“Except it wasn’t animal DNA they found in the cage.”
It has been said that it takes a particularly traumatic event for the beast to emerge in a man.
Lucky for me, there’s never been a need for the transition.
“Where is he.”
The promise of blood drips with each word, a promise I fully intend on seeing through.
“If he cannot make it out of that supply closet, he won’t make it to the vault.” Violet eyes blaze into mine, bright and alive with an emotion that does not often see the light of day, “Our plan will fail, Calista. You need to let him save himself.”
Just as you have done all these years.
The unspoken words ring between us, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.
“Tell me where he is, Marlin. Or it will be Melody who pays the price.”
It’s his Achilles heel and I drive my knife in as far as it will go. Twisting and tearing at Marlin Seaborn’s soft spot until he bleeds out in front of me.
“I will leave her body for you to find.” Dragging a sharp fingernail up his shoulder, I lean forward and breathe into his ear, “Slaughtered in every way a woman can be slaughtered. Torn apart until her pretty flesh is a distant memory and the ligaments you find in your bed will be the only evidence of what she once was.”
The flicker of understanding disappears just as quickly as it arrives.
“I did not realize they were on the same level.” A slow smile spreads across his face, a smile that fails to mask the tick of rage, “You have fallen for your own worst enemy.”
“And you have jeopardized the mission.”
“Christopher jeopardized the mission. And if you go in there now, leaving a slew of bodies in your wake, it will be you who ruins it.”
I take another step closer, pressing my chest flush with his. Marlin has to tilt his head down to look at me, but it is I who has the upper hand when I slice an irreparable line up the smooth crease of his dress shirt.
“You should have thought about that before you locked him in a cage.”
Pieces of Wolf Hollow’s finest silk falls silently to the ground, Marlin’s precious suit no match for a monster’s fury. It is a deposit of my own goodwill, the ruination of the second thing he values most in the world before I destroy the first.
“Andreas Morgue. Second closet on the right.” His lips pinch together, displeasure oozing through the flawless lines of his face, “To think you’ve never had a problem with my methods before.”
“Just as you’ve never disobeyed me before.” Poison splatters across my tongue as I offer him a smile of my own, “Run along now, Marlin. Before I change my mind and decide your little plaything needs some girl bonding time after all.”
A beat passes before he turns and walks away. I watch my old acquaintance climb into his car and start the engine, the hard set of his jaw a complementary accessory for the tear in his suit.
The moment his taillights are out of sight, I kick off my heels and start running. Charging with vicious intent towardsthe entrance to the underworld, the morgue that has my devil trapped within its claws.
Screams resonate through the night as I make my presence known. Silhouettes fall and shadows crumble as guards upon guards underestimate the Dragon’s daughter.
The fools who thought they could defeat me.
Chapter 44
CALISTA
I paint the concrete red.
Gurneys that were once clean now drip with bodily fluids and the kind of brain matter that doesn’t scrub away so easily. Ligaments and muscle are strewn throughout Andreas’s playroom, the human sacrifices worthy of even the pickiest Greek deity.
What was once the asylum night shift now lies in chunks, fleshy bits and bobs that decorate the spooky hospital setting with a new layer of gore.
The death of a dozen men doesn’t put a stumble in my step. Not a pang in my chest as I storm towards the second closet on the right, breaking the lock with the harsh twist of my knife.
