Chapter 37 — It’s you! But how?

Amara:

I can’t believe this is happening right now. It never occurred to me that Taylor might have been involved in all these deaths. But here I am, waking up to find myself tied to a column in the middle of some church. I look around in hopes of figuring out where I am. There are stained glass windows depicting an army of angels coming down from the heavens and wooden pews, just like the other ones in my visions. Used candles create a sinister décor as they lie strewn around the room. My eyes land on the large stone altar with dried blood in the center of the floor. Hysteria rises in my throat at the thought of what might happen to me. Taylor is going to kill me the same way he killed those other girls.

My arms ache as I strain to release them from their bonds. All I need to do is get to the private pocket in my thigh to reach for my cell phone. Hopelessness overwhelms me at the realization that my hands are tied too tightly to reach the pocket. I can’t even feel if Kell or anyone else is calling me because my phone is on silent. I curse myself when I think of Kell looking for me and not finding me.

My eyes turn to Taylor, who is walking back and forth with his hands behind his back. He doesn’t look too well. In fact, he looks agitated, which doesn’t bode well for me. His eyes are glowing in a crimson ember, and his chest is heaving.

“Why are you doing this, Taylor?” I try to sound calm even though inside I’m as cold as ice.

Taylor’s pacing stops, and he approaches me and gives me a sinister smile. “Why am I doing this?” He growls through gritted teeth. Spittle flies out of his mouth as he leans close to my face. “Of course, someone like you wouldn’t understand why.”

I close my eyes as his hand moves towards my face and rakes his sharp nails down my jaw. My jaw burns like acid with every touch. “Please, let me go, Taylor.” I plead softly while my chest heaves with terror.

At my plea, Taylor laughs mockingly and slams his hand next to my head. “Let you go!?” He screams out near my ear. “Tell me, Beauty Queen, what is it like to be loved by everyone? To have everything you’ve ever wanted? I mean, you’re a powerful witch, and you have a mate. It must be so nice to get everything you want.”

I flinch back at his every word as he slams his fist on the other side of my head. “Well, some of us are not that lucky!” He howls forcefully. “You don’t know what it’s like to be born into a supernatural family with powerful witches and to be told every day that you’re not one of them. Every day I had to watch all of them become more powerful. While I…” He points to his chest with a frightening rage. The tendons strain against his neck as his voice rises in anger. “… I remained a weak human. I tried to be good enough!” He says, taking a forceful step back and running his fingers through his hair. “Every day, I tried to be good enough, but they only saw me as a weak human. Then, this beautiful woman comes to me and offers me the chance to prove them wrong. She offered me all the power I want in the palm of my hand. And all I had to do was find supernatural girls for sacrifices.”

I open my eyes carefully and gaze into his vengeful ones. “You killed them, Taylor. You killed all of those girls.” I whisper, horrified. Taylor simply shrugs his shoulders and puckers his mouth. “Actually, I didn’t kill them. Marael did. I just found them, took them, and helped her perform the ritual. Marael was the one who ripped their hearts out of their chests. The same way she’s going to rip yours out too. Thank you, by the way.” He says with a deadpanned face.

I swallow deeply and lick my lips before I ask, “Wh-why, are you thanking me?”

He chuckles. “Well, because I wouldn’t have found you if you hadn’t shown up on my aunt’s doorstep. Imagine my shock when I open the door, and there you are. The beauty queen of Arcata High. The beautiful, Amara.”

He says as he wraps his arms around my waist in an almost loving fashion. Which is even more frightening than him slamming his hands near my head. I try not to flinch back as his hot breath touches my skin. All I can hear is the drum of my heart beating wildly through my ears. The rush of blood overwhelms my senses like a wave slamming down on me from the ocean.

“I saw you with him, you know,” Taylor says with a smirk.

I shake my head, swallowing down my tears. “What?”

He pulls back but keeps his hands where they are. “I saw you and Kell…at the greenhouse.”

