Shadows (Dark in You 5)

It wasn’t that they became rampant serial killers who craved the sight of blood … But they were always looking for the next high—something they got from drugs, alcohol, destruction, inflicting pain, causing misery, and stealing the lives of others.

Many people died whenever a rogue was on the loose. They cared for nothing, couldn’t be reasoned with or controlled. Didn’t care if their actions attracted the attention of humans.

There was only one way to deal with a rogue: you had to kill it.

“Thorne,” the demon greeted, its tone flat and cold.

“I’d like to talk to Muriel,” said Knox.

The demon lifted its chin slightly. “Muriel is gone—you can sense that much for yourself.”

Recalling what Derek told them about how Muriel claimed she was “done,” Tanner said, “She willingly handed over control to you, didn’t she?”

“She was done with this world,” it replied. “Too weak to handle it. She knew I was stronger.”

“She gave over control to you because she didn’t want to deal with us herself,” Knox corrected. “She was escaping the consequences of her actions. It was cowardly, really.”

The demon shrugged one shoulder, clearly not giving a hot shit what they thought.

“What happened to Royal Foreman?” asked Knox.

A glimmer of humor briefly glittered in its obsidian eyes. “You will find him eventually. I doubt you will like the state you find him in.”

“Did you help her kill him and the others?”

“No. She wanted to punish the boys herself.”

“For voting for her?”

“Yes. They all did it at least once, aside from Foreman.”

But Muriel had still killed him. Tanner wondered if that meant she’d developed a taste for killing. After all, demons craved power. There was no greater power than that over whether someone lived or died.

“Dale didn’t try to protect her from the tutors?” asked Levi.

“No,” said the demon, its voice seeming even flatter than before. “He never offered to go in her place. Never told her not go to the dorm. Never tried to help her. He even voted for her more than once. He would tell her afterward that the other boys made him do it, but that was a lie.”

Knox slanted his head. “How many times was she taken down to the basement?”

Black eyes sliced back to him. “Six, in total. Six times too many.”

Yeah, Tanner could agree with that.

“What happened the last time?” asked Knox. “Why did Harry want her forgiveness?”

“Ah, you found the letter,” the demon realized. “Muriel could not decide whether to be furious by his request for forgiveness or comforted by the sheer knowledge that he was haunted by his decision. She wanted him to suffer.”

Is it just me wondering why it’s being so talkative? Tanner asked Knox. Rogues usually have a more “fuck you, I don’t explain myself to people” attitude.

I’m guessing it’s either under the illusion that it will get free and is simply biding its time before it strikes or it’s been wanting to get this shit off its chest for a very long time, said Knox. “What exactly was Harry haunted by?”

“The night before Milton intervened,” began the demon, “Muriel and Dale received the same number of votes. The tutors decided to take them both to the basement.” Its eyes hardened to stone as it added, “They hurt the children. Forced the children to do vile things to each other. Then they brought Harry down and gave him the choice to take Muriel’s place. I could smell his fear; knew he would not agree, but she had hoped he would. He didn’t.”

Tanner liked to think he’d have offered to trade places with Muriel to spare the little girl further pain, but he couldn’t blame Harry for not wanting to do so. He’d only been a child himself. You couldn’t really know what you’d do in such a situation unless you were in it.

“The tutors were not surprised by his refusal,” the demon went on. “They laughed. I think they had noticed how the guilt of voting for others again and again was eating at Harry; they had worried he might tell someone, and so they had added to his shame by making him the offer to save Muriel, knowing he would refuse. But it did not have quite the effect they had hoped for. It made him more determined to make the abuse stop for good.”

Knox’s nostrils flared. “Why didn’t you push her to tell me? You must have sensed I’d have done what I could to stop it.”

“I urged her to speak with you. She would not listen, and she was far too ashamed to speak of it.”

Scrubbing his hand down his face, Levi softly cursed.

“You would not pity Muriel so much if you knew she was not so innocent,” said the demon. “She once convinced another female child to go the boys’ dorm, hoping she would be taken instead. The child received the most votes, and she was taken to the basement. She did not come out of it alive. The tutors made it seem to the other staff like she was yet another runaway. But Muriel liked to block that memory—she could not deal with the guilt. Not feeling so sorry for her now, are you?”