Devoured (20 page)

I didn’t think it was possible for my heart to pound any faster, but realizing Miss Patty is throwing me to the wolves sends it into overdrive. “Oh my God, you’re not going to let Ari do this? You can’t. If you let me go, I won’t tell anyone. I promise.”

Ari smiles smugly. “This is a done deal, we just need to wait for—”

“Remy!”
I scream.
“Remy, I need you!”

“Yell all you want,” Ari says. “The park is closed, there’s no one here.”

“Remy!”

The mirror laughs. “This should be quite interesting.”

“What are you talking about?” Ari barks.

Remy appears before me, and the room grows colder. “Told you so.”

“Oh my God, Remy! You knew all the time, didn’t you? You knew the mirror was real, and you knew what they were going to do. That’s why you didn’t go with Daddy.”

“Bad girl!”

“Who the hell are you talking to?” Ari asks, looking bewildered.

“Her sister,” the mirror answers.

Ari scoffs. “She doesn’t have a sister.”

“I wish I may, I wish I might,” Remy rambles.

Blood is pounding in my ears and I feel like I’ve gone totally insane. “You know what I wish?
I wish to God I wasn’t in this room right now!
”

“Done!” the mirror calls out.

Suddenly the floor feels like it’s shifting beneath my feet, and in a flash I’m in the hall. “What?”

I hear Ari and Patty yelling from inside the office.

Mr. Roy is standing in front of me and he jumps in surprise.

“Mr. Roy!” I shriek, not caring why I’m in the hall, just grateful I’m not trapped with those lunatics on the other side of the door. “You have to help me! It’s Ari, she killed Nicki and Kayla, she has a gun, and she was going to kill me too!”

Mr. Roy shakes his head. “My little princess never killed anyone. That’s what her daddy’s for.” He slowly raises a long silver hunting knife and tips the point toward my chest.

“I’m very disappointed in
you,
Megan. I didn’t think
you
were that kind of girl. I could’ve had any number of girls work in your place today, but after Ari told me what you did, well, I was in full agreement that it was time you joined your good friend Nicki. Feisty little thing, she was.”

I back away. “This isn’t happening. Mr. Roy, please tell me this isn’t happening. Ari’s got a gun …”

“The gun was just to keep you in the room until I got there. Ari’s a delicate thing. She has no interest in the hunt— she just likes to reap the benefits.”

“No,” I whisper. “Not you.” My head is spinning. How could Mr. Roy—

A gunshot goes off in Miss Patty’s office, and then Remy appears by my side.

“Meggy, run!”

And I do.

NINETEEN

I bolt down the hall and hit the doors to the park. I burst through and keep running. The light is fading, making it easier to hide—I hope.

I run past the Mermaid Lagoon and hear Mr. Roy calling my name.

I turn left and see Hansel and Gretel’s Haunted Forest. Without thinking, I sprint toward it, scramble over the locked gate, and run inside the employee entrance. I don’t stop until I get to the witch’s kitchen.

I wildly look around for a hiding spot. We were warned it was downright dangerous to ever get off the safety paths, but I think that in this situation it would be way more dangerous to be out in the open. I scramble over the safety barrier and carefully pick my way across the track, past Hansel in his cage, and crouch down behind the Gretel robot.

My heart pounds and it’s getting harder and harder to draw a breath. Of course my inhaler is in the costume shop—with my cell phone. I will myself to take deep calming breaths. “Remy?” I whisper. “Remy, I need you.”

“Shh,” she whispers back, appearing shimmering and happy. “You made a wish,” she says in a hushed voice. She claps her hands quietly.

“Is that how I got out of the room? Because I made a wish?”

“Star light, star bright, first star—”

“Okay, I get it,” I whisper back. But how did my wish get me out of the room? Ghosts don’t grant wishes, but … but … genies do! What if genies can inhabit things other than lamps? Like mirrors.

But why didn’t Ari just wish Luke would love her? Unless she doesn’t know what the thing in the mirror is! I shake my head. Obviously she doesn’t; if she did, my night with Luke never would’ve happened.

“I wish I was home!” I blurt out.

I brace myself, but nothing happens. I rest my head on my knees. I must need to be with the mirror for it to grant my wish. Crap!

Oh, no. That damn mirror can also show the Roys where I am if they ask it! But will they, or are they already out in the park looking for me? If the gunshot I heard hit someone—most likely Patty—I’ll have Ari and Mr. Roy to deal with, and that scares the hell out of me!

