Chapter 11
Wren
M y heart races as I dash back into the tunnels while Sinister sets Thom free and restarts the clock. He’s smarter than Leo; he races into the maze while Chris shouts instructions to him. I let him get further in before sliding the entrance panel shut and heading toward the middle.
Chris, from his vantage point, may be able to view ninety percent of the maze, but he can’t see the exit—because there isn’t one. His help will only send Thom into a dead end, where we’ll be waiting for him.
A shiver of glee runs over my shoulders at the knowledge that they get to experience some of the fear we did. Watching their friends die, knowing they’re helpless to do anything to stop it, and realizing they’re next. The hope of an escape followed by the certainty of death.
Fuck them and what they put us through. They deserve this, and I’m glad I’m fucked up enough to not feel guilty over not feeling guilty. The world will be a better place without them.
I stop at the next peephole and wait for Thom to pass by. After closing off this section, I follow him toward the center, palming my knife. A list of potential nursery rhymes plays through my mind, and a smile flutters at my lips as I select the perfect one.
“Three blind mice, three blind mice. See how they run, see how they run…”
“Fuck off, you freaky bitch!” Thom shouts, making me chuckle. Sinister won’t like that.
“They all ran after the farmer’s wife…” I slide out from behind the wall, appearing in front of him. He shouts and stumbles backward, right into Sinister’s chest. I tilt my head and slash the knife through the air. “She cut off their tails with a carving knife.”
“No! No, fuck you.” Sinister wraps his arms around Thom’s, holding him in place. His face grows red as I advance, and he fights against Sinister’s superior grip. I raise my arm but stop and look at my brother with a raised brow. His lips purse, but he nods.
Thom’s legs scramble against the floor, the whites of his eyes showing as I snap gloves on. I’m not touching that with my bare skin. Once was enough for a lifetime.
“Did you ever see such a sight in your life…” I sing, drawing out the words in a lower octave. My hand whips out and grabs his dick, stretching it toward me. “As three blind mice.”
Thoms neck bulges as screams rip from his throat. Poor guy. I should have chosen a sharper knife. Blood spurts everywhere, staining my dress as the air fills with the coppery scent. I end up having to use a sawing motion to cut off the offending member Thom used to harm so many children.
Now, he’ll never be able to hurt anyone again.
“You know, you’re awfully loud,” I remark, waving his severed penis in the air like a trophy. “Good little boys keep their mouths shut. Sin, could you help me out? ”
Sinister forces Thom to his knees and squeezes the sides of his jaw, making him open his mouth. Thom glares at me, his eyes filled with hatred. I giggle and stuff his dick in his mouth, pressing it down into his throat. Sin snaps Thom’s chin up and holds his mouth closed.
“You know, I don’t like the way he’s looking at me, Sin. Maybe he should be as blind as the mice too.” Thom tries to shake his head, but Sinister’s hands tighten their grip on him. Knowing the serum Sin gave him won’t allow him to lose consciousness makes this all the better.
I don’t have long before he suffocates on his dick, though, so I work fast, slashing an X over each eye.
Gurgled noises sound in his throat, and his whole body trembles before he gives up the fight.
Sinister releases his body and steps over him, pulling me into his side.
He drops a kiss on my forehead and whispers, “Four down, little bird.”
After resetting the clock and pulling the panels back, I tap my brother on the shoulder. “Sin, I’m bored. This maze thing just isn’t doing it for me. Can we switch it up a little?”
“Read my mind, little stalker.” Sinister strides over to a panel and switches off the blue lights and scoreboard. The warehouse plunges into darkness, and Chris cuts off his endless complaints. Thank fuck.
Strobe lights click on, blue and purple pulses of light that illuminate then shadow the room. The demonic and eerie notes of Khanate’s “Commuted” fill the room, causing a sliver of apprehension to slither down my spine.
Chris struggles in his chains as his body lowers down the wall, and he kicks out at Sinister when he walks toward him with a syringe in his hand.
Sinister punches him in the face and injects it before grabbing his chin.
“I can end this now. Tell me where Richard Norris is, and I’ll kill you quickly. No torture, no pain.”
Chris sobs and shakes his head. “I don’t know,” he blubbers. “Last I heard, he was in Chicago. He left Arcadia years ago.”
Sinister cocks his head and tuts. “Well, now, that’s a shame.
” He unclips Chris’s hands and shoves him away.
“I suggest you start running.” I lick my lips and lean down to pick up Barbie.
She hasn’t seen enough action today and deserves to wet her thirst. Chris stumbles away, then turns and runs around the side of the maze.
