in his. I make no move to pull free and he doesn’t either.

  Bodies pour over the sides of the ship. There must be at least thirty of them in total. They form a protective barrier between Arianna and us.

  We spread out, facing off against the army of the dead. They look like horror movie zombies. Their faces are grey and the skin hangs off them in tatters. Their clothes are rotted away in parts, torn and dirty in others. But unlike in the movies, they don’t look slow or stupid. I can see cunning in their dead glassy eyes. And something else. Hunger.

  “Attack,” screams Arianna, and the army is on us.

  We are swamped by an overwhelming crowd of dead things. The smell of rotting wet flesh is like nothing I’ve ever imagined, and my eyes burn, begging my nose to close up. I can almost taste the sickly sweetness of death and rotting flesh.

  I feel teeth sink into my leg and I cry out, kicking the thing away. I fire at another one and its head explodes, showering me in rotten flesh. It doesn’t even slow it down. It just keeps coming, headless, its murderous hands groping towards my face.

  I am outnumbered six to one and there’s nothing I can do to kill these things. I am going to die here. We all are.

  I love you, Lucas, I think as hands reach out for me. I can feel myself being pulled in five directions at once. My skin and flesh are being stretched to their limits and I can feel lumps of me being bitten away.

  I go down and they swarm over me ferociously. I want to fight back but I can’t. Every part of me is pinned to the deck by the dead things.

  “Make it slow and painful,” Arianna purrs.

  The things do as she says. They keep me pinned down, but their assault changes. Instead of tearing at me, they work together in a calculated effort to inflict the worst pain they can on me.

  I cry out loud as one of my fingernails is ripped out.

  I turn my head slightly to the side. I see Lucas succumbing to the same fate as me. He catches my eye and smiles a sad smile.

  “I love you,” he mouths.

  “I love you too,” I mouth back.

  I can’t bear to watch what the dead things are doing to him and I turn my head to the other side. I see Arianna standing there, an evil smile on her face. She doesn’t look beautiful now. She is ugly to the core.

  She sees me looking at her and she watches me. I refuse to look away. She might be about to take my life, but I won’t let her kill my spirit.

  I see movement behind her. I don’t tear my eyes away from hers, but I watch with my peripheral vision.

  Something climbs from the hole Arianna emerged from. Not something. Someone.

  I feel a renewed sense of hope. Even if I die, Fish is going to end Arianna, and hopefully take the piece of the pendant back to Emmy.

  I force myself not to look directly at her. Arianna can’t know she’s there.

  As Fish is almost on her, Arianna must sense her. She whirls to face her, her face a mask of rage. She starts to shout to her army, but she’s too late.

  Fish doesn’t hesitate for a second. She plunges the knife Rage gave her deep into Arianna’s chest.

  Arianna spins away from her, her face now wearing an almost comical look of surprise. Her knees buckle and she falls forward, landing face-first on the deck. She doesn’t move.

  The dead things that crawl over us are suddenly just dead things. Their weight presses down on us, but we are no longer under attack.

  I become conscious of the slimy feeling of their rotting flesh. I try to push myself free but they’re too heavy.

  Fish runs to Nix and drags the bodies off him. He gets to his feet with a disgusted ugh sound. Fish and Nix move around the rest of us, freeing us.

  Parker gets shakily to her feet.

  “Who needs healing?” she asks.

  We’re all pretty banged up. Bashed up, bruised, bleeding and broken. Parker included. I wonder how she will be able to heal any of us in that state herself. She looks on the verge of passing out.

  Only Fish is unharmed. She sits beside Nix where he has fallen, the adrenaline that enabled him to help free us all used up.

  “Everyone, including you,” she says, nodding towards Parker’s injuries.

  I know what Parker says next takes a lot of courage, and I’m proud of her for putting the needs of the team above her own feelings.

  “May I please have some more of your salve? Once I’ve healed myself, I can help the others.”

  Fish obliges and she doesn’t make any sarcastic comments.

  Instead of smearing the salve on her wounds, Parker squeezes it into her mouth. I watch, fascinated as her wounds begin to heal before my eyes.

  She hands the tube back to Fish, who shakes her head. Parker shrugs and drops it in her pocket. She makes her way around the rest of us, healing each of us in turn, then using the last of the salve to replace her depleted energy.

  “It’s only temporary,” she says. “You all need proper healing at the clinic, but it’s enough to find the pendant and get home.”

  Home. I thought I would never see home again.

  “Guys, we did it,” I say with a shaky laugh.

  We look around at each other and before we know it, we’re all embracing each other, laughing and cheering.

  We did the impossible. We beat Arianna, the fearsome spider queen.

  Milo smiles at the team. “Let’s find the pendant and get out of here.”

  He shudders as he looks around him at the pile of dead spiders and the mostly rotted human corpses.

  It’s a good plan.

  He leads the way down the hole. We find ourselves below deck in a large cavernous room.

  The pendant piece stands in the center of the room on a wooden mantel, over a rotting fireplace.