Bile rises in my throat at his words. Does he mean...? He must see the horrified look on my face because his sly smile widens. “I saw you having sex in the storage room.”

His eyes glaze with lust as he raises his finger and curls it around one of the strands of my hair. “Imagine my surprise when I see my beauty queen being fucked senseless by the school’s criminal. To be honest, I wished at that moment that it had been me. I wished I was the one screwing you.”

I close my eyes, unable to bear the thought of him seeing me and Kell make love. How dare he ruin such a wonderful moment for me. Anger seethes through me as I struggle against my bonds again. However, I freeze up as soon as his hands move up my belly and rest on my chest. I try to move back when his warm palm cups my breast and squeezes it roughly. “Don’t!” I cry out painfully.

He laughs mirthfully and squeezes again before he releases my breasts.

“Don’t worry, Amara. As much as I want to screw you, your power is what I really want now. And we’ll get to it as soon as she gets here.”

His words make my world tilt on its axis. My life is about to end, and Kell will never know. My mind whirls with thoughts of getting out of this, so I hedge. “But…but don’t you need a sixth girl?”

Taylor stops and tilts his head in speculation. “You’ve been doing some research, huh? Well, as a matter of fact, we do need a sixth girl.” He leans an arm over my head and tweaks my nose playfully. “Aww, don’t worry, beauty queen. Let me let you in on a little secret. We found the sixth girl. However, she is not going to be sacrificed yet. If you would have done your homework, you’d know that the sixth girl is a power siphon.”

I pull back in surprise. “What do you mean?”

At this point, Taylor is looking smug. I can tell that he knows what is going to happen, and it gratifies him. “Come on, I thought you did your homework? We don’t kill the sixth girl; we use her to siphon our power. And the funny part about it is that she doesn’t even know it. The sixth girl has already been turned into the gateway for the Potestatem Vitae Mortem. We just need another powerful being to finish the ritual, and we’re done. The siphon dies, and the world turns to hell.”

Dread chills my bones. “Are you saying that this girl is the gateway to hell?”

He doesn’t respond for a moment. Instead, his gaze focuses behind me, and his smile widens maniacally. The air becomes thicker, and a chilling cold permeates my body like the chills I get when I have my visions.

The hairs on the back of my neck stand out as my breath begins to form a fog in front of me. Suddenly, every candle in the room lights up with a gush of wind, and light rushes through the room like a tempest.

A large shadow blankets the room and sucks out every light in the room like a vacuum, leaving only the candles illuminating the dark interior. My chest begins to ache as the oxygen things. It feels like whatever is in here is sucking every grain of air out of the room. I take a couple of deep breaths and try to control my breathing, but it’s a losing battle. My vision begins to blur, and my head is pounding like a hammer. It feels like I’m drowning.

As soon as it starts, it ends. I gasp for breath as the air rushes back into my lungs. That’s when I notice the figure in front of me. She’s tall with long dark hair, crimson eyes, and gaunt and gray skin. There’s a large black cloak wrapped around her shoulders and a strange looking amulet of entwined snakes wrapped around her neck.

Raising her hand, she grips my chin between her clawed fingers and angles my face up for inspection.

“What have we here?” She says as she runs her gaze appraisingly across my face and body. “And she’s all wrapped in such pretty garb.” Taylor moves to stand next to her and lifts a lock of my hair in his between his fingers. “This is Amara. And the reason why she’s all dolled up is that she’s a beauty queen.” He releases my hair and snickers. “Oh, and she’s also a very powerful Breija.”

The woman’s eyes widen in pleasure as she runs another leisurely eye across my body. This time it feels like she’s measuring me up for a slaughter. Her lip curls into a pleasurable sneer, and her eyes glow brighter. Moaning ecstatically, she whirls back to Taylor and claps delightedly. “Oh, Taylor, darling, what a find.”

