chapter 16
Lizzie
I woke with a start and blinked, trying to focus my vision. I faintly remembered a noise being the reason I awakened. Maybe a noise down the hallway? I heard a slight bump again. I think it’s coming from downstairs. I rubbed my eyes so much I thought that they might pop out from the friction. Once they settled, I looked around the room. Everything appeared normal. I glanced down and noticed that Scotty was asleep. His arm was over his eyes and his mouth was half open.
I smiled. He was adorable. I tried to whisper his name but my throat was scratchy. I need some water. I got out of bed and tip-toed out of the room, making sure not to wake Scotty. He never even moved. Going down stairs for one minute won’t hurt. The hallway was dark and my pulse raced. I bit my lip and slowly walked down the hall.
Sighing, I took the stairs two at a time, trying to be as quiet as I could. I didn’t want Scotty to wake up. The kitchen was to the left. I leaped over the last step and tripped over something. “Shit!” When I looked up, I saw a cell phone lying on the bottom step
I felt a stinging on my foot. Bringing it up, I saw a cut on it. There was a flashing light coming from the cell phone. I opened it...and let out a tortured scream.
It’s Samantha’s phone. She is here. They have her. “Samantha!”
I dropped Sam’s phone and ran up the stairs. I could barely see in the darkness but I knew someone was watching me. I could feel their eyes on me, their smiles.
“Scotty!” I screamed and at the same instant, a hand wrapped around my mouth. I didn’t even have time to think before I was being dragged toward a bedroom down the hall. I tried to grab the door frame but my fingernails only bent backwards. I let go, unable to bear the pain.
My head was slammed against the wooden floor and I cried out in pain. I tried to regain my vision but my eyes were blurring and there was a ringing sound in my head. I grabbed my head and slipped to the floor.
“Well, aren’t you a pretty little thing?”
I squinted trying to see him. I couldn’t place his voice, but I knew who it had to be. Either Warren or Caden. “Get up,” he said.
I tried to stand up but my legs buckled beneath me. My honey-colored hair fell from my bun to cover my face.
“Get up!” he yelled again.
This time he kicked my side and I felt vomit trying to escape my mouth.
I picked myself up and tried to stand straight. A man with short brown hair and a menacing grin stood in front of me. The perfect smile on his face and his smooth, pore-less skin was something out of a dream, but the devilish red gleam in his eyes could only be something from Hell.
“Now that we are standing—” He smiled while his eyes traveled down my frame and a cold burn traveled the length of my body. “I see why Darrton is so intrigued. You’re a pretty mortal.” He tickled my chin and I jerked away. “Aw.” He shook his head. “Let’s not be strangers. I feel we will have to spend a lot of time together, sweetness. Brother.”
Watching from the corner of my eye, I saw a man walk out from a corner of the room. The piercing white in his eyes made my body shiver. His smile was not as scary as the other’s but I watched closely as he walked. I noticed a bow strapped to his back. He was the one on the motorcycle, at the football game.
The brown-haired one smiled. “This is my brother, Caden, Conquest. Silly me.” He slapped his forehead, “I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Warren. And we all know you’re Elizabeth. Too bad Darrton isn’t here for you now. Isn’t it funny how faith works out?”
I didn’t know how I managed to force out any words through the tightness of my throat but something inside me made me speak. “What do you want?”
“Oh, dear.” Caden smiled and walked closer to me. “What a cliché. What do you want?”
Warren moved closer and a terrible tremble echoed throughout my body. “Dear, we don’t want anything but for Darrton to come with us. We are brothers and we intend on keeping our pact. Now, when Darrton comes back, he will come running on his pale horse to your rescue,” he spat.
Caden tisked. “The pale horse is not intended to be used for saving lives but for killing. Darrton is stalling our plan. But he has no choice. We won’t leave anyone alive if that’s what it takes.”
“What if I agree to go?”
Caden laughed and it rang in my ears. “You do not have to agree to go. We do what we want.”
I cleared my throat and pushed the word past the lump forming in it. “What do I have to do for you to leave Samantha out of this?”
“Now, we’re talking.” Caden laughed and left the room. He returned a moment later with Samantha in his hands. She was hitting his chest and screaming. When she calmed down, she noticed me and she let out a sob. Caden dropped her to the floor with a thud.
