Chapter 48
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
EVERLY
M averick drags me down the hall, away from the stairs. Behind me, Rowan and Braum pick up the rear, boxing me in. As we run, I notice doors on either side of the hallway.
“Mavie, we can hide in one of these rooms!” I whisper.
He doesn’t reply but as we reach the first door he slows. He tries the knob but it doesn’t budge.
Behind me, Rowan swears, “They could all be locked!”
“There’s only one way to find out,” Braum says grimly as he rushes past me to try the next door. Rowan follows him, and the four of us, well three since Maverick won’t let go of me, attempt to open seven different doors.
None of them are unlocked.
“Look!” Rowan says, pointing straight ahead.
There, down at the other end of the hallway, is one last door. Without hesitation we all bolt toward it. I’m sure our thundering footsteps are enough of a confirmation that we’re down here for the people chasing us, whoever they may be.
Is it the White Stag after us? I could have sworn I saw deer with golden skulls standing on their hind legs in the woods, but now I’m not so sure. I know I’m high; I can feel it as my head swims and nothing seems all that dire, despite the gravity of the situation.
It could be the staff at Serenity Falls. I’m not sure which would be worse: getting caught by people my father has sold his soul to, or to the staff at a psychiatric institution that are okay with patients being experimented on.
Rowan makes it to the door first. He twists the knob and shoves. The door gives way immediately and he almost topples face first down another flight of spiral stairs. At the last second, Braum reaches out and grabs his shirt and yanks him backward. They both stagger into us, breathing heavily.
“That’s the second time tonight I saved your ass,” Braum growls at Rowan.
“You sticking the dagger in that guy doesn’t count,” Rowan replies breathlessly as we all peer down into the nearly pitch black set of stairs. “I had it. Don’t think it gets you out of anything. You were going to leave me behind!”
I feel Maverick stiffen.
“Because I had to!” Braum shouts. “Everly’s life is in danger and Vick’s life is tied to hers which is why he had to come! The Universe has said as much. And?—”
“You stabbed Saint?” Maverick asks sharply. “Is he?—”
“He’s not dead,” Braum cuts him off. “I got him in the calf to buy me some time to get Rowan out of there and put some distance between us.”
“We don’t have time for this,” Rowan snaps as he reaches out and feels for a light switch. His hand drops away with a sigh. “Looks like we’re going in blind.”
I shake my head at once. “No, we don’t know what’s down there!”
“But we do know what’s going to happen if we don’t start moving,” Maverick states grimly. “We either take the stairs into the unknown or get caught.”
The answer is as obvious as it is horrible.
Braum strolls past Rowan, taking the lead.
Rowan nudges his head for Maverick to follow, and for once Maverick doesn’t object to the order.
He keeps me close as he drags me down into the dark.
Rowan follows, closing the door quietly behind him.
When his hand lands on my shoulder, I don’t feel the hatred I had for him earlier.
Only relief that he’s here, watching my back.
We’re quiet as we descend the stairs. The walls are narrower than the first flight, forcing Maverick to twist to his side to keep his shoulders from sliding against the stone.
I don’t know whether the pill Rowan gave me is helping, but the joy I was feeling before is beginning to fade and terror creeps in.
The dark is so dark I feel like we’ve found a pocket in time and space where nothing exists yet.
There’s no sound other than our breathing and unsteady footsteps scraping against the stairs.
My body starts to vibrate as we descend deeper into the dark. I don’t realize I’m quietly gasping until Rowan’s hand tightens on my shoulder.
“We got you, princess. We’re right here,” he assures me softly.
We not I . Did Rowan say that on purpose? Or was this an off-hand slip of his tongue? He’s a selfish person by nature, there’s no doubting that, and he loathes Maverick, but he’s just acknowledged it’s not only him looking out for me.
Maverick squeezes my hand in either reassurance or agreement, I can’t be sure.
The next time I take a breath, it comes easier than before.
“I’ve made it to a landing,” Braum says, breaking the silence a few minutes later. “Hold on, let me see if there are more stairs or if?—”
Light flares to life up ahead of Maverick a second later. He freezes instantly but then relaxes as Braum calls out softly, “Motion-sensor lights! We’re good for now.”
