Page 264 of The Invite
The rapid beating of my heart says otherwise.
“Did you tell that to your girlfriend when she sent those two lunatic girls after me?” counters Ace before grumbling, “I had to switch my clothes to get rid of them.”
Pushing away from Augustus, I twist around. Marching toward Ace, I kick hard at his shin.
“Oww!” he hisses in pain.
“Scare me like that again and it’ll be your balls I aim for next.”
His chilling glare does not affect me. Behind me, Augustus laughs and tugs me back into his embrace. “That was awesome, little prey.”
“What’s with the limping, cousin?” a new voice utters.
I crane my neck around Augustus’s side, seeing a shirtless Maverick and Scarlett—in a sensual angel costume—join our little circle. Scarlett and my eyes lock. Hers narrow slightly in a warning. I rip mine away because everything I do seems to provoke her.
“I’m not limping, fucker.”
“Nessa kicked him,” Augustus shares smugly.
“Jesus!” chortles Maverick. “Do it again. I gotta see for myself.”
“Quit it, you all,” snaps Scarlett. “Am I the only one who remembers why we’re here tonight?”
Everyone goes somber. She’s right. Tonight isn’t about fun. Anonymous’s last message gave us the deadline till midnight. We have to catch him before then.
“Relax, Scar,” Maverick mutters, wrapping an arm around her waist. “None of us have forgotten.”
“Let’s go,” orders Augustus.
“I’ll be around,” says Ace, before turning and disappearing into the mob.
Maverick and Scarlett walk ahead of us, while Augustus and I linger behind. Tilting my head, I ask him, “Do you think he’ll be suspicious? He agreed to come very easily.”
“He wasn’t when I talked to him over the phone yesterday. Even if he was, he can’t risk not showing up tonight, otherwise he’ll give himself away.”
“How much time do we have before it’s midnight?”
“Two hours.”
Not much time then. A shiver passes through me when Augustus discreetly presses a knife into my palm.
“Keep it with you,” he orders. His gaze is hard. “Don’t hesitate to use it in case something goes wrong and we get pulled apart.”
“What about you?”
Forcing my fingers to curl around the knife handle, he replies, “I have something too.”
The screams and hoots summon our attention toward the wide ground on our right. Roller coasters, Ferris wheels, and so many different rides blind us with the colorful lights. There are also food trucks and booths with shooting games spread around.
We walk past it all and turn to the left. I gape at the disturbing cemetery. Multiple tombs are spread out. The spine-tingling details are the dead bodies crawling out of their caskets instead of being buried under the ground.
Their expression is gruesome and in agony. Some have their back cut open so you can see their insides. Everyone is in some state of gutted.
A stoned path weaves between the tombs leading to the colossal castle looming behind the cemetery.
If someone stumbles here alone, they’ll have a heart attack because the figures look all too real.
I still when my gaze lands on Capri, standing out like a sore thumb a few feet from us in the middle of the field. A plain mask dangles from her hand as she observes the throng of people exploring boredly. Like she’d rather be anywhere else.