Sam kicked Caden in the shin and crawled towards me. “Lizzie!” she sobbed. He snarled and looked at Warren who glared at him. “Ohmigod! You look horrible,” she said, sobbing into my shoulder. “We thought you were dead.” She held onto me and wiped her snotty nose on my shirt. Her hair was all over the place, her clothes bloody and torn.
“Have they hurt you?” I asked, examining her.
“Those a*sholes!” She got up and tried to run toward them, her fist held high, but I caught her. They must not have harmed her—yet. Since she thinks it’s okay to try and fight them.
“Now, I hope you haven’t been teaching her these words. I’ve never met anyone who I have wanted to slaughter in the first ten minutes, before I met this young lady,” Warren said, giving Sam a tightlipped smile.
She gave him the finger. I grabbed her hand and forced her to look at me. Her eyes were dark underneath and she was about to cry. “Sam, stop!”
“You two are stupid a*sholes!” she yelled.
I grabbed her face. “Stop, Samantha.” She tried to interrupt but I squeezed her cheeks. “Samantha, any other time I would let you run your lip, but you have to shut the hell up and listen. You have to do what they say. You have to believe me. Do not hit them again.”
She nodded and I sighed as I watched it register in her mind. “Just take me and leave Sam alone. I’ll do anything.”
Warren stroked his chin and leaned up against the bedpost. “Now, we have to ask a favor from you, Elizabeth.”
“Anything,” I whispered.
Caden smiled. “We need you to call Darrton. Find out where he is, and then tell him you never want to speak to him again.”
My lips betrayed me and I let out a sharp cry. “He won’t believe me.”
“No, he won’t. We do not need him to believe it, and we need him to know that we’re here. We need him to come after you. We need him to help us open the gates If he knows we put you up to it, he will know that we’re not going to kill you yet. But if he thinks we are making you tell him you never want to talk to him again, he will know that we’re going to take you away.” Warren smiled. “Do you see what I am saying, doll? We need you to say you’re going to leave. Darrton will know we’re making you leave and come to your rescue.”
The demeaning tone in his voice made me grit my teeth. “And my sister goes free?”
Warren and Caden exchanged glances. “Yes,” they said in unison.
“Okay. I–I need my phone. I have to go get it—” I tried to stand up but Warren stopped me with his foot on my shoulder and handed me my phone. I closed my eyes before saying, “Okay.”
Dialing Darrton’s number, I prayed that he wouldn’t answer.
“Hello, Elizabeth. Are you there? Is everything okay?”
“No. Everything is not okay. I—” Warren gritted his teeth and grabbed Samantha around the neck. “I can’t see you anymore.”
The other end of the line was silent for what seemed like a lifetime. My head was screaming No! Please! Help!
“Warren, Caden, I see you’ve made it.”
Warren clapped his hands and Caden laughed. “Good, Brother. You’re not losing your touch, just losing your balls.”
“Let her go, Warren. She has nothing to do with this.”
“What? You don’t want me to do this?” Warren grabbed my hair.
I screamed and kicked. “Please, stop! Let me go.”
“You heard her, let her go,” I heard someone say from the door. It was Scotty. His hair was ruffled and his shorts hung low on his hips. “Let her go, Warren.”
A moment of relief brushed my body and I sighed. Warren laughed and dropped me. My knees hit the floor and I crawled over toward the phone and listened to Darrton.
“Well, long time no talk, Brother,” Caden said.
A smile spread across Scotty’s face. In a moment of silence, I watched Caden take Scotty into a hug. Oh no.
A blur of blond hair roamed into my mind. Brother. Not fallen-angel brothers but real brothers. Half-brothers. Caden and Warren had been sent to Heaven long after Ferdia and Darrton. My stomach twisted and I clenched my first. “They’re on the same side Darrton,” I whispered into the phone.
“Do what they say,” he whispered. “I’m on my way.”
“Are you alone? Did you find him?”
“We found him, Elizabeth. They have killed him. Now, they have to have a fallen, Nephilim or demon to perform the ritual in place of Ferdia. They must have someone lined up already. Do what they say. I’ll be there as fast as I can.” The phone went dead.
I pulled Samantha to me. She was shivering and was wrapped as tightly around me as anyone could be.