The rest of us descend the stairs and I find myself in a hallway almost identical to the one above us.
“What is this place?” Rowan asks from behind me.
“The birthplace of evil,” Maverick mutters.
Braum glares back at him. “The Children of the White Stag aren’t evil. Everything they do is for the greater good, even if we never understand how.”
With that, he cautiously approaches the first door.
He reaches out with a steady hand and grabs the handle.
With a deep breath, he pushes forward. To all of our surprise, the door opens.
Braum freezes, waiting a second with the door partially cracked for some sort of indication there’s someone on the other side of it.
There’s no light on and no noise follows.
He looks back at us grimly, then pushes the door open the rest of the way.
When he steps in, a light flickers on. Maverick and I follow, with Rowan right on my heels.
I stop just far enough inside the room for Rowan to enter.
My eyes snag on something across the room and my breath catches in horror.
There, in the middle of the room is a massive wall of human skulls.
There are rows and rows of them, stacked neatly up to the strangely tall ceiling.
The ones on the bottom looked cracked and older than the rest—as if they’d been the first to be placed while all the others had come gradually later on down the road.
But it’s not just the human skulls that causes my heart to skip a beat.
Hung against the wall of human remains, right in the center, is a massive white skull of a stag with its antlers still intact.
The dark and empty eye sockets seem to stare directly through me to my soul.
Beneath the stag’s head, is a shiny mahogany plaque.
Inscribed in gold serif font are the words:
Dominium. Prosperitas. Vitalitatis.
Seeing them is like a punch to the gut. The last time I saw those three words, I’d been trapped beneath the ground, not all that different from my situation now. Except then I was in the dark and alone. Now I’m in the dark but in the company of three others.
My eyes travel over the floor just beneath the wall.
There’s a raised circular platform made of stone.
Around the edges, placed about two feet apart, are candles.
The faint smell of smoke and a rich, earthy scent of incense still burning tell me that this room was used recently. At least it doesn’t smell like death.
“What’s with the creepy Latin?” Rowan asks, breaking the silence.
“Those are the words I saw chiseled into a door down in the Labyrinth,” I whisper.
Rowan shoots me a surprised look, but before he can press me on this, Braum answers him.
“It’s our motto. In English it means; dominion, prosperity, and vitality,” Braum says, his voice strained as he stares.
My skin prickles and my face feels flushed. Is it hot in here? Maybe it’s the drugs working their way out of my system. Swallowing, I try to push away the discomfort and focus.
“Do I even want to know what that’s supposed to mean for a secret society?” I ask him.
His eyes never leave the wall facing us as he says grimly, “The mission of the Children of the White Stag is to discreetly restructure the foundation of humanity into one beneficial for all through internal means. Prodigious individuals are hand selected after being tested and deemed worthy then are placed into positions of power within society to enact change.”
I shiver at how robotic he sounds. As if this narrative has been pushed so much, he knows it by heart.
“You have to control the masses in order to help them,” Braum continues, his voice lowering.
“And to do that, you have to be able to guide those who have influence and power to make the proper decisions. From there, if those in power do as they’re told, their lives and their families’ could be set for life.
It’s all set up for those who sacrifice for the White Stag, for the good of all, to be blessed. ”
There’s a short pause from all of us before Maverick snorts in amusement.
“Sounds like a bunch of elite cultist shit to me. And this,” Maverick flings his hand out in front of him toward the wall of skulls. “Doesn’t really scream empathic leadership. Maybe it’s time to rethink where you put your allegiance.”
With that, Maverick lets go of my hand to stomp toward the strange platform.
Nervously, I take two steps after him but stop as the prickling of my skin intensifies.
Is it getting hot in here? My skin is starting to feel tight and my head feels funny, like it’s being stuffed with cotton.
Unexpectedly, my nipples grow hard as I stand there watching Maverick put distance between us.
Licking my suddenly dry lips, I call out, “Where are you going?”
“To see if we can hide somewhere in here,” he calls over his shoulder.
“Can we find a different room to hide in?” I ask quietly to no one in particular. “Like, any other room?”
When I look over at Braum, I can see on his face the way he’s trying to reconcile what he’s seeing with what he’s been taught.
“No, this isn’t… This can’t be part of the Children of the White Stag that I know. This—” he starts.
