The last time Charlie and I were together, she was the one who took the lead. She showed me where she wanted to be kissed, how she wanted to be touched. But the thought of leaving Charlie, of knowing I may never make it back, makes me crave control.
I push my body against Charlie’s until she’s forced to walk backward. She releases a cry of surprise when her back hits the wall. I silence her with a kiss that borders on forceful. I listen for any sound that tells me she doesn’t want it this way, but there’s nothing to be heard.
My hands find her wrists. I pin them over her head and slide my other hand lower. Leaning forward, I kiss her neck. Then I bite the delicate skin there, soft at first, then much harder. Beneath my lips, I feel her throat vibrate with a small whimper.
“Tell me you want me,” I say, my voice deep with lust.
Charlie is quick to respond. “I want you.”
I spin her around so that her stomach pushes against the wall. My hand releases her wrists, and she reaches back to grab onto my thighs. I press against her harder, my hips connecting with her soft frame. My body swallows hers so easily.
“Take off your shirt,” I command.
I give her only a few seconds before I make my next request. “Your jeans.”
She does as I ask, her breath coming faster.
When she’s stepped out of her jeans, she tries to turn and face me, but I keep her pinned there, my abs pressed against her back. My hands twitch, waiting to be released, and when I can’t stand it another moment, I give them what they want. My fingers slide across every surface of her body until we’re both aching to be together.
I step away and wrap my arm around her upper waist. My other arm circles beneath her legs, and I’m carrying her to the bed.
My lips never stray from her skin.
…
When I wake in the middle of the night, my chest is damp with sweat. I’d been dreaming about hell, about a blade biting into the flesh on my left arm and the clicking of demon nails. And about the devil’s favorite torture devices, most of which include ice.
The bed creaks as I roll over, my arm searching blindly for Charlie.
But she isn’t there.
My pulse picks up immediately. And by the time I’ve stepped into a pair of shorts the Quiet Ones gave me, my heart is pounding in my ears.
Something is wrong.
As soon as I know the answer—Annabelle—I’m rushing from the bedroom. I don’t bother banging on Blue’s door, I just throw it open. He bolts upright, eyes round with surprise. “Charlie is gone,” I tell him. “I think something’s wrong.”
He answers the way anyone would after being awakened. “Whaa?”
“Get out of bed!” I back out of his room and find Aspen staring at me. “How can I help?” she asks.
That simple question provides such clarity that I could weep. Aspen is strong. She is fearless.
She is destined to help me steal back Charlie’s soul.
“Go find Valery and Max,” I order. “And Kraven. Tell them Charlie’s not in her room and that Blue and I are looking for her.” My hand sweeps through my mussed hair. “And tell them we haven’t seen Annabelle since before dinner.”
Aspen races from the room. I’m not sure how she’ll find two liberators and one collector in this honeycomb of a house, but I trust her.
Blue appears after Aspen is gone. “You shouldn’t involve Aspen,” he growls.
I ignore his comment because now isn’t the time. “You take a right down the hallway. If you don’t find Charlie or Annabelle, meet me at the front of the house. The place with the three sets of doors.”
We weave through the lounge and spill into the hallway. I’m about to turn left when Blue says, “They’re probably just in the kitchen getting something to eat.”
I can tell he doesn’t believe that, so I just keep walking.
After twenty minutes of searching, there’s no sign of the girls. I tell every staff member I see to bring Charlie and Annabelle to the entrance if they see them, but when I get there, I only see Blue. The way his face contorts tells me he hasn’t had any luck. I nod toward the first set of doors, and together, we start trying different ones. The doors aren’t locked from the inside, which seems like a gross security fail, but I decide Kraven must have his reasons.
I have no idea how Valery memorizes the order when the doors are always being repainted. For a moment, I consider trying to find the hidden door at the back of the mansion, the one Kraven took me through yesterday morning. But I decide if Charlie and Annabelle went outside for whatever idiotic reason, they would have gone this way.
