Midnight Ruling (19 page)

I thought back to all the Discovery Channel features on big cats. A lion stretching a gazelle’s skin like pantyhose came to mind.
If I am going to die, please let it be fast. I don’t want to feel it eating me
.

The tiger sat near the central circle, tail swishing and appearing calm, though the tensed, muscular shoulders said otherwise. Brown eyes, not yellow, flickered between Phoebe and me.

“What do you think it wants?” Phoebe whispered, unmoving.

I almost answered, “
To eat us, obviously
.” Though if it wanted to eat us, it would have attacked already, wouldn’t it?

We faced the creature, unsure how to proceed. Maybe it was just toying with us, luring us into a false sense of security.

The tiger didn’t flinch or look away. The only thing that moved was the tail, which misted the fine, yellow powder behind her.

Inching forward, I bent my knees in case I needed to run. Where would I run, you ask? I figured I’d cross that bridge when I came to it, or feel my skin stretch like pantyhose.

“Fuller,” Phoebe hissed.

“Well.” I didn’t look back, afraid eye contact with the shiny cat was the only thing preventing it from pouncing. “It’s not moving. What should I do? If it plans to kill us, it’s going to whether I move closer or not.”

Phoebe didn’t seem to know what to say. I heard her exasperated sigh, then she went quiet. She crept next to me, near my back, as I held our only weapon. A feeble weapon.

I wasn’t delusional. The reach was useless against claws and teeth.

“This is a bad idea,” Phoebe whispered near my ear. Her breath was horrible.

I flinched and shook my head, unwilling to back down so soon. If she had a better idea, she could volunteer it. For now, we would go for the cat.

The door behind us didn’t open, though it wasn’t locked either.

I decided that being trapped between predatory rivals was another bridge I’d cross when I found it.

When we came within fifteen feet, the giant cat stood up on all fours.

Phoebe stiffened next to me, and I readied myself for another fight. My heart fluttered, making me feel sick.

The tiger began to walk toward us, powerful shoulders shifting with each step.

“Hit it,” Phoebe whispered.

I adjusted my grip on the stick, the sweat making it harder to hold.

The tiger neared us, neither slowing nor quickening its easy pace.

Intelligent dark brown eyes met mine, and I froze. Up close, I could see a patch of fur missing from behind her ear, naked pink skin exposed much like that of the monkey’s.

“Swing,” Phoebe said in a hissing squeal.

I knew she was right; I should be swinging to keep the tiger at a distance. My stomach tightened as the beast stopped just before me.

It was close enough to stretch its neck and take a chunk out of my thigh.

Raising its large head, which was large enough that I could fit both my spread hands between its ears, it huffed a sigh. Hot breath steamed through my flimsy pajamas, scattering goosebumps.

Instinctively, I wanted to back up but instead took a deep breath and held it.

Taking my lead, Phoebe didn’t move either as the tiger sniffed at her.

I squeezed my eyes shut and waited. Precious seconds ticked by, and I forced myself not to fidget.

“Christ,” Phoebe growled.

Feeling the dirt brush my ankles, I opened my eyes to see the tiger back where it had started beneath the archway several feet away. Beside it, Damien stood with one hand resting on its giant head.

I thankfully didn’t have any breath to gasp.

Damien’s raven hair was slicked back, a strand or two falling to his forehead. His straight low eyebrows twitched as he said, his voice as smooth and clear as glacier water, “Good to see you made it in one piece.”

“Me too,” was all I could say. My voice was softer than I liked, but he could probably hear me.

Damien’s fingers stroked the tiger’s head.

I glanced at the tiger with the human eyes. It didn’t react to Damien’s touch but still watched Phoebe and me.

“What do you think of her, Nora?” Damien asked. The question sounded innocent enough, but the way the tiger’s gaze narrowed on me, I was reluctant to complicate an answer. Somehow, I was certain it—or rather she—understood us.

“Big,” I said, feeling flush.

Was that a smile on black lips? I didn’t think cats could smile.

Damien turned his obsidian eyes down at his tiger fondly. He wore the same black clothes I’d seen him in earlier. None of which appeared wrinkled or worn. Not even the dusty sand seemed to cling to him.

“Is she yours?” I asked cautiously.

