Cult of the Hexad (Afterlife saga Book 6)

by Stephanie Hudson

  I got down on my front and shimmied over closer to the window, hoping to be at the right angle to see inside without being noticed. Very quickly realisation hit when I saw all six of the robed Fathers were there waiting as Ari was carried down the stairs over one of their shoulders like a hanging piece of carcass. I ground my teeth together when I knew that I couldn’t do anything with all of them in there like that. I was no match for them and time was running out. I shifted my body backwards and once I was out of sight from the window I got up and ran. I skidded around the cabin walls and ran for the trees as fast as I could. I only had one option left to go on and I just hoped it worked.

  See, I had my own backup plan for this very reason and had arranged it, setting the cogs in motion before we left Afterlife. I had found my phone, the one Lucy had given me and told her that I needed her help. I told her that I had found a way to save my sister but I needed friends to help me do it. Because I knew why they were driving along that road that night when they found me. Lucy had said they never went that way but they had been diverted because a truck had over turned. Well what if that driver had stopped for that coffee and never fallen asleep at the wheel. What if Lucy and her husband had never come that way, then where would I be?

  Where would we all be right now? Where would Dex with his full police force be? And where would Lucy and all her friends be? And Jennifer and half the town that she had riled up? Well I can’t say where, but I can say where they wouldn’t be and that was five minutes away from the entrance to the Colony…providing me with the diversion I needed. So all I needed to do was send a text that said one thing,

  ‘Angry Mob is a GO!’

  I made sure it sent before I started running back to the cabin as I had made sure on the way to the cabin to check for the best spots for a signal and thankfully it hadn’t been too far, or this might not have worked.

  I got back to the cabin and waited near the wood store at the back and when my phone vibrated in my hand I looked down…

  ‘Hounds have been released. Two minutes x’

  It looked like the Gods were on our side after all. Now I just had to wait the agonising two minutes and pray to every God out there that they made it in time. I closed my eyes against the sounds of frightful screams coming from inside as I waited out this torture. I banged my head back against the wood and drummed my fist against my leg, as I waited it out. I wanted to go in there, I needed to!

  “Come on…come on!” I muttered frustratingly to myself knowing that every second counted here.

  “Work, come on just work…please God just work for me. Just this once, that’s all I ask.” I said gritting my teeth as the wait felt endless. I was so close to cracking, in fact I was too close to cracking. I could even mentally see the convoy of angry townsfolk all storming down that long dirt track, at the ready to cause their own version of Hell. The dust bellowing behind them and the comforting flashing lights of blue and red leading the way. I could see it so clearly but they were still too far away. They weren’t going to make it…

  “They’re not going to make it!” I said to myself as I just heard the last blood curdling scream I knew it was now or never. I had run out of time.

  Time to take it back.

  So I stepped out from behind my hiding place and started walking around to the front of the cabin ready to do all that was needed and if that meant using my powers against them, then so be it. I stood there at the face of the cabin, raised my hands and…

  “We’ve got a problem!” I stopped dead as I listened to one of them speaking.

  “It’s the police.”

  “I’m sure they can handle one damn police car!” I heard in response, my heart dropping at the sound that only Dex, Lucy and Denis had come to my aid.

  “It not just one, it’s the whole fucking police department! And half of the damn town! They’re going to overrun us, there’s too many of them! They will find the girls… they will find the bodies!” One of the Fathers said in panic. He had obviously been informed, hearing all of this on his phone. I felt my heart lighten knowing that all those people had come to my aid like the Gods had chosen them all for that very purpose. I could barely believe it!

  “Fuck!”

  “We have to stop them before it is complete!” Another one said.

  “Let’s go!”

  “But what about the blood ritual?” One asked and I knew this was my time to move back out of sight.

  “We will have time. You stay here and keep an eye on the girl. We will deal with the town.” The voice sounded threatening enough to make me believe it belonged to my Uncle. I had just reached the back of the cabin when I heard the others piling out. Next I heard car doors slam shut and engines start before the sound of wheels spinning on gravel meant they had left in a hurry. I knew I had to hurry as I didn’t want anyone from the town getting hurt and as much as I wanted to save Ari, it wasn’t at the sacrifice of others.

  I looked around and when I finally saw the taillights disappearing I ran round to the front and ducked down to see what was happening.

  “They didn’t say I couldn’t have a little fun while we wait. And you teased me for far too long bitch.” The remaining robed Father said, walking up to Ari who was now tied to one of the wooden poles that helped keep the structure of the building in place. I looked around frantically for something I could use and then spotted an old handle from an axe. It was a pity it didn’t have anything sharp on the end but it would have to do.

  I walked up the steps to the cabin as slowly as I could in a frantic state to get to my sister before she had chance to be violated by yet another member of the Colony. The steps creaked and I had to keep stopping to see if I had been heard. When I knew I hadn’t I continued up them and thankfully they had left the rusty hinged door open so I didn’t make a sound as I stepped through. I heard the murmured sounds of fear coming from below and then the slap of flesh before the scream of pain. I fisted my hands tighter around my weapon as it was the only reminder I had that I would soon be reaping my revenge upon the bastard that touched her.

