Chapter 61 Caleb #2
I try to move at the last second, but it lodges itself in my shoulder. There’s no time to react, but it makes me lose focus for a single second. Footsteps rush behind me, a choir of urgent pattering.
I place my hand around the handle of the knife before I rip it from my flesh. My hand hangs at my side, but Ryker blindsides me as he takes away my ability to breathe.
“Oh, Caleb,” he taunts as he strolls towards me casually. “You stupid, stupid boy. Did you really think you could defeat me?”
I stare at him as my eyes feel like they’re about to burst from my head. The basement door blasts open, and a stampede of his prisoners comes flooding out.
Ryker’s attention is diverted, and I suck in a breath before stumbling forward to stick the knife in his leg. He gargles out a roar as blood leaks down his trousers. I step towards him to hold him still, but his eyes flare at me, and I’m frozen by his powers once more.
“Caleb!” Fi’s voice booms from behind me.
There are echoes of screaming and scrambling to escape this evil place. Ryker curses before raising his hand, focusing on Fi as he sends her crashing into the wall. Bones crack as she lies in a heap on the floor. Lula’s bellow of a cry comes next as she calls out for her mum.
No matter how hard I try to fight, his powers will always be stronger than mine.
My face drains from the lack of blood rushing to my head, my lungs nearly giving out as he squeezes the life out of me.
A growl from behind Ryker almost shakes the room, and before I have the chance to look, his body is mounted by a dark brown wolf.
I fall back, gasping for deep breaths as I take a glance at Lula, tears streaming down her face as she cradles her mother’s body in her arms. “Do something, Caleb.”
My head twists, and I watch Ryker struggle against the wolf on top of him, dodging its sharp teeth that’s aiming for his neck.
“You made a mistake, Dominic.” Ryker’s face morphs into fury. “A big fucking mistake.”
He launches Dominic off of him, his wolf crashing into the cabinet at the far end of the room, snapping his neck in the process. My face stretches in horror, but I don’t have time to even dwell on the fact that his lifeless body rests on the floor.
There’s too much at stake.
When Ryker pushes himself up, I lock my eyes onto him. I zone into my emotional state and hold him in place as I reach for the machete beside my feet. It’s still dripping with his guard's blood.
A low groan of frustration falls from his mouth as he remains frozen from my focus. He might think he’s invincible, but eventually, the drain from his powers will make him weaker, and I know from experience that when things don’t go his way, he deteriorates quickly.
I take slow, steady steps towards him as adrenaline and fury pump through my veins. Even when I think my focus will slip, it doesn’t.
I, Caleb Vella, reject you, Evan Wolfe.
Please don’t, Caleb.
I love you.
My head begins to vibrate as I zone into his lifeless gaze and somehow find myself slipping inside his mind. His eyes glaze over with a misty haze as his lips part, and for once in his life, he looks helpless. A sight I will drown myself in.
Ryker yells out, and the veins in his neck start to protrude. The pressure inside my head is nothing compared to the crushing I’m doing internally to his brain. His bellowing screams bounce off the walls around us.
“Where is he? What did you do to him?” I demand through gritted teeth.
Ryker attempts to struggle, but he can’t move.
“Where is he?”
“I should have killed him,” he groans between breaths.
There’s a wave of relief through me at his words, but that doesn’t guarantee his safety.
“Tell me where he is,” I shout as I intensify the pressure inside his head.
He cries out as his face scrunches up. “I don’t know.”
“Liar.”
I push through his mental barriers as they slip, and faint images of Evan play in my mind from his memories. I can’t hear what they’re saying, but one moment, they’re talking, then Evan’s on the ground with his leg broken.
A deep growl ripples through me as I watch Felix drag him away. That’s it, nothing more. I release the memory, and Ryker gasps for breath, choking on his saliva.
“Yes, Father,” I rasp as I inch closer. “I do think I can defeat you. And I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with the man I love.”
I watch as his hands fight to press against his ears to ease the noise and pressure that’s rattling around inside his skull, but it won’t help. Not when I’m inside his brain, making myself known.
When I stop directly in front of him, I stare back at the man who has continuously ruined my life and never accepted me for who I am.
“You don’t get to hurt people anymore,” I whisper, my voice dark. “And I promise, this is the most liberating thing I’ll ever do.”
I raise the machete in my hand before plunging it into his chest, straight through his heart. He groans, blood immediately starting to pour from his mouth. My hands are still wrapped around the hilt as I shove it an inch deeper, his flesh and bone slicing open.
I tug back the machete as he cups his hand over his chest before stumbling backwards, trying to grab onto anything before he falls to the floor with a deafening slam.
My body screams in agony as exhaustion starts to creep in. All my energy has been zapped from me. My chest heaves as I stand over him, watching him take his last breath before his body remains still and lifeless. I keep my eyes on him for a few seconds.
He’s dead.
He’s fucking dead.
I cough up blood that has been crawling up my throat for the past twenty minutes. Without hesitation, I spit it down beside Ryker’s head and wipe my mouth with the back of my hand.
My knees bend, and I search through his pockets until my fingers brush a metal chain. I remove the jewellery from him and stare back at the necklace my mother left me. Tears burn in my eyes. I clutch the necklace in my palm before placing it back over my head.
I tilt my gaze upwards to find Carson staring back at me in terror.
“Caleb!” Lula screams from the other side of the room.
The second I break eye contact, he darts for the door, scrambling away like a coward. My first instinct is to go after him and make him pay for stabbing me in the back, but Lula and Fi are my priority right now.
I drag my heavy body towards Lula as tears and saliva cover her face. Fi lies in her arms, not moving.
“Caleb,” she sobs. “Please do something. S-she can’t die. Please. Please.”
My hand slides beneath Fi’s head.
“Come on, Fi,” I murmur as I press my fingers to her neck, feeling the tiniest pulse. “Hold on. It’s done. He’s gone. You’re free.”
Lula releases an almighty cry. “Please, please,” she screams out. “I can’t lose her. I can’t.”
“Hey,” I whisper as I grab her wrist. “Look at me.”
Her dark, puffy eyes blink through a fresh batch of tears, finally glancing in my direction.
“It’s going to be okay.”
“B-but she’s not breathing.”
“She is,” I reassure her. “Just weakly. Okay?”
Lula hiccups. “Mum? Please open your eyes. I’m right here.”
“Come on, Fi,” I rasp again. “Don’t give up. You have the rest of your lives to live.”
After a few moments, she releases a gargled sound from the back of her throat, and her eyes crack open a fraction.
“Mum.” Lula reaches for her. “Oh, Goddess, you’re okay. I thought I lost you.”
I lean back and watch the encounter, my heart weeping for them.
Fi’s eyes flick to her daughters as she hugs her weakly. “Sorry f-for scaring you,” she murmurs under her breath.
“We’re free,” Lula whispers into her chest. “He’s dead. Caleb did it.”
My eyes lock on Fi’s, and her lips tremble.
“We can go home?” she croaks.
I nod and fail at keeping my tears in my eyes. “We can all go home.”
“The rest of the prisoners,” she pants. “We need to set them free.”
I stroke back her hair delicately. “I’m on it.”