Page 122 of Depraved Boys

They scattered, and one of the boys ran back and grabbed my arm, but Sebastian rushed forward and punched him square in the face.

Ashley continued crawling through the snow. Some kind of gag wrapped around her head, but attached to its front was a snout that covered her nose and mouth. They had attached pig ears around her head and smeared what smelled like feces over her body. But worse were the streams of pearlescent liquid glistening over her back and hair and down the insides of her thighs.

My lungs expelled their contents in a huge rush of condensation.

Bruce, that bastard Ashley had met at the Hessington Hall party, knelt at her side, whispering words that made her body convulse with muffled sobs. The twins crouched on his left and right. One of them even held her chin, forcing her to make eye contact. Gritting my teeth, I ran around her and whacked the nearest twin, who skittered away like a startled rat.

“Bitch.” Bruce leaped to his feet and lurched toward me with his fists balled.

I kicked out at him, but he grabbed my foot and pulled it up, making me fall on my back. Freezing, wet snow seeped through my hair, into my neck and into the back of my head, making me draw in a noisy gasp.

“Fat cunt,” he snarled. “When it’s your turn—”

Leopold punched him in the side of the face, giving me enough time to scramble back to my feet. I was about to pick up my branch when one of the twins shoved me back down to the ground.

“Eat slush, Pigsty,” he spat.

I kicked out and caught him in the shin, then righted myself and charged at the other twin’s middle, knocking him onto his back. “You filthy bastard!”

Red blotches surfaced on his pasty face. “Get off!”

I punched him in the nose, but he turned his face to lessen the impact.

Rough hands grabbed me from behind, lifting me off the fallen twin. I twisted in my captor’s grip, while the twin on the floor sprung to his feet and rushed at me with his fists.

A blur knocked him off his feet onto his back. It was Prakash, who punched him hard in the face.

The boy holding me let go, and I landed in a crouch. He rushed past, presumably to help his comrade. I stuck out a leg to trip him up, and he fell on his face.

A whistle blew from the direction of the building, and a female voice boomed, “What on earth are you all doing?” Miss Claymore sprinted out from a procession of teachers. “Stop that at once.”

The caretaker, Mr. Blunt, ran a few paces behind her, holding some kind of truncheon.

I froze, as did Cormac and the kings.

It was only then that the aches and pains from being grabbed and jostled pushed themselves to the forefront. My head throbbed, and my stomach churned. I doubled over and threw up on the snow.

By the time I raised my head, most of the boys had already run around the other side of the building, taking Ashley with them.

CHAPTER THIRTY

There were fewer lights on the side of the building where the boys escaped, but the dark figures contrasted with the white landscape, indicating that they’d all gone in the same direction. We bolted after them with Leopold and Sebastian in the lead. Prakash and Cormac slowed to match my slower pace.

Fury powered my steps, but the shin-deep snow slowed my progress. I clenched my fists, ignored the cold seeping through my tights and into my loafers, and picked up my pace. One of those boys must have slung Ashley over his shoulder so the faculty wouldn’t see what they had done to her.

“Sebastian Garraway, Leopold Brunswick, and Prakash Kashaayah,” bellowed Miss Claymore. “Come back, or I will have you all arrested!”

With a muttered curse, Sebastian and Leopold stopped running. Prakash slowed.

“Typical,” muttered Leopold.

“What are you three doing?” I continued running. “We need to go after them.”

Prakash’s expression twisted into a grimace. “She’s serious about that threat.”

“Huh?” I glanced over my shoulder. The deputy head moved through the snow like a charging rhinoceros, leaving Mr. Blunt behind.

Cormac grabbed my arm. “Let’s go.”