The Liberator (A Dante Walker Novel) (Entangled Teen) (27 page)

40

Wicked Little Rose

I recognize him immediately. It’s the same collector who has haunted my dreams ever since the night he struck Charlie and killed Blue.

“Rector,” I hiss.

The collector bows his shaved head in acknowledgement. A close-lipped smile stretches his mouth as he brushes off the front of his navy-blue starched shirt. Always with the formality, from his clipped words to his militaristic air. Rector waves his hand forward, and Kincaid steps beside him. The two of them now stand ten feet in front from me, and Aspen is an arm’s length behind me.

“Is that it?” I ask.

Rector’s grin widens. “Patrick is here, too. Everyone else is working above ground.”

“Actually, Patrick is drowning with the water demons,” I say.

His smile falters, but not for long. “No matter. You are here, and that is all we need.”

“I brought a friend,” I say.

Rector rolls his shoulders. “I see that.”

“She and I are going to kick your ass, old man. Then we’re going to take Charlie’s soul.”

Beside Rector, Kincaid laughs. “Nice plan you got there.”

Kincaid is the newest collector on my old team. He pulls on his short blond ponytail like he’s prepping to tango. His nose is too big for his face and his eyes too small. He has a birthmark along his right cheekbone. It’s like a beacon for my fist.

Aspen steps close to me and puffs out her chest. “You don’t know who you’re messing with.”

“I think we do,” Rector says, his dark eyes searching her face.

Aspen sucks in a breath. The way she does it seems like I’m missing something important. “Are you the one who stole Charlie’s soul from Dante?”

Rector folds his hands together like we’re moments away from enjoying tea and crumpets. “Dear child—”

“Don’t you dare call me that. I’m not your daughter, asshole.”

Oh, smack! Rector done hit a nerve.

“Let me try again,” Rector says. “The two of you are not leaving here. But I do have a proposal.”

Fury builds in my chest. A proposal? From
him
? Screw that. I suddenly remember with painful clarity the way this dick hurt my girlfriend. I remember that he’s the reason everyone I care about has been put in danger. He took Charlie’s soul from me, but tonight I steal it back.

“Hey, Rector,” I growl. He glances in my direction. “Let’s play instead.”

I lunge. My mind splits open as I tackle him to the ground. Thoughts of Charlie flash in my head each time my knuckles crack into his jaw. Kincaid lands his heel directly into my side, but it does nothing to tear me from the collector beneath me. Kincaid raises his leg again for another blow—

And Aspen is on him.

She leaps onto his back and wraps her legs around his waist. Her hand covers his eyes. Kincaid stumbles around blind as Aspen uses her other hand to grip his right ear. She rips downward, and Kincaid roars.

Rector wraps his hands around my throat, but I remember everything Kraven taught me. Instead of trying to pull his hands away, I go straight for his eyes. They squish beneath my thumbs, and he jerks his head back. He releases my throat, and I bring my knee up between his legs.

Rector curls into himself and I shove him to the ground. Then I spring on top of him. He manages to rise onto his hands and knees before I land on his back like I would a horse.

“Giddy up, shithole,” I yell.

Aspen laughs from where she’s fighting Kincaid, which makes him furious. He rushes toward her, blood gushing from his ear and down his neck. He almost grabs her around the middle, but Aspen leaps to the side. She’s a snake one moment, a rabbit the next. She’ll throw her weight into one of his vital organs, then hop out of his grasp. Aspen seems to know she can’t take on a man if he falls to the ground. So she stays upright no matter what. I’ve seen her stumble more than once, but she shoots back up like a life vest beneath the sea.

Under me, Rector drops to his stomach and rolls quickly to his right. I don’t expect the maneuver, and I lose my hold on him. He pulls himself up and lands a fist directly into my gut. I groan and cover my stomach. Wrong move. Kraven would have told me to ignore the pain and protect myself at all times.

Rector’s hand whips across my face.

Holy crap. The dude just backhanded me like a dirty-ass pimp.

Anger bubbles inside of me until I fear I’ll explode. A snarl builds in my chest. Rector must sense the change because he takes two quick steps back. I race at him like a Mack Truck, and he seeks cover behind a row of souls. I’m almost to him when I notice the row rocking back and forth.

