Chapter 23
MATTEO
We’re all bound in zip ties, but because they must know how effective Seth’s power would be against them, they also have a bit gag in Seth’s mouth to prevent him from speaking.
Guess this thing inside Finnegan is benefiting from either a frat’s kink or just standard Alpha Alpha Mu hazing paraphernalia.
Our captors yank our arms back, adding another restraint around our wrists as they bind us to the posts of a tool rack along the wall.
A crowd of black-eyed frats pack the basement. Most are only in pajama bottoms or their underwear, but at some point after capturing us, Preston, Gage, and Spencer donned cloaks like the ones I saw in my vision after touching Cody.
Gage takes Luke from two of the frats, while Spencer and Preston keep hold of Cody, who glances around in a daze, like they did something to him.
Another cloaked figure pushes through the crowd. I assume I know who it is even before he removes the hood of the cloak, revealing that familiar face with those distinctive scars. His eyes are black like when I saw him outside the cafeteria.
“Keep Luke away from Brad,” Finnegan—or Syphor, I guess—says, his voice deeper than I’m used to.
Alexei, bound to the tool rack at my side, wears a guilty expression; Syphor is using against us the intel he provided the Saints with.
Gage pulls Luke over to the unfinished wall and binds him to the support beams.
“Get Cody on the bar,” Syphor orders.
Seth battles his restraints, but the rack is too sturdy for us to break away from.
Spencer and Preston effortlessly lift Cody and lay him across the bar. Binding his wrists over his head, Preston pins him down.
“Why are you doing this?” Cody manages to ask, despite how out of it he looks.
I can’t help wondering if it’s out of genuine interest or if he’s trying to buy time. Maybe a bit of both.
“Is this about that creature that got out last semester?” he adds. “Are you responsible for that?”
Syphor approaches him and rests his hand against Cody’s cheek before trailing it down his body in a way that looks sexual, violating.
Seth loses his mind, rattling the whole rack as he strains with his gag, and even with it on, I swear he’s saying, “I will fucking end you!”
“Oh, yes, this is the one,” Syphor tells Preston. “He’s the most powerful.”
“Is that what you want? Power?” Brad asks.
Syphor snickers, and it seems like he might not answer his questions either, but then he says, “We all want power, Bradley. Everything sentient needs power to live. And craves more.”
I notice Alexei shift about, and as I turn slightly, I see he’s got his hand close to his pocket, trying to get something out. His pocketknife? They took our phones, but maybe they missed it when they performed their quick searches on all of us.
Our gazes lock, and I scoot forward as much as I can manage, hoping to obstruct the frats’ view while he braves an escape. Alexei’s situated between Seth and me. If he could get free and remove Seth’s gag, maybe we’ll stand a chance against these bastards.
“What did you stick me with?” Cody asks Syphor.
“A sedative that should be taking effect soon enough. It won’t harm you, but it will make this easier for both of us once I have you under my control.”
Fuck… He already has these mind-control abilities in Finnegan’s body. I can only imagine what he’d do with Cody’s powers.
“Matteo, can you hear me?”
It’s Cody’s voice…inside my head. I freak out a little, a primal response to the what-the-fucking-hell moment.
“It’s okay. I’m stalling,” Cody tells me.
“I know what Alexei’s doing with his knife.
And Luke will create a distraction in a moment.
I don’t know if this will work, but I’ll try and link you to Syphor, see if I can get you inside him like we did in the church.
If we can distract him long enough, Alexei might be able to break Seth free, and then we can get out. ”
I wonder how I’m supposed to respond, so I try to just speak to him in my mind. “Can you hear me?”
“Yes, did you understand what I said?”
“I did, but how will that work?”
“I don’t know that it will, but we don’t have any other options. Just be ready. We won’t have much of a shot. Whatever they gave me is already affecting my powers.”
“I’ll be ready.”
If we can pull this off, it’ll be a real Hail Mary. I hadn’t realized Cody even had enough power to do as much as communicate with me like this, which only stresses the serious trouble we’re in if Syphor manages to control him.
I’m tempted to check how Alexei’s progressing, but I can’t draw any attention to him.
“Yes, you’re almost there,” Syphor says, slapping Cody’s cheek gently.
He turns his attention to Preston. “I need a hit,” he tells him before lurching at him, seizing a kiss.
