Rescued By the Mothman (Monster Bounty Hunters #1)

Chapter 14

Clarissa

I sat in the cold cabin watching my brother try to start the fire. He was getting more and more irritated.

“Just let me do it, John.”

“I’m not untying you. You’ll try something.”

“What could I possibly try? You are stronger than me and you were always faster. We’re miles from everywhere.”

Eventually, he got a small fire going, and I shuffled closer to it. John sat down in a chair, his face like thunder. He’d chloroformed me back at the house, and my head was still groggy. I’d woken up here.

We were in a small cabin that I’d completely forgotten existed. Dad used to bring us here as kids. But I hated the damp and the hunting they did. So eventually it was just Dad and John. It must have been mentioned in the will, but I’d taken little notice of it. I hadn’t been here for 15 years. I doubted I could have found it on my own anyway, it was so remote. So even if I got a chance to run, I’d potentially die lost in the forest.

My mind flicked to Sable. He flew. My mind kept jumping to the thought of his arms wrapped around me. His eyes gazing into mine. Whatever there was between us, it meant something, and I knew he’d be looking for me. I picked at the rope binding my wrists behind me. It was tight, but I thought I could wriggle at it and loosen it a bit. It would hurt like hell to get my hands out. But I had nothing else to do while we sat here.

My stomach roiled. My own brother. Who I’d looked up to as a small girl, had become a stranger to me. I watched the fire crackling. My stomach rumbled.

“Is there any food?”

John sighed and glared at me before stomping into the kitchen. He returned with a bag of chips and threw them at me.

“My hands are behind my back. How am I meant to eat this?”

“Figure it out.”

Bile crept up my throat.

“What happened in that prison?”

He rubbed his face. And for some reason, he started talking.

“It was a prison for monster criminals. The worst of the worst. Monsters like you’ve never seen. I always knew monsters were bad. But that really brought it home. Hundreds of them, in jail for terrible crimes. They aren’t like us.”

I resisted pointing out the human jails filled with thousands upon thousands of people who’d also done terrible things. I didn’t want him to clam up before I got the truth from his own mouth.

“Then it got worse. It turned out that some of the human women who worked there had been sent on purpose to find their mates. By one of those seers. They were mated to monster criminals.”

He sounded disgusted. Neither of us had gone to the seer. Our parents had wanted us to choose our own paths and opted us out somehow. I didn’t even know much about mates. I knew that my aunt Catherine and uncle Rez were mates, and they seemed blissfully happy together.

“So, I set things up so that people could see them how I do. Just a few little pushes.”

I was ice cold now despite the fire. He had done it. I couldn’t avoid the truth anymore. He’d set up a prison riot. The deaths of dozens of monsters and several humans were on his hands.

“That makes you worse than any of them.”

The venom in my voice seemed to shock him.

“I’m a human!”

“You’re repulsive. I hope you rot in jail. You deserve at least that.”

“You don’t understand what you are talking about!”

He stood getting in my face. My stomach flipped with fear. I had to get out of here. Away from him. When I said nothing more, he stormed off into one of the bedrooms. As soon as he was gone, my body sagged. Sadness and grief tried to wash into my brain. I pushed them away. There’d be time for feeling sad later. For now, I had to make myself safe. I had to let Sable know where I was somehow. The memory of being in his arms popped into my head again for a few moments. I shook my head as if I could shake the thoughts out of my brain. Now wasn’t the time.

I wriggled my hands, trying to bend them and compress them. I ignored the pain and kept twisting against the rough rope until one hand had a bit of space around it. Not much, but enough. I pulled and pulled, my skin burning and my wrist screaming at the forces running through it. My teeth ground together until I thought they might crack. Then, with a small grunt, one hand popped out.

My wrist was screaming, and the skin was raw, but I didn’t have time to waste. I pulled the rope from my other wrist and gave both hands a quick shake. I looked around. There were only old blankets and trinkets here. Nothing that I could really use to defend myself. I needed Sable to spot us from up high. I looked at the fireplace. The fire was picking up now. He’d be able to spot smoke if there was enough of it. More than just a little fire. This cabin was part of my parents, their history. I sent up a silent apology to wherever they were now. I couldn’t hear John. He liked to lie down when he was stressed and sometimes nap. Or at least he used to. Who knew what he liked to do now other than cause death. Trying to be quiet, I picked up a blanket and used it to grab a burning log. Heat immediately and painfully hit my hands. I threw the log onto the old fabric sofa. Ignoring the burning sensation, I grabbed another one and threw it onto a chair. The blanket was burning now, so I dropped it in the middle of the floor, rubbing my hands together. I tiptoed into the kitchen and pulled open the drawers as slowly as possible. The sofa and chair weren’t burning as fast as I would have liked.

I found a small bottle of paraffin and I began sprinkling it around the little fires I’d created and up the walls. Flames licked and snapped at the additional fuel source and grew. I needed the fire to grow big enough to send a lot of smoke up into the sky. But I didn’t want to leave John here and risk him getting hurt. Despite everything, he was still my brother. If I woke him up now, though, he’d have a chance to put the fire out. I stood helplessly watching the cabin burning around me. I didn’t have to wait long as smoke filled the room quickly.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

John’s scream shocked me out of my reverie and as I took in a breath, the hot smoke hit my lungs fully, sending me into a coughing fit. He ran to get a fire extinguisher, but it was too late. He sprayed it on the sofa, but the fire on the chair was already climbing up the wooden walls. A circle of fire on the rug was spreading fast.

“You fucking bitch.”

He ran to his room and grabbed his bag. I wondered if he was going to run and leave me. If this would be the final nail in the coffin of our relationship. But, as he ran past me, he looked at my face and saw me standing there, tears running down my face. He unlocked the door and then grabbed me by the arm and pulled me outside. We turned and stood, watching our parents' cabin burn. Together. United in grief for that, if nothing else. When most of the cabin was engulfed, I broke the silence.

“Sable will see the smoke and get here.”

John glared at me.

“Sable?”

“The mothman bounty hunter who’s after you.”

“So that’s your choice?”

“Yes.”

“You’re no better than the rest of them.”

John moved towards the car, and I knew I couldn’t let him go again. I reached out to grab his arm and pull him away from the car. He shoved me and I fell backwards, landing on my ass on the ground. A thud rang out behind us.

“Don’t you dare touch her.”

Sable’s voice sounded murderous. He reached down for me. I took his hand and let him pull me up. We locked eyes for a moment, and I knew that whatever happened, I meant what I’d said. I was choosing him.