Chapter 12
There was never any choice. Not really.
The second Ryker learned this was all one big miscommunication, a dirty trick played by his brother for reasons as of now unknown to him, any chance of Rue walking away had been rescinded.
But it was better this way, easier, if the other man thought he was making a conscious decision to give himself to Ryker.
He was under no illusions that this conversation would magically make things right between them, or that Rue would really follow through without pushback—his little brother couldn’t help himself in that regard—but this was a start. A good one.
One that set them back on the correct path after years of deviation.
He wanted Rue to stay in his room and wait for him, but of course, not even five minutes after their agreement, Rue didn’t want to listen. That was how they both ended up returning to the main level, Ryker deciding it was too early to fight, knowing it was smarter to pick and choose his battles.
Everyone had gathered in the lounge once more, a small group of them hovering over Esti, whose leg had been bandaged. Cosima was missing again, and Rhys and the others hadn’t miraculously returned in Ryker’s absence, which meant he was still in charge.
“Can we move somewhere else?” Ishleen had just asked Ellery when Ryker and Rue stepped through the open doorway. Her eyes were on the floor to ceiling window. “It’s creepy being in here.”
“It feels like something is watching us from out there, right?” Penn agreed with a shiver. He was standing in the center of the room, between the two resting areas. Esti and the others were to his right, while Hollis was on his own on the chair nearest the fireplace closest the door.
Had probably been kicked to the curb for abandoning his girlfriend and her mother to save himself earlier.
Weakling.
“Rue!” Bowie and Lenore were standing by the bar, the first calling out to him as soon as they spotted them.
Rue moved away from Ryker, going toward them without so much as a backward glance, and Ryker tried hard not to let that bother him.
He couldn’t afford to give into misplaced anger right now. Had to keep a clear head.
“Hey.” Ellery was seated on the couch across from Esti, his arms stretched out over the back. Out of everyone here, he appeared the most relaxed.
“Cosima?” Ryker asked.
“Searching the property for staff members. She’s warning them not to go outside, or open anything and risk letting anything in.”
“On her own?”
“Sent Uriel with her.”
Ryker noticed that the other Black Hart wasn’t at his post by the window any longer. That was probably a good thing. “Anywhere in this place that doesn’t have an entire wall of glass?”
“None that I’ve found yet,” Ellery replied. “Even the damn kitchen has some windows. They really took the whole ‘view’ thing seriously. Considering it’s what most people who come here pay for, that’s not too surprising.”
“No, but it is inconvenient.”
He lifted a brow. “Don’t tell me you think we’re being watched as well?”
“Can’t you feel it?” Ryker had the moment he’d arrived. Even though he couldn’t see anything other than white and gray, there was the uncanny sensation of being stared at.
“Guess the general consensus is not a bear then?” Ellery chuckled. “Fun.”
“Fun?” Ishleen glared from where she was kneeling next to Esti’s bandaged leg. “This is fun to you? My dad is still out there.”
“Let’s be real,” he drawled, “he’s probably monster food by now.”
She shot to her feet, but Esti grabbed onto her wrist before she could attack Ellery.
“I’m a Black Hart, baby,” Ellery stated, curling his fingers at her. “Bring it on.”
“If you’ve got so much energy to burn,” she snapped, “how about you put it to use and go out there and figure out what we’re dealing with?”
She’d meant it as a taunt, but Ellery cocked his head and considered it before standing.
“Sure. Why not?” He made his way to Ryker and clapped him on the shoulder. “Care to join?”
“What?” Esti glanced between the two of them, panic growing. “No! You can’t!”
“What’s the matter?” Ell asked. “There’s still another of us left. If something happens, go to Uriel.”
“No offense,” Penn cleared his throat. “But I don’t think he’s going to be much help.”
“It’s cute that you think we’re any different. What makes you think we give two shits about helping any of you?”
Ryker sighed. “That’s enough.”
Ellery grunted. “Whatever. You coming or not?”
“I could see the pool house from my room,” Ryker told him. “If we can make it—”
“Absolutely not.” Rue was still standing behind the bar with his friends, but he must have tuned into the conversation, because he was glaring at Ryker now. “You aren’t going out there. No one should be.”
“We’ve got to check and see if there’s an internet connection, or a landline,” Ellery disagreed. “I don’t see any of you jumping to volunteer. Besides, who better than us to take on what’s out there?”
“We don’t even know what’s out there,” Rue insisted.
“Aren’t you curious?” Ellery grinned at him tauntingly.
“He isn’t going. If you want to put your life at risk, that’s your business, but you aren’t dragging Ryker into it.”
