Charlie keeps talking beside me. “It’s like he was waiting for me,” she says, her voice devoid of emotion. “So I let him come. I ran away from Annabelle so he’d chase me and get away from her. And then I turned and faced him.” Charlie puts a hand to her chest like she’s feeling for something that isn’t there. When she pulls her palm away, there’s a bloody handprint left behind. “I stabbed the horn directly into his eye. And his eye…it just burst. So then I tried to stab him in the other eye. But I missed and got his throat. After that, I just kept going at his face until he stopped—”
“You did what you had to do,” I say, cutting her off. My arm grips her waist so hard I know it must inflict pain. But I can’t loosen my grasp. I may never take my hands off her again.
“Do you hear that?” Charlie asks. She sounds like a child, like she’s asking about ice cream instead of demons buried by the dark.
I spin around and see what she heard—the shadow of a man creeping slowly toward us.
“Blue,” I say, instilling as much calm into my voice as I can. “I want you to take Charlie and get the two of them inside.”
His gaze meets mine. He opens his mouth like he’s going to say something, but I already know.
“We’re cool,” I tell him. “We’re always cool. Now go.”
When I crane my head back around, I find that the siren is now racing forward. I fill my lungs and then start running in his direction, too. It’s just one siren, just one, and behind me is my world.
We’re only a few feet apart when I realize his eyes aren’t on me. They’re set on the people fleeing toward the house. He snarls, and his shoes pound the earth. He’s so close now. Close enough that I reach out to grab him. But I miss. I made a mistake. I misjudged how fast he was going, and now he’s past me and crashing toward Charlie like a bolt of lightning.
“Blue!” It’s the only word I can get out.
Blue jumps into action. He lets go of Annabelle and leaps in front of Charlie. His arms spread out behind him, pushing her back.
But the siren speeds past Blue and Charlie both.
I suddenly understand who he is headed for, who he was always headed for.
And now it’s too late.
34 
My Reason
The siren—not much older than me—takes Annabelle’s head in his hands. His voice comes out rough, like the sound a truck makes driving over pebbles. “I’m going to snap her neck. And you’re going to watch.”
Charlie comes alive in an instant. The blood is forgotten. The body she left behind—gone. Now there’s only Annabelle. She shoves Blue from behind, and he’s so startled, he tumbles to the ground. “I know what you want,” she says, her head held up high. “I’ll go with you.”
The siren smiles, and the sight raises goose bumps across my skin.
“Charlie, don’t move,” I say, slinking toward her. “Don’t take another step.”
But she’s not listening. She wants this. She’s waited for a moment when she could protect those she cares about instead of the other way around. And now she won’t be denied. Charlie moves closer, and the siren’s grin widens.
“Rector is going to be so pleased,” he says, licking his lips.
My pulse pounds at my temples at the name. Rector. The head collector. The same collector who got too close to my mom, who forced Charlie to forfeit her soul, who accidentally killed Blue.
“Get back,” Annabelle mumbles to Charlie, barely conscious. It’s the first time I’ve heard her speak, and her words, the life in them, fill me with courage.
I’m almost to Charlie when the siren says, “You’re all Rector wants, so I guess it doesn’t matter what I do with this one.”
He means Annabelle.
He’s going to kill Annabelle even though Charlie is within his reach.
But in a flash, the siren is airborne.
He’s flying through the air, and Kraven is standing in front of Annabelle like a wild dog. His wings spread out, and he roars with unbridled fury. He turns once and takes Annabelle’s face in his hands. His eyes search hers.
Then he’s soaring toward the siren, his wings brightening the night sky.
The siren screams so loudly, my ears ring. I don’t know what Kraven is doing to him, and I don’t care. There’s a quick snapping sound, and the screams stop. Seconds later, Kraven is touching down in front of Annabelle. He glances around, searching for any other source of danger, but there’s nothing to see.
Except for the blood covering Charlie’s body.
Annabelle’s knees buckle, and Kraven sweeps her into his arms. He leans his head down and presses his cheek against hers. And then, as if he remembers we’re watching, he pulls away.
Valery, Max, and Aspen come rushing around the corner of the Hive. Max gets to us first. “Is everyone all right?” He sees Charlie. “Holy crap.”
I seek out Aspen and find she’s staring at me. She nods. “We can’t wait any longer,” I tell Kraven, my gaze still on Aspen. “So if you have any secrets to share, now’s the time.”
Kraven moves toward Blue and passes Annabelle into his arms. Then he grabs my shoulders and jerks my chest against his. “I’m going to take her.”
“Dude, back off.” My muscles clench. “What are you doing?”
Kraven holds me in place. “Have you not liberated a soul recently? You can’t take it with you down there. Now hurry up; more sirens will be here any moment.” He glances around like he can’t believe they aren’t here already, like this may be some sort of trap.
A wave of understanding washes over me. Grams. Kraven wants me to give him her soul so he can turn it in to Big Guy. Makes sense. The fact that I’d forgotten this detail makes my face burn. I close my eyes and try to pass the soul into him, but I can’t.
“Stop trying to give it to me,” he barks. “I have to take it from you. That’s the only way it works.”
How am I supposed to know this crap? I was never taught how to steal souls, though that didn’t stop Rector from figuring it out. I quit trying to do anything, and when I do, I feel a slight tickle along my chest. I’m not sure if that means anything. When Rector took Charlie’s soul from me, I didn’t sense much of anything. If I had, maybe I would have known what had occurred. “Did it happen? Do you have it?”
“What’s going on?” Charlie asks from beside me. She’s still dazed but seems to be doing better. She and everyone else are staring at Kraven’s wings. Even the people who’d already seen them once before are speechless.
Kraven doesn’t answer either of us. He just darts toward Blue and takes Annabelle back. Guess I’ll take that as a yes, I took her soul. “Go now, Dante. Quickly. I have to get them inside.”
“He can’t go now,” Valery says. “He promised you three more days. Doesn’t he need that to learn—?”
“Red, this can’t wait,” I say. “You know it can’t.”
“What is everyone talking about?” Blue says. “And why are we doing it out here?”
“Max, will you lead us?” I say.
“No!” Valery barks. “You don’t need him.”
Max steps to my side. “Of course, man. If you insist on being an idiot, I won’t let you do it alone.”
“He can’t go back there,” Valery insists. She’s talking to me but grabbing onto Max’s shirt. Tears fill her eyes, and her cheeks bloom red.
“Blue, take Charlie inside right now,” Kraven demands. Though Blue’s face is filled with confusion, he does what Kraven asks. At first Charlie holds tight to my waist, shaking her head no. But as Blue begins to pull her away and I begin to push, she starts shouting. I know Charlie doesn’t know exactly what’s happening. But she knows enough. She knows I’m going somewhere and that it can’t be some place good.