Scotty turned to look at me. I saw something in his eyes I had never seen before, menace. My mind had stop working for a good minute. Scotty had been playing me the entire time. He showed no signs I could remember that he was bad. He is with them. My body was aching from shaking so terribly. They are going to kill us. Samantha was clinging to me and a huge pain was hammering down in my chest. This is all your fault, Elizabeth. My sister is going to die because of me.
I let her continue to cry on my shoulder while I watched Scotty. His eyes caught mine. There was a dark hint of something lurking in his eyes. Pure Evil. When a tear escaped and ran down my face, he squinted. The wrinkles around his eyes showed and there was a deep hidden expression. He was fighting something. There was a tug-of-war in his eyes.
He was the best actor I’d ever seen in my life. “Well, Lizzie, I see you’ve met my brother, Scotty,” Caden said.
It took all my power to make myself speak. He was lying to me the entire time. “We’ve met.”
Scotty threw his head back and laughed. “You’re so pathetic. You believed every word I said. Oh, the joys of teenage girls. They’ll do anything for a boy. Now, are you willing to let Darrton go to save your sister?”
A scream roared in my head. I wanted it to erupt but it wouldn’t come out of my mouth. It was too dry and my body was too weak. They were using my sister as bait. I had to choose whether my sister lived or if I’d ever see Darrton again. They needed him for some damn ritual. Darrton had warned me. He told me they would do this. I nodded.
Warren stepped closer to me and said, “You’ve destroyed our plans. We have to have two Horsemen and Darrton, being Death, is required. The fourth participate doesn’t have to be a Horseman. He just has to be supernatural. With Darrton we could have already conquered. We need him to do the ritual! You’ve ruined him. We could have already ruled everything but no, Darrton had to go and become the gentle knight and try to rescue you.” He threw his hands up. “It doesn’t look as if he is here to save you now, does it?”
Even though I knew that he was just trying to upset me, it still stung my heart. Darrton had left me here alone with Scotty. Anything could happen—anything was happening.
“I’m the pathetic one, but you’re the one who is pathetically trying to take over the world,” I said.
Warren smiled and kicked me in the side. Samantha was screaming and my head was spinning.
“I see someone has never been to church?” Warren said. “‘When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, ‘Come and see.’ So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him...’”
My blood ran cold. Hades would follow Darrton? They needed Darrton because the Devil would follow him out...he would kill everyone...we would all die...because the good haven’t been sent to Heaven yet...the Devil would follow Darrton...I was trying to breathe but it was caught in my throat.
Scotty leaned against the bedpost and took a long look at me. “Are we okay, Lizzie? Are you scared yet?”
Samantha was shivering beside me. Her hands were wrapped around me, and she was sobbing into my shoulder. I didn’t answer. I couldn’t.
“Well, I guess it’s time to go now,” Warren said. “We have no need to be here. We have to go meet Darrton so he can try to save his lovely girl.”
Caden strolled forward and grabbed Samantha while Warren grabbed me. “Wait, you promised you would leave her. Don’t bring her with us. Leave her here. Please, I’ll do anything.”
Caden looked over at Warren and nodded. “Okay, dear, we will leave her here.” Caden dragged Samantha over toward the window and I felt my stomach grow heavy.
“No!” I tried to move but Warren wouldn’t let go of me. I watched as she struggled against Caden, as he opened the window. Tears were escaping her face. Her little legs kicked and her eyes begged for me to help.
“Please! Don’t!”
Caden tugged on Samantha. I watched as she grabbed a hunk of Caden’s hair and pulled. He snarled.
“Let me go, you a*shole!” She kicked at Caden as he pulled her toward the window. “You’re going to burn in Hell!” she screamed.
I tried to move again but Warren held me tight.
“Let her go, please! Don’t do this. I’ll do anything. Just let her go!” I screamed. More tears were streaming down my face and my entire body was turning cold.
I watched as he tossed her so effortlessly out the window. I fell. My legs were no longer able to hold me up. I wasn’t sure if my heart was even beating. It felt like it would break my ribs from the inside out. My body was shaking in a hard, heavy rhythm.
Caden looked back at me, a smirk on his face. “Now that we have taken care of business here, I think we need to leave.”
