Chapter 5 #2
The first thing I did was grab my drawings, tucking them into a folder.
Next, my pencil and paint cases. They went into the bag, and I placed the file full of paper carefully alongside.
Then, I went to my closet and started going through my clothes.
There really was no concrete plan other than to get out of here.
A hotel room? Maybe. I just knew I couldn’t think while I stayed at the scene of the crime.
My hand froze with a wadded-up sweater clutched in its grip. A creak told me there was something in the living room. There was no further noise, so I continued, opening dresser drawers and tossing things into the bag. It could have been the wind, or just my imagination.
The front door opened with a soft thud, and I heard Bryan’s laughter, followed by a couple female voices. My teeth sank into my lip as I winced. Oh hell no .
It was bad enough I did nothing when I caught him in the coat room, but it appeared he’d finally crossed a line I wouldn’t tolerate even on my worst of days.
Shoving the sweater in with the rest of my things, I zipped the bag shut and slung the strap over my arm.
Nothing could have prepared me for what I faced when I strolled into the living room. There was way too much to look at.
First off, there was Bryan, fumbling with his belt and slobbering all over Miriam. I could hear the gross, wet sound of his lips.
Then, there was Lucy, sans clothing. Not a stitch remained on her. I didn’t know where any of it had gone, but it hadn’t joined Bryan’s filthy socks in any kind of joint venture protesting against my penchant for tidiness.
Then, Miriam was making out with Lucy and Bryan was sucking on Miriam’s nipple.
My duffel bag slid from my shoulder onto the floor with a thunk , but nobody heard the sound. For a moment I was concerned about my art portfolio, and I bent down to check, but then movement near the kitchen caught my attention.
My response should have been to scream, but my senses were so overloaded that I stood there like an idiot, staring at what had to have been an apparition.
The tall man with green eyes stepped forward, his eyes softening when he peered at me. Right behind him was the other man, Kiam, the one with all the black eye makeup.
Lukas lifted a finger to his lips, as if he knew I would start yelling the first chance I got. Kiam looked at me, the edge of his lip curling up slightly, hands tucked in his pockets as if he belonged here. Or as if I’d invited them both to chat over a cup of coffee.
Neither Bryan nor the women noticed, lost in their haze of lust. Miriam’s dress was quickly pulled off by my boyfriend and then Lucy pushed her onto the couch, crawling up her body with her long, lithe limbs.
Lukas slowly pulled off leather gloves, finger by finger while he watched the live porno happening right in the middle of my living room.
He took several slow steps, not making a sound.
He walked right up to me and pressed a kiss to my forehead, sending heat coursing down my spine and breaking the spell.
I went to push him away but before I could do something about anything that was happening, Kiam appeared in front of me. I never even saw him move.
“What—”
“Shhhhh...” Kiam purred.
My mouth snapped shut and I glanced at Lukas. Unbelievably, his nails started growing. Long, glassine talons that stretched at least eight inches sprouted from the tips of his fingers. My stomach heaved and then they moved. When he’d wiggled his fingers, I’d heard wind chimes.
Suddenly, a breeze rushed through the apartment, and I yelled as my hair blew in my face, partially blocking my view. Bodies were moving in a blur of muted colors; things were falling on the floor, the echoing thuds depicting a vision I wasn’t positive I wanted to observe. But I saw.
Someone’s leg rolled under the coffee table before the wood and enamel split in two. A chunk of scalp with hair attached landed on the floor in a puddle of blood; the liquid quickly covering the strands. Pinkish chunks that made me believe I’d never be able to cook chicken again fell to my left.
Bryan was so drunk he never even realized anyone was in our apartment.
Muffled screams sounded before the space filled with the acrid, metallic scent of urine and copper, and I held my breath. My throat hurt, and I didn’t know if the screams I heard had been mine or someone else’s.
Before I realized it, I was on the floor staring at Kiam’s shiny boots. Rubber, shiny buckles, and polished leather remained immaculately clean until a deep, crimson rain began to fall around his ankles.
Blood .
“Get your hands off her,” I heard a voice growling.
My hair was moving away from my forehead, and Kiam was balanced on the balls of his feet. He was gazing at me with his head tilted, like I was a fascinating curiosity. He ran his tongue over an elongated tooth, and I rolled backwards, blocked by a set of long, lean legs.
“Here, take my hand.” I looked up and a set of green eyes met my own. The limb appeared normal, though it was stained red. Most of him was stained red.
His fingernails were once again an average length, manicured perfectly, but they reflected the light as if they were mirrors.
When I looked back at Kiam, he gave me a small smile, his teeth appearing human once again. I shook my head, trying desperately to clear thoughts I knew would take a distinctly downward turn the moment I searched for Bryan and his friends. I would never recover if I stared for too long.
Placing my hand in his, I couldn’t help but notice the wash of red in my peripheral vision. Just like anyone who drove by an accident on the highway, my gaze was pulled toward the scene of carnage.