I might not have much time. I hug my knees tighter. I need help. “Remy,” I whisper, “get Luke! Tell him I’m in trouble. Tell him to come right away!”

Remy nods. “Nice boy.”

“Go tell him where I am, tell him I need help! Go!”

She disappears and I try to make my body as small as possible, hoping Luke finds me before Mr. Roy does.

I hear Mr. Roy calling my name and my blood freezes. He’s getting closer. I don’t know why he’s bothering to call me, like I’d answer him, but I guess maybe he’s hoping to flush me out like a bird in a bush.

I huddle back against the wall.

“Megan? Where are you?”

Oh my God, that’s Luke.

“Megan, I’m coming!”

I suddenly realize Mr. Roy can simply follow Luke right to me! And what if Mr. Roy decides to kill Luke too?
I am such an idiot!

“Remy!” I say as loudly as I dare. “Remy, tell Luke to go away.
Please!
”

“Megan, I’m coming,” he calls out, sounding like he’s right in front of the ride.

“Remy! Do something!”

“Mr. Roy?” Luke sounds surprised, and then there’s silence.

Oh, no!

I stand up just as the ride comes to life. Hansel starts rattling in his cage and an empty car enters the witch’s house. I need to wait for it to go down the slope into the oven section before I dare jump back over the track.

“Hurry up!” I yell at the car. I need to see if Luke’s okay. Tears stream down my face. He’s got to be okay!

The car stops in front of me, and Gretel slides out to push the witch into the oven. The wall lifts and the car drops out of site. I’m about to jump across when I see Remy by the control panel and Mr. Roy coming up right behind her. With Gretel out of the way, I’m completely exposed.

“Bleeding,” Remy mutters.

I glare at Mr. Roy. “What did you do to Luke?”

“I never wanted a hunting dog before,” Mr. Roy says, eyeing me from across the track. “I usually like to hunt my quarry myself, but with so much ground to cover, Luke arriving when he did was especially helpful. But his usefulness is over now.”

“What did you do to him?”
I scream.

“Let’s just say he’s out of commission for now. But if we make this quick, I can get him the attention he needs. I wouldn’t want to disappoint my little girl, after all.”

Another car enters and the witch cackles madly.
“Into the oven!”

The car careens around the room and comes to a stop. Gretel slides out again, and part of me just wants to tell him to get it over with, but I can’t leave Luke.

“Now, let’s see,” Mr. Roy says as Gretel slides back toward me. He taps a finger gently on the tip of the knife and surveys the area I’m standing in. “There’s really no place for you to go. That should make my job easier.” I see him tense up, ready to jump the barrier and cross the track.

“Into the oven,”
the witch shrieks as another car enters.

Blood is pounding in my ears.

“Bleeding. Bad apples.”

The car stops in front of me, Gretel moves toward it, and Mr. Roy leaps across the track. My heart races as I scramble across the metal bar Gretel slides on, holding my arms out for balance, and trying not to fall before I can reach the car.

“No!” I shout as the oven door rises and the car dives down the incline before I can get there.

The strobe lights in the oven flash and I jump down onto the track, hoping I can run into the oven section before the wall comes down.

I feel Mr. Roy grab the ribbon on the back of my costume and the knife slices into my shoulder. “Ah!” I gasp as I feel blood seeping into my costume, and then the pain seers through me.

“Almost done,” he pants in my ear. He starts to wrap his arm around my neck, but I jab my elbow into his stomach. He cries out and I turn to face him as he doubles over. I push him as hard as I can, hoping to send him down the track into the oven.

The witch knocks into him as she goes back to her starting place, and he falls flat on the track. He starts to pull himself up, but the oven door slams down across his middle. Blood gushes from his mouth onto the track, and I scream again.

“Bleeding,” Remy says.

Another car enters and I scurry off the track to the control panel, breathing hard.

“Into the oven!”

I stare at Mr. Roy’s lifeless body for a few seconds and then hit the emergency stop button. The car heading toward the oven stops and I bolt toward the exit. I have to find Luke.

Luke is lying on the path a few feet from the exit of the ride. I rush to him and kneel down. His chest moves, and I cry with relief. His shirt is soaked with blood, though. With trembling hands I gently pull his T-shirt up to see if I can stop the bleeding.

I gasp when I see the deep wound on the side of his abdomen. Blood rushes from the gash and I know Luke won’t make it if we have to wait for an ambulance. “I love you,” I whisper and then I dash off toward the office building, knowing I need to make another wish.

I race into Miss Patty’s office and stop short when I see Ari sitting in the chair with her feet up on the desk. Oh, God, why isn’t she out in the park?