Phoebe stepped in front of me, her posture rigid. “Enough chit-chat. What the hell do you want, Damien?”

Damien flourished his arms in a charismatic gesture toward me. “I’m here to greet our new player.”

Phoebe eyed him. “Is this a new Challenge?”

He tilted his head to the side, studying Phoebe. “In a way, it is. Especially for you. But some rules can be changed.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Phoebe took another daring step forward. “Is that the loop hole? We lost because of a rule you changed?”

It sounded like Damien had recited his “rules” speech to her a few times in the past.

Damien’s eyes narrowed in annoyance as Phoebe continued on a rage, her face scarlet. “We started the Challenge before you showed up. We should get a type of pass or something because of it.”

A dangerous half smile tilted the corner of his mouth.

“Phoebe,” I warned, reaching out to stop her. “We won’t get a pass. This isn’t our world.”

Phoebe’s snapping gaze steamed with betrayal, and I pulled my hand back.

“She’s right, you know.” Damien sounded amused. “No rules were broken. In fact, your pass could be considered that you didn’t have to face my creation. Now that would be unfair.”

“Creation?” I asked, looking between them. “What creation?”

“Unfair?” Phoebe spat the word. “You don’t even know the meaning of
fair
!”

Damien’s dark gaze shone. “What’s the last thing you remember, Phoebe?”

Seeing that he was baiting her, I held up my hands to quiet them both. “What creation?” I asked louder.

“Fuller, you can’t just…” Phoebe half turned to face me and froze.

At first I thought she’d had an epiphany, ready to tell me what she’d learned. After two elongated heartbeats, I realized she was frozen.

Staring open-mouthed at Phoebe’s chilled features, I waved my hand in front of her face. It was an amateur move, but I wanted to see her eyes following me. I wanted to see the spark which had so dramatically dulled and I feared she might be dead.

Her body was in an uncomfortable half twist at her hips. Her golden hair, which had been swinging free, was left suspended in the air, like a statue.

“What did you do?” I asked, hearing the shiver in my voice.

“Giving you both an example. She can hear everything, so you won’t have to explain it again,” Damien said, as if to warn against spouting secrets.

I felt myself relax. She wasn’t dead. “Change her back then.”

“No.”

My eyes snapped away from her. “Change her back!”

Monkeys began to chatter in the cage behind me.

Damien’s reply lowered an octave. “No.”

Curling my hands into fists, I glared. “If I argue with you, will you change me into
that
too?”

“I can’t,” he admitted, unashamed. “I do not control you. You won the last Challenge. If you lose this one, however…” The smile unnerved me. I wasn’t afraid of something bad but rather something I might want.

I pressed a sweaty palm to my stomach, feeling the warmth spark weakly within. It was like hugging an old friend. I was both horrified and grateful to feel it there—even on the fringe.

The tiger made a grumbling sound, deep and reverberating. I wasn’t sure if it was growling or digesting monkey.

I stepped around Phoebe, determined to shield her like she’d done for me.

“Change her back,” I persisted.

“After we speak.”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I didn’t step back. I didn’t want to seem intimidated by the tiger, though I was shaking from the inside out.

“Hurry up, then,” I grumbled, trying to sound unimpressed. I admit I acted “brave” quite well until his dark eyes swept down my body. I was aware of my thin pajamas. The t-shirt wasn’t low cut or too tight, but the shorts were damn short. I crossed my legs in a rigid casualness, and his gaze flashed up to my face, dark eyes glistening with some private joke.

“It is a game,” he said to my flushed cheeks. “A very simple one. It is commonly referred to as
freeze tag
in your world.”

When I didn’t say anything, Damien continued. “If touched by my creation, you’ll freeze just like your friend here. The people you seek are scattered throughout the park. Find them all and you’re free. Leave any behind and they’re mine.”

Damien paused, gauging my reaction. “I respect your wish to return. None who’ve won the Challenge dared to come back.”

“I thought that no one’d ever won.”

“Not in my charge,” he corrected.

I should have felt proud, but instead I felt stupid. I knew nothing about this world.

The tiger turned brown eyes to Damien. The silent gaze was questioning and intelligent.