“Yeah, I’m going to side with Vick on this,” Rowan interrupts. “This secret society shit screams fucking dark, even for me. Let’s find somewhere to lie low in here until we can get back to our suite. Then I never want to talk about or see this place again.”
With that, Rowan follows after Maverick.
I don’t know whether I should stay with Braum, who’s furthest from the wall of death or follow the other two where there could be safety in numbers.
I consider the latter but then look to Braum.
He’s staring off into space. Sweat beads on his brow and his breathing has shallowed.
The expression on his face gives me pause.
I’m familiar with that look. It’s the one that forms after realizing that everything you thought was real all turned out to be a farce.
It’s the look that appears when it hits you that the people you love the most, who you trust and admire, have been lying to you for years .
This is a look of a shattered individual.
Someone lost, still partially in denial, and heartbroken.
I know that look because it’s the same one I wore when I received Peter’s suicide note and realized Maverick was alive. And I know how it feels to have your world implode.
With a sigh, I step closer to Braum and take his hand. He blinks once before he turns to look at me. Well, kind of. His gaze dances over my face, around my neck, and when he lifts my hand, he studies the back of it.
“I can’t hear The Universe anymore to tell you what it wants to say to you,” I admit with a sad smile. “But maybe I have a few words of wisdom I could share?”
Braum says nothing, but his eyes finally find mine and I know he’s actually seeing me.
“The people that failed you? They don’t deserve you or your respect, Braum. Anyone who can manipulate you, lie to your face, and do this —” I wave my hand at the wall of skulls. “—doesn’t deserve a second thought.”
Braum gives the smallest shake of his head. “Everly, my dad is a higher up. He’s the High Priest—a step down from being one of the seven leaders that make up the White Stag. He’s been pretending to be part of the greater good when really… he’s part of whatever this shit is.”
“Yeah, and it was my brother who abandoned me after lying about what happened to Maverick, then decided to come clean after he died.” I shrug. “I’m sorry, Braum, that your dad broke your heart, but don’t forget the family you created that you know you can lean on.”
At his confused scowl, I jerk my head toward the stage.
“Rowan has your back. He’s your ride or die. He loves you, or else he wouldn’t be so hurt that you almost skipped out on him,” I point out.
“I wasn’t skipping out?—”
“You were going to abandon him,” I cut Braum off calmly but firmly. “You’re one of the only people he can lean on and expect to really have his back, and you were going to leave him behind without a word.”
Braum’s scowl deepens as he considers this. He turns to regard Rowan in a new light. I attempt to pull my hand away but his tightens around mine.
“Something’s wrong,” he says, his body going rigid.
“What are you—” I look toward the others and freeze.
Maverick’s standing beneath the large stag head. He’s fumbling with the button on his pants, attempting to get them off. Rowan’s a few feet away, on his knees, his dick in his hand and in the middle of jerking himself off.
“Mavie!? Rowan!?” I yank my hand out of Braum’s to race toward them.
Braum’s footsteps follow close behind. “Wait, Everly!”
As I approach the two guys, it’s like I dive into a thick invisible cloud of that rich earthy scent burning from an incense or two nearby.
My skin prickles more intensely, and my blood begins to boil.
By the time I make it to the stage, I feel…
strange. It’s like a veil has been dropped over my mind, slowing all rational thoughts as my body begins to ache in an unusual way.
A blazing heat surges through my veins while a subtle throb starts up between my legs.
“Mavie?” I call out as I get closer.
I step onto the stage where the aroma is so thick, I swear I can not only taste it but feel it coursing through the air. Each breath I take fills my lungs, making me feel heavier, drowsier… hotter. Swallowing hard, I fight the sudden urge to reach up to cup my breasts and relieve the ache in them.
“Rowan?”
Both Maverick and Rowan pause what they’re doing to look at me. Their eyelids are half-hooded, their cheeks pink, and their breathing heavier than mine.
“Princess?” Rowan says as if surprised to see me. He turns on his knees, dick still in hand, to face me. He reaches out with his free hand. “I need you.”
Maverick whirls around completely, takes three long, purposeful strides in my direction, then grabs my face and kisses me hard.
And just like that, everything that isn’t him falls away.