There was no working power any more, so to get to the top floor of the hotel, Kade replaced the elevators with a pulley system. It looked like a metal cage designed to drop us into the deepest pit of Hell, but Kade assured us that the elevator cables pulling us up were secure.
I hated having to trust him on that.
During the slow, rickety ride, Kade explained that when new humans arrived, he took a look at them and decided what they would be best for. There were a lot of open spaces for work, though his theory was that if he ever started losing manpower, he’d make the people he had work even harder.
During the ride, Simon asked him what he did with people who didn’t want to be slaves, Kade chuckled and said, “Don’t worry, Slime. I have a special place in the basement for them. It’s the same place I put the people who want to be my assistants.”
Kade had a small town and a cult/army, but he worked alone. It made him look like even more of a god.
When he told me that two of the humans, Ricardo and Laurel, had already offered to work for sanctuary, I was disappointed but not surprised. Ricardo could do a lot with the engineers and mechanics. Laurel would be distracted by gardening. Staying under Josh’s command had brought them nothing but grief, though I couldn’t see them growing to love Kade when their muscles burned and their backs gave out.
But what the fuck did I know about the human mind? I had part of one, the memories of one, but that didn’t make me one of the mortal bipeds.
It seemed like forever before we reached the top floor, but the moment I stepped out of the metal cage and looked at the suite with four Vermilions standing in front of it, I was nervous.
Maddy would have a lot of questions. Josh would think I was Satan himself. How the fuck was I going to explain everything to them? Was there even a way for me to lie?
Fingers flicked my ear hard. I rubbed the side of my head and glared at Kade, wishing I could rip the smug look off his face.
“What’s wrong, Pest? Don’t you want to see your cute little pet?”
I shoved past him. Kade laughed and let me. I stormed toward the guards, all four of whom were holding crude spears made from golf club staffs with butcher knife tips. Two of them crossed their spears in an X over the suite doors, and the two on the far side by the walls pointed their spears at me.
“Get the fuck out of my way,” I told them.
“Our orders are not to let anyone into this suite,” one of the Vermilions said. The emptiness in his voice made me want to snap all of those spears and shove one half up their asses. I wasn’t picky about which half.
I crushed my nails into my palm. Kade laughed, then got out of my head. He stepped forward and put his hand on my shoulder.
“Relax, boys. I’ll look after him.” Kade jutted his chin at the doors. “Are they co-operating?”
“They haven’t caused any problems and aren’t shouting or breaking things anymore, but they refuse to join your gracious community,” answered another Vermilion.
Kade shrugged. “That’s okay.” He squeezed my healing shoulder, knowing it would hurt when he did it. “I’ve got someone to sweet-talk them.”
The guards relaxed and pulled their spears up. They weren’t going to question their glorious leader. The Vermilions closest to the door grabbed the handles and pushed the two halves open. I pushed Kade’s hand off me and ran inside.
And felt the cord of a lamp tighten around my throat.
The person holding the cord was strong, twisting the cord at the back to cut off my windpipe and pull me deeper into the room. Someone on the opposite side of the door moved, and Maddy finally came into view. She was holding a small side table by the legs and preparing to swing. She stopped when she recognized me.
She hesitated, like she wasn’t sure if she should stop Josh, or let him choke me to death.
I didn’t wait for her to make up her mind. I drove my elbow into Josh’s ribs. He grunted and I hit him again in the stomach. He stumbled back, losing grip on the cord. I pushed it over my head and coughed, twisting to face Josh again. I heard footsteps behind, followed by a yelp of pain.
I turned at the same time Josh shouted, “No!”
Kade was gripping Maddy’s wrists tightly, holding her back from smashing the table into my back. She tried to pull away, but Kade squeezed her wrists tighter. She grimaced and dropped the table.
“Let her go,” I told my brother.
Of course, he didn’t listen. He was too busy pushing fear into Maddy. I could see the red smoke lifting from his hands and sliding into hers. Maddy’s eyes widened, and the panic turning her breath into short, desperate rasps.
