Page 80 of A Mastery of Monsters

Virgil clocks the monsters, and his warm brown skin goes chalky. He rises from the ground on shaky legs. “Bernie… what is this?”

He must recognize the deranged Easter Bunny that attacked us way back at Big Sandy Bay.

I wonder now if the reason he retreated was because Virgil was there.

He was coming after me with clear intent.

Who knows? Maybe the plan was to kidnap me or something to make Jules cooperate.

Bernie couldn’t have guessed that I would know Virgil.

And then he met me the next day when I was at McIntosh Castle. Said that shit about family, even.

Bernie was playing the long game. Now he walks toward us, holding a syringe of a thick pink fluid. The serum, I assume. He stops short when we don’t move. “I thought you wanted to save Virgil,” he says to me.

“Not your way,” I say. “You’ll just use him to keep killing QBSS members.”

“It’s a small price to pay for freedom.”

“I’m not killing anyone!” Virgil says from the cage.

“You said you understood there would be a cost to doing this.”

Virgil lets out a shocked laugh. “Yes! Running away and living my life hunted. That was the price. Helping you deal with the burden of two monsters. Not… not this, and you… That’s Jules. You’re the murderer. You’re the one…” He shakes his head. “ Why? Why would you do it?”

Something twists in Bernie’s face. “I am helping you help yourself! Look around! This entire society is corrupt. The fact that I’ve been able to do this much proves it.

The fact that August should have placed first overall but lost proves it.

There is no fairness, no equality. You’re so afraid of being a monster that you don’t realize you’re already in a cage! ”

Virgil grips the bars. “ You put me in here!”

Bernie laughs. “Ah, so you want to be literal. Here’s another fact for you: without my help, you will rot in the Pen.

Your only savior will be the apocalypse when the Doctorate throws you at the masses to die for his victory.

Even if you leave now, they may still kill you for running in the first place.

At least your parents died for something.

This system cannot be fixed, and they knew it.

You have to burn the whole fucking thing to the ground!

” Spit flies from his mouth, and he doubles over, coughing.

When he’s recovered, Bernie looks up, not at Virgil, but at Riley.

“Well, this is a positive result, at least. I figured I would have to dangle Jules in front of August as incentive to get you here, but we’re skipping a step. ”

“What is wrong with you?” Virgil chokes out. He rattles the bars, sharp teeth bared. “How could you do this? You were like family to me! I trusted you!”

Bernie throws a sideways look at him. “We are family. That’s why I have to do this for your own good.

You stay there while I take care of this.

” He pulls a box from his pocket and places the needle inside.

He looks pointedly at Riley. “Now that I finally have your attention, we can get to the artifact.”

“Have my attention?” Riley says.

He smiles. “Did you think I believed that any of those QBSS members would actually know where anything of value was? If they did, wonderful. But I suspected any real information would need to come from someone with a lot more power. Like the girl whose legacy stretches right back to Joseph Lawrence. But I couldn’t risk attacking you directly.

Would get very messy very fast. A bunch of Historic alumni would get involved, possibly an all-out war between you and the society.

Not ideal. I knew with some encouragement, however, I could catch your interest.”

“Sammie,” Riley breathes.

“She definitely got your attention.” Bernie tilts his head. “I considered your boyfriend, but he’s a Historic too, so I thought it best to avoid him just in case. Besides, you don’t even seem to like him that much. Not as much as you did Samantha. I’m sure that didn’t bother him at all.”

I watch Riley fall apart in front of me, her eyes cast down, tears building. All this time, Sammie was never a random victim. If Bernie had Jules on his side, he could have easily asked who Riley cared about or spent time with.

Bernie moves on, like he hasn’t just crushed her. “Bring me to the artifact or I’ll kill them all, right here, right now.”

“No!” Virgil says.

Riley shakes her head. “Which artifact?!”

“You know the one,” Bernie says.

“I actually don’t!”

But Bernie isn’t listening. Davy is already taking several menacing steps toward us, and Jules isn’t far behind. They box us in from the two sides.

Isaac is attempting to shift, but it’s taking him time. He can’t do it instantaneously, and the monsters don’t want to give him the chance. They lunge, and he gets distracted dodging them.

His back is half split open, and he’s leaking blood on the ground. Anytime he attempts to make progress, the monsters leap forward and stop him.