I stop cold and try to retreat. But it’s too late. The towering shelf comes crashing down. From the corner of my eye, I catch sight of Aspen reaching out to me. Seconds later, Kincaid takes advantage of her diverted attention and tackles her to the ground.

The shelf lands on me, and I’m out.

…

When I come around, Rector is standing over me. “That is it? A few seconds? I thought you would be out for at least a day or so, Mr. Walker.”

Aspen chokes on a sob. The sound is half sorrow, half relief. Kincaid has his arm around her waist. I know she could escape his hold, but she must have decided that Rector is too close to my body. That he could do too much harm to me if she struggled now.

Rector rubs his hands together as pain spreads through my legs. The shelf has fallen on my pelvis, pinning me to the ground. I try to push it off and cry out when the enormous shelf doesn’t move a hair. All around, souls pepper the floor, twinkling like white Christmas lights. Numbness bites at my stomach as I fall back and stop struggling.

Rector squats down. I contemplate driving my fist into his knee, but just the thought of attempting it sends a fresh wave of agony over my lower half. The pain becomes a living, breathing thing; it eats away at my muscles—at my mind—like a virus.

“It took so little to take you down,” Rector says, his nose wrinkled.

I lock eyes with Aspen, and even though I’m filled with fury, my pulse slows. She’s waiting for my direction, but she won’t want to hear what I have to say. She could fight her way past Rector and Kincaid, I think, but she’d have to leave me behind, and maybe Charlie’s soul, too.

“You know, I figured you might try something like this,” he continues. “But I never thought you’d be stupid enough to bring
her
with you.” Rector draws himself up and walks toward Aspen. She brings her gloved hands up and assumes a defensive stance, even though Kincaid tries to hold her in place. “Such a wicked little rose.” Rector brushes the side of her face, and for some reason, she lets him. Though her quick breaths tell me she won’t tolerate his touch for long. “Such beauty. But your thorns sting, don’t they?”

“Take your hand off me, old man,” Aspen spits. “And help me lift that shelf off Dante.”

Rector lets his hand fall away. He grins. “Or?”

“Or I’ll kill you.”

“Aspen,” I croak, “get out of here.”

“Not happening,” she responds, her eyes locked on Rector. “Not without you. And not without Charlie’s soul.”

In a flash, Rector snatches the chain from Aspen’s neck. It breaks with an audible
chink
.

Aspen’s face goes slack with shock. Rector loves to do this, to take what’s important from those he’s harassing. I’ll never forget that the last time we met, he had my red sneaker on his gnarly feet and my father’s penny in his palm.

Aspen’s eyes narrow like she’s decided something. “Take it. I don’t want that noose anyway.”

Rector’s smile widens. He reaches for her gloves.

Aspen becomes enraged.

She bites at his shoulder and growls. But Rector manages to peel them from her hands as Kincaid restrains her. I’m surprised Aspen doesn’t do more damage, but then I notice her injured arm again and wonder just how bad it is.

“Don’t take them,” Aspen pleads. “Please give them back.”

My heart twists, and my mind threatens to click off. I try again to lift the shelf, but the blackness comes on stronger. I have to get out from under here. I have to end Rector.

“Hold still,” Rector orders me without turning away from Aspen. “And you, my wicked little rose, have been a very bad girl.” He holds her palms up to examine them closer. “Seems someone thought you shouldn’t be such a wild thing. Can’t say I disagree.” Rector nods to Kincaid, and the younger collector falls to the ground, bringing Aspen with him.

Rector pulls back his leg and slams it into Aspen’s side.

She screams.

41

The Summoning

The sound of Aspen crying breaks what’s left inside of me. “I’m going to slaughter you, Rector,” I roar. “I’m going to break you in two.”

“Strong words for a liberator taken down by a shelf,” he responds before throwing his fist into Aspen’s stomach.

Aspen writhes against Kincaid, and her screams rattle my head. Kincaid wraps his arms and legs around her body tighter, locking her in place.

Rector hits her again. And again.

Visions of the night Rector did the same thing to Charlie dance through my memory. And though I love Charlie, seeing him do this to Aspen doesn’t hurt any less. She is my friend, the sister I never had.

She is a piece of me.

And each time Rector makes her cry out, my spirit is crushed a little more.

Soon there’s nothing left but darkness crouched within my chest. It floods every part of my body, and raw rage provides me a burst of adrenaline. I shove against the shelf with everything I have, and it moves—a little at first, and then more.