Preston keeps Cody pinned down as he and this entity in Finnegan share a wild, tongue-filled, make-out session.
Something about the sexual energy must intensify their powers, like what happens with Luke and Brad, and like whatever happened between Alexei and me during that spell.
I’m waiting on fucking pins and needles as Seth continues struggling, desperate to save his friend.
Cody’s lying so still, I’m worried he might have passed out after reaching out to me. Maybe this plan isn’t gonna go through after all.
Then I hear a sudden, “Now!” ring through my mind, and everything goes dark.
I’m disoriented for a moment before feeling something wet and forceful. I suddenly realize I’m kissing Preston.
“What are you doing?” Syphor’s not saying this in his head, but speaking it out loud as he pulls away from Preston. “Get out of there.”
The light over us explodes, then one by one the others in the basement, until it’s pitch black. Luke’s doing, I assume.
“You fuckers,” the voice shouts in my mind. “I’ll fucking destroy you, then go after the ones you care about most!”
“Go fuck yourself,” I reply in my thoughts, just as I notice I’m able to move Finnegan’s hands.
“Goddamn you!” Syphor shouts.
Bright-white lights explode through the space, and at first I figure it might be him ejecting me again, but then I realize the Alpha Alpha Mus are turning on their phone lights.
Through Finnegan’s eyes, I see him turn to Alexei as he reaches for Seth’s gag. Yes, yes! Once Seth’s free, we’ll finally have the upper hand.
“Get out!”
Everything goes black again, and it’s like getting rear-ended. There’s a jerk, and as I reopen my eyes, I can hardly focus. Did it work? Did Alexei get to Seth?
But as I refocus, I discover Alexei hovering in the air, his arms stretched out, the knife in his hand. I scan the room, trying to make sense of what’s happening. I’m still tied to the tool rack, and across the room, Preston has his hand in the air, clearly the one keeping Alexei floating midair.
Finnegan—Syphor—is clutching the edge of the bar, hunched over.
I imagine Syphor’s having to recover from my intrusion into his mind.
He chuckles. “I know that’s you who did that,” he tells Cody.
“That was a clever attempt, wasn’t it? Guess you’re still a little too strong. ” He shoots Alexei a glare.
“Alexei, are you hurt?” I ask.
He turns to me. “I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
“You won’t be fine,” Syphor says, approaching.
“Really? What are you gonna do about it?” Alexei asks.
Syphor’s expression twists up.
Oh, fuck, Alexei, don’t get yourself killed.
I imagine, like Cody, he figures if he buys some time, Cody might be able to get me back into Finnegan’s body, but it’s a risky move, one I don’t want him to take.
“Alexei,” Syphor says. “You’re a fool to speak to me like this. You have no gift. You have nothing I need. The others, I can use, but you’re lucky I let you live as long as I did.”
He can use us?
That must be it. He’s planning to take Cody’s body and then control us like he’s controlling the Alpha Alpha Mus. For our powers.
Syphor glares at Alexei in a way that makes me think something terrible is about to happen.
“Hey, you fucking monster,” I shout. “Why don’t you get these zip ties off me and take me on one-on-one.” I know that’s not gonna happen, but I want to get his attention off Alexei until maybe Cody can get me in him again.
Syphor snickers. “Oh, Matteo, you think I don’t know what you’re doing?
When you jumped into me, you weren’t the only one who got a glimpse.
You think I didn’t see Alexei? The nights you shared?
These feelings you have? You think I don’t know you don’t want anything to happen to him?
What could you possibly see in this weak thing?
He has no gift. He has no power. He is useless. He is nothing.”
Rage sears through me. How dare he fucking say that about Alexei? He’s not nothing. He’s fucking everything.
I struggle in my bindings once again. “Come on, Cody. Get me back in. Where are you?”
Syphor spins toward Cody. “Preston, kill Alexei.”
“Fucking coward,” Alexei shouts as he continues struggling before choking up like Seth did when we were in Malcom’s room.
“You piece of shit,” I shout at Syphor.
“And someone shut that one up.”
I continue shouting out obscenities before Spencer approaches and stoops down, hooking his arm around my head and clamping his hand over my mouth.
I struggle in his hold, watching as Alexei grabs at his throat like he’s trying to pull a person’s hands from around it.
On the other side of the room, Preston keeps his hand in the air, his grip tightening as he obeys Syphor’s request.
