Miscreants: Next Generation Read online

  “Lilith.” He pulled away and spoke my name softly, his hands still holding my face. “Would an older brother kiss his sister like this?”

  “I would hope not,” I mumbled and swallowed. “Why did you do that?”

  “Why do you think?”

  The slamming of the front door caused me to jump slightly. Samael still took his time releasing me.

  Leaning close again, he spoke quietly. “He stole your first kiss. I’m stealing your last.”

  I was confused.

  And it must have shown. My face felt like it was going to explode. Since when had he liked me?

  “Lilith, no one will ever touch you again. Not if they dream of living another day.”

  He stepped away and returned to his original place on the sectional just as Bella rounded the corner.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Four years prior

  Pariah.

  A social tag I never did a damn thing to earn. I was ten years old the first time I heard the whispers about me being a disgrace. I was a filthy stain on the Savages’ legacy. My father got rid of the ones who dared speak ill of his only son, but the damage had already been done.

  I never let on that their words had any sway on mental state. I pretended it was no big deal. The truth was that I fucking hated how weak I was. I’d already known something was wrong with me. From the time I was born until my parents got a proper diagnosis, I fought to survive. I was the boy in a bubble.

  As I got older, I made a vow to myself that I would become someone no one could ever look down on. I requested that me being cured remained a secret from everyone but those who absolutely needed to know otherwise. My next step was denouncing and distancing myself from the pathetic little boy I had once been.

  I chose to grow in solitude. I isolated myself. Every move was made in the shadows. I retained all the knowledge of the Savages as was expected of me—I overachieved.

  When it came time to test if I had the drive to kill, it was discovered I had a thirst for blood and a penchant for torture. Standing over someone while holding the fragile thread of their life in your hands was an invigorating feeling.

  I had no fucking idea what or who I was becoming. As word eventually got out that I wasn’t as bedridden as people believed, the results spoke for themselves.

  I went from disgrace to demon.

  Pity became endless praise.

  Suddenly I was a monster with no emotion or remorse. Funny how that worked. I didn’t recall meeting any of these people, and very few knew me.

  At this point, as fucked up as it may seem, I no longer gave a shit how they viewed me. I didn’t feel like I belonged here, anyway.

  Everything would change soon enough.

  Finding the cabin I was looking for, I stopped and listened to make sure no one was around. My uncle had my parents tied up for the time being, and the acolytes had just passed by on their patrol. That left me fifteen minutes to get in and out before they circled back.

  I needed less than ten.

  Francis’ false sense of security made entering the cabin as easy as entering my own home. I walked in and used my boot to shut the door he hadn’t bothered locking.

  He was standing at his dresser. Hearing me enter, he immediately turned around. I didn’t give him time to react. The razor-sharp steel of a five-inch reaper blade split open his neck. It cut through his flesh with no resistance. His blue eyes went round with shock. A steady stream of crimson came from the slit, the ebb and flow quicker due to how erratically his heart was beating, killing him faster.

  I kept his body half bent backward over his dresser with a hand clamped firmly over his mouth. When he began to sink down, I went with him, holding my position. It was like watching a silent theatre show.

  Now that I knew he wouldn’t be calling out or going anywhere, I began the removal of his lips and tongue.

  It didn’t make a difference if he did or not, but I wondered if he knew why this was happening to him. Did he know he’d touched something that belonged to me? Of all the rumors these pieces of shit spread about who I was, that was one I could confirm was a fact. Lilith was mine—and I meant that in the most possessive way possible.

  Francis’ muffled groans of pain didn’t faze me. I used the tip of the reaper to make a tear on the left side of his mouth, and then I began to pull. The texture of the lips felt odd as they separated from their place on his face.

  To remove them fully, I had to use the reaper the entire time.

  When I was finished, I tucked Francis into bed and left his lips on the dresser. I should’ve cut off his dick. I could have taken his eyes, too.

  But he was dead now, so there wouldn’t be any immediate gratification. My talents would be wasted.

  I washed my knife and hands in his bathroom sink, wiping it down once they were clean. It wasn’t polite to visit someone and then leave a mess. My mother taught me that. I left everything else as it was.

  There wasn’t a speck of blood on my boots when I exited the room.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Four years prior

  It was all anyone could talk about.

  One Savage being killed by another wasn’t groundbreaking news. This faction was full of vicious men and women that had deficient moral compasses. However, it did always result in the killer being exterminated. Just because it had happened, didn’t mean it was allowed. The Savages were big on loyalty and unity. We were supposed to protect one another.

  So, I was a little surprised Francis’ mom was really the only one having an emotional reaction over his death. Most of our peers were morbidly curious, and Romero wasn’t as concerned as I thought he would be. Neither was my dad. Then again, they weren’t ones to show much emotion in the first place.

  “Lilith?”

  I stopped and turned around. Jonah, one of my peers, was striding towards me. Damn. I was literally a few feet away from the walkway that led to Samael’s front door. I’d had to hurry here before Bella so I could talk to him alone. I found it too coincidental that Francis had turned up dead with his lips missing the day after I told Samael what happened.

