Blood and Beasts

Chapter 38

***Trigger Warning***

***Mentions of rape, and transphobic language***

Andie grimaced as the unconscious William Marshal began to stir. Saif left the room to go rouse Bethany and the others who were resting in the next room. Saif was ex-military and had reached out to Logan and Gregory years ago, having caught whispers of their work. He had been helping Andie and Bethany gather allies to search for the Imperial Cult, and he was here now to help with some of the messier details. He and Andie had been standing watch for hours now, waiting for the drugs William had unknowingly taken to wear off. Andie stared with disgust at the man tied to the chair in front of them. He had intended those drugs for her. Had intended her to be rendered unconscious, immobile, so that he could have his way with her. The thought made her sick. She had been raped before, when she was younger, some frat guy. That had been the end of her time in college, leading her down the far darker road that had led her to this point.

And this man before her did it to women on a regular basis. She thought of Madeline Lockwood. The girl was missing, according to the media, but Andie knew she was dead. Her parents knew she was dead. And they knew it was because she had taken a stand against William Marshal. She had laid charges against William, but had gone missing before she was able to get him into a courtroom.

Once Andie and Bethany had made the connection between the Marshals and the Imperial Cult, they had done some digging and found out about Madeline Lockwood. Her parents were highly suspicious of the Marshals, but there was too much money and power behind them to take their suspicions anywhere. The Lockwoods were not without money, but not the same caliber as the Marshals. And the Marshals had more than that. They had the Imperial Cult organizing the cooperation of everyone involved, and for those who didn't want to cooperate, they were taking care of the mess.

Andie had sworn to Mrs. Lockwood though, that she would not let this horrible injustice go unpunished. William Marshal would die tonight. It only depended how fast he spilled what he knew. Andie didn't imagine it would take long. A worm like this didn't have a spine.

"Keep your cool," Bethany cautioned, walking into the room. "He will get what's coming to him, but we need to know what he knows." Saif followed close behind with four other ex-soldiers who had been training to fight the evils on their home turf. They were in the basement of an empty house, one that was under renovation, but it was the weekend and nobody would be by anytime soon. Plastic sheets covered the floor of the room; underneath the chair William was tied to. Bethany and Andie were prepared for a mess.

William lifted his head and winced his eyes at the two women standing over him, then at the five muscular men flanking them.

"What the fuck?" he grunted, teeth chattering. He tried to move his hands and found them tightly restrained behind him; his feet were immobilized too. Then the panic shot through his eyes. "What the fuck?! What's going on here?! Let me go!"

Andie stepped forward and punched him in the nose; bones crunched and blood splashed out. William moaned as he let out a few more profanities. Andie shook her hand, stepping back beside Bethany.

"I thought you were going to keep your cool?" Bethany asked with a sly grin.

"I did."

"Do you bitches have any idea who I am?" William seethed through gritted teeth as blood ran down his chin. "People will be looking for me, and you'll be fucking dead then. You'll be praying for death, all of you."

"That's cute," Saif said, and the soldiers chuckled as William shook.

"We know all about the Imperial Cult, William," Bethany said, and surprise registered on William's indignant face. "There are certain things we want to know and you're going to tell us. You can decide how easy it is for us to find out, but I promise you that before the night is through you will have told us everything you know."