Elyograg (Briarcliff Series, Book 1)

  “Check behind the door,” Moriah said and slid open another door. This one looked more like a closet than a room.

  Taking a breath, I stepped out of the light. The darkness seemed to engulf me, trying to swallow me alive. I jumped back into the light, chickening out. I had one foot out the door…just in case.

  “I think I see the switch.” Moriah walked over beside the stairs and flicked the switch. Nothing happened. “It doesn’t work.” She turned towards me. “I guess the power isn’t on yet. So you know what that means…” She lifted her brow.

  “Yeah, yeah,” I sighed. “It’s just more proof that I imagined the lights coming on.” I stepped closer to the door feeling very small and insignificant in this place. Over to my left, there was an old gilded, marble-topped table pushed up against the wall with an aged mirror hanging above it with the silvering almost gone. It made my reflection appear faded and distorted. A cloying musty smell hung in the room, making it hard to take a breath even with the door wide open. I grabbed hold of the door and swung it back and forth to get rid of the musty odor. Dead leaves kicked up and skittered across the floor, making an eerie dragging sound.

  “Hey, look at me!” Moriah called buoyantly from behind.

  I turned around and my mouth dropped open. Moriah was sitting on the back of a life size statue of a gargoyle, bouncing up and down. “You’re crazy,” I laughed.

  Moriah whooped loudly and swung her hand around in the air like she was riding a mechanical bull. She was only missing the cowboy hat and, well—the bull.

  I pulled out my phone to take a picture. Holding it up, I centered the screen on Moriah. The statue shuddered. I lowered my phone and looked again. Again I saw a freaky ripple—shudder under Moriah. It was faint…subtle and I might have missed it if I hadn’t been staring directly at it. But in that moment, I could swear the expression on the gargoyle changed. It looked suddenly irritated, which couldn’t be right. The light, what there was of it, must be playing tricks with my eyes. I would have blamed alcohol, but didn’t have any yet.

  It happened again, the faint ripple-shudder and Moriah’s body pitched sideways.

  “Moriah!” I leapt forward and grabbed hold of her before her head cracked open on the banister.

  “Wow, trippy,” Moriah laughed hysterically and slid off the back of the statue. Leaning forward, she ran her hands over the stone, and then patted it like it was a horse. “Thanks for the ride.” She pulled her shorty-shorts back down. “Come on. The boys are here,” she said. “We’ve got work to do.” She weaved slightly and walked towards the open door, completely oblivious.

  I stared at the statue, listening to cars pull up. I wasn’t real sure why I was even still standing here. A normal person would have already taken their ass straight out of the room and back to their car to get out of this place.

  Instead, I waited and watched, thinking that maybe I had been imagining things, but somehow, deep down, I knew I hadn’t been.

  “

  ECNARTNE

  The rusted wrought-iron gates swung open and slammed against the mortared-stone columns. The winged statues perched on top wobbled briefly. Barnaby shut his door and the car rumbled forward. Massive trees flanked the road and cast the car in an unnatural darkness. A high-pitched sound cut through the quiet as briars scratched against the sides of the car.

  “Damn!” Colton hit the steering wheel. “Did you hear that? I knew you should have taken your piece of shit car out here instead, but nooo, we had to take my car.”

  Barnaby rolled up his window to keep the briars at bay. “Sorry man, I didn’t know it was going to be this bad.”

  “This better be worth it,” Colton snapped.

  “Kingston says it will be epic.”

  Colton cut him a look of disbelief. “Yeah, it looks real promising,” he deadpanned and looked up. “Damn. What happened to the sun?”

  Barnaby peered up through the windshield. “I think the big-ass trees are blocking it.”

  Colton scrubbed his hands over his face. “This shit is worse than walking down Wall Street. The high-rises there make you feel like you’re living in Gotham City.”

  “Hey,” Barnaby said. “That’s where they filmed one of the Batman movies. That is Gotham,” he laughed and pulled a metal flask from his backpack.

  “Seriously?” Colton turned the wheel slightly.

  “Yeah, I’m serious.” Barnaby nodded and his dark curls bounced around his face.

  “Damn, I’m good.”

