Chapter Twenty-Four

DREW

“Where is she?” Kayce comes waltzing into the living room.

I brought her home from the hospital a couple of hours ago, and Kayce had to go take care of something before he could get back here. Tristan hasn’t been heard from since he left the hospital abruptly.

And Cam… well, Cam said he just wanted to go home and watch a movie. Such a helpful prick he’s being right now. But that seems to be the usual lately.

“She is in her room. I need to check on her in a bit and make sure she is staying hydrated. Make sure she’s okay.” I rub the back of my neck. My stress levels have reached an all-time high after all this. I’m on edge. I’m thrown back to my Darkwood days when shit was happening to Phoenix.

To when we almost died.

Maybe Cam was right. This is affecting me more than I’m admitting to. But even if it is, I can’t just let her go. I don’t know why, but I just feel like I need to protect her.

“Can I go check on her?” Kayce asks hopefully.

“Sure. Bring her another bottle of water if you could please.” Kayce nods at me and heads into the kitchen before going to check in on Raelyn.

My phone vibrates on the coffee table, and I grab it to see that it’s Tristan.

Tristan:

Where are you?

Me:

My place. Everything alright?

Tristan:

Not fucking at all. I will explain when I get there.

Me:

See you when you do.

“Hey, you’ve got that look on your face,” Kayce says as he comes back into the room.

“Huh? What look?”

He frowns. “That thinking hard and concerned look. Your face gets all scrunchy and wrinkly. It’s not cute. And you are way more handsomer than that.”

I throw a throw pillow at him that he catches. “Asshole. ‘Handsomer’ isn’t a word, you idiot. Besides, Tristan messaged me. Something is up, and he’s on his way over.”

“Did he say what it was?”

“Nope.” I pop the ‘p’ as I speak.

“Ah. Okay, so then more fun. Awesome. We need more bullshit in our lives. Should we get Cam here?” Kayce picks up his phone, preparing to text him.

I hold up my hand. “No. Let him be for now. I’m still pissed at him for his attitude lately. We can fill him in once we talk to Tristan.”

“You two need to work that shit out. Both of you are grown ass adults who are letting a woman get between you. Now, I get it, Raelyn is fucking special. To all of us. Well, except for Cam, but you need to fix that issue between you two. It’s starting to affect the team.”

I nod. “Yeah, I know. But he needs to come to an understanding that I am not going to abandon Raelyn until she is stable enough on her own. She went through something horrific. Unless she tells me to back off, I’m going to be there for her.”

“I get that. I feel the same. But he is really angry about something. Talk to him. Find out what is bothering him. God only knows what he’s mad about. Maybe he’s jealous?”

I scoff. “Of what?”

“Dude, I don’t know. You two need to have girls’ night and kiss and make up.”

I roll my eyes and throw another pillow at him which he easily dodges. “Whatever. He needs to apologize to Rae for his behavior,” I grumble.

“And I’m sure he will. But you two need to work in tandem with each other, and right now, you two are completely working against each other. That won’t fare well with the team dynamic or on the field.”

Before I can answer, I hear the telling footsteps of someone coming up the stairs. Tristan comes into view, and I can see the stress and worry etched on his face.

“Hey, you okay, man?” Kayce asks Tristan, furrowing his brows.

“No. Not even close. I, uh, need to talk to you two. Well, all of you, but we can start with you two.” Tristan runs a hand down his face. I hear another set of footsteps coming up the stairs, and I half expect it to be Cam, but it’s Asher.

“Hey, how is Raelyn?” Asher looks around the room, his eyes instantly narrowing at the three of us. “What’s going on?”

“She’s fine, but Tristan here was just about to share with the class something that seems to be bothering him.” Kayce smiles.

“Sit,” Tristan tells Asher, ignoring Kayce.

He nods and takes a seat on the sofa next to me.

Tristen looks at all of us before letting out a long breath. “My father is part of an organization. A secret society, you could say. He threatened me today with my initiation into the society.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Kayce scrunches his face and lets out a chuckle. “Your dad wants you to join his secret club? Is it like a poker night or something? Is there a secret handshake and stuff too? Do you post a ‘no girls allowed’ sign on the club tree house?”

I let out a sigh. “I’m pretty sure this is much more serious than that, Kayce. Otherwise, Tristan wouldn’t look like someone stole his puppy.”

“He always looks like someone stole his puppy. It’s his permanent asshole face.” Kayce throws a hand toward Tristan as if to prove his point. He opens his mouth again, but I hold up my hand in his direction and turn my attention toward Tristan.

