by Sara Clancy
“That would do it,” Ivan nodded.
Nadya whimpered again. “Radmiar isn’t going to like this. Did you see him in the maze?”
“Nah,” Evelyn said.
Aleksandr swallowed thickly and forced a smile before he gathered the twins, turning them around to face him. Placing a hand on each of their shoulders, he kept his voice light.
“One down. We should celebrate. Do something to keep the Furies from getting any stronger. So, your choice. Pick something fun. And quick.”
Aleksandr watched as the fear seeped from their little faces. He knew they still felt it. It would linger in their bones just as it did his. But they were skilled at hiding their emotions. A fact that Aleksandr found a source of both pride and torment. At last, the kids looked to each other, nodded once, and the decision was made.
“We want chocolate,” they said in unison.
The answer pleased him more than it should have. “Then we’re getting chocolate. How about we go to that Bellagio chocolate fountain?”
“There’s a fountain of chocolate?” Evelyn said, at last having caught her breath. “And you waited until now to tell me?”
Her exaggerated outrage provoked a little giggle from the twins. Working that advantage, she huffed and rolled her eyes, putting on a bit of a performance. For one brief moment, they were just kids. The world felt still.
“Let’s get moving before they close,” Aleksandr said around a lump that was forming in his throat.
Evelyn subtly closed ranks as they started herding the kids, angling her body to shield them from the crowd. When he was sure that the kids wouldn’t see, he caught her eyes and mouthed ‘thank you’. She shrugged one shoulder. As if they were old friends. Like these actions weren't deserving of gratitude. Aleksandr didn’t know what to make of it. There had never been anyone willing to help him protect the twins, and he knew he couldn’t afford to rely on it. Their chance of survival shriveled as he did.
They made their way around the edge of the lake, shifting in and out of the lampposts’ glow, unnoticed by the captivated crowd. Rounding the edge, they started up the incline towards the Bellagio. They were halfway to their goal when a familiar face emerged from the masses. Vlas stood before them, chest heaving and arms trembling with rage. That, Aleksandr had expected. The tears that streaked down from his red-rimmed eyes threw him off, though.
“How do they keep doing that?” Evelyn muttered as she tugged Nadya behind her.
Aleksandr mirrored the action with Ivan as Vlas stalked closer. His body twitched with barely contained rage.
“I want her,” Vlas hissed, one trembling hand shooting out to jab towards Evelyn. “Hand her over, and the rest of you can leave.”
“That’s not how the game goes,” Aleksandr said.
“Screw the game!” he roared, his voice cracking around each word.
A few people looked over. Most ignored them soon enough, writing the situation off as a drunken dispute that didn’t concern them. It allowed Vlas to stalk closer. When there was only a foot left separating them, he stopped in front of Aleksandr and hissed.
“She killed Vera.” Vlas allowed one sob to leave him before he straightened his spine and clenched his jaw. “Hand her over, Alek. None of you mean a damn thing to me. Let Radmiar take you. I don’t care. But that thing is going to die screaming.”
“For what it’s worth, I didn’t do it,” Evelyn cut in.
“Liar!” Fixing his eyes on her with a startling intensity, he continued, “You were the only one in the room with her.”
“No, I wasn’t.”
“Vlas,” Aleksandr cut in, hoping to break his attention. “It wasn’t her.”
“Liar!”
Out of the corner of his eyes, Aleksandr noticed that they had drawn a little attention. Once again, however, there was barely more than a few annoyed glares at the interruption.
“It was the Furies,” Ivan said, barely poking his head out from behind Aleksandr’s legs.
“What the hell is a Fury?”
“It’s what’s coming for you,” Evelyn said. “All of us, actually. So, Alek, get the kids out of here.”
Vlas smiled. Wolfish and dripping with bloodlust. Just like his sister, he wasn’t ready for Evelyn to return the gesture with just as much venom.
“I’d love to have a private moment with you, Vlas.”
Vlas flicked his eyes towards Aleksandr. “Is she serious?”
“She’s a champion kick-boxer that knows you’re kind of useless without a long distance weapon in your hand,” Aleksandr said. “So yeah, she’s serious.”
“Alek,” Nadya said, her voice small and her hand tugging sharply at his shirt. “Alek.”