“Kade!”
Still holding Maddy, he gave me a bored look. “You do know she just tried to break a table over your head, right?”
“Yeah. I know. And I said to let her go.”
My brother blinked, then rolled his eyes. “You and your noble heart.”
Kade shoved Maddy away, hard. She stumbled, her back hitting the wall with a loud thunk. She stared at Kade, holding her wrists to her chest. The red marks left by his fingers would darken into bruises soon enough. I walked toward Maddy. She saw me coming and gasped.
“Don’t!” she shouted. I stopped. “Stay the fuck away from me!”
I froze in place, not sure why my chest ached to hear her shouting at me. Or maybe it wasn’t her words that hurt me, but the look in her eyes. Maddy was looking at me like I was a monster, a creature no better than Ciaran himself. She looked sickened by me. Scared, even.
I backed away, Josh nearly shoving me through the door when he rushed over to stand protectively beside her.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Josh snarled.
I was starting to ask myself that same question.
Kade snorted. “I figured it was obvious. Avery came to see you.”
Maddy glanced at me, flinched, then looked at Kade again. It stung to know that she would rather look at my savage older brother than at me.
“What the hell are you? Where did you take Laurel and Ricardo?!” she shouted.
Kade watched her with a big smile and predatory eyes.
“One thing at a time, sweetheart. I gave those two humans a choice, remember? They said yes. They’re working in my community as we speak. A mechanic and a gardener. You and Captain America said no.”
He took a step closer to Maddy. Simon was just starting to enter the room behind Kade.
“As for what we are? Rumor has it you already know. Ciaran gave the hints, and my little brother Avery filled in the blanks.”
Josh put his arms around Maddy, knowing it was a feeble attempt to protect her, but unable to think of anything else.
“Which one are you?” she whispered.
My brother grinned. “These days, I go by Kade.” He held up his hand, opening his palm. Fire erupted and danced over his fingertips. “But I think you can guess which one I am.”
Maddy flinched, clutching Josh’s shirt. He held her tighter. She looked past him at Simon. “You?”
Simon hesitated, like he didn’t want to answer. Then he bowed his head and muttered, “Famine.”
Maddy cringed, and then she turned her eyes on me. I forced myself to meet her denim blue gaze, though I wanted to look anywhere else. I watched the hurt of my lies and betrayal sink into her like a knife. She stared at me as though she couldn’t believe it, didn’t want to believe it. But then she remembered what happened in Ciaran’s basement, the things he’d said, and knew it was true.
“You… You’re… you’re the reason for all of this!” Maddy screamed. “How could you?!”
I could have told her it was my job, my destiny, but that would have only made things worse. I killed everything Maddy ever loved. She hated me now.
“You son of a bitch,” Josh hissed. “You fucking asshole. I knew something was wrong with you, but I never thought you could be something so terrible. What the fuck were you planning? Were you going to poison us in our sleep? Turn us into Plagued?”
“No,” I protested. “No, I was going to help you–”
“Help us?!” Josh uncurled his arms from Maddy and stepped in front of her. “How the fuck were you going to help us! You killed us! You killed everyone, and they helped you!” Josh pointed accusingly at my brothers. “Don’t you dare try and tell me you wanted to help us! Tell me what you really wanted!”
There was no way to win against him. I was giving Josh the truth, but now he knew I was responsible for creating the Plague, he saw me as Public Enemy Number One. It was pointless to defend myself.
“Following Avery was a mistake in the first place,” Kade stated from behind me. I wished I had the strength to punch the smug bastard. Too bad he was right. “He never had any direction. All he likes to do is butcher Plagued and Soulless. He’s a scrapper, not a warrior. I mean, he’s not as pathetic in a fight as Slime over there is,” Kade jerked his thumb at Simon, nearly stabbing in him in the eye, “but he’s not a leader.”
Kade put his hand on my shoulder and pushed me out of the way.