After more than two dozen unsuccessful attempts, Blue and I finally land outside. The moon is full overhead, casting enough light so that I can easily see. As we spread out, our shoes crunching over patches of snow, my heart climbs into my throat. I start thinking about the sirens, about why they’ve been stalking out here in the cold instead of trying to break in. Are they waiting for the collectors to recruit more of them? And why aren’t the liberators doing anything besides training? I hate that we’re practicing defense when we should be all offense.
Then I think of something else, something that makes my breath catch.
Maybe the sirens are waiting for Charlie to come to them. Wouldn’t that be easier? It’s not like she’d stay inside the Hive forever. Sooner or later, she’d go outside—to take a walk, to see the ocean up close.
To find a missing friend.
Before I know what I’m doing, my legs are pumping beneath me. I abandon trying to be quiet and call out her name. “Charlie! Charlie, are you out here?”
Blue follows my lead, and why wouldn’t he? He doesn’t know about the sirens on the cliffside. He knows it’s safe inside the Hive, and that the outside is uncertain, but he doesn’t know how many of the collector’s soldiers cling to the rocks above the sea.
“Annabelle?” Blue hollers. “Charlie?”
A scream rips through the muggy night air.
Blue and I look at each other for one brief moment. Then we’re running. My arms whip up and back, and I sprint like I’m competing in the hundred-yard dash, like every hundredth of a second means the difference between success and failure.
Blue and I round the house, and I see a shape spread out along the ground. As I get closer, I make out short dark hair splayed over pale skin. Annabelle. She’s still so far away. It’ll take time to get to her. Too much time.
I see someone standing near Annabelle’s still body. Their arms are open wide, and they’re walking fast toward Anna.
“Stop!” I shout. “If you touch her, I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you.”
By some miracle, the person stops moving. I run faster. Faster. Blue is at my heels. We’re only a few feet away when I see who’s walking toward Annabelle.
It’s Charlie.
Her hands are covered in something dark and wet. She drops to her knees.
As Blue rushes to Annabelle’s still form, I race toward Charlie. I reach out to touch her, but she stops me with a stare. Her eyes are wild and ferocious, and I’m not sure what she’ll do if I get any closer.
She raises her palms to the sky like she’s making an offering. She looks like an angel.
An angel painted in blood.
The blood is everywhere. It drips from her fingers. It covers her chest. It’s in her hair. Along her neck. There’s even a splatter of dark-colored dots peppering her left ear.
I don’t care where the blood came from. The Quiet Ones will fix it. They’ll make Charlie better. And they’ll make Annabelle wake up.
My arms snake around Charlie, and she stares at me like she’s not sure who I am.
I guide her toward Annabelle. Blue has to get her. He’s got to help Annabelle, and we have to get both of them inside. Now.
Blue turns toward me, but I can’t see the expression on his face. If he looks grief-stricken, I will hit him. Annabelle has to be okay. She has to. Blue wraps himself around Annabelle and starts
to stand. I hear Anna groan, and I’m so relieved, I think my knees may buckle. But they can’t. I have to be strong. Strong enough for me and Charlie both.
I follow behind Blue as he walks Annabelle back toward the front of the house.
My heart hammers in my chest, and all I think is, Get inside—get inside—get inside.
The four of us have only made it ten feet when I hear Charlie mutter something.
I try to ignore it. I can only focus on one thing right now, and that’s getting us out of here before the sirens climb up from their grave.
Charlie speaks again, and this time I hear her. I hear her, but I don’t want to.
She repeats herself over and over. I try to shush her, but when I do, she raises her voice.
“I killed him,” she says. “He’s dead, and I did it.”
Blue doesn’t take another step even though I’m telling him to hurry the hell up.
“It was a siren, I think. It must have been.” Charlie holds her hands out again. “I didn’t think it would kill him.”
“What?” Blue asks, his arms still holding Annabelle upright. “What killed him?”
