Chapter Two
………………………….
Henri
I RAN WITH THE REST OF them.
Across the drawbridge, down the grassy runway, and into the forest beyond.
Masters spread out, stalking through the dense trees like true hunters.
I felt like a fraud.
I’d never hunted a damn thing in my life, and the gun felt obscenely heavy in my hands.
Didn’t matter that the bullets were rubber and detonated with paint, not lead. It still went against every bone in my body to hunt people.
Wrapping my fingers tighter around the weapon, I tried to figure out how I could win a game that had so many moving parts. I couldn’t exactly kill every man on this island like I’d tried to do with Daxton, Roger, and Larry.
Out of three men, I’d only killed one.
My jog faltered a little as the true weight of that sentence punched me square in the face.
I killed someone.
Someone not exactly fit to stay alive, but…I’d still taken a life.
Did that redeem me because I’d removed a piece of evil, or did it shove me further into hell?
Does it matter?
You earned a one-way ticket the day you were born.
Gritting my teeth, I ran faster.
Trees reached out to grab me, branches swatted me in the face, and bushes clawed at my jeans. My ears rang for any sign that a Master had found a jewel and shot them.
Then again, the gunfire wasn’t loud.
I’d been surprised at how quiet my shot had been when I’d fired at Ily. I couldn’t rely on explosive bangs to point me in the right direction.
You need to figure this out and quickly.
How the fuck was I supposed to protect Ily when Victor had unleashed every monster in this place? They were free to do whatever their rotten hearts wanted. Victor had to be an idiot not to see what he’d offered and completely moronic if he thought they’d play by his rules.
Why would they?
Why would they permit only one winner when the prize was that tantalising?
The minute a slave was caught, I had absolutely no doubt that slave was most likely fucking dead.
A gush of sourness coated my tongue.
Tonight at rollcall, when this game was done, I had a horrible feeling jewel numbers would be far less, and the only one to blame would be Victor himself.
Find Ily.
That was my only objective.
What I’d do when I found her was a future problem.
Sprinting through the trees, I caught sight of three Masters picking and choosing the best trail through the undergrowth. A couple of them wafted their guns through bushes and ducked around trees as if expecting to spot a jewel huddled for cover in the bracken.
They wouldn’t be in the forest.
Too risky. Too close.
Peter would’ve rounded them up…if he’s still standing.
If I’d learned anything in my time here, Peter wasn’t just a serving slave. Somewhere along the line, he’d become one of Victor’s trusted servants, and if anyone would know this island…it was him.
You’re making shit up, Ri.
As if he’d be allowed out of the gates.
He’d be as clueless as the rest.
In that case, he’d probably lead them to water.
That would be my plan.
I’d take the chance to swim, even if I couldn’t steal something that floated.
My mind ached with memories from this morning.
Victor said Daxton boated here.
He’d been one of only a few Masters permitted such freedom. Maybe another Master was staying right now with the same privileges. Another boat moored somewhere. The smallest chance that a crowd of jewels could clamber onboard and sail out of our reach.
I ran harder.
The crash of heavy surf beckoned me forward.
The forest sloped downward, guiding me toward watery boundaries.
It didn’t take long before the trees thinned and spat me out on a rugged beach. Dull sand glittered with blue and green sea glass, almost as if Victor tossed all his broken bottles into the ocean and let the sea turn them into wave-tumbled gemstones.
My loafers crunched over them, scattering a few as I jogged down the small embankment and leapt over a few larger rocks. Seaweed clung to an outcrop of boulders, the scent of salt and dead fish in the air.
Stopping in the middle of the sea-whipped beach, I looked left and right.
A few Masters spilled out onto the sand, glancing around like me.
The beach curved around a headland to my left.
In the distance, a long table, a few plastic tubs, and two youngish men worked under the scrutiny of four guards. Sunlight glinted on sharp filleting blades, followed by the glitter of fish scales.
Well, that explained the stench.
I supposed living surrounded by the ocean, Victor had his staff go fishing rather than import seafood. Did he have his own lobster pots and crab stores too?
Turning away from the staff preparing tonight’s dinner, I held up my hand to ward off the sunlight spearing off the waves.
Before me stretched an incredibly long pier.
Buoyant and locked together with black flotation pieces, they interlocked like a giant puzzle snake, stretching far out to sea. With every wave, it rolled and crested, riding the water with its interconnecting pieces.
