Page 211 of Chandelier Enthralled
Both of us made our way along stone corridors steeped in gloomy light, our footsteps falling on ancient rock. Generations had gone this way before us. Some with knowledge of what lay ahead, and others blindly entering the dark night of the soul.
I liked that I scared her.
She, too, would know what it was to endure suffering at the level she had caused others to feel. Jewel was responsible for millions of deaths. How many more people would she hurt if allowed to continue?
The idea that I could stop her gave me a twisted kind of pleasure.
The ghosts of this place who fought for victory against their oppressors would approve of the hunter turned hunted.
Jewel ran down serpentine corridors where time seemed to have stopped. For me, this felt intoxicating—the scent of damp stone, hearing her breathless gasps, the sharp rhythm of my relentless pursuit—it all caused my heart to race.
My final gift to the world…this.
Light shimmied ahead, and I felt a burst of chilling cold—the cave entrance was straight ahead.
Beyond the archway lay the rocky shoreline, and I heard the waves crashing as they met the beach. Rain pelted the ground, soaking everything in its wake.
Even Mother Nature was crying tears of relief.
Jewel was running along the pebble beach, her pace slowing as she tried to determine which way she should go, realizing she was out of choices.
Before her was a roaring horror as waves crashed against the rocks, spitting froth and foam.
I grew closer, cutting off her escape.
She either faced the crashing waves—or me.
Her eyes were glistening pools of terror. Her once perfect hair had fallen around her face in an unkempt mess. Her dress was now sopping wet from the downpour.
The howling wind seemed to applaud my efforts.
In a whirl of fabric and motion, she backed away. “What do you want? I can give you anything.”
Ignoring the cold, I slipped out of my tuxedo jacket and threw it down. “I want you to go away. Permanently.”
Both of us scanned our surroundings. She was still hoping for a way out, and I was intent on making sure she didn’t find one.
The sea surrounding the island was restless and unrelenting, its waters shifting between shades of steel gray and inky black under an angry sky. The tide crept in with deceptive speed, enveloping the narrow causeway that once connected the island to the mainland.
“How much?” she yelled.
“Are you trying to buy you’re way out of this?” I wasn’t surprised.
“Don’t underestimate me, Greyson. I’ve served kings their greatest fantasy. Presidents know my name. Whatever you desire can be yours.”
“I’m flattered, but no.”
“Is this because of the Cole girl?”
“Willa?” I shook my head. “There have been so many victims. It would be difficult to even name them all.”
“You can have Pendulum,” she spat out. “It’s yours.”
I sneered. “Let me check with our fourth partner.”
“Cameron?”
It didn’t matter now. “Yes.”