“Why does he want you as part of it? What does this… society do?”

Tristan clears his throat. “Nothing good. They are made up of politicians, corporate billionaires, people of power. The fact that I am even telling you this isn’t good. For any of us. But at this point, what choice do I have? He owns me. They own me.”

“But why does he want you in it?” I ask again.

“Because it’s my birthright or some shit like that. I was supposed to follow in his footsteps. Take my place among the elite.” He shrugs.

“Just tell him no,” Asher offers up.

“I can’t and yet I did.”

“And?” Asher presses.

“He threatened my career. Said I would never be able to play again. I’d fail a drug test or whatever. He would even go so far as to injure me to a point where I would never be able to play again.”

“He can’t do that,” I argue.

Tristan lets out a small chuckle. “He can and he will.”

“So, let’s go to the cops or to John. We can’t just sit around and let you be part of this death club.” Kayce shakes his head and jumps to his feet. “He can’t just threaten to take away your career, your life.”

Tristan shrugs. “He can, actually.”

“Calm down, Kayce.” Asher motions for Kayce to sit. “If this ‘society’ is as influential as Tristan is saying, chances are there are people in there that make sure it stays under the radar.”

“That’s the thing.” Tristan clears his throat. “This isn’t a small society; the Black Skull Society is a very large group of people all over this country. The power it wields, the influence it has, it’s not to be fucked with.”

Fear creeps down my spine. My memory of the trouble from the Luciano Mafia family and the problems they caused us in our Darkwood days comes to mind. I suddenly feel nauseous. The web they strung was so deep into the school, and the city.

I had no clue about it until I was knee deep in the shit. I shake my head and try to clear the thoughts of my nightmare and look up at Tristan.

“Then what the fuck are you gonna do?” I ask him.

“What choice do I have? It’s why I’m telling you all about this. I don’t have a choice in this matter. This has been in the works since high school. My life will belong to them, and if I want to continue to play ball, I need to play their game.”

“How did this society come about? How did your father get involved in it?” Kayce asks.

“As far as I know, their origins come from a dark and clandestine group from the medieval era. They were hidden deep within the catacombs of Europe. Originally formed by a cult of disillusioned nobles, occultists, and outcasts, their belief in the devil’s power as a force of liberation has evolved into a global network of corrupted elites. ”

“I’m sorry, did you say they believe in the devil’s power?” Asher’s eyes widen.

Tristan nods. “The Black Skull Society believes that Satan represents true freedom, liberation from moral and societal constraints.”

“Are you quoting from their recruitment flyer?” Kayce scrunches his face.

“It’s drilled into us.” He shrugs.

“Okay, but then what do they want? What is their end goal?” I frown, wondering why and how this is even possible. How something from so long ago could still be around to wreak havoc on lives. How come they weren’t stopped centuries ago?

“The Devil’s Plan,” Tristan says without a hint of emotion.

“What the fuck is The Devil’s Plan?” I shake my head.

“The Black Skull Society believes that the world is in a state of stagnation, ruled by false religions, governments, and oppressive systems. Their ultimate goal is to create a world where the Devil’s teachings reign supreme, and individual will is the highest authority.

” Again, Tristan repeats this as if he is reading it from a book.

“We can’t let you join this fuckery,” Kayce tells him with a frown.

“Too late.” Tristan runs a hand down his face. “My only way out is in.”

“Why are you telling us all this? If this is as dangerous as you say it is, as it seems to be, why tell us? Surely, that has to be like the dumbest fucking thing to do,” Asher asks.

“Yeah, it does put you all at risk.” Tristan nods.

“Dude, what the actual fuck then?” Kayce throws up his arms.

Tristan holds out his hand to try to calm him down. “Because if something, anything happens to me, you all know the truth. All of you know it wasn’t whatever lie they came up with; you know it was the Society. And I needed you all to know the truth before I try to dismantle and take them down.”

I can’t help but stare at him. “I’m sorry, I think I just took crazy pills. Did you say while you dismantle them?”

Tristan nods. “Yeah, I did. It’s the only way I will be free. Dismantle or death.”

“Death?” Kayce’s voice goes up an octave.

“Yeah. You can’t leave the Society. The only way out is death.”

“Wait, but how do you plan on dismantling it?” I frown.

Tristan shrugs. “No idea. All I know is I will have to do it from the inside.”

“Fuck.” Kayce pulls on the ends of his hair.

“Tristan, this is so beyond insane and dangerous, man. They could kill you.” Asher shakes his head.

Tristan looks at each of us before opening his mouth. “I know.”