by Katie May
I understand their trepidation. I’m a monster. I’m the beast that lurks beneath your bed at night, waiting for you to leave the safety of the blankets so I can snatch you up. I’ve killed people—more people than I care to admit—but I have also saved people.
Shaking my head vigorously, I release a bellow of rage, rise to my feet once more, and slam my entire body against the wall. Only, instead of a hard surface, my body meets nothing but air. I stumble to the ground, stealthily pushing my hands out to catch myself before I can faceplant.
What the bloody hell?
Directly ahead of me is a thin shaft of brilliant white light, illuminating a few feet in every direction. The light calls to me like a beacon, one I can’t possibly resist. One that I don’t want to resist.
Before I can even take a step closer, muffled cursing captures my attention. I whip my head in the direction of the noise and growl threateningly, preparing to rip the intruder limb from limb. If anyone tries to keep me from my precious treasure, they will pay the price. I will not hesitate to do what needs to be done.
“Who’s there?” I bellow, and the footsteps abruptly pause.
A moment later, a timid voice calls, “Hux?”
“Jack?” I stalk forward, my hands extended, until they rest on a pair of shoulders. “What the bloody hell are you doing here?” I demand, my hands tightening on his skin. I just barely resist the urge to shake him.
And then the sheer wonderment and joy of being able to actually see and hold my younger brother bombards me. For so long, he has been nothing but an elusive fantasy. Before Violet, we were forced to write notes back and forth to each other whenever we switched places. While I flourished in the darkness, my little brother thrived in the light. He sought to save the world and the people in it while I sought to destroy it.
“Brother,” he whispers, voice choked.
“Where the bloody hell are we?” I demand. “And where’s my precious treasure?”
“What do you mean?” Jack questions, sounding genuinely bemused. “Aren’t you driving the body?”
I just barely hold in my snort. “I’ve been in the darkness for the last few hours.” Phantom shivers race up and down my arms as I remember the coldness and gripping loneliness. The only thing that made it bearable was the prospect of seeing Violet again. I was nearly driven mad with my fear for her. The last thing I remember was standing beside her as we went to the portal…and then, nothing. I’d assumed Jack was in control of our shared body.
But…
“If we’re both here, then what the bloody fuck is happening with our body?” I hiss through gritted teeth, my head whipping towards the sliver of light. As I watch, horrified, it begins to spark and fade, the hole becoming smaller and smaller as the seconds tick by.
“Run!” Jack screams, darting around me and towards the piercing light. I’m right on his heels, finally able to see his silhouette and blurry features the closer we get.
The light is now half as tall as it was initially, significantly dimmer until it’s a hue of molten amber instead of silver.
Just as we’re about to barrel through the hole, it flickers once and then abruptly dissipates, once more leaving us encased in pure darkness. I can’t see my hand in front of my face, let alone Jack.
A roar of pain and fury leaves me as I desperately touch the air where I last saw the light.
No. No. No. No. No.
I can’t remain in this place, not after I found my mate. I need to be there for her and protect her.
Who knew how hard it would be to once again live in the darkness after experiencing the light?
“What are we going to do?” Jack whispers, his voice wobbling.
I drop to my knees and pound my fist against the ground. Once. Twice. Three times. Each blow sends pain reverberating up my arm, but I welcome it, allowing it to cool my blistering emotions.
When I don’t answer, my free hand clenching around the chocolate bar, Jack continues in a ragged voice, “I think…I think we’re not alone. I think there’s someone else here with us.”
If that’s the case, then a stranger is currently in control of our body. A stranger who has the power to get close to my precious treasure…
Rage skitters through my veins as I scream my pain for the world to hear. Hanging my head, I allow my fingers to unclench from the chocolate bar before holding it reverently to my chest.
“Brother,” Jack begins softly, placing a hand on my shoulder. When I don’t immediately answer, body still trembling with anger, he gives it a squeeze. “We need to find our way out of here.”
