by Steve McHugh
Layla had been given a briefing about it. And another one, six months later, when he’d managed to escape and get into the cells of eight more inmates, killing them all in the space of one hour while the guards assumed he was in his cell. She knew that even mentioning this to Elias would bring him joy. And while she couldn’t physically fight back, she could stop him from feeding off the pain of those memories.
“And you don’t think that’s impressive?” Elias asked when it became apparent that Layla would not respond. “The LOA think he had inside help. Nothing was ever proven. Since then he’s been moved to a secure location, and no one outside of the LOA knows where he is. No one except you, that is.”
Elias clapped his hands together with glee. “I love talking about him. He’s just so inspirational. So many murders, so many ways of killing, he was just so professional for all of those kills. He never let his emotions override his desire to do what needed to be done.”
“The LOA? What are you talking about?”
Elias raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “You’ve never heard of the Law of Avalon? They were the ones who arrested your father.”
“The FBI did that.”
Elias laughed. “The FBI? Is that what they told you? Oh, my child, the FBI doesn’t deal with people like your father. That’s the LOA’s role. It’s just like them to keep something secret, especially when dealing with someone as proficient as your father.”
“You sound like a fanboy. He murdered people.”
“Yes, I guess I am a bit. Dara’s parents were the Zodiac Killers. Everyone always assumed it was one, but he had help.”
“You’re a team of serial killers? That must be horrific in every single way imaginable.”
“Well, we can’t take every serial killer, or even every psychopath; most aren’t exactly team-friendly. But we find the best and work with them.”
“You want my father to help you find new serial-killer friends?” Layla guessed.
“Almost, yes. Do you know what your father is?”
“Broken.”
Elias backhanded her across the face. “I don’t like that word. We’re not broken because we see the world differently.”
After the initial shock of the blow, rage exploded inside of Layla. She wanted to hurt Elias for hitting her, to make him regret everything he’d done. She controlled her breathing and pushed the rage back down. “You murder people. For fun. What would you call it?”
“I don’t murder for fun. I murder for lots of reasons, but not fun. As for why some of us kill, well, that’s simple. It’s predatory. Just like wolves, or lions. We’re fulfilling a need to be the predators we were born to be. We’re better than you, than humans. Your kind deserves to be beneath us, watching in awe as we decide whether you live or die.”
“You look human.”
“I am a redcap. I haven’t been human for a few centuries now. No, like the rest of my group, I’m something better. You’ve already seen what the ogre and Dara can do, and felt Shane’s power. We’re going to find more people who think like we do, who know that we should be at the peak of power on this planet. And when we have our army, we’ll burn those who dare oppose us.”
Layla wanted to say that Elias was deluded, insane, a madman. But she didn’t want to antagonize him further, and her face still stung from where he’d struck her. She wanted to hurt him for that, though. “Why do you want my father to help you?”
“What do you know of spirit scrolls? Did your father ever mention them to you?”
Layla was confused. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Elias sat back in his chair and smiled. “I see there’s a lot he’s been keeping from you. Your mother kept it from you too. She knew. She knew all about it. You think you ran and hid because of your dad? Your dad is in a maximum-security prison, in a part especially designed for people like him. Unless he’s literally the A-Team and he makes a nuclear weapon, he’s staying put. You were never running from your father.”
“The media. We ran because my mother was terrified they’d hound us.”
“The media didn’t do anything. Everything about you and your mother was kept out of it, people in positions of power within the LOA made sure of that. No, you didn’t run because of your father or his crimes; you ran because of us. You ran because the last thing your father told your mother before he was taken was to hide you. He knew we’d come for him through his family. He’d tried to prepare for it.
“For twenty years he killed criminals while working for the FBI in a serial criminal task force, and for twenty years we had no idea he existed. And then he got caught, and the people I work for got wind of it, and now there’s a man right there who can help us. It’s taken seven years to find you, Layla. And you’re going to do what we want. You’re going to help us make your father work with us.”
“I’m not interested in his crimes. He’s in prison, and he deserves to be there. And you getting him out isn’t going to help.”
“Oh, we’re not going to get him out. No, he wouldn’t be a team player. We just need his help. So, here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to contact him and tell him we have you. We’re going to ask him really nicely to help us find some people who are outside of our area of influence, and if he refuses, we’re going to start cutting pieces off you.”
Layla knew she should be scared, and deep down she was, but a righteous fury took over, and all she wanted to do was reach over and beat Elias until he could no longer speak, until his face was a mash of pulp. It was more than just a need to fight; it was a need to hurt. Not in self-defense like with Rob or her neighbors, but for the pure need to hurt the person in front of her. She’d felt such anger before in her life, although it had been long ago, but it was terrifying and liberating to feel it course through her again. She wondered for a brief second if that was how her father felt when he killed someone, and then just as quickly as it had come, she forced herself to be calm, and the anger vanished.
Elias got up and walked around Layla, making the anger flicker back inside of her.
