The House Guest by Mark Edwards(72)

Eden finished applying the fresh make-up. Then she crouched before Ruth again.

‘Listen to me. I know this is scary. But you’re going to have to be brave.’ She stood up and took hold of Ruth’s hands. ‘It won’t be as bad as you think.’

But Ruth could tell she was lying.

‘Eden . . .’

‘Don’t. No more questions. Let’s get this done.’





Chapter 40

I pressed my ear to the door and heard the sounds of industry. Footsteps going up and down the corridor. The lift pinging. Snatches of conversation as people walked past, the odd word standing out.

Gabriel.

Tonight.

Ceremony.

Ceremony? What did that mean?

And then they came.

Brittany was dressed for a party in a sleeveless black trouser suit that exposed her huge biceps. Nick, the security guy who had helped her torture me, wore a tuxedo with a rifle slung over his back like it was part of the outfit.

‘Come,’ said Brittany. She grabbed my arm and escorted me down the corridor to the lift, Nick following behind. She pressed the button and the three of us ascended one floor. From the buttons in the lift, I knew we were one floor from the top, where the penthouse presumably was.

‘Is Callum dead?’ I asked.

‘Callum? Who’s that?’ she responded with a smirk.

The lift opened to reveal an empty corridor with a door at either end.

‘Go on and check they’re ready,’ Brittany said to Nick.

‘What’s going on?’ I asked after he’d left. ‘I heard something about a ceremony. What does that mean?’

‘You’ll see.’

Nick came back. ‘They’re ready.’

Brittany led me down the corridor and opened the door.

She pushed me inside and hands grabbed at me. There were people all around me, as if I’d entered a crowded nightclub, minus the pounding music. There were a hundred people here, give or take, and I wondered if this was all of them, the whole cult, or just a portion. I looked around to see if there were any other faces I recognised and caught a glimpse of the model, Jade Thomson, whose picture I’d looked up after Callum and Wanda told me about her. Emilio was there too, plus the driver of the van who had brought me here. There was no sign of Eden, though. Or Ruth.

I was pushed through the throng and into a space where the crowd had parted. They encircled me. The men were in dinner jackets, the women in cocktail dresses, dripping with jewellery. I stood there and tried not to show how scared I was.

One side of the circle – the side furthest from the door – parted to reveal the full extent of the room. It was a huge space, with a glass wall stretching its entire length, the glowing lights of New York beyond; the same view I’d had from the smaller room in which I’d been kept. Around the perimeter, dozens of white candles flickered. On one wall hung a massive portrait of Gabriel, looking every inch the cult leader.

And here he was, in the flesh.

He stepped into the gap that had opened when the crowd had moved aside, framed by the glass wall and the city, his flattering portrait to his right. Like the others, he was wearing expensive eveningwear, including a black velvet jacket that appeared to shimmer in the low light. Mona stood beside him, wearing a red dress. I tried to catch her eye but she ignored me, like I wasn’t worthy of her attention.

‘This,’ Gabriel said in a booming voice, a hand pointed in my direction, ‘is the one who has caused us so much trouble. The one who killed Dennis.’

‘But I didn’t—’

My voice was drowned out by a great hissing noise, as if a giant serpent had slithered into the room. I looked around me at the faces, all those beautiful faces made ugly by hatred. Somebody spat at my feet and a man tried to get to me, to land a punch, but another held him back. A hundred nameless strangers glared at me. But they all hated me.

‘He’s lying to all of you,’ I shouted.

‘Quiet!’ a dark-haired woman snapped, and the people around her echoed her. A man bared his teeth at me and drew a finger across his throat.

Gabriel spoke again, hushing the throng. ‘Tonight – together – we will show this man what we are all about. And we will show him what happens when you attempt to hurt us.’

So that’s why Gabriel hadn’t killed me yet. I was part of this display of power.

A whisper of excitement ran through the crowd.

‘Protect one, protect all,’ somebody shouted, and the chant went up.

Protect one, protect all.

Gabriel let them chant for a minute, basking in the din, and then raised a hand. Instantly, the mob fell silent.

‘Take him,’ he said, and Brittany and Emilio stepped forward, grabbed hold of me and dragged me past Gabriel to the far end of the room, near the glass wall. I checked over my shoulder and saw Nick standing behind me, his rifle still slung over his back.

‘Now you’re going to see,’ Brittany whispered in my ear before aiming a subtle jab into my kidneys.

She gripped my arm just above the elbow and Emilio did the same on the other side. ‘You’re going to enjoy this,’ he said. He wore the grin of a raver whose ecstasy tablet was starting to kick in.

The crowd was hushed now. All I could hear was breathing.

‘Now, let’s forget this unpleasantness,’ said Gabriel. ‘Tonight we have two new members to welcome. Two beautiful young souls. Are you ready?’