“That’s quite the party trick.”
Leo put his hand on my shoulder, leading me through the door. No handle existed on the other side, and no doorknob. When it closed with a loud click, I was trapped. I wanted to reach for a knife and kill Melo on the spot, but I forced myself to think of Brooke. If there was any chance she was still alive, I had to try to save her.
“Rid her of weapons, brother,” said Melo.
Leo turned me around to face him. He took my duffle bag from my shoulder and tossed it onto the concrete floor. We stood at the top of a high metal staircase. I glanced over the side to see where it led, but found nothing below but darkness. Leo slid his hands around my waist, his gaze never leaving mine.
“What are you doing?” I asked, trying to control the rapid hammering of my heart.
“Checking you for weapons.”
His hands slid over my belt, loaded with knives and even a nice, shiny sai. His eyes met mine, and I knew he’d felt them. I held my breath as I waited for him to expose me to Melo, but oddly enough he didn’t say anything. After he finished, he zipped up my jacket, covering the belt completely.
He raised one eyebrow; a gesture so much like Michael’s it felt like a stab in my chest. “You look like your brother,” I said.
He looked surprised. “Melo?”
I shook my head. “Michael. I can’t believe I never noticed it before.”
Leo acknowledged it with a little bow of his dark head, and his lips curved up into the barest hint of a smile. “At least I look like someone in my family.”
I glanced at the Moktar standing next to him, with his saggy skin and menacing eyes. “Just be happy you take after your mama and not your daddy.”
“Looks can be deceiving. What was it you wrote in your journal about me, ‘like someone on the cover of an erotic novel’? You thought I was desirable.”
I felt my cheeks get warm. “That was before I knew you.”
He shook his head. “That was before you knew Michael.”
“I want my journal back.”
He laughed. “Too bad. It’s mine.”
Leo led me down a narrow hallway. I kept looking over my shoulder, hoping to find an escape route. There wasn’t one. I’d gone into this knowing it was probably a one-way trip, but I still had to try. I touched my cell phone in my pocket. Lucinda tracked it at this very moment, my only safeguard, but useless because, as suspected, only a Moktar could open the door to the nest.
We exited the dark, narrow hallway and walked through an ornately carved wooden door and straight into what looked like a prison. I searched the room until my eyes found Brooke. She was naked and chained up in a cell, her body filthy. She looked barely conscious, but at least she was alive. For now.
I don’t know what I’d expected to find in the Moktar’s nest, but this wasn’t it. Leo led me past the other cells, and I looked around in shock. Naked women were chained in each of the cells, some of them pregnant, most half starving.
“They’re all Travellers,” he said. “Except for Brooke.”
“The stories about what you do to Traveller women are true,” I said, trying to swallow the bile rising in my throat. “You really are beasts.”
Leo didn’t respond, and I stepped away from him. I couldn’t stand even being close to him. We passed through the prison and entered a cavernous room, full of Moktar, a long wooden table in the center. The Moktar sat around the table, as if feasting, but the only thing on the table was a woman with her spindly legs spread eagle and her body very still. She wore a black robe. I couldn’t see her face, but I knew who she was.
“Mavin.”
I marched over, prepared to give her a piece of my mind, but as soon as I reached the table, I realized the awful truth. The top of her skull was missing, and the Moktar had eaten her brain.
I stumbled backwards. Leo pulled me away from the body. “I’m sorry you had to see that, but she was a nasty old thing.”
“You ate her.”
“She served no other purpose. She was too old to breed, and we do what we must to survive.”
I shook from head to toe. “You might look like a person, but you are a monster, Leo.”
Melo sat at the head of the table, and he laughed. “A monster? My brother? He is as weak and human as any Traveller. He is not Moktar, Emerson Shaw. He is a burden. We keep him alive because he can walk in the sun. In that capacity, he serves us well.”
Melo lifted a heavy silver chalice to Leo, and then took a long, deep sip. I hoped it wasn’t blood, but judging by the color of what ran down his face, I was pretty certain it wasn’t Kool-Aid. I felt like vomiting.
