Page 89 of Ravaged Devotion

Ryker moved to the check-in counter and grabbed the square shaped speaker, the one the others were meant to have used as a distraction for them to return safely. “Connect your device,” he ordered Ellery as he moved to the front door, shoving the bench there away and deftly undoing the locks.

He pulled it open just enough to toss the speaker outside. Since it wasn’t circular like the first, he needed to throw it further away to ensure they didn’t come pounding on the front door, and he prayed he didn’t inadvertently break it in the process, even as he shut the entrance and locked back up.

“Hear anything?” Ellery asked a moment later, holding up his wrist where he’d turned the music on with his multi-slate.

Ryker frowned and pressed his ear to the wood, then shook his head.

“Fuck.”

“The fire is still holding,” Uriel told them. “We have some time.”

“Still, it’d be better if—” Ellery shut up abruptly when Ryker held up a finger.

Through the wood, the first notes of a metal song carried toward him. He blew out a breath and straightened.

“Music is playing.” Ryker ran a hand through his hair and walked back over, shoving the switchblade back into his pocket.

Uriel joined them a minute later. “They’ve retreated from the fire. The speaker trick worked again.”

“Which means they’re not that intelligent,” Ellery stated with a chuckle.

“So then, they shouldn’t be able to open doors, right?” Uriel motioned over Ryker’s shoulder.

An employee’s body was at the foot of the stairs, lying in a pile of blood. It was impossible to tell who it was since he was missing a head. His right arm was gone as well, and his right foot. If the state of the body itself wasn’t enough, upon closer inspection, they could easily make out two-inch-wide teeth marks left in the flesh.

Ryker hadn’t noticed it in his haste to get the speaker outside, but now a fresh wave of fear swept over him, and he was leaping over the body and bounding up the stairs before he even knew what he was doing.

His friends called after him, cursing when he didn’t slow or respond, then followed, but he was too caught up in his head, the need to find Rue and make sure he was all right driving him forward.

He’d left Rue here to keep him safe, yet somehow it seemed like the lodge had turned into a death trap.

Ryker couldn’t lose him again.

He wouldn’t survive it.

And neither would anyone else.

Chapter 19:

Rue squeezed his eyes shut and covered his mouth to prevent any sounds from slipping past his lips. Outside the closet, he could hear the creature slamming against the door to the office.

He’d told Lenore to head upstairs without him while he made a beeline for the office. She’d argued at first, but there’d been no time, and eventually she’d done what he’d said. At the time, he’d been so focused on making sense of what he’d seen, he hadn’t considered the real ramifications of staying behind.

He was now.

Since he’d only planned on running in, grabbing the game manual he’d seen in the desk drawer, and then leaving, it hadn’t occurred to him to blockade the door either. At least he’d had enough sense to close it, but there was no telling how long that would hold against the weight of a monster the size of a hoverbike.

The game manual was only a few pages, and he’d folded it in half and stuck it in his back pocket. He’d only managed to open the front page before the creature had attacked the door, but the name printed on the inside was imprinted on his retinas. He wanted to check again, wanted to see that he’d read things wrong but the fear gripped him far too tightly for him to attempt it.

When he’d realized the creature had followed him, he’d hidden in the closet, shoving Cosima’s body out hastily. The end result was him sitting in a pool of her post death fluids, the smell of rot and blood keeping him in a state of queasiness.

He wondered if Lenore had gotten to safety. Clearly the creature wasn’t after the others, giving them more time to find a hiding spot. Throwing up had drawn the thing’s attention.

Rue hoped she didn’t feel too guilty if he did end up dying here.

More than that, he hoped Ryker never learned about the series of events that led to him being trapped in a bloody closet, potentially seconds away from being mauled to death.

Despite their agreement, or how Lenore hadn’t meant to vomit all over the monster, there was little doubt in Rue’s mind Ryker would retaliate. His Black Hart wasn’t exactly known for his rational thinking when it came to things like this.