Page 60 of The Sea Witch’s Son (The Villains of Wolf Hollow #1)

Chapter 59

MARLIN

The Drache women know how to make an entrance.

“Thank you for joining us on such a lovely evening.”

Stilettos click against black tiles as blonde curls and a leather jacket step out of the shadows. Calista offers everyone a vicious smile as she wipes her blade on the dark material of her pants.

“Please, make yourselves comfortable.”

She gestures towards the man tied to the chair, but nobody moves. I catch Jaafar’s disapproving look as he takes in the casual state of Calista’s clothes.

“Where’s the Dragon?”

Some brave soul voices the question, and it causes everyone to swivel their heads, as if the mistress of Drache Manor was hiding among the crowd .

“She’s coming.” Calista grins, causing a couple of people to take a step back, “But I wanted to give everyone a little party favour to get the blood flowing.”

Silence falls upon the room, quiet enough that we can all hear the hushed whimpers of mercy. The hands bound to the chair twitch restlessly as more unpleasant sounds escape the burlap sack.

Calista walks over and grabs the ragged sack with her nails. I watch her pull the bag off the man’s head and wait for the big reveal.

Except it’s not who I thought it was going to be.

“Oh my God.”

Screams ring out and Madame Cartier promptly faints in her husband’s arms. Gaston is quick to catch her, but not before one of Jaafar’s servants pukes all over the ground.

“Could she not have left an eyeball for me?” My mother huffs, taking in what’s left of the man’s face, “They were such a lovely colour.”

Anton Clementon sits blindly tied to the chair, both of his orbs gauged from their sockets. Chunks of cartilage have been carved from his nose and basic bone structure, leaving a man who does not resemble anything more than a gruesome hunk of meat.

Even I cringe, taking in the flaps of skin hanging off his face. If it weren’t for the tuffs of orange hair, it would be impossible to identify him at all .

The doors to the dining room crash open, and the newly recovered Madame Cartier lets out a scream.

“Hush now, pet. The fun is about to begin.”

A cold voice sweeps through the room. Heels click against the unforgiving floor, the shape of her shadow unfolding on the wall behind her.

Lips painted in the darkest shade of red split into a wide smile.

“Well, well. What do we have here?"

The harsh lighting beams down on ravens taking flight. Covering every inch of her arms, the dark tattoo welds together at the base of her neck and continues down the bare stretch of her back. The harsh cut of her black dress sits high on her neck and low on her hips, offering a glimpse of toned flesh underneath.

“Mother. Welcome to the party.”

Calista bows and the rest of us follow suit. Even Jaafar manages to duck his head, although he looks rather pained to do it.

“Yes, I can see it is a party.”

Dark eyes peer out from a painfully angular face. Cruel cheekbones cut through any sort of feminine delicacy while small pinched lips do nothing to distract from the narrow slope of her nose.

The Dragon is not an attractive woman, but I would be hard pressed to find someone brave enough to say so.

“Maleficent.” Bowing so low her face nearly touches the floor, my mother steps forward with a smile, “You look well, dear friend. ”

“Ursela.” A smile flickers across dark red lips, “I wish I could say the same.”

Swallowing the insult as best as she can, my mother returns to her spot beside me.

Calista continues to stalk around the chair like a predator waiting for its last meal of the day. Every click of her heels has Anton whimpering and fidgeting against his bonds.

“I am sure many of you are wondering why you are here.” Dark eyes narrow, flicking over every person in attendance, “And the answer is quite simple. There is a thief in Wolf Hollow.”

Confused looks are passed around the simple minds in attendance.

“You see, a shipment of Dragon Fire was stolen from me. A member of the board helped this man,” She swings a painted talon towards Anton, “Steal from me.”

“I-I didn’t.” Something close to a sob escapes his disfigured mouth, “I-I didn’t take it.”

“As you can see, Anton has already received his initial punishment. But now I want the person responsible for the drug samples that have gone missing for the last six months.”

“Why would one of us steal from you?” Queen Marie sneers, looking down her nose at the woman towering over her, “You have made your boundaries clear since the day you took over this town. ”

“Indeed, I have.” Pressing a sharp nail against her lip, she sighs, “Which makes it so disheartening to realize there is a thief among us.”

“I-It wasn’t me.”

Anton’s throaty pleas break the tense silence.

Ursela rolls her eyes, “You would think he would have given up by now.”

I glance at the man tied to the chair. My mother was right, if he was going to plead guilty, it would have happened before the first eyeball was removed, never mind the second.

The Dragon claps her hands and two burley men slink out of the shadows.

“Guards. Please collect Gus Cartier from the crowd.”

A ripple of shock goes around the room.

“How dare you accuse my son!” Gaston steps forward with a roar, “Gus has nothing to do with your missing drugs.”

“Is that so?” The Dragon tilts her head, “Then explain to me how Jack Heart was able to buy stolen samples through an offshore account named KillTheBeast717.”

“There has to be a mistake.” Shaking his head, Gaston looks at his son, “Tell them, Gus. Tell them this is a mistake. You wouldn’t steal from the Dragon.”

The Cartier prodigy keeps his eyes trained on the ground.

“Come on, son.” He lets out a panicked laugh, “Tell them the truth. It wasn’t you.”

“They thought I was stupid.”

“Gus -

“ They thought I was stupid! ”

Gus yells, swinging his enraged gaze towards me and Calista, “Do you know how many times they talked down to me? How many times they acted as though I was nothing more than a hunk of muscle?”