“Some fucker has taken over our body,” I manage to hiss out, still not raising my head. Tension thrums through me, and I can feel my heart racing in tandem to my spiraling thoughts. “What if he hurts Violet? Who the fuck is he?”
“I don’t know,” Jack says, resignation clear in his voice. “But I swear to you, I’ll find a way to get us both out of this alive. We’ll find our way back to her.”
“We’re trapped in here!” I finally lunge to my feet, knocking Jack’s hand off my shoulder in the process. I whirl on my brother, lips curling away from my teeth. “You promised me that I wouldn’t be trapped in the darkness anymore. You. Promised. Me.” My chest heaves with each word as pain flays me open, baring my organs for the entire world to see. I hate being vulnerable, hate showing anyone the person beneath the monster. That person is only reserved for my precious treasure. For my mate.
“There has to be another exit,” Jack says resolutely, but I can’t help but notice that his voice shakes. “Once we find our way out, we can overpower the asshole and make him pay.”
“I’m going to rip him limb from limb,” I warn, tone impassive. “I’ll rip his spleen out of his body. I’ll gouge out each of his eyeballs and then feed them to him, one at a time. I’ll use his heart as a baseball and his head as a basketball. And his tears? I’ll lick them from his face as they fall, claiming his pain as my own. And when he tries to run, I’ll burn each of his feet until even standing is impossible. Only then will I skin him alive and wear it like a coat of pride. As he bleeds to death, I’ll grab his tonsils and tie them into a cute little bow around his face and then gift him to my precious treasure. Do you understand me?”
Jack audibly gulps. “I’ll be your moral support.”
I nod my head once, accepting that.
“You can hold the body still for me as I enact my revenge,” I state seriously.
“Errr…”
“Come.” Without a word, I stride in the opposite direction of the light, my hands extended as I feel around in the darkness. “We need to find our way out of here. Now.”
CHAPTER 32
VIOLET
I’m in Vin’s arms before he can even finish speaking, unable to stop myself from nuzzling against his neck. His body stiffens underneath me, obviously taken by surprise, before he tightens his arms around me and returns my hug.
“What’s going on?” Frankie demands immediately, his icy voice curling around me and instantly putting me at ease.
They’re safe, and they’re here with me. We’re safe.
Pesky tears spring to my eyes at the reminder that we’re not all safe. Not after…
I shove those emotions in a glass bottle and toss it in the churning river. Maybe someone will find them one day and know how to handle them. All I know for certain is that if I allow these thoughts to fester, if I allow them to take root like a carnivorous plant, I’ll never be able to claw myself out of the depressive hole I’m already halfway in.
“Pinkie…” Mason steps up behind me, effectively caging me between the two men. He begins to rub at my tangled curls while Vin buries his face in my neck.
“Barret’s dead.” It’s Cal who answers, his voice carefully blank. When I reluctantly pull back from Vin, it’s to see Cal staring blindly ahead with dark, empty eyes. “He’s dead.”
“Oh, shit,” Vin curses, pulling me back towards him. I allow myself to accept h
is comfort, but only for a moment. A moment of weakness.
Once more, I step away from Vin and press my back against the far wall. Distance. I need distance. If one of them touches me again, I’ll fall apart at the seams, losing tiny pieces of myself in the process.
“I see that we all came to the same conclusion,” I manage to breathe out, grateful when my voice doesn’t wobble. Mason and Vin exchange an anxious, wary glance, but fortunately, they accept my abrupt change of topic. Frankie moves to stand beside me, and though he doesn’t touch me, the heat he emits is almost palpable. It seeps through my Academy-issued clothes and sets my skin ablaze.
“If Dimitri was telling the truth, the portal home should be somewhere in here.” Vin moves to stand in the center of all of us, once more the unofficial leader. I can’t help but find his domineering attitude and no-nonsense tone sexy. Horrible timing? Most definitely.
“What exactly did the scary fucker say?” Mason adds, turning to face me completely. I bite my lip as I try to remember.
Something about…
“Something about bandages, maybe? I don’t remember. It all happened so fast.”
