by Dora Blume
Erik strode up to her and Mike. Bryant was at the right of the group. Sloane knew that meant he was looking to make an exit as soon as they went into the building. He probably even had a plan of where to go. It helped that he had been working with the demons inside.
Ethan took a place at the front of the group. He wired something to the door and took a few steps back. He hit a button and the keypad, keeping the door closed, blew and the door swung open. Ethan called out, “Go, go, go,” as he waved everyone into the building. Bryant stayed to the back looking around the building. Sloane smiled, knowing that Bryant was looking for the demons that weren’t coming. Ely had probably already taken care of them along with the others waiting in the woods just beyond the building. He wouldn’t be able to see them from here, but Erik nodded to Sloane. He was letting her know that their plan had worked and the other demons were already taken care of. Now it was up to them to take care of the ones in the building as well as her traitorous father. Bryant dipped through the door and Erik, Sloane and Mike followed close behind him. They didn’t plan to follow the others and engage the demons. They knew they already had help inside. They planned to follow Bryant wherever he snuck off to until the fighting was over.
Sure enough, as soon as the others began to engage, Bryant took a hallway that twisted off to the right and away from the fighting. The bonus was that Amy already knew where he was going. She had full intentions of meeting him there. Sloane and Erik would be close behind. Mike was staying with the others to make sure everyone else was okay as they fought.
Sloane and Erik followed behind Bryant, but stayed far enough back that he wouldn’t notice them. He ducked into a room where Amy was waiting. She was seated in a chair with her legs crossed in another designer pencil skirt. Sloane smiled when she saw it. Amy was playing the part of demons quite well.
“Oh my dear, it’s good to see you. So where will we be heading while we wait for the others to take care of everything?” Bryant stopped just on the other side of the door.
“Oh Bryant, I do believe we’ll be fine right here,” she smiled and blinked up at him.
He looked around the room. His face contorted as he took in the meek room. “Are you sure this is the best option? Any strays could make their way down here at any moment,” Bryant looked behind him as he spoke.
Sloane and Erik stepped into the room. “I believe you were referring to us.”
“Erik, Sloane, what are you doing here?” he asked, his voice quivered before he smoothed it into its usual honey tone.
“The real question is, what are you doing here?” Sloane narrowed her eyes at her father.
“Well, I’m here to save your friend of course,” he blinked. Sloane watched as the features of Bryant’s face elongated, giving away his lie.
“That’s not exactly why you’re here, now is it?” Sloane looked from Amy to Bryant. “You’re the real reason she’s here, aren’t you. Dad?” She launched herself towards him, wrenching his mouth open. She dumped the contents of the vial down his throat. He sputtered and coughed, but she was triumphant because as he choked he swallowed some of the potion and that was all she needed for him to tell the truth.
“Sloane, what the hell is wrong with you?” He coughed, clutching his throat and bent over. He continued to cough as he rested his hands on his knees.
“Nothing the truth won’t fix.” She watched as realization dawned on his face. “What’s the matter, didn’t think we could make any potions let alone a truth potion? Well, I have news for you. We did and you’re about to tell us all about how you got Amy here possessed.”
“I did no such thing.” He clutched his throat again. Sheer agony contorted his features.
“Oh, yeah, we already knew about that. See we dispossessed her the night of your secret meeting. That’s not what I really want to know. I want to know about our mother.” Her eyes narrowed as she moved closer to her father. His eyes were wide as the fear was setting in. He turned to bolt toward the door. Erik was there in a second and threw him back.
“Oh no, you’re not leaving before you answer our questions,” Erik said.
“Son, you have to see that your sister’s gone mad. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt either of you.” His eyes were pleading as he looked up at Erik.
“Save it, I already don’t believe your pathetic attempt to save your life. You’ll already be charged with treason when this is over. Now, tell me, did you have anything to do with our mother’s death?” Erik’s eyes were cold as he watched his father clutch at his throat. He was trying hard to hold back the words. His mouth pressed together, his fists clenched and he dropped to his knees. Before long the potion would win out and Bryant would be forced to talk.
