River: A Novel (46 page)

 “Just let
them go, and take me instead,” I cried out.

 “Elodie,”
Asher whispered. “Don’t.” His plea was so pained that I almost recanted. Almost.

 “You can do
whatever you want to me.” I muffled out the last part due to the fact that Asher
had pulled me into his chest to keep me from them, or possibly to silence my bartering.

 “Please, I can’t
let him take you,” he murmured quickly into my ear. “Elodie, I have to get you
both out.” His voice was strangled. In that instant, I knew he wouldn’t let my
plan happen, and he’d get himself killed when Mace tried to take me. I clutched
at his arms. But what else could we do? Mace wasn’t going to just let us go. With
eyes closed tight, my jaw clenched at the wicked cadence of Mace’s laugh. If I
ever slept again, I knew that sound would haunt me.

 When I
opened my eyes after the few seconds of reprieve, Mace was dancing in a circle
with Gwen limp in his arms, a ragdoll. In a raspy growl, he hummed the tune we
had danced to in the theater. His face composed a sickly grin before holding
her up by one arm. They were in the middle of the lake, one of the guards had followed,
clapping in time to the dance while the other subordinates banged sticks
together and stomped their feet. Squinting at them, I became apprehensive
because I couldn’t see well; though the sky was lightening somewhat. Asher
cautiously stepped toward Mace, pulling me behind. We were surrounded by a wide
circle of drumming guards.

 “Well,
well,” said Mace theatrically, “maybe the ice is a bit
thin
out here.” As
if on cue, the guard lit the torch, pointing it under Gwen’s feet. She jerked
at the flame. Even though barely conscious, she must have felt it. Asher and I
flew toward them at the same time, both of us screaming.

 “Stop!” Breathless,
I started to yell again at Mace to take me instead, when I was pulled from Asher’s
hand, landing painfully hard on the ice. One of the guards had grabbed my leg. I
blinked through black splotches while thrashing at the men now holding me down.
Blind to what was happening—I heard only Asher’s deep voice and Mace’s
laughter. I slumped flat on the ground in hopes that the guards would think I’d
become complacent, enabling my escape. Immobilized, I watched as the faces above
me stared toward the middle of the lake. They were grinning as another hollow
rush swept through me. Something had become silent in the malignant atmosphere.
It was Gwen. I could feel it.

..................

It seemed as
though hours had gone by before I was able to move. I could still hear Asher’s growls;
they were almost savage and became muffled over the minutes. A horrid feeling
of loss crept over me, pinning me down just as much as the weights of men securing
my arms and legs. After an eternity, Asher’s voice quieted. This frightened me
to the point where I began to lash out, clamoring and biting at my captors like
a wild animal, only to stop when Mace stood above me at a distorted angle. Unfortunately,
I could see him clearly in the dawn light. 

 He was inhuman
to me, after everything he’d done. My imagination told me he should have
possessed grotesque features: monstrous eyes, disgustingly rotten mouth and
teeth. Even some horrible villain from a comic book wouldn’t have done him
justice. His perfect skin, eyes, and hair made me hate him even more. I wanted
to tear off his disguise and reveal him for what he truly was, but I couldn’t
move. All my worry gravitated toward Asher and Gwen as Mace crouched to my
level, his lip quivering in anticipation. 

 “I’m just
not so sure I want the good times to end,” he snorted, breaking his muffled
laugh into a short, bleating cackle as he rubbed his chin, scheming. To my
horror, he bent even closer, acting as if he were going to kiss me. When I
flinched in response, the guards tightened their restraints, making me wince
and cry out from the pressure on my broken wrist. My obvious pain caused him to
laugh harder. I wanted to spit at him again, but my mouth contained nothing
except bitter flakes of blood.

 “Asher,” I
whimpered, unable to help myself, desperate to know if he was alive. Nearly
convulsing with rocking shivers and trying to ignore an intense pain in my head,
I fought the instinct to cower from Mace. 

 “Oh, he’s
still here,” said Mace while waving a hand sardonically, as if Asher were nothing
but an irritating pest. “The pain he’s in right now though—” His body rattled
with so much laughter that he couldn’t go on for a minute. I grew agitated to
the degree that my muscles trembled, my legs wanting nothing more than to kick
him in the mouth. “So many levels of pain… it’s amusing to me on
so many
levels
.” Mace shook at his sadistic joke. Desperate to cover my ears, I was
forced to hear his guffaws.