No, not Alexei. It can’t end like this. I won’t let it end like this!
I turn my attention to Cody, who lies limp on the bar. “Come on, Cody. I’m here. Help me. You have to be here. Take me back. Get me back in there.”
Alexei’s choking sounds become more strained. I thrash about in vain, trying to cry out, even just fucking plead with Syphor, but it’s no use.
I can hear Alexei’s strength fading. He won’t last much longer.
Syphor approaches the bar once again, leaning over Cody, moving in for a kiss, reminding me of how Farras took me.
“Come the fuck on, Cody. Get me in there!”
Nothing.
Cody’s out.
I’m on my own.
I close my eyes, and Spencer’s hand can’t block my war cry in one last desperate attempt to will myself back into him, straining with all my being as I twist and jerk about. I can hear Seth doing the same as he attempts to curse from under his gag.
A sound worse than the gagging hits my ear, a faint strain of a breath that warns the end is near.
I howl out with everything in my being, out of sheer desperation, begging the universe to give me a way to end his agony—and then everything goes black again.
I’m hopeful, but a part of me fears I may just be passing out from the stress of the moment. I’m relieved when my eyes open and I see Cody’s face beneath me.
I did it! I fucking did it!
I’m acting off sheer instinct, knowing Alexei doesn’t have much time, as I turn to Preston, snatch him by his shirt collar, and hurl him against the wall.
“You shit!” Syphor cries out, battling for control over this body once again. “It’s mine! It’s mine!”
I cling to the bar, like I’m trying to cling to this body, crying out in agony when I finally hear Seth’s voice, “Everyone fucking freeze! No one move!”
Alexei must’ve fallen and gotten Seth’s gag off. Yes! Fucking yes!
I can’t revel in our victory just yet, though. Finnegan’s body is stiff. I’ve lost control over it, but so has Syphor. For now. Our battle isn’t over.
“Get out!” I shout at Syphor.
“No!”
It shouts louder, but I notice it hasn’t pushed me back into my body yet.
Farras’s words to Cody come back to me: “Pain. Excruciating pain. Make it unbearable for me to stay in it.”
With pleasure.
Once again, like when I first entered Syphor, I can feel his fear. There’s a searing pain in him that I feel guided to, eager to explore. And that’s when it hits me—as long as our minds are one, my pain is his pain.
“What are you doing?” Syphor asks.
I ignore the question, concentrating on this steadily intensifying pain before sensations come racing through me.
Like razors burning into my flesh. I dig into my own pain and trauma, of the haunting moment with my mom, the rage I’ve experienced when thinking about my father, letting it expand and intensify the fury I feel in my soul.
Syphor shakes as my pain leads to a visceral reaction.
But it’s not without consequence. It’s a double-edged sword, tearing as much into my soul, this haunting pain, one that feels like it could end me if I stare at it too long. I let the agony take over until I hear Syphor crying out.
Though it has no form, I sense it thrashing about in this psychological space we share. My pain makes me acutely aware of his, this terror I’m able to enflame with my own, stinging to the point where I think I can’t bear it, and then I keep going even more.
“You, get out!” I command, and it’s like a fucking bomb goes off before everything goes dark again.
When I open my eyes, Alexei is on his knees in front of me. “Matteo, please. Come on. Come on, man.”
“Matteo, I said you can move,” I hear Seth push.
I gasp for air, searching around, as disoriented as the first time I did this.
A sound echoes through the room, and Alexei turns back. Over his shoulder, I see Finnegan vomiting black goo on the cement floor. Seth stands beside him, at the bar, his arms around Cody, cradling him.
“It’s okay, I’ve got you,” Seth says as he watches Finnegan ejecting the entity from his body. Keeping his eyes on Finnegan, he nestles his face against Cody’s head.
Brad and Luke hurry to Finnegan’s side as Alexei’s attention returns to me. “Are you okay? What happened?”
I blink a few times, noticing the frats around us, standing like statues, frozen in place from Seth’s push.
We did it.
We’re alive.
I wrap my arms around Alexei, tugging him close.
“I thought that bastard was gonna kill you,” I say, tears welling in my eyes as I cling to him, cherishing a moment that, had things gone any differently, we may never have had again. I pull back to kiss the side of his face, and he kisses my cheek before we share a tongue-filled embrace.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
I don’t even know whom I’m thanking. Maybe just the goddamn universe for not letting it end like this.