Page 8

Chapter 8

Aaliyah

A rid summer heat beat down on me. Fallon's eyes were wide, horror lining his face as I tried to scream at him to wake up. No matter what I did, he couldn't hear me.

I opened my eyes as the last hints of Fallon faded, a cold sweat sticking to my skin and making me sick to my stomach. I came to a sitting position on the ragged mattress, hugging my knees to my chest, holding onto him, even if it was just for a moment longer. I reached for my wrist like a lifeline, my connection to them weak but there, and that had to be enough for now.

They had to be okay.

I squinted, rubbing my eyes at the headache that came on, looking through the glass walls that haunted me even now, glaringly clear as I searched the hallway for guards that no longer patrolled it.

I was alone, and the silence was almost worse.

My only saving grace was the soft chill that fluttered around the cell, a presence I knew to be Red. He'd stayed, and that was more than I could have asked for. For a second, I could have sworn I saw the impression of him in the glass, like a phantom. My mind filled in the blanks it couldn't see, imagining him like I once had with Prince. Something told me he'd have black hair, or maybe that was just wishful thinking. Maybe he'd smile like Prince, always finding humor in the world around him. He'd laugh well, too. Deeply.

I'd used Red as a crutch ever since Prince died, leaned on him even more than the others. It wasn't fair to him; it wasn't fair to Prince's memory either. Yet he was still here, offering what support he could, even if it was just the brush of a comforting hand and the warmth of hope.

"It's going to be okay, right, Red?" I asked as I reached up to scratch the marks on my wrist, one intricate black band for each of the men I held so close to me. They burned slightly, only calming when I touched them. The silence sank down a little deeper, drowning me in poison until I could barely breathe.

"Thank you for staying with me," I whispered as his figure morphed, and I squinted. His form grew more solid, cleaner. For a second, I thought I could see his eyes . His emotions lost their sporadic edge, the harsh twists that came with a soul so close to the Void dulling. One peeked through, settling on me, making my heart ache and fill at the same time.

Affection. The caring kind, the loving touch of a warm summer's day. It was soft, pulling the weight from my shoulders as I leaned into the wall. Hope grew, even in this cell. Something that even Sebek couldn't take away from me. "We'll get out of this, one way or another. My guys, they're strong."

My vision clouded as pressure built behind my eyes and nose, blood slipping over my lips. A Rend always waiting. I'd forgotten how brutal they were, how unrelenting. I'd been spoiled by my time at the Vivas's home.

"Strength is only measurable by what you're willing to sacrifice," a voice whispered, a chaotic quiet to it that had me tensing. "That is something my troublesome Turned will never understand."

Red disappeared at the callous words, and in his place stood Sebek.

He was still covered in dried blood, a streak against his cheek as he tilted his head curiously. That crazed look that never left his eyes was something I never knew I could fear, but there was nothing behind them beyond that mania. There was no softness or warmth that I sought, like with my father.

There was nothing, and he knew nothing. Sacrifice wasn't new to my men, and it wasn't something they took lightly. Sacrifice wasn't their means to power, but they were powerful all the same. Their bond, their loyalty . They didn't have to win with fear, not anymore, and that was something Sebek knew little about. He didn't have anyone that would stand by his side if they thought for even a second he would lose.

"Aren't you afraid?" I asked suddenly, almost curious. He was terrifying in all the ways a man with power could be. But did he really think he could fight us all? Not even just me and the men I called mine. The others that grew tired of his games, his tricks and his killings. "That you're wrong about them?"

Or did he just not fear death?

"No. Even if they all come, it won't matter," he said after a moment, another spark of clarity showing what I imagine he was like before he went mad. "They've already lost."

He stood on the other side of the glass door that led to my cell, looking down at me. When he reached for the handle, then clicked the lock, I shot up. It was no use, of course, as the door creaked open. He didn't rush me, instead just stepped into the room as I inched away, until my back hit a wall.

A buzz filled the air, the dust between us picking up as Red took a stance in front of me, nervous energy replacing the warmth as Sebek continued his slow march forward. He filled the space, a presence that couldn't be ignored. Fear wasn't a new emotion for me, but the one I felt with him this close was more potent than I'd felt in a long time.

"You underestimate them," I whispered, flexing my hands.

There was a brush of something, a gift that I still didn't know how to control. A power that was as dangerous as my blood.

You underestimate me.

There was no more mocking, just that stony gaze. He took another step forward, and I had nowhere else to go. He reached me in a few long strides, lifting his hand to cup my cheek.

Nausea flooded me just as my mantra did, and I bit back my startled gasp as I tried to turn away from him. "You can't fight me, Glass. It's best you stop trying."

I sucked in a forced breath, swallowing hard, claustrophobic in my skin. My power burned again, just below it. Singing to me, pushing and surging.

But never coming forward.

I gritted my teeth, looking him in the eyes as I called it again. It stayed dormant, even as I fought tears and reached for it with a begging hand, willing it forward with the knowledge of what it was and what it'd taken from me.

Sebek let go of my cheek, pausing to run a finger along the bottom of my jaw, eventually tapping at the skin behind my ear. It was raw, and I jerked as a sharp burst of pain shot through my head.

"You can stop trying to call on your gifts. They're suppressed. Did you think I'd let a Reaper wander around unsupervised?" The chastising words fell just like his hand as he straightened his suit. "Come."

