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Growling, I quickly leap and tackle him with my shoulder, taking him to the ground too, but not before a few of the other robed guys forcefully try to pull me off him.
“What the hell is wrong with you people?” James’ voice cuts through the air, voicing out the exact thought in my mind as I give a swift kick to the guy on the ground, right in the ribs. But it’s not enough to knock the knife from his hand. He grips it tighter as he rolls and moans.
Two men behind me pull my arms back in restraint but James takes over where I left off, landing punches into the guy with the knife, dislodging the weapon. Our upbringing landed us in many scraps on the streets in the past and it’s times like this that remind me why James has been beside me in life.
Through thick and thin, we’ve always survived.
“How dare you interrupt the sacred ritual!” a voice booms out, making everyone stop and silence descend upon us. “It is the night of the calling! The call must be made!”
Slamming my head back, I hit the guy behind me with a crunch, leaving my own skull throbbing but my body free to jump into the fray.
James and I are throwing fists, knees, and kicks until I hear the feminine muffled screams of the girl on the table. Snapping my head in her direction, the knife is already halfway down in the air toward her stomach when I disengage from the limbs that try to hold me back. A few elbows and back kicks and I lunge for the fucker who’s about to become a murderer.
“Get him!” one of them yells.
“Stop all this nonsense! The moon is already moving!” Another one throws out.
“We need to do this tonight!”
They all must be anticipating my next moves because instead of gaining any sort of advantage of surprise, the guy changes direction of his blade and swipes the knife right at my arm, cutting through fabric and flesh, making me hiss in pain.
“How dare you enter our domain and bring your taint here!” He points the crimson coated tip of the blade at my face.
Swiping the blood away from my lips with the back of my hand, I look at all these men with intensified suspicion and paranoia.
The guy with the knife rips off his mask and his eyes are bloodshot, a bruise forming beneath one of them.Good.
Someone gets pushed against me and I’m about to throw another fist until I see that it’s James. The cult encircles us with their black cloaks and masked faces, forcing us into a smaller position. The girl cries behind them, her voice echoing softly into the heart of the cavern.
There is no way in hell I can leave here knowing my hands will be stained inherblood if she’s left on the table for them to do as they will. Mama didn’t raise no coward. Someone has to stand up for what’s right.
“I didn’t sign up for this,” James mutters.And he says this now?
“You idiots!” the leader roars. “You dare to interrupt the sacred calling of the gods! It needs to be tonight!”
James steps forward without fear, pointing a finger in his direction. “I don’t care what the fuck you think you’re doing. I don’t want any part of it.”
James is forgetting the most important thing here.
“And we’re taking the girl with us,” I finish with determination.
The stranger’s maniacal laugh bounces off the cavern walls and sends chills down my spine like a foreshadowing of what’s to come. The adrenaline still pumping through my veins makes my body tense up, ready for whatever is going to happen—because something is. These guys are not giving up what they came to do.
“It’s much too late for any changes now. Things have already started,” the leader says calmly, almost a little too happily.
He circles around the sacrificial table as the other strangers block our access to the exit and to him. James and I are back to back, trying to cover all bases in case we get a surprise attack from our blind spots.
The girl screams and struggles once more, reminding me of the neighbor I had before her husband got locked up for good. The old memories make my fists itch to take this guy down. The world could lose another asshole.
“The time of the calling cannot be stopped. Not now. Not when we’re this close.” He continues to walk at a leisurely pace until he’s back at his original position behind the table, as if nothing amiss has happened in the past few minutes. “She signed up for this,” he says with his arms raised to his sides, as if he’s about to raise Frankenstein himself. “There is no backing out of a contract. The gods are going to look down upon us with this offering and bless us with their power and wisdom. It is time for the Dathrokei to rise and take our true position in this world!”
I’m still trying to catch up with all the nonsense he’s spewing out when he quickly brings the bloodstained blade up again.Fuck!
“James! Bouncing Betty,” I call out.
He looks at me in surprise and then with determination. “Fuck.”
James lunges for the guy in front of me, swinging a fist, jumps back and kicks the next guy, creating an opening. With a burst of speed, I leap over the sacrificial table and the girl and try to block the leader with my injured forearm. The point of the blade cuts my bicep and, with a roar, I use my body weight to push him away from the table with the blade still penetrated into my flesh. He topples against the wall of the cave, dislodging the weapon still in his grip, and falls to the side.
