Epilogue
Harley
I have no idea what this tree’s name is, and I don’t care as long as I have clear access to spy the swarm of carnage I’ve unleashed. Vincent wants nothing more than to skip town with how we’ve ruffled the devil’s feathers, but I say we stay put. It is not every day that one gets to see Zagan motherfucking Devlin out of his element.
Losing his shit for a woman. Thundering on the porch steps and knocking the door to the ground.
Fuck.
One fucking kick and a sturdy door literally collapses to the ground! It should scare me. The wrath on his beastly face, the battalion he has brought thinking his woman was harmed, and the absolute promise of vengeance in the way he prowls into the home should all scare me the fuck out.
But something in me was just not right ever since I was a kid. I had an extremely morbid sense of view towards death. One that lacks fear. Maybe that is the reason I’ve turned out to be who I am.
I see his dogs scurrying behind him. Nico, the loyal shadow, is right behind his boss. The fucker nearly caught Vince while he left the note, which successfully pissed off Devlin. I expected him to whisk his Cinderella to his castle. But imagine my surprise to see that he didn’t.
He has grown soft. In the wake of his obsession, instead of going berserk, the mighty Devlin has gone soft . He gave the woman a choice, something he didn’t give to even his closest allies. And look how that turned out. I even went to the lengths of killing a nameless nobody in a bloody creepy forest at that, to see if that would push him to take her away.
But no.
Now see what happened. All of this could have been avoided if he just stuck to his usual unhinged self instead of growing a thoughtful bone. What was he even thinking? A villain being thoughtful? Watch it come back to bite you in the ass!
I’m sure he will continue being soft for the woman. The woman he thinks is a fragile fucking flower. It’s time for him to see that she is no damsel. When it comes to slaying demons, Ara does it with a sweet smile.
The enforcer—Eero—flips Iblis off when he says something as he rushes into the house. I hear Iblis cursing before he orders the small army that came along not to disturb the neighbours.
A smirk grazes my lips, and I turn to Vince. He grows wary at the expression. Time to bid adieu to the softness of the hardened mafioso.
“Send it.”
“Why? We already have them all exactly where we want them to be.”
I look down at the diplomat, who looks far too unbothered for my liking. I want all of them quaking in rage. Filled with a fury that should burst at a moment’s notice. I want them all to keep their ears open for the slightest of threats because the game has just started.
“Just do it.”
He sighs but complies. He fishes out his encrypted phone, the same one he used to send the pictures of the fallen soldier and the men I killed. I know it is not only the pictures that pissed Devlin the fuck off but the little message I made Vince add with it. The crazy in me just cannot get enough of watching the once great, stoic boss who impaled Crescenzo to his gate, now look so out of place with not only fury but also fear.
Fear for a little thing that has him in a chokehold.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
Love. It makes even the brilliant fools.
And obsession? It turns the beast into something even more feral. I need that beast to come out and stay. I need the once bloodhound out in the open. And to see what that feral beast would do once it knows that his obsession planned on running. Running from him.
A laugh bubbles out of my throat, but I keep it inside. I’ll have all the time in the world to sit and watch the dominos fall.
Once the information has been sent, Vince looks at me. He is warier than usual. He is used to my habits. He is used to me not giving a fuck. He is used to seeing me deranged, but he is not used to me seeing like this.
Reckless, maniac and downright psychotic. Well, that is what happens when the only family I had gets robbed from me. There was only ever a shadow of humanity left inside me. But that vanished the moment Willow did.
Now, it’s time for everyone involved with her death to pay.
Starting with the faux-innocent nerd.
“Why, Har? Why take it to the extreme?”
“For the plot of course,” I smirk.
I see Iblis received the info dump mail about Ara’s plans to run. I see him looking down at his phone; his mask of composure slips, and he looks disturbed. But also pissed.
I thought he’d go to his boss and squeak, but I’m pleasantly surprised when he treks to the house of Ivy O’Shea. The house on whose border the tree where both Vince and I sit stands. I watch him barrel on the door and unceremoniously drag Ivy towards her friend's house once she opens it.
He has no qualms about observing the kid who is right behind her. The kid who snaps his weird fucking eyes to look at the tree—as if he knows we are here. I know he cannot see me. I’ve been trained to camouflage better than a fucking chameleon. But he knows I’m here, the same way he knows not to open the window for a strange man posing to be his friend.
Despite that, I smile. And he stares, not an emotion on his face, which bubbles with smiles only with Ara. He says nothing; he doesn’t even beat an eye as he goes to follow his aunt.
“That kid is something, alright,” I note.
“Every fucking person you stubbornly involved in this chess board is something. So many anomalies, so many players, Har. Unhinged individuals. We are on thin fucking ice.”
I know.
I know the gravity of the risk that hangs on our heads with what I started.
Should that scare me? Maybe.
But am I scared? Fuck no.
If anything, I’m pumped. I’m gearing up for the most epic war of my life, and I’m inclined to use just about any means to win.
Moments later, I see Devlin walk out of the house, Ara in his hands, the kid in tow. Devlin throws a withering glare towards Ivy, which shrinks her back into Iblis, who whispers something into her ear that has her crying. She turns to look at Eero—her friend, or so she thought—for help. He just shakes his head and instead lifts fighting Cas into his arms and puts him inside a waiting car.
