“And…” joined in Max, “she’s taken Raven with her to Broken Cove because again, she can’t destroy any of you. But Raven can. Kassidy is gonna use Raven to do the work for her.”
“Like I said,” Quint began, “you know nothing!”
For once, I was glad to hear Quint talking some sense. I was worried now about Kassidy’s safety. Taking Max and Robert to Broken Cove where she was heading could put her life in danger. Not only did I have the other demons to worry about, but now these two. They were wrong about Kassidy, but they seemed intent on believing their theory.
“You know… if you had suggested that Raven was Doshia,” smiled Jude, “I may well have considered it.” He laughed to himself and stared about the forecourt. Then looking back at me, he said, “Car?”
“This one will do,” I said, looking at a small, black car. The vehicle was empty. Its owner had just gone into the shop to pay for his petrol and had left the car unlocked and the keys still in the ignition. It was an easy take.
Screwing his nose up, Jude scoffed, “I’m not driving that piece of shit!” He glanced about the forecourt and suddenly his eyes lit up. A red sports car had just pulled in. “Now that’s more like it. Come on, Quint. I think the owner may need persuading to part with that beauty!” He began to stroll toward it.
Knowing that Quint would never bother to persuade—he just took—I said, There’s a perfectly good enough car back there with the keys. We can just climb in and take it. No one has to get hurt. But of course my inner voice fell on deaf ears. No longer in control of my actions, Quint stormed ahead. He stopped at the passenger door of the sports car, nearly pulled the door clean off, and snatched the shocked-looking guy around the throat. Yanking him out, the guy, eyes wide, gasped, “What the fuck… what do you think you’re doing?”
“Taking the car, that’s what I’m doing!” answered Quint. He lifted the man high, turned around, and threw him into the petrol pump. The guy slid down and came to a stop clearly stunned by what had just happened. Then Quint turned his attention to the driver. He was yelling at Jude and refusing to hand over the keys.
“I’m calling the police… this is outrageous! You think you can just attack my friend and take my car! You can fuck off!” He shoved Jude in the chest and I cringed to myself knowing that was a big mistake. Before I could warn Quint to calm down, I was already standing in front of the driver. With one swipe of the back of my hand, the man flipped up and landed on the bonnet of another car. Not wasting another second, Quint headed over to where the guy had landed. He grabbed the man’s hand and I shivered as the sound of bones breaking filled my ears. In too much pain to cling onto the keys, the driver dropped them, crying out.
Bending over the wailing man, Quint said, “You’re lucky I didn’t put you to sleep!” And with that, Quint turned away. I could feel myself glare at Jude and a sense of frustration fill me. Shoving the keys into Jude’s hand, Quint said, “You’re too fucking soft, Eras. Stop playing Middleton’s son or you’re gonna end up back as a corpse. You want that?!”
“Of course I don’t,” spoke Eras, his black eyes staring back at me. “I just thought I’d try the friendlier approach, that’s all!” He shrugged his shoulders and opened the driver’s door, head hung low.
“Demons aren’t friendly!” snapped Quint. “Now get in the fucking car and drive to Broken Cove. We’re not far now. Put your foot down and we’ll be there in half an hour.”
Quint headed around to the passenger door. Before climbing in, he stopped and looked at Max and Robert, who had kept their distance from the trouble. “Get the fuck in!” shouted Quint, pointing at the car. “I don’t want to take either of you, but you’re needed. So…?”
“That’s right,” piped up Robert. “We’re needed! So don’t go forgetting that. You need us to destroy the coffins, so bear that in mind when you’re getting pissed off!” Turning to Max, he said, “Come on. We’re safe enough—for now!”
Climbing in, Quint slammed the door shut and I felt him retreat. I glanced over to my right. My eyes met with Jude’s. They were a mixture of blue and black. Eras still lingered. The one body shared equal proportions and personality and I could see that both demon and Jude felt the same—mixed up and downtrodden. I gave them both a reassuring smile. A look I hoped told them that I understood and I felt the same.
