Page 159 of Eternal
I crouch beside him, gripping his jaw, forcing him to look at the dark, rippling pool around us. “Can you see it? Your blood mixing in, staining the water? It’s not a fountain anymore, Antony. It’syou.” My nails dig into his skin as I hiss, “So stop crying. Stop begging. It won’t do you any good. Come on, it’s Halloween. You should be savoring your last one.”
His body convulses, his eyes wide with terror, his voice pleading. “Please… don’t… don’t make me say their names…” His voice breaks, like he’s finally grasping the weight of his sins.
But I’m past all of it. “Tell me who helped you,” I whisper, leaning in close to his ear. “Who helped you hide all of them? Who helped you get away with it for so long, Antony? Who covered this up?”
“Ican’t—” He gasps, choking on his words. “I… they’ll find me. They’ll kill me.”
I grab him by the collar and lift him up, making him look me in the eyes. “I will kill you too. So tell me, or I swear to God, you’ll wish you never fucking existed.”
I pull the knife out slowly, letting the cold steel press against his skin. His breath catches, his body stiffens. I lean closer, “Tell me who they are, Antony. Or I’ll make you suffer so much worse.”
He opens his mouth to scream, but I press the blade harder against his throat, silencing him. “Tell me who helped you,” I say again, and this time, my voice is no longer a question.
This fountain is truly gorgeous and with the red all over it’s even more beautiful.
“You don’t know anything about who’s on top, you can’t stop them. No one can,” he says, voice coated with fear. “And you surely won’t either.”
His head lunges forward and hits me strongly, my lip splitting open. Pain blooms, but I laugh. This last stupid try of survival, an act so stupid, like it will scare me enough to make me stop. But it’s too late.
“You’re right,” I rasp, wiping the blood with the back of my hand. My grin widens. “I am a monster.”
My knife slices into his chest from the top to the end of it. His eyes go wide, and I twist the blade. “I am fucking mad,” I reply, leaning in close, watching his soul fade away. “Filth runs through all of you. Men, women… doesn’t matter. I hateyou. I hate youall.” I laugh, licking the blood off my lip. “Welcome to my hell and… happy Halloween Antony.”
I turn around, my hands up to the sky, this is what I was destined to be. Rage. Anger.Death.
That’s what I had to do. That’s all I know, all I’ve learned. “Now, I’m going to need more before stopping the pain you’re feeling right now. It hurts right? That long wound on your chest. It’s bleeding so badly that the fountain is not even water anymore.”
He gasps, choking on his own blood. “What… what do you want?”
I tilt my head, considering. “I’ve thought about that a lot, you know.” My voice is almost conversational. “At first, Donovan was a fun kill. Something to make the voices shut up, the ones that beg me to end you all. But then I dug deeper.”
I step closer, watching the fear bloom in his dying eyes. “And what a surprise it was to find out Donovan’s habits were so similar to yours. Almost funny, really.”
He whimpers, but I keep going. “I had a name. A girl. Years ago, she disappeared without a trace. She started working for Donovan’s company, and then…poof. Gone.”
His breath hitches. He knows what’s coming.
I crouch beside him, lowering my voice. “And what a coincidence it was to find that the same day she was reported missing, a shipment left for a restaurant. A shipment withyourname attached to it.” Tears slip from the corners of his eyes. He knows I’m not wrong. I tilt my head, mockingly soft. “It wasn’t wine in that shipment, was it?”
His lips tremble. “Listen to me…” His voice is weak, fading. He’s not going to die before giving me more, is he?
I slap him, and his head jerks. “Stay awake,” I whisper. “I’m not done.” I let the words hang in the air before I continue. “I followed the shipment and thought maybe it’s a coincidence. Imagine my surprise when I saw your name in my mother’s journal.”
His body tenses.
“She talked to your ex-wife,” I say. “Apparently, she found pictures in your office. Pictures of young girls.” I pause, letting the weight of it settle over him. “Wooden tables. Almost naked. Crying.Dead.”
His whole body shudders, and I lean in closer, my breath against his cheek. “So tell me what the fuck is going on?”
His lips part, and for a second, I think he’s gone. Then, barely a whisper, “They’re cleansed before they reach the higher levels…”
His eyes flutter shut.
Cleansed?
“They’re cleansed and purified before being used.”
Before being used.