The other Moktar around the table laughed at Melo’s comments, and Leo’s cheeks turned red. He turned to me, his golden eyes sad. “I cannot adequately describe to you what the withdrawal feels like, Emerson, but just imagine your entire body on fire, and as it burned, someone began pulling off your skin. That is the closest I can come to making you understand.”
I gave him a level look, trying to keep my cool. I had to find a way to help all these women. I’d come in hoping to trade myself for Brooke, but I hadn’t expected to find a bunch of Traveller women locked in the Moktar dungeon.
“You’re a bunch of drug addicts, rapists, and murderers.”
Leo closed his eyes for just a second and shook his head slowly. “It’s not drug addiction. There’s no detox or rehab or hope of recovery. Without it we die.”
“I’m sorry for you, but it’s better to die than to kill innocent people.”
Leo’s lips curved into a smile, but it lacked humor. “Is that why you came here tonight? Is that why the Ceannfort is at our gate at this moment searching desperately for a way to get in? Because it’s better to die than to kill?”
I swallowed hard. The idea Michael might be outside terrified me. Lucinda and Poppy must have panicked and called him.
“I came here to save Brooke. If I kill a few Moktar in the process, it isn’t the same as killing a human. You are monsters. You deserve it.”
Chapter Thirty
Your ass is grass, and I’m the lawnmower.
~Grandma Sugar
“Would you like a tour of our nest?” asked Melo. “Before we assign you a cell of your own?”
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. This was the chance I’d been waiting for. If I could get Melo somewhere alone, I’d have a better chance of killing him. My blood hummed with excitement. Something odd had been unleashed when I’d fought back and killed all of those Moktar. A thirst, a desire, to do it again, and again, and again.
Maybe the Moktar weren’t the only monsters. Maybe I’d become one myself.
Melo led me through the nest, his hands behind his back, looking every inch the respectable host, except, of course, for the yellow eyes, saggy skin, and nasty teeth. He still had a bit of blood and what looked like part of Mavin’s brain on his chin. Leo followed a few feet behind us.
“I heard you had a rather eventful evening yesterday,” said Melo.
“Are you making conversation with me?”
He shrugged, the effect odd with his gray, loose skin. “I am trying to be polite. You should do the same. There are those among us who would like to kill you immediately after what you did.”
“Are you one of them, Melo?”
He shook his gigantic head. “No. I’d like to enjoy you first, and a strong woman like you would make fine sons for me.”
My disgust must have been apparent on my face, but I couldn’t hold my tongue. “The only way you can have women is if you rape them. Do you think that makes you strong? I think it makes you a sick, smelly, weakling.”
Melo turned toward me, raising his hand. Sure he was going to hit me, I closed my eyes, but the smack never came. I opened my eyes to see Melo staring down at me.
“You have no idea what you are, do you?”
I clenched my jaw. “I know I’m a Traveller. Or at least half Traveller.”
Melo moved a step closer to m
e, and Leo’s entire body tensed. I still hadn’t figured Leo out. He seemed devoted to his nasty brother, but he’d let me keep my weapons belt. Either he didn’t think it was important, or he wanted his brother dead as much as I did. I lifted my chin, refusing to cower, and Melo laughed.
“You are so much more than that, little golden one. It is why you are such a danger, and also such a gift.”
Melo continued his tour, taking me down to see where the newborn Moktar were kept. Babies are always cute, even animal babies, but baby Moktar were just as ugly as their parents. There were several females with the children or pups or whatever they were. They fell to their knees and touched their foreheads to the ground as soon as they saw Melo.
“I didn’t know girl Moktars existed,” I said.
“They are worthless,” he said. “Unable to breed, and with remarkably short life spans. We don’t bother giving them much HT anymore. It’s better if they just die in infancy.”
“You are just all kinds of lovely, aren’t you, Melo?”
