Chapter 56 Fifty Six
KAZIEL
I'm freezing. Possibly to death. I curl up on the floor, my chains rattling with every movement, causing me to flinch. That familiar dreadful feeling of déjà vu slams into me, and I squeeze my eyes shut, struggling to not get pulled into an episode.
For an organization that claims to be advanced in their investigation method, they are pathetic. Why the fuck should they use chains on me?
'They are terrified of you. Haven't you figured that out yourself?' Ares, my wolf, speaks for the first time in a long time.
I try to switch positions because the pain is becoming unbearable, but the useless chains get in the way.
'Why aren't I healing?' I ask Ares, my teeth chattering.
'Because you don't want to.'
My eyes fly open, locking on the depressing cold wall.
'What?'
‘Don't bother pretending not to know what I'm talking about, hothead. This place isn't enough to contain us. So, be honest, why are you choosing to punish yourself?'
I don't answer him. Mostly because the cold is starting to grind into my bones. But also because Ares annoyingly has a point I'm not ready to face.
'Look at you,' he mutters, pacing inside my head. 'Shivering like a kicked pup. You could break these chains with half a thought. But you won't. Because you think you deserve this.'
"Shut up," I whisper, my breath fogging in front of me.
The door slams open, and I flinch. Not because I'm scared, but because a sudden burst of warm air floods in, and it makes the cold gnawing at my lungs feel worse. It's a warning that the Hollow is pulling at me. And it's coming fast.
Boots stomp toward me, and a flashlight beams down into my face.
"Still pretending?" the male voice scoffs. "Get up."
I don't move. Partly because I can't. Mostly because my muscles have locked from the cold spreading under my skin like frostbite.
The light shakes twice.
"Pathetic," the second interrogator spits. "He's an Alpha, a fucking tribrid. There's no way he's this weak. He's stalling."
"If he thinks this is going to make us feel sorry for him, it won't," the first one adds. "I say we move to the next phase. He'll talk then."
My pulse slows dangerously.
Ares growls. 'Kaziel. You're fading. Focus.'
But I can't. The cold is sinking deeper, crawling down my spine. My vision blurs at the edges, and I swear I can hear the Hollow whispering in the static of my mind.
"Hey!" A boot kicks my shoulder. "Cut the act!"
The impact sends me sliding across the floor, the chains scraping. My body hits the wall, and the shock is too much. Pain bursts through me, and everything snaps as the hollow hits me in full. I collapse, shaking so hard that the chains rattle noisily.
"Is he...is he actually—?"
"He's faking! Restrain him!"
Someone grabs my arm, but my skin is ice-cold.
The man jerks his hand back with a curse. "What the—? He's freezing!"
"No way—"
But I can't hear them anymore. I can't think. Ares lashes against my mind, his panic and fury combined.
'Kaziel. HOLD ON—'
The Hollow swallows me whole, and everything goes black.
...
When I open my eyes, I'm back there in that basement. The smell of gasoline is so strong in here it makes my eyes water. Suddenly, I'm ten years old again, every inch of my body covered in bloody cuts. I'm lying on the floor, moaning in pain with every breath I take. The door slams open, and the familiar pair of red boots walks in.
"Congratulations, your father finally caved in. Looks like you'll be leaving here alive after all."
I glare at him, rage burning hot in my belly.
He grabs the chains and proceeds to begin dragging me out of the basement. I'm screaming and sobbing from my cuts being ripped open by the rough uneven floor. It hurts so much it feels like I'm going to die.
After what feels like forever, he drags me out in the open, and there she is. Mama. She's standing there, holding her hands up and crying uncontrollably. She cries even harder at the sight of me.
The red boots slam into my ribs, and I howl in pain, feeling them crack again.
"Stop it! Please! Don't hit my baby!" She screams. She's so beautiful. Even with her demon features. The little horns on her forehead. Daddy used to say they were the cutest things he'd ever seen. She hates them, though. She's always said she wishes she never became a demon because that makes her different from her human family.
"Step forward for the exchange. Don't do anything stupid, or your kid will suffer a worse fate!" Mr. Red Boots snaps, and I flinch.
Exchange?
What's going on? She's going to be tortured in my place?
