A crooked mark, p.26
A Crooked Mark, page 26
“Does it matter?” Anger clips each word, but at least the hot rage burns away my panic. “You’ll kill her anyway.”
“Not necessarily. Like I said, she’s your project. You can still pass your test, Matthew. I’m giving you one last chance.”
It’s a trick. He showed up at Mr. Garrett’s in the dead of night with a can of gasoline, so I’m fairly certain my chances have passed. Kendrick doesn’t know I’ve figure out the real reason he’s here, however, and I’ll take any advantage I can. “Fine. Where are you?”
“That old barn out past the apple orchard. Thirty minutes.”
I need more time. “An hour. I just left your place.”
“You’ve got forty-five minutes.”
The line goes dead.
I slam my foot on the gas pedal. If I contact Captain Walsh, Kendrick will make good on his threat. Mr. Garrett would go barreling into Pryor’s barn in a heartbeat, but a bullet would cut him down before he got two feet inside. I need someone else. Someone who will trust me—or who at least cares enough about Rae to take that risk.
I call Sahana. No answer. Moose and Juan ignore my calls as well.
RAE’S IN TROUBLE, I finally text to all three. CALL ME. NOW.
There are a few places they might be, but I only have time to reach one. I crank the wheel, and the engine whines as I coax it faster.
Hope I chose right.
CHAPTER
39
Music thumps through the streets before MCHS even comes into view. The dance committee has done its job, complete with streamers and signs and strobe lights. I slam on my brakes in front of the gym and jump out. A horn blares behind me.
“Hey!” A girl wearing a crown of tinsel guards the entrance. “You can’t park there. And this is a formal dance. No jeans.”
“I just need to find someone. I’ll be quick.” I give her my best smile.
“No.” She glares at me. “Are you even allowed to be here?”
I don’t have time for this. Darting around her, I jump over a row of cardboard penguins and sprint inside. Paper snowflakes and piles of cotton balls transform the basketball court into a winter scene, complete with twinkling lights and a gigantic snowman. Bodies bump against each other on the dance floor, and the dim lights make it hard to see.
“Sahana!” I shout, but music drowns me out. I shove my way through the line of students waiting for punch. “Juan! Moose!”
Someone grabs my arm and spins me around. “What is wrong with you?” Sahana snaps.
I’ve never been so happy to see her. “Rae’s in trouble. You need to—”
“The only trouble Rae has is you.” She scowls. “Stay away from us.”
“Someone took her.” I pour as much emphasis as I can into each word, but Sahana’s frown only deepens. “Then where is she? Did she come with you?”
A sliver of uncertainty fractures Sahana’s glare. “She texted that she wasn’t feeling well. Why would she do that if—”
“Because he made her! Or he texted for her!” I’m running out of time. “Look, call her mom. Ask if Rae’s at home.”
She mutters something under her breath but pulls out her phone and dials. “Hi, Mrs. Winter. Is Rae there?” Her eyes widen at Mrs. Winter’s response. “Oh! Okay. That’s—no, it’s fine. I’m sure she’s here somewhere. Sorry to bother you.”
Sahana hangs up, the color leaching from her face. “What the hell did you do to her?”
“Nothing!” Another minute gone. “Look, I know you hate me. I don’t blame you. But the guy who has her is dangerous. He—he killed my dad. And he’s going to kill Rae.”
The awful truth hangs between us. I’m out of words, and hope left long ago. I can’t do anything but stand here, reeking of desperation and begging her to believe me.
Sahana’s gaze darts over my shoulder, and I turn as movement near the door sends a ripple through the crowd. The girl with the tinsel crown raises her hand. Her finger points straight at me, and smoke practically rises from the man fuming beside her.
McNally.
I drag Sahana to the side exit. “I’ll call you,” I plead as McNally storms toward us. “You have to answer. Please.”
“Wait!” Sahana grabs my arm, but I shake her loose and race outside. McNally bursts through the gym doors as I dive into my car, ignoring honks from the vehicles piling up behind me. My tires screech as I reach for my phone.