  “Hey, what’s up?”

  “I didn’t get a chance to talk to you before. Are you okay?”

  Hm. I could see it now, the reason Bella found him cute. He had dirty blonde hair and eyes a mix of hazel and brown. He was in the upperclassmen for acolytes; you could tell he kept himself in good shape.

  But what does he mean?

  “Did something…you mean about Francis? I’m fine.”

  “Not that. He deserved what he had coming. I wanted to make sure you felt safe.”

  “Wow, you really don’t hold back,” I joked. “I don’t feel any kind of way. I’m sure whoever did it isn’t going to go on a mass murder spree, picking us off one by one.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right,” he replied with a light laugh.

  The atmosphere shifted without warning. A feeling of awareness washed over me. Without needing to turn around, I knew he was watching us.

  Jonah saw it too.

  His attention briefly went behind me. Before I could say anything else, he grabbed my hand and gave it a quick squeeze. “If you ever want someone to walk with you, just let me know. I’ll see you next week.”

  What the heck?

  I watched him walk away, super confused. What was that all about? Jonah and I were friends but not overly close. I turned back towards Samael’s, and, as I already knew, he was watching me from the doorway.

  His stare was intense. I almost felt as if I’d been caught doing something wrong. Trying to shake off the unnerving feeling, I walked up the pathway.

  “I need to talk to you.”

  “I was going to say the same thing to you,” he replied, moving aside so I could come in.

  We went to the den as we usually did, but today I didn’t have any interest in his mom’s juice jars.

  I sat down on the sectional and got straight to the point. My time was limited. Bella was pro
bably done in the kill room by now and getting cleaned up before she joined us. Samael sat a whole cushion away and looked at me with what I dared say was expectancy.

  “What is it?”

  “Do you know anything about what happened to Francis?”

  “Yeah.”

  I blinked, a little taken aback. Yeah? It was so blunt and final.

  “Are you the one—”

  “Doesn’t everyone know?”

  Oh. That’s what he meant…of, course everyone would’ve heard the details by now.

  “I wanted to talk to you about that, too. That guy you were just with. You sure that was a good idea?”

  “Jonah? What’s wrong with him?”

  “Is he worth the trouble he could bring you?”

  What was going on with him? Yeah, we kissed, and he made the promise to protect me, but what did that have to do with this?

  At my delayed response, he continued to stare. Concentrated. Focused. I felt like I was under a microscope. I rubbed the back of my neck to alleviate a sudden prickling sensation.

  “Relax, Lils,” he said softly, offering a smile that went nowhere near his eyes. “I just want you to be safe. Francis got his lips cut off. What if Jonah were to lose his hands?” He stood from the couch and went towards the fridge.

  I stared at him, at a loss of words.

  I think I understood what he meant now.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Four years prior

  I didn’t have a good feeling about this.

  Not only would it be dark soon, but there was also light coming from inside some of the rooms and this building shouldn’t have had any electricity.

  Samael didn’t seem bothered by this. When was he ever, though? I don’t think he knew what fear was. I believed he would never lead me into a dangerous or unpredictable situation. For this same reason, I was even warier of this place.

  I had a knot in my gut that seemed to twist tighter the closer we got to it. I didn’t understand what this feeling was. Apprehension?

  Bella stared at the decrepit building with an expression that made her look even more like her mom. When she abruptly stopped walking, the rest of us did the same.

  Samael turned his head, looking at her. “What is it?”

  “Why did you bring us here of all places?”

  “I thought we agreed to do something exciting?”

  “We did, but so far the most exciting thing that’s happened is us sneaking off the compound.”

  Leave it to Bella to get a rush from something like that. If we’d been caught…

  Well, it was a good thing we weren’t. I could imagine how much trouble we were going to be in once we returned.

  My mom was probably picking out my grave marker right now.

  “More like death-defying,” I mumbled.

  Samael’s dark brown eyes flickered to mine, and I realized he’d heard me.

  “Life’s a lot more terrifying than death.”

  Bella, who hadn’t caught what I said, frowned at him. “What does that even mean?”

  I knew exactly what he’d meant. Before he could reply, I gave his hand a gentle squeeze and repeated her prior question.

  “What are we doing here?”

  “It’s a surprise.”

  “What kind of surprise?” Bella asked. “How do you know something is in there?”

  “If I answered either of those questions, it would ruin everything. I’ve been planning this for a long time. Lilith knows all about it.”

  What?

  My mind jolted at his implication. I had no idea what the heck he was talking about.

  I couldn’t just blurt that out, though. Bella was suspicious enough. If she knew I was as out of the loop as she was, they’d butt heads. I kept my face neutral and pretended I knew what he was referring to.

  “You’re sure you planned for it to be here?” I hoped my skepticism wasn’t obvious.

  Samael gently turned my face back towards his. “You know I’ll always keep you safe.”

  That was more than a statement coming from him. It was a promise he constantly reminded me of. His questionable constitution aside, I never doubted the sincerity of those words. But what did that have to do with what I’d asked him?