Warren picked me up, tossed me over his shoulder, and carried me from the room while I kicked and screamed. I did everything I could to try to get free. I hit his back and kicked with all my might but he held onto me with a grip I could have only imagined. Scotty was walking behind us, his face a mask. He wasn’t laughing anymore, his green eyes darted toward mine and I could see he was on the fence. He didn’t know whether he should run away or fight with them. He might be my only way out of this. He might be my only chance at escaping.
Warren threw me inside a massive black car and I hit my head on the window. I didn’t care. It throbbed but I couldn’t feel anything past the hurt in my heart. My sister was dead because of Caden. My sister would never turn thirteen, or have a real boyfriend, or go to prom. Her life had been ripped right out from under her. I tried not to cry but I couldn’t stop it. The tears stung down my face, and I cringed as Caden slid in next to me.
Caden scowled. “Shut the hell up, I will not listen to that crying the entire way. I refuse.”
“I would have thought Darrton would have found a stronger mortal to court,” Warren said from the driver’s seat. “He seems as if he might be getting weak around the edges.”
I bit my lip to stop crying and pressed my forehead to the cold window. I prayed to God that someone would come and save me. I couldn’t be with them. I’d rather die of a plague than die with them. I wasn’t sure when I fell asleep. I only knew that one minute it was all black. The cold of the window chilled my face and made it numb. I curled into a ball and closed my eyes. I had to get out of here. I had to get away from these monsters.
The car came to a stop and I was flung forward into the seat in front of me.
“Rise and shine, princess,” Caden said from beside me. “It’s time to meet the day.”
The sun was shining down on us, and I knew it was before noon the next day. How long have we been driving? Where the hell are we?
Warren opened the door from my side and a cool breeze hit my skin. “Get out,” he said.
Scurrying to my feet, I glanced around. There was a big body of water, an old warehouse, and a cliff. There was nothing else for miles on either side of us. I tried not to cry. Even if I did escape, I wouldn’t make it far. I had nowhere to hide or nowhere to go. Caden kicked me in the back and I fell to my knees. “Get up and keep moving, princess.”
The sharp rocks had broken through my pant legs and I felt the blood start to flow. Caden shoved me again. I began to walk toward the warehouse. Warren took the lead. All I could hear were the rocks crunching underneath our feet and the distant waves rolling on the shore below.
The rusted door squeaked as we opened it. Another problem. If I did escape, they could hear me. I tried to memorize any possible way of getting out. My dad, the overprotective father, not only made me carry pepper spray but take a defense class when I was younger. This included ways to escape, things to help you escape, how to always keep in shape to outrun anyone. Unfortunately, none of the things I had learned would help me. I didn’t remember learning a way to outrun a fallen angel, Nephil, or a Horseman of The Apocalypse. I didn’t recall learning how to kill any of those either. This only made me give into despair a little more.
The inside of the warehouse was bare. There was a room built against a wall off to the side, a couple of tables and a...cage. My body felt sick. I had always believed in God, but I’d never prayed or gone to church like I was supposed to. But in that moment I couldn’t think of anyone but God. I prayed that he would get me out of this mess. He would send a meteor and destroy the warehouse. I didn’t even care if I was in it.
Caden laughed beside me. “By the look on your face, I think she knows where she is going to be staying.”
I gritted my teeth and wrapped my arms around my stomach. Warren grabbed my arm and led me to the cage. He pushed me in and the cold metal settled around me. It was big enough for me to stand up and lay down in, but it was so cold that I thought I might die if the temperature dropped during the night. My legs gave out and I fell to the cold hard cage floor. I shivered and sat down, backing up against the bars. Warren watched me with narrowed eyes, like he was analyzing the situation. He smiled and said, “Take her phone.”
Damn! The only hope I had at attempting to stay alive. Not that I know where the hell we are, but maybe the police could trace the call. Maybe Mom and Dad would think to trace it. Maybe they could have located me, in wherever the hell we are. Don’t cry in front of them, Lizzie. Don’t.
I shook my head. “No.”
Warren smiled. “I won’t ask you again.” He stepped forward and a sick feeling of fear crawled up my body. “Give your phone up.”