“Ah,” he cried out. “I had demons take her out.” He crumpled to the ground.
“Are you serious? You had our mother killed by demons!” Sloane clenched her hands into fists. She wanted to launch herself after him.
“So everything you said about hunting the men who were involved in her murder, all of that was bullshit?” Erik’s voice was hollow. He dropped to his knees, staring at his father as if he never knew him. Sloane felt crushed for her brother. She’d suspected him all along, but Erik still held out hope.
“I told you that so you’d keep helping me.” Bryant’s shoulders slumped realizing there was nothing he could do to fight the potion. Sloane watched as his hand slipped into his pocket. She narrowed his eyes and a second later, Bryant trust a knife into Erik’s stomach. His eyes went wide. They both gaped at their father. He flew himself back and went for the door. Sloane gripped his jacket and threw him back against the wall. She clutched his neck, her dagger pressed tightly against the tender flesh. When he swallowed, a rivulet of blood ran down his neck.
“Why? Why did you have demons kill her?” Sloane screamed, her eyes bore into his.
Bryant flinched as she pressed the knife deeper into his skin. “She wouldn’t tell me how to take away the Shikari’s powers. Not everyone deserved to have their powers. She didn’t see things like I did. She thought it wasn’t up to us to decide who deserved to have powers. She always believed in something greater than us,” he spat. “It was all bullshit. She was my wife, and she wouldn’t tell me of all people. She found out I had been working alongside other demons. I’m the one who figured out demons could possess Shikari to use them for their powers. I showed them how to organize, how to have a purpose beyond possessing people at random. You could say I birthed a whole new generation of demons. Before me, they were feckless wanderers. I gave them purpose. I gave them a new life. They were grateful to me, so they helped me. One thing they helped me with was your mother. She walked in on one of my meetings. She was getting too suspicious about my dealings outside our home. She had to be taken care of. I think she was teaching some of her knowledge to you a little early because of it. I also thought she may have had something to do with you leaving after her death. Did she warn you about me, about my beliefs?” Bryant’s eyes narrowed on Sloane. She let go of him, pushing away from him. The sight of him repulsed her. There was only one way this was ending.
Sloane reached for her gun. She didn’t think he deserved to go to trial for treason. He would find a way out of it. Holding her gun, the barrel pointed at his head, she flicked the safety off. He didn’t deserve an easy death, but at this point, she didn’t want to look into those soulless eyes again. It took a special kind of evil to betray those closest to you. Bryant was the lowest form of scum as far as she was concerned.
“Sloane, what are you doing?” Erik asked his voice shaky. He had managed to stand, his hand clutching his side. She could see blood running over his hand as he kept it pressed hard against the wound.
“I’m going to take care of our problem.” Sloane held the gun steady.
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” Erik said taking a step toward her.
“Come on, Erik. He killed our mother. He did this because he has some fucking God complex. We can’t chanc
e the elders letting him go or him getting away somehow. He needs to pay for what he’s done.” She chanced a glance at Erik before tightening her finger on the trigger. She would have no problem putting a bullet into her father’s head.
“I don’t think this is the answer. If you do this, you will have to live with it for the rest of your life. It’s not worth it.” Erik took a step toward Sloane.
“We can’t let him get away with it. He just fucking stabbed you for christ sakes. What else are you willing to forgive him for? He killed our mother. He just admitted it. What more do you need? Seriously, If you can’t handle it, feel free to look the other way. I am going to kill this bastard.” Sloane’s voice was sharp. She looked down again at Erik’s wound. She would kill him for both their sakes. Who knew what other damage he would do if he stayed alive?
