lead my army to war,” Jared tells me, no longer wearing the expression of false kindness. “I offered you the chance to walk away, Leah. Now it’s time for you, too, to bear my mark.”
“Oh no.” I back away. “No freaking way am I letting you tattoo me.”
Jared sighs, and reaches for something lying on the desk. A needle gun.
Horror uncoils inside me.
“It’ll be quick, Leah. That, I can promise.”
I raise my dagger, heat rushing through me. Kill him. This time, I’m going to make damn well sure he doesn’t come back to life.
“Leah, I wouldn’t do anything you’ll regret. If you use your Transcendent powers, Cas will die, and so will two hundred innocents.”
He’s trying to put me off. And it’s working.
“One last chance for a peaceful surrender?”
“Hell no.” Fire ignites around me.
Jared lunges forward, quick as a flash. I dodge to the right and stab wildly with the dagger, but he’s too fast. The tattoo gun grazes my arm, but not enough to draw blood.
The enclosed space doesn’t make it easy to move around, and I’m backed against a wall. But I’m fast, too. I strike first, leaping at him with a cry that hardly sounds like me. He moves to the right, stabbing with the tattoo gun, but I’ve already moved out of the way. A spray of blood tells me I caught his wrist with the dagger’s edge.
Cursing, he grabs at me, his other hand closing around my left wrist and forcing it upwards. No. Stop. No. The tattoo gun moves towards my exposed skin. I kick at his right leg, and he misses. Too close.
I jerk back, but his grip is like iron. I counter the tattoo gun, striking it with the side of my blade, and his eyes widen.
Part of the gun falls away, cut cleanly in two. Fire consumes it and he lets the other half fall to the ground, eyes narrowing.
“Ha.” I kick at him again, and he drops my wrist, knocking me off-balance.
He moves back and grabs a syringe. He’s planning to sedate me? He goes for my arm again, and I duck, holding my left arm close to my chest and stabbing at him with the dagger. Fiery light flares, and a sheaf of papers on the desk ignites.
I kick him towards the flames. My feet are like solid concrete, but he’s a Pyro, too. Without my Transcendent power, we’re evenly matched.
“You shouldn’t have lied to me, Leah,” he says softly. “I admire your nerve, but my brother is alive, and so are your friends. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about them.”
He stabs at me with the syringe. Too slow. I catch his arm in my left hand and force it away, giving it everything I have. I won’t let him hurt the others, not again.
This time, I won’t hold back.
My wrist screams. I move the dagger and aim for his heart.
Jared dodges, and I catch him in the arm instead. My dagger digs through skin and flesh and bone, and his body goes slack when my blade comes out the other side.
I’ve stabbed him right through the arm, which lights up along with the blade, incandescent, golden-red.
Then the dagger comes away in my hand, and I fall back, gasping.
Jared’s severed hand lies a few feet away from his body.
He falls back, mouth open in a silent scream.
I don’t move for a good minute. Then I drop alongside him. He’s still. Completely still.
No heartbeat.
I back away, thinking of the guards. And Cas. I need to find him…
Dizziness rises within me and I stagger against the wall, the world tipping sideways. Light flashes across my vision, and white-hot pain pierces every part of my body. I’m barely aware that I’m falling before the darkness claims me.
***
I’m crying out in pain, but I’m not me. My left arm burns, and the agony radiates throughout my body. Like a branding iron has been placed on my arm, turning me into a creature incapable of sense, of reason, only pain and the desperation for it to end. I can’t see or hear anything. I’m reduced to the barest minimum.
Piece by piece, the world comes back, remaking itself, like a jigsaw of
“Oh no.” I back away. “No freaking way am I letting you tattoo me.”
Jared sighs, and reaches for something lying on the desk. A needle gun.
Horror uncoils inside me.
“It’ll be quick, Leah. That, I can promise.”
I raise my dagger, heat rushing through me. Kill him. This time, I’m going to make damn well sure he doesn’t come back to life.
“Leah, I wouldn’t do anything you’ll regret. If you use your Transcendent powers, Cas will die, and so will two hundred innocents.”
He’s trying to put me off. And it’s working.
“One last chance for a peaceful surrender?”
“Hell no.” Fire ignites around me.
Jared lunges forward, quick as a flash. I dodge to the right and stab wildly with the dagger, but he’s too fast. The tattoo gun grazes my arm, but not enough to draw blood.
The enclosed space doesn’t make it easy to move around, and I’m backed against a wall. But I’m fast, too. I strike first, leaping at him with a cry that hardly sounds like me. He moves to the right, stabbing with the tattoo gun, but I’ve already moved out of the way. A spray of blood tells me I caught his wrist with the dagger’s edge.
Cursing, he grabs at me, his other hand closing around my left wrist and forcing it upwards. No. Stop. No. The tattoo gun moves towards my exposed skin. I kick at his right leg, and he misses. Too close.
I jerk back, but his grip is like iron. I counter the tattoo gun, striking it with the side of my blade, and his eyes widen.
Part of the gun falls away, cut cleanly in two. Fire consumes it and he lets the other half fall to the ground, eyes narrowing.
“Ha.” I kick at him again, and he drops my wrist, knocking me off-balance.
He moves back and grabs a syringe. He’s planning to sedate me? He goes for my arm again, and I duck, holding my left arm close to my chest and stabbing at him with the dagger. Fiery light flares, and a sheaf of papers on the desk ignites.
I kick him towards the flames. My feet are like solid concrete, but he’s a Pyro, too. Without my Transcendent power, we’re evenly matched.
“You shouldn’t have lied to me, Leah,” he says softly. “I admire your nerve, but my brother is alive, and so are your friends. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about them.”
He stabs at me with the syringe. Too slow. I catch his arm in my left hand and force it away, giving it everything I have. I won’t let him hurt the others, not again.
This time, I won’t hold back.
My wrist screams. I move the dagger and aim for his heart.
Jared dodges, and I catch him in the arm instead. My dagger digs through skin and flesh and bone, and his body goes slack when my blade comes out the other side.
I’ve stabbed him right through the arm, which lights up along with the blade, incandescent, golden-red.
Then the dagger comes away in my hand, and I fall back, gasping.
Jared’s severed hand lies a few feet away from his body.
He falls back, mouth open in a silent scream.
I don’t move for a good minute. Then I drop alongside him. He’s still. Completely still.
No heartbeat.
I back away, thinking of the guards. And Cas. I need to find him…
Dizziness rises within me and I stagger against the wall, the world tipping sideways. Light flashes across my vision, and white-hot pain pierces every part of my body. I’m barely aware that I’m falling before the darkness claims me.
***
I’m crying out in pain, but I’m not me. My left arm burns, and the agony radiates throughout my body. Like a branding iron has been placed on my arm, turning me into a creature incapable of sense, of reason, only pain and the desperation for it to end. I can’t see or hear anything. I’m reduced to the barest minimum.
Piece by piece, the world comes back, remaking itself, like a jigsaw of
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