Unwilling to take his eyes off of Vlas, Aleksandr tipped his head to the side, just enough for his sister to know that he was listening. Instead of talking, she tugged harder at his shirt until the seams began to rip.
“What is it?”
“The lake.” She whined the words, her fear drawing everyone’s attention to the water.
The spotlights remained trained on the dancing pillars of water. Their glow left the majority of the lake to the shadows, leaving the water dark and inky. It took him a moment to spot what his sister was talking about. The ripples weren’t as they should be. There was no uniform fold to the water. As he watched, the distortions deepened and took shape. It was no longer an ebony pool. It was a sheet of onyx silk draped over the mouth of hell. Thousands of bodies writhed before them. Tormented screams and agonized groans rose to cover the music that still pumped through the speakers. A feral hiss cracked over the sound and Aleksandr leapt back, trying to push the twins behind him. Geysers of steam shot up to the night sky, scorching his skin despite the distance between them.
“Aleksandr,” Ivan said meekly.
“I see it too,” he assured.
The next bellow of steam was a lot closer and they cringed away again. Aleksandr would have retreated onto the side road if a parked car hadn’t stopped him. When the steam evaporated, Aleksandr instantly noticed the new object that was bobbing in the middle of the lake. Despite it lingering between two of the spotlights, it was almost completely shrouded in shadows. Still, it was undeniably a human head. All if its features were gone. Except for its eyes. They stood out against the darkness, glowing discs of marble. It was staring at them. Unblinking. The gaze it made robbed him of his breath and turned his blood cold.
“How are you doing this?” Vlas could barely form the words around the tremor in his voice.
“We’re not,” Nadya said. “That’s a Fury.”
Despite the fear in her eyes, Evelyn couldn’t seem to suppress her smirk as she looked Vlas over. “This is your first time on this side of things, huh? Not so great being the prey, is it?”
Aleksandr didn’t dare take his eyes off of the floating head. Even still, it moved progressively closer, traveling a few feet each time he blinked. “Vlas.” Aleksandr didn’t know why the words came out of his mouth, but he didn’t try to stop them. “Run.”
“I’m not–” His voice choked off in a ghastly grunt. Aleksandr looked over just in time to see the true horror distorting his brother’s features. “Where’d it go?”
Aleksandr whipped back around. His gaze couldn’t have strayed for more than a few seconds, but it was enough for the area to now be covered with a thick layer of steam. The swirling white made the dark head stand out like a stain upon the earth. Only the tip of it was visible over the edge of the railing. It rose steadily, slowly, growing from the abyss until its clouded eyes peeked up over the stone.
“Run!” Evelyn snapped, no longer caring if they drew any attention.
Ivan latched onto Aleksandr’s arm with a vice grip, making it easy for him to hurl the small boy up. Almost instantly, Aleksandr had Ivan on one hip and was reaching for Nadya. Evelyn had already claimed her.
“I’ve got her,” Evelyn said, already snatching up Nadya and bolting ahead. “Come on!”
; Vlas made no move to stop them as they shoved past him. Not that Aleksandr had expected him to. Without Vera, his audience and driving force, the hunter was lost. The creature from the abyss climbing over the railing clarified the matter, though. Vlas spun on his heel, bumping against Aleksandr’s back as he fought to keep close.
For the moment, all thoughts of revenge were put aside to embrace the safety of the herd. Vlas wasn’t weighed down with a child, but he didn’t pull ahead, instead inserting himself between Aleksandr and Evelyn and stubbornly staying there as they sprinted up the remaining bit of pathway to the Bellagio main entrance.
Even though Ivan was tiny for his age, his grip rivalled a boa constrictor. Aleksandr could barely breathe as Ivan’s arms squeezed his neck. The small boy’s legs threatened to crack Aleksandr’s ribs each time they were slightly jostled. Despite this, Aleksandr still clung tightly to his brother, terrified that the child would slip from his grip. They dodged around the cars pulling up into the valet docks. For a moment, he lost sight of Evelyn and Nadya as they rounded the back of a Hummer. He went around the front, with Vlas trying to squeeze between him and the metal of the car.
