Periculum: Unus (Devil's Playground Book 1)

by Natalie Bennett

  “That, my new friend, is Ky making his move.”

  I side-eyed him. “He makes his moves in silence?”

  “Sometimes the silence is all you need.”

  His tone implied there was a deeper meaning behind his words.

  “What time do you think it is?” I changed the subject.

  “One, maybe two in the morning. Why? You got somewhere to be?”

  “Anywhere but here,” I muttered.

  “There’s a sign,” Margo proudly exclaimed.

  Sure enough, at the end of road was a sign with yet another arrow, this one pointing right for once. The road curved so we wouldn’t be able to see what we were approaching until we were around the bend.

  “Come walk with me, puppet,” Ciaran said, slowing so I could catch up.

  Not up for going back and forth, I moved up and fell in step beside him, cognizant of the shift that had occurred between us on all spectrums.

  We rounded the corner together, his arm coming out to hold me back when the sign for Beleth Pass came into view.

  It was a sweet gesture, but I didn’t need him to protect me. Besides, this wasn’t a building. The sign was attached to a gateway covered in moss and vines. The passage beyond was narrow and looked as if it led to a damn swamp.

  “Do we really have to go down there?” Abby whined.

  Knowing he was going to say something entirely unnecessary; I grabbed his hand in hope of keeping the peace. It worked. He glanced down, then over at me with obscurity cloaking his features.

  “We’ll go first,” he announced, threading his fingers through mine. “Pair up if possible.”

  Normally I would not be the first one going any damn where so ominous, but I wasn’t going to argue this decision.

  If I went first, that meant Mel or Grace couldn’t, and if one of those masked degenerates was waiting for us, Ciaran and I would be on the frontline.

  “I’ll take the rear again,” Leonard volunteered quickly.

  “Pussy,” Kyrous muttered.

  It took me a second to catch on as to why he said that. I thought Leonard was going last to be helpful; I hadn’t considered he felt safer all the way behind us. Clearly, he was an idiot. If the incident with the clown girl strolling up on him hadn’t been clue enough that none of us were safe, he was a lost cause.

  Grace slapped Kyrous’ arm and shook her head but didn’t object when he linked them together. Huh, Mel had been on to something after all. She always saw what most people failed to until it was right in front of them. I’d certainly overlooked this strange development.

  She and Maverick paired up, which she didn’t seem thrilled about, leaving an even less happy Selena with Charon. I almost felt bad for Margo because she had to walk with Abby. Leonard was alone, all the way in the back just like he’d wanted to be.

  “You ready?” Ciaran asked me, his tone soft.

  “Let’s do it.”

  He led, and I followed.

  We passed through the gate without incident, immediately having to descend a small flight of concrete stairs.

  No one said a word when the gate closed behind Leonard. I think we all just expected things like that to happen by this point.

  The ground felt wet and slippery, like it was coated in something, but there was only the moon beaming down to offer any light. On either side of us was fencing and buildings, ensuring we remained on this path.

  A strange smell began to creep in and ruin the natural evening air. It wasn’t neither a good scent nor a bad one.

  “What is that?” Margo asked, sniffing loudly.

  “Bacon?” Leonard guessed.

  “It’s a body,” Ciaran answered casually, as if he’d just announced to them it might rain soon.

  “How… how do you know that?” Selena asked.

  “Maybe we’ve dealt with a few.”

  I bit my lip to hold back an amused smile. I seriously dug how straightforward and unapologetically screwed-up he was. It made my dark heart beat a little faster.

  We wound through the passage, slowing when the flicker of a flame began to dance ahead of us. Just beyond that was another gateway. This one looked as if it led to a clearing.

  The smell—the body—was stronger here. As we slowly proceeded, the aroma grew. It was an extremely sweet smell and somehow familiar. That was more disturbing to me than when we passed an alleyway and got an up-close look at the burning corpse.

