Page 109 of Semblance

“Are you considering going to the Inferno?” I asked. “Not to dive right into a proverbial cliché, but I think it’s a trap.”

“What other choice do we have?” Shadow asked. “Calisto is still missing and in the hands of a complete psychopath. The only chance we have to get her is to play his game and win.”

“Sink or swim it is then,” Lincoln agreed. “Should we contact the rest of the Midnight Society and let them know what we’re up to?”

“They’re already messaging me,” Shadow said as he drew his cellphone from his pocket. “All of them at once from the looks of it.”

I saw the look of dread on his face as he scanned the messages on his phone. Something was wrong.

“Shadow, what is it?” I asked.

He turned the screen of his phone towards us so we could both see. It was the images of Brevin West, James Takeshi, and Donald Huff. They were all bound, and gagged—but still alive. The look of fear in all their eyes was unmistakable.

“For fuck’s sake,” Lincoln said, shaking his head. “The fucker has everyone else.”

Shadow’s phone buzzed again. The image this time showed Calisto--wearing an elegant white evening gown--tied to a stone table like a sacrificial victim. Standing over her was the tall figure of a man concealed by a black cloak, reminiscent of an executioner from medieval times. His face was hidden behind a white porcelain mask, red tears dripping down the sides of it symbolizing blood. I shivered upon first glance of this sadistic man.

There was an additional caption to go along with this image.

“Can you save her before I kill her, like I did your parents?”

Shadow’s face changed from a look of concern to one of burning hatred. He stared at the image, his knuckles white from gripping the phone too tightly.

“Shadow, are you okay?” I asked.

He turned to me.

“I’m going to kill him. Tonight, I’ll find whoever did this to my family and I’m going to crush his skull with my bare hands.”

I suddenly felt my cellphone vibrate as well. I checked the message and was horrified to see an image of Justin, blindfolded, and tied to a pole. Beneath his feet was a pile of kinder.

Save him or watch him burn,was the text that followed, sent by an unknown caller.

“They have Justin,” I became hysterical. “Oh god, they took Justin! He has nothing to do with any of this. Oh shit, shit, shit.”

I was panicking and it took Shadow’s strong embrace to calm me down.

“He has everyone,” Shadow said. “I promise you Aria, we’ll free them, and after we do, I’ll find everyone responsible and I’ll kill them all.”

#

Chapter Thirty-One

When we pulled up to the entrance of the Inferno hotel, the man waiting for us was well dressed—slim cut tuxedo, white gloves, and ink black shoes. His face however was crimson with paint, transforming his visage into something demonic.

He greeted us with a razorblade smile.

“Welcome to the Inferno,” he said, gesturing towards the brightly lit entrance of the hotel. From outside, you couldn’t tell the hotel was still under construction, aside from the upper floors of the high rise building, which were still a skeletal frame of support beams and concrete.

Shadow wasted no time attacking the man, slamming him against the outer brick wall. “Where are my sister and the others?” He pulled a gun from behind his back and jammed it under the demon-faced man’s chin. “Answer me now or I’m painting the veranda of my hotel with your brain splatter.”

“They’re inside,” the man replied calmly, ignoring the threat of the gun. “I assure you, they’re all safe and unharmed.”

“Unharmed?” Lincoln exploded, pulling out the box and opening it, revealing Calisto’s severed finger inside. “You call this fucking unharmed?”

“If they can still breathe on their own accord, then yes, I’d say they’re in good shape,” he replied.

“Who are you people?” Shadow spat, “And what do you want?”

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