Page 102 of Ravaged Devotion

Ryker shook his head. “One of them would have come to get me by now.”

“Should it be taking this long? What if…” He didn’t want to finish that sentence.

“They’re fine,” Ryker insisted. “No way they’d let that creature get the best of them. A better explanation is they got tired of searching and decided to call it a night, just like we did. Uriel’s vision is good, but even he can’t see properly in the dark.”

True.

“Enough stalling.” Ryker went for the door, pulling Rue behind him as he went. He took a moment to press his ear to the wood, listening to the hallway to be sure they didn’t open up with the monster right outside, then hummed and flicked the lock.

They eased out into the hall, glancing around quickly for signs of anyone else.

Everything was still and quiet.

Sunlight streamed through the windows, the third floor still above the fog, and Rue shuddered as they passed one and he glanced down to find the thick white and gray substance present below. Whoever had created it had clearly come prepared for this to drag on for as long as it needed to.

Was the goal all of them dead?

Seemed likely.

The only part of the equation that didn’t make sense was why Rhys would go that far against his own child.

Ryker was his heir. Had been before Ryder’s incident, and still was. Sure, they didn’t like each other, but that didn’t change the fact that Rhys had been grooming him to take over the business.

The more Rue thought on it, the more he realized there was a serious flaw in their reasoning. For starters, they still didn’t have a clear motive, but when that fact was added to things…It didn’t add up. Yes, Rhys was the only one they could think of who could get his hands on the game materials, but he wouldn’t risk Ryder’s life to this degree.

“I—” Rue was about to express his concerns when one of the doors they’d been passing creaked open.

Penn peered out from the crack and then gave a huge relieved sigh. He yanked it the rest of the way and stepped out. “Man, am I glad to see you two! I thought everyone else was dead.”

Ryker glanced over his shoulder into the empty room. “You’re alone?”

“Got separated from the others yesterday afternoon. I’ve been hiding in here since. I’m starving. Are you guys headed to the kitchen?”

“No,” Ryker said.

“Do you know where the others went?” Rue asked.

“I haven’t seen anyone since we all ran from the stairs.” Penn looked like he hadn’t slept a wink. “Did you guys catch the screams last night? If I didn’t hear you two walking by just now, I wouldn’t have come out.”

“We’re going to the second floor,” Ryker told him. “Keep up.”

“Sure thing.”

They moved carefully to the stairs and then headed down, pausing to listen whenever one of the steps creaked beneath them. Wherever the creature was, it didn’t seem like it was nearby, but none of them were taking any chances.

Esti must have, for whatever reason.

They found her just around the corner, against the side of the stairs, out of sight until they’d turned from the landing.

At least, what was left of her.

Her entire bottom half was missing, along with her left arm. Her head was still attached, but blood pooled from her mouth and her tongue appeared to be swollen. A bloody path stained the floorboards crimson, leading from deeper down the hallway. It must have gotten her there and dragged her body with it to feed more comfortably.

After only a brief pause, they continued, Ryker taking the lead with Penn at the rear.

“Where are we going?” Penn asked.

“Game room.” Rue didn’t elaborate further. The last thing he was going to do was tell him about the manual in his back pocket. He’d shoved it there before they’d left, not comfortable leaving it lying around, especially since Ryker hadn’t bothered locking his door.