A black object instantly drew their attention as they were about to leap up onto the sidewalk. Only a few inches separated the wheel from the gutter. The brilliant lights of the entrance illuminated the space. But the ebony head was still there, somehow completely inside the cracks, frosted eyes shining like silver. With a startled cry, Vlas lurched to the side, trying to cut in front of Aleksandr and get some distance. There wasn’t enough space. The two collided and they both slammed into the concrete with a bone-rattling thud. Aleksandr twisted, taking as much of the impact as he could. Pain exploded through his knee and hip, radiating out along his nerves. But he kept Ivan off the ground. Blinking back tears, he saw that Ivan hadn’t fared much better.
“Go,” Aleksandr said as he shoved Ivan out of his arms. “Eve!”
Evelyn was already at the glass doors of the entrance. She almost ran into them as she skidded to a stop. One glance and she knew what he was asking. Holding out one hand, she waited for Ivan to catch up.
A small group had formed around them. Mostly made up of people checking if they were okay, with a few onlookers lingering on the fringes. Aleksandr took the nearest hand and let them hurl him to his feet. His scream of pain turned into a strangled hiss as he clenched his teeth.
“Alek?”
“Go,” he told Ivan again.
At least his younger brother remembered his manners. He shot off towards Evelyn, throwing back a few ‘thank yous’ and half explained apologies. Aleksandr was grateful. Rudeness had a way of sticking in someone’s mind. The last thing they needed right now was to draw more unwanted attention. With a wave of what he hoped came across as gratitude, he lumbered after the others. His joints protested every step and he couldn’t keep the pace he had before. Evelyn grabbed Ivan’s hand when he was close enough, but she didn’t move. Vlas was back on his feet. He pushed through the crowd without a word. The crush of bodies made it almost impossible to keep sight of him.
“Hey, maybe you shouldn’t be walking,” a stranger said as they grabbed Aleksandr’s forearm.
The moment he turned, he saw the dark head once again. Looming just over the stranger’s shoulder. Eyes impossibly wide and trained solely on him. Viciously jerking his arm back, Aleksandr took off in a sprint, feeling his hipbones clicking together as he moved.
Chapter 11
The roof of the Bellagio lobby was covered in a garden of glass flowers. They spilled out from a large rectangle gouged into the ceiling, each one a colossal petal catching the carefully positioned lights to make them shine. It was an eye-catching display. Even as Evelyn ran for her life, the colors drew her attention, making her glance at them more than once.
Nadya clutched Evelyn’s shoulders as she rode on her back. The older woman could feel her bones bending under the constant pressure. Ivan ran alongside her. They both found it easier to move while not holding hands, but it left a gnawing feeling in Evelyn’s gut that they were going to get separated. They paused under the display, where the lighting was its brightest, and turned back to the front doors. Aleksandr shouldered his way through one of the rotating doors while Vlas got an easier run, slipping in while someone was heading out. There was a marked limp in Aleksandr’s stride. Evelyn didn’t know if it was because of pain or panic, but he no longer seemed to care about drawing unwanted attention. At least, not when he bellowed across the barely populated lobby.
“Move! I’ll catch up!”
“I don’t even know where I’m going!” Evelyn shot back.
There hadn’t been time for them to make a plan. All of her ideas of pitting the two forces against each other had crumbled into ruins. Now, they were stuck. Flee or die. And there didn’t seem to be a safe place to run. His retort was lost under a barrage of fine cracking. Evelyn looked up in time to see the first of the flower petals fracture. The thick shard of glass crashed down towards them. Rushing forward, she scooped up Ivan, narrowly avoiding the crash. But it wasn’t the first. With the crackle of live wires, the massive hunks of glass separated from the ceiling. Each one shattered as they hit the ground. Becoming a wave of shrapnel just as deadly as the original blow. A thousand tiny cuts were sliced into her bare skin as she raced across well-maintained carpeting, Nadya on her back and Ivan trapped awkwardly under one arm. The closest exit took her over a couch. She stomped her foot into the soft material, her muscle screaming at the extra weight of the two children, and hurled herself out into the open tiled area just as the final remains plummeted in a single strike.
It was a struggle to maintain her balance. Not just from the horrible landing, but because Ivan had started to slip from her weak grip. Nadya was choking her now, her small arms squeezing her neck, the grip slick with blood. A few more steps and she dropped heavily onto her knees.
