Okay so brief explanation; this is the missing Chapter 17 on my own fic The 8th Dead Man. If you haven't read it, that's fine this should still make sense, and if you have I've tweaked some of it, so it won't fit in perfectly with the prior chapter (last couple lines really) but yeah, this is Erskine's betrayal. Language, blood, death, violence, the usual. Hope you enjoy! Please R&R!
The break in had went terribly. Ezra, Erskine, Ghastly and Anton had been separated immediately. Swarms of people were on them, more than they knew there would be and they were brought down and cuffed in a matter of a couple minutes. That was four days ago now. Erskine was nowhere to be seen and Ezra was worried, Ghastly was in the cell beside her, Anton in the cell across from her. No one had been particularly bothered with them, a bored looking teenager bringing them their meals. They weren't complaining, however nobody was telling them anything and it was so infuriating. Two cleavers came down the steps, walking in sync, their scythes on their back as usual. They came to Ezra's cell and unlocked it, and before Ezra could even think, one swung her around, grabbing her wrists and cuffing her.
"What're you doing?" Ghastly asked, standing in his cell, his fists clutching the bars. Anton got up too, staring, not sure what to do or say, despising the helpless feeling that washed over him. Ezra said nothing, she hardly reacted. The marched her out, into the corridors. Ezra tried to remember the lefts and rights they took but it seemed like they were just walking without purpose. It became adamantly clear that they were walking without purpose when they doubled back and went left instead right, or right instead of left. Thirty minutes later and they returned back the the cells. Ezra's stomach dropped.
"What have you done?" Ezra shrieked. She lurched forward, but the cleavers grabbed her and jerked her back. Erskine held a hand up.
"No. Leave her. Let her mourn." He said quietly. The cleavers obeyed. Ezra didn't even register, all she saw was Anton's head not attached to his body, and Ghastly struggling to breath, laying in a pool of his own blood. Ezra launched to Ghastly as soon her wrists were free. They had been dragged out of their cells. She cradled the man on her lap, crying. His eyes flickered open, and he smiled faintly when he saw her. Then his eyes closed and he gave a last ragged breath.
"No, no, no Ghastly, please, it's not that bad, we can fix this, we can." She promised. She was drenched in blood. She was drenched in Ghastly Bespoke's blood. She glanced up, saw Anton's head and a sob raked through her.
"Ezra... Ezra they're dead." Erskine said lightly. He gently put his hands on her, pulling her up. He turned her gently to face him.
"Ezra the world is ours now. We can make a new world. Right here. Right now-"
"You killed them-" The words left Ezra in a burst. He brushed the fallen hair out of her eyes.
"I did what I had to do to build our new world." He said simply.
"What you had to- new world?" Ezra wasn't computing. Erskine was a Dead Man. Had been for centuries. But now...
"Yes. Where we rule. Why should we need to hide away in the shadows and let mortals rule? It's absurd. We are the strongest. We deserve to rule."
Ezra tried to pull away, but his grip tightened on her arms, bruising her.
"He was your partner." She said.
"Now you are." He said, an edge in his voice that Ezra had never heard before.
"No... No, you're a traitor, you're not a Dead Man anym-" The back hand took Ezra by surprise. She stared at him, her confusion turning to rage.
"We. Are. Partners." He said coldly.
Skulduggery, Valkyrie, Dexter and Saracen had been ambushed, naturally. Without even meaning to, without even suspecting. They traveled back to Roarhaven together, needing to go to the Grand Mages, to seek help. They couldn't find Ezra, Anton, Erskine or Ghastly anywhere and they had searched. So they were going to ask for help. Begrudgingly. As soon as they stepped foot inside the Sanctuary they were overtaken by Cleavers. Valkyrie was thrown in the same cell as Ezra, the others in separate cells. Ezra was curled up as small as she could make herself. There were bruises on her cheek, and her upper arms but other than she seemed physically fine. Her eyes were red and puffy.
"What happened?" Valkyrie asked, sitting next her. She was quiet for a long time.
"It was... It was a trap. But it was set up by... by Erskine. Anton and are Ghastly are dead." She said quietly, barely above a whisper.
"How? Why?" Skulduggery asked. He was lost for words. Ezra shook her head.
"Erskine wants to rule the mortals. He thinks we'll stop him." She said. She sounded numb.
"Damn right we are going to try and stop the twisted son of a bitch!" Dexter said. He was angry.
Days past. Weeks. Maybe even months. The rage and anger turned to numbness and defeat. No one came and saw them except that stupid, bored teenager. Then everything changed. Erskine walked down the stairs, carrying a large white parcel, flanked by four cleavers. The rage returned the Dead Men stood tall. They would not show their vulnerability to a traitor. A cleaver unlocked Ezra and Valkyrie's cell and Erskine threw the parcel in. The cell was quickly locked again.
"Open it, Ezra." He demanded. Ezra stared at him but then crouched beside the parcel. It was wrapped in white, glossy paper, tied neatly with white lace ribbon. A little card hung from the white ribbon and in delicate writing said
For when Dexter finally works up the nerve.
Love, Ghastly Bespoke x
"Oh." Ezra breathed, knowing full well what was in the parcel. She pulled at the ribbon and it came undone and then ever so carefully she unfolded the paper back to reveal a white lace fabric. Ezra grabbed the shoulders of the gown and stood, letting it beautifully fall to the full length. It was a wedding dress. It was white and lacy with diamonds encrusted tastefully, long sleeves and a low neckline. Accessories such as a veil, earrings, a necklace, a bracelet and even a diamond hair clasp were in the parcel, not Ghastly made but picked by him because, like always, he had a vision.
"It's beautiful." Valkyrie said, awestruck.
"We are getting married. We need to keep up appearances and I have already had you all hidden for too long. People are getting curious and asking questions." Erskine.
"You could always tell them the truth." Saracen said casually.
"Do you think you're funny, Rue? I have a lot going on right now and I don't need any snarky remarks from someone as pathetic as you." Erskine screeched, whirling around to face him.
"I don't want to marry you." Ezra interrupted, deadly serious.
"I don't care. If you don't I will kill everyone in this godforsaken dungeon and be done with it. The only reason why I haven't already is because I want you happy and comfortable because I love you."
"You what?" Dexter asked from his cell. A vein popped out in Erskine's forehead and neck.
"You are not aloud to speak." He hissed.
"This is clearly too much for you to deal with." Skulduggery observed. Erskine glared at him.
"We will get married. Broadcast it world wide so the world will know we are happy and committed and still the Dead Men, despite the two traitors."
"Despite the what? Traitors? Are you fucking kidding me?" Ezra said, her heart beating faster than it should, her fists clenched around the elegant fabric.
"I had to say something as to why Anton and Ghastly are dead." Erskine said as if it made perfect sense.
"You killed them and then you blamed them? Pinned them as an enemy to the rest of the world?" Valkyrie fired.
"I did what I had to do." Erskine said, then left.