  The fencing prohibited us from getting any closer to it, which was a small blessing because two masked figures were on either side of the makeshift pit—a man, and clearly a woman if the shirt dress and knee-high boots were anything to go by.

  They stared at us from behind their masks, the man lifting his hand to wave.

  “He hasn’t been burning long,” Kyrous remarked from right behind us.

  I took in the person they had strung up by his arms, stripped naked. His face resembled something less than human. It looked partially smashed in or something.

  As I was trying to figure out what they’d done to him, his bushy mustache gave away his identity.

  “That’s our driver,” I said quietly, not wanting to cause an uproar for the few individuals that would freak out if they pieced that together. The lower half of him was already being eaten by flames, splitting open the flesh on his legs and leaving grease-like fat to drip down and fuel the fire.

  “We should keep going,” Ciaran said, resuming our slow place.

  There was a soft gasp from behind us, I think from Abby once she got a look at the body, but at least she didn’t start sobbing again.

  Ciaran and I emerged from the passage together, entering what turned out to be an actual clearing. The fencing changed here, forming a half circle of sorts.

  To the left was another sign with two images painted on it. Straight ahead was another gate, not yet open.

  A type of lighted platform ran along the perimeter of the fence, lined with the masked men we saw before, plus three more additions. The clown was up there with them. I could feel their eyes on us, watching our every move.

  Once we were all through the passage, one of them shut us in, slamming the rear gate by pulling on a rope. A lock clicked into place, ensuring we wouldn’t be getting out unless they wanted us to.

  The man with the automatic bow lifted it up and angled it at us.

  One of the newer masked figures cocked a shotgun, doing the same on the flip side of the platform.

  Ciaran gave my hand a gentle squeeze, a reassurance, I think.

  “Woah, woah!” Leonard yelled, holding his hands in the air. “No need for any of that. Just tell us what you want, all right?”

  “Solve the riddle,” clown girl said. She motioned to the sign. At her instruction, the man in the half white mask tossed down a rope with a noose on the end.

  “You have five minutes. For each additional minute you waste of ours, my friends get to take a life.” She held out her palms to indicate the shotgun and bow.

  “I already don’t get it,” Margo stressed, moving past us to get a better look at the sign.

  “Don’t you worry, I’ll keep track of time,” clown girl chirped.

  Ignoring her and our audience, I nudged Ciaran so we could get closer.

  “Any ideas?” I asked.

  “I already figured it out.”

  “Are you going to say what it is?” Mel questioned dryly.

  He ignored her and looked down at me. “What do you think?”

  Of course, he wasn’t going to just say what the answer was. Why on earth would he do that? I eyed the symbols that had been painted in red—the kind of red blood tended to be. There was an eye with a line through it, and an ear with an X. The gap between them was where the end of the rope hung.

  “I think we know this,” Gracelyn said, moving up behind me.

  “We do?”

  “Yeah, you and that one kid used to play a game like this when we were little, but I can’t remember how it goes.”

  I
almost asked if she had me confused with someone else. I didn’t know what she was referring to.

  “Three minutes,” clown girl called down.

  “Ciaran,” I implored.

  “Puppet,” he retorted teasingly.

  What an asshole. I tried to pull my hand free of his, but he simply firmed his hold, pulling me into his side.

  “Aww,” clown girl cooed, cocking her head like a curious dog. “He likes you.”

  Ignoring her, I studied the picture, raking my brain for what it meant. “It’s…”

  “One minute,” was sang from above us.

  “The eye can’t see… ear can’t hear…” What was I missing? My mind raced in circles, homing in on those two things. I didn’t want anyone else to die if we could prevent it, not over a dumbass riddle.

  “Is it about the senses?” Selena questioned.

  I read it again and nodded. “I think you’re right.”

  Eyes. Ears.

  “Mouth?” I guessed.

  “Yes! The mouth can’t speak,” Gracelyn rushed out.