He shrugged, and for just a second I saw a glimpse of Michael beneath the monster form. It vanished almost immediately.
“I am practical. I do what I must for our race to survive.”
He took me into a room with maps and computers. “This is our command center. Right now, we only communicate with the nests in England, but soon it will be global. We are not going to stay here much longer. We will begin setting up shop in your home country. Perhaps our first nest will be in Bowling Green, in honor of your poor, dead mother.”
I reached up to slap his face, but Leo stopped me. “Don’t,” he said softly in my ear. I let my hand fall back to my side.
Melo’s eyes grew dark. “If you keep it up, our first meal in Kentucky will be your father. The esteemed professor and historian, Dr. George Shaw.”
“How do you know so much about me?” I could barely speak. The idea of my father being a target made a cold, horrible fear sweep through my body.
“We have our sources,” he said with a nasty smile. “And here he is now.”
His eyes went to the door, and automatically, I turned to look to see who’d come in. My knees buckled beneath me when I realized the terrible truth.
“Monroe Skinner.”
If he was surprised to see me in the nest, he certainly didn’t show it. “Ah, Emerson. They caught you rather quickly. I must say I’m a bit disappointed. I thought you would have put up more of a fight.”
“She came here of her own accord. She wants to bargain for the life of the Dweller,” said Leo.
Melo tilted his head to one side. “And what will you bargain with?”
“Myself,” I said, and Melo and Monroe burst out laughing.
“But, my dear,” said Melo. “You are already mine.”
We walked back through the cells together. Melo was ahead of us and Monroe by my side. Several of the women looked up when they saw Monroe. He didn’t even glance at them.
“How could you do this to your own people?”
He shrugged. “What you must understand is by giving the Moktar one girl a year to play with I avoid other girls being taken. It’s for the good of the entire community. I pick the girls, get rid of a few bad apples, and everyone is happy.”
“These girls don’t seem very happy.”
He frowned at me, looking every inch the white-haired, grandfatherly English gentleman. Leo was right. Looks could be deceiving.
“Their happiness really is of no consequence.”
“Why did you pick Roseanne?”
“Ah. That was a bit different. She chose Sampson over me, you see. My wife was worthless. She couldn’t produce a child. Giving the Moktar Roseanne was simply an act of youthful vengeance on my part, but it worked out well for me. I made the original agreement with Melo and Leo’s father. He was so pleased with the results he allowed it to continue for over twenty years. Think of all the lives I saved.”
I stopped walking. “You’re actually proud of yourself.”
He nodded very seriously. “Of course, I am. But my plans far exceed what I’ve accomplished already. I can tell you this since you’ll never again see the light of day. We’re changing our strategy. Rather than working for the Dwellers and their idiotic alliance, we’re joining forces with the Moktar.”
I tripped over my own feet, but caught myself before I fell. “You’re forming an alliance with the monsters who want to eat you?”
“Yes. It’s brilliant, actually. Rather than being kept as virtual prisoners in our dirty little compounds, the Travellers will be free to roam the earth once more.”
“Michael won’t let that happen.”
He chuckled. “The Ceannfort will no longer be an issue, my dear. As soon as we have you locked up and secure, I plan to hand him over the Moktar. He’s become such a pain. It’ll be nice to be rid of him once and for all, just like I got rid of the other one. Only sixteen years old, but he’d gotten too close to the truth, you see. He left me no choice.”
“Tad,” I said softly, and Monroe flinched at the fact I’d said his name aloud. “What about Mavin?”
He rolled his eyes. “That nosy bitch. She was about to ruin everything. She snuck into my caravan and stole my journal. Can you believe the nerve?”
“How awful for you.”
Apparently, he missed the sarcasm in my words. “It was. But at least her little act of thievery did have one positive result. It got you here, and this is where you will stay.”
