"Lily—" a muffled male voice shouted from behind the closed doors.
The killer turned her around as the doors opened inward.
Ian stared back at them.
"I'm sorry, Ian," she sputtered.
"They're over there—" a voice shouted from the front yard, drawing their attention.
It was Varkis.
"Get down the stairs," the killer ordered Ian, his breath moist and foul against her cheek. "And close the doors behind you."
Ian stepped out, closed the doors and moved past them slowly, his hands raised and eyes never leaving the assailant.
A dozen gargoyles charged towards them across the front greensward, Varkis in the lead, sending up great splashes of water from the soaked turf.
"Stay back—all of you," the killer shouted, pressing the blade tighter against Lily's throat. A trickle of blood fell down her neck like a drop of warm water.
She winced from the sting and pushed her head further back against the man's chest to relieve some of the pressure; but he merely tightened his grip.
"Do as he says," Ian yelled, motioning for the gargoyles to cease their approach.
Varkis came to a halt, palm raised to the creatures behind him. "Is that Callamous?" he snarled through barred teeth, staring at the heaped form of the unicorn atop the stairs.
Ian nodded.
The assassin pointed his gloved index finger at Ian. "You—Come with me. The rest of you beasts—make yourselves scarce. If anyone follows me, the girl dies."
"I'll be coming with you," a human voice sounded from behind the wall of gargoyles.
Mike stepped out from behind the group, his pants and bandages soaked with rain and clinging to his body, and a pistol in hand. He mounted the steps to where Callamous lay.
"Ahh, now there you are," the killer said with a note of satisfaction. "I was beginning to think they'd killed you, but you delivered the goods nonetheless."
Ian narrowed his gaze at Mike. "You traitor."
Mike's expression was impassive, his eyes seemingly vacant.
"Yes," the assassin interrupted, "he delivered the girl right to me, in fact. The only thing missing was some gift wrap and a pretty bow."
Mike opened the door and gestured for them to enter.
With Mike in tow, the gun pointed at Ian, the assassin dragged Lily along in front, and they went into a sitting room. At Mike's instruction, Ian retrieved a flashlight and opened up a wall panel. They entered the darkness between the walls. Ian went first, though unwillingly, and was followed by Mike. The killer released his grip on Lily and turned her around so that she stood in front of him—with the blade of the dagger in the small of her back.
"Where are you taking us?" she asked.
"Ian's torture chamber."
"His—what?"
"The vat room," Mike interjected with impatience.
The vat room? A shudder coursed through her body. There was no possible way of escape now.
"Why did you call it a torture chamber?" she dared to ask the killer.
"Just shut up and you'll soon find out." The tip of the dagger pressed deeper into her shirt and she straightened her back.
They climbed down a ladder to the basement and after a few more turns, came to the spot where Lily had tripped over the slab of stone in the floor. Only now it was lifted away from the hole and light was shining out of it from the room below.
When they reached the bottom of the ladder, the cloaked man pushed her in front of him again and held the blade to her neck.
Ian's jaw was set and his eyes fixed on a square opening in the wall on the opposite side of the room. The interior of the box glowed a fluorescent green.
He swallowed hard, Adam's apple bobbing with the motion. "Don't make me do it," he said.
"You will. Or the girl dies."
Casting a grieved glance at Lily, Ian went to the far wall and stood in front of the opening. The killer followed behind, dragging Lily with him.
Ian turned to face him but made no other moves.
"Hurry up," the cloaked man snapped. "I haven't got all day."
After a long exhale, Ian pressed the button over the opening.
"Please put your hand in the box and identify yourself," a female computerized voice said.
Ian placed his hand in the glowing opening and said, "This is Ian Hawke."
The green light scanned up and down his hand.
"Identity confirmed," the computer said. "Access granted."
"There." Ian turned again. "It's done. Let her go."
The killer backed Lily away from Ian and scanned the room. "What exactly is done? I see nothing."
"It opened a room in the west wing of the mansion." Ian's voice was subdued and low. He let out an impatient exhale. "If you follow me, I'll take you to it."
"Not yet. First, you need to delete your clearance and give it to me instead."
An exasperated look. "Why?"
He tightened his grip on Lily. "Do I have to remind you again that I'm holding a dagger to the throat of your beloved?"
Ian narrowed his eyes, lip curling downward, but said nothing. He turned back to the box and put his hand inside, identifying himself. "Delete my clearance and input a new one."
"Acknowledged. Remove hand and your clearance will be deleted," the computer responded. "Clearance of Ian Hawke deleted. Standing by for a new input and voice command."
Ian nodded at the assassin. "Go ahead."
"If this is a trick, I will not hesitate to kill her."
"It's not a trick. You watched me do it—you heard the computer."
Hesitating a moment longer, the hooded man removed a glove, while still holding Lily against his chest, and reached his hand into the glowing box.
"Kurik," he said, loud and clear. The green light scanned his hand.
"New identity and clearance confirmed," the computer said.
"Excellent," he said slowly, withdrawing his hand. He moved himself and Lily to the side. "Tie Ian to the table," he said to Mike.
Mike approached from across the room.
"What?" Ian protested. "I told you the room is in the west wing of the mansion. Don't you want me to take you there?"