I didn't have much choice, as he grabbed my wrist and tugged me along. My entire body protested, the joints along my arm screaming at the sudden movement. I couldn't stop the flinch that nearly froze me solid. His words were little more than a buzz in the numbness that had become my brain. The realization that he had well and truly trapped me here was a fight I didn't have the energy to take. He'd brought me back to Ascension, and he'd threatened my men. He'd taken the gifts I still struggled to see as mine, but they were mine.

Each piece he grabbed stole a little more of my fight, and each calculated move brought another level to the game he was building.

The one I was losing.

"Why here?" I asked, having to close my eyes as he pulled me into the experiment room.

The white backsplash was covered in dried blood, the bodies that were strewn about unrecognizable. The smell still lingered, and I had to fight the urge to puke. I skimmed over the bones, over the broken equipment, and the drip of what I hoped was water somewhere far away. I almost missed it, the mass on the ground that twitched and groaned as it tried to get free from its bindings.

Tied up, gagged, and bleeding was a man . He thrashed against his chains, screaming behind the wrap on his face, his eyes going wide as he realized he was no longer alone. Somewhere in the numb, I recognized him.

He was the Gargoyle, the one I'd seen with Fallon and Adrian before we'd gotten to the arcade. It had only been a moment, but I remembered his smile, the way he'd looked at the woman he was with. That thought of them had me jerking against Sebek's hold, pulling enough to back away and stand in front of him and put myself between them.

Whatever Sebek had planned, it couldn't be good.

"What are you doing?" I asked, and Sebek tilted his head.

"What I paid those incompetent doctors to do."

My breath caught, and I struggled to keep my eyes on him as he turned to the table on his left. By a set of familiar tools, familiar nightmares . I shook, suddenly finding it hard to breathe.

"Get on the table, Glass," he said, simply turning away from me like he wasn't asking more than I could ever give.

I'd come back into this building; I'd stayed in my old cell. But I couldn't do this. I couldn't.

The man behind me made another sound, a tortured one that had me swallowing and balling my fists. Sebek didn't even turn around.

"No," I whispered, shaking my head. "Not this."

He stopped what he was doing, finally looking at me over his shoulder. Whatever warmth was there when he saw me died the moment he looked at the man on the floor. It was like he was looking down at an ant, at nothing more than a bug to be squashed.

"Does his life mean more to you than theirs?" he asked, and I nearly screamed. He knew the answer. "Get on the table, now. "

Frozen, I struggled with what to do.

Sebek turned back, fiddling with whatever he had in his bag of horrors. I took that second to look back at the man. The one who begged with his eyes for me to let him go, and I wanted to. It hurt deep in my chest, like I was being torn apart when I couldn't. And it hurt even worse when I turned away and took a step toward the table.

"You're a monster." Each syllable slipping past my lips was a condemnation. Of him, and of this place. Of everything he'd ever done to me and to the men I sought to protect.

It was cold, the metal a shining reminder of where I was.

For them.

"You expect me to be weak?" His words collapsed into detachment, the even tone unsettling as the final one ground into a snarl. "I'm not him , Glass. You'd do well to remember that."

I crawled onto the table, lying down like I had a million times before. The lights above, flickering, burned my eyes. When Sebek shifted, sending something to the ground, I flinched so hard the table creaked.

Memories flooded my brain, even as I fought to keep them at bay. Reminders of knives biting into skin, of hammers striking vulnerable flesh. I broke out into a cold sweat, my vision blurring as my breath came out in shallow pants. Everything faded away except for the blaring lights above me.

Noise at my side, and I jerked away when Sebek came into view again. His face was so reminiscent of Castillion's it made my mouth flood with saliva, my throat closing instinctively.

Never make noise.

I didn't search for the bag of tricks he had with him, tools and toys he was planning on ripping me apart with.

"Hold still," he said, grabbing my arm. His cold skin was a shock, a pull that dragged me out of my disorientation with vicious efficiency. I waited for the inevitable blow, for him to rip open my veins. Maybe I would get lucky, and he would die from the very blood he was so intent on getting.

He pulled out a needle, one that looked surprisingly sterile. He examined it, swabbing my arm with a napkin that made the skin tingle. It slid into my vein with a quick pinch, and he only pulled enough to fill a vial. When he pulled the needle out, he covered the wound.

Quick. Efficient. Painless .

I was shaking, trying to will the panic away that still told me he planned to do worse. I waited … Waited for the pain he'd watched his doctors inflict on me for years.

He walked around me, not even glancing back, that same vial in his hands. I sat up as he crouched in front of the man. I didn't have enough time to say anything as he mixed my blood with another liquid, until the concoction became a viscous black that clung to the vial's walls. He filled another syringe and injected it into the man's arm.

The gagged man's eyes rolled back, black lines stretching across his skin where his veins were. He choked on his blood before he stopped moving.

The next thing I knew, I was staring at his corpse.

Sebek didn't stop, pulling out another vial. The liquid inside was almost clear before he shook it, glimmering flecks of silver fading in and out inside of it. He did the same again, filling a syringe and injecting the man.

I waited in horror as Sebek stood. I couldn't tell if this was what he wanted, if this man's death was worth it. But eventually Sebek turned around, pulling me down from the table.

"We must go." There was no hesitation in his tone as he pulled a familiar silver sphere out of his pocket. It looked like the one Eliza had used to teleport me out of the Vivas house, and that was only confirmed as the smell of burning metal followed.

I was caught, and I knew wherever we were going was going to be even worse than this. I didn't have a choice as he hauled me toward him, the teleportation spell dragging us away. And we were gone.

Leaving Ascension Rising, and my chance at escape, behind with a final thought on my mind.

The man, the Gargoyle who'd died.

His ghost never left his body.