Chapter 55
CHAPTER 55
Zack should have put The Fal of the Undede-Kynge into the overly large purse before he swept the rings, tiepins, and cufflinks into the bag, but he hadn’t been thinking. He was about to panic, then remembered that he could just use a burst of superspeed. Quickly, he undid, then redid the packing, including the journal he’d begun to write in. Wish I knew where the other one was. Stupid of me to put it in the fucker’s library .
“Excuse you, take your hands off me,” Katie said loudly.
Zack took his dagger out from its sheath and stalked toward the open door to the hallway. Silent as a grave, he made his way over and poked his head out.
“Miss, you have to come with us,” one of the security personnel was saying. Four guards were out in the hallway. Two were preoccupied with Katie and, due to her struggling, were blocking the entire path.
One of the other two caught sight of Zack. “Master, we are supposed to take you and her to the panic room.”
“Why?” Zack demanded as he stepped out into the hall.
“There’s an attack. You’ll be safer in the panic room,” the guard responded.
An attack. On the mansion. Roger . It had to be. Zack slung the purse over his shoulder, the strap running across his chest. He let the guards see his dagger and its faint red glow. With all the command he could muster, he said, “We won’t be going to the panic room.”
“Our orders?—”
Zack spun his dagger once. “You will have to force us. Well, try. I don’t believe the odds are in your favor.”
Katie yanked her arm free from one of her guards and pulled her wand from her purse. A blue spark gathered at the tip.
“We should work on securing the perimeter with the others,” one of the others said.
“Wise choice,” Zack replied.
They rushed from the hallway, leaving Katie and Zack behind. Distant sounds of shouting and fighting echoed through the mansion. That was what Roger was planning, why he’d shown up at the Chateau. He’d wanted to clue them in to his big rescue attack. Why he hadn’t whisked them away from the Chateau, Zack wasn’t sure. But he’d have the chance to ask Roger before he left Chicago as fast as he could.
Come to me , Seamus ordered.
Eh, fuck you . Zack grabbed Katie’s hand and began to run for the stairs. Motion coming down the hallway made him stop until he realized it was Takashi. With a laugh, he caught him in a hug and held him tight. “How did you get out?”
“Key in the pocket,” Takashi replied. “Roger’s launched an attack on the house. He means to humiliate Seamus by taking down the mansion.”
Zack’s first thought was about the library and the loss of knowledge that would happen if it was turned to rubble.
What was that? Seamus demanded.
Row, row, row your boat, right up your fucking ass , Zack replied.
This is not the time for childish games .
“We need to get moving.” Zack nodded down the hall and started to sprint. Oh, it’s exactly the time for them .
Enough of this .
A weight dropped onto Zack’s mind, and he staggered as it felt like something was crawling inside his head. Snakes, slithering, seeking, pressing down his joy, his relief at seeing Takashi, his want for Roger in his arms, his longing to see his dad. All of it being crushed until there was one want remaining.
The urge to kill.
Without anything else, not even fears, to use his energy, the urge plumped and grew into a consuming cloud over his mind. He held on to the wall and tried to force Seamus from his mind, but the slithering snakes were too many and too heavy.
Sliding his dagger into the girl’s chest would be simple. Refreshing, even. Blood belonged on his hands, in his mouth.
No. No, that was Katie. Zack put a hand to his temple and screamed.
“Zack?” Takashi said.
Takashi blurred from a familiar lover to a stranger whose only merit would be death. Groaning, Zack pushed away the thought of murdering even a stranger who wasn’t a stranger. He knew Takashi. Loved him.
Do as you’re told. Kill everyone , a voice in his head commanded.
A pulse went through him, starting at his heart and reaching his fingers and toes. Everything else was falling away.
One fear remained, strangled as it was. He cared about … about someone near him. The girl? The man?
Didn’t matter. All he had strength for was one word. “Run!”