“But I am. This is my little refuge for humans that don’t want to be eaten or die. If you start playing nice, you can belong here.” He looked Maddy up and down. “I might give you the most pleasurable job, Goldilocks.”
Maddy crossed her arms over her chest, but it didn’t change Kade’s leer.
“Don’t even think about touching her,” Josh growled. “You’re not going to ruin any more lives.”
Kade’s laugh was harsh. “You think I took away their hopes and dreams? They came to me, jackass. I didn’t twist their arms very hard. In fact, they prefer this home to that shit haven you morons are looking for.”
Maddy perked up. “You know about it?”
Josh was a bit more cautious when he asked, “What can you tell us?"
“That everyone who goes there ends up coming here,” Kade replied without interest. “Maybe you should take it as a sign.”
“How do we know you they aren’t just looking for supplies and that you threaten them to keep them here?”
Kade looked at Maddy intensely. “Good point. I’ll consider doing that next time.”
She didn’t appreciate his honesty. “I want to talk to the other people here. I want to talk to my friends.”
He shook his head. “No dice, goldie. You don’t get to make choices like that under my roof. Besides, it’s not like they’re chatterboxes.”
“You don’t let your prisoners talk?” Josh accused.
“Oh, I let them talk,” Kade responded. “They’re just smart about what they say.” He tilted his head, looking smug. “Funny thing. Whenever I asked them about their stint in the desert, they clammed up. Something tells me it’s not the Holy Grail you’re looking for.”
Maddy tried to appear indifferent, but I saw the slump in her shoulders.
“We can check it out,” I blurted.
Simon and Kade looked at me. “Can we now?” Kade said.
“What harm is it going to do?” I asked. “Maybe the people out there need help.”
“Maybe,” parroted Kade, walking closer to me. “Or maybe there’s something else out there that you’re looking to nab. I assume you’re still pissed at Ciaran for spilling the beans, and you don’t want to blame yourself, right?”
Kade stopped in front of me, every inch of him bursting with confidence and power.
“What better way to do that than to go to this little haven, lie in wait, and strike when he arrives?”
“No!” Maddy shouted. “Don’t go near them!”
Kade glared. “You’re cute and all, Goldilocks. But if you don’t close your mouth right now, I’ll cut out your tongue. It’ll make your job for me a lot less exciting.”
She started to protest, but Josh was faster. “We’re not going to say yes to what you’re offering, and you don’t need the extra help. Let both of us leave. We’ll never tell anyone who you are, and you’ll never see us again.”
He made sure those last words were directed at me.
“Forgive me for not trusting a human,” Kade said snidely. “I know you meat-sacks couldn’t snuff me, but there’s a human expression about loose lips sinking ships. When I want a fight, I want to be the one to start it. So no, you and the tigress don’t get to go anywhere.”
Kade turned and looked at me. “You happy now? Can we go?”
No, I wasn’t happy. No, I didn’t want to leave. But what choice did I have? Staying here would anger Maddy and Josh further, and leave me feeling worse. I had to think of something else, a better way to prove that I wanted to keep them safe. For now, they were moderately safe in Kade’s hotel.
“Yeah,” I replied. “They won’t convert yet.”
Kade frowned. “Pity. We could use strengths like theirs. Most of my meat-sacks are tough as Jell-O and about as smart.”
My brother turned and walked out of the suite. Simon was right behind him. I followed, but stopped in the doorway. I turned and looked back. Josh was holding Maddy again. Her face was tight with anger and pain, tears sliding down her cheeks. My stomach condensed.
“I’m sorry,” I offered quietly. “I just–”
“Get out, Avery,” Josh whispered furiously. “Stay the hell away from us.”
Another time, I would have argued. I would have faced Josh down and let him know that nothing he said could bend me.
But seeing him standing there, a horrible expression of fear and rage on his face as he held a shell-shocked blonde girl, the girl I wanted to better myself for, I was subdued. The damage was done. Hate had been sown into the deepest pockets of their hearts.
I turned and left without another word,
wishing I hadn’t heard Maddy’s sob before the door closed.