Chapter 38
Ifight against the drugs, bringing my head back and whacking Marco hard in the nose before the medication starts to take hold of me.
My vision doubles and I have a hard time staying on my feet.
A warm, floaty feeling starts to take over but instead of relaxing me, losing my inhibitions is fucking terrifying.
He shoves us forward and kicks my legs out from under me, forcing me onto my knees.
I fall hard, the concrete floor biting into my bones as I go down.
Marcus grabs my left wrist, long nails digging into my skin as he forces my hand out, holding it over the sigil.
He takes the knife and puts it to my stitches, ripping them out one by one.
I scream in pain, feeling the threads being pulled through my already tender flesh.
The knife clatters to the ground and he presses his thumb into my wound, separating my skin.
The pain is like a punch to the gut, and I cry out again, feeling like I might throw up.
Blood starts to flow and Marcus brings my hand down, pressing it down in the middle of the sigil.
A loud bang resounds from the garage door. It startles everyone, and Marcus looks up. I pull my wrist back, fighting against the drugs to stay conscious. The big door is ripped open and something runs inside, moving so fast it’s just a blur.
Marcus is shoved back, sliding to a stop against the ramp. His head hits with a sickening thud that echoes throughout the warehouse. Blood drips down his forehead and he slumps to the side, groaning.
The men with guns all take a defensive stance, looking for the monster that just came inside. But they won’t see them, because little do they know, the hunters have just become the prey.
“Get Gia,” I say, knowing Xavier can hear me. “She’s…she’s inside somewhere.”
The door at the top of the ramp opens and four more Order members dressed in tactical gear come in.
The power is cut, and the dim overhead lights die all at once.
My heartbeat echoes in my ears as the room is plunged into sudden darkness.
But then a warning siren sounds, and red flashing emergency lights pulse through the room.
The three men on the ground in front of me are suddenly knocked off their feet. Shots are fired, and Marcus ducks down behind me, using my body as a shield.
Fucking coward.
One of the hunters from the ramp is thrown in front of us, landing face down, yet his neck has been twisted nearly all the way around.
Marcus lets me go and Xavier grabs him, holding him by the throat. I stumble forward on my hands and knees, unable to hold myself up. Fangs gleaming in the red lights, Xavier bites Marcus’s neck. He doesn’t drink his blood, but instead pulls back, tearing his skin like an animal would.
A gun rapidly goes off, firing three shots into Xavier’s back.
He drops Marcus and turns, blood streaking his gorgeous face.
Vivian’s hands shake as she aims the gun at Xavier, and fires again as he walks toward her, seemingly unfazed by each bullet that penetrates his body.
She keeps firing until the gun is out of bullets.
Xavier picks up a handgun from one of the dead hunters on the floor and cocks it, putting a bullet in the chamber. He looks Vivian right in the eyes.
“Take this and put the barrel in your mouth,” he tells her, and she’s forced to do just that.
My eyelids feel heavy, and I fall forward, struggling to hold myself up on my elbows.
More shots sound around me, and it takes everything I have to drag myself away from the sigil. I need to get to Antonio.
And Gia! She’s inside the building somewhere.
“Wren,” Xavier says, slipping his arms under mine. He helps me to my feet and I look around for Antonio. He’s still on the ground, unmoving, lying in a pool of his own blood. Closing my bleeding fist, I lean on Xavier.
“I’m here,” he says. “You’re okay.”
Blinking to try and stay alert, I think I see Theo on the second-story ramp, tossing a body down on the landing below.
Marcus Henry has dragged himself along the ramp and is half hidden underneath it. Zeke grabs his ankle and drags him out.
“The prophecy,” Marcus wheezes, sputtering up blood as he laughs. “It’s true.” Zeke looks at Xavier, who nods. Zeke grabs Marcus by the collar and pulls him up, biting his neck, drinking his blood until there’s nothing left. He drops the body on the ground.
Theo comes over, dragging Marco by the foot. He’s still alive, with one of his hands clasped to his neck where Xavier bit him. Theo drops Marco in front of us and forces him to his knees. Zeke takes my hand, holding me up, and Xavier gets down in Marco’s face.
“The only reason I’m letting you live is so you can watch the mess you created unfold,” he says calmly. He straightens up and looks at Vivian, who’s still standing with the gun in her mouth.
“Put your fingers on the trigger,” he tells her and she does.
Tears run down her cheeks and Xavier looks at Marco, making sure he’s watching.
I grip Zeke’s hand. Xavier’s lips curve into a smirk, enjoying watching Vivian tremble before him.
“Now give me the gun,” he orders, and she takes it out of her mouth, shoving it into his hands.
“You couldn’t go two days without causing some sort of drama, could you,” Theo quips and I’m so glad to hear him being a sarcastic asshole. Xavier comes back over, scooping me up in his arms.
“What do we do with this?” Zeke asks, motioning to the sigil.
“We have to destroy it,” I start, but it’s too late. My bloody handprint is almost gone, having been absorbed into the earth. The ground rumbles and cracks open and red hellfire burns through.
This is what Devon found out. This is what terrified him enough to risk everything and try to get me to hightail it and run out of town and never look back. Because it was me this whole time.
I was the key to breaking the final seal and unleashing Hell on earth.