Virgil keeps shouting and smashing against the bars, trying to get out, but even if he could, what could he do?

We’re free and somehow just as trapped. We need to separate the two monsters to increase our chances of dealing with them. We also need time so that Isaac can transform, and we don’t have either of those things at our disposal.

“Take him to the artifact,” I say to Riley. “There’s no point in lying anymore.”

If there’s one thing I can say about Riley, it’s that the girl is a good liar. And that’s what I need from her now.

Her face twists into one of shock and betrayal, and Bernie’s eyes light up. “I knew it! I knew you knew. I knew you would be the one. I just couldn’t get you, but now you’re here, and you don’t want your friends to die, do you? You can’t be responsible for the death of more people.”

I give Riley a hard stare and hope she understands. I need her to go along with this.

She holds my gaze for a moment and then looks at Bernie, grinding her teeth. “Fine.” She points at the open end of the tunnel. “It’s out there.”

“Lead the way,” Bernie says. Davy retrieves his dad, picking him up and cradling him between his front paws. “Drop the necklace.” She obeys, and Davy maneuvers Bernie so he can grab it.

Riley walks toward the tunnel exit, and the rest of us follow. We have no choice because Jules is bringing up the rear.

I take one last look at Virgil, still gripping the bars.

I hope he knows that we’ll be back for him. That we won’t leave him.

Once we’re outside, Riley says, “It’s easier if I just tell you from here.”

Bernie beckons her forward.

She steps up to him, coming in close. “I wouldn’t miss a chance to look into the eyes of the man who killed my best friend.” She whips out a blade hidden in her sleeve, aiming for Bernie’s eye. But Davy’s too fast. He hops out of the way and snarls at her.

Bernie shakes his head and tuts. Like he’s admonishing one of his students. “That’s not very nice. Trying to trick a man in pain. We’ll have to punish someone for that.”

Jules jumps into action and headbutts Isaac, sending the boy flying into the trees. Margot screams, but when she tries to go after her brother, Jules blocks her.

“Finally!” Bernie says. “Someone has learned to be proactive. You know, Jules, when we threatened to kill everyone you loved, you came around pretty nicely, but I always had to push you. Now you’re starting to understand the stakes a little more, aren’t you?”

My eyes dart to where Isaac is. When I look to Jules, I can see him inside there. His eyes, staring at me. Why would he choose this moment of all times to cooperate with Bernie?

“Now,” Bernie says. “The artifact. For real this time.”

Davy and Jules loom over us as we follow Riley. Margot looks back at where her brother landed. There’s no movement.

After walking for a bit, Riley stops and starts digging around on the ground, ripping up grass and earth.

She’s not going to find anything. And now we don’t even have Isaac. But we need to do something.

Bernie watches her intently. Davy, too, keeps his eyes on the progress. Even Jules. In this form, he’s under Bernie’s control. But if we could get Riley’s necklace, we could force a shift and neutralize him.

I’m thinking about how we can make a distraction when the monsters swivel to the left as a creature bounds toward us.

A massive dog with a lolling tongue.

I shoot a look at Margot, who meets my eyes with a wicked grin.

She knew Isaac was okay the whole time.

He just needed time to transform. Jules… That was why he did that! To give Isaac time!

I could hug my brother, but not now, because he’s still under the control of a murderer. And he immediately goes after Isaac.

Leaving Davy with us. Davy, who apparently was also thinking ahead, because he drops his dad and takes a hold of Riley, pressing a sharp claw to her throat.

Bernie laughs from the ground. “Can you believe they would have just wasted him in the Pen? My boy is talented!” He jerks his head to Margot. “Stop Isaac, or we’ll slit her throat.”

“You won’t,” Margot says. “You need her.”

“Fine. We’ll maim her until she wishes she were dead.”

“This isn’t you,” Corey cries. “Please, Bernie.”

“Tick tock,” he says, ignoring her.

We’re fucked. We’re completely fucked. Davy is too alert for me to get a knife off.

Something barrels into Bernie from behind at an alarming speed. The man is tossed off his feet, and Davy screeches, dropping Riley to get his dad.

The thing stops, and it’s not a thing at all.

It’s Virgil.

His mouth is too crowded with teeth again, and his fingernails are too long and sharp. But he’s here. And he’s struggling, breathing heavily and falling to his knees.