"Please, just let him go. I won't do anything," Mama croaks, and I shake my head, a whimper escaping my lips.
She moves closer, one step at a time. Then she cries a little harder each time. When she halts in front of me, she closes her eyes.
"Please let me hold him just once. Let me say goodbye."
I shake my head in horror.
"Fine. You have ten seconds."
Mama falls to her knees instantly, wrapping her arms around me. Her body trembles as she kisses my blood-covered hands and my face, running her hands through my dirty hair.
"I love you, baby. Always. Now go. Get up and keep walking. Your father's beta will be waiting for you."
She wipes my cheeks with her trembling thumbs, even though it does nothing. There's too much blood and dirt.
"Go," she whispers again, her voice breaking on the single word. "Please, baby. Walk."
My legs can barely hold me, but I force myself to stand. My balance wavers. My ribs scream with every breath I take, and my skin burns where the gravel tore it open. But I move.
One step. Then another. And soon, I'm limping away.
I keep my eyes on her the entire time. And then she smiles proudly and gives me a nod of approval.
I don't understand.
I don't understand why it feels like goodbye is heavier than the chains I just left behind.
My father's beta reaches me and steadies my arm gently, as if I'm something fragile. I don't even feel his grip. My gaze is still locked on Mama.
I turn my head to look at her one more time.
One more time.
She places a hand over her chest. Then her fingers sink inside.
"Mama?"
She doesn't hesitate or cry out. Neither does she look away from me. Then she tears her own heart out.
And I scream.
The sound rips out of me raw, filling my chest with agony. My legs buckle beneath me. The beta catches me before I hit the ground, but I'm gone. I'm not here anymore.
Mama's body collapses, her beautiful demon features softening even as the life drains from her.
My scream doesn't stop because she won't get back up. She won't open her eyes, and she won't smile at me again.
...
I gasp awake with a strangled choke as a violent jolt tears through my entire body. My back arches off the floor as electricity vibrates through my nerves. Pain explodes across my chest and neck, my jaw clamping hard.
Another shock hits me.
"Shit—he's convulsing—"
"Increase the voltage!"
"We need him conscious!"
My vision flickers between the interrogation room and the basement. Another surge of electricity rips through me. I groan, my body shaking uncontrollably. The electric prod finally retracts, air rushing into my lungs.
"He's back," someone says breathlessly.
"Good. Restrain him."
Hands grab my shoulders and lift me. The cold is still inside me, but the shocks hold me in the present.
I barely register them taking me to a different room or the fact that I'm now sitting on a chair, my ankles and wrists restrained.
Fuck.
The lights are too bright.
Two interrogators stand on the opposite side of the table. The same ones from earlier. Lucky me.
"Alright," the first one says, snapping his gloves tighter. "Let's try this again."
He sits. The other one remains standing behind him, his arms folded.
"Lakewood," the seated one begins. "You murdered Evelyn Hart last night.”
I stare at the table.
"So let's start simple." He taps the file. "Where were you between eleven p.m. and two a.m. the night of the murder?"
Ares hums lazily in my mind.
'Picture it, Kaz. How easily we could rip his throat out. Wrist first, then collarbone. Slow or fast? You choose.'
I blink once, but I don't answer. The interrogator sighs dramatically.
"Any reason you're choosing to stay silent?"
My gaze drifts past him, the corner of the room blurring. My chest feels too tight.
Ares snaps, ‘Kaz, focus. Don't drift again.'
But I keep staring. I don't give them anything.
After a long, heavy silence, the second interrogator circles behind me. His rough hand fists in my hair and yanks my head back hard. Pain shoots down my spine.
"Answer. The. Question," he snarls near my ear.
I stay silent.
He grips harder, pulling until my scalp burns.
"You think staying quiet will make you look innocent?" he spits. "You're a fucking monster. An abomination. Everyone knows what you are."
My jaw tightens.
Ares growls.
'Let me kill him. Just one. Just this one.'
I exhale slowly, already feeling the bloodlust stirring.
The interrogator laughs under his breath.
"You really don't get it, do you?" he says. "Things aren't looking good for you."
He drops my hair, letting my head snap forward.
"You're heading to trial no matter what. And we both know how that's going to go. No jury is going to save a creature like you."
Oh. They really plan to kill me.