Streaks ran across the walls, dripping lines of blood like abstract art, stark against a bright white backdrop. It pooled on the broken top of the coffee table, and beneath torn, severed limbs. Nothing looked real. It couldn’t be.
Things like this just didn’t happen—it was only minutes ago we were all out at the bar. The only thing that made sense was I’d dreamed about leaving Bryan, and it turned into a nightmare. None of this was real.
The disconnect left me numb, my brain misfiring and unable to form a single, coherent thought. Kiam was licking his fingers, and I watched as Lukas waved each of his dripping hands over himself. The gore disappeared like magic, leaving him pristine.
My eyes ached and my legs swayed when I glanced down at my bag. It was sprayed with an unidentifiable gooey red and beige substance that was slowly sliding down the leather sides in chunks.
Even in death Bryan makes a mess. That thought snapped me out of my stasis.
A roar sounded through my apartment, and I spun in a circle, catching my reflection in a mirror. My mouth was stretched open. The sound was coming from me.
Lukas glanced at Kiam—who appeared bored out of his mind, twisting and straightening his rings on his fingers, lips set in a line.
I took that moment to swoop up my bag and dash toward the door. I was stopped suddenly, blocked by the blond monster’s arm. Bouncing backward, I slammed into the wall but didn’t fall down.
The motion put space between us, and he stared at me, waiting to see what I’d do next. There was a lamp on the table to my right, and a weighty, decorative box. I chose the box for its sharp edges.
Before I could get enough leverage to do anything with it, my wrist was squeezed. The pressure increased until the knickknack fell on the carpet.
Lukas rubbed his chin with two long, elegant fingers. “You’re brave for someone so fragile.” He gave me a small smile, his eyes lit with approval.
Did I just turn this asshole on? My blood turned to ice and plummeted to my feet.
Then, the reality of my situation hit like a freight train. There was no fucking way I was asleep. Fully and unfortunately awake, I was trapped by two murderous strangers and the only person who could have helped me was spread throughout my living room in bits, chunks, and pieces.
“Why... why did... what did...,” My voice rambled incoherently. “How...”
“We should go,” Kiam stated, kicking an unidentifiable blob of something out of his way.
Lukas started pulling his gloves back on but quickly stuffed them in the pockets of his coat instead. “Yes.”
“You can’t just leave, look what you did.” My head throbbed while I considered whether I should clean up or if I should just call the police. I was under no illusion. I'd be blamed for the mess; thrown away in jail for life.
No one would ever believe what’d happened here when I said two crazy men grew long nails and then shredded three people into little pieces without a fight. I’d end up in a psychiatric ward.
Lukas glanced at the scene before returning his gaze to me. “I will do anything you require.”
“What? What I ‘require’ is that this never happened to begin with. How did... What even happened here?”
The man smirked down at me. “No one is allowed to disrespect or dishonor you.”
“What do you care? See that bag? I was leaving.”
My witness statement would damn me for sure seeing as I wasn’t upset the man was gone. The only thing I wanted to do was go hide in a hotel. First, I had to figure out what these men wanted. The whole respect and honor thing was ridiculous. They didn’t know me from a hole in the wall.
Lukas’s eyes traveled to my duffel. Then he held his hand out, palm downward toward the bag. When he dropped his arm, the gore had disappeared.
“Take your bag,” he told me.
My arm shook as I reached for it and tugged it to me. The leather was squeaky clean, other than a couple drips the corner had collected when I pulled it over.
“Is this really happening?” I asked quietly, the question not really directed at anyone but myself.
“Where are you going to go?” Kiam asked.
“I’m going to a hotel,” I said.
“Home,” Lukas replied to his friend.
“The Second?”
“No, home,” Lukas repeated.
Kiam took his hands out of his pockets and faced him. “I’m going with you.”
He scoffed. “No, you’re not. It isn’t possible.”
“What makes you think that?” Kiam’s voice held a thread of warning, and I stopped my progression toward the front door, riveted by the stand off between two predators.
The air crackled with static electricity, the sensation creeping up the back of my neck and causing my eyes to water. “It isn’t permitted. You’re turned.”
“And you think Cassia will be allowed?” My head swiveled back and forth between the two of them while they discussed me as if I was going anywhere with them.
“That’s different and you know it. You are not so ignorant, are you magician?”
Kiam laughed. “’Magician.’ Maybe one day I will tell you. You can’t stop me from following, no matter what you try. You take her with you; I’ll be there as well.”
The man’s pupils spread, blackening the green shade before the color spilled through the whites of his eyes, like ink leaking into water.
“I’m not scared of you Lukas—do your worst.”
He snarled at Kiam before he roughly grabbed my hands, yanking me to his chest. He stared down at me with the two black pools. They looked like tar.
A crawling sensation covered my skin, and a sharp heat ran up my sternum. My heart thundered beneath my rib cage, threatening to burst through my bones. Never mind whatever these men had planned for me, I was about to have a massive coronary event.
My ears rang so loudly it drowned out any more words between the two of them.
And then I fell.