"It's time Lily dear learned the truth about you . . . Ian." He lowered his lips to her ear, foul breath making her eyes water. She tried not to inhale. "His real name is Zever," he said in a growl, "and you'll soon see the monster he really is. It's best he be tied down for it."
Lily blinked but didn't breathe a word.
Mike held the pistol to Ian's head and tied him down to the table with buckled restraints around his wrists and ankles. Kurik moved Lily away from his body so that she was facing him; while keeping the dagger in place. He pulled back his hood with his free hand.
She let out a cry, eyes widening.
Though not a twin, he was clearly Ian's brother. His hair was shaved close to his head and his jaw was thicker than Ian's. He couldn't be much older but his face was weathered and a gruesome scar stretched from the corner of his upper lip over his right cheekbone and ended somewhere above his ear.
He grinned, exposing blackened teeth, like a dog's. "That's right, you've guessed it. I'm Zever's brother and our father is Morack. Your precious Zever is just as much a monster as I." He moved closer to Lily until their faces were only inches apart. He examined her face, her lips. She tensed up, holding back a scream. "You realize," he growled, "that if you kill Morack, it will result not only in the death of all his followers, but of Zever and myself as well." His lips were a mere inch from her own. She couldn't breathe.
This must have been what Callamous was talking about when he said she'd have to make a choice between the life of one or the lives of many.
Her heart sank to the pit of her stomach and tears trickled down her cheeks.
"Now, Zever," Kurik went on, jerking Lily's head back by the hair and running the dagger lightly across her throat, "why don't you show us who you really are?" He looked down at Ian and grinned.
"Let her go—" Ian's eyes had turned to pools of black. He strained against the buckles, trying to break them.
"I can't let her destroy us, brother." Kurik yanked on her hair, pulling her even further back. She could barely maintain her balance and clenched her jaw against the pain. "How should I kill her? Fast or slow? Slow might be more fun. Should I carve up her face just like you did to mine?"
"Let . . . her . . . go," Ian said, voice growing deeper and rougher. His lower jaw seemed to dislocate as his mouth stretched open unnaturally. He let out a cry of rage and frustration as a pair of fangs shot out of his gums above his canines, like a cobra about to strike its prey."
"You see," said Kurik, laughing, "he's nothing but a freak."
Ian struggled against his restraints again, the corded straps beginning to tear. "You tied me down because you're nothing but a coward."
The pressure of the knife against her throat began to slacken.
"I cut you the night you tried to prevent me from escaping through the portal," Ian shouted, "and you ran off. So, unless you want to spend the rest of your life reminded of that, be a man and fight me now. You've had far more training than I—" His voice was feral now. He tore one of his legs free from the table, busting the strap with brute strength.
Kurik seethed with evident fury, his body quivering, but he maintained his grip on Lily.
Mike continued to aim the pistol at Ian but kept his distance. His face was stoic.
"Don't make excuses," Ian said, ripping off the restraint on his right wrist. "Fight me and prove it—"
"Make one more move and she dies." Kurik's voice had a twinge of something like fear in it now, and his brow glistened with sweat.
Ian busted the final restraints, but rather than leaping from the table, he merely sat up. His fangs retracted and his jaw snapped back into place. Only his black eyes remained. "You're a coward," he said calmly.
"I am not a coward," Kurik screeched. "You think putting a scar on my face makes you a tough guy?" He threw Lily to the ground and she landed hard against her shoulder, momentarily stunned. "Watch her, slaveling," he shouted at Mike. "He makes any move, you shoot her."
Kurik charged Ian then, who was standing now, and made a slicing motion at his face with the dagger. Blood dripped to the floor at Ian's feet, but Lily couldn't see him through Kurik's back. He made no moves to defend himself.
"There." Kurik grinned. "Every time you look in the mirror, you'll see me and remember who your real family is." He stepped to the side with a sweep of his hand, as though to say "ta-da!".
A gaping cut ran from Ian's lip, up over his cheek, and to his ear.
Lily swallowed down the nausea that rose in her throat. She was still on the ground. "You're wrong," she said with a tone more bold than she felt. "Ian's real family was his mother, Auguste, Hannah, and all his friends here on earth."
Kurik let out a belt of laughter. "Do you really think Auguste was a better father than Morack? He used to torture creatures down here! What did you think this table here was for—and that?" He pointed to one of the drains. "That's where he washed away all the blood." A smoldering pause. "And Ian was the one who brought him all his victims."
A beat passed.
"Is that . . . true, Ian?"
"They were evil creatures that Auguste accidentally let through the trunk," he said, his tone sombre. "I locked them up down here in the vats, it's true, but I didn't know what he was doing with them. He told me the table was for autopsies. It was stupid of me to believe him."
"Yes, of course," Kurik sneered, "because dead creatures need restraints, right?"
"Look, I loved Auguste. I didn't want to believe he was capable of such things."
"Blah, blah, blah—lovey-dovey trash. You knew exactly what was going on down here and you enjoyed it—because your blood is just as black as mine." Kurik came forward then and grabbed Lily by the wrist, yanking her to her feet. "Now show me where the room is."
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