It’s already ringing.
“Where is she?” Sahana demands. “If someone’s really got Rae, why don’t we call the police?”
“We can’t. If he sees a cop, she’s dead. Did you drive tonight?”
“What? Yes.” Her voice fades, but it’s still there, talking with someone else.
“Sahana! You can’t tell anyone! If they call the police—”
“Shut up,” she snaps. “It’s Moose and Juan.”
“Rae needs us.” Whatever they might think of me, they would never abandon her. “We have to go. All of us, right now, or it’ll be too late.”
I bite my lip, and the dance beat fills the silence.
“Okay,” Sahana finally says. “But if you’re lying, I swear I’ll kill you myself.”
“Deal.” The traffic signal ahead turns yellow, and I jam the gas pedal to the floor. “Here’s what you need to do.”
CHAPTER
40
My hands tighten on the steering wheel as I pass the apple orchard. Part of me feels guilty for tearing Moose away from a chance to dance with Tyson, but his help improves the odds Rae will survive tonight. Even if he and the others did it for her, not me, that doesn’t change the fact they’re on their way.
I hope.
Pryor’s barn comes into view, a dark hump on the flat landscape. The tree beside it leans like a reaching claw, and darkness shows through dusty windows. A familiar shape pokes out from behind the building.
Kendrick’s truck.
I coast to a stop beside the open road, the engine idling. My brain screams at me to drive away. Hit the gas, find a new place to start over, and forget Mills Creek ever happened.
Except it did. And it changed everything.
I turn off the engine and step outside. The night is still, and the loneliness of the countryside echoes around me. Gripping the knife in my pocket, I inch forward.
The door creaks open with a slight push. I step inside, and it swings shut behind me. Blackness swallows the room.
“Rae? Where are you?” My question falters, lost in the heavy air. I think of Dad, and a new edge strengthens my voice. “Kendrick! I’m here. Let her go!”
Light flickers in the middle of the barn. A lantern glows on the floor, and Kendrick stands behind it. He looks different, but that might be because I’m used to seeing him wearing his cowboy hat.
Or it could be the gun he points at me.
“Hello, Matthew.” The words sound heavy, a mix of regret and resolution. “Hands where I can see them, please.”
I uncurl my fingers from the knife and reach upward. The blade wouldn’t help anyway, not at this distance. “Where’s Rae?” If only one of us makes it through tonight, it’s going to be her. “You said she’d be here.”
He gestures to the back of the barn. “Right there.”
I circle him, keeping as much space between us as possible. Not that it matters. A bullet won’t mind a few extra feet. The light dims as I move farther back, but a lump on the ground squirms.
“Rae!” I rush to her side. Ropes bind her wrists and ankles, and I tug a gag from her mouth. “Are you all right?”
She blinks hard, her face pale as she struggles to sit up. “Matt, please. I just want to go home.”
“I know. It’s going to be okay.” I face Kendrick, a flimsy shield between Rae and his gun. “Let her go. She’s not Marked. I’m positive.” I hold his gaze. “And neither am I.”
The gun twitches. “Did your father tell you?”
“No.” Twelve feet separate us. Still too far. “But that’s why you’re here, isn’t it? Why you’ve always been here.”
He nods slowly, his eyes shiny in the dim light. “I wish it wasn’t like this, Matthew. I care about you. Jonathan too.”
“Funny way to show it.” I want to wrap my hands around his lying throat. “You followed him that day and killed him!”
A small cry bursts from Rae, but I don’t dare turn away.
“I didn’t want to,” Kendrick rasps, voice thick as he rubs his free hand over his face. The gun dips, and his recent weight loss suddenly makes sense. It must be hard to eat around the guilt of murdering a friend. “We needed to talk. I promised long ago that if I saw any warning signs, I would tell him. He . . . didn’t agree. He would have taken you away.”
