32. Ding Dong
Ding Dong
Eamon
After ringing the doorbell for the third time, that red-eyed fuck finally answers the door, looking me up and down.
"Park Services, sir," I tell him, hoping he won't recognize me from our last encounter. He might be way more sober now than he was, but he's still a fucking cokehead, white powder smearing his dark suit.
He looks into the night behind me, suspicious. As he should be.
"What do you want?" he asks.
"We've had several reports of bear attacks in the area," I'm lying out of my ass, not even sure if there are fucking bears around here. "Due to the lack of landline communication, I was charged with coming up here to warn you. Keep your doors shut, lock up all your trash, keep bear spray on you at all times."
Isla appears behind Silas, the relief on her face palpable as she spots me.
For a second, I'm struck by how beautiful she is.Thecreamy, long-sleeve monstrosityof a gowndoesn't take away from even a sliver of her beauty.The intricate updo and Barbie doll makeup give her an air of innocence, one that she and I both know is a falsity, but I know she had to put on this mask to get this far.
Play along; reinforcements are coming, I tell her, realizing it's the first time I've spoken into her mind with her permission.
Without missing a beat, shepipes up, "We don't have bear spray." Silas glares at her, and for a second, she makes herself smaller before remembering who she is and who just arrived to help her.
"We don't need any," Silas turns back to me, a sickening smirk on his faceas if he's sharing a secret with me."We're honeymooning, so we don't plan on being outside much at all."
Fury threatens to make itself known, this asshole's insinuation that he's going to be laying one more hand on my girl making rational thought difficult.
Relax. Isla's soothing voice connects to my mind. Ifyou blow this now, we won't get another chance to get to them.
Them .
Isla knowsexactlywhere she's headed if this asshole has his way. Silas dragged her out here under the pretense of a romantic getaway, and she's been playing along for the last month to get here. If my need to protect her ruins it, she'll never forgive me.
Sheneeds toget out every girl and woman that mightpossiblybe hidden in this place.Part of me wondersjusthow long she'sreallybeen planning this and marvels at how she managed to hide her thoughts from me.
"Sir," I tell Silas, ignoring Isla the way he would expect a man to do, trying to gain his respect, "I really insist on supplying you with some. I've got several in my pack on the mobile, I'll just—"
"Hey, don't I know you from somewhere?" he finally asks, and I freeze.
"I don't think so," I smoothly cover, chuckling. "I've just got one of those faces."
Suddenly, an alarm sounds all around us, the sharp ping of it ringing in my ears. Isla takes a step toward me, only to be stopped by Silas as he keeps his eyes on me, even more suspicious than he was a minute ago.
"I do know you," he takes a step back, keeping Isla behind him. "I killed you. So if you're here, that means—"
A loud, scraping sound from somewhere behind them draws his and Isla's attention. Another man appears, Isla's fearful yet determined eyes locking on wherever he came from. This man's eyes find me immediately once he rounds the corner. "Demon," he growls.
As much as I had hoped it wouldn't come to this, I was prepared for it. From Daphne's control center two states away, she cuts all power to this region, sinking us into darkness.
"What the fuck?"Isla mutters, looking around as if the answer for theloss of power will berightin front ofher.I take a few silent steps closer to her, entering the house past Silas, brushing my hand against Isla's so she knows I'mhereright beside her.
Out here in the middle of nowhere, the loss of power coats the world in pitch black.I knowfrom her blank, darting eyes that Isla can't see more than a foot in front of her face.I didn't want her to becompletelywithoutany ofher senses, but she's trained for this. If I did my job right, she would have already taken stock of every corner, every wall, and every piece of furniture in the common area.
The two hunters scramble, Silas reaching blindly in front of him, either trying to find Isla or searching for a weapon, while the otheronereachesfor something in his pack.
Night goggles, of course.
Once he has them on, he grabs Isla, his gun pointed at me as a clear warning not to step closer, dragging her back towards the way they came. If it were anormalgun, I would just take my chances, but I know the kind of weapons they keep, especially here in one of their hideouts. I'm no use to Isla if they incapacitate me with the poison in their firearms.
Isla screams at the rough grip, kicking out with her leg one, two, three times until it collides perfectly with the inside of his knee, breaking it immediately. He goes down, taking her with him until they both crumple to the floor, her scrambling to escape his fierce grip.
Night goggles , I tell her, letting the gun he dropped fall through the Aether far away from his reach. But unless she can knock this guy out, there's no way he'll be giving those goggles up without a fight. I move forward to help her, only to be stopped by the lights coming back on. I knew we wouldn't have long before the backup generator was turned on, but fuck, I hoped it would be longer than this.
In the split second it takes for the hunter to react to the sudden change in light, ripping his goggles off, Isla grips a knife from his belt, slamming it into his stomach without hesitation. He grunts, shoving her away from him, the blood smearing across her hand, making her grip slippery enough that she releases the knife, leaving it plunged into his gut.