He opened the door to an empty cell, ever so politely, like a gentleman opening the door for a lady. I had few options at this point. Being a lady was not one of them. Leo stood a few feet behind us, Melo a few feet ahead. I did what any respectable southern girl would do in this situation and went bat crazy, kicking Monroe as hard as I could right in his private parts. When he doubled over in pain I kneed him in the face and shoved him into the cell, slamming the door and locking him inside. He curled up on the floor, holding his crotch, with blood flowing out of a broken nose.
Melo turned and gave me an evil grin. “Emerson wants to play.”
He lifted his head and howled, a horrific sound that echoed off the stone walls of the dungeon, making the women cover their ears and cry. I wasn’t crying. I unzipped my jacket, pulled out two knives, and enjoyed the sight of the bright silver in the dim light of the prison. Melo backed away. He must have sensed I planned to save these girls, or die trying.
As Moktar streamed into the narrow hallway, Leo stood next to me, his back to mine. He had a knife in his hand as well.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I will not permit you to die here, Emerson Shaw.”
I rolled my eyes. “So bossy. Just like your brother.”
He scowled. “Perhaps we wouldn’t have to be so bossy if you simply made better decisions. We really must work on your impulse control.”
I wanted to argue with him about it, but the swarm of Moktar approaching us proved a bit of a distraction. Due to the narrowness of the hallway, they could only attack a few at a time. It really wasn’t even a very fair fight. I slashed and lunged and killed them without much effort at all. I found it almost boring. Every so often, I’d turn and help Leo out. He was sweating and breathing hard. I was covered in blood, but completely calm. An odd Zen-like experience for me. It felt like I was doing what I’d been born to do. There was something very right about it, like my whole life had built up to this moment.
Melo had disappeared as soon as the fighting started. I searched for him as I fought, but he hid somewhere, probably waiting for me to tire so he could finish me off. He would be sadly disappointed. I wasn’t tired at all, but Leo was dragging, and he looked like he’d been injured. I wanted to shove him in a cell for his own protection, but instead I tried to cover him as much as I could.
Another long howl erupted and the Moktar froze, backing off a few feet. I was breathing hard, but not as much from exertion as from excitement. This had been enjoyable for me, which was sor
t of scary on so many levels. My enjoyment ended as soon as I saw Melo. He held a barely conscious Brooke in his arms, one sharp claw poised just above her exposed neck.
“You have fought well, Emerson, but this will stop now or your friend dies.”
Leo, doubled over next to me, gasped for breath as he bled profusely from a wound on his side. “He’ll kill her anyway.”
Melo growled. “You are worthless, and now you have betrayed your own race. I will no longer call you my brother.”
Leo looked up at him and smiled. “Good,” he said. “That makes this so much easier.”
He stood and tossed a knife directly at Melo’s head. A great throw, but Melo was just a little too quick. He jumped out of the way, dropping Brooke in the process. She curled up on the floor in a crumpled heap, looking nothing like a southern belle and a former beauty queen. Her eyes, glassy and unfocused, gave me hope she’d remember very little from this night.
Melo straightened to his full height, an army of Moktar behind him. A terrifying thing to behold.
“You have made this easier for me, Leo, no-brother-of-mine. I will kill the girl first and make you watch. Afterwards, I’ll take my time with you,” he said, and then shouted at the Moktar behind him. “We shall dine well tonight.”
The Moktar roared. Leo pulled himself back up to a standing position. He leaned heavily against the bars of one of the cells, determination and resignation shining in his golden eyes. I handed him one of my knives.
“Thank you,” he said. “You’re going to owe me a coffee when this is all over.”
We both knew we weren’t getting out of here alive. No matter how many Moktar I killed, more kept coming, and Melo might prove to be too powerful. Even for me.
I gave him a crooked smile. “You never give up, do you? I’m dating your big brother, remember?”
“A minor detail,” he said softly. He was pale and sweating. He’d lost a lot of blood, but he’d made his choice. Sun Tzu would have been proud of him. He would have been proud of both of us. We would die with honor.
Melo snarled, stepping closer. I held up my knives. He didn’t need any weapons. He had his teeth, and his claws. A killing machine.
Traveller Page 23