I hated the intelligent part. Give me a dumb animal, not a smart one.

“You gave me clues on how to come back. Why do all that? You had your victims.” I gestured to Phoebe behind me.

Damien’s smirk was cruel, making the bad-boy image fitting but monstrous at the same time. “You don’t understand.”

Uh oh.

“You were supposed to be mine in the first place.”

My lips pinched, and my hands twisted my shirt. Seemed everyone was of that opinion.

Damien rolled his eyes heavenward. “There can be one Neophyte, one that I don’t have to turn over to the darkness. There are several other worlds you know, Nora. Not just yours, hence why I’m here. I’m not torturing
victims
, as you put it. I’m protecting worlds.”

“What if I don’t want to be your…” I swallowed hard, my mouth dry. “…Neophyte.” I thought of Nell. “There was a willing person not too long ago.”

“The wrong person.”

“What makes you say that?”

Damien stared at me as if I were thick.

“Thought crazy would be right up your alley,” I said.

The tiger, distracted, turned away from Damien and wandered around the corner and out of sight.

When she was further away, I croaked, “Why me?”

“You were the one that they wanted,” he said, referring to my aunt and her cronies. He didn’t take notice of the tiger.

“Why did they want me?” I asked.

“Because I told them.” Damien stepped forward, looking as if he were walking on water instead of loose dirt. I realized it didn’t dust up around his ankles like it did everyone else.

“You told them,” I repeated numbly, trying to understand and at the same time stand my ground. “You told them you wanted me, and they threw Neive in instead.”

“They were punished for their failure, as you are aware.”

The image of the two zombies that had advanced on Aidan and me in the previous Challenge flashed in my mind.

“So I should be dead or I should be a Neophyte? Which is it?”

Damien drew closer, eyes as focused as the cat’s were on me now. “
You
wouldn’t have died in the ritual.”

“What about Aidan?”

“Alive.” Damien stopped, leaving only few feet between us. “Due to extenuating circumstances.”

I tried to fuel my anger, though his approach choked it, maturing the fear. What if I was supposed to come here years ago? Would it have been so bad? I remembered my parents and how they grieved. I’d be no more than a lonely picture in the back hallway of the house.

My eyes flickered to Damien, and I was scared my thoughts might have betrayed me. I resisted the urge to step back.

Stay strong, Nora. Don’t let him know your insides are mashed potatoes.

I focused on his eyes, on the reflections they made of me staring up at him. “What if I die in a Challenge?”

He watched me steadily, standing so close I could pinch him. “It would be unfortunate.”

At least in that, we agreed.

“Death and winning are the only escape.”

“I’ll win,” I said, trying to sound brave. “And I’m taking everyone with me, including Joel, Claire, and Cooper. You won’t have anyone left here with you.”

Damien sent me another one of his disturbing smiles, as if he already knew he’d won.

I pressed my fist to my stomach, feeling the warmth within still churning. I thought I should hate it, but I couldn’t. It was that safety net I wanted—no,
needed
. Phoebe could have survived this on her own, but not me, not without this.

“You can’t scare me anymore,” I said.

Damien opened his palm, and a large, spindly-legged spider unfolded and stretched with the new space. Its pinchers looked like garden shears, and it was poised to jump, legs drawing close to the V-shaped body.

“What about these?” he asked.

I was surprised he wasn’t laughing at my expression; I heard it in his voice.

“Still not fond of them,” I admitted, my voice cracking at the word
still
. “But I’ll survive.”

Forcing myself to look up, I felt exposed. My neck, chest, face…all were exposed to the spider, which made my skin feel increasingly sensitive.

Show him that you’re not afraid.

Not afraid, not afraid, not afraid.

Do not puke, Fuller!

I forced a brittle smile.

Gauging me for a long moment, inspecting every inch of my face, Damien reached up.

Flinching, I didn’t step away and let his fingers pinch my chin in a vice grip.

His eyes pinned me in place, probing.

I felt the lump in my throat when he moved closer, his face just inches from mine as he breathed me in. “I certainly hope that you do.” Upon seeing my confusion, he added, “Survive.”

I noticed the billowing black smoke accumulating at our feet. It fed its way up Damien’s body and absorbed him into shady arms, taking his touch with him.