Bloodline

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

"Get off me, asshole! I'll break your goddamn face!"

Four ignored me with a smirk, hauling me around by the neck and leading me out of whatever weird room we appeared in and out into an equally sterile white corridor that smelled like cleaner. It reminded me a lot of the compound, and yet, something was off.

This wasn't the compound I'd grown up in.

This was a different location.

The atmosphere was different. While everything was still sterile and white and clean, the atmosphere itself was off. Either we were in a different wing or a completely different compound.

"Where are you taking me?" I demanded, reaching back to claw at Four's hand, but he ignored me and jerked me hard, making me choke a little.

"Like I said, time to meet the Mother," Four responded, "You wanted to come home, right? Well, you might wanna be prepared to get on your knees and beg for forgiveness, cuz we're going to meet her right now." My stomach dropped at that and I swallowed thickly, stumbling along the corridor in front of Four.

Meeting the Mother? Herself?

I'd never met the Mother, as astonishing as that was. Even during the experiments, I'd never seen her. She was always behind closed doors to a two-way mirror. I had never seen her, never met her personally, only heard of the things surrounding her. Things like her being stunningly beautiful, incredibly intimidating, stoic, powerful. All I had were rumors.

Meeting the Mother? Now?

My anxiety ramped up and it renewed my vigor to fight Four, though, to no avail because he refused to let up and would jerk me around if I fought particularly hard. His grip on me was ironclad, and he was like a steam roller going down that hallway, refusing to stop or adjust his grip.

In no time, we reached a set of white double doors with gold leafing on it. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen at a compound.

Four kicked the doors open and they banged against the wall. We strode into what appeared to be a throne room. It was all clean white with gold swirling designs on the walls and the Greek columns that rose up high into the ceiling. Archways were marked into the walls, framing paintings of ancient battle scenes. A long white rug led the way to a raised dais upon which sat a white marble throne decorated with thin gold designs. Massive crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling.

The room was completely empty.

Four threw me at the floor and I hit the ground, cursing and whirling around to face him with bared fangs. He simply smirked, folding his arms over his chest.

"What is the meaning of this?" A voice demanded. I swung back around to see that someone had appeared in the room at the base of the dais. They were a petite creature, wearing a white robe that fell longer in back, shorter in front and a long matching cloak with cold shoulder sleeves. Their long black hair ran in a sleek ponytail down their back to their butt, their eyes blue with black sclera, their skin porcelain and flawless.

"I come delivering the Beast," Four announced, making the creature go still. The creature, their gender undetermined, stared at me for a long moment. I glared back at them cautiously. The creature finally blinked and looked up.

"You return," they said at last, "And with a gift, it would seem. Perhaps you wish to make up for your absence." Four rolled his eyes up at the ceiling, like he was trying to think of something that wasn't smart alecky, then he looked at the creature.

"Just bring the Mother, Hild," he ordered, making the creature glare at him.

"I do not answer to you, only the Mother, you arrogant prick," they said, earning a shrug from Four, "I will fetch the Mother. Patience is a virtue." They vanished before I could ask or say anything. I turned to Four, who shrugged again and hooked his thumbs in the pockets of his jumpsuit.