With a brisk nod at each other, the men fan out, pulling open drawers and doors at random. After a moment of indecision, I hurry to follow.
“So, are we looking for a drawer or closet full of bandages?” I query, wrenching open the drawer behind the nurse’s desk. Files. The next drawer proves to be filled with the same.
“Fuck if I know,” Vin grumbles. Turning to the others, he says, “I’m going to take the east wing. Mason? Take the west. Frankie, you’ll head north, and Cal, you’ll head south.” The men all nod at his directive, but I wave my hand in the air impatiently. When he doesn’t immediately call on me, I speak anyway.
“What about me? Where can I look?”
“You’ll stay here.” His tone brooks no room for argument. “Continue searching through the lobby, but when you’re done, wait for us.”
Sit, Violet. Stay. Stay. Good girl. Good girl.
I hate when people treat me like a fucking dog.
When I don’t immediately protest, Vin’s eyes narrow at my easy capitulation.
“Go.” I shoo them away impatiently. “I’ll be a good girl and stay here. Cross my heart.” To prove my point, I create a makeshift X over my chest and hold my free hand up in the air to prove I’m not crossing my fingers.
Vin continues to eye me suspiciously, warily, before he concedes with a heavy sigh, jerking his chin at the others to split up. Mason skips to me immediately and plants a chaste, tender kiss to my forehead.
“We’ll get through this, Pinkie. I promise,” he whispers, his breath fanning across my face.
“That’s a lie,” I protest immediately. “We already lost Barret, and I have no idea where Jack and Hux are.”
And I lost a tiny piece of my heart as well, though I don’t say that out loud.
Mason’s face softens in sympathy before he lifts my knuckles to his lips and kisses them.
“We’ll get through this,” he repeats. “Even if we’re a little broken afterwards.”
At my reluctant nod of concession, Mason releases my hand and strides in the direction Vin indicated. It’s only then that I realize I’m alone. Completely and utterly alone.
I can’t negate the lingering fear that they’ll never return, that something will happen to them within the few minutes we’re separated. Anxiety is a bitch.
Mumbling beneath my breath, I turn back towards the nurse’s station…only to freeze in terror when I spot three dogs circling me, fangs dripping with saliva.
They’re hideous creatures with mangy fur riddled with burns and cuts and vibrant red eyes that make me believe I’m staring into hell’s bowels. All three of them take a step closer as I instinctively take one backwards.
“Don’t hurt the little vampire,” I plead. “I promise I’m not as tasty as I look. And I keep razor blades in my skin, so if you try to eat me, you’ll get a mouth full of pain.”
The beasts continue to stalk forward, their paws thumping against the white tiles.
“If you don’t eat me, I’ll give you a treat. Do you guys want a treat? Huh? A little doggy treat?” My back hits something solid, and I practically fall on my face in my attempt to spin around. This new creature has an expressionless face—almost like a smooth stone that has been polished over—and a long, slinky body.
Fear cascades through me as the creature tilts his head to the side curiously.
“How about we call a truce, okay? A no-killing-or-maiming truce between friends. We can be friends, right?” I back away from both creatures now, my heart threatening to break free of my chest. “I’m Violet. I’m a vampire. And I love long walks on the beach and giving blowjobs to people. Now it’s your turn to introduce yourselves!” I gesture towards the blank-faced man—woman?—who continues to descend on me. “Nope? Don’t want to? Okay, I’ll tell you more about me. I once stabbed myself with a fork. Accidentally, of course, but that shit hurt like a bitch. It took me an hour to remove it from my neck. Honestly, I have no idea how I missed my mouth that bad. Pure skill, perhaps. Pure fucking skill.”
One of the mutts lunges forward suddenly and captures the edge of my shorts with his teeth, tugging.
“I’d like to keep my pants on, please,” I say, shaking my leg to dispel the ugly thing. When he whimpers, staring up at me with bright eyes rife with betrayal, I instantly feel like shit. “I suppose I can follow you…” I trail off helplessly, but the mutt lets out an excited yelp and begins running in a circle, chasing its spindly tail. Fuck, it’s actually kind of cute in the whole “I’m going to murder and eat your intestines” type of way. Sort of like Hux.
