“Stay down,” I whisper, swinging my hand in a crescent arc.
I’ve got her. Right here. Right now. I can end this. I feel it.
I’ll kill her and fulfill my mission from Death. Once I do, I’ll be free. I’ll focus on haunting Mark. I’ll make his life a living hell. And the only thing standing in my way is this monster.
The arc slices through what’s left of her torso. She actually stumbles. Her entire form flickers, the outlines warping like acandle flame caught in a storm. Her shriek follows a split second later, sharp enough to burst blood vessels in my nose.
So close.
One more hit like that and it’s over.
“Skye…” the boy breathes. I glance over my shoulder and see him staring, awe in his eyes. Actual awe. Like the little bastard finally stopped being mad at the universe and decided I’m worth admiring for saving him.
No problem, kid. We’re even now.
But just as I raise my hand to finish it, she shifts.
Not forward. Not back.
Down.
Into the floor. Into the walls. Into theshadows.
She sinks into the floor, into the walls, into the shadows. Slipping through dimensions I can’t watch, she reappears behind him.
Behind the boy.
“No!” I scream, flinging out a hand.
I try to teleport to her, to reach the boy before she does, but I’m not accurate enough. The distance is just enough to cost me a second. And in that second, she moves.
By the time I make it, she’s already halfway formed behind him. Smoke and claws twist into shape, limbs too long, jaw unhinging wider than anything human. She’s not fully solid yet. Not yet. I could strike now. End her before she finishes manifesting.
But she’s already reaching for him.
And he—
He’s too hurt to run. Too slow to fight back. If she lands even one hit, he’s done for.
I have a choice.
I can kill her. Right now. Stop her from ever hurting anyone again. Fulfill my mission.
Or I can protect him.
Only one is guaranteed.
And I...
I move.
Instinct overrides everything else. I teleport again, fueled by rage and panic so sharp it nearly splits me in half.
One breath I’m just out of reach.
The next, I’m between them.
Her claws tear into me instead.
