Page 48 of Stalking Wendy Darling

Door, wrist, prod, ribs.

My hands started to shake, but that didn’t stop me grabbing the door the second I saw the Giant step inside and slamming it into his face hard enough to break his nose. That was the great thing about fortresses like these—heavy doors. Perfect for breaking people’s faces.

Surprised by the pain, he stumbled back, and I shot forward like an arrow, purpose forging the weak spots in my mind. I grabbed the giant’s hand and arm, and snapped his wrist with a move so practised that I could do it even when shaking and weak. The giant roared, but I’d already snatched the prod from where it fell and jammed my thumb against theonswitch. How convenient that it plugged in from the hallway, firing up with a charge so powerful it could make a groan man scream the second it met his ribs.

The giant crashed to the ground, clutching his middle, little moans of pain leaving him. Shaking, adrenaline surging through my veins, I turned to Gabrielle who’d paused in the doorway to watch. Lovely of her to let me take her lackey down. She hadn’t taken a single step to help him. Probably didn’t want to break a nail.

“Big mistake,” she said with a light in her eyes that said she was going tolovemy suffering.

I shrugged, clenching my teeth against a dozen pains that spiked, and waved my prod at her. I’d never settled on a single plan for her—I had too many of them. But first, I wanted an answer to a question that had screamed at me since that first day.

“Did you torture a boy called Kingston?” I asked, my voice as soft as darkness. I took a step towards her, thrusting the prod downward when the giant reached for me. He fell back, howling. I got him in the eye. Oops. I’d been aiming for his hand. His screams cut off abruptly, his body slumping.

“There have been many boys,” Gabrielle replied calmly, not retreating a step even as I neared. Her appearance was as flawless as always, like a sickly child who’s grown up without sun or joy, her black dress doing her pallor no favours. “It’s impossible to keep track.”

I took another step, my anger overriding the pain for a moment as I locked eyes with her. “You’d remember this one. You took his hand.” It could have been lost during the bargain with the sea god, but instinct told me otherwise, and I watched surprise and delight flash across Gabrielle’s face, confirming my suspicions.

“So that’s the captain you keep speaking of?” She laughed, a quiet, grating sound that would star in my nightmares for years. “I didn’t take his hand, but I was there when Eldrick cut it off him. He caught the boy trying to escape. Fool.” Her smile deepened as she gloated, “There is no escaping the collection.”

“But he did, didn’t he?” And now I was the one gloating, creeping closer, my heart racing frantically. “He did escape.”

Her smile grew bigger than mine, stretching the fair skin of her cheeks, making her eyes shine unnaturally. “I wouldn’t be so smug now we have a reason for him to return.”

I blinked. And then snorted, as if pain wasn’t trying to cripple me. “You meanme?Oh, honey.” I pressed my thumb against the prod’s control, turning up the charge to full. “I’m not leverage. I’m a villain.”

I brought my left hand around in a showy, obvious punch and rage entered her face as she twisted to intercept it. Leaving her other side nice and open for the charge I punched into her body, driving every last volt through her ribs and into her body.

Her eyes widened in a caricature of shock, her mouth dropping open, and a moment later her piercing scream shattered my eardrums.

I followed her to the ground, keeping the prod against her side, my teeth gritted against the pain ravaging my own body. I was pushing myself too far, revenge and adrenaline the only thing keeping me upright. But I never moved away, and never broke eye contact.

“Here’s a tip, Gabrielle, for what little good it’ll do you now. Tie down your victims. That way they can’t steal your weapons and kill you with them.”

I watched the light leave her eyes bit by bit until all at once her face went slack, a little line of blood dribbling down her chin. Aww, did I liquefy her insides? I giggled, that sound clearing the way for every manic, hysterical laugh I’d been keeping trapped for days. Or weeks.

“Hey? Mad girl? You wanna stop laughing and let me out?”

I was laughing and crying, on the verge of screaming, but my buddy’s voice knocked me out of the meltdown. I sucked in a breath, my ribs trying to murder me for the audacity of breathing, tears on my cheeks, and composed myself through sheer will. Rage helped. Gabrielle was dead. The giant was dead. My way forward was open.

Aidan Eldrick was next.

I plundered Gabrielle’s body for the keys, hauled myself off the floor, and unlocked my friend’s door. She was taller than I expected, powerfully built with fierce biceps and a face that threatened visceral murder.

“I can’t believe you actually did it,” she muttered, shaking her head as she looked at me. “Do you even know how to use that thing?”

I lifted the prod in my hand, a rush of panic going through me. I quickly turned down the charge to a non-lethal setting. “I’ve been jabbed by it enough times to pick up a few things.”

She laughed, something about her mellowing even if she didn’t outwardly soften one bit. “I’d hug you but we’d both suffer.”

She was right. Just existing was a torture in itself. Add in breathing, walking, lifting my hands… it was a wonder I hadn’t passed out. Hugs were off the menu.2

“I’m Wendy.” I hung the keys from my other fingers and stuck out my hand. Slowly.

She shook it, slowly, and met my eyes with a violent understanding. This was not done. We’d have to kill our way out of this place. “Laurette.”

“Nice to meet you, Laurette. Let’s kill all these fuckers, free our fellow prisoners, and go home, shall we?”

“My thoughts exactly,” she agreed, her smile sharpening.

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