Dad had fought for me, right up to the moment Kendrick shot him. A fresh wave of fury rips through me. “What signs? It’s been fifteen years since the accident! After all this time, why—” The answer hits with such force, my breath stops. “You think I’m changing.”
“Think?” His eyes widen, catching the light of the lantern’s glow. “I know! I saw you!”
With his free hand, he pulls out his phone, pushes a button, and holds it up. A car comes into view.
Me. In front of MCHS.
The grainy video plays. Onscreen, the skateboarders glide into view, and McNally steps outside. One of the girls falls, sending her board straight into him, and he crumples to the ground. The image zooms in on my face as I lean out the car window: neck craned for a better look, lips stretched in a smirk, and my cold, black eyes wide open.
“You’ve felt it, haven’t you?” Kendrick lowers the phone. “All those accidents around you, that fight on Halloween, every time your temper burned too hot and you lashed out—that’s the Mark, Matthew. That’s Lucifer’s touch. I gave you so many chances, but . . .” He glances again at my face on his screen, and the muscles in his jaw tighten. “You know what has to be done.”
The accidents. McNally and Mrs. Archer and Haley—he’s blaming them on me, not Rae. At least his delusions buy me another few seconds. If Kendrick thinks I’m Marked, he won’t just use a bullet.
He needs fire.
“I know,” I tell him, slumping my shoulders in defeat. Something scrapes the outside wall, and I raise my voice to cover the noise. “Let Rae go, and I’ll stay.”
Kendrick shakes his head. “It’s too late for that, Matthew.”
He advances, the gun steady once again. I draw my knife as Rae pulls herself to her feet, but we can’t beat him. Not alone.
“Get away from them!” Moose shouts from above. A mason jar flies from the loft and strikes Kendrick in the chest. He stumbles backward, and glass shatters on the floor beside him.
I turn and rip the knife through Rae’s ropes. They fall away, her frightened gaze darting to the barn door behind Kendrick.
“This way!” I push her toward the ladder. “Watch that step. Remember?”
She gives a quick nod, seizes the ladder, and begins to climb. Above us, Juan leans over the edge.
“Hurry!” he shouts. Rae picks up speed, skipping the broken rung as she scrambles toward the loft.
Too slow. Kendrick raises his arm, the gun aimed at her back.
I hurl myself forward, and my shoulder feels like I hit concrete as we collide. He barely flinches.
It’s enough.
The gun shifts as it thunders in my ear, and the bullet buries itself in the rafters. Cursing, Kendrick slams his elbow against my head, and the world spins. He tosses me to the floor and aims again.
He won’t miss twice.
My hand still clutches the knife. With a wild swing, I plunge the blade deep in his leg. He screams and twists away.
“You think I wanted this, Matthew? You were my friends!” He kicks my knife aside, and pain erupts through me as his boot smashes my ribs. “All you had to do was prove you weren’t Marked. That you were one of us. Burn the girl, and you’d have been clear!”
My side throbs, but I stagger to my feet. “There is no Mark!”
“There is.” Kendrick pulls out his lighter. “And it’s in you.”
Dry wood. Straw. Newspapers.
This place will go up like a torch.
Rae scurries past the last rung and pulls herself into the loft, pausing at the top to look down at me.
“Come on, Matt!” she yells.
“Get out of here!” If Kendrick makes it through the door, she and the others need to be far, far away. “Go!”
She hesitates, her eyes locked with mine.
“Go!” I scream.
Kendrick raises the gun, and she flings herself back as he fires. My heart stops, every part of me frozen until I hear her again, shouting at Juan and Moose to hurry up.
“I’m sorry, Matthew.” Kendrick’s voice cracks, but he clicks the lighter, and its flame dances. “It’s the only way.”
With a flick of his wrist, he tosses the lighter into a pile of straw. The yellow sticks glow like brilliant strands of gold.
Then they ignite.
The blaze swells as dry kindling feeds the fire. The temperature in the barn shoots up, and flames erupt in all directions. I sprint for the exit, but something yanks me back so hard my feet leave the floor.