With the engine rumbling to life, Jude slammed his foot down on the accelerator and skidded out of the petrol station.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Kassidy
We had been running for ten minutes or so, still handcuffed together. Soaked through, tired, and hungry. I let out a sigh of relief as a tatty old road sign with branches hanging over it seemed to loom out of the dark morning.
“We’re here!” I gasped, slowing down. “We’ve made it.”
Raven shrugged her shoulders and said, “We haven’t reached the harbour yet and we don’t know if the coffins have left. We might still be too late.”
I rolled my eyes. “Nothing like being optimistic, Raven. We have to have made it. We’ve come so far… been through so much. Come on,” I urged, checking over my shoulder, worried that Doctor Langstone had followed us here. “We keep going.”
We continued to follow the road. The seaside town of Broken Cove was quiet and dreary. The residents were probably still in bed. The rain was lighter now and a sea breeze gently blew through the town. I could hear the sound of seagulls getting nearer and I began to feel anxious. I had no plan. All I knew was that I had to destroy the coffins—the right ones. But how would I know whose coffin belonged to which demon? The only one I could be sure of was Etta’s. She was in coffin number seven. What if I destroyed the wrong ones? I could kill Ben or Jude.
“Ben,” I mumbled. Would he be here? He promised me he would. I could feel my heart race as all sorts of dreadful thoughts began to consume me. This could go horribly wrong.
As we rounded a bend in the road, we were both met with the sight of the harbour and the sea. There were boats everywhere bobbing up and down on the gentle waves. Colourful bunting hung from the lampposts and the harbour was surrounded by old inns, gift shops, and ice-cream parlours. It was quaint. Not the kind of place where you would even believe there was demon activity taking place.
I stopped and pulled Raven into a doorway of one of the inns. “We have to be careful. We can’t just go strolling about the place. We don’t want to be seen by anyone—and I don’t just mean by the demons. If the locals see us hanging about handcuffed together with black veins and nails, we’ll be arrested and carted off to the loony bin or rehab. We have to sneak about without being spotted.”
Raven raised an eyebrow and said, “What locals? I can’t see one bloody person. This place is creepy. It’s like a ghost town!”
“It’s still early, that’s why. But I bet it won’t be long before the fishermen come out. They like to set out early to catch fish.” I poked my head out from the doorway.
“I hate fish,” grumbled Raven. “It stinks… and all the bones get stuck in…”
“Shhh!” I glared at Raven. “We’re not here to discuss fish and how it smells! Come on. Let’s work our way around the harbour. With no one out and about yet, it shouldn’t be too hard to spot Doctor Middleton and the others.” I stepped out from our cover and pulled Raven with me. She stumbled along, slightly behind.
“These handcuffs are a drag,” she complained, rubbing her wrist.
“What?!” I stopped and glared back at her. “Are you really moaning about something you caused? Don’t complain at me. I didn’t lock us together, did I?” I turned away feeling furious.
After heading past several shops and keeping a close eye on the boats and the harbour, I felt my heart skip a beat. The sound of an engine chugging could be heard from the end of the harbour.
“I can hear a boat!” I yelled, pulling on the cuffs. “Come on!” I suddenly felt panicked. Were we too late? We couldn’t be, could we? Robert had said that the coffins would be mov
ed to an island by the evening.
Forgetting about the plan to sneak around, I raced ahead taking Raven with me. She kept up. Her long legs taking wider strides than mine. As the harbour bent round to the left, I spotted the vessel. It was a large boat with thick, grey smoke pouring from its funnel.
“Stop,” I panted at Raven. “I can’t see anyone on there. I’m not even sure if we have the right boat.” I looked about at our surroundings. Where could we hide and wait with a good view of the boat? My eyes fell upon an enclosed seating area. It was probably used by visitors to Broken Cove to sit and watch the boats come in and out of the harbour. We could wait in there under cover. I pointed it out to Raven and she nodded her head. Checking that the coast was clear, we headed over to it and sat on the wooden bench inside.