“What? Did you two kiss and make up or something?” One look at Ryker seemed to answer that question for him and Ell laughed. “Oh, I get it.”
“The sun is setting,” Ryker said. “No one is going anywhere until morning.”
“With any luck, the weather will have cleared by then,” Penn agreed.
“Let’s hope.” Ryker wasn’t holding his breath though. He glanced around the room. “The third floor is above the fog. All of the keys are behind the front desk. If any of you are uncomfortable staying in the one you were assigned, just pick a new one.”
“Esti can’t make it up the stairs on this leg,” Ishleen told him, clearly hopeful he’d offer his assistance.
“Tell her boyfriend.” He’d already done his good deed by suggesting they switch rooms.
“I don’t want that monster anywhere near me,” Esti sneered, confirming Ryker’s earlier assumptions that there was trouble in paradise.
On the other side of the room, Hollis hung his head.
“I’ll carry you,” Penn offered, already moving toward her. He’d just slipped his arms beneath her when a scream came from outside.
“Again?” Ellery set his hands on his hips. “Who’s the idiot who went out there?”
“No, that’s…” Esti struggled onto her one good leg, Penn helping steady her as she turned to stare out the window. “That’s…”
“It’s Mrs. Corvina!” Hollis practically leapt to his feet.
Esti vehemently shook her head as the screams came again, closer this time.
“It is!” he insisted. “I recognize her! She’s out there!”
“My mother is dead.” Esti pulled her gaze off the glass and set it back on Ryker. “I watched her…” She swallowed. “I saw one of those things eat her.”
“She must have escaped,” Hollis was relentless, probably due to his guilt, but Esti glared.
“It ate her head,” she sneered. “I saw it happen.”
There was no coming back from that.
Hollis’s expression fell, then confusion set it. “Then what is that?”
“It definitely sounds like her,” Ishleen agreed. “But if it’s not, then how is whatever is out there doing that?”
“Mimicry,” Ellery suggested.
“Like, parrots and shit?” Hollis asked, earning himself a derisive snort.
“More like wicked beings,” Penn said. He’d gone pale. “There are versions of them in almost every civilization on every planet. Creatures that lure unwitting folks into forests, away from safety.”
“You’re saying that thing out there is trying to trick us?” Ishleen shook her head. “That would make it—”
“Intelligent.” Ryker was…unsettled, and it took a lot to get him there.
“Finding new rooms is no longer a suggestion.” He turned to Ellery.
“Go locate Cosima and make sure she and the rest of the staff know to close all of their blinds, and to not react if they hear something outside their windows.”
“She’s not going to believe that,” he stated. “She’s still convinced it’s a pack of wild bears, despite what we witnessed earlier.”
“Bears don’t roam in packs,” Esti pointed out.
“Yeah, that too. Let’s just say, Cosima isn’t going to be very helpful.”
“Are there blinds in the kitchen?” Ryker asked.
“Didn’t see any,” Ellery told him.
Damn.
“But the windows are a lot smaller,” Ell added.
“Let’s go there. Together. Tell Cosima and anyone else you find to meet there as well,” Ryker decided.
“The thing that chased you was trying to get through the door,” Lenore spoke up for the first time, but Ryker merely shrugged.
“It’s unlikely it’s still there waiting,” he said. “And we’ve got to eat.”
“He’s right,” Bowie agreed with him, wrapping an arm protectively around her shoulders.
“It’s settled then.” Ellery clapped his hands, causing more than half of them to jump, which he of course ignored. “Let’s get moving, shall we? That screaming is starting to annoy me.”
* * *
“You really think it’s a monster out there?” Ellery asked casually as he chopped an onion with a level of skill Ryker was honestly a bit surprised of.
“No.” He sipped at the beer he’d stolen from the fridge. “I think it’s multiple monsters.”
There were twelve of them in the large kitchen, their party and two staff members.
Cosima had passed, saying she needed to keep trying to get ahold of the outside world.
She, along with three other staff members, had gone to her office to deal with the murderous employee and so she could fiddle with her computer.
As if there was any chance of that working.
Whatever.
They’d broken up into little groups right away, with the Black Harts stationed in a corner to the right, an area with a stove and enough counter space for them to spread out the ingredients Ell had chosen earlier.
He’d shocked them all by offering to cook dinner, and had assigned the two workers tasks at another station, even though neither of them were part of kitchen duty. They were boiling water for pasta.
The rest weren’t free from his scrutiny.
Esti was given a pass due to her injury, but Ishleen, Penn, and Hollis were busy rolling meat balls at a round table.