Realizing what she did, she reaches her hands out like she might help him, warning him, "Don't pull it out."
But she had to know he wasn't going to listen. He looks at me before looking back at Isla, shock and pain written across his face. Instinct, as stupid as it was, told him to remove the weapon currently lodged inside hisbody. His other hand tries to stop the blood flow, putting pressure on it as he takes half a step toward Isla, forgetting about his already broken knee with the adrenaline of being stabbed keeping him afloat. His face gives away his plan, his frenzy, showing me he's absolutely intent on killing her before the blood falling from hisbodystops flowing.
Falling back to his knees, he swings a wide arc that Isla only barely manages to dodge, the blade skimming her dress, baring her hip, and the white lingerie peeking out beneath it.
"Lingerie?" I chuckle. "Really, Isla?"
She needs the distraction to keep her from panicking. While this obviously isn't her first kill, it's going to feel a lot more personal than those bombs she used before. His blood is literally drying on her hand as he falls to the ground in front of her.
Her big eyes meet mine, her lip wobbling before she manages to brush it off, huffing, "Well, I figured you'd show up to rip this monstrosity off me eventually."
If her new husband heard the exchange, he's smart enough not to say anything. In fact... where the fuck did he go? He's the one I was most looking forward to killing.
"Where's Silas?" Isla pants, stepping over the dead hunter and coming to my side. Just then, I hear the snowmobile gunning to life. Found him.
Fucking coward.
Buried in between my fury that he just took off on our getaway car, so to speak, is relief so palpable I take the first real breath I've had in weeks. I lift Isla into my arms, squeezing her so hard her back pops. A soft sob leaves her throat as she wraps her arms around my neck, burying her face against me.
Unfortunately, the loud noises and lack of power have only brought more hunters up from the depths beneath the house. The wall of books opens up, a yawning blackness appearing behind them as a small team of armed men storm out of it, their firearms raised in mine and Isla's general direction.
They wouldn't threaten Isla directly, but just having that kind of weaponry aimed anywhere near her freezes me. I couldn't live with myself if she got hurt—or worse— now that she's so close to what she's been suffering for the last few weeks.
Slowly, I ease her back to the ground, pushing her behind me and doing a quick headcount of the men before us.
Do you have keys to the car outside? I ask her, knowing Silas probably just drove off with them. Or can you jumpstart a car?
No and no. And I'm not fucking leaving anyway. There are only six ofthem.
She's right, of course.Sixisn't too bad.I can handle that easily. The real problem is that Isla is supposed to be running out the door and driving off on a snowmobile.Idon'tknow how longit's going totake Alastor and Kyle to get here with everyone else.All I know is my first priority is stuck here until they do, throwing a wrench into my plans.
The first shot pops, the bullet landing right in my chest. Isla screams as I fight to keep her behind me.
"Give us the girl, and we'll make it quick, demon," the man in the front tells me, smoke still rising from his gun.
Isla peeks from around me even as I try to keep her hidden from the weapons pointed at us.
"It's okay," she says. "I'll go."
"Isla," I growl, my grip on her tightening. She's been foolish enough coming here. Now we're too close to do anything else that's so reckless. My head swims from the toxin spreading with each pump of my heart, but I can still think clearly enough to protect Isla as long as necessary.
I'm going , she tells me. The entrance is right behind that bookshelf. They won't hurt me right away. Just wait until I'm on the other side of that wall, kill the ones that stay here, then blip over and find me.
My chest aches at the thought of her disappearing behind that wall. I know I can follow her. I know I can fight these idiots once she's not here to possibly get caught in the crossfire. I know she'll be safe long enough for me to dispose of the ones right here. I even know that if it comes down to it, she could fight a coupleof them. I just don't want her to spend another second risking her life. I can't bear the idea of her being in danger any longer.
Isla, please, I beg her. If you disappear behind that wall, there's no telling what's down there. Could be one room, could be a fucking labyrinth.
You'll find me, she assures me. I know you'll always find me.
And with that, she holds up both hands, slipping out of my grip and walking towards the armed dead men. None of them so much as move their weapons, all six of them still trained on me as she walks towards them, a worried and placating look on her face.
The man closest to her takes her by the arm, his touch gentle enough that I don't immediately imagine ripping his fucking fingers off. I'm still going to kill him, but I'll do it quickly, unlike this asshole that fucking shot me.
I love you , she tells me. Just in case you didn't know.
I nearly scoff at Isla's ill-timed confession. Are you kidding me? Now, you tell me?
She grins, both in the real world and in our silent conversation, the giggle lighting up her phantom voice in my head as shetakes a steptoward the opening wall. Well, aren't you gonna say it back?