Taylor blushes like a schoolboy and chuckles. It’s almost comical if my life wasn’t on the line. I feel like I’m in a different dimension. I’ve never seen Taylor act this way. I almost throw up when she puts her arm around his neck and kisses him. Taylor groans pleasurably as she gropes his body and makes loud sucking noises.

I resist the urge to cringe and look away, feeling like I’m intruding on a private moment. Unfortunately, when they eventually split apart, they turn their attention back to me again. Taylor pulls the woman close and whispers in her ears as he gazes slyly at me. “She was sent to my aunt for some advice by Mathias in the Council.”

The woman’s eyes sharpen and home in on mine. “Mathias sent you, did he? How apropos.” She says as she throws her head back into maniacal laughter. Then, almost as if someone turned the off button, she stops laughing. All of the expression on her face disappears as if it was wiped clean. It’s completely unnerving. I mean, she looks terrifying with her crimson red eyes and overall evil façade, but this is on a whole new level of threatening.

She steps back and tilts her head to the side, almost as if listening to something the rest of us can’t hear. Then, she focuses back on me. “So. my former lover put you in my path. Oh, how it will burn Mathias to know that I stole his little Breija from underneath his nose.” She says with deep relish.

I almost sigh with relief when she takes a step away from me. Unfortunately, my relief is short-lived because she points her clawed index finger in my direction and says. “Oh, I can’t wait for the stroke of midnight. I am so going to enjoy killing you the most.”

Then, she does the scariest thing I’ve ever seen. She opens her mouth and licks her lips. But instead of a red tongue sliding over her lips, her tongue is a black snake’s head complete with eyes, a mouth with sharp teeth, and a forked tongue. The tongue hisses in my direction as if tasting my doom.

I cringe back at the ghoulish sight and swallow at the vomit threatening to escape my throat, which seems to amuse her because she moves closer and aims her snake tongue near my face.

Sweat trickles down my forehead and neck, collecting inside my collarbone as I strain to move away from her reptilian tongue. An agonizing cry escapes me when the snake’s tongue touches my face. It’s a warning threat to my senses. The smell of blood permeates my nose as the tongue slides down my cheek and jaw, and my vision blurs into pinpricks. Shuddering with terror, I cry out as it stops near my jugular. All it would take is one strike to kill me. She knows it, and I know it.

Unfortunately, she’s relishing every moment of my terror. Unable to bear any more of the torture, I slam my head back and scream hysterically. “Stop it!” I stifle out, desperate to get her and her disgusting tongue away from me. At first, I think she’s not going to listen. Agonizing moments pass as I wait for her to lay a final strike that will end my life.

Then, to my amazement, she pulls back, slips her snake tongue back into her mouth, and whispers sinisterly. “Don’t worry, beauty, I won’t kill you…yet. Not for another...” She looks up towards Taylor, who looks at his watch and answers. “…five minutes.”

Marael gives him a grateful smile, then gives me a smug look. “I’m sure you want to live as long as you can. So, why don’t we talk?” She says as she steps back and waves her hand behind her.

The floor begins to waver and flow like a river of lava. Out of the molten heat, a large throne rises like a Phoenix from the ashes. However, the throne is not as beautiful as a resurrected Phoenix. Its base is made of bone wrapped in what looks like human skin with bloody intestines hanging off of it. It’s a grotesque sight to see. The peaks of the chair are held together by decomposing human heads with ghoulish white eyes, and the legs are actual human limbs twisted together. The rancid smell of decaying human flesh definitely makes the snake's tongue a welcome memory. I gag as the smell rises through my nose and makes my eyes water with tears. Emotion wells inside me at the thought of whose body parts those would be.

Marael takes a seat and crosses the legs as if she was sitting on a golden throne instead of a throne shaped mass made of human remains. She rubs her hands over the bloody armrests and smirks at my open revulsion. “Do you like my throne? I made it from the bodies of my coven.” She points to the head over her left shoulder. “This was my aunt, Eustace. She screamed when I cut her head from her body with my ritual knife. It was very gratifying.”

