Into the Triangle by Amylea Lyn Read Free Book Online Page B

tools and torture devices hanging on the walls, hinting at their various nefarious uses. In the center of the room was a large table with what appeared to be leather straps attached in various places, no doubt to hold the person lying down on it in place.
    Bile rose in his throat when Gabe spotted the dried blood staining the wood table at one end.
    Something horrific and evil had happened here, and he had the sneaking suspicion that if they didn't escape soon, Gabe was going to find out exactly what it was.
    A soft whimper distracted him from his dark thoughts, and Gabe glanced over to the far corner of the hut, surprised to see the small, mute woman, Mary, huddled down there, shivering and rocking herself back and forth. Her eyes seemed trained on the table, unable to tear her haunted gaze away.
    He heard Aaron gasp from behind him then warmth ran down his back as the other man moved closer, possibly seeking comfort. Gabe knew from the way Aaron had spoken about Father Willis every time the priest was mentioned he truly feared the evil man, and now Gabe knew he'd had a very good reason too.
    What is going on here ?
    "What is this about, Willis?" Gabe asked, dropping the honorific title of father as he felt the priest no longer deserved it. He'd seen his father do the same thing many times during business meetings when things had started to go downhill, so Gabe did his best to emulate the same tone and look in the hopes of intimidating the other man.
    Father Willis raised a brow, and Gabe realized suddenly in that moment there would be no intimidating, or even reasoning with, the priest. There was nothing behind those beady black eyes, and their icy gaze sent shivers of dread through Gabe's soul.
    It was possible he was dealing with a true sociopath, and if that were true, Gabe was in greater danger than he'd first realized.
    "What is this about?" Father Willis asked back, mimicking Gabe's tone. He cackled, sounding completely unhinged. He slowly walked over to the hearth and picked up a small box off a shelf hanging above it that Gabe hadn't noticed before. No bigger than the palm of his hand, the small wooden box seemed to shimmer in the muted light. Holding the box almost reverently, the priest walked back over to Gabe.
    Holding out the box, he slowly lifted the lid. " These , are what this is all about," he said, greed and mania filling his eyes. It took Gabe a moment to tear his eyes away from the man's face and to look down in the box.
    The moment he saw what the box contained, Gabe recoiled in horror.
    Pearls, approximately a dozen of them, shining dully in the muted light of the fire, ranging in all sorts of colors filled the box.
    Gabe's own pearl burned at the sight, and he gagged as he backed away.
    "Oh my god," Aaron whispered, once he caught sight of the contents of the box. He turned his horrified eyes to Father Willis. "Those are Merfolk pearls, aren't they? For their chosen ones. How did you get those?"
    Father Willis smirked. "How do you think?" he asked.
    But Gabe knew. Perhaps it was because he too had a pearl, and his own seemed to be reacting to the ones in the box, buzzing and causing his head to ache; or maybe it was the fact all the puzzle pieces were falling into place and the blood staining the table suddenly made sense.
    "You stole them from the chosen ones, didn't you? Those people never returned to the sea and the mer waiting there for them… you killed them and stole the pearls!" Gabe accused. Nausea churned in his stomach, and Gabe felt a cold sweat break out on his forehead the longer he stared at that little box.
    "Oh my God, Douglas !" a strangled whisper came from behind him, and Gabe knew his friend was finally putting the pieces together and wondering about his ex-lover, whom Aaron had always thought just disappeared one night into the sea. Now he had to wonder if Douglas was one of Father Willis's many victims.
    "What have you done?" Aaron cried.
    "What was necessary!" Father Willis