I didn’t move. Warren smiled again and walked toward the cage. He opened the door and ice seemed to crawl through my veins. He grabbed my shirt and pulled me to my feet. I tried to push against him but he reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. I hit him in the chest but he barely budged. I sank to the ground as he walked out and watched as he slammed my phone onto the concrete and stepped on it. Another part of me died. No way of getting it now. His red eyes seemed to be burning their way into me. It sent a chill through my spine. “Check her hair and pants for any kind of bobby pin, hair clip, pen, I don’t care,” Warren said, waving his hand and walking toward the room off to the side. I could hear his shoes scrape against the concrete floor. Bastard.
Caden flung the cage door open and curled his index finger toward him, wanting me to come. I stayed put. He rolled his eyes, walked in, and gripped my arm so tight I thought it would break. Caden pressed me up against the cage and breathed into my ear. “I have no problem frisking you, love.”
I tried not to cry. He ran his hands down the sides of my body, through the length of my hair. I cringed as his fingers ran across my butt and he pressed himself hard up against me. My fingers clung to the bars. A tear escaped. Out of the corner of my eye, Scotty moved. He watched, while his face was hard and cold. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. He never said anything as Caden’s hands roamed my body but there was something in his eyes, something almost...civil. I wanted him to speak up, to tell Caden to stop, but he just stood there, hands tucked in his jeans, and his blond hair falling from its upright position, watching his brother touch me.
Caden whispered into my ear, “She’s clean.” He let his lips roam my skin and I cringed. He turned me toward him. I had never been this close to him. The white in his eyes was one of the most frightening things I had ever seen. The rest of his face was rugged, not like Warren’s. His was pretty as a girl. Caden’s face was hard. He had a heavyset jawline, a wider nose, and deep -eyes. He had a smile that would make a teenage girl melt. I didn’t. Only because I knew he was a monster. I knew what he was doing. His fingers danced along the stretch of my neck and up to cup my face. “It’s been so long since I’ve had a woman.”
Oh God.
I swallowed a groan and wrapped my hands behind my back along the bar. Please put me back in the cage. I’d rather be in my grave. The smell of his breath was like a mint, but it made my stomach sick. Pressing forward he let his lips rest upon mine. He moved his mouth so soft and then rough against my lips and laughed into my face. “It would be better if you kissed me back.”
“F*ck you,” I said. I hadn’t meant for it to come out, it just did.
Caden laughed at first but then a dark ring flashed in his eyes. His fingers dug into my neck and I felt my legs lift from the ground. “I might take you up on that offer, princess.”
With a power I couldn’t image he flung me up against the wall.
The room door flew open and Warren stalked out. “Caden, I said search her, not kill her. If she is dead, we won’t get Darrton back, damn it. Put her back in the cage and give her some water.”
Trying to move, all I could see were red blurs in my vision. Caden cracked his neck and walked toward me. He didn’t bother letting me walk. He just dragged me by my arm and flung me into the cage. Tears fell from my eyes. I tried to move my arm but I couldn’t. I couldn’t do anything but sit there, pathetic and useless, crying like a baby.
Warren went back into the room off to the side and Caden left, leaving me with Scotty.
“Why are you doing this to me?” I asked, barely above a whisper.
Scotty sighed and shrugged his shoulders. “It’s all part of the plan.”
I tried to keep myself from vomiting. I had believed everything Scotty had said. He had fooled all of us. I’d believed he was there to help me. I’d believed he wanted to help. I’d believed he was still good. I was so wrong. He never looked away from me, his dark emerald eyes watching every move I made.
Caden returned a few minutes later with a glass of water. In any other situation, I would have been happy to have something to drink. But when Caden was the one giving it to me, it only made me sick. Caden walked with the swagger of a millionaire on his yacht toward the cage. A smile evil enough for the Devil himself to wear spread across his face. “Is princess thirsty?”
I didn’t answer.
He cocked an eyebrow. With his right hand he held the water above my head. He tilted it over and drenched me with it. He bent down and with his left hand, held my face up to catch the water. “Drink up, sweetness. We have to keep you alive.” He stood up and spit in my direction. “Pathetic.”
Pathetic. That word roamed around in my head. I was pathetic. I had no courage to stand up and do anything. I had so much fear, I was sure they could feel it radiating off my weak, broken body. I didn’t even have the guts to act on being spit on. Without a word, I turned my back to him and brought my knees to my chest.
