Chapter 36

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Everything had turned to shit within moments. I snatched the guy that had barreled toward me and knocked him to his knees with my hands wrapped around his throat.

Wendy was bleeding out on the ground, while Adrien was forced down with witch magic.

Helen dropped to her knees next to Adrien.

“Let him go,” Katrina intoned in a robotic voice.

Claudia screamed as Katrina started chanting a spell. Purple fae blood leaked from Claudia’s pores.

I had promised Tanner she wouldn’t be hurt.

“Fine,” I slackened my grip. He heaved a harsh breath. Slowly, I put my hands up. “I’ll come without a fight.”

Katrina nodded and Sandra walked in, her stride stiff. She gripped my hair and dragged me after her. I stumbled, managing to catch my balance. “Fucking ouch,” I hissed, but didn’t do anything to stop it lest they hurt one of the others. I squinted at her from the corner of my eyes.

The rigid set to her jaw remained hardened, and her eyes spat hatred.

The Thrall was in full force.

From under my arm, I saw Katrina shove Claudia in front of her as they followed. These two were the stronger ones; Helen would need to get rid of the other fucker in the room with her. With Osmodus and his minions distracted with me, they may have a chance to escape.

“Are you getting out all of your irritation at me for hiding that Helen was alive?”

Sandra didn’t offer an inch of reaction.

“Because I couldn’t tell?—”

“Silence.”

“Ew, that sounds like my dear, deranged father?—”

Her grip on my hair tightened, and I hissed. I curled my fingers into my hand and stamped down the urge to go at her. Not a freaking good idea right now. I needed to be close to him before I tried anything.

A dorm door we passed creaked open and shut just as fast. I pursed my lips and remained quiet in the uncomfortable position with my spine bent forward and her hand speared in my hair.

Once in the elevator, Katrina pushed a button. Awkward silence settled with the doors closing. Claudia and I shared a look, making me feel as bonded to her as I’d ever felt. We arrived at the first level with a jolting halt and I was dragged out of the swinging doors within seconds.

Trees rustled with the light breeze, and the campus had a dusky hue from the emerging sun. Sandra unclasped me, and I straightened. As I brushed my hair out, I kept pace with her long stride. Katrina stayed right behind me, holding Claudia between us. Likely for protection because if I had the chance, I’d incapacitate her.

Nothing seemed different on the campus. Other than the eerie silence, it could have been another normal day walking around . . . until I realized the blotches splattering the front of the Administration building weren’t shadows cast from trees.

Blood, long since dried and pooled in various spots, thickened as we got closer to the building. A large tree in the middle of the courtyard had been snapped in half, and a burnt scent tinged the air. Char coating the side of dorm building one explained why.

Upon entering, it looked like a massacre. Blood painted the walls like someone had taken an oversized paint brush and waved it around. The desk Wendy had sat behind no longer stood tall. Instead, stone crumbled in its place. Debris was piled close together in an attempt to keep the evidence of destruction tidy.

Each step down the hall tightened the muscles on my spine. We headed toward the auditorium where I’d gone to Orientation my first week at Moretti Academy. The same crimson-splattered sight guided the way. I should have known what I would walk in on, but the severity of what greeted me had slapped me across the face.

I screeched to a stop at the threshold of the two opened doors.

Bodies . . . everywhere.

Holy fucking shit. My stomach roiled, and I swallowed hard. Piles of corpses littered the auditorium floor. Sandra kept walking forward, and I inched after her once my legs resumed working.

Some of this . . . I couldn’t compute it.

That girl laying at the end of the pile—I’d had class with her. I’d probably had an interaction with more than half the dead. Or if not, I’d seen them walking around campus.

I stepped over a detached hand.

Get your head in the game, Maya. I gritted my teeth and channeled the stunned horror into fury. Osmodus lay upon a settee that managed to accommodate his enormous form. He hadn’t yet looked up from the unrecognizable meat he was currently sinking his teeth into. He bit into the other end, shredding through the muscle and bone with ease. A loud pop cracked through the room with each chew. Vomit crawled up my throat. The demon gorged himself on my peers.

I halted a few feet away from the lifted platform. At least he wore clothing this time. Sure, they were blood splattered, but I didn’t want to see his nudity.

A group entered and another blank-faced minion corralled the four unmatured Unnaturals into the room. Shaky sobs broke through his chewing.

I squinted as the leader of this group neared. I knew her. Stacie. That annoying chick who’d come at me during self-defense class. She guided people to a cage formed from electricity. It stretched to the left of the platform. I’d been so wrapped up in the bodies that it hadn’t registered.

Katrina waved her hand. One bar from the glowing cage shifted, and Stacie shoved them in.

Thomas caught my gaze from within the bars. Blood painted his skin, and his eyes were haunted. I bit back a gasp. He didn’t look so good. His lips thinned, and he gave me the barest of head shakes.

I gritted my teeth and turned back to the monster.

“This seems a bit excessive, don’t you think?”

His masticating stopped.

“They are happy to sacrifice themselves for me.” Of course, he wouldn’t care, but I tried to get my thoughts in order. Stalling for the guys’ arrival and finding a way to get Claudia out of here needed to happen before the room erupted into craziness. I needed to go at him full force, and I wouldn’t be able to ensure her safety.

“Is that what you tell yourself?” I sniped. Based on his expression, my sarcasm went over his head. “Do you get strength from eating people?”

“We do not, my spawn. But it is quite . . . delicious.” He ran his black tongue across the front of his teeth.

Sick, disgusting, deranged fucker.

His grin made my skin crawl. “Bring me another.” Osmodus finished whatever he ate and moved his hand in a sweeping motion. The smallest population on campus were the shifted Unnaturals, it seemed that they were confined to the dorm building or were under his control while everyone else was either murdered or tortured.

“Yes, Osmodus.” Katrina moved toward the cage.

I needed to get this moving before another person was killed. I scratched my cheek and stretched my neck, trying to be nonchalant as I peeked at Claudia.

“Who named you Osmodus anyway? How embarrassing.”

He stared at me without reaction. So, he couldn’t be incited because he couldn’t understand. Well, full force it was then.

“How did you know I was here?”

“Daughter,” he murmured, and it sent a chill up my spine. “I have eyes everywhere.”

It had to have been one of his Thralled minions.

“Well, good thing that won’t be for long.” Turning to Sandra, I forced my desires on her, reaching into the ball of energy in my gut, and directing it at her.

I didn’t know what horrors she’d experienced, and if I released her from his Thrall now, she might break. That couldn’t happen yet. I trusted her, but I couldn’t take the chance, so I had to get her under my control.

“Get Claudia safely out of here.”

Her features rippled, and she grabbed Claudia’s arm. I shifted and grinned.

I didn’t have time to watch them leave because I lunged at Osmodus.