“Are you guys okay?” she asked in panted breaths.
“Please don’t walk on the furniture.” The front desk receptionist spoke the words clearly but with an obvious edge of disinterest. It was undoubtedly something they had to repeat numerous times in one shift.
Evelyn twisted to look over her shoulder, not sure what she was going to say back. She never had the chance. The words died in her throat when she found that the lobby was gone. There now existed a fine line between realities. Everything in front of her was Las Vegas and the Bellagio hotel. Everything behind her was the dim stone basement from the ghost town. The two worlds butted up against each other with a razor-sharp transition. Humid, stale air pressed against her back while the air-conditioning of the Bellagio ravaged her front. Aleksandr was gone. Everyone was. There was just the array of torture instruments hanging from the bare walls and the heavy metal door before her.
A cold sweat covered her trembling skin as she stared at that door. She had only stepped into the room that lay beyond it once. Sure in the knowledge that she was not coming back out alive. If the Furies hadn’t chosen that moment to strike, she wouldn’t have. Even if she had won the fight, killed Aleksandr with her bare hands, Petya and Olga wouldn’t have let her live. Beyond that door was the room she was supposed to have died in. Her breathing became shallow pants as she watched the door slowly creak open. It came with a rusted squeal and encroaching darkness. Hot air hovered her shoulders, crept down her arms. The old reality was fighting back the new. I’m going to be stuck here.
The thought imploded in her mind, demolished any thought or reason. Only instinct remained. And that told her to run. Reaching back with one arm, she shoved Nadya higher onto her back. The other arm looped around Ivan’s waist as she darted forward. Fire burned within her exhausted muscles. Every tendon in her shoulders threatened to tear as she tucked the frail boy under her arm. It felt like she was buried under a thousand pounds. But none of it mattered. All that was real was the heated air threatening to swallow her entirely.
She sprinted down the first hallway she spotted. An extrav
agantly decorated straight path that sparkled in the welcoming light. Weaving their way through the minimal crowd, they passed a bar and at last came to a T-intersection.
“Right,” Nadya said.
Evelyn’s shoes squeaked over the tiles as she obeyed. It seemed they had hardly gone any distance at all before they came to the first and only off shoot.
“Left!”
Evelyn managed to round the corner and get on the new hallway just before the old reality claimed the path they had just left. The world swept out after them, somehow taking everything while remaining as that one room. Small and empty and with the metal door now wide open like a gaping mouth.
Adrenaline spurred Evelyn on. Dread knotted her stomach with barbed wire. I can’t outpace it forever, she thought as some dark, cruel part of her mind began to taunt her. You’re going to have to go back there. The Furies are going to take you back. She pushed the thoughts aside, letting the raging current of rising hysteria take them. All she needed to focus on was putting one foot in front of the other.
A circular space appeared before them, offering three pathways. Nadya pointed to the far right. The other world was pushing up behind them. Every time her heel flicked up, she could feel the crippling damp air. The unbearable heat. Light and shadow played in the corners of her eyes as she neared the end of the hallway. Then, in a sudden rush, the reality overtook them and Evelyn was left sprinting towards the open metal door. To the abyss that lay within that room that stank of bleach and blood. There was no time to stop. Nowhere else to go. She ran through the doorway. A loud clash of metal and the world was gone. Lost in impenetrable darkness.
“It’s not real,” Nadya repeated into Evelyn’s ear, marking each word with a frantic slap. “It’s not real. They’re just trying to scare you.”
Not real. The worlds held little weight. Seemed to be nothing more than an empty promise. But Evelyn could hold onto the other part. They’re just trying to scare you. Evelyn stopped short and squeezed her eyes shut. Like they did with my mother. The flush of rage was met with a bright light against her eyelids. She blinked them open and glanced around. They were in a new corridor. One with a high ceiling made of glass and light fixtures that hung down like antique lanterns. Luxury brand stores lined the walls and the last strings of the dancing fountains drifted in from her left. She dropped Ivan. Luckily, the boy had the sense to be clutching her arm or he would have fallen face first onto the hard floor. Nadya slipped from Evelyn’s back and hurried to her brother’s side.