Chapter 27
DAMIAN
The bed is warm beneath my fingers. The coarse cover is nothing like the silky sheets Kit favours at home, yet it holds the evidence that he was here.
My Kit was kept in this very room and made to face who knows what horrors.
My entire being trembles with rage. Someone is going to pay for this. Dearly.
At first, when we discovered this prison, all I could see was the bed.
An outlandish atrocity that filled the entire space, with cameras blinking away merrily in its orbit.
They would have captured the horror on my face as I then noticed the objects strewn across the floor and recorded how I raced from the room to throw up in the adjoining toilet.
My only consolation is that Kit isn’t here now, that he isn’t being forced to perform for the cameras and entertain those watching his feed. Though the consolation is weak, considering we still don’t know where Kit’s gone.
“Damian, come here. We’ve found something,” Jane shouts from somewhere in the cottage. As soon as I saw the state of this room, I threw everyone out, not wanting to expose them to the evil held here.
I tear from Kit’s prison, following Jane’s voice into what appears to be a small, outdated kitchen.
It’s obviously not been used in years. The dust is thick and ingrained along every wooden surface.
There’s an old gas cooker and a tarnished sink, but nothing else.
Well, nothing else except for a back door.
“It was left open,” Jane says, peering out into the darkness. “Jack and Jasper are looking around out there, but this will be how Lucien got away without us seeing.”
I think back to the warm bedsheets. “They’ve only just left. Get your phone out, and we’ll help search.”
The night air rises from the ground, the icy mist tumbling along the floor, crawling towards us and into the false safety of the cottage.
“I’ve found something,” Jasper shouts from the treeline, his phone outstretched in front of him.
“Are those skid marks?” Jane asks while Jack runs over from the other side of the property.
“Don’t disturb them,” I say, peering deeper into the trees. “This is the path they took. Jack, you go back to the house and see what else you can find. Don’t leave a single floorboard unturned. Ransack the whole place if you have to. If Lucien is keeping anything else here, I want to know.”
“You got it, Captain,” he salutes, before slapping his twin across the back and darting towards the house.
“Jane, you and I will follow Jasper. We all need to keep an eye out for any sign of Kit.”
We file into the forest, Jasper leading the way like the good Explorer Scout he claims to be.
The ground is littered with leaves and twigs, disturbed patches of bare earth the only sign that another human might have passed this way before.
Occasionally, we find a long skid in the detritus, like something—or someone—was dragged along the ground.
My blood boils.
“Look, there.” Jasper points his phone to the left in front of us.
We race ahead, jumping over tree roots towards the displaced earth. Yes, a cross scraped on the ground, probably made by a foot. X marks the spot. How ridiculously brilliant.
“He’s leaving us a trail,” Jane says beside me.
“I think so,” I nod. “Come on, let’s go. If Kit’s showing us the way, we need to find him quickly before Lucien figures it out.”
We loop through the trees, finding ourselves wrapped in circles more than once as the disturbed leaves on the floor lead us deeper into the forest. The skidded tracks show that Lucien’s a man cornered, a man trying to lose his tail and inadvertently getting more lost in the process.
It feels like we walk for hours, my heart thumping painfully in time with each step to push adrenaline through my body. We find another six crosses.
Then, we hear it, the sharp whisper of something more formed than anything else slithering through the forest. We stop in our tracks, too scared to breathe in case we miss the precious sound again.
Yes, there it is, the low murmur of voices ahead. And then…
Thump. Kit’s cry fills the sky, and my own pained whimper falls from my lips. I start towards the heartbreaking noise, only to find my way barred by my best friend.
“Don’t go racing in there yet,” Jasper whispers, holding me back. “Not until you know what we’re dealing with.”
I struggle against the grip on my shoulders, but he’s right.
We don’t know what Lucien is capable of.
It would be stupid to go in blind. The three of us tiptoe forward, inching along the rough terrain until a small clearing opens in the trees before us.
Jasper holds out his arm, keeping us hidden in the shadows.
He peers ahead as much as he dares to take stock of the situation.
It’s lucky Jasper appointed himself lookout, because the moment he tells me what’s going on, I want to storm the area armed with nothing more than a hope and a prayer.
“Knife,” Jasper mouths, his phone light pointed at his face. “Kit’s tied to a tree.”
I ball my fists so hard that my nails cut into my palms.
You deal with Lucien. I’m going to creep around the back, Jane types on her phone. See if I can get to Kit that way.
Jasper nods, and Jane steals away, her tread completely silent as she edges out of sight. It only takes a few seconds for her light to be claimed by the night. At least we don’t need to worry about Lucien spotting us before we’re ready.
