The two of us waited behind it, bathed in darkness, my finger pressed against the trigger of the gun.

And then she appeared at the doorway like an apparition. It was Isadora, her face and beautiful black dress drenched in blood. In her arms, she was holding the lifeless body of Delilah, her white gown splattered in red.

"Delilah," I whispered.

"f.u.c.k," Beau cursed as he shook his head in dismay. He rose from his hiding spot and walked slowly towards her.

"Isadora," he called out.

I followed closely behind him.

She looked at us with deadpan eyes, her face showing no signs of emotion. She looked like an empty sh.e.l.l of a human being.

"Isadora, are you alright?" Beau asked again as he approached her cautiously. "Is there anyone else in there we ought to be worried about?"

She looked at him as if the words coming out of his mouth where gibberish, while still cradling Delilah's limp body in her arms.

I stepped forward. "This is our fault," I announced. "We should never have come here. Those men were after Lincoln. We brought this upon everyone."

Isadora suddenly unleashed a scream, one filled with rage and anguish, its sound slicing through the bayou like a curved blade.

Isadora dropped to her knees, laid Delilah onto the ground, and then collapsed on top of her body. She buried her head into her dead bride's chest and began sobbing hysterically.

I wanted to rush to her side and console her, but Beau held me back.

"Give her a few," he said. "Sometimes, the best thing we can do for a person is to leave them be."

And so I did. I watched Isadora mourn for her bride with a shattered heart. I understood how difficult it was to find true love in this world and to lose it in such a way was a tragedy.

Eventually, the crying stopped, and Isadora slowly lifted herself back to her feet. She wiped the tears and blood off her face with the back of her hand, and turned to us.

"I'm done," she replied.

I could only speculate on what she was referring to.

"I'm sorry," I apologized once more.

Isadora shook her head. "This is not your doing," she replied, "Nor Lincoln's."

"You can't stop me from feeling guilty though," I said as my eyes remained fixed to the ground out of shame.

Isadora walked over to me and lifted my chin with her thumb and index finger. She looked at me with icy eyes. Imprisoned underneath their cold surface was something terrifying, something supernatural.

"Tell me the name of the person who is responsible for all of this," she said, more of a command than a request.

"Calisto Tremaine," I whispered.

She nodded as she gently brushed the side of my cheek with her index finger.

"Then consider the b.i.t.c.h as good as dead," Isadora said.

Beau knelt down and made the sign of the cross over his own body, while looking at Delilah's face. Her eyes were still open, a look of shock engraved into them. He reached out and closed them.

"G.o.dspeed, sweetheart. Find heaven soon," he whispered, just before turning his attention back to Isadora. "Was there anyone else inside there we should be worried about?"

She shook her head. "I killed them all," Isadora replied with such conviction that it could have been gospel.

The look of skepticism on Beau's face was a clear as water. "You're telling me that you took out eight men-by my rough count-all by yourself?"

Isadora shook her head. "It was not just by my hand alone," he said. "The restless spirits of this plantation helped me as well."

He scratched his head and scrunched up his face. "I know better than to start disrespecting you, the witch queen, but I'm a little skeptical"

"There were nine men hunting me," Isadora said. "Now there are nine bodies, desecrating the halls of my home. I don't care to discuss how they died. Just know that they are dead. You can step inside and have a look yourself if you need rea.s.surance."

Beau shook his head. "That's good enough for me," he said. There was a brief pause before he changed the subject of discussion altogether. "The boat that you loaded for Lincoln, I figure we take that back to the mainland before this place is crawling with cops. I figure someone here must have a plan as to where we're heading next."

I nodded. "We're going to the House at the Edge of the World," I replied. I said it in a way that sounded far more dramatic that it should have been.

Beau raised a brow. "Come again?" he asked. "I didn't sign up to partake in some cheeky girl's fairy tale fantasy."

I sighed. "The cliffs across the water from Moral City," I replied. "Shadow is waiting for us there."

Isadora stared at Delilah's body. "I need to bury her first," she said. "She loved it here on this island. This was her home. This is where I'll bury her so her spirit can rest."

Beau shook his head. "We won't have time," he said. "The cops will be all up over this place like rats on cheese."

"Please," Isadora said firmly.

Beau looked at her, pursed his lips, and finally agreed.

"Get me a shovel then," he replied. "I'll do the digging."

Isadora nodded. "Thank you."

