“Oh, it’s not a threat. An eye for an eye is what I’m after.” Cain takes one of the daggers off the table and plunges it through Nicholas’s arm. “But first, we have business to get to. Give us the names. Every. Single. Member.”
Nicholas hollers, thrashing around as he curses.
Cain calmly bends down to his eye level. “We have all the time in the world. You however, don’t.” He pulls out the bladethen shoves it back into Nicholas’s arm a few inches away from the first cut.
I ask, “For the trust challenge, whodecidedon tormenting Ivy with the recording of her mom?”
Nicholas grumbles as the two others remain speechless.
As soon as I get closer to Nicholas, he confesses, “I came up with the location and walking across the catwalk, but I didn’t suggest the audio. It was an AI recording that was made to sound like her.”
“Who was it?”
He clenches his teeth together as I pull the blade out of his arm.
“You can tell me who it was, or you can pay the price for it.” I put the blade against his forearm then push it just enough to break the skin as I slowly drag it up his arm. His screams echo through the air before he confesses, “It was Harold. He suggested adding the audio. The thirteen members have to approve all the challenges, and they get to have input on everything.”
“Tsk-tsk. Where’s that loyalty at now, Nicholas?”
Colin adds, “He thought it’d catch everyone off-guard because they’d believe the hardest part of the challenge was over.”
The bastard doesn’t know what that one decision cost him. “Yeah. I figured that. Now, give me the other twelve names.”
Nicholas says, “You’ll never touch them. They’re leagues above your juvenile antics.”
“We were good enough to get to you,” Cain chuckles.
I lift my foot and kick the back of the chair as the once almighty Decider helplessly crashes to the floor before I plunge the blade into his shoulder. “We’ll manage. The Keepers aren’t the only ones with connections. I have resources of my own.”
Nicholas hollers, “If I tell you, I’m dead.”
I lean over him. “If you don’t, death will be the only thing you wish for. And it won’t come for you. Because I get todecidewhen to end your suffering.”
“I’ll tell you,” Colin squeals before he rattles off a list of names.
When I focus back to Nicholas, I can see his fear increasing as I tell him, “Looks like we might not have a lot of time together after all. Pity.”
He mutters, “You’ll regret this. You could’ve had it all.”
“I’ll regret playing more than anything I ever do in my life. The only consolation is knowing that no one will ever play Mercy again. That’s my decision. I am the Decider after all. You picked me.”
His face twists into fury as he yells, floundering around, but he’s incapable of freeing himself.
I glance to Cain who is ready to do what I promised he’d be the one to do.
He stoops beside Nicholas and shoves the dagger into his temple. As much as I wanted to gut the motherfucker, it was Cain’s rightful place. His sister was taken because of this game and this player. And even though I know it doesn’t rectify the void entirely, at least there’s one less Keeper in the world.
“Are you sure they’re not observing us now? That these stooges are the only ones here?” Garrett questions.
“Yes, it was always just these three fools. The others don’t get their hands dirty I’m guessing,” Cain answers before he kills Minion One while I take care of Minion Two.
Garrett surveys the carnage, still ready to go. “Where to now?”
Cain glances to me. “Hospital to get your wrist stitched up?”
“No, it’s fine. I’ve had worse cuts from fighting at the Tomb.” I had to make sure Ivy got out safely, so I made sure to not cutmyself too deep. Saving her was my only thought. Thankfully, it panned out.
“Okay. Then let’s finish what we started,” Cain states.