  Side stepping slowly across the hall I saw the basement door wide open and begging me to run to it but I had to catch him by surprise, it was my only advantage. So continuing with my painfully slow pace I made it to the door and mouthed a thank you looking up when I saw the stairs were made from concrete not wood. This way I had more chance of him not hearing me as I descended the stairs. I walked down and what I saw sickened me to my core. He had pulled her dress up and was slapping his belt on the top of her thighs, jerking himself off at the same time. She still had her face covered so I knew she wouldn’t be able to give away my presence by accident.

  The next few moments seemed to go by in slow motion as I raised the wooden handle above my head and then took a deep breath before I brought it down using all its force to slam it down into the back of his head. He dropped to the floor and from relief I almost followed him.

  “It’s okay, it’s okay now. I’m here, I’m here Ari, I came back. I came back for you,” I said as I pulled down her dress and held on to her as we both sobbed. Then I lifted the dirty cloth back from her head and gasped…

  “RJ.”

  Chapter 37

  Fire and Ice

  “RJ?” I questioned again and the relief in her eyes told me it was for both being rescued and for finding me. I looked her up and down to see that in the time they’d had her they hadn’t made things easy for her. Her pink hair was matted and by the looks of her dark roots I could tell she had been with them a while. One eye had green bruising, telling me she had been hit at least once across the face. The split lip however was much more recent as blood still trickled down her chin. Her eyes were red from God only knows how many hours of crying because if she were asked I don’t even think she would have known.

  Looking at her now for the first time I knew deep within my soul that this girl meant a lot to me and even though I was heartbroken at not finding Ari, I knew that saving RJ was all I nee
ded to focus on right now…and of course stopping the Hexad!

  I dropped my make shift bat and said,

  “Let’s get you out of here.” She started murmuring frantically as I tried to untie the ropes that were cutting into her skin. I looked up at her and saw the panic in her eyes warped by the tears about to fall. She looked straight at me first and then behind telling me of the danger at my back. In the half seconds I had I noticed the shadow moving in the reflection of those terrified eyes and saw the wood coming straight for me. Instinct took over and I dropped to the ground and rolled out of the way just in time for the wood to impact the air where my head should have been. It had been mere centimetres from hitting RJ across the nose, so I wasn’t the only one that had been lucky…although I had a feeling that luck was about to change when he turned to face me.

  “Our use for you is done, now you can die!” The Father named Godfrey hissed down at me. As his hood no longer concealed his face I could see the true nature which he possessed. He no longer had the same old weathered skin of an aging man. No, now his bone structure was more pronounced with a greyish tint to his stretched skin. His eyes were dirty yellow where the whites should have been and his pupils were oval slits like a demonic cat. Long fangs grew, the same as the rest of his teeth down past his bottom lip and he snarled, growling at me before he attacked.

  Once again I managed to dodge his attack but just as I thought I was free of him I felt my hair being yanked before he used it to throw me across the room. I tried to keep on my feet but lost it when the momentum was too great and I spun, tripping over myself before landing into a stack of wooden chairs. I felt the pain ripple over me and knew now was the time to use it as a strength instead of a weakness.

  I tried to move and more wood snapped beneath me before I found a good enough place to push myself up. Come on, I should be feeling the tingling in my fingertips by now, I was certainly angry enough. I needed to be careful when I released my power because if I wasn’t then I could bring down the whole place. I stood up as he started laughing,

  “This is good, as it gives me a chance to work up an appetite before I eat your friend over there.” I looked towards RJ and saw how scared and lost she looked. She kept looking to the stairs and if I didn’t know any better I would say she was trying to tell me to save myself and run. Well I had done that once before and I was never going to do it again!

  “That’s not going to happen.” I said answering both of them. Then I raised up my hands and let the anger I had coursing through my blood build up and up until,

  “Oh really and how are you expecting to stop me?”

  “With this!” I shouted and thrust my hands forward, only nothing happened. I had nothing. He started laughing at me once again and I quickly looked to the Binding Stone that was stood in the centre of the room. The Hexad symbol, it was still there so…

  “My power…it won’t…” I started muttering as it all clicked. I hadn’t subconsciously let my shields drop earlier to let Draven hear my thoughts. He heard my thoughts because here, on this side of the wall, I was stripped of them. But in the barn? It must have something to do with being so close to the Stone now.

  “My brothers are on their way now to kill each and every one of your friends! You think that by sending in your humans that they could stop us. You merely sent the cattle to the slaughter house! For we will show them the true meaning of terror! You will never stop what’s coming…YOU WILL NEVER STOP THE HEXAD!” He said again before he lunged for me. Just as he was about to land on me I put my hand behind me for anything I could reach and grabbed the first thing I felt. I then held it out in front of me like a sword, not the chair leg it was and he howled as he landed straight on top of it. I felt my hands get wet as it pierced his flesh and sank into his belly with the blood now trickling down my hands as proof.

