Page 104 of Gluttony
“He’s sad,” Sloan hissed.
Daisy had said it was sad. It didn’t like being in the cage it was created. It had wanted freedom, that’s why she’d released it. Looking around, Tony saw the metal frame of the hut. He gestured. “Don’t keep her in a cage like you were.”
The creature paused. It stopped strangling Griffin. It looked around the inside of the hut with its dark eyes. And then it watched Tony.
“We know how you feel,” Tony tried again. “We were born in a cage too. We’re on the same side. Look—” he put his sword down. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not like the people that created you.”
His family looked at Tony like he was nuts. Probably because they actually started to believe him. They thought he wouldn’t hurt the creature. But he was a good actor.
“Let her go,” he said. “She’s not your wife.”
It swiveled its abnormally twined head, moved its slashes for eyes at Bailey and looked at her again.
“My name is Bailey,” she said. “I’m not Gabrielle.”
Tony glared at Sloan, and then at the monster, hoping she understood what was happening. She did. She focused on the creature, and soon, elation rippled through Tony as the vines around Bailey loosened. Sloan had the power to influence emotion, and she had cast doubt into the creature’s mind. It worked.
Tony swallowed the lump in his throat and gestured for Bailey to come to him. The second their hands touched, he yanked her into his arms, and hugged tight. Only for a second, then he pushed her into Parker’s arms and nodded.
Time for anyone who couldn’t stand the heat to get out. “Time to go nuclear,” he said, and then turned back to the creature. It looked at him. It cocked its head. It looked at Bailey climbing out of the hut with Parker, and it looked at the rest of them, all slowly picking up their weapons.
It knew he’d lied.
Sloan shook her head. “It’s not happy.”
“Die,” it hissed.
“This is what you want? You want me to die?” Tony asked, trying to buy time for Bailey to get out. He waved for Sloan, Evan and Griffin to leave too, but they wouldn’t. He couldn’t let his power out with them there. The suit would only protect so much.
“Die,” it hissed again, but no attack came. Instead it cowered a little and backed up into a corner.
Sloan released a sob, and her bow dropped. Her head hung low, and she took a deep breath. “It’s so sad. I don’t think it wantsusto die. I thinkitwants to die.”
“Yesss. Die. Free.”
Jesus. An ache spread in Tony’s chest and he felt sorry for the thing. If Wayne Bosch somehow lived in there, or even if the creature was its own entity, it was different, unwanted. It didn’t know where it fit in this world, and to feed, it had to kill. Tony had never stopped to think if it had feelings. But Daisy had. From the start she had tried to help it.
Even now, when his sister had been trained to kill, a part of her goodness remained. That same part that had tried to sing away his pain when he was little. There was hope yet.
Tony put his sword away. He looked at his family. “You guys go. I got this.”
Sniffing, Sloan nodded. She went to leave, but took one last look over her shoulder to the creature. “I’ll help you feel better. I’ll make it good.”
Then she disappeared through the window. Evan hesitated, but left. So did Griffin. Wyatt came up to Tony and lifted his chin. “I’m staying.”
Tony gave a curt nod, then he stepped toward the creature. He let the power in his body build. Hot liquid fire burned in his veins. Blue light became white. It blinded them. So close to the being, he could see the eyes weren’t slits. They were just deep, deep holes, and within them, he saw the eyes glistening.
“Yes.”Viney, bony hands took hold of Tony’s wrists and moved his grip to its throat.“Free.”
“Yeah, buddy. Free.”
And then Tony let his ruin out. He accessed all those parts of himself he’d denied. He accepted everything, because like Bailey had said to him once, ruin could be good. It could be sweet. He freed the creature from the shackles of its life. Sloan must have kept her word because it never cried out in pain.
Smoldering ash burst into the air.
A pungent scent of burning wet things hit him, but he kept going until his fingers closed around nothing but disintegrated wood.
Thirty-Five