“I don’t think we should do this.” Erik rested his hand on Sloane’s shoulder. She met his eyes and dropped her arm. Her eyes focused on her brothers. There was a sadness there. She hadn’t seen anything like that in his eyes before. He’d always had such hope. Even when the chips were stacked against them.
“Then who’s going to end it? You think the elders are going to take care of him? You think he’s not going to figure out how to get away with killing our mother. Be smart, Erik if we don’t do this. He’ll get away with it.” Sloane’s eyes snapped up. Bryant had gone for his own weapon. He aimed his gun at Amy. Sloane heard the hitch in her voice before the realization dawned on her. Bryant was going to hurt her, in whatever way he could. He was like a trapped mouse, he would do anything to try to get out of the trap. Including killing her friend.
Before he even had a chance to shoot, Sloane fired the gun. Her shot blasted through his shoulder. He gasped, his eyes going wide as he dropped the gun in his hand. Striding up to him, she held her gun against his temple. “Don’t you dare try to ever hurt anyone I love, ever again.” She pushed the barrel of the gun into his temple. He flinched away from the barrel.
Sloane glanced down at the blood dripping from his shoulder. Had she shot a little more to the left she would have hit his heart and taken care of their problem. Amy was shaking. Erik had gone to her after the shot. Erik’s arms were wrapped around her, and he was rubbing her arms trying to soothe her. “Sloane, we need to take him outside or at least tie him up until the other demons are taken care of.”
“I’ll take care of him. You take her out to Jessie and Ely, so she’s safe from all this.” Sloane swept the gun in an arch to indicate the fighting they could hear beyond the walls.
“Sloane, what do you mean, you’ll take care of him?” Erik’s eyes narrowed.
“Don’t worry about it, Erik. His punishment will be well-deserved.” Sloane narrowed her eyes at her father’s crumpled form. He had been inching away from her, holding his shoulder with one hand as he slid his body along the floor. It was his pathetic attempt at escape.
“Sloane, you can’t be the one to kill him. That will haunt you for the rest of your life. Let the elders deal with him. I don’t think he deserves to live after everything, but I also don’t want you to have to live with being responsible for his death, either. It could destroy you.” Erik’s voice was soft as he spoke. Sloane heard the words, but they didn’t hold the meaning they should have. Bryant had already destroyed her life when he had killed their mother. Although, death was too easy a punishment for him. She would justly give it to him. She felt no qualms about taking his life after everything he’d admitted to.
“Erik, you need to go, now.” Her eyes shifted slowly to his. She knew he could see her resolve. He nodded once and looked to Amy.
“Come on, we should go find the others.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and guided her out of the room. Sloane was left alone with her father.
Sloane turned her eyes back to him. He was sliding back away from her, one hand extended in front of him, the other clutching his shoulder. It was the most pathetic thing Sloane had ever seen. He’d taught her to stand tall, even when faced with death. A noble man does not fear death, but the life that goes unfulfilled. Sloane shook her head. All the teachings of her father had been a lie. He wasn’t the strong, dignified man he’d made himself out to be. He was a pathetic coward. He’d killed her mother out of fear. He lusted for power like a coward. A dignified person doesn’t have a will to power but recognizes it as a weakness in others. In that moment, she realized she was better than him. She would always be better than him.
Shaking her head she watched him plead with his eyes. Blood covered his hand as he inched away from her. His face paled as the red liquid oozed from his wound. “Sloane, you have to help me. I am your father. Your flesh and blood. Please, you can’t just leave me here bleeding to death.”
“Don’t worry, father. I have no intention of leaving you here, bleeding. I have full intentions of helping the process along. If you’re lucky, I might even speed it up.” The side of her mouth lifted slightly as she stared down at her wounded father. She didn’t marvel in death, but after everything he did, he deserved to die a slow painful one. She just wasn’t sure she had time to give him that. He was already losing blood. Sloane had to get back to the others. She needed to check on Mike. It was time to begin living her life without the burden of her father hanging over her head.