Whatever vessel sailed in could dock without any worry of shallows and hidden reefs.
Farther down the pier, a few posts stabbed the sky with tethering ropes…
But no boat.
No way free.
Two Masters jogged past me, heading to the right and the sweeping cliffs. Victor had built his stronghold at the very top, leaving the downward run through the forest to spit us out at the bottom. Huge granite rockfaces towered above, acting like speakers for the roaring surf. The weathered stone dotted with white-feathered seagulls.
The Masters disappeared into a black crack, swallowed up by the island.
I swayed to follow.
“Ah, Henri, there you are.” Charles panted as he slowed to a stop before me. “Isn’t this fun?”
Swallowing down my sarcastic retort, I forced a smile. “You betcha. Great fun.”
He grinned and pointed to where the other Masters had vanished. “Come on. We better follow. I bet my ass our little gems are hiding in the cave system.”
“Just invite everyone, why don’t you.” Another Master pulled up beside Charles.
I didn’t recognise the guy, but he smirked and swiped back oily brown hair. “Peter knows how to get to the Temple of Facets. I reckon he’ll try to hide in there. But stop announcing it to the entire island, Charles. Less fun for those who find them first.”
“And what do you classify as fun?” I asked carefully, fisting my weapon.
The stranger chuckled. “Buy me a drink first, and then I’ll spill my secrets.”
Charles rolled his eyes. “That’s Kyle.” He glanced at his wristwatch. “And he’s right. Come with us, Henri. We’ll hunt together, but then it’s every man for himself when we find them, fair?”
My guts churned at the thought of teaming up with the same men I wanted to slaughter.
But…we’d cover more ground as a group, so…I nodded.
Once I found Ily, then I could deal with them.
“Fine.” I fell in behind them. “Let’s go.”
“That’s the spirit.” Charles slugged me in the arm, then broke into a lumbering jog. I could walk at his turtle speed. None of us spoke as we headed toward the cliffs and the shadowy crack just above the surf line. Waves lapped at the rocks below the entrance, frothing white and noisy.
Charles stumbled to a walk, breathing hard. “Damn, I need to work on my cardio. Can we stroll a bit?”
Kyle scratched his jaw, raking his fingernails through a thin chin strap. Skinny but strong, he reminded me of a feral chihuahua my old neighbour had. Tiny but absolutely lethal, with a stare that could frighten a fucking Doberman. “You’re a liability, Charleston.”
“I’m the liability?” Charles chuckled, coughing up a hair ball and spitting it on the sand. “You’re the reason Victor started with all his rules and cameras in the first place.” He rolled his eyes in my direction. “I was quite happy with my little needs. I could cut Dane in private, and no one needed to know. But then he came along.” He scowled. “Want to know who has a fascination with dismemberment? Him. That guy. Right there.”
Kyle threw me a smirk. “What can I say? I wanted to be a doctor when I was a boy.”
“Heaven forbid you ever become a surgeon.” Charles shuddered dramatically. “Your patients would walk out missing pieces.”
Kyle laughed. “Isn’t that the fun part?”
“Pretty sure that’s the opposite of what the Hippocratic oath says,” Charles shot back.
Kyle snickered and hefted his gun onto his shoulder. “My version says I shall do harm and enjoy it.”
Everything about him put my teeth on edge.
Looking at me, Kyle sighed happily. “Can’t help what we like, hey, H? Just like I can’t help liking the way they scream.”
“You can make them scream without removing body parts, you know.” Charles rolled his eyes. “I could teach you if you’d like. You lack finesse.”
“And you’re getting soft in your old age.” Kyle poked Charles in his spreading belly. “You have a wife at home who has no idea you like cock. Don’t think I haven’t noticed the way you look at Dane when he’s giving you a blowy.” Kyle winked in my direction. “He’s got feelings that he shouldn’t have. Then again…so have you.”
A cold draft shot down my spine that this feral creature had noticed what I liked or didn’t. The thought of him finding Ily before me…of removing her pieces and making her scream.
My finger twitched around the trigger.
I wished my gun was full of death, not paint.
“It’s not really up to you to say what feelings I’m supposed to have,” I muttered.
“You’re weak.” Kyle sniffed. “Just pointing it out.”
“I could be weak.” I nodded. “Or I could finally be learning the power of emotions and all the other shit that comes with them.”
