“Me dumb? You’re the dipshit who brought us to somewhere Draven will know I have returned the second you crossed the threshold. And what do you think he’s going to do, shake your hand and thank you?!” I snapped back straightening my body with fake confidence that this was true.
“You just don’t get it yet do you, Keira? This…” He turned around the huge room that was like a miniature football stadium and held out his arms as if he commanded the space.
“… has all been planned down to the very last thread. Every single thing was planned and executed perfectly. So you see, I am not only hoping he will come, I am expecting nothing less and when he does, he will do every last thing I command of him.” He finished raising his head and looking down his nose as if he was the royalty in the room and soon everyone would be on their knees at his feet.
“You’re insane!” I spat the insult at him with my nose wrinkling in disgust. However it mattered not what I said as he just started laughing at me and the sound was like a cheese grater along my skin.
“Let’s see shall we…now get over there and open the fucking door!” He ordered motioning to the one wall that wasn’t covered floor to ceiling with coffin sized holes carved out of the stone. I remember thinking back to that night and how the place reminded me of some supernatural morgue.
“Now!” He shouted and I jumped as his bellow echoed around the room, making it sound as though there were ten of him.
“Not a chance but you go right ahead, that is if you think you have what it takes.” I said knowing that considering he was a half breed there was no way the vine covered door would grant him entrance. His response was to snarl at me which curled his lips back in an ugly grimace.
“You want to play this game…oh then I will play…but…” He said dropping his once cool demeanour and now bat shit crazy was setting in. He started skipping backwards like some freaky jester who now spent his days in a mental hospital. Then he held up one finger and his creepy jogging backwards started going back around the tree. I frowned at what he was up to and wondered how I had missed this level of insanity all those months we had been together.
I decided to follow him around the Jurassic stone tree where I heard him laughing in a way that sounded more like high pitched hiccups.
“…but to play our game I think we need more players, don’t you?” He continued as I came round the tree to his side and I gasped at what I saw.
“LET HER GO!” I screamed as the sight made my heart drop.
“Uh huh…I think not, I think my new play thing likes my apple tree dagger, don’t you dearie…? Umm, I know!” He had bent his knees, staying on his feet next to the frightened body of a quivering girl I knew. He put one arm around her tied body and she whimpered and struggled in vain. I watched in horror as he pulled the same dagger I had seen in all the pictures out from the waistband of his black trousers and pulled it to hold at the front of her.
“I think we should see if this little apple has a rotten core.” He said smiling and holding the point to her chest.
“NO!”
“Or maybe let’s peel her first and see how sweet her flesh is.” He carried on, this time bringing the blade to her outstretched tied arms like he was going to take a slice of her skin off.
“Stop! Please! Jesus Christ just stop and I will do it!” I shouted letting my shoulders slump in defeat.
“Of course you will. Now get fucking doing it!” He lost it at the end making the body he held captive shake and sob even harder. I looked into her terrified eyes and tried to convey with one look that everything was going to be alright. But the truth was that I had no clue if everything was going to be alright, I only knew that I had to get him as far away from my friend and doing that meant letting him into the one place I knew he needed access to.
“I’m sorry RJ.” I said letting a tear overflow down my cheek before turning round and walking towards the dead vines that protected the door lay hidden beneath.
“Mhha!” My head snapped round and I shouted,
“RJ!” I started to run back to her when I saw her body slump sideways.
“Get back to it, your Goth bitch still lives…for now.” He added the threat and I breathed a sigh of relief that at least with her now being knocked out she wouldn’t be sat there against the tree terrified. I watched as Alex stood up and threw his dagger around before shaking it back at the entrance towards the Temple. So I did as I was told, wishing I could just use the powers I knew were locked inside me, all I needed was the key.