“Now what?” asked Raven, fiddling with the cuffs.
“We wait. We keep watch on that boat and any other boats that look in use,” I replied, leaning forward and peering round the side. I stared out past the harbour across the open sea. In the distance, I could just make out an island. It didn’t seem too far away from the mainland and it rose high above sea level. It looked like there was a tall, white building on it. It stood out against the grey rocks. I narrowed my eyes and realised it was a lighthouse. That must be the island where the coffins are meant to go to, I thought.
“I don’t like all this hanging around, do you?” asked Raven. “Makes me feel on edge.” She looked at me with her dark eyes. “Sometimes, when it’s quiet, the voices come. Sometimes I feel like my head is going to explode. It’s like I’m shut in a small, confined area with a group of people screaming and cursing at me… and there’s no escape. I can’t just walk away… wherever I go… they’re there.” Raven paused for a moment, gazed out across the harbour, and then said, “You hear them, too, don’t you? But I’ve seen something more in you. Your eyes… they hide something else.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, feeling uncomfortable.
“I don’t know… it’s like there’s someone else in there.” She pointed to my head. “Another person… hiding behind those eyes. They change colour… especially when you’re angry or in a panic.”
I shook my head. “There’s only me. And the voices. No one else,” I whispered, looking away from her. I wondered if Raven knew more than she was letting on. But how? She wouldn’t have a clue that Etta was inside of me. Raven had no idea that I was actually dead. I mean, I hadn’t known until only a short time ago myself. I shifted on the wooden bench, my suspicions roused. I could be talking to Doshia for all I knew. After all, no one was sure of who Doshia was, and although deep down I still suspected Robert, now, sat here, I began to think back to everything that had happened since arriving at Cruor Pharma. Raven had been strange right from the very beginning. And what about the way she had grabbed hold of that porter—Fred—in the locker room? She had lifted him with ease like she possessed some kind of super-human strength. And who had killed Fred? It had been Jude who had gone back to that room alone, but he was adamant that he hadn’t killed him—and I believed him. He had no reason to lie. Not now. Not since he had confessed to who he really was. I remembered how Raven had collapsed or gone into some kind of trance at the time. If she was Doshia, then could that have been the demon leaving her body to go and kill the porter and then returned to her after the killing? I tried to search more of my memories, but so much had happened that it all seemed like one big mess. I glanced at Raven. She was still staring at me with her dark, gloomy eyes. I looked away and suddenly felt sick. What about Hannah? She had thrown herself off the balcony and that had been the first time I had heard Doshia speak. What had Raven been doing while my best friend had jumped and killed herself? She had been asleep, in the car or at least I had believed her to be asleep. Wasn’t that just another example of Doshia leaving Raven’s body to consume Hannah’s and make her throw herself off the balcony?
I slumped back against the bench and tried to play out my friend’s death over and over again. The more I thought about it, the more I began to feel scared. I stared down at my handcuffed wrist. If I was sitting, cuffed to Doshia, then I was in big fucking trouble. How would I escape? And then another thought came to me. The knife. Raven had come to my room at Langstone’s with a knife. She had tried her very best to get me to go and destroy Jude’s body. She had said that she couldn’t do it because Jude would never let her get too close and that I was the best person to do it. She had helped me to believe that Jude was Doshia. I closed my eyes as the awful truth hit home. I could feel my heart race, and somewhere deep in my mind, I could hear the rumble of those voices. They laughed and jeered. What was I going to do? Everything seemed to be coming on top of me.