  I kept tight hold as it seemed to be the only thing keeping him from taking a chunk out of me with his snapping teeth. Then my foot slid as I was trying to move away and we both tumbled to the floor. I twisted my body as we went down so I wouldn’t be beneath him and ended up side on. He bellowed in pain again at the wood sticking out of his gut and I took the opportunity whilst I could. I picked up one of the biggest pieces, being the seat and swung it like a bat, hitting him as he tried to get up.

  Something deep and sinister within me told me not to stop. So I listened to it. I hit him again and again, over and over until I was covered in blood splatter as if I had been outside when the Gods had bled into the sky and the rain carried their essence to the earth. I don’t know where these thoughts were coming from but something told me that was what would happen again if I didn’t act soon.

  I finally stood up once my bloody and slippery hands could no longer hold onto my weapon. The Father’s face was a mess of torn crimson flesh until it didn’t really resemble anything other than a mutilated body. Looking down at what I had done should have made me feel sick and in some locked away part of me I was sure that it did. But in the primal side, the one that takes over when life is all about survival, well then all that did was assess that the danger was over and bask in the victory.

  I only had one thing left to do before anything else mattered. I needed to save all those people before I found out if what he said was true, that I had only sent them to their deaths! I needed to fix this.

  I needed to stop the Hexad.

  Walking over to RJ I spied what I was looking for and picked up the discarded pillowcase, using it to wipe the blood from my face and hands. I didn’t want any of the Father’s blood to contaminate what I was about to do. I looked up to see RJ was watching me with a mixture of horror and confusion.

  “You need to trust me. I have to stop the ritual or a lot of innocent people are going to die. Then I will get us outta here.” She closed her eyes and nodded as more tears fell from her lashes. I took a deep breath and looked towards the huge Binding Stone seeing the Hexad symbol etched there like a beacon at the centre of all the pain, suffering and destruction it had caused.

  “Time to end this.” I said getting down on my knees in front of it. I then pulled the piece of paper from my back pocket, not wanting to get this wrong even though I’d stared at the symbol so many times since casting it, I only had one shot. This was my time. My time to take it back.

  I went to reach for the weapon I had forgotten about in my boot when suddenly I screamed in pain.

  “I’m not finished with you yet, Bitch!” Godfrey snarled grabbing me from behind and wrenching me backwards by my shoulders. I tried to scramble with my hands and feet just to stay up as I fumbled to get to my ankle. Then using a handful of my hair it was ripped to the side so my head had to follow and my neck was left open and vulnerable. He was just about to sink his fangs into my neck and I knew if I allowed that to happen then I was not only dead but then so was everyone else!

  I quickly made one last attempt and finally grabbed the handle of my dagger. Then just as his head came to my neck, I bent my arm and plunged my dagger into his face with all the strength I had in me. He fell backwards in screaming agony, letting me scramble out of his way, over to the Binding Stone, putting my back against it. His mangled face had already tried to heal from my attack on him with the chair but not enough to look as it once did. Pink, new flesh was piecing itself back together, however, there was no healing to be done with the dagger that was sticking out of his eye socket.

  His hands went to his face and he screamed in pain. I glanced down to see the piece of paper with my symbol on it had fallen between us and I looked up in time to see him studying it with his one good eye. Shock was easy to see, even in his mangled state as he must have known what it meant.

  “No!” I shouted just before I jumped to reach for it at the same time he grabbed one of the oil burners and threw it down at the paper. I only had enough time to get out of the way before the explosion of fire could get me too. But I had been the lucky one as the oil splashed up the bottom of his robes and soon the fire ignited the oil lik
e a wave, reaching out until it engulfed him.

  “You will never stop the Hexad!” He screamed just before he twisted and spun round trying to get the fire from him. I took a step back against the raging flames and looked to see RJ’s eyes were wide with panic. Then she turned her eyes to Godfrey and I did the same to see him fleeing up the stairs shouting,

  “YOU WILL ALL BURN, THE HEXAD LIVES!” And from the looks of how quickly the fire was spreading he was right. I looked to the stairs and knew we didn’t have long but I also knew that he was right. If we left now the Hexad was set in stone, it would survive.

  So I made the decision, the only one I could. I ran over to the Binding Stone, knelt in front of it and without my dagger I knew there was only one option left.

  “I hope this works.” I said out loud, pulled up my sleeve and then bit down as hard as I could into my own wrist.

  “AAAHHH!” I screamed sinking my teeth into my own flesh. It hurt, oh God did it hurt. But I knew I needed all the blood I could get to do this and what did it matter for I would most likely burn to death long before I could bleed out. I was only grateful that I had bit hard enough that it cut a vein.

  Blood poured from me like my body had sprung a leak and I knew I needed to act quickly before I passed out. Now I needed to think. I had looked at the image so long, for nearly an hour whilst sat on the edge of the bath earlier. I needed to get this right. The paper was gone and I only had my mind left to guide me. Everyone was counting me, so I couldn’t let them down or my death would have been for nothing.

  Well it wasn’t for nothing! It was for this moment. It was for this time. This was my truth and this was me giving my Life.