She sits upright in surprise. “Well, isn’t this convenient,” she says as she picks up the gun. “I’ll tell Daddy he can stop looking for you. All the stupid mirror could show us was you crouching in the dark somewhere.” She cocks her head. “Although, from the looks of that cut on your shoulder, it appears Daddy found you after all. You must be quick, he doesn’t usually let anyone get away.”

She picks up her cell phone and starts to punch in some numbers.

I touch the blood dripping down and realize my arm is throbbing. “I wish Luke’s wound was totally healed,” I blurt out.

The mirror flashes behind Ari, and she spins around in the chair. “What’s going on? What are you doing?” she asks the mirror.

The face appears and looks at me with one eyebrow raised. “Nicely played,” it purrs, “but you’ve let the cat out of the bag now.”

Ari pushes the chair away from the desk and looks back and forth between the mirror and me. Her eyes widen, and she puts her phone down. “That’s how you disappeared from the room—you
wished
it!” Her eyes grow even bigger. “How many do I get?” she asks the mirror.

The face purses its lips, as if trying to delay answering her. It lets out a tired sigh. “Three. Everyone gets three.”

Ari turns to me with an evil glint in her eye. “Three! Can I wish for anything I want?”

“I cannot take or restore life, and it is also beyond my powers to alter love. But as you know, there are other ways to get around that particular limitation. I do think you should see what’s become of your father before you proceed any further.”

The face disappears and Mr. Roy’s battered body appears, with the oven door above it, smeared with his blood.

Ari puts a hand to her mouth and gasps. “Daddy!”

The face fills the mirror again, and it bows its head. “You could save your stepmother’s life, though, there’s still time.”

Ari turns and I follow her stare. Miss Patty is sprawled out on the carpet, blood leaking from a small wound in her stomach. Patty moans and Ari shakes her head and scoffs. “The hell with her, but Daddy, I wish Daddy was okay!”

The mirror smiles coldly. “I’m afraid I cannot grant that wish, but your stepmother …”

Tears gather in Ari’s eyes. “
No!
I’m not wasting a wish on her! She can rot in hell for all I care.”

I look at Miss Patty and I’m torn between doing the right thing and saving my last wish. I shake my head. There’ve been too many deaths already. “I
wish
Miss Patty would fully recover from her injuries after a stay in the hospital,” I say, making sure she’ll be okay without adding her to the madness already in play.

The mirror looks at me with surprise and then flashes. Patty coughs from the floor and Ari laughs crazily. “You just wasted your last wish! Are you insane?”

I nod. “Yeah, I think I am.”

“I win!” she says with glee in her eyes. “I finally win! All the suffering I’ve been through will finally be over.” She turns to me and shakes her head. “The only downside to all this is that you won’t be around to see what you’ve lost—to ache for what you can’t have.”

She stares at me coldly, and then her eyes light up, making chills run up my spine. She walks over to me and twirls the gun on her fingers. “I can’t wish Luke was in love with me, right?” she asks over her shoulder to the mirror.

“Correct,” it says.

She taps my chest with the barrel of the gun. “And cutting out hearts is messy. But could you use your magic to
switch
our hearts?”

“Yes!” The mirror’s smoky eyes burn with admiration. “Yes! Very clever, Miss Arianna!”

Ari beams as she looks me up and down. “Looks like you’re going to lose your heart after all, but at least you’ll still be alive.”

My hands fly to my chest as I stare at Ari. “No,” I whisper. God! Why did I throw away my last wish?

Ari nods. “I mean what
fun
would it be if you didn’t live every day knowing Luke was making love to
me
instead of
you
?” She purses her lips. “And there’ll be nothing you can do, because who would believe you? It’s perfect!”

Oh my God. She’s going to do it. My mind races. I don’t have any wishes left and Ari has a gun—my options are extremely limited.

“She’s a bad apple,” Remy whispers.

Remy! If I can get her riled up, maybe she can destroy the mirror, or at least keep Ari from making a wish until I figure something out.

“
Remy
, that bad girl is gonna make some wishes that will hurt me. Do you hear me, Remy? I need you to stop her!”

Remy appears in front of Ari. Ari shivers, obviously feeling the cold air.

“Bad apple!”
Remy growls. “Leave Meggy alone!” A blast of wet, frigid air swirls around the room, whipping my hair around my face. “No more
wishes!
”

“What’s happening?” Ari calls out, her eyes looking wildly around the room.

I smile at her. “Arianna Roy, I’d like you to meet my sister, Remy.”