He removed her handcuffs and picked up the chair he’d been sitting on, placing it against the far wall, retrieving his hat as he walked past. “We’ll be back in a few hours with food, and there’s water in the tap over there.” He pointed toward a sink that Layla hadn’t even realized was there, she’d been so focused on what was in front of her.
Elias stopped at the doorway. “When I come back, I’m going to ask you to help us. If you say no, I’m going to hurt someone badly. You might be thinking we won’t kill you, and you’re right. But, my dear, there are many, many worse things than death, and if you mess me around, I’ll show you a few of them.”
“My father doesn’t care about me,” Layla almost screamed. “He pretends to be this person with emotions, with feelings, but none of it is real. He’s a monster hiding inside a human body. You could kill me and he’d barely notice. He won’t listen to me; he certainly won’t do anything to help me. I don’t even know where exactly he is.”
Elias smiled. “You underestimate the power of a daughter in her father’s affections. We know he loves you. We would not be doing this if we were not certain of his devotion to his daughter. You say he doesn’t care? Well, I think he cares a great deal.” He tipped his fedora toward her and left the room, locking the steel door behind him.
Layla sat on the chair, not knowing what to think, and for the first time since the death of her mother, she cried. Not for herself, not for her situation, but for all of those who had died to get her here. She cried for those who had died for what appeared to be a madman’s insanity. She cried for not fighting back, for wanting to fight back, for the inevitable drift toward her father if she allowed her control to waver. And when she finished crying, when there was no more to give, she was left with a hollow feeling inside of her. A feeling of regret and sorrow. But alongside it was an ember of rage. And that was what would sustain her, and help her get free.
8
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“Can I assume that could have gone better?” Dara asked as Elias entered the main room of the underground compound they currently called home. It was furnished with several large sofas, a table with an open laptop on it, and a big TV. Elias’s employers had built the compound as a last-resort retreat for when things got bad and they needed somewhere to hide. So far, it hadn’t been necessary.
“Where is everyone else?” he asked her, ignoring her mocking tone.
“Shane is playing cards with our helpers, and Reyes is in the gym beating the crap out of a punch bag. She’s lucky she heals fast.”
“And Brako?”
“Sleeping further down in the compound. We don’t need him now; it’s better to let him have his rest. A grumpy ogre is a bad ogre.”
Elias had to admit she had a point. Maintaining control over an ogre was a delicate balance between allowing them to kill and keeping them fed. They didn’t eat human flesh, so it meant bringing in a steady supply of sheep and cows.
“How have our helpers been?”
“You like that phrase?” Dara said with a smile. “Creepy, as usual. I don’t honestly know why you brought them.”
“Nergal told me to bring them, so bring them I did. Doesn’t mean I have to use them for anything but the most menial of tasks. They’re just as bad as Brako in terms of enjoying the death and blood a bit too much.”
“Well, it’s right there in their name. Blood elves.”
Elias was about to reply when the laptop beeped. He walked over and opened Skype, seeing a picture of Nergal.
“Is it done?” Nergal asked, getting straight to business.
“Yes, we have her. She’s been given some time to consider her options. I imagine she’ll refuse at first, and we’ll have to follow through with the threat to kill people in front of her.”
“You’re using her friends?”
Elias shook his head. “We took some of her work colleagues. We’ll use them first. I didn’t want to go straight to anyone she’s close to in case we have no leverage to go anywhere after. Honestly, she’s not the type to let innocent people die. She’ll help.”
“Excellent. I expect you on a plane this afternoon.”
“You don’t want me to stay and oversee this? I really do need to visit my old home. It’s almost time to recharge.”
“The recharging will have to wait. Someone else can oversee Layla, that’s why you took your team. The compound misses you, Elias. I think you being there brings a calming influence to those living within its walls. Without you, a few of them thought they had a chance of escaping. Examples were made.”
Elias sighed. Nergal had executed more of the subjects at the compound. “I usually let them escape, kill them outside of the compound.”
“You suggest I did the wrong thing?”
Elias quickly shook his head. He was always happy to give his opinion, but telling his boss he was wrong was a good way to get hurt. He’d seen it more than once and he didn’t want to be the person receiving that kind of treatment. “I just like to give them a little hope that the escapees made it. It means you can crush it later if they get out of hand. It’s why I haven’t put Layla on a jet back to you yet. I want her to think she has a chance to leave this place if she helps us. Flying her across an ocean removes that hope, makes her less likely to help outright.”
Nergal appeared to think on this, then nodded. “I will try your way if it comes to it. Hopefully the leak has been plugged. I believe those you stopped before you left had given instructions for others to use a second escape route. I didn’t realize your job here was so involved.”
In other words, Nergal had assumed that Elias’s job as head of the compound was easy. That sounded about right. “I’ll be on the jet as soon as possible and back tonight. I’ll debrief you then, and we’ll arrange the extradition of Layla once we have her confirmation of assistance.”
“This is the start of something glorious, Elias. Soon, we’ll start our army. We can rule this world.”
