me.”
Rachel swooped over and wrapped her arms seductively around Caden’s
waist, skimming her lips across the side of his neck.
So they’re together,
I realized.
Despite the urgency of the situation, bitter disappointment coursed
through me.
Caden didn’t acknowledge Rachel’s affection,
though. “Did you think you could walk in here after what you did to
my sister?” he said through gritted teeth.
Jethro’s laughter echoed through the cave. I
recognized that sound. I had believed it to be my salvation,
earlier that night. Now that laugh made me want to swallow my
tongue in fear.
“ That sounds like a threat.
Amusing.”
The footsteps moved away from us. I had no urge
to peek again.
“ Quite silly of you to start a fire.
Someone may accidently trip and fall into it. That would be a much
more permanent ending than sitting at the bottom of the river,”
Jethro mused.
A silent warning to Amelie, though I didn’t see
how drowning had a different outcome than burning.
Dead is
dead
.
“ You know, it was interesting
earlier, out by the river,” Jethro said, his voice falsely casual,
“after we chucked you in. We—all of us—sensed a true rarity. A
human
heartbeat, of all things.”
What?
My face twisted with
confusion.
“ It must have been wishful thinking,
of course … but it brought back fond memories. I remember ripping
one of those tasty morsels right out of a chest once, so quickly
that the little thing continued pulsing in my palm. I even showed
it to the terrified lemming I had snatched it from before she
collapsed to the ground. How I would do
anything
to hold
one of those again …” Jethro sighed wistfully.
As if my poor heart had heard the threat, it
began thrashing against my chest, likely trying to grow legs so it
could break free and run away before this psychopath could get his
hands on it.
“ There it is again—that heartbeat!”
Jethro exclaimed in a hiss. “Do you hear that?”
My stomach lurched. Was he referring to
my
heartbeat? A hand squeezed my thigh in warning.
Glancing down, I saw it was Caden’s hand, covertly reaching back,
attempting to calm me. Unfortunately his touch pushed my heart
further into overdrive until I was sure it would explode; it was a
thunderous, repetitive boom against my eardrums. The cave, Caden,
everything began to swirl. I leaned against the wall for support,
begging my knees not to buckle.
Unevenly paced footsteps moved toward us,
slowly edging in, taunting. Rachel’s arms slid away from Caden, who
shifted. I knew they were preparing to react.
My hands groped forward in desperation, my
fingers digging into Caden’s back. Clenching my teeth together, I
fought the urge to let out a blood–curdling shriek.
What happened next came in a flash. Rachel was
no longer beside Caden. She was slamming into the opposite wall,
the rock crumbling from the impact, surely every bone in her
perfect body shattering. I didn’t see her collapse to the ground,
though; the demon who now stood in her place had my full
attention.
I couldn’t decide which was more sinister—those
cold white eyes with their web of tiny blue veins staring down at
me, or the creature’s face, so contorted that it pulled his skin
back severely against his facial bones. His long hair, also stark
white, was tied back in a ponytail that only emphasized the
tautness of his skin. He was like some monster out of a horror
film, only a hundred times more hideous because he was real.
Demon,
sprang into my mind—
something straight from
hell.
As hard as I struggled to turn away from that
repulsive face, it held me riveted. The blood drained from my own
face, and my body trembled uncontrollably. I felt as vulnerable as
a mouse cornered by a hungry snake.
A strange expression passed over the demon’s
face. It took me a moment to identify it as shock. “Where did you
find her?” it hissed, and I recognized the voice as
Jethro’s.
“ It doesn’t matter,” Caden responded
levelly.
I
Rachel swooped over and wrapped her arms seductively around Caden’s
waist, skimming her lips across the side of his neck.
So they’re together,
I realized.
Despite the urgency of the situation, bitter disappointment coursed
through me.
Caden didn’t acknowledge Rachel’s affection,
though. “Did you think you could walk in here after what you did to
my sister?” he said through gritted teeth.
Jethro’s laughter echoed through the cave. I
recognized that sound. I had believed it to be my salvation,
earlier that night. Now that laugh made me want to swallow my
tongue in fear.
“ That sounds like a threat.
Amusing.”
The footsteps moved away from us. I had no urge
to peek again.
“ Quite silly of you to start a fire.
Someone may accidently trip and fall into it. That would be a much
more permanent ending than sitting at the bottom of the river,”
Jethro mused.
A silent warning to Amelie, though I didn’t see
how drowning had a different outcome than burning.
Dead is
dead
.
“ You know, it was interesting
earlier, out by the river,” Jethro said, his voice falsely casual,
“after we chucked you in. We—all of us—sensed a true rarity. A
human
heartbeat, of all things.”
What?
My face twisted with
confusion.
“ It must have been wishful thinking,
of course … but it brought back fond memories. I remember ripping
one of those tasty morsels right out of a chest once, so quickly
that the little thing continued pulsing in my palm. I even showed
it to the terrified lemming I had snatched it from before she
collapsed to the ground. How I would do
anything
to hold
one of those again …” Jethro sighed wistfully.
As if my poor heart had heard the threat, it
began thrashing against my chest, likely trying to grow legs so it
could break free and run away before this psychopath could get his
hands on it.
“ There it is again—that heartbeat!”
Jethro exclaimed in a hiss. “Do you hear that?”
My stomach lurched. Was he referring to
my
heartbeat? A hand squeezed my thigh in warning.
Glancing down, I saw it was Caden’s hand, covertly reaching back,
attempting to calm me. Unfortunately his touch pushed my heart
further into overdrive until I was sure it would explode; it was a
thunderous, repetitive boom against my eardrums. The cave, Caden,
everything began to swirl. I leaned against the wall for support,
begging my knees not to buckle.
Unevenly paced footsteps moved toward us,
slowly edging in, taunting. Rachel’s arms slid away from Caden, who
shifted. I knew they were preparing to react.
My hands groped forward in desperation, my
fingers digging into Caden’s back. Clenching my teeth together, I
fought the urge to let out a blood–curdling shriek.
What happened next came in a flash. Rachel was
no longer beside Caden. She was slamming into the opposite wall,
the rock crumbling from the impact, surely every bone in her
perfect body shattering. I didn’t see her collapse to the ground,
though; the demon who now stood in her place had my full
attention.
I couldn’t decide which was more sinister—those
cold white eyes with their web of tiny blue veins staring down at
me, or the creature’s face, so contorted that it pulled his skin
back severely against his facial bones. His long hair, also stark
white, was tied back in a ponytail that only emphasized the
tautness of his skin. He was like some monster out of a horror
film, only a hundred times more hideous because he was real.
Demon,
sprang into my mind—
something straight from
hell.
As hard as I struggled to turn away from that
repulsive face, it held me riveted. The blood drained from my own
face, and my body trembled uncontrollably. I felt as vulnerable as
a mouse cornered by a hungry snake.
A strange expression passed over the demon’s
face. It took me a moment to identify it as shock. “Where did you
find her?” it hissed, and I recognized the voice as
Jethro’s.
“ It doesn’t matter,” Caden responded
levelly.
I
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