  “It’s almost too easy,” I say as we walk towards it.

  I’m just waiting for something to burst out of the walls and kill us.

  RJ snorts.

  “I’m glad you think that was easy.”

  He’s right. We’ve done the hard part. This part was meant to be easy.

  I walk up to the mantel and reach up for the pendant piece. As my hand touches it, I feel a tingling sensation, followed by an electric shock that runs through my body, and the world goes black.

  I open my eyes slowly, the memory of the last few hours rushing through me. I hurt, but not in a way I can’t cope.

  I sit up. The rest of the team lie scattered around me. They are also regaining consciousness. I do a quick mental head count. We’re all here.

  I look around.

  “We made it,” I say, laughing as I stand up.

  We’re on the street outside of Emmy’s apartment.

  The door to the apartment building opens and a bunch of people rush out. They come towards us.

  “Simon?” Lucas exclaims, shocked and delighted. “I don’t… How are you?”

  The man he addresses shrugs.

  “I guess when you killed Arianna, we were freed.”

  “Freed from where?” I ask.

  I glance warily around me. We are slowly
being surrounded by the group. But they don’t look threatening. They look happy.

  “From death,” Simon responds. “I died trying to kill Arianna to prove to my father I was as worthy as my hero older brother.”

  “I died trying to kill her because I wanted to prove that it wasn’t as hard as people implied,” a woman chimes in.

  The team are looking around the crowd, exclaiming when they see people they recognize, and before long, it’s become like a huge reunion that I’m not a part of.

  I stand to one side, feeling a little awkward but still elated that we beat Arianna. Not only did we get the pendant piece we needed, but we’ve freed all these people.

  I watch Lucas as he chats with Simon.

  Suddenly, Simon’s face changes. His jaw elongates and fangs spring up. He launches himself at Lucas and tries to sink his teeth into him.

  The others are doing the same thing to the rest of the team. I rush forward with no idea of what to do. It’s not like I brought weapons with me.

  I reach Lucas first and I pull at the creature who holds him. I can see Lucas’s face getting white as his life is drained from him.

  I give up trying to move the creature. He’s too strong. Instead I pull on Lucas’s jeans, trying desperately to free him.

  Something drops to the floor with a pinging sound. A large beam of white light rises from the ground. The creatures scream, letting go of the team as they try to get back inside. It’s too late. The white light sucks them in and with a snapping sound, it’s gone.

  I bend down and retrieve the dropped object. I hand it to Lucas. He looks at it and shakes his head in wonder. He drops it back into his pocket without a word.

  “Let’s go,” I say, heading for Emmy’s apartment door. I have a hundred questions about what just happened, but they can wait until we’re in the safety of Emmy’s home.

  As I walk, the entrance seems to move away from me. I quicken my pace, but it’s no use. The door is moving even further away.

  “We’re not home. We’re in a parallel universe or something.” RJ says.

  “Can’t be.” Nix says.

  “Well, you explain it then,” RJ fires back.

  “It’s a part of the curse. The part that didn’t get destroyed when Arianna died. Anyone who dies trying to kill Arianna turns into a terrible creature and they’re sent here to live an eternity of pain and suffering. I heard two demons talking about it years ago but I thought it was just a story.” Parker says.

  “So how are we here?” I ask.

  Nix shrugs. “I don’t know, but I’d guess it has something to do with the fact we killed Arianna. We aren’t creatures because we didn’t die, but we’re here all the same.”

  “It is the creatures’ job to protect Arianna, blindly. Their loyalty to her didn’t die with her because this is all they know.”

  “Never mind that. How do we get out of here?”

  “I’m working on that,” Parker says.

  She’s sitting on the curb, drawing symbols around her on the ground using a chalky stone.

  “We use the locket,” Fish says.

  “Huh?”

  “The locket. It was a locket that fell from your pocket, right Lucas?” Fish asks.

  Lucas nods.

  “May I see it?” she asks.

  He hands it over wordlessly. Fish turns it over and over in her hands, her mouth open in astonishment.

  “I thought I had to be mistaken, but I’m not. This is the ancient Locket of Esmerelda. How on earth do you have this? It’s been missing for centuries.”

  Lucas shrugs, looking uncomfortable.

  “It’s Nikki’s. When I went to meet her the night I thought she’d been killed, this was all that was left. I’ve carried it on me ever since. I know I should have given it back to her, but I don’t know. I guess I’ve gotten used to having it on me.”

  “It’s worth millions of dollars. Hell, billions. Esmerelda was a very powerful Para. She devised a locket that could transport people between the worlds.”

  “So we’ve just sent a bunch of bloodthirsty creatures to another world?” Nix frowns.

  Fish shakes her head.

  “No. It can trap the soulless inside of it. They will remain in there until it’s opened again. But anyone with Para power can use it. And hopefully anyone they are in contact with.”

  She looks over at Lucas as she says it and hands him the locket back.

  “So, I just get all of you to hold onto me and open it?” Lucas asks.

  “I think so,” Fish says, looking unsure of herself for the first time since we went into battle.

