by Marie Wathen
***
Breesan
Tox studies me for a long time after I stupidly tell him my newest, dark secret.
“Come with me,” he insists, grabbing my hand and pulling me up to my bare feet.
“Where are we going?” I ask nervously, my voice weak and pathetic compared to his growing harsher tone.
He glances over his shoulder while pulling me toward the door. “There is something here that you need to see.”
Dragging me roughly down the massive staircase, he turns when we reach the bottom and continues leading me back around behind it. I spot the doors of the grand ballroom and memories of my friends fill my mind, making me to stop walking.
“This way,” he insists, squeezing my hand and tugging me sideways while my eyes remain locked on the door. “Watch where you’re going,” he grunts as I bump into him, holding open a door at the top of a set of stairs, going down toward the basement.
“What’s down there?” I breathe, as fear of a dark memory begins to edge its way out of hiding.
Without answering, he tugs me down one flight of cold, stone steps while my mind spirals chaotically into a hellish night when I was five years old. “Julia brought me here,” I whisper, but with the acoustics of the damp, rock walls, my voice carries and Tox’s hears it.
“What?”
Trembling violently, I reply, “I…I was five…she made me come with her. Everything is exactly as I remember it from the dream that I had while in the hospital a few months ago. It…”
“You’re saying that…someone brought you into this dungeon when you were a child?”
I nod, not missing the way he stresses his words, curiously. “My stepmother came here and met some very bad people.” The voices in my head warn me that this is a huge mistake. I swallow loudly. “I don’t want to go in there.”
He studies me intently before suggesting, “I have a cell phone, with a spotlight app. We will be able to see everything. You’re not afraid of a few mice are you?” He smirks and it looks like he’s being genuine, but everything about this scene is freaking me out.
“Tox, why are you bringing me down here and why is it that you’re so familiar with this part of the castle?”
“I’ve been here many times.” He begins walking again, guiding me deeper into the bowels of the castle. “And I promise, there is something here that you want to see for yourself.”
After taking several turns down many long corridors, he wraps his hand over a stone high above his head and presses it inward. What I think is a solid wall, grumbles and slides, morphing into an opening that reveals a secret passage. Oppressive fear courses through my veins, making my blood pump as hard and fast as if I was running away from a serial killer. Once inside, he motions for me to move aside and then he shuts the heavy door, creating a solid wall once again.
“We’re just going a little further,” he encourages, sensing my lack of enthusiasm. “Bea, trust me. I’m not going to harm you.” He stops walking and turns to face me. “Just…Give me a chance to explain when we…” his speech stalls when a loud booming voice echoes from somewhere in the darkness ahead. “What the hell?”
Without consulting me, he begins walking in the direction the sound came and, even with the grim sirens alerting me that this is such a stupid idea, I follow closely. After only a couple of yards, the bellowing voice starts again and this time Tox rushes forward, leaving me to chase him. Turning a sharp corner at the end of the hallway, I notice a bright light glowing from a torch near a doorway. The door is open and dim light spills from the room. Tox slows his steps and motions with his finger over his mouth for me to be quiet as we approach.
“Where is he?” a deep baritone voice bellows repeatedly. I grab Tox’s arm, stopping him from entering the room.
“What’s going on?” I beg softly, praying that the sound doesn’t carry so that the man inside the room can hear.
“Trust me,” he insists, reaching down and intertwining our fingers together. A peculiar feeling moves through our tether and I glance from our coupled hands up to his gray eyes, pleading for me to have faith in him. Silently petitioning for divine assistance, I nod and he smiles sweetly. “No matter what, stay quiet.” He pulls the remaining pins from my hair and then draws most of my dark locks around to frame my face, shielding it.
“You disgust me,” the man inside the room charges.
Tox stands beside the edge of the doorway, listening intently, until he hears the man’s next orders, which completely takes away my ability to breathe. “Make sure her cuffs are secure. Wren is crafty and can breakout if you give her too much freedom.” Jerking my arm roughly, Tox forces me into the room, wrapping one hand over my mouth while his other arm goes around my waist securely. Utterly shocked from the sight presented in front of us, I don’t fight him. I can’t.
“Well, what do we have here?”
The voice belongs to a man that I have seen twice in my life. The most recent time was during my date here at the castle with Morgan. He is the blond man with Waverly that observed me with a vile look all evening, and the source of my uneasiness all night long. But, it’s the flash of his face from the first time I saw him that makes me want to either run from this room or kill him. He is the man that strolled into this very room, when I was child to see and kiss Julia, all while my injured father hung from chains against the back wall.
The sick and twisted smile blossoming across his face makes me want to vomit. My body starts shaky fiercely as he approaches. Whimpering, I step backward, pressing my back against Tox’s chest, forcing us to move away from the man. My chest pumps up and down, forcing air into my lungs and for the first time since begin hauled into this living nightmare, I’m glad that Tox is holding me securely. Otherwise I might face-plant right in front of this bastard.
“I’m so happy to see you,” the man claims, glaring crossly to Tox, contradicting his words.
Tox clears his throat, still pressing his palm against my mouth and growls demandingly, “What in the fuck are you doing down here? And why do you have them chained?”