  “Yeah, you are.” Barnaby took the cap off the flask and handed it over to Colton.

  Colton took a swig and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Turn it up, dude.”

  Barnaby reached forward and turned up the stereo. The bass thudded loudly as they both sang out, “I wish there was another way out of here…”

  ‡

  In unison, they jumped down from the mortared columns onto the gravel as their naked bodies straightened slowly. Gasping for air, they struggled to force oxygen back into their slumbering hearts.

  Thump…thump…thump… blood pumped through their veins…feeding their heavily muscled limbs.

  The wind glided over their flesh and stirred the leaves above. Birds took flight. Catching the sound, they whipped their heads upward and stared sightlessly up at the sky.

  Chests heaving, they desperately fought to drag more air into their lungs. In and out, they breathed until the black glaze that coated their eyes finally faded away, giving them back their sight.

  They sprang forward.

  One moved swiftly after the car, weaving quickly between the trees. Briars ripped into his skin. The pain it caused, he ignored and reveled in it instead. At least he was feeling something now.

  The second one followed at a slower pace. He was more cautious. White puffs of air floated out from his breath.

  The one in the lead ran faster, tearing through the thicket, closing the distance between himself and the car at an unnatural speed. His agile body maneuvered around trees and vines, eating up the ground, barely making a sound. He caught up in moments, running just alongside the rumbling vehicle, his body hidden from view. Blood raced through his veins as he poised for attack…instead, he caught sight of his reflection in the glass. A sharp pain speared into his chest. He stopped abruptly, ending his pursuit. His hands shook, holding onto the sides of his head to stop the flow of memories from invading his mind.

  He leaned forward, shaking violently… feeling too much suddenly. It had been too long—he did not recognize himself any longer.

  A harsh laugh tore from his throat. It was bittersweet

  ERAWA

  Moriah slammed on the brakes and her little “eco-friendly” car fish-tailed to a skidding halt on the gravel in front of the rusted wrought-iron gates of Briarcliff Manor. Throwing her car into park, she climbed out.

  “Where are you going?” I peered out the window at the ominous looking weed-infested gate.

  Moriah turned back around and widened her eyes. “Ah, to open the gates—you know, the big ones, right in front of us.”

  “Excuse me,” I muttered, and turned up the volume on the stereo.

  “Evie,” Moriah shouted over the music.

  I ignored her.

  She reached in and shut off the stereo. “Evie?” she repeated, her voice lower this time.

  “What?” I crossed my arms, irritated.

  “Aren’t you going to help?” Moriah asked.

  “Not when you’re being a bitch.”

  “Oh, come on. I was only kidding. Lighten up.”

  “You lighten up,” I snapped back. I was still kind of pissed at Moriah for leaving me high and dry at the campus for so long. Granted it wasn’t really Moriah’s fault I was in such a crappy mood. No, that was Heather’s doing, as usual. Taking a breath, I opened the door and climbed out. The gravel crunched under my shoes as I made my way to the gate.

  “Dammit!” Moriah raked her hand through her hair. “I for
got the key.”

  “Where’s it at?” I hoped it was back at home so we could leave.

  “Hang tight,” she said. Her long blonde hair swung outward as she whirled around to head back to the car.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I’ll be right back.”

  Shivering, I wrapped my arms around my stomach as a steady stream of air pushed against me, like it was telling me to leave. My eyes slowly drifted over to the ancient iron gates. Vines and briars, twisted through each section and tall mortared columns flanked the sides. The overgrowth continued upwards, cresting the bottoms of two winged statues mounted on the top of each.

  I swallowed hard.

  “What are those?” A creeped-out feeling spread over me as I pointed up at the grotesque statues.

  Walking back from the car, Moriah glanced up. “Our dates if you don’t get your butt moving.” Lifting the lock, she inserted the key. The heavy chains swung down with a loud clanking noise as they hit the iron. Grabbing the gate, Moriah pushed one side open.

  I tried to push my side of the gate but it didn’t move. “It’s stuck.”

  “Put your butt into it.”

  “Yours is bigger,” I muttered and pushed up against it. The gate squeaked loudly as it slowly opened.