  “Where will it take us? How do we know we’ll end up in the right world?” I ask.

  “If it’s used by the owner, they use their powers to direct it. If not, the locket will take whoever travels by it to the owner because it wants to be reunited with its rightful owner,” Fish explains.

  “So, we’ll end up at the house,” Ryder says.

  It’s not the best plan, as there’s a lot we don’t know. But it’s all we have.

  We arrange ourselves so we’re holding onto Lucas and he opens the locket. Nothing happens. He closes it and tries again. Still nothing.

  The door of the apartment building opposite us opens and another crowd of bloodthirsty creatures appear.

  “Keep a tight grip, I’m going to try something,” Lucas says.

  I tighten my grip on his T-shirt sleeve. My finger brushes his skin and I’m reminded of the moment he saved me. I push the thoughts aside.

  Focus, I tell myself.

  I grip the pendant piece with my other hand. I don’t want to risk it dropping out of my pocket.

  The creatures are almost on us. Lucas holds the pendant up in the air with one hand. With the other, he conjures up a ball of white light. He aims it at the locket.

  I feel a hand grab my sleeve. I ignore it, willing this to work.

  The locket flies open, blazing white. The bloodsuckers pour out of it. Lucas waits until the last one is out.

  I can feel teeth in my neck now. Adrenaline courses through me.

  “Now,” Lucas shouts.

  We step into the white light and the world around me vanishes, replaced by a glaringly bright light.

  I feel like I am bodiless, floating through space and time. I can’t see or hear but it’s not an unpleasant sensation. I can feel Lucas’s T-shirt still grasped firmly in one hand, the pendant piece in the other.

  Suddenly, my arm bangs off something hard followed by the rest of me. I jump to my feet, aware of my body and senses again.

  I look around me and the team are all there. We did the impossible, We’re in the family room in Roslyn.

  Filled with relief and exhaustion, we don’t care that we’re banged up and bleeding. We’re on a natural high from completing the mission.

  We finally made it home.

  The first thing we see when we enter Roslyn stops us dead in our tracks. I look across and see Nikki laid out on a couch, her eyes closed.

  Cassidy enters the room and pulls a knife from behind her back. She presses the tip to Nikki’s throat hard enough to press into the skin but not hard enough to break it.

  “I see you all made it back then,” Cassidy comments casually.

  “What’s wrong with Nikki?” Lucas demands, taking a step towards her.

  “It’s funny, Lucas. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. You see, there’s nothing wrong with Nikki. Not yet. She’s just sedated. But that’s all about to change—unless you do exactly what I say. And don’t even think about using your powers on me. I can cut her carotid artery open before your fireball hits me and then not even the wonderful Parker will be able to save her.”

  Lucas glances at Parker. She shakes her head, confirming what Cassidy has said.

  “What do you want?” Lucas demands.

  “It’s simple really. I want her.”

  She looks at me as she says it. I feel my insides go cold.

  “DEAD,�
� she finishes with a wicked grin.

  “What? Why?” I demand.

  I step forward and Cassidy applies more pressure to the knife. I hold my hands up and take a step back.

  “I don’t understand,” I say.

  “It’s really not difficult. Your being who you are threatens the existence of our world and everyone in it. You die and the threat is gone. I’m not evil, Summit. I don’t want to do this, but I will, because I believe that it’s worth sacrificing one person to save everyone else.”

  “You’re a member of the Shadow and Serpent, aren’t you?” Nix says.

  He doesn’t wait for an answer.

  “Cassidy, I know how they get in your head. I’ve been there. You can walk away from this. We’ll protect you.”

  Cassidy snorts. “I don’t need protecting from them. They are the ones who have shown me the way. I’m not about to switch sides. I’m not a traitor like you, Nix.”

  “I’m not a traitor. I just saw the error of my ways and I tried to fix them before it was too late.”

  Cassidy waves away his words.

  “Enough chatter. Let’s get this over with. As I said, I’m not an evil person, so I’m not going to be the one to kill you, Summit. Lucas will do it. I trust that he’ll make it quick and painless for you.”

  “I won’t do it,” Lucas says.

  “Then Nikki will die. And this time, it will be for real. This time, you will know forever that you really could have saved her, but you chose Summit,” Cassidy says coldly.

  “Lucas, it’s okay,” I say.

  It’s far from okay, but I won’t be the one who makes him choose. I won’t be the one he resents forever because of this one moment. I’d rather be dead. Maybe it really would be better for everyone. It’ll be safer, that’s for sure.

  “Dammit, Summit, it’s not okay,” Lucas shouts. “Are you insane?! I’m not going to kill Summit like some messenger boy,” he shouts.

  “So, you choose Summit?” Cassidy asks, pressing the knife a little harder.

  “I’m telling you, I’m not going to choose. And I won’t be killing anyone,” Lucas says firmly

  Cassidy shakes her head sadly.

  “I really thought you were stronger than that, Lucas. Now you will lose the girl you love forever. Because of her.”