  “Good job, Gracie,” Kyrous praised, sounding like he had actual emotions for once.

  “You’re not done yet…” clown girl stated.

  The half-masked man gave the rope a swing to emphasize what she meant.

  “Who the hell do they think is putting that around their neck?” Mel laughed.

  He lifted his hand and pointed right at where I was standing.

  “Not fucking happening,” Ciaran ground out, pushing me behind him. I bumped into Grace and Mel, who both latched onto my body as if the rope was going to reach over here and grab hold of me all by itself.

  “Thirty seconds, lovelies,” clown girl called out.

  “Shit, shit, shit,” Leonard chanted, shaking the gate behind us to try and reopen it.

  I wasn’t going to just stand here and hope one of my best friends didn’t get killed if I could ensure they didn’t.

  “Ciaran—”

  “No,” he said bluntly, leaving no room for arguing.

  I glared at the back of his head. “You don’t even know what I—”

  “Shut the fuck up, puppet. No one’s fucking touching you.”

  “Did you just—?”

  “I agree with him. Shut up, Lana,” Mel reiterated, giving me a shake.

  “Know what? I’ve got the perfect solution.” Ciaran turned and pushed me backward again, right into Maverick’s awaiting arms.

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  “Keeping you safe,” Maverick replied good naturedly, holding me in a bear hug from behind.

  “Not you, him.” I aimed another glare at Ciaran.

  Paying me no heed, he grabbed Abby by the front of her romper and began dragging her forward.

  “No!” she screamed, trying to get away from him. Her feet tangled together, causing her to trip.

  “Get off her, you little shit.” Leonard tried to swoop in and save the day, being blocked by Charon and—surprisingly—Margo.

  “It has to be one of us,” she tried to reason.

  “You can’t do this!” he yelled.

  “Already done,” Ciaran called back.

  He released Abby’s romper and grabbed a fistful of her hair, easily thwarting all the swings she took at him as he wrapped the end of the rope around her neck. “Think of it as sacrificing yourself for the greater good.”

  “Fuck you!” she screeched, the sound ending in a garbled mess.

  Without delay, two of the masked figures began to pull. The noose tightened as she was lifted and ultimately dragged onto the platform.

  She struggled relentlessly, screaming bloody murder as her arms and legs were pinned down.

  “Hold still now,” clown girl advised as the person in the orange LED mask crouched down, a glistening blade in their hand.

  Abby’s mouth was forced open by his companions. An audible snap carried down to us as her jaw was shoved out of the place.

  “Oh, god no,” Leonard cried out, turning away so he didn’t have to see what was happening.

  I remained transfixed, barely blinking as Abby’s tongue was pulled out, and the man in the LED began to slice into it. Her cries... Maverick let me go, and I grabbed Ciaran’s forearm, curling my fingers into his skin.

  There was so much blood, I could smell it, see the rivulets beginning to form puddles on the platform and drip down. Something squelched and popped… her tongue being removed.

  The masked man stood and held it up, ensuring he had our attention as he partially lifted his mask and put it in his damn mouth.

  I could deal with a lot, but this was disgusting on a whole new level. I gagged and looked away when he began to chew.

  “Dude, why?” Mel rasped, burying her face in my back.

  “Can we go now?” Gracelyn asked when his companions started cheering him on.

  I peeked up just as she tried to walk towards the unopened gate.

  Kyrous was quick to stop her, wrapping an arm around her middle.

  “Don’t just take off.”

  “It’s right there.” She jabbed a finger in the gate’s direction.

  I turned my head back towards the platform, watching two of the masked men reach down and lift Abby up.

  With a careless toss, she was thrown back down into our enclosure. Her body hit the ground with a thud, but it didn’t seem like anything else broke. She was very much alive, jaw shoved too far to the right, her tongue gone. Copious amounts of blood continued to leak from her face, staining the grass and her chin. The sound coming from her reminded me of a pig being butchered.

  “What do we do?” Margo questioned, hesitating to go to her side.

