The Aftermath: MPHFPC (editing)

T W E N T Y - T W O

J A C O B

A paralyzing amount of fear came over me and I could feel my heart beating against my chest rapidly, a numbness settling over me. I looked back down at the letter in my shaking hands, reading it twice to make sure I had seen it correctly.

The Wights wanted me, and if I didn't comply, they would torture and even potentially kill Bronwyn, Olive, and Hugh.

I handed the letter to Enoch and watched as his face progressively contorted into more and more anger as read it through.

"This is absolute rubbish!" He exclaimed. "He might be a complete prick and a pain in my ass, but you ain't serving him up to the Wights as bloody tribute!"

"I can and I will, Mr.O'Connor." Snapped Miss Gannet, yanking the letter from his hands.

"You make me sick!" Exclaimed Enoch. "Ymbrynes are supposed to protect peculiars! Not give them to the Wights as ransom!"

"Peculiardom is getting nowhere! It's falling apart at the seams, with or without Wights! Think of the peculiar vermin that resides in Devil's Acre! The place is absolutely crawling with Ambrosia addicts! Nowadays, addicts make up the vast majority of the peculiar population. Wights are the only way for peculiardom to become powerful and feared again!" Miss Gannet took a deep breath, calming herself down.

Miss Gannet clamped a metal bracelet similar to the one I was wearing on Enoch's wrist. "In the meantime, you both wear these, so I can monitor what you try and tell people. If either of you speaks a word about anything we discussed in here-" A painful shock of electricity ran up my arm, causing me to yell out in pain, "a shock twenty times the intensity of that will course through your body. You will get the same result if either of you tries to use your abilities or you if make an attempt to leave the building. Some shocks might even be lethal. And God help the two of you if the telepathic girl gets word of about this."

Miss Gannet gave a thin smile. "It is 4:25 in the morning, so you have approximately twenty hours and thirty-five minutes before you, Mr. Portman, must be in Devil's Acre."

"What about me?" Asked Enoch, pulling at the metal bracelet on his wrist, a look of annoyance on his face.

"You will keep your mouth shut and not repeat a word of what we are discussing to anyone."

"I've never been very good at that-" Enoch started to retort, but Miss Gannet hushed him by electrocuting him, causing him to yelp in pain.

"You will learn to keep your mouth under control, Mr. O'Connor, or face the consequences." She hissed.

"Let me tell you something, you old hag." Said Enoch icily. "You aren't taking Jacob anywhere near the Wights and bird so help me if I can even make it out of this room without killing you with this damn shock bracket on or not."

"I have no idea of what game you are playing at you morbid little know it all, but-" Started Miss Gannet, but that was all she could get out before Enoch lunged at Miss Gannet and almost wrapped both his hands around her throat, but I swept up and grabbed him before he could.

"She'll kill you!" I yelled at him.

"I don't give a damn!" He yelled back, fighting against me.

"Enoch it's not worth being dead!"

Meanwhile, Miss Gannet had backed against the wall trying to get as far away from Enoch she could get. I thought that the shock bracelets had escaped her mind, but a few seconds later she obviously remembered because Enoch yelled out in pain and I was able to let go of him.