Either way, I want him to suffer first.
I'm so far gone that I don't hesitate to draw more life from the grass beneath Jace's back, and then I dig my fingertips through his shirt into his chest and unleash a flare of power. He jolts and lets out a bloodcurdling scream so shrill that his voice gives out, his limbs twitching and spasming.
Music to my ears.
I do it again. And again. And I enjoy every second of it. Every scream and sob fills me with a sick, intoxicating thrill.
I may be fucked in the head now, but I didn't always enjoy killing. Actually, taking an innocent life is something I avoid at all costs. Even surrounded by the horrors I was raised with that would rip me to shreds if I showed weakness, I drew the line at killing anyone who didn't truly deserve it.
This one? He deserves it.
I pause for a moment to relish the agony on the vampire's face as he chokes on his own tears and snot. "W—what the f—fuck are you?" he sobs, too weak to push me off of him as his eyes flutter and roll helplessly.
"I'm what happens when the Undead experiment on the living."
His next scream is particularly satisfying as I force more lethal magic into his system. But finally, the fever pitch of fury starts to die in my head. The inescapable yearning to kill and maim and fuel my magic with death lulls. I'm abruptly dizzy as Ipull my gloveless fingers out of his chest and glance around the small clearing.
The blond caster and the changeling are nowhere to be seen, and Sierra is still out cold. Part of me is tempted to end her life, too—to end all of their pathetic lives. It would be so fuckingeasy.
I was made for this. For death.
But as usual, when I'm on the verge of losing myself, Lillian's gentle voice is like the brush of a feather inside my mind.
Death is not your destiny. Everything you have gone through gives you a choice—the ultimate choice. Whenever you think of ending a life, remember how hard you have fought for your own. It's too precious to destroy so heartlessly. Rein it in, Little Raven.
Rein it in. Right. I should do that.
I finally shake off the last of the killing rage. But Jace is no longer breathing, his eyes frozen open as a fresh wave of buzzing magic lights up my entire system.
Oops.
Oh, well. Like I said, this dick deserved it.
I get to my feet and stumble away, my boots crunching over the now-lifeless grass. Nearby trees are equally drained. As I lean over to pick up the gloves they stripped off of me, another flare of nausea hits me hard, and I drop to my knees to heave until I have nothing left. My nerves are still burning, and it feels like my skin is crawling with thousands of invisible maggots, biting and burrowing little bodies.
I would give anything to fix how my body reacts like this.
Now that the vengeful outburst is out of my system, the panic catches up tenfold. I'm going into total panic. I can't be here.
I have to get their fucking touch off of me, so I run.
14
SILAS
I ripmy mouth away from the throat of yet another legacy who was foolish enough to attack, tossing aside their carcass as I storm after Baelfire. He's tracking Maven's scent, but if he doesn't find her soon, I expect to descend into madness instantaneously.
My freshly boosted magic prickles at my scarred fingertips, desperate to be set free. Everett is in the middle of verbally tearing Baelfire a new asshole when I catch up.
"...don't know what the hell you were thinking. How could younotshift and burn this entire godsdamned forest to the ground when you realized she was gone?"
"Ican'tshift right now, or the dragon will be fully in control, and he might hurt her, asswipe," Baelfire snaps back, shoving the ice elemental aside as he continues to track Maven. He pauses with frustration and swears viciously, rubbing his face. "Her scent is so fucking faint, even though it can't be that long since she passed through here. It'salwaysfaint. Why the hell is it so hard to track her?"
I imagine it has something to do with what she is and the shadow heart in her chest. I only know about that particularform of highly forbidden, unforgivable magic since I read about it in one of the Garnet Wizard's banned ancient grimoires.
A shadow heart can serve many purposes, but primarily, it keeps something alive that's…well. Not.
But Maven isn't Undead. I'm certain of that.