  “Wait here and shut the gate once I pull through.” Moriah brushed off her hands.

  “Why?”

  “Because we don’t want it to look like anyone is here yet,” Moriah said a little snippily. “That’s why.”

  “I thought Kingston rented this place,” I snipped back. I was starting to have a really bad feeling about this.

  “He did. It’s just better this way, okay.”

  “Whatever.”

  Moriah climbed back into her car and pulled through the gate.

  “Should I lock it?”

  “Nah, we just want it to look like no one is here.” Moriah rolled up her window.

  Prickles rose on my skin. I had the strangest feeling that someone was watching me. Instinctively, I looked up at the winged statue closest to me. The dark eyes, black as onyx, stared down at me. Weren’t they shut a moment ago? I was losing it. Not enough sleep, maybe…right. I didn’t believe that anymore than I believed Moriah’s lame excuse for closing the gates. It didn’t matter what it was because either way, I was getting a bad feeling about being here.

  “Evie, what’s the matter?” Moriah walked up.

  “Can’t you feel it?” I whispered, feeling like I needed to keep my voice low in case someone was listening.

  “What?” Moriah looked over her shoulder.

  “We’re being watched.”

  “You’re crazy.”

  “Why are we here again?” I shivered.

  “For the party,” Moriah said and widened her eyes. “Remember?” She pulled a bottle out of her bag and took a sip.

  “Yeah, I remember, but you still haven’t told me why we have to be here so early. And how did you manage to have it here of all places? And why do we have to leave the car?” I asked, my breath running out.

  “Damn, Evie,” Moriah exhaled. “Did you suck on a laxative or something?”

  “What?”

  “Get it?” Moriah hit my arm. “Diarrhea of the mouth”

  “Oh yeah, I got it. You’re freaking hilarious.” I made a face.

  “Sorry, Evie,” Moriah sighed. “The road is covered in briars and I don’t want to mess up my paint job.”

  “Why didn’t I drive then?”

  “Cuz your car is a piece of crap and it smells.”

  “Hey, it is not my fault a cat peed in my car.” A surge of irritation shot through me.

  “Ah, maybe you shouldn’t have left your window open.”

  “You broke my window, remember?”

  “Right…” Moriah made a face. “I kind of forgot about that.” She laughed and made a snorting sound. “Oops, my bag!”

  “It’s bad. Not bag,” I corrected her.

  “Who cares?”

  “How are we going to get our stuff up to the place?”

  “I guess one of the guys will get them.” Moriah screwed the cap back on her bottle and shoved it back into her bag.

  Perfect. That meant one of Moriah’s followers would get her bags but not mine. “Peachy.” I walked over to the car. Reaching inside, I grabbed out my monster tote and pulled it over my shoulder.

  Moriah turned around and walked backwards. “Don’t look so irritated, Evie. It’s going to be epic,” she promised, and turned back around. Her long hair swished back and forth as she happily walked up the drive.

  “Right…epic...” I kept hearing that word, but I wasn’t so sure it meant the same thing to me as it did to Moriah.

  ETABED

  Barnaby poured another bottle of Everclear into the giant igloo cooler. “Tell me again, why we are leaving so early for this thing?”

  Colton walked around the room and grabbed his duffle bag off the floor. “Cuz I got me a cherry to pop tonight, that’s why.”

  “Whose?” Barnaby asked, not really paying too much attention. Colton always said shit like that.

  “That Edie chick,” said Colton.

  “Edie?” asked Barnaby. He set the empty bottle on the table.

  “You know,” Colton said. “The one that’s always following Moriah around like a dog.”

  Barnaby frowned. “If she’s a dog, why do you want to do her?”

  “I didn’t say she was a dog.” Colton picked up a shirt off his floor and sniffed it. “I said she followed Moriah around like one.” He stuffed the shirt in his bag.

  “Who?”

  “Damn man,” Colton snapped. “Are you deaf? Maybe you need to stop sampling your own concoctions so much.”

  “I’m not deaf,” Barnaby snapped back. “You keep saying Edie. Do you mean Evie, the cute one with the wicked green eyes?”

  Colton shrugged. “I guess,” he said. “I couldn’t tell you what color her damn eyes are.”