Heaving out another breath, I allow myself to follow the beast down the corridor Cal disappeared down, the other two beasts on either side of me. The final creature remains at my back like a silent sentinel.
Pounding hooves echo behind me, and I turn just in time to see an honest-to-fuck centaur barreling towards us. His lips are pulled into a circular smile, revealing row after row of serrated teeth dripping bright with blood. His beady red eyes remind me eerily of a spider’s, and I can’t stop the full-body shivers from raking through me.
You know the saying, “Fuck me?” Well, I really, really don’t want to be fucked right now.
The only reason I’m not running away like my ass is on fire is because I don’t sense any malevolence from the creatures. Instead, they appear nothing but curious, and, in the hounds’ cases, playful. It still does little to quell my growing unease as I venture farther and farther down the hallway.
There is no electricity in the building, and, this far down, there are no windows. It isn’t too long before the entire hall is submerged in a pool of murky darkness. My footsteps sound ear-rupturing loud as they pound against the smooth tiles. I swear I can hear residual echoes, almost as if someone is walking directly behind me, stalking me. The dogs are quieter, their footsteps muted, while the shadowy figure glides across the floor without actually touching it. The centaur, on the other hand, pounds its hooves against the floor while intermittently releasing a prolonged “neigh.”
When the silence becomes too unnerving, too chilling, I begin to sing softly beneath my breath. “Walking down the hall. With my shadow and my dog. A vampire wearing bats… And what the fuck is that?” I pause abruptly, the shadow monster ramming into my back before gracefully sliding through my body.
There, standing in front of a closed door, is a creature plucked straight out of a horror novel. And that’s ironic, given that my father is Dracula. He’s hideous, with weathered gray skin that appears flaky to the touch. Long lines, reminiscent of black veins, crawl up both his cheeks and bleed into his eyes, turning the whites into a shade of obsidian. His arms are nearly as long as his body, touching the floor, and his fingernails are sharp claws that are twice as long as my hand. Whiskers sprout from around his mouth, the delicate gray at odds with his foreboding appearance. B
lack cat ears decorate the top of his head, and as I step closer, they twitch. He sniffs the air once before turning back towards his victim, a very unconscious Cal lying in a pool of his own blood.
It’s…
It’s Cat Man? Nah, I’m pretty sure that’s copyrighted somewhere. Maybe Pussy Man?
Pussy Man swings his head in my direction, yellow eyes narrowing into thin slits.
“What do we have here?” he purrs. “A snack?”
“I’m just going to come right out and say ‘no.’” I slowly take a step away, and as expected, the creature follows. Good. I need to keep his attention off of Cal.
Behind me, the hounds sit in rapt fascination while the centaur grins maliciously. Apparently, they’re perfectly content watching me die at the hands of this fucker.
“I know your father.” The monster continues to prowl forward in a decidedly cat-like manner. When he smiles, tiny fangs pierce his bottom lip.
“Oh. You guys buddies?”
If the murderous glint in his eyes is any indication, that answer would be a ‘hell no.’
“He killed my owner,” Pussy Man hisses. “Sucked her dry.”
I’m really hoping he means her blood, or else I’m going to vomit.
I chance a glance at Cal, relieved when I see the steady rise and fall of his chest. He’s still alive, thank fuck, but I don’t know the extent of his injuries.
Pussy Man follows the direction of my gaze, and pure satisfaction shines in his eyes.
“Is he your friend?” he taunts, crouching down and trailing a finger down Cal’s cheek. “He’s a handsome fellow.”
“Don’t you fucking touch him,” I hiss, my fangs instinctively elongating at the threat. Pussy Man leans down, a cocksure grin on his face, and bares his own teeth. Instead of a cock-measuring contest, it’s a teeth-measuring one. And dammit, I’m going to win.