I opened my eyes and leaned forward. The boat was still moored. Turning, I shifted my gaze back in the direction we had entered Broken Cove. Where was Ben? I needed him. I needed Quint and Eras, and if Robert and Max could ever forgive me for attacking them, I needed them, too. I glanced at Raven. She still had her eyes on me. She tapped her long, twisted nails on the wooden bench like she was biding her time—waiting and watching for a sign. I half smiled and tried to look relaxed. I couldn’t risk letting on that I believed her to be Doshia. But was I sure? Would Doshia have really left the others back at the car? Didn’t Doshia want the same as Doctor Middleton? The volunteers. Weren’t we all needed to be together for the Cleaners to take? Didn’t Doshia want that power? But what if we had all been wrong? What if that wasn’t what Doshia wanted? I swallowed down hard as I remembered the story that Etta had told me. Maybe all Doshia longed for was revenge. And what better than to have the person who had caused his downfall cuffed to the wrist of the body he hid in. Was that why Raven had started to probe me because she had seen someone else within my stare? Raven, or should I call her Doshia—had seen Etta in me—had heard me talking to Etta on our car journey to Broken Cove. I closed my eyes again and breathed in deeply. After everything that had happened to me, I believed that I was in more danger than ever before.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Kassidy
Etta, I said, inside my head. I was desperate for her to come forward. I needed her help. But with Raven sat close to me, I doubted she would answer my call. Etta, I’m so scared. I could feel my stomach churn and my heart race. I wanted to cry. I was so mixed up—so unsure of everything and everyone. My mind was flooded with so many suspicions and doubts. The mumbling of the evil voices played havoc with any kind of sensible and clear thoughts that existed inside me. I needed to know what Etta thought. Did she think that Raven was Doshia, or was I completely jumbled with my thought process? Was Robert Doshia? He had been adamant that we should all stay together. It was Robert who had plans to kill off all the demons. Surely that put him in the frame. Keep us volunteers together—get us to destroy the coffins and then he would have us to himself so the Cleaners could take us.
I stole a quick glance at Raven. She was watching me closely. Was she hoping I would tell her about Etta? Was she staring at me to see a sign? Maybe she was unsure and was just holding back until she knew for real. Shit, I cursed deep within me. What was I to do? But before I could think any longer on it, the sound of the boat’s engine rumbled. I jumped up and peered around our hiding spot. I gasped out loud. There, standing on the deck was Doctor Wright—Nellore.
I recognised her instantly with her dyed blonde hair and grey roots. I felt physically sick at the sight of her. She brought back memories of that dreadful night on the ward, and a cold sweat came over me. I stared, frozen to the spot, as Nellore seemed to be directing a man. She pointed to the ropes and I watched transfixed as the man climbed from the boat, bent over, and began to untie the vessel. He stood up, rubbed his back, and then looked about the harbour. I felt my mouth drop open as his face became clear. “Charlie!”
“What? Who are you talking about?” asked Raven, peering over my shoulder.
“That man, he’s from Cruor Pharma.” I shivered as I remembered how he had tried to stop me fr
om leaving the hospital grounds—how he had chased me and climbed up the fence to drag me back down. “His name is Charlie. He’s one of the security guards… remember?”
Raven nodded her head, her dark eyes still boring into mine. I turned away from her stare and looked about the harbour. I wanted nothing more than to see Ben and the others turn up. Even though Etta had wanted me to go it alone. I wanted to pass on the decision making to Quint or Eras. But there was no sign of them, and so, I had to decide what to do by myself. Time was running out. The boat hadn’t left yet, but it would be only a matter of minutes. There was no way Raven and I could sneak onto the boat without being seen. But wasn’t I meant to destroy the coffins before they left Broken Cove? That had been the plan, hadn’t it? And were the coffins even there? I hadn’t seen them get loaded on. Perhaps they were already below deck.
“We’ll never get onto that boat without them spotting us,” I said more to myself than to Raven. “Let’s take our own then,” said Raven. “Let them leave ahead of us, and then we’ll follow a distance behind.”
I chewed my lower lip and wiped the cold sweat from my forehead. I frantically looked about at the other boats. “I’ve never sailed a boat before… have you?”
“No,” replied Raven shrugging her shoulders. “But it can’t be that hard. I’m sure you can do it if you can drive a car.”
“It’s nothing like driving a car!” I glared at her. I shook my head and began to search for a suitable boat. They were all pretty big. Way too large for me to handle. And besides, I would need a key to start them.
Knocking her elbow into my arm, Raven said, “How about that one?”
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