  Barnaby shook his head and dumped a bag of cut up pineapple into the cooler. “If you could care less about the color of her eyes, why are you in such a hurry to do her?”

  “Cuz she’s a virgin man, and I want another notch on my belt. Why else?” Colton gave him a look like he was stupid.

  Gee asshole, maybe because you actually liked her. “Dude, you are such a dick. She’s a pretty nice girl. Why do you want to mess with her?”

  “Cuz I can,” Colton boasted. “And who am I to deprive her of a piece of this?” He extended his arm down the length of his body.

  Barnaby rolled his eyes…right. He walked over to the counter and grabbed another bottle. “How do you know she wants to do you?”

  “I told you,” Colton sighed. “Moriah told me. Besides, it’s not as if I didn’t already know. I swear man, her mouth falls open and she starts to salivate as soon as she sees my ass coming across the room. Normally, I would have already sealed the deal, but I thought she was in love with Moriah.”

  “Why do you say that?” Barnaby twisted off the lid of the bottle.

  “Cuz she always follows her everywhere.” He picked a sock off the floor and looked at the bottom. Satisfied it was clean enough, he shoved it in his bag. “Hey,” he said. “Maybe she’s bi. Now that would be sweet if I could get Moriah to join in, too.”

  “Right…” Barnaby laughed. “Keep dreaming man. Moriah wouldn’t touch you if you had someone else’s dick. Besides, they’re friends and Evie’s pretty cool. She’s funny too. And all that long, brown hair, she’s got it going on. Did you check out her latest indie compilation? She’s got a good ear man.”

  “What the hell?” Colton gaped at him. “You her pal now?”

  “Pal?” Barnaby frowned.

  “Her personal ass-licker,” Colton snickered. “Get it?” He laughed harder.

  “Up yours man.” Barnaby flipped him off. “I was just sayin’.”

  “Yeah, I see your lips moving but I don’t hear nothin??
? but bullshit coming outta your mouth.”

  Barnaby shook his head.

  “What’s the matter?” Colton poked. “You her champion now? Her personal cheerleader? Where’s your skirt, barn boy?”

  “Screw you, man.”

  “Take a ticket and stand in line. Apparently, I have a few waiting to do me before you.” Colton laughed and shoved another spare t-shirt into his bag.

  “Whatever man,” Barnaby exhaled. He lifted a syringe and injected another cherry. “Any idea how long this thing is going to last?” He dropped the cherry into the cooler.

  “A couple of days, maybe,” he said as he lifted his bag on his shoulder.

  “A couple of days,” Barnaby repeated. Shit! He didn’t have enough alcohol to last that long. He would need to stop by the liquor store to pick some up on the way. “What bands are showing?”

  “I’m not sure. That’s Moriah’s thing.”

  “How is she getting them there?” Barnaby tried to calculate how much alcohol he would need to buy.

  Colton gaped at him. “Dude, have you looked at Moriah? All she has to do is walk towards you and everything on your body gets hard in a matter of seconds. And that’s even before she opens her mouth.” He shook his head. “Speaking of her mouth…Kingston says she gives wicked head, too. Hmm mmm, all that going on and mad skillz in the bedroom too… Damn!” He reached down and adjusted himself. He was getting hard just thinking about her.

  “Well, you’ll never know. She and Kingston are like Siamese fucking twins.” Barnaby chuckled. “Good luck with that.”

  “Puhleeze,” Colton scoffed. “I don’t need luck. Once her little friend Edie tells her of my mad skillz, Moriah will be standing in my line, too.”

  “Yeah right…” Barnaby scoffed. “Keep dreaming man.”

  “I don’t need dreams, dude. I make mine a reality. You could too...if you looked like this.” Colton gestured to his six–pack and then pulled his shirt over his head.

  “Yeah right.” Conceited fuck. The worst thing was that on some level Barnaby knew he was right and that irked the shit out of him. Why anyone would want to sleep with that asshole was beyond him. Frustrated, Barnaby picked up another cherry and injected it. He shook his head. Poor Evie. He’d laugh his ass off if she told Colton to go fuck himself.