“I look forward to it.” Elias ended the call as Dara chuckled.
“Got something you want to say?” he asked her.
“Nergal has no idea, does he?”
“He knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s making sure that those left in the compound are happy when I return. Eighty percent of the people there are there because they want to be. We have no trouble. It’s the twenty percent who want to flee, who came to us and then decided to back out. They’re the problem. And twenty percent is a big deal when it’s a hundred people. By the time I get back, Nergal will already have found willing replacements for those he killed.”
“Why not just kill those who don’t want to be there?” Shane asked as he entered the room. “I was listening in.”
“Because some of them are there to show us what happens when it all goes wrong. We need people loyal to us, who have the mental fortitude to deal with taking the power we’re giving them. Those who aren’t, those who refuse, are kept there to see just how long they can refuse, and what happens when they do. And now I have to go back and sort that out, instead of getting Layla to join us. Dara, you’re not to talk to her.”
“Excuse me?” Dara asked.
“You murdered people she worked with. She hates you, and if she doesn’t, she’ll at least resent you. Besides, I have another job for you. Shane, this is for you to deal with.”
Shane smiled.
Elias stared intently at the younger man. “You screw this up, and I’ll skin you alive and feed you to the blood elves. Not an exaggeration.”
The smile faltered. “She’s not my type.”
“Keep it that way.”
“So, what do I do?” Dara asked.
“You’re coming with me. Shane and Reyes can cope for a few hours, and we can talk about compound security while we’re on the plane. After that, I want you to fly straight back here, and then, if she’s being helpful, you can bring her and everyone else back to the compound.”
Dara sighed. “Twenty hours of flying is not my idea of a fun time.”
“Don’t care, it’s your job. We need to talk about security; we can’t have any more breakouts. Eventually, I want Layla’s father out of that prison and in our custody. We can’t do that without making sure he’s no danger to us or anyone else.”
“You really like this guy, don’t you?” Shane asked.
“Caleb Cassidy is a genius, and one of the most dangerous people on the planet. He worked with the FBI for over two decades while maintaining his hobby as a murderer. He kept meticulous diaries of every single kill. Their names, location, reason for killing, method of killing. Everything. He has an incredible amount of power at his disposal. No one should underestimate him. Ever.”
“Did you know that we found loads of scrolls in this compound?” Shane asked with a smirk. “Any chance some of those are spirit scrolls?”
Elias shrugged. “Be my guest and go through them. I know allies of Nergal used this place to study the spirit scrolls before they were shipped all over the world. A few of them might have remained. I assumed Nergal and his allies would have taken all of the scrolls, but it’s not like we’re short of them, so maybe they were left here for safekeeping.”
“Gives me something to do between talking to Layla.”
“Leave her for twenty-four hours. Give her food every six. Normal food, nothing weird, nothing pissed on. We want her help. It’s one thing to threaten, it’s another to begin torturing her before we’ve even given her a chance to say yes. We’re not monsters.”
“Speak for yourself,” Dara said with a smile.
“And keep Reyes away from her,” Elias continued, ignoring Dara. “I don’t need to hear about deaths or injuries. Clear?” He didn’t actually think that Reyes would do anything—she was a professional after all—but he had to say it nonetheless. Even if it was just to make himself happier.
Shane nodded. “Anything else?”
Elias shook his head, and Shane walked off.
“I know. I just like to be in control, and this is important. Nergal has been after a way to track down those who already have scrolls, and Caleb Cassidy is our best chance of doing that. We need to be able to find those who escaped our grasp, or who are working against us. Caleb can help us find them all and remove them or force them to help. This is a game changer. I won’t be the one to make a mistake here. I won’t be the one who has to go to Nergal and tell him it’s not happening. He’ll kill us all for that.”
Dara shivered slightly. “Let’s get going. You think Layla will agree to help before I get back here?”
Elias glanced over at the door leading to the cells. “That woman is going to help us, or she’s going to bathe in the blood of innocents until she does. And either way is fine with me.”
9
It didn’t take Layla long to get her emotions under control and prioritize what she was going to do about her current circumstances.
She wasn’t going to stay there and wait for Elias and his band of crazies to come and kill her, that was for certain. She had to get out. Had to figure out how to do that too. Her father might have spent years training her how to fight, but he hadn’t trained her to fight an ogre. That was something even his sick, warped mind hadn’t foreseen.
Being alone in the cell allowed Layla to get her first real look at her surroundings. The room was large: twenty feet square, according to the rough measurements in Layla’s head. The floor was a mixture of old stone and concrete, with the walls and ceiling constructed entirely of cold, gray concrete. It had been created in haste, and the concrete had set with bumps and jagged parts jutting out from it.
A sink, once white enamel and now a speckled gray color, sat against one wall. Layla ran her finger over it and found that it was covered in concrete powder and dust. She took a good look at the door. It was thick and well made, and appeared to have been created almost entirely of steel. That made it about as impossible to get through as a door could be.