"Meanwhile, is there anything within that house that can help us on our way?"

She nodded. "Money, pa.s.sports, weapons," she replied. "Everything else..." she swallowed hard. "Everything else belongs in the past now."

"Get what you need then," Beau said. "After we leave this island, I'll craft us up some new pa.s.sports and IDs. Then we can make our way to this magical house at the top of the hill, or wherever it is. Shadow can take it from there."

Isadora walked over to Beau and touched him gently on the forearm.

"Thank you, Beau," she said. "Perhaps you're not the dog I thought you were."

"Think nothing of it," Beau said. "The business of revenge is a lonely endeavor. We all lost someone important to us to the evil b.i.t.c.h sitting high on her throne. I figure we can all keep each other from getting completely lost while we search for vengeance."

Beau's words made me think of Shadow. He was a lonely soul, lost in the cold unforgiving darkness.

Chapter Thirty-Two.

Shadow I finally tore my eyes away from my cellphone, resting atop my dining room table. I leaned back in my chair and took a deep breath and looked out the window of my mansion. The House at the Edge of the World always provided the most spectacular view of the ocean.

Fifteen minutes ago, I had tried calling Lincoln, and what I heard on the other end of the line was static along with the fragmented voice of a woman.

I was so sure she sounded like Aria. But, before I could find out, everything went dead.

It was the worst time for the piece of s.h.i.t phone I gave Lincoln to finally c.r.a.p out. That was the last time I would buy any piece of electronic equipment off the black market-though I had no other choice at the time.

All I could do now was pray that everything was alright.

"You worried man?" Cairo asked as he snuck up behind me.

"Wouldn't you be?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, of course I would."

He took the seat across from me, one hand buried in a bag of salty snacks. "Dorito?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I'll pa.s.s."

Cairo shoved a few chips in his mouth, and then tossed the bag onto the table and dusted his fingers off.

"I never liked Lincoln," Cairo began, "But I can never say that the man wasn't resourceful or loyal to you. They'll both come back alive. I'm sure of it."

"Why don't you like him?" I asked.

"It doesn't matter."

I frowned. "Of course it matters. Lincoln has a key role in the endgame," I replied. "I need to know that you're not going to choke him out the moment you see him."

"I won't," Cairo said. "I'm the consummate professional."

"You tried choking me out the second you saw me," I pointed out.

"Different circ.u.mstances man," Cairo replied. "I thought you murdered my dad, and we were in a cage match. I can't think of a more perfect scenario for a man to choke another man out."

I sighed. "What's your beef with Lincoln?"

Cairo took a deep breath. "Back at the Academy, the dude kept making pa.s.ses at Reiko."

"So?" I asked. "The two of you hadn't hooked up at that point."

"I know," Cairo said, "But I was trying to."

I smacked my palm against my forehead. "Let me get this straight, you're holding onto a decade long grudge over a high school crush?"

"I think he kissed Reiko," Cairo added.

"Once again, my reply is 'so?' Who cares what happened back when you were still trying to grow your first pubic hair?"

"You don't get it man."

"No, I do get it," I replied. "You're an idiot."

"What Reiko and I have is pure. I'm her first, as she was mine. No one from the outside ever tainted us. The thought of her lips on someone else's drives me f.u.c.king mental."

I rose from the table, and took my cellphone with me.

"Hey, where are you going?" Cairo asked.

"For a drive," I replied. "I need to get away from the cloud of stupidity that's currently surrounding me."

Cairo folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. "I think you'd understand once you found true love," he replied, "You'll know you found it when the idea of anyone else touching your girl is enough to drive you over the edge."

I thought about Aria, and how much I wanted to, no, needed to see her again. I thought about the call to Lincoln's phone and how I had heard her voice along with something else in the background too.

Was it gunfire?

I had to think positive. The negative thoughts would only drive me insane.

Two weeks ago, I had been foolish. I didn't realize how much I needed Aria in my life.

I missed her smile, her playfulness, and the way she looked at me like I was the only thing that mattered in this world.

I was an idiot.

I was scared of myself, and because of that, I pushed her away.

I looked at Cairo, who had his hand back inside the bag of Doritos.

"I do know what true love is," I said. "I'm experiencing it right now."

Cairo smiled as he held a single Dorito between his thumb and forefinger. "Good for you man," he said genuinely. "It's a thing of beauty."

It was, unless you were a meathead like me, tossing it all away like sand in the wind.