Charlie smiles. I know it’s a nervous gesture, but it sends a chill up my spine all the same. “He was crouched in front of Annabelle. He wouldn’t get away from her. He was going to hurt my best friend.” She shakes her head. “I wasn’t going to let that happen.”
“Blue, move!” I yell.
He remembers we’re outside and turns back to his burden. For every two strong steps he takes, Annabelle takes one labored one. He’s all but dragging her behind him, and that’s fine as long as it gets her closer to safety.
Charlie keeps talking beside me. “It’s like he was waiting for me,” she says, her voice devoid of emotion. “So I let him come. I ran away from Annabelle so he’d chase me and get away from her. And then I turned and faced him.” Charlie puts a hand to her chest like she’s feeling for something that isn’t there. When she pulls her palm away, there’s a bloody handprint left behind. “I stabbed the horn directly into his eye. And his eye…it just burst. So then I tried to stab him in the other eye. But I missed and got his throat. After that, I just kept going at his face until he stopped—”
“You did what you had to do,” I say, cutting her off. My arm grips her waist so hard I know it must inflict pain. But I can’t loosen my grasp. I may never take my hands off her again.
“Do you hear that?” Charlie asks. She sounds like a child, like she’s asking about ice cream instead of demons buried by the dark.
I spin around and see what she heard—the shadow of a man creeping slowly toward us.
“Blue,” I say, instilling as much calm into my voice as I can. “I want you to take Charlie and get the two of them inside.”
His gaze meets mine. He opens his mouth like he’s going to say something, but I already know.
“We’re cool,” I tell him. “We’re always cool. Now go.”
When I crane my head back around, I find that the siren is now racing forward. I fill my lungs and then start running in his direction, too. It’s just one siren, just one, and behind me is my world.
We’re only a few feet apart when I realize his eyes aren’t on me. They’re set on the people fleeing toward the house. He snarls, and his shoes pound the earth. He’s so close now. Close enough that I reach out to grab him. But I miss. I made a mistake. I misjudged how fast he was going, and now he’s past me and crashing toward Charlie like a bolt of lightning.
“Blue!” It’s the only word I can get out.
Blue jumps into action. He lets go of Annabelle and leaps in front of Charlie. His arms spread out behind him, pushing her back.
But the siren speeds past Blue and Charlie both.
I suddenly understand who he is headed for, who he was always headed for.
And now it’s too late.
34
My Reason
The siren—not much older than me—takes Annabelle’s head in his hands. His voice comes out rough, like the sound a truck makes driving over pebbles. “I’m going to snap her neck. And you’re going to watch.”
Charlie comes alive in an instant. The blood is forgotten. The body she left behind—gone. Now there’s only Annabelle. She shoves Blue from behind, and he’s so startled, he tumbles to the ground. “I know what you want,” she says, her head held up high. “I’ll go with you.”
The siren smiles, and the sight raises goose bumps across my skin.
“Charlie, don’t move,” I say, slinking toward her. “Don’t take another step.”
But she’s not listening. She wants this. She’s waited for a moment when she could protect those she cares about instead of the other way around. And now she won’t be denied. Charlie moves closer, and the siren’s grin widens.
“Rector is going to be so pleased,” he says, licking his lips.
My pulse pounds at my temples at the name. Rector. The head collector. The same collector who got too close to my mom, who forced Charlie to forfeit her soul, who accidentally killed Blue.
“Get back,” Annabelle mumbles to Charlie, barely conscious. It’s the first time I’ve heard her speak, and her words, the life in them, fill me with courage.
I’m almost to Charlie when the siren says, “You’re all Rector wants, so I guess it doesn’t matter what I do with this one.”
He means Annabelle.
He’s going to kill Annabelle even though Charlie is within his reach.
But in a flash, the siren is airborne.
He’s flying through the air, and Kraven is standing in front of Annabelle like a wild dog. His wings spread out, and he roars with unbridled fury. He turns once and takes Annabelle’s face in his hands. His eyes search hers.