I look at the head with its peeling skin, hollow eyes, and ragged strands of hair. Tears fall down my face at the thought of these innocent people suffering. It just makes no sense why anyone would do something so horrific.

Her next words give me pause. “So, tell me something, Breija? How is it that you crossed Mathias’s path?”

I shake my head, unwilling to play her game. But she doesn’t let that pass. She raises her hand again and waves it towards me with a twist. Suddenly a burning sensation starts in my stomach, followed by a stabbing pain. If I wasn’t tied to the column, I would have fallen to the floor at the excruciating pain. I bite my lip, trying to stave off any further pain. But the agony is too great. A mournful cry escapes my mouth.

“Please, I’ll tell you…” I cry out again, this time dry heaving as my vision begins to haze. “I…I was having visions of the other girls dying!” I grit out through clenched teeth.

To my relief, the pain stops instantly. I take a couple of deep breaths and cling to the ropes as I try to find purchase. I feel like I’ve been sent into an alternate universe where pain and torture are my constant emotion. My ribs ache and throb like I’d been punched and kicked in them, and my eyes feel heavy. I cough, trying to clear my lungs and gasp in dismay when blood drizzles out of my mouth. My heart and breathing finally steady. However, my terror reminds me that I’m on borrowed time.

Marael raises a warning brow and waves her hand, signaling for me to continue.

I clear my throat and swallow my fear. “I started having visions a few months back. Whenever I’d look in the mirror, I’d see the girls dying during one of your rituals. The visions made me sick. I almost died. So, my…so, my boyfriend, Kell, called Mathias to see if he could help me. That’s when Mathias found Taylor’s aunt.” My voice fades slowly as I finish my story.

Marael’s eyebrow goes up. “Kell? As in Kell Cross, brother of Mikhail Cross?” I nod my head, wary of her question.

She throws her head back and claps boisterously. “Oh, this gets better and better.” She looks at a confused Taylor. “My former lover, Lukan, was obsessed with that Mikhail boy. For years he raged about his unwanted nephew and how he couldn’t wait to kill him. His obsession with the boy was almost boring.”

She rises from her throne and walks over to me with a cat-like jaunt. “I have to tell you, though. As boring as his obsession was, I did find those boys to be very interesting.” She gives me a private smile and leans close to me, making me inwardly cringe. “They are a very attractive bunch, aren’t they?”

I nod my head slowly but keep my expression blank. Thankfully, she doesn’t need my affirmation. She simply continues without noticing my response. “So you are with one of them. How very interesting.”

Taylor steps forward with a snicker. “Oh, it gets better. She’s not just his girlfriend. She’s also his mate.” He waggles his eyebrows and gives me a lascivious smirk. “You should have seen them fucking like bunnies in the greenhouse’s storage room. It was quite a sight.”

Marael coos with an ecstatic shudder and waves her index finger under my nose. “What a naughty girl you are.” She says with a wink and a pout. “Too bad that you’re going to have to die before you get another taste.”

Just then, the sound of bells resounding within the church walls signal an ominous warning. Marael looks towards the bells, then tilts her head with a vicious leer. “Sounds like it's time to die.” She says as she snaps her fingers, and my body is released from its bindings.

Unfortunately, whatever magic she’s using must also be keeping me paralyzed in place. All I can do is watch as my petrified body is lifted by an invisible force and laid down on the stone altar. My mind screams out in terror, but no sound leaves my lips.

All I can do is watch as Marael and Taylor stand on either side of me and begin to chant. Marael raises a large ceremonial blade, ready to plunge it down into my chest. Unwilling to waste my last moments watching my death, I close my eyes and think about Kell and everyone I love. I remember Juliet and Haley’s laughter, as well as Kell’s loving words before I disappeared. I think about his beautiful sapphire eyes and loving caresses. My eyes shudder when a whoosh of air warns me that the blade is coming down. Time to die.