Chapter 55

A large man rounded the corner of the kitchen, coming into view. Blood was thickly covering his arms, up to his elbows, and the smell filling the apartment was suddenly clear. He wiped his hands down the nearly saturated apron and I could tell by his tone that he wasn’t happy. All hope of talking to Julie faded as he got closer.

“I sent word that you were to attend my announcement. You’re the highest of my main masters, you should have been there.”

“My man took notes and relayed them to me just seconds before you arrived.” He paused. “My position would have said I supported you, but I’m afraid my attendance would have done more harm than good. I’m glad I decided not to go.”

“Why is that? If I remember correctly, I had your vote. I mentioned bringing back the old ways and you were intrigued.”

He nodded, glancing over at me before turning back to West. “You did, but I assumed it was only for the Cradle. This … brutality you evoke. It doesn’t benefit me. I was here through Old Man Whitlock’s reign. This place wasn’t safe. Not even with the masters having their guards. And you plan to make it like that again. But worse. You’ll turn this place into a bloodbath of carnage and slaughter before it’s over with. And it’s your right. Maybe some men like public pandemonium, but it will never work. Not here. When you break down barriers and make death public, you ignite a beast in every man. Animals don’t get along very well when you introduce them to a feast of food and sins. It will never be enough. They’ll want more—more blood, more torture, more punishments. You’ll make hunters of us all. They’ll find ways to use this against their enemies. And they will destroy this place. Probably you with it. You should have kept the majority of Bram’s laws and just opened the damn Cradle. That would have been the best option.”

West stiffened beside me. “His laws held us back. These men—you —pay good money to do as you please, here. Just because you don’t like your business to be public is your problem. Every master has a right for what they pay for.”

“They pay for the laws that are currently set. They knew what they were getting under Bram’s rule and they were content with that. What you offer now will be your undoing. I’m telling you, they would have been just as gratified had they not known the difference. And for the ones who did, they were adjusted to the change. Now you set the monsters free from their luxurious little cells. I hope you’re ready for the repercussions that will follow.”

“We’ll be able to handle the outcome. I don’t fear their savagery. There’s beauty in barbarism. You just have to know how to flow with the ferocity or else you may drown. I won’t let Whitlock sink with the added violence. I plan to make it prosper more than it ever has.”

Master Kurken shook his head, snapping his fingers, angrily. Julie scattered from the chair, nearly falling over herself as she slid to her knees at his feet.

“You think you know what these men are capable of because you got a small taste of it growing up. But you have never led them. You never saw the true depth of their evil. Old Man Whitlock sheltered you boys more than you know.”

The master gestured his fingers, cracking the guard into action. He walked toward the older man, handing him a large jagged knife. Julie let out a whimper, shifting below. I could see her need to run. The terror on her face left my nails clawing into West’s jacket as I tried to make myself stay still.

“Not all men share the same sins, Master Harper. Exposing the darkest will eventually smother out any light that remains within these stone walls. Can you lead if all you have is the pitch-black void that surrounds you? Will it eat you alive? Consume you as well?”

Plump fingers buried in Julie’s hair and her cry left me trying to take a step closer. But it is impossible. West had already broken his arm from mine and was holding me around the shoulders so that I was stuck at his side. The guard rushed up with a metal tub and Julie’s body tried to shoot up to stand, but his hold of her hair only left her legs and hips moving off to the side while she tugged and screamed in his grip.

“Uncle, please! Uncle!”

Master Kunken didn’t say a word as he stared down my husband.

He jerked Julie to stand straight and wrapped his arm around her forehead.

The slice of the blade cut across her throat from ear to ear while blood gushed free in a fountain of deep, red crimson. The clink of the stream splashing at the metal below had sobs coming from me before I could stop them. Movement blurred in the distance, but I saw nothing but the life leaving Julie’s eyes as her body spasmed in his arms. And maybe I saw my own dying a little, too. A minute of hope for finding a friend—a lifetime of heartache for even thinking it was possible.

“I’ve loved my niece since she was a toddler bouncing on my knee. I watched her grow. Fucked her before she was out of junior high. Some things should not be made for public entertainment, Main Master. Death is a special lover. It is to be cherished. Savored between killer and victim. What you’re doing, I do not condone.” He gave a hard shake to Julie’s lifeless body, moving them to the side as a scrapping sound drew me from the girl’s stoic face. The guard stopped the two hooks just over the tub and instinct had me yanking against West’s hold. But he wouldn’t let me go. And he wouldn’t let me turn into him to hide from the gruesome sight before me.

“Watch,” he growled in my ear. “You are the Master’s wife. You will not balk from intimidation.”

“Intimidation?” Master Kunken, repeated, shaking his head. “I offer no such thing. This is beauty in its purest form. I’m not trying to prove a point to you. I’m merely showing you what will soon litter our once semi-peaceful circle. You offer a massacre to these men. The buzzards will be seen from miles away at the amount of blood they’ll soon spill. Better take that into account, Master Harper.”

The guard rushed over, tying a loop around each of Julie’s feet. He helped Master Kunken lift her limp body upside down, onto two separate hooks that were a good three feet apart. The popping as they forced the hook behind each of her Achilles' tendons left me lightheaded. When they began cutting off her clothes, I couldn’t stop myself from looking up at West.

“Please,” I mouthed. “I can’t watch anymore …”

The hard expression only increased as he held my gaze. When his eyes narrowed, my stomach rolled with the need to be sick. I’d come to know that look. He planned to make me pay for not being strong.

“I’ll be sure to have a group of guards ready to shoot the majority down. The others will … what did you say? Something about a feast of food and sins? Sounds fitting for the scavengers. They can help with the torture.”

“What an evil mind you have, Master Harper.”

“Some would think so. I know Everleigh does. She seems to be having a problem adjusting to our ways. To mine. Maybe if you allowed her to take the lead in helping you prepare your … dinner, it would help her accept the role she’s been given as the main master’s wife.”

“W-what? Oh, God. Please. Please don’t make me—”

West’s hand slapped over my mouth, but he kissed my forehead so lovingly. “This is to be expected of your status,” he said, softly. “You will not cower to death. You will not stir or cringe at the sight of blood or gore. Skinning and gutting your friend will be good for you. Attachments to anyone or anything are useless. Let this be a lesson, wife.”