Page 139 of Gravehouse

“Wave,” I say, flipping it off.

“Brake!” Khloe shouts.

The road drops lower the deeper I go, the tunnel swallowing what’s left of the daylight behind me. The display flickers once. Punk’s name vanishes. Khloe’s voice breaks into clipped pieces, two words arriving out of order before the connection dies.

My headlights catch a warning sign bolted to the damp wall.

SHARP TURN — 100 FT.

I ease off and downshift, taking enough speed out to make the corner.

I put my foot on the brake and the pedal goes soft. “What?—”

Fifty feet.

The center display turns white.

My foot’s still on the brake, but the accelerator pushes itself to the floor, launching the car forward.

“What the fuck?”

The wheel rips out of my hands.

It cranks full right on its own, tires screaming against the camber, and the throttle stays buried with my boot nowhere near it. I lock both arms around it and wrench left. The wheel fights back, turning itself while the corner arrives through my windshield.

Punk bursts back through. “ASHER, THE CAR’S?—”

Her voice cuts out.

A new audio file opens on the display. Ivy laughs as the Aston mounts the curb and strikes the tunnel wall.

Concrete fills the windshield, dropping away when the car rolls, glass spitting over my face before everything goes to black.

CHAPTER

THIRTY-ONE

IVY

Death was never goingto come easy for me, even though I’d spread my legs for it on multiple occasions.

Humanity. Such a fickle inconvenience.

The blade lands in my open palm with every flick while the ocean throws itself against the glass wall of thisawfullysanitized hellhole.

“Are you worried?” the pest opposite me asks, sprawled across a two-seater sofa with her arms spread wide.

I smirk, holding her smug stare. “Not as worried as you should be, considering it’s just you and I in here—“ I tilt my head and pretend to examine her posture. “—and would you look at that? You’re already in the Blood Eagle stance.”

Her mouth drops at the same time as her arms.

I roll my eyes and go back to my knife. I’m bored and understimulated. Silly me for thinking Emeric would unleash me onto the streets. Of course he has a plan.

Over the past two days I’ve picked up plenty. For one, everything in this place is sterile. Polished concrete, deep-set LED strips. The main hallway loops on and on with no visible doors, yet walls open up for you if you press on them right.

Strange mind-fuck of a building.

This room is different. A whole wall made of glass where I’m guessing the cliff used to be.