A chorus of shots broke the silence, and after the ringing in my ears died down, I heard a dozen different screams.
Caleb cursed. “I have to go.” He backed up and pointed to me. “We’ll finish this later.”
“Wait—”
“Later, I promise.”
Caleb turned on his heel and took off.
“Thanks for letting me out of here,” I muttered. Not that I should expect anything else. I’d done exactly the same thing only a couple days ago.
I pushed myself to my feet and wrapped my hands around the iron bars of my cell. I listened to the sounds of people dying. Whatever was out there was bound to find me eventually. I had no doubt this had to do with me. So I wasn’t surprised when I heard the slow footfalls headed towards my prison.
I was surprised when I saw my sassy friend saunter up to the bars that separated us. He stared into my cell, a little moue of disappointment on his lips. “Fate’s really sucker-punched you in the tits this time, Jailbait.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Hello to you too.”
Oliver held up a key, jingling it. “Lookie what I got. Just say it, I’m the best.”
I exhaled, a smile curving my lips. “You are without a doubt the best.”
In under a minute he had the cell opened, and I stepped out. As soon as I crossed the threshold, my power roared back to me. I sighed as my headache vanished and my injuries healed themselves.
I rolled my shoulders back.
Oliver gave me a gentle push. “C’mon, Corpse Bride, there’s so much to do and so little time.”
“What’s going on?” I asked, following him.
He laughed, and it sounded so nefarious. “You’re not the only one who can wreak havoc on the Politia. Your honey bee is de-stroying Castle Rushen and everyone inside. We need to move it. Dude has a track record of ruining castles.”
His words were punctuated by a tremor that passed under us. The lights flickered out.
“Well shit. Can you see, Corpse Bride?”
“You really need to stop calling me that,” I muttered, grabbing his hand and leading him out of the prison block, the walls shuddering around us.
Déjà vu hit me as we made our way down the back halls of the Politia’s headquarters. I’d done this only nights ago, and only nights ago it had been Bedlam here as well. When we hit the crossroads, I looked down the halls. To the right was my exit out of here. Straight ahead took me to the training rooms, and to the left … that would eventually lead back to the main entrance of the castle.
I desperately wanted to go left.
Plaster began to fall from the ceiling.
“Son of a demon,” Oliver cursed.
Son of a demon indeed. I had to get Oliver out before this place imploded … just as he said it would.
Andre really did have a bad habit of destroying buildings.
Chapter 19
Gabrielle
As soon as we burst out of the castle, I turned to Oliver. “Stay here.”
“What? But that’s no fun—”
I left him mid-sentence, darting around the castle and back to the front. Officers had surrounded the building, their weapons trained on the main entrance.
That awkward moment when someone’s inside your headquarters and you’re guarding against them coming out. Bet the Politia was forcing down a significant serving of humble pie right now.
When the officers saw me, they began shouting, and some of them turned their weapons on me. I lifted a hand, and with a flick of my wrist, wrenched their guns from their grips. Another flick of my wrist and the guns crumpled in on themselves.
Oh, I really liked doing that.
I felt the now familiar rage searing my veins.
Kill them all.
Kill. Them. All.
No. No. I fisted my hands and pinched my eyes shut.
Chill, Gabrielle. You are not a psycho. Correction: you are not a violent psycho.
I slowed to a saunter, then deliberately gave the officers my back as I headed inside, where the screams were coming from.
It was just as bad as I’d assumed it would be. Somehow, nearly every officer that wasn’t outside was in that main room. Including Caleb.
The halls that branched to either side of the entrance had been barricaded with tables and chairs, preventing the officers from escaping.
And in the midst of all of this was Andre, his hair rippling. The air crackled with power. Two gigantic sheathed swords crisscrossed his back. He hadn’t used them—yet. Still, that hadn’t stopped him from wreaking havoc on the place.
Some officers lay sprawled in front of him, moaning. The smell of blood was ripe in the air, and each of these officers laid in a growing pool of it. The sight and smell excited the predator in me.
A closer look told me that all their injuries were non-lethal. A bullet to the arm, another with a hole through her calf. All gunshot wounds.
The remaining officers—including Caleb—clustered at the back of the room, facing my soulmate down. I was surprised to find that I cared Caleb was unhurt. Not that he wouldn’t be, and soon.
Guns pointed at their owners. And right when I walked in, they all cocked themselves.
“Come any closer and I will shoot them,” Andre threatened.