Casting Shadows

Chapter 8

Chapter 8 (Ruby's POV)

"Stay with me tonight and I'll spill some secrets to you. Refuse my offer and your beloved parents will find themselves in the arms of death," Gerard harshly whispers into my ear.

I want to call his bluff so badly, but I know I cannot. If I were to do that then I would have to be willing to lose everything. He said before that my father has helped him with the government take over, which doesn't surprise me considering how my father is never home. However, my dad and Ray Toro run the werewolves jointly, so killing my dad most likely wouldn't be much of a sacrifice to Gerard. My mother doesn't deserve any trouble. She never knew too much about the politics that my father is involved in.

"Do we have a deal?" he says at a normal decibel as he looks into my eyes with his hazel ones.

I slowly nod my head, seeing no other option other than to give in. He's probably going to hurt me, but at least I'll get some information from him, unless he's lying to me.

He calls for the guards to take Olivia and Declan away, which Declan doesn't seem too thrilled about. He has always cared for me in such an amazing way. If we were the same species, then we probably would have already started dating.

The echo of the doors as they close signifies to me that I now have to fend for myself amongst these monsters. As good as equality sounds, it's just not possible. Gerard is delusional if he believes that it can happen.

"What do you want from me?" I say hostilely.

He crouches back down to my level and removes a strand of my hair from my face. He takes a piece of it in his fingers and looks at it with great interest. "Your ombré hair is beautiful," he says with furrowed eyebrows. "I prefer solid colored hair though. I think I know just the color that would look best on you."

I stare at him like he has three heads. "It's my hair, not yours."

He only smirks in response. His eyes are a beautiful hazel, but the shadow around them make it look like he's ill. Obviously he is mentally ill, but he looks extremely sleep deprived as well.

"Sir, I just got notification of an insurgent group protesting in Dandy territory. They're all demons claiming that they wish to keep their elite status," Gabe says as he checks his phone.

Gerard gets to his feet and paces back and forth, thinking about what his move will be. I can't tell if he actually cares about equality or not, considering how he spoke to Olivia. "How many are there and how are they protesting?"

"Total, about fifty men, women, and children and it's a peaceful protest. They're stationed by the border of Death Valley."

Gerard bites his nails and runs his fingers through his hair. If he can get nervous and uncomfortable, then that means that he has a weakness. I just have to figure out what exactly it is. "Wait until nightfall and then have them massacred. Make sure the blood is cleaned off of the streets before morning. I'll speak to the press tomorrow and cover up the incident."

"You can't hide something as big as that from the public," Mikey comments.

"Then I will broadcast a statement, blaming the slaughter on anti-Parade radicals."

"That doesn't make sense," Mikey says sternly. "Radicals such as the ones you are speaking of would not massacre protestors who believe in the same thing as themselves."

"Then do whatever it takes to make sure that the local police of that area break them up!" Gerard's tone sounds unusually exasperated. His hands seem to be unable to keep still because they've been moving from his face, then back to his side, then through his hair constantly.