Kendrick pushes past.
I swing my foot out and send him sprawling. His hand closes on my leg, and we roll toward the middle of the barn in a flurry of kicks and punches. He weighs almost twice what I do, but I’m fast enough that he can’t pin me easily. I claw at his hand, and the gun clatters to the ground. My fingers graze the hot metal, but before I can grab it, he knocks the weapon aside. It skitters across the floor.
Around us, the fire roars.
Kendrick’s fist connects with my jaw, and stars explode behind my eyelids. Leaping off, he bolts for the door.
Too late.
Fire rips through the air, sending him staggering back. Every breath hurts, and my skin feels like it’s melting.
This is how Mrs. Polly died.
Kendrick spins and races for the ladder. The loft above offers the only escape, though that won’t last much longer. He’ll have just moments to reach the window.
My friends are out there.
I lunge for him, but he lashes out with a crushing kick. The force knocks the air from my lungs, and I drop to my knees as he begins to climb. The first rung. Second. Third.
Fourth.
His foot lands on the splintered wood, and it buckles beneath his weight. He slips, clutching the sides with both hands.
With a wild yell, I lower my head and charge. My arms wrap around his waist, and I rip him from the ladder in a better tackle than I’ve ever seen from the MCHS football team.
Kendrick flails at me, but I don’t slow, can’t let him find balance as I drive him toward the fire. Yet he’s too heavy, the flames too far.
Until an unbroken mason jar begins to roll. It slips around me and stops beneath Kendrick, whose foot lands on the round glass. His leg shoots out from under him, and with the last of my strength, I give a final shove. He falls away from me.
Right into the fire.
His high-pitched scream splits the air. Turning, I stagger to the ladder and gag on another lungful of smoke. Gray fog clouds my vision, and all I want is to lie down and sleep.
Move.
I start to climb. Kendrick’s screams fade as I pass the broken rung, and a downward glance reveals a writhing mound below.
The smell of burning meat fills the air.
Dizziness breaks over me, and I cling to the worn wood as the blaze finds the ladder. The soles of my feet begin to burn.
I’m not going to make it.
A hand closes on my wrist, and I look up. Moose’s face hovers over me, his red hair bright in the fire’s glow. He leans so far out of the loft that if Rae and Juan let go of his legs, he would come crashing down.
“Come on!” he yells.
My brain chugs back to life. “You need to get out,” I try to say, but a fit of coughing stops me. “Get out!”
“We will.” His panicked eyes flash to the inferno below, but his grip on me only tightens. “All of us.”
Juan and Rae drag him back. He pulls me up the ladder, and I do my best to help. We’re nearly at the top when Juan yells to Rae: “Go! I got them.”
She runs to the window and leaps for the tree. Juan hauls us up the rest of the way and shoves Moose toward the opening. “Jump!”
Moose vaults outside, landing safely in the outstretched branches. Rae’s already halfway down.
“You first,” I tell Juan. Any moment, the roof will fall. “I’m right behind you.”
He doesn’t hesitate. Diving out, he misses the nearest branch, thumps into one below, and looks back. “Come on, Matt!”
The dry straw beside the ladder flares, but I don’t move. The fire beckons.
“Matt!” Rae screams.
Her voice pulls me to the window, and crisp air brushes my face. Below, she and the others wait.
Maybe there’s hope.
My soul. My life. My choice.
Flames reach for me, and I jump into the night.
The fire howls as if cheated, but maybe that’s my imagination, because now I know. The mason jar that saved me tonight didn’t end up in just the right place on some lucky miracle. It came because I called it, reached through empty space and let the fear and anger and hatred raging through me take over for a split second. I’ve felt that terrible burning before, when my fists flew at Toshi and I smashed that branch into Mr. Garrett’s tree. It even reared its head in Jansford Park as Haley closed on Rae, just before her shoelace snapped and sent her tumbling to the ground.
It may have taken fifteen years, but Kendrick was right.
Lucifer didn’t miss that day.
CHAPTER