  Without
any kind of signal, the guards suddenly let go of my limbs. I stayed still for
a moment, wondering what part of the game it was. After I finally pushed up onto
my elbows, I spoke to Mace in a civil tone, though couldn’t muster anything into
my expression but loathing. This would be my last chance to save Asher.

 “Listen,” I
said slowly, convincingly. “If you just let him go, just let him into the
woods, you can take me… and do whatever you want to me.” Mace and I stared at
each other. Neither of us blinked as I added for good measure, “And I won’t
even complain.” My stomach churned.

 “Oh, don’t
say that!” He chuckled behind a ghastly smile while I blinked back tears, completely
humiliated. “The crying and carrying on is almost best part. The begging,
though—
that
is the sweetest.” His lip curled as I took in an unsteady
breath, still hoping he would take my offer, despite how disgusted I felt.

 Mace stood
abruptly, and I sat up, immediately looking for Asher in the spinning world. He
was there, yards away. Gwen was nowhere to be seen. I gasped as the dizziness
subsided, automatically standing. Asher was bound by his feet while Ruby
wrapped a thick rope around his hands. Gagged and blindfolded, I could make out
that his face had been badly beaten. His shoulder was protruding at an odd
angle.

 “Why?” I
whispered, unable to look at the monster beside me. Dark blood covered Asher’s
neck and forehead.

 Suddenly,
Mace was directly in front of me. “I’ll take you up on your offer,” he said,
crossing his chest with his arms. “To do with you whatever I want.” I shuddered.
His breath covered my face like a lethal toxin. “And I’ll tell you why.” As he
leaned in, I shrank away, and two guards latched on to my coat. Peering over Mace’s
shoulder, I watched Asher shake his head from side to side; he could hear
everything. Mace took my chin roughly, forcing my attention to him as a tear
rolled down my numb cheek. “Because it’s
fun
.”

 Mace began
to guffaw and let my face go. Turning toward the guards standing by Asher, he
signaled them with a nod. I breathed a sigh of relief. At least he would be
free. That alone made this sacrifice worth it to me. When I braced myself to
watch him go, my shoulders slouched. I hoped he would run very far from here
and not try something crazy, like a lone rescue attempt.

 My eyes
welled with tears as I wished I could say good-bye to him. I’d only known Asher
for mere days, but he meant more to me than I could fathom. It was a different
sort love than how I felt for Danny and Petra, but just as much. Gwen, too, and
I recalled her beautiful voice as shaky tears streaked my face with abandon,
stinging my frozen eyes, which I refused to close, unwilling to miss one second
of my last sight of Asher. Mace had taken too much beauty and good from the
world. Maybe Asher could find others who would fight with him. It was the only
hope I could muster in my hollowed out mind… the fraction of a possibility that
he could gather a phantom army before I ended my life. Because after I watched Asher
leave safely, there was no way in hell Mace was going to do
whatever he
wanted
with me. I would rather be dead. And I would find a way.

 Blinking to
clear my vision, I watched something evil glint in Mace’s eyes just before he eagerly
rubbed his hands together. Suspicion ignited in me. After a moment, I spotted a
flame flicker across the ice, right next to Asher. I’d been duped.

 “Wait!” My
hoarse voice cracked as I exclaimed, the hope for Asher to live sapping away,
causing the dizziness to return ten-fold. “We had a deal—you have to let him
go!” I shook with anger at my own foolishness. And now all I could do was
stall.

 “Oh, Elodie,”
Mace addressed me condescendingly. “Did you really think I was going to release
him?” Gritting my teeth in frustration, I
had
been a little surprised
he’d taken my deal, but only now realized the façade he’d conjured was just a
part of his nature. 

 Unable to
speak, I blocked out Mace’s mockery of my inexperience in brokering deals with
madmen while my heartbeat quickened at what was coming next. I could sense the
blood drain from my face and pump to the center of my body, drowning the
victory drumbeat of the guards. My limbs tingled as my eyes widened with
clarity, taking in the distance between us. It was far, but I could make it. I
had to. The buttons of my jacket had ripped open in the chaotic skirmish, and I
covertly slackened the muscles in my arms and shoulders, inching the sleeves down
until the edges slid past my collarbone.