The woman looks utterly betrayed and desperate as she calls Eero for help. She demands he release Cas, promising laughable threats that might have amused the men if not for the situation.
Did she really think that any of those loyal dogs would stand up for her in front of their boss? The man who basically raised them as his brothers? If so, my my, this woman has taken delusional to a whole new fucking level.
“What about the sister?”
Devlin looks down at the woman in his hands. His expression is a tad softer but not as soft as it usually gets. The news of her trying to run must piss him off. Coupled with the death of his soldier and having no fucking clue where to start, he must be a raging volcano inside.
“Have Morvain take and keep her safe until I say otherwise.”
Fuck.
Despite myself, a short cackle leaves my lips. He is pissed, alright.
Iblis takes the protesting Ivy and throws her into a different car from Cas. The unnerving behaviour of the kid is weird at times, but hey, I’m not complaining. As long as he keeps his mouth shut, I’m happy.
Despite the noise, I know none of the neighbours would dare to step outside their homes now. They see the guards, they see the big ass guns in their hands and they know that there is no chance against them. It is easy to do things when people are scared of you.
Fear is a weapon that, when wielded properly, gives you phenomenal results. And Devlin? The man was born to be a weapon more lethal than fear itself.
Iblis walks back as Nico pushes the bald freak into the hands of one of the men and orders him to take the fucker to one of the warehouses. Just as his boss goes to move, Iblis stops him. Not to confront but for orders. When it comes to following it, these men are better than police dogs. Loyal fucking soldiers.
“What do you want us to do, boss?”
Devlin looks down at the woman in his hands, not giving anyone any attention.
“She wanted to move. She will move.”
It is clear. Ara officially has no escape. She will be taken to his estate and held there. As a prisoner or as a queen, it is up to the brilliant woman. I hope the latter because it would make things fun. No one likes a fucking damsel.
This will be a test to her mind. To see if she can survive the devil. She was able to survive the monsters, but keeping her mind intact with the one man who will not offer her escape even if it means his death…well, let’s say it gets difficult not to lose your mind then.
“Things are getting out of hand, Zagan.”
A chill rushes across my spine at the name.
I might not feel fear like normal people do. But I’m not above accepting that despite the world I’ve seen, despite witnessing the deprivation and horrors of this world, Zagan Devlin evokes a sort of chill in me that I had not experienced before. He is a beast. The one he slowly got under control for his people. But I see the beast surfacing now that he sees his woman harmed and without a fucking clue by whom.
The only lead he has cannot speak. I made sure of that. But I’m not sure if it is enough. The man is well equipped with torture. He can make the corpses sing; he can install terror inside the fucking souls of his prisoners, a man without a tongue might seem like child’s play in comparison.
“We don’t even know anything about the ones who sent the message!”
Looks like Iblis is testing his boss. For what?
The expression on Devlin’s face is not pretty at our mention.
“The only thing you need to know about the fucker is, that he is a dead man walking,” Devlin vows.
“Fuck me.” Vince groans lightly from beside.
I spare him a lopsided smile, which he flips off. I smother my chuckle behind my hands as I continue staring at the interesting debacle happening downstairs.
“There are too many things happening simultaneously. Too many unknowns. And I have a feeling that she stands right at the eye of the tornado.”
All the three men look at her.
Devlin grits his teeth, knowing that Iblis is right. They are all miffed.
Unable to understand why I would ruffle the feathers of all the Dark Accord members. Steal their shipments, kill their family, sabotage their deals and many more that are to come in the future. The men who even Cruxis is wary of. They make sure to keep away from them as much as possible. Because having them as your enemies meant that you had been targeted by the gods of death. Each one is more vengeful than the other.
But will that stop me from moving forward? No.
Because all of them cannot see the bigger picture. I’m sure none of them haven’t even stopped to think about what role Ara plays in this whole fucking catastrophe. If they had stopped for a damn fucking second and got their head into the game, they would then see that shit had started to hit the fan the moment Ara stepped into their world.
Iblis is right. She is in the eye of the tornado. Unless someone’s willing to be swept off by the force, she will stay there.
“Then I am right there with her.”
My smirk widens, isn’t that interesting.
Iblis goes to say something, but Nico shakes his head. Iblis shuts up, which I think is a good thing because Devlin makes Eero look sane right now, and that’s something. I’ve seen Eero in his element. I am not ashamed to admit that I want to befriend him. I might pick a few pointers about torture from him. My expertise lies in stealth and assassinations.
“We are being pushed into something we want no part of, boss.” It is Nico who speaks now.
Devlin pins him with a serious look. His jaw clenches and he looks very bit like the devil underworld believes him to be.
“They want me in the game? Good. They think they’ve got me as a pawn? Watch me set fire to the whole fucking board.”
Vince shudders behind me, but I cannot stop my smile. It eats my whole face, my insides dancing in delight.
It’s fun when all of the players are into it.
I don’t care if it's Dark Accord, or an ancient cult or motherfucking Cruxis itself; I have a promise to keep. A vow that gives this sinister life meaning. And I’d go to the deepest pits of depravity to keep it.
Even if it means reducing the whole fucking world to rubble.
TO BE CONTINUED IN NOCTURNE, PART-II