Then he’s soaring toward the siren, his wings brightening the night sky.
The siren screams so loudly, my ears ring. I don’t know what Kraven is doing to him, and I don’t care. There’s a quick snapping sound, and the screams stop. Seconds later, Kraven is touching down in front of Annabelle. He glances around, searching for any other source of danger, but there’s nothing to see.
Except for the blood covering Charlie’s body.
Annabelle’s knees buckle, and Kraven sweeps her into his arms. He leans his head down and presses his cheek against hers. And then, as if he remembers we’re watching, he pulls away.
Valery, Max, and Aspen come rushing around the corner of the Hive. Max gets to us first. “Is everyone all right?” He sees Charlie. “Holy crap.”
I seek out Aspen and find she’s staring at me. She nods. “We can’t wait any longer,” I tell Kraven, my gaze still on Aspen. “So if you have any secrets to share, now’s the time.”
Kraven moves toward Blue and passes Annabelle into his arms. Then he grabs my shoulders and jerks my chest against his. “I’m going to take her.”
“Dude, back off.” My muscles clench. “What are you doing?”
Kraven holds me in place. “Have you not liberated a soul recently? You can’t take it with you down there. Now hurry up; more sirens will be here any moment.” He glances around like he can’t believe they aren’t here already, like this may be some sort of trap.
A wave of understanding washes over me. Grams. Kraven wants me to give him her soul so he can turn it in to Big Guy. Makes sense. The fact that I’d forgotten this detail makes my face burn. I close my eyes and try to pass the soul into him, but I can’t.
“Stop trying to give it to me,” he barks. “I have to take it from you. That’s the only way it works.”
How am I supposed to know this crap? I was never taught how to steal souls, though that didn’t stop Rector from figuring it out. I quit trying to do anything, and when I do, I feel a slight tickle along my chest. I’m not sure if that means anything. When Rector took Charlie’s soul from me, I didn’t sense much of anything. If I had, maybe I would have known what had occurred. “Did it happen? Do you have it?”
“What’s going on?” Charlie asks fro
m beside me. She’s still dazed but seems to be doing better. She and everyone else are staring at Kraven’s wings. Even the people who’d already seen them once before are speechless.
Kraven doesn’t answer either of us. He just darts toward Blue and takes Annabelle back. Guess I’ll take that as a yes, I took her soul. “Go now, Dante. Quickly. I have to get them inside.”
“He can’t go now,” Valery says. “He promised you three more days. Doesn’t he need that to learn—?”
“Red, this can’t wait,” I say. “You know it can’t.”
“What is everyone talking about?” Blue says. “And why are we doing it out here?”
“Max, will you lead us?” I say.
“No!” Valery barks. “You don’t need him.”
Max steps to my side. “Of course, man. If you insist on being an idiot, I won’t let you do it alone.”
“He can’t go back there,” Valery insists. She’s talking to me but grabbing onto Max’s shirt. Tears fill her eyes, and her cheeks bloom red.
“Blue, take Charlie inside right now,” Kraven demands. Though Blue’s face is filled with confusion, he does what Kraven asks. At first Charlie holds tight to my waist, shaking her head no. But as Blue begins to pull her away and I begin to push, she starts shouting. I know Charlie doesn’t know exactly what’s happening. But she knows enough. She knows I’m going somewhere and that it can’t be some place good.
“No, no!” she cries. “You can’t go. Not after what happened. Not after what I did.”
“Charlie, it’s okay.” A lump forms in my throat. “They’ll watch after you.”
“But where are you going?”
I glance over my shoulder at the cliff and the ocean beyond it. Blue’s right, we can’t stay out here much longer, but I’m afraid if I go back inside, I’ll never leave. “Charlie, you have to trust me. Go back inside the Hive before the other sirens—”
“I won’t go until you tell me where you’re going,” she snarls. Charlie is slowly becoming hysterical. Blood drips from her shirt onto the ground, and her eyes are wide with fear. “Tell me. Tell me!”