Deceitful (Rules of Deception 1)

Still nothing.

I hovered over his face, then pressed my lips against his blood-smudged mouth, pushing air in. With a hiss something shot out of his chest and hit me against the arm. I shied back. Splatters of blood covered my arm.

I stared down at his chest. Seven holes had oozed blood and his sweatshirt was soaked with it. Someone had stabbed him repeatedly. Shaking, I leaned over and pushed another breath into his mouth. Again something hit me. More blood.

I leaned back on my haunches, a dark realization settling in my mind. His lungs were perforated.

Gasps rattled my body and turned to pathetic hiccups as tears trailed over my cheeks. Devon was dead.

I pressed my face into the crook of his neck, trying to catch his scent one last time. A hint of cinnamon reached my nose but it was soon clouded by the coppery saltiness of blood.

Gripping the Taser, I staggered to my feet. My nails dug into my skin and the pain gave me the necessary focus to stop my chin from quivering.

A floorboard creaked behind me and I whirled around in time to see something hurtling toward my head but not in time to ward it off. With a crack the thing collided with my skull and blackness consumed me.

I wasn’t sure how long I’d been unconscious but when I came to, my muscles ached. I was on the ground, my feet and hands tied together. With a groan, I forced my eyes open. Through the open window, I could make out the treetops and the black sky littered with stars. It was still night, so not too much time had passed.

I shifted. My cell was gone and so was the Taser. I didn’t even know what room I was in. It was much too dark for that.

Across the room, a shadow moved and I froze. Tendrils of haze crawled toward me, emanating from a cloud of denser fog. I twisted until I was sitting upright. It wouldn’t protect me but at least I felt safer, more alert. A shadow stirred, slowly becoming distinguishable. The mist dispersed and a person appeared, still hidden by darkness. He moved in front of the door, where a tiny bit of light streamed in, and finally I recognized the illuminated face.

“Ryan?”

“Ryan?” he mocked in a high-pitched voice that immediately raised goose bumps along my arms. Shadows warped his face, giving him an almost diabolical countenance. He took a step toward me and smirked.

“Didn’t think I could do it, did you?” Triumph filled his voice.

“I thought it might be you,” I whispered.

He crouched in front of me, bringing his face close, far too close. So close that I saw the cold calculation in his eyes. I wished there had been madness there; that would have been easier to deal with.

He sneered. “You think I killed you because you broke up with me and fucked that asshole Yates, don’t you?”

I swallowed, stunned into silence. That wasn’t the reason?

“That wasn’t why I killed you but it’ll make killing Yates much more enjoyable.” He smiled widely. “You really don’t remember anything, do you? It’s been so much fun staring into your unsuspecting little face these last few weeks.”

His mouth twisted with glee. He was clutching a long knife in his hand, the blade covered with blood. Red on gleaming silver.

I tried to focus my attention inside, summoning a shift. If I could transform into a man—someone strong like Alec—then I could try to kick Ryan’s ass.

He turned the knife absentmindedly, still watching me.

“I want to understand,” I said, half pleading. “Why are you doing this?”

I tried to summon my power once more, but the rippling in my skin was faint and stopped almost instantly.

He moved closer, his hot breath spilling onto my cheek. It smelled horrid, like onions and alcohol.

I started working at the rope around my wrists, trying to wiggle my thumb underneath it. It was too tight.

“You,” he said it like a curse. “I showed you my gift, trusted you enough to tell you what I was capable of and you were scared. You treated me like an abomination.”

He’d shown Madison his Variation?

I realized that my own Variation might be my only chance of winning his trust, but telling him about it could rob me of my only advantage.

“You know, Madison, at one point, I thought I loved you. I’d have done anything for you. Anything. I even killed that useless bitch Kristen for you because she wouldn’t stop talking shit. I hated her for how she’d been treating you. But you, you didn’t understand, you were scared and disgusted by me! You would’ve gone to the police. You would’ve betrayed me—again and again. So you left me with no choice, Maddy.”

I swallowed when he ran his finger over the blade. He pressed the knife lightly against my throat. I stared at him, so scared it was hard to hear him over the pounding of my heart in my ears.