41. XLI
XLI
Spencer
“ S PENCER!!”
I stilled from the scream. Echo’s Variant layered over me in warning, and as I spun towards his voice, a loud pop sounded close—too close. Shock shackled me to the spot as my brain processed the undeniable ricochet of a fired gun and Echo dropping to the ground at my feet.
Time stood still as my brain sifted through the scene in rapid-fire sequence. Echo’s breathing stuttered, and blood seeped from his ribs, his crazed eyes bouncing between me and Camilla.
She stood across from us, her sinister smile widening as her gun remained trained in our direction. My frame began to tremble as every violent fantasy flashed to the forefront of my mind. More than anything, I wanted to collapse at Echo’s side and staunch the gaping hole in his chest. But I knew… I fucking knew I had no choice other than to deal with the imminent threat right in front of us, or we were both goners. He would make it. He will fucking make it. I couldn’t think of any other outcome, or I’d truly crumble.
Then, my saviour made themselves known in my periphery. I’d sense her anywhere—my sister, my damn lifeline. Emerson would save him, take care of him while I ended this once and for all.
My gaze never left Camilla as I gave my words to a wheezing Echo. “You just had to play hero and catch a bullet for me, huh?” I hissed, tone accusing.
Echo coughed, red-stained spittle coating his chin. My heart beat out of sequence, and I shut that shit down as soon as it flickered into awareness. “ No one,” he muttered, pure emotion poured into those two words.
And that just pissed me the fuck off. I scoffed, my defence mechanism slamming into place, letting my bitterness shine through. “Clearly, there is someone.” My lids narrowed on his ex who he chose over me. No harm in letting Echo sweat his supposed impending death for a second, purely based on the idiocy of his own actions. Emerson was biding her time on the outskirts, assessing the scene for the most opportune moment to enter the utter clusterfuck we had found ourselves in.
One bullet, two contenders and a million reasons to die.
A shame I didn’t give a fuck.
Then, I felt it. Echo’s fingers—subtle, soft and filled with longing—grazed my ankle. Suspecting I was about to engage the enemy, he reached out in his dying state, attempting to guilt trip me into line. “Please, Ghost, run. She’s not worth it.” I could hear the underlying panic in his voice. His last effort to save me before he died.
Did this motherfucker just tell me to run? Now, I was livid .
Echo had broken his promise, ditched me for her. And look where we turned up anyway. He left me on my own, so I’d finish this alone.
I tore away from his touch and shoved all my hurt, all my reservations to the very depths of fucking hell itself until I couldn’t feel anything at all.
I straightened with new resolve, and I could sense Echo’s desperate pleas, calling my name. If only I could hear him over the bloodlust roaring in my ears.
Camilla’s winning smirk vanished as she saw pure fortitude settle over my face.
“All must bow before death,” I vowed before launching myself forward.
As soon as she saw my hardened expression, Camilla scurried away, taking advantage of the obscuring smoke.
I didn’t mind, happy to play with my food before I inevitably carved it up.
The idea alone made me crouch in silence, pulling a leash on my usually reactive nature as I tallied the potential hazards.
The gun was her only advantage, but her sight was as limited as mine. I stalked her through the white plumes, sensing her movement, the minute shifts of her body. Which wasn’t that difficult, with the poisoned jabs she couldn’t help but throw my way.
“He has the most perfect cock, doesn’t he? Usually, when guys are that big, they get lazy, but Noah? Phew. He knows how to use that magnificent dick.”
I remained quiet, tracking, hunting. Though, on the inside I was a raging inferno. I knew he was a damn slut before we got together, and I experienced firsthand how the very contours of his cock were made for pleasure. But I was going to rip out her fucking tongue for the sacrilege of speaking on what was entirely mine.
“He was obsessed with me, you know,” she provoked. “Still is, from the way he’s acting.”
Camilla was near. I could almost feel the heat of her skin. Then, she solidified her fate by running her mouth further and setting me off.
“Hmm. I’ll take him again, I think. Just to have the feel of him inside me once more. That’s if he lives through this, of course?—”
I attacked.
Rage, jealousy and bitter vengeance ran through me so fast that I hit, parried and kicked in quick succession. She was on the ground before she could even release another word.
With her back hitting the ground, I pressed onward. Straddling her chest, my fingers cupped her cheeks in an unrelenting clasp. Camilla fought with all her might, writhing beneath me, punching whatever parts of my form she could reach. A deranged laugh escaped my lips and didn’t seem to stop. The more she struggled, the more my insides sparked brighter with glee.
Ignoring the fists she pummelled into my side, I shifted my hand placement and let my thumbs slip into the sockets of her eyes. Her screams carried to the entire arena when I applied pressure. Her nails tore at my wrists, desperate to dislodge my hold from which I doubled down and grunted with increased effort.
“I’m going to take everything from you,” I panted between gritted teeth, pushing harder. “All your senses, one by one. Let’s begin with your sight.”
I tensed my arms and shifted higher to plunge all the way through those squishy cavities, when an innate tug pulled on my energy, my very life force.
The sensation was strange, altogether bizarre. A sense of warning climbed up my spine to shiver down my limbs, connecting to the vital points where my skin touched hers.
Camilla was utilising her last resource—siphoning my Variant. She was tapping into my system at an alarming rate, and trembles wrecked my form from the internal struggle of keeping what was mine.
