Deadly || Sweet Pea [2]

22

Chapter 22 || Trust

"So you're really the last one, huh?" I asked, sliding into the outside seat of the booth. Across from Jughead and I sat Verne, the supposed last Ghoulie. "You're the last Ghoulie standing?"

"Where's the rest of your crew, Verne?" Jughead asked, seemingly scoffing at the idea that Verne was the last man standing.

"After we lost Malachai, then Penny," Verne started, eyeing me. "No one knew who to look to, who to follow, so most of the Ghoulies went to the Gargoyles, started playing G&G."

"Now that Tall Boy's dead, do you know who their leader is?" Jughead pressed.

"The closest thing they've got to a leader is some whack-job named Kurtz, who's keeping the game going." Verne answered.

"Do you know where he is?" I asked, leaning forward. "Can you tell me where to go?"

Verne nodded hesitantly, telling Jughead and I the location of this Gargoyle hideout. I nodded and dropped some money on the table to pay for Verne's food before heading out into the night with Jughead.

"You want to go alone?" Jughead asked as we approached a run down looking building.

"Of course I do." I nodded. "But, I know you won't let me do that, so let's get going."

Jughead took the lead, claiming that he wanted to know what he was 'letting' me walk in to. I rolled my eyes but let him take the lead on this one, knowing for a fact that I didn't want to be the first thing these Gargoyles saw. Loud music echoed through the building, and Jughead shined his flashlight on a couple of Gargoyles. They flinched away from the beam of light, and I twisted my nose in disgust at the choice of plastic baby doll limbs. The Gargoyles gathered in the building were playing G&G, with multiple game masters and countless players.

Jughead pushed forward, shining the yellow beam of light up at a cow skull resting atop a gargoyle statue. I shook my head at the hideous decor, not understanding why someone- even a Gargoyle or a Ghoulie- would surround themselves with such strange items. Of course, instead of an answer to my unasked question, I got scared by the presence of a boy, watching Jughead and I closely in the dark. He sat beneath the large Gargoyle, looking unphased at our presence. I stood directly beside Jughead and held my head up high.

"Are you Kurtz?" I asked, throwing on my poker face. He was holding a plastic limb, making me uneasy as he flipped it silently. "I'm here to talk. One leader to another."

Kurtz eyed me before nodding to the empty seat across from him. Without looking away from his eyes, I sat in the seat. Jughead stood behind me, a hand on the back of the chair as a sign that he was there for me.

"I'm the Serpent Queen," I stated, my head high. "And I'm here to make you an offer. You're all wanted for making and dealing Fizzle Rocks. But if you and your Gargoyles join my gang, I can promise you immunity from the sheriff's office, and the law."

"Law?" Kurtz spoke. My back straightened at the sound of his voice, but I made no other move. "Immunity? I have looked into the eyes of the King, and his is the only law. The law of Gargoyles, carved in stone."

"Right." Jughead muttered. "So you want to play a game? I'm a Game Master. Let me be your Game Master."

"You think Gryphons and Gargoyles is a game?" Kurtz asked, sounding offended by the insinuation. He stood, causing me to stand as well. "You are mistaken. You come here as a queen, but you're not a queen. And you think we are playing a game. We are living a prophecy."

He sat back down beneath his hideous gargoyle, sending me a slightly amused look.

"And you are all just sacrifices waiting to be made." Kurtz continued. "The Gargoyle King lives. He will decide. And he will choose. And only the worthy will ascend."