Chapter 244
I barely noticed what was happening in the observation circle as I continued to call out to Gibbon, but I did see Hannah and Morgan go flying through the air like rag dolls, crashing into display cases as Gibbon made his way through his opponents. I knew now he was coming to me. It was only a matter of time, and as much as the Hunters and Guardians in front of him wanted to slow his approach to the exit they assumed he was searching for, they wouldn’t be able to stop him.
Brandon was out there now. His presence was my only reason for paying any attention at all to what Gibbon was actually doing as I continued my siren’s call. I realized my sister had somehow managed to will her way back to her feet and that she was following Aaron down the hallway. He had almost caught up with Gibbon, but neither of them would be able to stop the monster either.
A flurry of motion caught my attention, and I switched to Brandon’s perspective, realizing too late I should have sent a warning that he had moved in on Gibbon. Two seconds later, he was flying through the air, crashing into the concrete wall above the doorway that led to the exit. I grimaced, wishing there was some way I could’ve prevented that from happening, but I knew Brandon was trying to do his job, and Gibbon would stop at nothing to reach his goal—freedom.
A bright light flashed in front of me, making me lose concentration. Gibbon continued to run, sidestepping the aftermath of the grenade Christian must have tossed at him, and a liquid silver sprayed into the air. It missed its mark and did nothing to the Vampire, though it did seem to impede Aaron’s progress as smoke plumed out in front of him.
I switched to Christian and realized he was grappling for his other grenade as Gibbon slammed into him. The Guardian wouldn’t find it, of course, and Gibbon sent him flying into one of the nearby display cases, sending shards of glass up into the air, rubble tumbling down on top of the man who was supposed to be in here with me, protecting me from the monster who none of them seemed to be able to destroy.
Then, Gibbon did something none of them would have ever expected, though it didn’t surprise me in the least. He stopped. He turned and looked at Aaron, glanced around at the carnage, and without running, took three long strides toward me. I drew in a deep breath and backed away from the door. I braced myself, remembering I’d asked for this, as he pulled the door open, and his large build filled the entire door frame. He looked at me questioningly beneath his prominent brows and then closed the door behind him. I heard a gasp and realized it was Cadence who had just reached the observation circle and saw the monster bearing down on her only sister.
Steven Gibbon entered the room slowly, as if he wasn’t sure he could trust me, but I forced myself to smile at him, despite the fact that my hands were trembling. He was by far the largest creature I’d ever stood before, towering at least three feet above me, and I knew he could crush my skull in the palm of one hand if he wanted to, if I was the type of being he could kill. But he wouldn’t. That’s not why he was here. The sound of people calling my name over the IAC was drowned out as he began to speak.
His voice was thick and gravelly as he spoke between heavy breaths punctuated from his fleeing. “You’re like me?” he asked.
“Yes,” I nodded. Somehow I managed to command my own teeth and I opened my mouth to show him my fangs.
His eyes widened in recognition, but then he asked, “Why are you with them?”
“I’m Cadence’s sister.” His brows drew together in confusion. I found it hard to believe he didn’t know who Cadence was, but then, as I’d probed his mind earlier, it became clear to me he was operating in a state of distress. Perhaps he didn’t know who it was that had been chasing him. None of that mattered now. I swallowed hard and took a step closer to him. “They don’t understand you.”
“No.” His eyes dropped to the ground, and he began to look a bit more like the small boy I’d seen in his own memories.
“They don’t know what it’s like to have the urge inside, the one you cannot quench.” I wasn’t just talking about the thirst for blood but the longing to kill as well.
He knew exactly what I meant. “No.” He took a step closer to me now. There was only a foot or so between us.
I was gaining his trust now. I was certain of it. Continuing to put myself in his position, I said, “They do not understand why we must do what we must do.”
“No.” His eyes were large now, and if he were capable, I thought a tear might slide down his ash-covered cheek.
“I understand, Steven. I see your pain. I know what that awful woman did to you.” Mentioning his stepmother brought an anguish to his face, one I could feel echoed in my own emotions as I continued to be tied to him. With another deep breath, I opened my arms, and he took a few more steps closer, timidly. “Let me help you,” I urged, trying to keep my voice light and ethereal. “Let me protect you. I can make them understand.”
My sister’s voice cut through the waves of emotions Gibbon was inundating me with. “Cass! What are you doing!”
I heard Brandon as well and realized he was still lying outside on the floor, crumpled, and Elliott was asking if I’d lost my mind, but I knew he hadn’t started to descend the tower just yet, so he must trust me a little. Despite all of that, I looked at the monster in front of me and wrapped my arms around his massive shoulders as he leaned down toward me. His body began to shake, though no tears spilled from his dry, steel gray eyes.
“I didn’t want to hurt anyone,” he groaned, anguish in his voice.
“I know. I know.” I patted his back, offering reassurance.
“I couldn’t help it,” he continued.
“None of us can.” I felt more like him than different at that moment. While I’d never hunted and killed, preyed on the blood of others, I knew exactly how he’d felt even as recently as that same night when he’d killed the security guard. “None of us can help that instinct inside of us. The one that says, ‘Kill.’ We can try to fight it, but, eventually, we will give in.” Gibbon continued to vibrate against my shoulder as the voices in my eye combatted the memories flickering through my mind. I slowly let go with my left hand, continuing to speak to him soothingly. “I’ll explain it to them. Everything will be just as it should be.”
“Thank you,” he said, beginning to regain his composure. He leaned up away from me, and if he was capable of smiling, I supposed that was what I’d have to call the expression on his face.
“Certainly,” I replied, trying to smile back at him. I could see him clearly now, could see who he was before he’d become a Vampire, before he’d become a monster, and I realized the truth. In that moment, looking into the eyes that so very much mirrored one of my own, I knew who I was as well. With the smile still plastered on my face, I said, “I have something for you.”
He was just as surprised as I expected him to be. “For me?” he asked. “What could you possibly have for me?”
“It’s a present,” I replied, taking the object I’d been concealing in my left hand and offering it to him. He took it, his forehead crinkled, and I further explained. “It’s from the joggers.”
A wave of confusion washed over him as he turned his hand over and looked at the item I’d slipped into it. He realized what he was holding a split second too late, and I flung myself backward under the ticket counter as Gibbon let out a groan and a flash of light lit up the small space between us.
The smoke rolled under the table instantly, and I began to choke and sputter, no longer able to see the monster in front of me. But then a noise unlike anything I’d ever heard before filled not only my ears but my mind as Gibbon began to shriek in pain. Once the initial smoke cleared, I could see flames bursting forth from his arms, all the way up his shoulders, and as I watched, his head ignited.
Despite rivulets of silver liquid melting into his skin and setting him ablaze, he looked directly at me, and in his eyes I saw nothing but betrayal. I thought for a moment he might grab ahold of me and drag me from beneath the table, but he didn’t. Instead, he leaped forward, and a second later, I heard the shattering of glass as shards exploded into the room, tinkling to the floor in front of me. I could no longer see him, but I knew the flaming monster was running for the front door as fast as he could, leaving plumes of smoke and ash in his wake.
Once I heard Gibbon’s footsteps fade, I stood and turned to see the destruction he’d left behind him. The windows were shattered. The room was full of smoke and ash, debris littering the table and the floor. He burst out of the front door, and part of me wanted to chase him down, to finish what I’d started. But this wasn’t my fight anymore. My plan had worked for the most part. The bullets may have well bounced off of him, but that grenade I’d handed to him had slowed him considerably. And Elliott was out there, waiting for him. It didn’t really matter that Andrew’s people were there, too. I knew Gibbon didn’t stand a chance against the man in the tower.