This gets Rector’s attention. “I was not going to kill her, you know. She just needed to be tamed a bit.” Rector brushes off his black slacks and runs a hand over his shaved head. “Are you trying to get a little breathing room down there?” He chuckles, and the sound raises the hairs on my arms. “Dante, do you know how sweet it felt to collect your girlfriend’s soul? I could almost taste her inside me.”

My rage burns brighter.

The pain in my legs and hips is forgotten.

“What I really cannot wait for is the girl herself.” Rector sucks on his bottom lip. “She is so deliciously innocent. I dream about the moment our soldiers bring her in. Once we have her here, I’ll make her mine, you know. I’ll make her my princess.”

My hands curl into fists and red fills my vision.

Kill him—kill him—kill him.

“I can’t wait until the first moment our lips touch,” he continues. “Until I lay her down in my bed and show her what it means to be a demon’s bride.”

I can’t take it a moment longer.

I use every bit of strength I have left and shove the shelf as hard I can.

It isn’t enough.

Rector kicks me in the ribs, and I bite down to keep from screaming. My energy is gone. Aspen is pinned to the floor. And Rector is standing over me like a tornado, as if every movement makes him stronger.

I close my eyes and listen to my heart
whomp-whomp
in my ears. The sound of my pulse seems to beat her name.

Charlie.

Charlie.

Charlie.

The darkness ebbs away as I picture her face in my mind, her bright, eager eyes and the swell of her pink lips. The way she looked the first night we were truly together, and the zooming noise she made while spoon-feeding me tomato soup. The sight of her in that sexy ballerina-inspired dress, and the way she fought against Blue to come with me here, blood staining her chest. She is my reason for breathing, the only reason I would trek back into hell.

Since the first day I met her—her cheeks reddening like strawberries—I knew she was different. Her laugh made me want to smile again, and her touch had me questioning everything. She’s the girl who fed her lunch to raccoons, who dug Skittles out of her pocket. She was unfashionable and socially awkward and easily the biggest nerd I’d ever met. And I fell madly in love with her. Even now, as every minute passes, my entire being aches for her more. To watch the way she radiates kindness. To see her smile. To kiss her.

A burning smell fills my nose.

I don’t recognize the scent at first, but when I do, my eyes snap open. Rector looks the same, so I know it isn’t him.

It’s me.

Like a crash of lightning, something Kraven said strikes my very core:
“You have to call on the purity inside of you.”

But nothing inside of me is pure.

Nothing except my love for Charlie Cooper.

Pain rips through my body. I twist side to side in agony, and my back arches off the ground. My muscles tear apart, and my teeth grind together so tightly I’m sure there’s nothing left of them but dust. Something pops in my chest, and then I’m splitting open. My skin is tearing apart, and I’m going to die. I’m going to die because I don’t know how to control this, and instead it’s controlling me.

Everything stops.

The pain ceases, and the ringing in my head quiets. I’m standing upright. Rector is backed against the wall, horror shadowing his face. Kincaid has released Aspen, and the two of them cower near the floor. Everyone stares at me, eyes wide and mouths open.

Instinctually, I flex my back and feel a weight shift behind me. It’s the same way I move my arm, a simple command from my mind. But this isn’t an arm. Or a leg. Or even an open hand.

It’s a wing.

I curl the right one around my body so that I can see it, and I gasp. It isn’t waxy like Rector’s was, and it isn’t sterile white like Kraven’s. Instead, it’s something in between. An ocean of black feathers covers my wing, so dark they’re almost blue. I pull the left one in front and inspect it. They are the same. When I understand what this means, that I have accomplished the impossible, an incredible, unbridled power rushes through my veins.

My glare finds Rector.

My wings crash open.

And a growl rips through my throat.

Rector closes his eyes, and his face tightens with concentration. I know he’s trying to summon his own wings, but I’m not going to let him. I race forward and whip my left wing across my body. Then I swing it out and throw Rector ten feet from where he stands. He lands on his side and rolls three times. When he tries to lift himself back up. he stumbles and grunts in pain. I relish the sound.

In the blink of an eye, I’m on him. I use my wings to lift him upright, then circle my feathered appendages around his body, restraining him in a circle of black. His arms fly out, searching for something. But there’s only me.
Pow!