  “…Yeah,” I replied slowly, all too aware of the way Bella was watching the two of us.

  She’d become highly suspicious of our relationship.

  I couldn’t blame her. She had no idea what he and I did when we were alone. No one did. Our first kiss was nearly three weeks ago, the day before he all but confessed to killing Francis and threatened Jonah. We’d gone much further since. I’d tried to be upset with him, but I couldn’t.

  “That’s all that matters then,” he said.

  He stepped away and took hold of my hand again, walking forward without giving us any further explanation.

  I stared at his back, thrown off by the switch up. Bella muttered something beneath her breath, following us without protest. I spared a glance for Jesse and Makayla. They weren’t typically outspoken, but in this situation, I wondered if either of them would speak up.

  Maybe they feared what would happen to them, too. I felt a little bad for allowing them to tag along. There was no way our parents would simply let this go.

  These two had inevitably signed their own death certificates.

  Why would they do that, though? Acolytes were willing to give their lives for us, but not over something this childish.

  Bella and I shared a look between us. I knew she was only going along with this because of me. I wanted to tell her I had no idea what Sam had really been planning, but I wasn’t trying to be in the middle of an argument between the two of them.

  I expelled a quiet breath as we went up a set of stairs and walked towards a pair of rusted doors. I didn’t know what he was up to, but I guessed we were about to find out.

  We entered an atrium that split in three different levels at the far end of the hall. It smelled of dust and something that had gotten too wet. Garbage and speckles of peeled paint covered the linoleum.

  “Where are you taking us?” Bella questioned.

  “There.” He nodded towards a large door that said ‘Gymnasium’ above it.

  There was a faint glow coming from beneath it. If I weren’t mistaken, I could hear the faint sound of voices. The feeling in the pit of my stomach magnified by tenfold. It was like a million little needles stabbing me in the gut.

  “I don’t know about this,” Bella worried.

  “We’ve come this far, we might as well see what he went through all this trouble to plan.” Jesse finally spoke up.

  “What are you so afraid of all a sudden?” Samael goaded her.

  That magical word was all Bella needed to hear to step up to a challenge.

  “I’m not scared,” she snapped. “Come on, Lilith.”

  “Bella....”

  Feeling pressure, I looked down and saw Samael had threaded our fingers together.

  I glanced up at him questioningly, but his whole focus was on the door ahead of us.

  Bella was bold enough to walk through first, leaving Samael and me to follow. When we entered, I was surprised to see the gym was nothing more than that—a large, empty gym.

  Bella stood in the center of the room, arms crossed over her chest. “Your big surprise is an abandoned gymnasium?”

  “You mean you’re not enjoying this?”

  Her eyes turned to slits, looking like two blue whirls, the flames directed at Samael’s head. “Is that a joke?”

  “If you don’t like this, then I think you’ll love what’s coming next.” He released my hand and turned to speak to Jesse. “You’re up. Do exactly as we discussed.”

  “Yes.” She bowed her upper body to him as if he were some type of freaking royalty, and then she hurried through the door we’d just come through.

  “Where are you going?” Makayla called after her.

  At least she looked as confused as I felt.

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; There was a noticeable squeak from the left side of the gym. It carried from between two sets of bleachers. If I weren’t mistaken, locker rooms were typically located there. Since only a few paper lanterns had been spread about, seeing in the darkest corners was near impossible.

  Turned out we didn’t need to see them. We heard them first. The sound of footsteps brought with it masked figures pouring from the shadows. I had never seen anything like them before. Their headgear consisted of skinned stag heads.

  Some were plain white, while others were white with our faction’s sigil painted in their centers. Their garments were like our acolytes’ as well, but these people had no affiliation to the Savages.

  “What the hell is this?” Bella straightened, immediately going on defense.

  “They’re here for me,” Samael replied calmly.

  What? I took two steps away from him. His hand shot out and grabbed my wrist, closing around it in a bruising grip.

  “Stay,” he commanded coolly.

  I didn’t have any other option than to obey. The masked people fanned out, surrounding us in a large semi-circle. Only one came forward. They held a rusted metal chain in their gloved hands, dragging someone attached to the other end. I realized it was a guy when he started speaking to Samael directly.

  “You crazy motherfucker. You really pulled it off.”

  “We pulled it off. And we’re not done yet,” Samael replied.

  The stag guy whistled, and, like well-trained dogs, his people moved into action.

  Both Bella and Makayla were apprehended, two people on either side of them, each holding an arm behind their backs.

  “Samael, what the fuck have you done?” Bella seethed, being brought to her knees while struggling to break free.

  The main stag’s head swiveled in Bella’s direction. “Oh, no. Malum, the princess seems upset.”

  Malum?

  “She’ll get over it. Let’s finish this.”

  “Right.” He gave a firm tug on the chain and a man came tumbling forward, landing on the rotting hardwood with a thud.

  Felix? The man’s distraught face registered in my brain the moment I saw it. He was the one who’d driven us here. But I saw him pull off. How did they capture him?