A Matter Of Justice (Grey Justice #4)(85)

Could that be true? Everyone had known that Irelyn was Reed’s protégé, his favorite student. She had inside information that others didn’t.

“Remember how he would use you as bait? How he would allow everyone to beat up on you? He said he did that because you’re a weakling, an imbecile.”

No, he had put those days out of his mind. He wouldn’t let himself think of them now. He couldn’t. Reed would have chosen him as his replacement. If he hadn’t died, he would have called a meeting and announced it to everyone.

As if she weren’t tied to a chair, unable to move, as if she had no worries about her own safety, she continued to speak in a conversational tone. Sebastian stood frozen as he listened to her soft, beguiling voice. His father had used that same kind of coercion. The mesmerizing voice would creep into your mind like a slug slithered through the grass, leaving a trail of slime in its wake. That voice told him he wasn’t good enough, that he would never amount to anything.

The words continued, on and on. Her voice went softer and lower. He leaned closer to listen. The voice enthralled, the words ripped and shredded. They seeped into every particle of his being, making him remember the pain and anguish. The humiliation and anger.

“Stop it!” Spittle flew from his mouth. “None of that is true! None of it. He loved me! I know he loved me best.”

Her expression never changed. It was as if she were in a trance, as if she were possessed by Hill Reed’s spirit. Could it be Reed talking through her?

No. No. No. He shook himself. That wasn’t possible.

“Stop it, you bitch!” He slapped her hard. The crack of his hand against her cheek echoed throughout the room. A blood-red imprint of his hand was the only color on her face. Yet, she never flinched, never moved. And she never stopped talking in that soft, insistent voice.

His heart pumped faster, and he could feel himself sweating as buried memories dug themselves out of their grave. All the hideous things he had endured. The torture, the deprivation, the beatings.

But no, no, no. All of that had been to make him stronger. To make him into the man he was today. He had once been Pippin, but now he was Sebastian Dark. He had overcome and conquered. He had excelled at everything Hill taught him. He was the best.

Slapping the bitch again, he watched blood spurt from her busted lip and felt intense joy. “You left him, and I stayed. I was his favorite, not you.”

She acted as if he wasn’t important, almost as if he wasn’t even there. Her eyes were distant, blank. She kept repeating the same words, over and over, just like Hill had. And then he realized something strange and phenomenal had happened. The change had been so subtle, he didn’t know when or how it happened, but she was now speaking in Reed’s voice. That deep, resonating tone used to follow him into his dreams, creating nightmares that never seemed to stop.

Grabbing hold of her shoulders, he shook her hard. “Stop it!” he screamed.

She wouldn’t. She wouldn’t.

“You’re nothing, you’re no one. You can’t fight, you can’t kill. You’re useless. I’m going to kill you, boy. I’m going to take you apart, limb by limb, and let the buzzards feed on you.”

He was crying now. He could feel the tears pouring down his face. “You love me. You told me I’m the best.”

“You’re weak, you’re nothing. You can’t even fight like a real man!”

“I can, too!”

“Prove it. Untie the bitch and give her what she deserves!”

Grabbing a knife from the table, he sliced the rope at her ankles and then her wrists. Before she could move, he knocked her to the floor with a resounding thud.



Irelyn landed on her face. Blood poured from her nose, and she vaguely wondered if it was broken. Pain didn’t register. She jumped to her feet and whirled around, just in time to see a fist coming at her. She ducked, did a 360 turn, and then kicked with all her might. Dark flew across the room.

She straightened, preparing for another strike. He came at her full force, his face a red mask of fury. There was no holding back now. She had him exactly where she wanted. He was fighting his emotions more than he was fighting her. All the insecurities that Reed had instilled in him had taken over. When an opponent fought not to lose, winning was much easier. She was ready to destroy this bastard.

Fists flew and pummeled. Irelyn lost count of the times she fell to the floor or was slammed against the wall. Dark’s eyes were wild and unfocused. He was not only fighting for his life, he was fighting for control of his mind.

They parted for a moment, their breathing heavy and rapid. Dark was sweating and bleeding. His nose was slightly askew from one of her first hits, and his entire body shook from fatigue. It was time to end it.

“Father would be ashamed of you, allowing a skinny girl to beat you up.”

The instant the words were out of her mouth, she knew he would come at her full force and readied for the killing blow. The instant he struck, she would take him down.

That wasn’t what happened.

The door behind him swung open, and without saying a word, he bolted before she could blink. Shocked, she was momentarily stunned into immobility.

The man had actually run from her?

She took a wobbling step toward the door, toward freedom. Her mind whirled as the pain she’d been denying made itself known. The fight had been a brutal one, and she had a sinking suspicion that she had more than a couple of broken bones. Her left arm in particular throbbed with a deep ache.