“Then how were you able to bear doing it to her?”
He looked away. His reason sounded pathetic. I knew it and he knew it. “I wasn’t able to control myself.”
I shook my head as I tried to get away from his grasp, his hands still keeping my wrists on hold. “That’s crap and you know it. I was with you for months. So were Ashley, Paige and Rosa… You never once touched us or brought harm to us. Don’t tell me you can’t control yourself, Derek. Just don’t.”
I motioned to walk away, but he kept his death grip on my wrists.
“Let go,” I hissed.
“No.” he insisted. “You’re coming with me.”
I was mad at him and the last thing I wanted was to go anywhere with him. At that point, I really just wanted to be alone, to think about what was going on and why I was there. I wanted to sort through the conflicting emotions that were driving me crazy around him.
But no… Despite all my protests, he carried me in his arms and sped forward. I never quite got used to the lightning speed by which he travelled, but that was the least of my concerns, because when we stopped, I found myself screaming with fright at where he’d taken me.
We were standing on top of one of the Crimson Fortress’ towering walls. A mighty wind was blowing against us and the sound of the ocean waves crashing on solid rock below was terrifying. I gave Derek a questioning look. I couldn’t tell for sure but it looked like he was about to jump from the top of the wall to the boulders below.
“What do you think you’re doing?!” I screamed, my arms clinging around his neck as I looked with horror at how high up we were. “Where are you taking me?!”
“I’m taking you to my sanctuary. Hold on tight.”
Before I could even breathe a word of protest, he took the leap, plunging us both on a hundred-foot free fall down to the ragged cliffs below. The one thought on my mind as I clung to him for dear life was: Derek Novak has lost his mind.
Chapter 35: Ben
Leaving my family was one of the hardest things I ever had to do, but my path was set the moment I woke up on the shores of Cancun the morning after our escape from The Shade. No matter how much I tried to go back to a normal life, every time I thought about my future, all I could think about was how worthless my life would be if I couldn’t get my vengeance.
Sofia was the last thread of hope I had at any chance of normalcy, but as I watched her walk away from me that night, it felt like everything had been robbed from me and I only had The Shade to blame.
Not long after Sofia left, I grabbed the bag I packed the night before and got out of my bed. My heart weighing heavily on me and a lump forming in my throat, I snuck into Abby’s room first. I smiled upon seeing her pink, star-shaped night light and the way she was clinging to her stuffed animal, Colin. At her age, she still sucked her thumb when she slept. I approached her bed and twisted a tendril of her blonde hair with my forefinger. “I’ll miss you, dwarfette.”
I was kicking myself in the head for being so overly dramatic. It wasn’t like the hunters were going to take me captive and keep me from ever seeing my family again, but I knew that the choice I was making was going to break my family’s heart. My next stop was my parents’ bedroom. I snuck a peek at them cuddled in their bed, a reminder of how in love they still were with each other after all those years – something I felt I could never have now that Sofia had left me. I slipped through the door and snuck inside the room, careful to be as quite as I possibly could. I saw my dad’s car keys above their drawers and took them. I took one last look at my parents and whispered, “I’m sorry.”
I then headed off to the car and made the drive to the airport. I had no idea where to go or what to do. All I had was a name and a number and I was prepared to fly to any destination I was asked to go to.
Once I got to the LAX airport, I headed for the nearest coffee shop and ordered an overpriced cup of coffee. Seated on one of the plush couches, I finally found the guts to call the number that Eliza gave me.
“Here goes nothing,” I muttered as I dialed the number.
“Hello?” A deep, gravelly voice answered.
“Hello. Is this Reuben?”
“Who wants to know?”
“I’m Ben Hudson. A girl named Eliza referred me to you.” I paused, wondering to myself if I sounded crazy saying my next sentence. “I want to join the hunters.”
“Eliza?” There was a pause on the other side of the line, the only sound I heard was that of his heavy breathing. I thought it was going to be the end of our conversation, so I was relieved when he said, “Perfect. We’re looking forward to meeting you, Ben. I was hoping you’d get in touch with us.”