Chapter Twenty-Two
Josh
Bright orange colors the black horizon. Trees tower over the blaze like specters, crackling with the heat. I stare, a chill coursing through my veins.
Ares, no! I’m coming for you.
I start toward the fire. A pair of strong hands grips my shoulders, fingers digging painfully into the muscle. “You aren’t going anywhere, Josh.” The poisonous voice ripples over me, sending cold apprehension slithering along my spine.
No!I struggle. I have to reach the cabin and save Ares before it’s too late. “Let me go! I’m going to save him!” I have to, or I’m going to die. At least part of my soul will shrivel forever.
“Him?” Mom sounds oddly detached. “You mean Ares?” She laughs, and her genuine humor stokes my fury.
“You think it’s funny?”
“No. It’s just that… He’s not there. I wouldn’t let my own child burn in a fire. I’m not that cruel.”
“I don’t believe you.” I spit it out. Every word from her mouth is a lie.
“Check for yourself.” She presses her cool cheek against mine. I shiver, then turn to glare at her. A cold smirk twists her lips. Her blue eyes glow with glee in a face carved with delicate, elegant lines. But her beauty isn’t the type that’s warm and inviting. It’s the kind that leaves you frozen in fear. She tilts herhead toward the fire and pushes me toward it. As we get closer, the fiery heat sears my skin.
The person visible through the narrow door is—
“Klein!” I scream her name, but she doesn’t move. My heart stops; panic clenches at my neck. She’s tied to the wooden chair, head lolling and curls sticking to her skin. The fire turns her face an eerie shade of orange-red. She’s in the same T-shirt and boxers I saw her in this morning.
“Klein!” I call out again. The wind from the flames stirs her hair, but she remains motionless.
I start to rush toward her, but Mom’s grip grows stronger, tighter…until my shoulders creak. My struggles only seem to add to her strength. “Damn you,let go!”
“I didn’t bring you here just to have you run to your girl.”
Jesus. I blink, trying to concentrate. Mom lies—and manipulates. She has to know if Klein’s truly harmed, she doesn’t have any leverage over me. But at the same time, Klein’s too still, like a corpse—
My hands begin shaking. “Is she—?” I swallow the next word. I can’t continue.
“Dead?” Mom lets out a derisive huff. “Do you want to save her?”
“Of course!”
Mom tsks. “I told you, you’re the most like me, but you always resist. You want to be like your father and pretend to be nothing like me. You look at me like I’m the enemy, but I’m not. Do you think your father is a capable man, Josh?” Her fingers dig deeper.
I hide the wince. No way am I letting her witness the pain she’s causing me.
“He couldn’t save you. Or your brothers. But you…youcould be different. Embrace your true self. Make me proud, demonstrate to the world what you’re capable of.”
The flames swell around the cabin. She snaps her fingers, and Kenna emerges from the woods to my left and throws several cans full of gasoline into the cabin. They spill, leaving long, wet lines between me and Klein. Greedy flames immediately consume them, creating walls that are already to Klein’s waist. The edge of the fire singes her hair, the pungent smell filling my senses.
No, no, no!I kick Mom in the gut, hard. She grunts, letting go, then laughs. “Good. Now you’re acting like a real Dunkel! I always knew it was in you!”
I run toward Klein. Kenna lunges for me; I shove her away. She lands in one of burning pools of gasoline and her clothes catch fire instantly. She starts rolling around, screaming.
The blaze at the door is too strong, and I can’t reach Klein at all. For some reason, there seems to be an invisible barrier between us.
“Embrace your true self, Josh. If you want to save her, you have to be like me.” Mom’s laugh brims with triumph.
I shudder with distaste and nausea, but clench my teeth. “I’ll never be like you, you fucking sociopathic bitch!”
That only makes her laugh harder. I take three steps back, then sprint into the wall of fire, ready to incinerate myself if that’s what it takes to save Klein.