No. I'll tell you in a minute . I have to believe I'm going to get another chance very shortly. Otherwise, I'm going to lose my mind and start tearing these motherfuckers to shreds before I can guarantee Isla's safety.
The group splits into two, three of them inching towards the yawning blackness behind my Isla, the reason for mybeing willingly walking into the belly of the beast like a martyr while I stand here helpless.
The sound of three safeties turning on echoes around me while they get closer and closer to the wall that will hide her from me far longer than I ever want to be apart from her again. The only thing that might save her is their strict orders to preserve her life by any means necessary. It brings me little comfort, butit'll have tobe enough for now.
Even while her heart pounds in terror, she smiles and winks at me, like this was the planall along.
Of-fucking-course it was. How long she's been plotting this, I'll probably never know. But when it's over, and we're safe and sound back home, I'm going to slap that ass until every reddened handprint is a reminder of each week she left me in the dark, scrambling to find her.
The wall groans, grey concrete and wood sliding closed and cocooning Isla in with the men happily ushering her towards her ruin.
But as long as she's on that side and not this one, she's safe from the meninhere. Grunting through the pain of the blessed bullet smoldering inside mybody. A wicked grin splits my face as I consider which form I'd like to use to tear these motherfuckers apart. Another bullet grazes my neck, and a growl rips through my throat, my body's defense systems making the decision for me as the men before me shrink and the air drowns in scarlet.
I can see the liquid heat coursing through their bodies, see the exact place to tear through to end their lives quickly. The one that sent that bullet goes down in the blink of an eye, his jugular extracted from his head and stuck between my teeth before I even make the conscious decision to kill him first. His buddies shout expletives, aiming their giant firearms my way, firing and landing another shot, the force of it between my chest sending me back a step.
I jump into the Aether, landing behind one and ripping his entire fucking head from hisbody, sending a spray of blood across both me and the only man left in this room. He hides his fear better than the other two, his gun remaining steady, aimed up and between my eyes. Most men would run and hide, or at least watch in horror as I throw the decapitated head of his friend to the side. This one doesn't even flinch; his warrior instincts trained on me, waiting for me to try to come towards him or disappear into the Aether again, something most of them wouldn't even know I was capable of until now.
Rather than give him the sudden movement he's waiting for, I slowly reach my hand through the Aether, fighting against the fog their bullets have injected. With sickening satisfaction, I plunge my fist through his back, his spine fisted in my hand, the blood and sinew soaking my hand as he chokes on the exquisite pain.
With a yank, I pull his wholebodythrough the Aether, the non-matter shredding his entire self,bodyand soul, nothing but his spine coming through the other side. The firearm he left behind clatters uselessly to the ground, the carnage around me not even beginning to quell the bloodlust aimed at those who dare to harm my fucking girl.
I shake as much of the gore off my hands as I can before walking through the Aether, exiting it just on the other side of the fake wall, surrounded by blackness. The silence around me is stifling. I should hear something. The scuffle of feet, Isla's screaming, something. But no, wherever she's gone from here, it's been soundproofed enough that even I can't hear them.
Down the stairs I go, straining to pick up something to help me find them.
As I reach the bottom and it levels out, the soundI hearmakes chills break out along my forearms, proof that this insane plan Isla cooked up brought her exactly where she wanted to be.
The small child's shriek of laughter reaches me again, and I find myself momentarily frozen, taken back to the few moments I had with Arthur, his peals of laughter so similar to those echoing around me.
The sound brings me to a door on my left, the sounds of at least a dozen children playing inside making my heart pound. But there are no less than six rooms in this dank, dark hallway; the one filled with laughter couldn't possibly be where they took her.
I continueon,following the nameless pull in my chest that I know must lead me to Isla.I've never been more sure of anything, the door at the end a beacon, an omen, the end to all of this, one way or the other.
Not willing to frighten any innocentsthat might beinside, I open the door slowly, my eyes landing on Isla's righteously furious face. The guards who brought her down here try, to no avail, to chain her to the wall, pulling a growl from my throat as I watch their rough hands grip her arms, her legs, her throat.
One of them spots me, using his hold on her neck to slam her head against the wall before I can reach her. Rage brings me another step closer, ready to end all of this fucking shit and paint these walls with their blood and innards.
Before I can get one more step towards them, a terrible ringing fills the air, a whine so high-pitched and sharp it feels like nails are raking across my brain. It squeezes into the fibers of my being, blurring everything around me and squeezing my mind until I can't even seeproperly, much less think.
As I collapse to the ground, clutching my head in pain, Isla screams my name, her voice the only thing that might make it through the fog right now. A terrible screeching growl bubbles up my throat, the pain overwhelming as I thrash on the ground.
Fear, cold and cloying, fills mybodyas I realize I've just left Isla defenseless against three grown, armed men. Please, please, I pray to the heavens, don't let them harm her.
It's the last thought thatrenders in my head before the whole world goes dark.