Chapter 15
JUDE
I can’t remember the last time the alarm was sounded for an emergency meeting. I jump up from where I’m lying in the sun and rush to the nearest closet. I run into Zephyr and Arek as I fling the door open.
Arek closes it behind us, and we’re shut into the dim space. It’s nearly claustrophobic until Zephyr opens the back wall and shoves black cloaks at Arek and me. We grab masks on our way by, pulling them over our faces once we’re deep within the tunnels.
As we race down the dim stone hall behind the castle walls that lead underneath the surface of the island and deep into the woods, I pull my phone out to send Conner a text telling him that I headed out on the boat to go to the store with Zeph and I’d be back soon.
No one speaks as we wind our way through the darkness. Our small group joins with others as we get closer to the meeting room.
There are more than a dozen of us on the island right now, so once we’re all accounted for, silently, we leave the office and file into the ceremony room. My breath catches when I see Conner standing over the table, looking at our book.
Dread shivers down my spine, and the glint of a knife in my peripheral vision has me surging forward almost as soon as he faces us. He recognizes me straight away, and I nearly sigh in relief.
“Jude?” he whispers.
“What are you doing here?” I hiss.
“Dickwad shoved me through a wall,” he whispers.
I look up, gaze homing in on Reynold. He’s one of the guys holding a knife. Did the alarm come from him?
Rage surges through me.
“Take my lead,” I murmur. “Don’t argue right now.” I don’t wait for him to answer as I shove him to his knees in front of me and then step slightly to his side so I can get around him easily if I need to defend him physically. I wish I’d grabbed a knife.
I keep my hand on the back of his head, pressing his face into my thigh, and stare down the crowd of No Face.
“You know the rules,” Paul says, his voice quiet. He doesn’t take pleasure in this, but he’s one of the ones with a knife. “We keep the secrets at all costs.”
“We do,” I agree. “However, when he’s purposely shoved into our tunnels knowing that discovering our secrets means disappearing, I think the punishment needs to lie elsewhere.”
“Of course he’s going to say that,” Reynold snaps. “You don’t get a pass on the rules.”
“We’ve made several passes for you,” Zephyr snaps back.
“This is different. He knows,” Reynold argues.
“You made sure of that,” I say. “Didn’t you?”
There’s no movement within the gathering of No Face in front of me. Masks over faces mean I can’t see if I’m making the point I need to make.
“You shoved him into our tunnels. If anyone needs to be punished, it’s you.”
“I didn’t!” Reynold demands.
“You can’t expect anyone to believe you since you’ve already threatened his disappearance in front of several people numerous times,” Liam says.
“I didn’t know there was a door there,” Reynold defends.
“And you didn’t go in after him?” Darwin asks.
“I couldn’t get it to open again.”
“So instead of coming clean, you wanted to see him gone,” I fill in.
“Rules are rules,” Reynold argues again.
“They are,” Paul agrees. “It seems we’ve let you get away with far too many at this point, and now you think you’re untouchable.”
“Let me do it,” Paisley says. “Please?”
“No,” Reynold demands. He points at Conner. “He can’t be here. He knows our secrets now. He can’t leave this island. That’s what this is about. Not me!”
Conner stiffens against me. His hand grips the back of my thigh, fingers digging in. He just realized we’re talking about his life. I tighten my hold on his head, hoping he understands that I won’t let anything happen to him.
“Why is the knife in your left hand?” Paisley asks sweetly.
Reynold doesn’t answer.
“He tried to punch me and missed,” Conner whispers. I barely make out the words. Behind my mask, I grin.
“We will deal with Reynolds,” Paul says, purposefully putting an ‘s’ on his name. I smirk. “However, we still need to take care of this problem.”
“This isn’t a problem. He was purposefully shoved in here, and instead of sounding the alarm immediately before he could see something, that fucking asshole kept the information to himself, allowing Conner enough time to reach our sanctuary. He won’t say anything.”
“You can assure that, can you?” Paul asks.
“Yes,” I insist.
“How?” Liam asks. “How do you plan to ensure that?”
Arek breaks away from the crowd and stands at my side. His hand joins mine on Conner’s head, and I nearly sigh in relief.
“As someone who doesn’t truly subscribe to the concept of right and wrong, you’re all being stupid.
You know this isn’t purposeful snooping,” Arek says.
He twists the knife in his hand, letting the handle spin on his palm for a full revolution and a half, proving to us all with that little show that he can handle a damn knife.
“Get your heads out of your asses. Respectfully.”
I smirk.
I’m relieved further when the rest of the Van Dorens join us—Orev, Paisley, and Axl. Then Zephyr is at my side. We’re split in half now.
Silence settles around us.
Conner looks up at me, and while I know he can’t see my face, I meet his eyes.
“I won’t say anything,” he assures me. “All I really understand is that this is a secret society and that there are a lot of DIK alumni involved. Whatever secrets you have are still your own. All I know is that it exists. I swear.”
“Actually, he holds secrets we don’t even know,” Axl says from behind me.
He reaches between Arek and me to rest his hand on Conner’s head with ours.