Gaston pales, “No. Gus, why would you-

“I couldn’t take it anymore. Being talked to as if I was some sort of an idiot.” Spitting on the ground, Gus lets out a bitter laugh, “But not even the brilliant Marlin Seaborn could figure out what I was up to. Who’s the stupid one now, huh?”

A solemn silence falls across the room.

Then my mother throws back her head and laughs.

“You wanted to prove you weren’t stupid, so you stole from the Dragon?” Clutching her stomach, Ursela lets out a cackle, “That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard!”

Laughter breaks out along the crowd and Gus turns an unflattering shade of red.

“Stop it! It’s not funny!”

“I’m afraid Mr. Cartier is right.” The cold voice triggers silence to descend, “This is not a funny situation. Step forward, Gus.”

“No.” Gaston puts a hand on his son’s chest, “He’s just a boy.”

“A boy who needs to learn the consequence of his actions.” Letting out an impatient sigh, she flicks her wrist, “Guards. Seize him. ”

“No!” Shoving the men back, Gaston tries his best to protect his only child, “You can’t take him.”

“Guards!”

Madame Cartier starts to sob as the guards wrestle past the screaming father. The professional hunter puts up a good fight, but in the end his size and strength are no match for the hired hands.

“You can’t do this!”

“I believe I just did.”

The Dragon walks over to a trembling Gus who has been escorted to the middle of the room.

“Do you know what the problem is?” She leans in, breathing into his ear, “You thought you could undermine my daughter. You thought you could undermine me .”

Shaking her head, she pulls back and grabs his face with both hands. Gus whimpers when her nails dig into his flesh.

“I do not tolerate disrespect, young man. And you have deeply disrespected me.”

“Wait!” Wrestling against the guards, Gaston flails on the ground, “Take me instead. I will take his punishment, just don’t hurt my son.”

The Dragon pauses, turning to look at the Frenchman.

“You would take his place?”

“My life for his.” Devastation clouds his eyes, “Just let him go. ”

“Do you hear that, folks? We have a hero in our midst!” Cackling with glee, the Dragon claps her hands, “How terribly noble of you, Gaston.”

“He’s my son.”

“And yet you’ve both made fatal mistakes today.” She snaps her fingers, “Return the boy and bring me the father.”

“Dad!”

Gus starts to cry as the guards shove him back in line with his mother and grab the man who is no longer fighting.

“D-Dad! Don’t do this.”

“Take care of your mother for me.” He swallows, giving his son one last smile, “I’m proud of you, Gus. Always have been and always will be.”

“P-Please. D-Don’t go-

“Enough.” Maleficent slices her hand through the air, “From this day forth, the Cartier family is hereby banished from Wolf Hollow. Any breach of this contract will result in immediate execution. Do you understand me?”

Gus is clutching his mother, both of them sobbing into one another.

“I said, do you understand me?”

“Y-Yes.”

“Good. Then we can proceed with the punishment.”

Two more guards appear with mortuary trays set upon rolling carts. One of the guards lifts a whimpering Anton into one while Gaston silently lies down in the other.

Straps are wrapped around each man, locking them in place .

“Put them in the incinerator.”

“ No! ” Gus screams, making one last attempt to save his father. A burly guard kicks the back of his knees, knocking him to the floor.

Both carts get pushed towards the cremation oven at the back of the room. Calista pulls the doors open and a blast of heat fills the room.

“You see, this is what happens when you play the hero.” The Mistress of Evil lets out an exasperated sigh, “You get burned alive.”

“D-Dad.” Sobbing into his hands, Gus watches his father get pushed closer to the fire.

It is a sombre show and every prodigy watches it with a heavy heart. For there is nothing quite as rare as a loving parent in Wolf Hollow.

Calista halts the guards and I watch her wrist flick with an all-too familiar movement.

“I’ve got to get myself one of those.” My mother nudges me excitedly, “It would look marvellous next to the fish tank.”

I don’t respond because my eyes are too taken with the flash of a blade. Gaston’s head falls back against the tray and Calista gestures for the guards to push the men inside.

Screams pierce through the room as the heat takes hold, but nobody else seems to notice there is only one man screaming instead of two .

Gus and his mother are promptly escorted out of the room. Their things will be packed and their house will be sold before the next sundown.

“Now that our unpleasant business has been settled, let’s turn our attention to the other matter at hand.”

The doors to the dining room swing open for the third time tonight. Murmurs ripple around the room as a newcomer steps foot in the Dragon’s lair.

“Everyone, I would like you to meet the new mayor of Wolf Hollow.”

Charming smile in place, hands tucked casually in suit pockets, the man who walks towards the Dragon looks nothing like the grieving widow I’ve been watching for the last eight weeks.

“Erik Prince will be taking over Anton’s position effective immediately. I have no doubt you will all give him a warm welcome.”

I watch the missing piece of the puzzle take the Dragon’s hand and give it a kiss.

“A pleasure doing business with you, Maleficent.” Erik grins, casting a glance over the crowd, “I look forward to implementing some new changes around here.”

He catches my eye and throws me a wink. I can only stare, feeling my mind rewind to every interaction I've had with my little saint.

“Did you know about this?” My mother hisses in my ear, her nails digging into my forearm, “That was supposed to be your position. ”

I do not comment on her sudden support of my ambition. Nor do I comment on the unfathomable ache blooming in my chest.

“I had no idea.”

Melody’s stepfather starts working the crowd, his easy smile and quiet confidence drawing in the villains like a moth to a flame. He knows all the right things to say, all the right ways to ensnare his newfound audience.

He knows exactly how to fool them into believing what they want to believe.

Well played, little saint. Well played.