Page 154 of Crucible
His head snaps toward me, and then Khalil rushes to close the van doors. “Seth, I want you to promise me something,” he says once they’re secure and he’s standing in front of them, making it clear I’d have to get through him to see whatever the hell freaked him out.
“Yeah? What’s that?” I only half listen as I look around to see that the bodies are gone, and the blood’s been covered up with fresh snow just in case anyone happens to pass by. It’s sloppy and risky, but it will have to do until we can figure out a way to cover our tracks properly.
“Do not under any circumstances look inside this van.”
That gets my attention. Unfortunately for him, it also piques my curiosity. “Why? Because of the bodies?”
“No. Just trust me.”
It’s an automatic response for me to say that I don’t trust him, but for whatever reason, the words don’t come.
I…do…trust him.
And it’s all because of Aurelia.
She makes everything better. It doesn’t hurt as much inside Zeke’s head because all I can think about is her, and I don’t hate Thorin and Khalil anymore. Well, at least not enough to kill them. Anyone who knows better than to let precious treasure like Sunshine get away can’t betoobad.
“Or you can stop treating me like a child and tell me. I can handle it, Khalil.”
“And if you can’t? Aurelia is ten feet away, Seth. Bane could—”
“Bane won’t be a problem, so stop stalling and tell me what’s in the van.”
Khalil debates it before sighing heavily and saying, “Honestly, I can’t decide what creeps me out the most, but you should know there’s a cage.” Khalil watches me carefully while my skin prickles with unease. “I’m guessing it’s where they kept them.”
“Who?”
Khalil glances at the van again and pales. “The girls that came before Aurelia.”
I’m guessing the ones who weren’t as lucky to have a few monsters of their own on a leash.
Pete would have put Sunshine in that cage.
Petewould have done things to her that I don’t have to imagine. Because once upon a time, in a different place and a different cage, I was the one in the cage.
And yet, Aurelia held Pete’s hand without a thought and not mine.
My gaze drifts to the van again and the cage inside. It’s where Isaac kept us when he wasn’t taking Zeke apart piece by piece. The cage was no bigger than a large dog’s—no room to stand, sit, or stretch my legs in. It got so uncomfortable at times that I longed for the sharp edge of Isaac’s knife or his favorite—the volts of electricity when he tried to fry me from the inside out.
“Seth…you with me, buddy?”
I hear Khalil, but he sounds far away.
I’m not on our mountain anymore.
I’m on that cold metal table. I can feel the leather straps holding me down, biting into my torn, flayed, and charred skin. I can taste the blood, tears, and vomit in my mouth. I can hear Isaac telling me what an honor it is to be chosen as a sacrifice. I can see his face, a carbon copy of Zeke’s father, and those soulless eyes staring down at me from under the single light that swings back and forth above like a pendulum.
You were born to die.
You were born to die.
You were born to die.
I was born to die.
I’d forgotten how dark it is here.
I’m back in the cage, and the bars are closing in on me. I push against them, and I’m back on the table. I scream from the pain of Isaac’s knife, and I’m in the cage again. The cycle never end—the pain, mutilation, and torture.