“He made his way here through a tunnel we didn’t know about.
Considering we came through the three tunnels we do know of, and he didn’t come through any of them, that means there’s another door in this room. ”
Conner nods. Axl presses his finger over Conner’s mouth, preventing him from sharing that information.
“If you kill him, that secret dies with him.”
Conner pulls his face away and volunteers. “Two secret places. A long corridor filled with old, old books—thousands—and a room untouched.” He closes his mouth, eyes looking into Axl’s face. I grin. I’m sure I’m not the only one.
“Books?” Darwin asks.
That does it for him. He changes his allegiance, though I don’t think he was fully on one side or the other. But promise him thousands of books, and he is on that side, no matter whose side it is.
“You can’t be serious,” Reynold says.
Paul twists, yanks Reynold’s knife from his hand, and shoves him onto the ground in the middle of where our group is split. “You don’t get to speak, Reynold Hildreth. Your membership is revoked. Your sentence will come when we’re finished here.”
“No. You can’t do that! My family will look for me. They’ll—”
“Considering they’re also members of the Society of the No Face and they know you, we both know they’re going to understand your disappearance.
There’s also the matter of your sister being here,” Paul says.
“Witnessing your behavior and the lines you’ve already crossed.
Knowing that you attempted to sentence someone you don’t like to death just because?
You’d be disinherited at the very least.”
Liam leans over and pulls the mask from Reynold’s face, exposing him. The true end of his membership.
“One more word,” Liam says, “and you lose your tongue before we get to your sentencing.” He picks at the blade of the knife in his hand.
Reynold remains where he fell. He doesn’t adjust his position to something more comfortable. He stays where he was put. The anger he always carries with him, his contempt for literally everyone, is finally being drowned out by something else.
Fear.
“There’s still a lot to learn. Answers we’ve been looking for, for decades,” Axl says. “Conner can lead us to more avenues.”
Arek’s hand covers Conner’s mouth when he opens it again. Don’t speak.
“This isn’t his fault,” I say. “You’re not killing him. He’s mine, and I’m keeping him as mine. Alive. He didn’t do anything wrong. He was trying to find his way out of rooms that we don’t even know about.”
“Our secrets are still our own,” Axl says.
“He doesn’t know anything. The only thing stumbling through these halls has done is confirm that our masks aren’t just club membership insignia.
They mean something a little more. A conclusion that anyone who sees a bunch of us with a variation of the same tattoo will come to.
We’ve already advertised it. Conner has a name for it now. Otherwise, he knows nothing.”
“You’re so sure,” Liam says.
“Do I need to point out that we’ve made an exception for you that didn’t result in a death, even though he still rants and raves about murder?” Orev asks.
Liam inclines his head. “He also doesn’t leave this island,” he says quietly.
“He knows at least a hundred times more than Conner does. He can’t hack it.
There are very clear and strict rules saying that any failed initiations result in permanent silence.
Yet, he’s still alive,” Orev says. “If Conner loses his life today, so does Matty. Period. Like Reynold, you’re not special and above the rules.
If you can’t accept an addendum to the rule for Conner, you don’t get one for Matty. ”
Liam’s tension can be felt throughout the entire room. It hums in the air. He’ll take on all challenges to save Matty’s life. He’ll defend Matty, even if it means he goes down in the fight. If Matty can’t live, then he won’t live without Matty.
Liam drops his knife to the ground, kicking it behind him. Away from where Reynold is on the ground. “Fine. You’re right. I’m sorry.”
As if Matty feels us close, his screams echo off the walls. Conner inhales sharply. Liam turns toward the hall where the screams came from.
“I need to go,” Liam says and heads down the hall toward Matty’s room.
His footfalls echo until they disappear.
“You’re right,” Paul agrees. “Conner is more of an asset than a liability, and we’ll trust both of you that he’ll keep his silence. When we’re finished making sure Matty is okay, we’ll talk about the new corridor that Conner saw.”
I nod, shoulders relaxing. Thank fuck.
Paul and the two remaining at his side follow Liam down the hall. Axl breaks away and grabs Reynold by his neck, hauling him to his feet. “I’m going to enjoy this, bitch,” Axl hisses. “I can’t wait to teach you what death by a Van Doren feels like when the target is as deserving as you.”
Conner inhales again.
Axl drags Reynold out of the room, but not in the direction the others have gone.
Arek crouches down, tugging Conner’s hair, so he turns his face to look at Arek’s mask. “Are you blushing now, Lang? I’d really love to see you pretty and pink for me.”
“If I weren’t terrified of someone plunging a knife into my back, I’d punch you in the balls,” Conner hisses.
Arek laughs as he gets to his feet. “Up, sunshine. On your feet.”
Conner gets up, and I pull him against my chest again. “It’s okay,” I murmur. “You’re good. Everything is fine now.”
“Right,” he whispers back.
“Promise,” I swear. “I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.”
“Me either,” Arek agrees. He pats Conner’s shoulder awkwardly and then follows Liam down the hall.
“Come on. Let’s go see Matty,” I suggest.