“Now,” the man stops a few feet in front of me, his dark eyes latched onto my protector. “Is that really any way to speak to your father, Matty?”
There are no words.
Yes there is.
Just one.
Betrayed.
“I thought it was too dangerous for you to come back to Willow, dad?” Tox confirms that the monster standing before me is his father, the same one who helped take my father away from me, proving that I’m an idiot for allowing him to trick me into trusting him. I wrap my hand over his, covering my mouth and pull, but he tightens his hold while lowering his lips to my ear.
“Quiet,” he hisses softly, “Or you’re dead.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Anna
Bright eyes stare at me through the bars on the other side of the heavy, steel door. I’m hallucinating. That must be it. No one except Tox has been here in weeks, more like months, so that must be the explanation. These eyes are a mirage, taunting me into having hope. Hope left this room so long ago that I expect only bad from now on.
A loud gasp echoes in the room when the eyes shift toward Waverly’s boney frame. “My God. Is she dead?” a concerned feminine voice inquires.
I tilt my head, and out of curiosity, stroll over to the door, wrapping my fingers around the bars, and then whisper, “Why?”
“Who brought you here? And how long have you two been in this room?” My eyes roam over her face, seeing something so familiar, but I’m certain that I’ve never seen her before. “Anna,” that one word reveals that although I may not know her, she definitely knows who I am. “Answer me, quickly.”
“Who are you? Did he send you here to torment me because he can’t deal with leaving us in this deathtrap any longer?”
“He?” she asks, sounding confused.
“Don’t play games with me,” I snap, slapping my hands repeatedly against the rails separating us.
“What are you going to do to me?”
“I’m not here to harm you,” she suggests, staring intently into my eyes, and I can see true kindness resting in her golden brown iris. She must be lying. There’s no way someone could just happen upon this room. Even though I’m not certain of where I am, I know Tox didn’t put us somewhere that we could be found easily by some random passerby.
“If you’re not here to hurt us, then are you going to help me break out?”
“Who put you in this room?” she repeats her question since I failed to answer the first time. Honestly, I don’t get why she would ask such a dumb question.
“You know exactly who’s responsible for tossing us in here and leaving us to die!”
“No.” She shakes her head adamantly. “Tell me who brought you down to the dungeon?”
I scoff, “You’re actually going to deny that Tox didn’t send you down here just to screw with me and prove that he is in control?”
“Tox?” she asks, narrowing her eyes and taking a step backwards. “Do you mean Mattox?”
“That’s what I thought. You do know him.” She nods slowly, her eyes growing wide. “So…You’re either here to inflict more cruelty, ordered by him because of some ingrained sick obsession, or you came to bust me out.” Mockingly, I add, “Please tell me that it’s the latter.”
“No,” she states softly, averting her eyes and glancing into the blackness behind her. “I won’t hurt you, Anna. But, I can’t let you go.”
So, about that hope I mentioned earlier? Apparently, there was a glimmer of it left deep inside my chest, but with her words it is now truly and completely snuffed out. The empty space left behind is instantly filled with rage.
“Why?” I screech. “What the fuck is wrong with you people? How can you do this to another human being? Let me go, please. Just unlock the goddamn door and I’ll run so fast and far away that he’ll never find me again.” She doesn’t respond, so I firmly beseech, “Please?”
“I can’t,” she repeats softly, slinking away quickly.
“No,” I cry, flipping my emotions erratically, “Don’t go. Please, Lord, don’t leave me here….” Fat tears fall from my eyelashes. “I can’t take being locked in here another day. I just…I want to go home. My God, please don’t be this cruel. I’m begging you.”
“Anna,” she calls, still somewhere close by, but completely engulf by the shadows, “I’m going to get help. I promise that I’ll be back soon. You can trust me. But do not trust one word out of Mattox’s mouth. He is an evil man, Anna. If he returns before I can make it back, behave as if everything is normal.” she suggest, quick retreating footsteps follow her instructions.
“Wait, who are you?” I shout, halting her from leaving. She comes back and with the dim torch light I study her face. “My name is Cayde and I am going to get you out of here. Just give me some time and whatever you do, don’t tell him that you saw me down here. It could mean death for both of us.” Her grave words would have scared me before, but today my skin is much thicker and it will take more than that threat to send me into panic mode where Tox is concerned now.
“Okay, but Cayde,” I warn, “If you don’t come back here soon and bust me out of this damn hellhole, when he does return I’m going to tell him that you were here. And, I already know that his plans for me include burying me six feet under, so it will only be your neck on the line with this one.”
“Smart girl,” she chuckles. “I’m coming back and I’ll bring help.”
“Where are we?” I yell after her, running down the deep passageway.
She stops and then shouts, “You’re in the castle on Willow Island.”
I can no longer hear her footsteps or even know if she spoke after that answer. Tox lied to me. I shouldn’t be so surprised. After all of the times that he told me he is the bad guy, like a totally stupid girl, I had hoped that some speck of decency was behind the sinful mask he lowered for me briefly when he let me in and actually seem to care about me and Waverly. I was wrong. Do not pass go. Do not collect two hundred dollars. Tox’s evil heritage trickled straight down to him like a jail sentence, for life.