 A deep,
calm breath helped me concentrate on digging my heels into the ice for
traction. I watched Asher’s jaw tighten to the sound of the torch’s hiss. He
stiffened as the guard nipped his ear with the flame. The muted one next to him
took a turn and laughed silently while melting part of his shirt, before moving
down slowly to scorch his bound legs. Asher didn’t flinch when the ice crackled
as the fire touched it. 

 As for me,
I was a statue. I just took even breaths, letting the cold air expand my lungs
to capacity, because soon enough that feeling would be a wanted memory. My
vision tunneled away from the violent demons surrounding us—not sparing a
glance to our murderers. I only wished Asher knew right at that moment that he
wasn’t alone.

 Still
blocking out the cacophony of our killers, I heard nothing but the blood rushing
in my veins when Asher plunged through the ice. My body had been tightly coiled,
and when Asher’s head tilted upward toward the white-gray sky, I acknowledged
it as a signal fire. Sliding out of my jacket so smoothly and quickly that
there was no resistance, my legs moved across the ice without hesitation, as if
running on concrete. I was halfway there before hearing a distant “Stop her!”  My
last breath was a triumphant laugh before I plummeted headfirst, diving into
the hole as fingers grazed my legs.

 My entire
body stiffened in response to the unbelievably frigid water. I was trying to
see into the murky lake, lungs already screaming for oxygen after my sprint,
when I spotted him. Asher was tangled in a mess of black weeds below me,
twisting his body in an attempt to escape the rope’s cocoon. My heart sank. He
still thought he was alone. Forcing my burning arms down and out, I swam to
him. His head jerked a little when I held on to his shirt gingerly with my injured
hand and tore off his blindfold, and then the gag. As his eyes took me in, he
shook his head vehemently, fuming at what I’d done.

  Shrugging,
I touched his face, conceding with a small smile. Maybe I had been a little
rash in my decision making, but with good reason behind my madness. Mace had
taken everything from us. My life would’ve been over, anyway. There was no
escaping. He would have tortured me in the sickest ways he could invent, and I
would have been wishing for death the entire time. Asher may have been angry
with me, but when I focused through the depths and into his eyes, I knew I’d
made the right choice.

 My fingers
were completely numb while I tore at the knots of Asher’s restraints. With lungs
on fire, I finally freed his non-broken arm, and he pulled me against him,
shocking me with a kiss. Some seconds after I’d forgotten we were about to
drown, I felt air push into my lungs. He was giving me what oxygen he had left.
I broke from him, shaking my head, unable to remember any signing, trying to
convey with my eyes that we were in this together. After tracing his cheek, I
began to fumble with the cords wrapped around his legs. My fingers wouldn’t
work. He tugged the knots, to no avail, as hypothermia began to truly set in.
This was no surprise; the water was inconceivably cold. The pain needling my
nerve endings was excruciating.

 There was
no way of knowing how much time we had left, seconds, maybe a minute, so I
floated back to where I could see Asher’s face. The light slanting from above
the ice shifted with the current, giving him an ethereal quality. His black
hair matched his eyes, darkened by the water, though still strong and
beautiful. I felt a faint pulling when his arm tightened around my back. Asher
looked at me not in defeat, but in a protective way. There at the bottom of an
iced-over lake, nearly frozen to death, I knew he loved me… that somehow we loved
each other. And in many ways, Mace had lost.

 Asher’s
eyes softened even more as he finally realized that I wasn’t leaving him. That
I wasn’t going to try to survive. The light changed. Although I knew it was
turning to day above, nighttime drifted in where we were. Unable to blink, I
just focused my tunneling vision on his eyes. Wanting to place my hand on his
cheek, I became distantly disappointed when I couldn’t feel my arms. I knew
they were locked around his neck, but gone to me. His arm was still around my
waist, though it no longer made an impression. My body shuddered when ice water
filled my nose, my mouth. I fixed what was left of my sight on Asher. He had
gone into the water first; he’d given me his air. As I watched, his eyes began
to glaze over, slightly cracking like fine porcelain.