CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN
Chaz:
Clouds covered the sky, turned all the bright, hard edges into something shadowy, something obscure. I felt lost. In one moment my reason and my command of the approaching situation dissolved. Like sand castles worn away by one swift wave. Angelique retreated into a narrow crevice between the tombs, she knelt, her back to me.
Despair raged in my heart, stronger than any emotion I had ever known.
Isabellea€?s face appeared before me, transposed on the darkening sky, like a transparent piece of film: full of color and expression, yet distant. She might not come back to me, for all my plans. She might always appear this way, a memory, beautiful and fragile.
Oh, God, this ache was more than I could bear.
Then I heard the rumbling growl of a car, wide tires ripping gravel, saw steel and aluminum sparking in the dull light. It stopped in front of the gates, some hybrid monster that bridged the gap between a Hummer and an oversized SUV. A door breezed open and he stepped out.
The man I never wanted to see again. Not alive anyway.
Dressed in gutter-punk black, his muscles rippled through his clothes, like his body had a life of its own. His bald head was covered with metal studs, his lizard eyes hidden behind mirrored sunglasses. A lazy grin snaked up his left cheek, carved a dimple.
The door closed behind him and I wondered, was Isabelle inside? Was she safe?
The wrought-iron gate creaked as he pushed it open.
a€?Takes off yur jacket and shirt, Domingue. Throws a€?em on the ground.a€? He stopped about ten feet away from me. a€?And empties yur pockets. Slow and easy, now. Dona€?t be tossina€? no liquid light, neither.a€?
I kept my eyes on him as I pulled off my jacket. I was unbuttoning my shirt when I saw a movement, faster than anything I could have reacted to. One of his hands lifted something.
a€?Chaz!a€? Angelique cried out, but we both knew it was too late.
The sting of a dart. A tufted yellow feather blowing in the wind. I yanked it out of my arm, saw an orange haze descend before the dart landed on the ground by my feet.
a€?Yaa€?ll wona€?t be no causing me no problems now, wills ya?a€?
Neville laughed as my knees buckled beneath me, as I crumpled into a crouching position. Orange light colored everything, clouds rolled into my chest. It felt like I was trying to breathe with a pillow over my head.
a€?Is she in the car?a€? I asked. I pushed myself back up to a standing position, felt my legs wobble, kept my eyes focused on his.
He nodded.
a€?Get her out, let me see her or no deal.a€?
a€?It aina€?t gonna works like that. Yur Newbie, shea€?s gonna go inside and brings yur little princess out. All safe and pretty-pretty, just like I promises.a€?
I shot a glance at Angelique, her skin moist, her eyes dull. She was too weak; if anything happeneda€”
a€?Okay,a€? she said, moving toward the vehicle on unsteady feet. a€?But if anything happens to me or the little girl, you might not like the consequences.a€?
a€?Angelique, dona€?t goa€”a€? I tried to stop her, but I dona€?t know if my words even left my mouth. The door to the Hummer opened, then she stepped into a dark, fathomless chasm and disappeared.
And at the same moment, Neville kicked me in the gut.
I rolled forward, gasping for air, and discovered that a one-sided fight had just begun.