  “Kill her,” I said simply.

  “What?” Leonard shrilled. “We can’t—”

  “Look at her,” I demanded, turning towards him. “Do you know of any hospitals we can take her to? A local ER?”

  “She isn’t an animal, we can’t just put her out of her misery,” he snapped.

  “She can’t even talk,” Gracelyn mumbled.

  Abby began to stand up, showing she had more strength than I gave her credit for.

  Though passing out would have been more beneficial to her than trying to come towards us. She took two steps before the side of her head imploded by a well-aimed blast from the guy with the shotgun, the sound echoing loudly.

  Something wet hit my cheek as blood and brain matter expelled into the air, scattering over the grass along with tiny fragments of her skull. Her body jerked to the right and landed at our feet, face down with a gaping hole exposing the top portion of her innards.

  Leonard turned and began to vomit, his hands going to his knees. Above us, the masked figures began to disperse. When the clown girl finally took her leave, she did so with a wave and a promise to see us soon.

  The gate ahead swung open, granting us access to our next destination.

  CHAPTER NINE

  We walked for hours.

  I only knew it had been that long because the moon lowered, and the sky began to change from the first signs of sunrise.

  My feet were killing me, I felt gross and sticky, and I was in desperate need of a shower.

  Abby’s dried blood or something had hardened to my cheek, only adding to how grimy I felt.

  Ciaran hadn’t left my side, but we’d barely spoken a word each other since leaving the enclosure. Did I thank him for saving my life yet again, even if it was at another person’s expense? Or did I demand to know who the hell he was and why he kept doing so?

  Both?

  Neither?

  Conversation flowed easily enough with everyone else. No one brought up Abby. I don’t think we needed a rundown of what we’d just witnessed.

  I didn’t think her death had been as bad as Susan’s simply because one suffered more than the other, but it’d been brutal. It had me wondering who the people beneath the masks were.

  Specifically, the one with the half-white face and the guy who boldly ate
a raw and bloody tongue. Even the clown…

  I should have never let these thoughts fester so intensely. It went against everything I was so determined not to become. I hadn’t even tried to save Abby, I’d requested she be put down like the animal Leonard had argued she wasn’t, like the pig she reminded me of as her face was dismantled.

  I sincerely thought that killing her would have been more humane than toting her around the city without a tongue and with a broken jaw.

  Was that wrong?

  I tried to see it from his perspective and couldn’t. I don’t know, maybe this was the old me talking. Until now, I’d done quite well making a liar of myself, pretending I could ever be anything other than filthy and tragically flawed from the life I lived outside of here.

  This was officially a vacation from hell. Ciaran wasn’t helping matters. He was what I could be, serving as a reminder of exactly what I kept trying to deny. He made being bad seem like such an easy thing to do. Beautiful and twisted to the core, he unapologetically owned who he was.

  I envied him for that. I longed for that kind of self-acceptance and freedom of the soul.

  Life would be much simpler if I could just stop trying to be someone I wasn’t. That was easier said than done, though.

  “Do you know where we’re going?” I asked, watching Leonard from my peripheral.

  I didn’t trust anyone, but I really wasn’t feeling him—at all. The way he kept looking at me didn’t inspire warm and fuzzies.

  If his disgusted glare was enough to decimate me, my body parts would be strewn all over the street.

  “Don’t worry about him.”

  “Huh?”

  “I said it’s right up there.” Ciaran nodded with his head.

  I didn’t think that’s what I heard, but okay. I skimmed either side of the empty street, overlooking a few lone cars and immaculate buildings until I found another Sanctuary.

  “Another one?” I murmured.

  “You prefer to keep going?” Maverick asked.

  “I can’t, I need to stop,” Margo lisped, expelling a tired breath. “I’m not young like you kids, and I need a damn minute.” Her voice cracked, causing the group to go silent.

  All our sympathy givers were dead. She was the last one left.