Sinister and I exchange glances. He jerks his head toward Chris’s pasty naked ass disappearing around the corner. “Ladies first.”
I laugh and drop a curtsy. “Thank you, kind sir.” The music sets fire to my blood, and the anticipation of the hunt sets my feet in motion. Barbie swings back and forth as I stalk my prey, humming along with the song as I go. Glancing over my shoulder, I notice Sinister ducking into a tunnel.
That man is perfect for me. He accepts me just as I am, both Wren and Dolly.
He makes me feel things other than anger and has given me back parts of myself I thought were lost. The thought of spending forever at his side both thrills and terrifies me.
He’s wormed his way into my heart, blowing apart my defenses and setting up home there.
I wouldn’t survive his loss. Not a second time.
Up ahead, the strobe lights flash over Chris’s huddled body as he peers around the corner of the maze.
I bite my lip to keep from laughing and tiptoe up behind him.
Barbie slashes through the air, her blades twinkling blue and purple as she lands at the base of his spine, tearing into his flesh and making it rain blood.
I dance away and push through a hidden door into the tunnels, leaving Chris howling behind.
A hand wraps around my mouth, and I’m yanked against a hard chest. “You’re so fucking perfect, little stalker.
Watching you spill blood makes my dick hard.
” A shiver runs down my body when he takes Barbie from my hand and drops her to the floor.
He flips my dress up with one hand, while the other moves off my mouth and cups my neck.
He pushes inside me with a hard thrust, making me moan. “Fuck me like you mean it, Sin.” He chuckles and pushes my back down before fucking me so hard my teeth rattle. I reach out to hold on to the wall, my body jerking with each thrust. “You better make me come this time.”
“Do you think you’ve earned it?”
“Yes?”
His hand tightens around my throat, and he pulls back before slamming into me. “Touch your clit and make yourself come while I fuck this pretty pussy,” he says, and I waste no time obeying. He left me wet and unsatisfied earlier, so I’m not risking him changing his mind.
I slide my hand under my dress and fondle his balls, making him curse. I giggle and move up to my clit, soft moans spilling from my lips as I circle the small bud.
“That’s it, baby. Fuck, I can feel your walls clenching around me. So fucking good.” I clamp down around him and shout his name as I come. “Yes, yes, yes,” he hisses. His hand tightens more around my neck, cutting off my air flow as he stills, coming deep inside me.
He pulls me up and bites into the base of my neck. Not hard enough to break the skin, but enough to leave a mark. He pulls out of me with an obscenely wet noise and runs a hand over the bite mark.
“I’m going to tattoo this into your skin so everyone knows you’re mine,” he says before flipping my dress down.
I spin around, lean up on my toes, and press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Or, you could use a more traditional method,” I say.
He raises a brow. “What would that be? ”
“You could put a ring on it,” I reply, scooping up Barbie and skipping away. Sinister barks a laugh, but I ignore him and keep going. Chris is waiting, and it’s time to put him out of his misery.
Stalking through the warehouse, my head swivels back and forth as I hunt for my prey. The music switches to Haxan Cloak’s “Mist,” the dark base and eerie yips driving me forward.
Chris dives from behind a wall and rams into me, knocking me down. “Die, cunt,” he grits out, kicking me in the side. But I’m not unfamiliar with pain and abuse, so I brush it off and crab-crawl backward, dragging Barbie with me.
“You just fucked up,” I say as I pull myself to my feet. “My brother doesn’t like it when other men touch me.”
“He’s a sick fuck,” Chris spits, running a hand over his mouth. “At least when I made you suck me, I wasn’t your brother.” His hand trembles and his eyes widen. “I’m sorry, I didn’t—” A low growl cuts him off, and he shivers at the sound.
My head snaps to the right, my heart thumping like a caged animal when Sinister steps out of the shadows. A blue flash of light illuminates the snarl on his face before it moves away. He moves silently up behind me, towering over me, a furious megalith of destruction.
Chris backs up, raising his hands in supplication when Sinister steps around me, scraping his scythe along the floor.
Bright sparks ignite along the edge, and I watch in fascination as the man who’s come to mean everything to me takes Chris’s head off in one fell swoop.
It lands on the floor with a gruesome plop, its mouth opening and closing before it freezes in place.
The body crashes to the floor, blood spilling out and covering it with a crimson stain.
I drop Barbie and throw myself into Sin’s arms, wrapping my arms around his neck. He holds me close and whispers his mantra. “Five down, little bird. One to go.”
I squeeze him tighter and reply, “I seem to remember what you said would happen if another man touched me.”
Sinister throws his head back and laughs before setting me down and sealing my mouth with his. “Goddamn, woman. I love you.”