“Ah, that’s right. You’re a poor little broken boy who didn’t get a hug from his mother.” He laughed and rolled his soulless eyes. “Tell you what…when you stop searching for love and accept that you’re top of the food chain and those little jewels are ours to slice, dice, fuck, and shoot, then we’ll talk. Until then…you’re wasting my time.” He scoffed at Charles and his winded breathing. “Actually, you’re both wasting my time.” Breaking into a run, he dashed toward the black maw in the cliffs. “See you later, losers. I’ll be sure to leave a few pieces for you.”
“Asshole.” Charles watched him go. “Always has been.”
And that asshole was hunting Ily.
“See ya round, Charles.” I took off after Kyle.
No fucking way would I let him out of my sight.
Charles tried to call me back, but his wheeze faded beneath the surf.
My feet pounded over sand and sea glass, chasing Kyle as he leapt over a few rockpools and scurried up the boulders toward the black crack in the cliffside. Taking the path of least resistance, he scaled the rocks and pulled away as I slogged through soft sand.
Changing my direction, I followed his, leaping onto the rocks and praying I didn’t break an ankle.
The sly fucker kept up a pace my damn loafers couldn’t. The slippery shoes offered no traction as I did my best to leap from rock to rock. Slinging my gun over my shoulder with its black strap, I tried to go faster—to stop him, kill him, only…
A strange rumbling beneath my feet.
A roar of power; a shake of earth.
A flock of seagulls took wing.
“Watch out!” Charles yelled behind me.
Too late.
Kyle vanished into the cave just as a gush of heavy seawater exploded beneath me.
It felt as if the ocean formed a fist and sucker-punched me right in the balls, throwing me backward, slapping me with a tower of salt.
My back bellowed as I landed on craggy rocks.
My temple thwacked against a sharp outcrop.
My gun broke from my weight, the muzzle snapping in half as I tucked and rolled, wincing as a curtain of punishing rain pummelled from above just like it’d pummelled from below.
A few seconds and it was over.
The roar faded, the violent water nothing more than wetness glittering on rocks.
Fuck!
Cupping myself, I rode through the flush of icy-hot agony as my balls throbbed from the ocean’s beating. Everything hurt. Everything dripped.
Goddammit!
Clucking his tongue, Charles appeared by my pounding head.
Planting his hands on his hips, he looked at where I lay contorted and in motherfucking agony. “Blowhole got you good, huh? Avoid the rockpools. You have no idea which one will turn into a waterspout.”
The torture in my dick slowly faded, seeping into my lower belly and down my legs. I wished the pain in my head would do the same thing. “Yeah, thanks.” I groaned, gritting my teeth and forcing myself upright.
“Oh shit. Guess you’re out of the game.” Charles cocked an eyebrow at my broken gun. He chuckled as his eyes dropped down my jeans. “And I hate to tell you, but that’s not just seawater you’re dripping in.”
Ignoring the contusions throbbing in my spine and the black dots dancing over my eyes, I stood and brushed at my soaking clothes. A rush of nausea—that had nothing to do with morals and was more about a head injury—had me locking my knees so I didn’t fall back down.
At least the spots in my gaze faded as I looked at the bright orange paint coating my left side.
Great.
Fucking wonderful.
“Definitely out of the game. You’ve smashed all your paintballs and broken your gun.” Charles shrugged with fake grief. “Ah well, better luck next time, old chap. I’ll be sure to tell Ily you said hi.” Licking his lips, he bent a little closer. “I have to say, after watching you two at dinner, I’ve been dying to know how she tastes.”
I bared my teeth as the world swam a little.
Backing out of my reach, he chuckled. “You know…Kyle might like to cut them up, but what he doesn’t know is, if you don’t cause too much damage, you have a never-ending smorgasbord.”
Rubbing at my blood-streaked temple, willing the beach to stay still, I frowned. “Smorgasbord?”
Lowering his voice so even the seagulls didn’t hear him, he whispered, “I’m saying I’ve eaten a few strips off Dane over the years, and as long as you don’t cut too deep or take too much, the body heals itself in the most miraculous—”
“Wait.” All my pain vanished. “You’re saying you fucking eat him?”
He laughed with a whimsical sort of obscenity. “Ah, don’t be jealous. I used to be like you. Blood was my dessert of choice, but after a while…I needed more. You’ll reach that level too, eventually. And I’ll be here to teach you.”
My ears roared.
My mind went blank.
I’d seen some sick shit in this place, but that?
Knowing that this seemingly normal man—this man who had a wife and a career and was old enough to have existed in society with no one the wiser—dined on people?