I pound my clenched fist into his gut and his rib cage and the line of his jaw. From the sound of it, Aspen is tearing Kincaid a new one outside our boxing ring. I take a step back and thrust my wings against Rector’s chest. When I yank them open, he flies through the air and slams into a soul shelf. The shelf teeters back and forth but doesn’t fall.

Without hesitation, I charge toward him again. I hold Charlie’s face in my mind as I kick him one, twice, three times in the side. Then I think about the things he did to Aspen and lose myself to fury. My fists crash into his face so many times that my knuckles begin to slip against his flesh. I shake the blood off my hands, thankful that we’re immortal, that the cuff around his ankle means the torture is never ending.

Rector lies on the ground in a heap. I glance over to where Aspen is landing another kick on Kincaid’s knee. He falls but quickly regains his composure. I’ll hand it to him, he’s persistent.

“Hey, Aspen,” I say, nodding toward Rector. “Want to get some payback for earlier?”

Aspen moves away from Kincaid and toward me. Kincaid wipes the sweaty blond hair from his forehead and narrows his beady eyes. His face looks like it belongs on a
wanted
poster.

Aspen studies my wings warily. “I didn’t know you could…”

“Yeah,” I say, “Me, either. Not really.”

She gets closer, and Kincaid makes a movement like he’s going to tackle her from behind. I wag my finger at him. “Calm down, anus. You and I are going to play next.”

Kincaid raises his hands like he wants none of that.

I reach out to Aspen, who flinches. Our eyes connect. “It’s okay. I’m still me,” I whisper. Then I take her face in my hands. “Are
you
okay?”

Her gaze travels over my wings and then down to the floor where Rector groans. She nods.

I wave my hand toward him. “My gift to you.”

Aspen’s mouth tightens into a thin line. She looks one last time at my wings before turning her attention to Rector. I, on the other hand, spin around and stroll toward Kincaid.

“Want to dance?” I ask. Kincaid shakes his head. “Too bad.”

I hit Kincaid exactly six times and wing-slap him once before he drops like a bag of stones. His eyes roll back in his head. He’s not dead, of course, but he won’t be causing us any more problems.

Aspen is down in Rector’s face, whispering something to him. He clenches his jaw, but the ashen color on his face gives him away. I couldn’t be more proud of Aspen if she grew testicles.

I nudge Kincaid with my foot and confirm he’s down for the count. Satisfied with my handy work, I head toward Rector and Aspen. Aspen sees me coming and straightens. Rector spits blood onto the floor. He swishes his tongue around his mouth before spitting out a tooth.

“That’s unsightly,” I say. “People have no manners these days.”

Aspen wraps her arms around her waist and winces.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” I ask, my tone softening.

“She is fine,” Rector answers for her.

I kick him. “I wasn’t talking to you, asswipe.” I nod toward Kincaid. “See that sack of shit over there? Your collector buddy? He struck out. So it’s just us three, big boy. And soon it’s just going to be you. Because me and Aspen here? We’re going to take Charlie’s soul and skedaddle.”

I grasp Aspen’s hand and move away from Rector. I’m playing Mr. Tough Guy, but deep down I feel like collapsing. When I saw Rector and Kincaid, and maybe even when I first spotted Patrick, I figured we may not make it out of here. I draw my wings back into myself like it’s nothing, like I’ve done it a million times. It doesn’t hurt the way it did to bring them out, which is something. I notice suddenly that my long-sleeved T-shirt is still intact. I guess the initial burning singed through my clothing.

Aspen sighs next to me. When I glance at her, she’s smiling. We’re both in shock at our success. I want to scoop her up into a hug and laugh but decide to wait until we’ve blown this joint completely.

We’re only a few steps away from Rector when he speaks.

“Did you think it would be so easy?” he asks. A chill races over my skin. “Did you think I would let you both waltz out of here with Charlie’s soul?”

I cross the distance between us. “What else you got, Rector?” I snarl. “Stop screwing around and just bring it, because Aspen and I will take on anything. So let’s see it, champ.”

Rector sits up a little straighter and grins. Blood trickles from the corner of his mouth. “As you wish.” Rector fills his lungs. “Come on, my sweet children! Come to me!”

Aspen and I scramble backward, retreating as quickly as we can from what appears before us.