Caden chuckled and I heard him and Scotty walk out of the room. I was glad to be alone. I was in a cage, but I was sure as hell glad to be alone.
I wasn’t sure if I had fallen asleep or not. I couldn’t tell my dreams from real life anymore. It was dark when I reopened my eyes but I could hear someone talking. I closed my eyes again. I didn’t want to risk being seen. I didn’t want to have to deal with them anymore.
“We have to get him within the next few days. They are getting impatient,” Caden said.
Warren hushed him. “I know, Caden, but we can’t get them until we have Darrton. He is the key. Everything will fall into place now that Elizabeth is here. Darrton will be here soon.”
Scotty laughed. I knew it was him because it was so loud and rugged. “What if he doesn’t come? You said it yourself. You aren’t supposed to feel love anymore. It’s not in your nature. Why is he any different? Why would he, of all of you, fall in love with a mortal?”
Warren sighed. “It’s not in our nature. But Darrton was always different. Even after being chosen, for a while he couldn’t get over Elizabeth. He was in love with her. He wanted no one but her. When he died and was given the title of Death, it crushed him. It killed Darrton that he couldn’t be with Elizabeth anymore. He loved her so much. After some years, he became hostile and closed up. We thought he would never feel it again. We didn’t, we don’t, but we weren’t taken from anyone either. We didn’t experience it before to miss it. God knows who can handle what and who can’t. He makes no mistakes.”
I heard Scotty huff. “Well, where is he? Why is it taking him so long?”
Caden groaned. “He is with our idiotic father. No telling what kind of wild goose chase he has him on for some liquor. He could take a five mile walk and turn it into fifty. Your father is mental.”
“He is mental, but he is still my father.”
I could hear the sound of dragging metal or something hard on something else. Maybe something being dragged along something else. Then I heard, “He doesn’t know, does he, Scotty?”
“I’m sure he does now that Darrton knows.”
Warren laughed but it was hard, cold, and dry. “You won’t be able to harm your father, will you? I’ll have to do it.”
There was a long silence. More silence.
“Will you two be able to kill Darrton? He is your brother?”
Caden laughed. “Yes, I will kill that fool. Then I’m going to take that thing over in the cage and have my way with her. Then I’ll kill her. I’m sick of seeing her. I’m sick of the fact Darrton is like a lovesick puppy. I want him to get here so we can get rid of her and get this thing together. I’m growing impatient and so are they.”
Who the hell are they?
There was a sound like something was pushed up against something hard. “Do not touch the child again until we have Darrton on our side,” Warren snarled. “Do you understand that? I couldn’t care less what happens to her afterwards. Kill her, I don’t give a damn. But if Darrton thinks we will hurt her, he will not help, and then where will we be? Huh? Will we be stuck trying to get through this alone? Is that what you want? To do all the work alone, when it could be done so easily with all of us?”
I heard Caden huff. “No, that’s not what I want. I want to hurry the hell up. I’m getting sick of this ‘ring around the bush’ shit. Now, can we please go? I’m starved and she is asleep.”
I didn’t hear anything else until the door shut. I opened my eyes and tried to adjust them. When they did, I noticed the bow and arrows that Caden had worn earlier lying on the table. The bow was black and glistened in the moonlight from the window. There was a book next to it. I couldn’t see what it was, but it kind of looked like a Bible.
It only made me cry. At first, I wasn’t sure why I was crying, but then it seemed like everything hit me all at once. Samantha being dead, being locked in a cage, having a broken arm, Darrton hundreds of miles away—I thought—not being able to see my parents again, and the Horsemen keeping me hostage. My father had always told me to never feel sorry for myself, to fight back, but now was a time that I really thought I could feel sorry for myself.
Fighting back was always Sam’s thing. She didn’t have a filter and she didn’t care. She was going to say it or bust. I needed her strength to get through this mess. But I convinced myself that I needed to let out all of my pain first. I felt like there was no way I could get out. There was only one hope left. I had to wait it out. The only person that could help me wasn’t here at the moment. A team was only as strong as its weakest link. Their weakest link was Scotty. The look in his eyes while I was being taken away was a look of struggle. He doesn’t want to go along with them? Why? It’s probably because of his brother. Scotty would be the only one I could get to. He would be the only one who would be able to help me out.