Yeah…he has to die.
“Go rest up,” he said. “That head wound looks nasty.” Breaking into a waddling run, he waved. “Bye!”
I lurched after him.
The world tilted.
I landed on my knees.
The cartilage in my joints crunched against barnacle-sharp rock.
“No, no, don’t follow!” Charles glanced back. “You’re really not looking so good. Don’t worry, plenty more games to enjoy if you sit this one out.” Laughing again, he clambered toward the cave entrance where Kyle had disappeared.
Scrambling to my feet, I went to chase.
Vertigo kicked my ass.
I tripped to the left, the surf dragging me toward it with its salty song.
FUCK!
Unslinging my useless gun, I tossed it into the sand with a snarl.
Closing my eyes and balling my hands, I focused on getting my shit together.
I couldn’t think about Charles or Kyle or the other two Masters already in the caves.
Focus.
Breathe.
I tried to do what Ily did every morning and ground myself. I pictured the pain in my head trickling down my body and into the beach.
I felt ridiculous standing there with my eyes closed and pain tearing through me, but…slowly…breath by breath, my mind quietened just enough for the pain to cascade through my bones and seep out the soles of my feet.
What the hell?
Meditation, she called it.
Wrong…it was a fucking miracle.
My eyes snapped open, clear and focused again.
How had something so simple as shutting out the noise and concentrating worked so well?
Sure, I still hurt.
Sure, I was still cold and drenched and bruised in places I really wished I wasn’t, but…it was no longer debilitating.
The wooziness was gone.
The pain manageable.
I ran.
I chased after Charles and his sick confessions.
I had nothing but my bare hands, all while two guys—who just admitted they got off on chopping up human flesh and turning cannibal—hunted Ily.
If they find her…
The animal inside me prowled and snapped at its tether.
The darkness sucked me deeper.
I’d tried to play this smart.
Tried to stay human.
But…the ocean had either decided to condemn me or free me.
I wasn’t meant to play this as a man.
I was meant to play this as a creature unbeholden to rules and regulations.
Stiff with pain and breaking beneath monstrosity, I stalked Charles right into the darkness of the cave. He stumbled and grunted as he navigated uneven ground, sounding like an elephant seal as I hunted.
Every step, I turned my back on sanity.
Every breath, I embraced anarchy.
I’d eaten with this man.
Spoken with this man.
I hated this man because he was filth and rot, but…so was I. And there wasn’t enough room for both of us.
I cleared my throat as the cold, dank stone snuffed out sunlight. “Charles.”
He sucked in a breath and turned to face me. His nose wrinkled at my sorry state. “You don’t give up, do you? Look, go back and have a hot shower. There’ll be plenty of other games.” He reached out and patted my shoulder. “Go on. Have a beer and just, guhh—”
His voice cut off as my hand lashed out and wrapped around his throat.
Every hideous part of me sprang out with fangs.
I couldn’t stop it.
I had no control over the diabolical savagery within me.
He ate people…
Sick.
Vile.
Dead.
Slamming his well-padded spine against the wet rock, I wrapped both hands around his throat.
He tried to speak.
He scratched at my wrists.
He drew blood as he thrashed.
But I just kept squeezing.
The more he struggled, the worse I became.
He turned suicidal in my hold.
Kicking, groaning, flailing.
His weight almost threw me off balance as I kicked away my slippery shoes and planted bare feet on slimy stone.
But I didn’t let go.
I didn’t speak or look away as his eyes bugged wide, his mouth gasped like a dying trout, and his soft body went slack in my hold.
I killed him slowly, personally. I watched his lifeforce sputtering, ending…
I’d killed Daxton in a fugue of fury. I hadn’t been aware when I’d stolen his life.
This was different.
This was cold, ruthless, merciless.
With a soft grunt, he slithered down the cave wall, collapsing between my spread legs.
I went with him, crouching over him, never loosening my grip.
Another roaring.
Another pebble dancing shake.
But it wasn’t a blowhole exploding this time.
It was me.
My soul.
My immortal spirit shot out of me as I dug my thumbs deeper into his fleshy neck and squeezed.
I squeezed until he switched from sleeping to dead.
I squeezed until there was no chance he’d ever wake again.
I squeezed until the beast inside me stopped snarling and accepted that it’d won.
Only then did I wipe my hands on his shirt, steal his gun, and stride barefoot into cave-wrapped darkness.