A repeat alarm blasted through my brain. Get away. Get away.
Only dregs remained as my ability continued to drip away. My green eyes lasered in on my victim, and she looked back with one blown pupil and tears of red. Yet, it was the triumph in their depths that made me hesitate.
Somewhere between our silent exchange, she had relocated my hands by pulling on my forearms, which she seized in a tight hold.
Camilla looked drugged out, stuck in a euphoric daze. And that’s when realisation clicked into place. She is high on Amp . Giving her the leverage to overpower my ability with her own and take everything from me.
I snapped back with speed, vaulting up and away from her leeching touch. But with my predictable move came her impulsive one. As soon as she was free of my weight, a gun quivered between her palms, the barrel aimed at my chest. Then, she pulled the trigger.
ECHO
It was an out-of-body experience, looking down on the arena from above as if I were a phantom, untethered to the material world.
Smoke filtered away, the snapshot image gradually clearing to display the destruction that engulfed the underground.
In the centre were Maximus and Gannicus, stuck in the throes of a one-on-one deathmatch. Laboured breaths and scattered injuries caused them to slow and tire. With the end near, it came down to mace versus sword, the victor drawing closer as their encounter grew perilous.
Around them, Ludus gladiators fought hard against Khaos rams, despite being overrun by the sheer mass of them. Psycho made the most headway, a wide berth of dead bodies laid at his feet as he carved through their forces like child’s play.
I kept on, instinctively pulled to the side, frantically searching for that one . I couldn’t spare a thought for anything else.
Then I saw her. My redheaded queen, with alluring green eyes that stared death directly in the face and said “fuck you”, with a raised middle finger for extra effect.
She was mine.
Something knocked on the other side of my consciousness, urging me to take note, to heed the warning.
The place was flooded with Khaos. Although their calibre of fighting was abysmal, their sheer number meant that didn’t matter.
Soon, there would be no escape. I have to get her out.
Awareness ricocheted back into my body, debilitating pain taking hold, crushing my windpipe, strangling my rib cage.
Based on my wheezing pants and asphyxiating airway, the bullet had hit my lung. How the fuck am I supposed to help Ghost with this invalid, useless fucking body?
Suddenly, out of a puff of smoke came Emerson, who skittered and dropped to her knees at my side. Her blade made fast work of my shirt, then her palms pressed against my bullet wound.
Undiluted energy forged through my veins, a tonic so strong, it slowed the fountain of red dribbling down my sides.
“It’s not safe,” I managed to sputter. “There’s too many. Get Spencer and run.”
Emerson carried on as if I hadn’t spoken at all, full concentration on manipulating her Variant and keeping me alive.
“Emerson, listen, ” I said. That got her attention. “You have to help her. Camilla is a snake, and will try anything to hurt Spencer.”
And you know what that little pixie girl did? She rolled her eyes. Literally. Rolled. Her. Fucking. Eyes. As if we weren’t on the verge of all being decimated.
“You should worry about yourself. Spencer can handle herself?—”
BANG!
A recognisable gunshot fired off, and a thick haze of dread jolted through my very being. A desperate growl ripped from my destroyed lungs as Emerson whimpered next to me.
We didn’t need evidence to sense something was desperately wrong…and we both knew who it entailed. Spencer was hurt.
With the last remaining air left in my torn fucking torso, I begged—for my life, my entire heart that now resided inside another.
I laid a palm over Emerson’s bloody hands, which remained locked against my sternum. “Go to her.”
“You’re injured. If I leave… Echo, you won’t?—”
I’ll die. “I know.”
I could see the battle raging inside her. She was conflicted. We didn’t know the severity of Spencer’s injuries. Was Emerson willing to risk my certain death for the unknown?
The strain played out over her face, tension swelling through her muscles as she pondered the life-altering decision.
Surprisingly, I held no reservations with the clear path ahead of me, more than accepting of my end if it ensured Spencer’s safety.
“My siblings are nearby,” Emerson said, speech rushed and urgent. “They will arrive in time to save you.”
I coughed, mucus building up my oesophagus. We both knew they were empty promises.
“It’s okay, Em. Go save our girl,” I said. Her expression hardened from my order, and resolve settled in the depths of her eyes. Yes, save her.
I wish Spencer and I could have had our future . The fond delusion a promise I would have coveted above all else.
I would have hitched her to me—all mind, body and soul type of shit. I could envision our babies, the most beautiful creations, and I’d be the coolest fucking dad ever. We would fight, laugh and love to the extremes.
For a snapshot of time that dream was within reach—so fucking near .
Pain. I felt my pulse stutter, and Emerson’s jaw clenched, sensing the hiccup.
My grip tightened, pulling off her fingers clenching my chest. The vestiges of her Variant wanted to hold the damaged piece of muscle together, to keep the decrepit organ beating in a failing body. She needn’t worry.
Gazing into Emerson’s stark blue eyes, I poured all my resolution, belief and conviction into her, giving my unerring truth. “Spencer is living proof that my heart now beats on the outside. Go.”
She understood.
Emerson closed her eyes for a split second as if letting the monumental decision sink in. Then, she bowed low and swept a kiss to my forehead, sealing it with a prayer. “Farewell, brother. ”
Then, I was alone.