Bryant reached out for the chair to brace himself. His hand slipped as he tried to lift himself off the floor. Sloane watched as his pride slipped away with the blood. “Oh, dad, are you getting weak?” she cooed. Kneeling before him, she smiled wide.
“Sloane, please, you cannot do this to me. You don’t know everything. I can help you. There are things you need to know to save your friends,” he sputtered and blood hit the cream cushions of the chair marring the pristine fabric.
“Oh, yeah, what do I need to know?” she asked, cocking her head to look at him.
“The others, they will be possessed if you do not listen to me. You need to help me so we can save them. They have no chance of surviving without me.” His voice sputtered.
“Oh? You mean because you had a second wave of demons waiting to possess us here today?” She smirked as his eyes widened. “Yeah, we knew about them too. I think you forgot that Mom shared information with me. The information she refused to share with you. We made the potion to dispel demons before they take on a host. We got rid of every last one of them before we even arrived today. It was the reason we were so late.” Her eyes met his. “Do you have any other pathetic excuses for why I should spare your life?” she pulled out the clip to check the bullets. At this point, it was more for show. She had every intention of shooting her father in the head.
“How...how could you know all of it? I had planned everything so carefully.” Bryant squinted as he thought. “Ely must have betrayed me.” He coughed up blood and fell forward catching himself with his hand. He sputtered one last time before he slumped onto the floor, dead.
“What did you just say?” She dropped next to Bryant and rolled him onto his back. His eyes were open wide but vacant. “Shit, you’ve got to be kidding me.”
CHAPTER 24
Jessie
“Erik, tell me what’s going on in there!” Jessie shouted over her communication device. Mike had tracked the devices down before they left, and she was grateful. She would have a hard time staying in the van if she didn’t have some way to hear what was happening. Ely, Mike, and Erik all had one. Sloane refused because she said there was no way she was sticking that thing in her ear. Jessie didn’t get it because she had no problem wearing ear buds. Erik rolled his eyes at his sister and said “Fine, you’re sticking with us anyway.”
“Jess, I think you can’t hear him in the building,” Ely answered back.
“Well, can you tell me what’s happening on your end at least?” she asked. It would make her feel a little better to know that there wasn't a second wave of demons going after the man she loved.
“Yeah, we got most of them. A few ran off into the woods. A few of the other guys are
tracking them down now. I’ve been projecting ahead to startle them enough, so we can catch them. Fuckers are fast, though.” Ely sounded winded on the other end of the mic.
“Okay, any idea how long before you’ll get them all?” Jessie asked.
“I say ten, fifteen minutes tops. At least none of them took off toward the complex. We do have quite a few confused humans out here though. We’re going to have to call in some help to get them back to where they belong,” Ely cursed and disappeared again.
“Ely, what’s going on?” Jessie worried her lip as she waited for Ely’s response.
“Nothing, Jess, don’t worry so much. We got everything covered here.” His voice was breathy, and she knew he was lying to her. She wanted to go out and freeze them, but she was ordered to stay in the van. Ely was going to join her as soon as he had the others all wrapped up. She could give him the ten or fifteen minutes he’d asked for. Erik not answering her was what was really bothering her anyways. She knew they were going to be radio silent as soon as they encountered the demons but could they have met them already? They’d only just entered the building.
Jessie rubbed her hands down her pants. She had to admit, she wasn’t very good at staying on the sidelines while everyone else was in on the action. She figured the least she could do was help with the people who were feeling lost. They had used a memory wipe in Minneapolis that would help. Then the cleaners could come in and take them to whatever place they remembered last. Jessie knew she’d promised to stay in the van, but this was hardly putting herself in danger. None of them were demons anymore, right?
She hopped out and headed in the direction where Ely had gone after the others. She saw a man standing alone near the treeline. Ely said there were several people lost, was he one of them? Jessie got closer and wondered about the lonely man. Why would he be all alone out here?