***
Breesan
Frozen, with Tox smashing me against his chest and at the sight of his vile father, a nightmare from my childhood, and the man that Ensley has been doing illegal things for, I’m literally doing everything that I can to hold onto the few, fragile strands of my beaten and shattered sanity.
“Disappointment doesn’t even begin to cover what I felt when I heard about your recent failures,” Tox’s father scolds his son before twisting his neck around toward the group behind him. “I swear to Christ, if you want something done right, you must do it your damn self. Tighter dammit,” he shouts at the small woman working to secure Wren’s cuffs.
“So, you’re here checking up on me, are you?”
“No,” he bellows, facing Tox again. “I’m here to straighten out the mess that everyone has turned my plans into during my absence.”
“Absence?” Tox laughs, slightly easing the pressure he has on my face, even though I can feel the tension building between father and son. “Since when have you given a shit about being a hands-on kind of man? Except for visiting the club one time last summer, I haven’t seen you around the island. Not that I would expect you to put up roots. No chance in hell that would ever happen.”
My eyes focus on the far wall in this dark room and I see three women. Wren is chained to a chair, watching me curiously. Obviously she won’t recognize me dressed this way. Besides, she expects me to be with Anna and Waverly. I can see a petite frame squatting and shackling the ankles of another woman to the legs of her chair. From this angle, I don’t recognize either of them.
“Enough, Mattox,” he reprimands, “The manner in which I manage any damn thing is none of your concern, especially given your menial ability to handle the one simple task.” He looks away, scanning the dimly light space. “I hate this God-forsaken castle and this pretentious little island, along with everything that they represent. Being forced back here to deal with your screw-ups is enough to make me consider taking that little club of yours away from you.”
When Tox doesn’t take the bait, simply remaining calm and in control, his father’s eyes drift down and land on me. Something repulsive moves through the soulless looking irises, forcing a shiver down my body. A sinister smirk twists on his mouth and I count to ten, hoping to control the nausea shooting up from my guts.
“What an enchanting creature,” Tox’s dad states, strolling up to me and then cupping my jaw, effectively knocking away Tox’s hand from my mouth. “Who are you?”
The arm Tox has banded around my waist, grips tighter, but I remain absolutely silent. I’m uncertain if he wants me to answer his father or remain quiet as he instructed, and honestly, I don’t think I can speak at the moment. So I watch the large man directly in front of me and wait.
“How about you answer some of my questions before we make introductions?” Tox insists, pulling me away from his father’s clutches. As troubled as I am by this repulsive and confusing scene, it is nothing compared to the bitter hatred pulsing off of Tox’s father after being denied.
“This is my show, son,” he roars, displaying a frail mental stability. “I won’t stand for your attempts at diverting me again.” He stands within inches of me, piercing Tox with a defiant look before stepping away and circling the small area.
His assistant, finished with her duty of strapping down the other two women, stands and then turns around. Disappointment falls down on me like a thick fog, when I recognize Cayde. She glances at me, shock etching into her features for a beat before she pulls an indifferent look.
“They’re not going anywhere, Declan,” Cayde assures him with a sinister smile.
***
Morgan
“What the hell is that nasty smell?” I complain, covering my hand over my nose and mouth, not effectively muting out the sulfur scent permeating the minimal ai
rflow in this place. I don’t want to breathe it in or get that funky taste on my tongue, but one hand isn’t helping out. I glance around the vast corridor, resembling a cave and sigh. Against my palm, I mumble, “I think I took a wrong turn somewhere.”
A creepy moan rumbles off the rock walls, coming from down the hall in front of me. This is the stuff murder movies are made of, you dumbass, I scold myself. Waiting for Marcus really seems like a good idea right now. Wish it would have mattered before I came crashing through the front door, into the tunnel leading toward the pits of hell. “What the fuck is that smell?” I shout, my voice carrying through the channel repeatedly. Glancing behind me, I deduce, “Since I’ve backtracked twice already, forward is the only option. I just hope razor-sharp fingers or a freak wearing a hockey-mask isn’t waiting on me.”
Holding out my phone, I take one step at a time on the jagged stone-pavers, being careful not to trip. Getting injured down here is a sure-bet of a lonely death. Reaching a part of the hall that has rooms, I open the door and peak around, finding each of them empty. “It would be nice if there was a glowing red ‘Exit’ sign hanging around.” I come across one door that is latched shut from the outside. Unhooking the bolt, I shove with a great deal of strength against the door and finally manage to dislodge it. Nudging it completely open, I discover another long passageway. The differences in this one from the others are the lanterns and torches donning the side of a couple of the doors ahead. Through the small windows at the top of the steel enforced entrance, I scan the rooms, careful not to touch the slimy walls. This looks like a prison. A shiver snakes from my neck, down my spine all the way to the bottom of my heels, just thinking about being sealed down here indefinitely.
“All right, that’s it. I’ve had enough of this Marco-Polo bullshit,” I announce, spinning around and walking back the direction I came in. “I’m going to get out of this place, before I get trapped down here.”