Page 40 of Back In the Shadows

“Death!” I yelled. “Please hurry.”

Xavier’s features twisted in anger as he pinned me with a look full of hatred.

“It doesn’t seem you’re as smart as I thought you were,” he said to Death. “Your time is running out and so is hers.”

“If you hurt her, I’ll fucking spend the rest of my life hunting you down. When I get ahold of you, I’ll cut your goddamn dick off and stuff it down your throat. Then, I’ll cut off each finger and toe. I’ll make you suffer slowly until you bleed out and you no longer see my face. But I promise you this, I will be the last thing you see before you fucking die.”

“Promises, promises.” Xavier rolled his eyes. “You have eight hours to find her, or she’ll be joining my family.”

Fear gripped my heart as my attention landed on the three stuffed people at the table. Xavier was definitely capable of killing. Fiona had confirmed they had at one time been his family—alive. The thought of her pissed me off. She’d visited just to fuck with my head, nothing else. For all I knew, it was her idea to drug me in case I tried to run since I’d asked her for help. Fucking bitch. She better hoped I died because if I made it out of there, I’d come back for her and bury her alive.

“Here’s your last clue. Remember you have only eight hours left.”

A feral growl filtered through the phone, and a maniacal grin eased onto Xavier’s expression.

“Where your childhood screams still echo, she whispers her last goodbye. The wall between memory and salvation is thinner than you know.”

“That doesn’t make any fucking sense,” Death yelled. “The —”

Xavier disconnected the call in the middle of Death’s sentence.

“I have something very special planned for tonight.”

My head was reeling with the riddle, and I missed what he’d said.

“Huh?”Holy shit. An idea tickled the back of my brain trying to piece together where I was, but I had to be certain before I said anything.

“You’ll see. For now, enjoy your day. I’ll be back soon.”

“Don’t leave me here!” I yelled as he walked away and picked up the dress from the floor before he climbed the stairs and disappeared.

Hope bloomed to life inside my chest. I was grateful he was gone, but I couldn’t let him know that. My attention landed on the wedding band that encased my finger. I slid it off and held it in the palm of my hand while I offered a meager prayer to the heavens that my plan would work.

19

DEATH

“The shepherd calls it straying, but the darkness calls it pilgrimage—every lost lamb is just a shadow being born.” ~ Anonymous

“What did he say?”Ryan asked.

My hands clenched into tight fists as I imagined choking the life out of him. “Another goddamn riddle, but I heard Ella in the background. She’s alive but the motherfucker only gave me eight hours to find her. From the riddle, I think we’re on the right track with the house. He said, ‘where your childhood screams still echo, she whispers her last goodbye. The wall between memory and salvation is thinner than you know.’”

Every second was crucial, and I couldn’t bear the idea of failing to save her. My pulse raced with adrenaline at the possibility that we were finally close to her, but I didn’t dare speak it aloud for fear of jinxing our chances. Even as I pushed away the thought, my pulse quickened with anticipation and dread. Time was running out, and we had to act fast.

Ryan’s brows shot up. “Let’s get to the place where it all went down.” He glanced at me, his expression hopeful. Ryan was probably thinking the same thing I was. Ella was nearby.

The car tires screeched as Ryan made a sharp turn onto Tully Lane, my childhood street. My stomach clenched with fear and anxiety as each familiar yard we passed ignited a memory—most of them involving Dope and the neighborhood kids.

I leaned forward, my heart jumping into my throat. “What the fuck?”

Ryan slammed on the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road, killing the engine. We unclipped our seat belts and jumped out of the car.

“Holy shit.” Ryan proceeded towards where my old home once stood, now reduced to nothing but rubble.

“I can’t believe it’s gone,” I whispered, shaking my head in disbelief. “But … where’s Ella?!” Panic rose in my throat as I frantically scanned the debris for any sign that she had been there.

“I don’t get it.” Ryan walked across the dirt where my yard used to be, kicking at it as he moved. “It’s fresh. The house was demolished recently. I wonder why, though.” He looked down the street, and I followed his attention. “Someone is coming. Keep your mouth shut and let me see if we can learn anything.”

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