Page 50

Looking toward my mother, she stands there, all shock is washed away as she accepts her fate.

No fighting, no pleading.

We are so similar but also extremely different.

I am not stupid, she is.

Believing The Dark One is fucking real.

Pathetic.

“It is a great honor to be summoned by The Dark One like this.” She says proudly.

Maxton’s head snaps towards her. “Did anyone say you could speak, woman?”

Bowing her head, my mother submits to him.

“Elijah, wake her up. And remove that collar from around her neck. She will no longer be needing it.” He instructs.

Turning my body towards Rain, I lower my head over hers, tilting my head slightly, taking her in one last time before absolute chaos ensues.

I whisper softly, so only she can hear, “Wait for my signal.”

Her eyes are still closed, but she squints them ever so slightly, telling me she understands.

My mother is still standing off to the side, my stepfather has made his way over to her, they are speaking softly to each other, distracted.

His number three remains in place, standing closest to me.

Still bent over, I rotate my head to look at him. My free hand goes to my hip, where my hammer is hanging from my belt.

It’s hard to tell if he has noticed or if he is too focused on my mask and my eyes staring at him. Standing up straight, I close the distance between him and me, pulling the hammer out of my belt. As I pull it up by its steelhead, I slide my hand down the wooden handle. Gripping it tightly, I then use all my momentum, swinging it directly where my eyes are aiming—the side of his thick skull.

Everything moves in slow motion.

My hammer is already propelling towards him before he even notices what is occurring.

As it connects with the side of his head before dropping to the ground. His mouth opens, yelling in pain as his body falls to the ground from the force of the impact.

Time speeds up, and I step over his body which is tossing around below. The hood of his robe has fallen off, while his mask remains. Loud wails of pain leave his mouth. Bending at the waist, I grip my hammer and continue my assault on him.

My movements are rapid, and each time I connect with his head, I come back for more. One after another, I am hyper-focused on this piece of shit. Blood splatters off him, flying up at me and around us each time I strike him. His head bounces against the ground, he is no longer in control. A pool of blood slowly starts to form around his head as well. Pieces of brain matter are getting stuck to the hammer now. My breathing is heavy. Staying bent over and staring at his lifeless body below me, I drop the hammer next to me.

Lifting my foot, I need to make sure he is gone, dead, with no chance of coming back. Where I have bashed his skull in, I place the heel of my boot and step down on him. His skull continues to break, as I feel his head moving down from the pressure I step back, removing my foot from his head. His head is angled up, still laying lifeless before me. I swing my foot and kick his jaw just under his chin. This causes his precious Chapel mask to come flying off. Beneath it, you can see one of his eyes has popped out, blood is coming out of his mouth and nose, and the force of the kick has caused him to bite his tongue off.

“Fuck you, motherfucker. Who's next?”

Chapter 30

Rain

The sound of something hitting the ground can be heard next to me, where I have been laying. I take that as the signal E was talking about.

With my mask now gone, they will notice as soon as I open my eyes.

So I have to move quickly.

As I open them, they take a moment to adjust to the dim lighting. Reaching my hand to my waist, I grab the dagger which is still tucked under my belt. As I wrap my fingers around the cold metal, my heart starts to race, but I cannot panic, it will only jeopardize us and make everything leading up to this moment a waste.