A quick tap on my shoulder brings my attention back to Jasper. “Rock.” His torch-lit mouth forms the word as he nods towards Lucien. I inch forward until my dad and my boyfriend are in view. A low growl resonates through my chest when I see the knife pressed viciously against Kit’s neck.
“Focus. Keep your head,” Jasper hisses almost inaudibly, and I drag my eyes back to him.
“We sneak in as quietly as possible. I’ll pull Lucien away, and then you smash him over the head with the rock.
” His overly exaggerated words, along with his violently mimed actions, ensure that we’re both clear on the plan.
Yes, the plan is complete shit, but what else are we going to do?
I nod, then follow Jasper as we edge along the treeline until we’re directly behind Lucien.
At first, the plan works perfectly. Jasper and I manage to step into the open clearing without Lucien or Kit noticing. It hurts my heart that I can’t let him know I’m here, that I can’t show him he’s not alone anymore, but I also don’t want him to give the game away before we can surprise Lucien.
We creep further and further forward. Once Kit truly comes into view, I can’t tear my eyes away.
His body is shaking violently, even with his arms pinned tight against a tree.
His skin is almost blue, and if I look close enough, I can see the terrified whites of his eyes and the stark red path trickling down his neck.
I lose my footing, catching the toe of my trainer on a stray root. My body surges forward, and though I quickly right myself, my left foot lands squarely in a crisp thatch of tangled twigs.
Crunch.
I hear Jasper groan beside me. “Seriously?”
Lucien whirls around, his arm outstretched and his knife glinting menacingly in the weak moonlight. It takes him a moment to place me in the darkness, but when he does, he confidently adjusts his aim.
“You should have stayed away, Damian.” Lucien’s voice is low and threatening.
There’s no point being quiet now that our cover is blown. I rush towards him, ready to tackle the fucker to the ground, knife be damned, until he swipes his arm to point the weapon back at Kit.
I stop instantly.
“I don’t think so, son. One more step and I’ll plunge this straight into his stomach.
Do you want that? Do you want to see if I can get the blade to go all the way through and out the other side?
If not, fuck off back the way you came. Take your little friend, go back to your car, and don’t stop until you reach London.
If the two of you leave now, I’ll let everyone live. ”
“Not a chance,” I shout. “I’m not leaving here without Kit.”
“No, Damian,” Kit sobs, struggling against his restraints. “Go! Run!”
“I don’t think you’re in a position to be bargaining, boy. I’m the one holding the knife, I’m the one who makes the deal.” Lucien steps towards Kit, nicking the soft skin on his jaw, the skin I’ve tasted so many times. Another trickle of blood flows down his neck and runs onto his thin vest.
“Kit!” I cry, my feet planted firmly, even though I ache to run and take Kit’s place. “No, please, take me instead. I’ll do anything you say, I’ll do anything you want. Just let him go.”
Lucien scoffs. “And what would I do with you?”
“Please, please just untie him.” A tear spills out, but I don’t wipe it away. I want Kit to see, to know how much he means to me. His glassy eyes meet mine, and the pain I see there shatters me.
“You’re pathetic,” Lucien condemns. He tugs the knife away from Kit and turns his attention to me.
Yes. Yes, that’s it.
I sniff again, letting even more tears fall to goad him into action. “Please don’t hurt him.”
It works. Lucien stalks towards me. “I can’t believe I ever called you my son. Look at you, snivelling away like a little baby.”
To my right, Jasper makes towards Kit, but my dad catches him before he manages a step.
“Not another move,” he yells, swiping the knife through the air to aim at Jasper’s chest. “Get next to Damian now, or I’ll skewer you both.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Jasper falls in line beside me. His dark eyes are hard, and his jaw clenched. I can tell that it’s taking everything in him not to mouth off right now.
But this is good. This has Lucien’s attention firmly on us. Because what he doesn’t understand is that more people care about Kit than he knows.
“The only pathetic one here is you. You’re sick, and I can’t wait until the whole world knows it.” Jasper lifts his chin in defiance, staring down the armed man without a trace of fear. He’s cottoned on too. We just need to keep Lucien’s attention on us for a little bit longer.
Lucien sneers, raising his arm until the knife glints dangerously.
“Say that again, you little shit. Go on, I dare you. Just remember, they’d never find your bodies. After all, who would think to look for you here?”
Jasper smirks, and my heart stops. All my hope is placed in the last of us left standing.
My best friend takes a deep breath and opens his mouth to provoke my father.
I screw my eyes shut. I can’t watch.
All I can do is pray that Jane knows what she’s doing. Then…
Thud.