27

One of his hands, larger than she had imagined them, grasped her wrists, and he dragged her across the lawn toward the house. Every time she tried to wrench away from him, his hand tightened, and he said, “Stop it, stop it.”

The porch was a splintery mess dotted with rancid empty liquor bottles, and the front hallway of the house was rickety and water stained. He dragged her across the floor and down a sagging staircase into the cold air of a basement.

The smell of mold was overpowering, making her cough and choke. Rooms lined the basement hallway, each numbered and secured with heavy padlocks on the outside. Faintly, behind everything, there was a steady drone of sobs and moans. Through the veil of hair falling in her face and the spots in her battered vision, Fiona looked through an open door and saw Bill, the big man who had stood next to Udo, kneeling in front of a filthy cot with Keller on it.

Keller sat with his arms and legs bound with duct tape, but even if his limbs had been free, Fiona could see that he wouldn’t have been able to do anything. Something was missing from her old friend—his will, his control. He was present, but barely. His eyes spun in his head and drool bubbled from the corner of his mouth as the man gripped his chin with one hand and thumbed pills into his mouth with the other.

Bill saw Calvin and stood, letting the half-conscious Keller tumble back to the cot. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I got this,” said Calvin.

“Does he know?” asked Bill, nodding at the ceiling.

“Don’t worry about him; he has to prepare for his big moment,” said Calvin. “I don’t want to bother him. It’ll be fine. Just keep dosing them all. He’ll be starting up any minute.”

Another door stood open, waiting for them. Cal dragged Fiona in there, tossing her onto the cold concrete floor with a thud. She did her best to get to her hands and knees, but before she could, Calvin kicked her squarely in the stomach. Pain and nausea stabbed her core, and she collapsed with a grunt. Part of her was hurt and confused by Calvin’s betrayal, but at the same time she wasn’t the least bit surprised. She’d always known who Calvin Hokes was behind the smile, it had just been convenient and heartwarming to think otherwise. Should’ve listened to her gut.

Lying on her side, her swimming vision finally evening out, she saw that they weren’t alone. Across the filthy cell, another boy knelt, hands and feet bound with duct tape and a canvas bag over his head.

Calvin turned and closed the door, and Fiona saw the mask hanging down his back, the smiling painted face of a clown. It was the same Halloween mask worn by the man who’d knocked her out.

“You…attacked me,” she coughed. “You broke into my house and drugged me.”

“Yeah, okay,” he said, turning back to her with a wild light in his eyes. “You’re right, I did, Fiona, but you know what, you were going to fuck this up for me. You’d done so well so far, keeping him distracted with your music practice. But then I overheard you talking to Filip Moss, and I knew, I knew you and that fucking shithead were going to get in the way and ruin this opportunity.” He inhaled, smiling triumphantly. “He’s down here, by the way. Filip, that fucking tattoo casualty. His plan was so obvious. They’re all down here. And just like you, they’re all screwed. It’s just gonna be a lot simpler for them than it is for you, let me tell you. Your boyfriend gets them. But I get you. And I’m not going to stop with a simple mind-wipe like he does.”

She tried to stand, but the pain in her jaw and the agony in her stomach just wouldn’t let her move properly. “Calvin, please, we’re not safe here—”

“Oh, I’m fine, Fiona,” he said. “The Pit Viper’s protecting me. He thinks I’m one of his people now, like Perry and that Vince kid. See, I’ve planned ahead. I’ve always planned ahead. That’s your problem, Fiona. That’s everyone’s problem.” Calvin shook as he tore off his hoodie and gloves. His teeth were chattering, but he kept smiling. “Our dads, they don’t run those mill rats out of town before it’s too late. Then they don’t think about hiring the Pit Viper before it’s too late, and then when he shows back up they don’t do anything until it’s too late.” He laughed. “My dad, Jesus, my dad. Do you know how easy it was to make sure he didn’t get involved and ruin all my plans? To send him charging after you like some asshole, with a tire iron in his hand? But he was like you. He was going to fuck everything up. So he had to go.”

Fiona felt sick to her stomach, not just from Calvin’s sharp kick but from the tone of his voice, the way his plan unfolded before her eyes. She wanted to scream and spit and cry out that she was right about him, she always had been. But she needed to get out of here first. “Calvin, just…just calm down. Please, just help me.”

“No, Fiona, no no no,” he said, shaking his head. “Again, you think I’m stupid like everyone else. I know. You’re not my friend. I’m nice to you, I do you favors over and over, but never once does it mean anything for me. Never. Once. You just want him, because he has power and he’s handsome and he’s obsessed with you in a weird way. But he’s an idiot, Fiona, with his book and his magic and his big plans for revenge on our dumb little town.” He came in close to Fiona, clawing his hands in her face like he was getting ready to scratch her eyes out. “See, that was my original plan, too. Get you, take over the town council from our dads, get the book, and be the ruling party in Hamm. Control everyone in the town with the music, get them to do what we wanted. And then I realized, that’s small potatoes, Fiona. You, our crummy town council? Forget that. I don’t have to settle for that. I don’t need to spend time meditating or tuning or building up strength, because I was born stronger than all of you. All I have to do is make things the way I want them. I took care of you; I took care of my dad. And once he’s gotten rid of all the kids from Hamm and brought me into his circle, I’ll take care of the Pit Viper. Then I’ll have his book, and I can go after this Udo guy, the one running things. Someday, I’ll take care of him.” He pulled PM’s gun from his waistband and cocked back the hammer with a deadly click. “But first, I have to take care of this.”

Calvin yanked the hood from the kneeling figure’s head. His twin brother, William, stared up at him, a gag in his mouth. Like Keller, he was incoherent, a human being without any control. He didn’t even react when Calvin took off his mask, only swayed on his knees, barely conscious.

“My brother, everyone,” said Calvin in a husky voice. He placed the barrel of the gun to William’s temple. “Give him a hand.”

The door blasted open, making Calvin whirl and Fiona jump.

Cal raised the pistol, but Peter wrenched it out of his hands in a single swift motion. He tossed the gun aside, grabbed Calvin by the face, and bashed his skull hard against the wall. Then he let him go, and Calvin slumped to the floor with a moan.

Fiona stared at Peter in awe. He was shirtless, and his tattoos seemed to float and swim over the lines of his muscles. In the crook of his one arm was the Canoris, held to his body the way a priest might clutch a Bible. But it was the glowing in Peter’s eyes, unblinking and more vibrant than any color she’d ever seen, that most shocked her. He’d never looked so powerful, so otherworldly and divine, as he did now. It was like the human was gone, and he was made of the music itself.

But then he looked down on Fiona, and the man resurfaced once more—the eyes were blue and human, the tattoos sweat-sheened, the book heavy in his grip. It brought Fiona back to the memories of him she’d held on to—the sound of his laugh, the warmth of his hands, the taste of his skin.

“You’re just in time,” he said softly and extended a hand to her. “Come on, Fiona. I’ve been waiting for you.”