“I don’t have time to explain, but we can’t take her.” I made to turn away, but the fire inside me flared to life. Inside my head, the god whispered.
I see your mind. I see what you desire.
The rage burned like magma in my veins. In front of me was a parent who had given her child to the god in exchange for power. Gloria Haynes jerked her head up, and a muffled sob came from behind the gag. It sounded like she was crying for help.
I’ll help you, Gloria.
I stepped toward her. Trey grabbed my arm. “Forget about her. We don’t have time.”
I jerked my arm from his grasp and stalked across the room, yanking the gap from her mouth. Gloria snapped her jaw. “Help me,” she croaked. “I’m being tortured. There must be a mistake. I don’t deserve this…”
I tugged down the blindfold. Gloria’s eyes watered as she struggled to focus. When my features came into view, she shrunk away, her body spasming with fear. Watching her jerk her head away, her limbs brittle sticks inside her bonds…
I liked it.
No, Ilovedit.
I loved the terror in her eyes.
I relished the acrid scent of urine soaking through her ruined dress.
I gorged myself on the sight of her silvery-grey hair and crinkling skin.
Igloriedin the power I held over her.
Yessss,the god hissed in my head.
“No… not you…” she whimpered.
“Why not me?” I leaned in close, letting my gutter whore breath caress her cheek. “Why should I not be the one to take your life, as you took the lives of your children? Tell me, has it all been worth it? Has watching Courtney remain a teenager for two decades, trapped forever between these walls, been worth the heights of your career and the admission to the Eldritch Club?”
Even as tears streamed down her cheeks, Gloria stuck out her jaw in defiance. “You want the truth?” she spat. “It was areliefto get rid of that brat. While she was in our house, my husband had no time for me. He was too busy doting on his perfect little girl. He only supported my company because he thought I was building itfor her. Well, I showed him, didn’t I? I sent his perfect girl to Ms. West and she turned into her someone he feared. Courtney will never take what’s mine.”
“Oh, won’t she?” I slapped her cheek. Gloria cried out, and I noticed a fresh burn reddening her skin. I held my palms in front of her face, letting her watch the fire leap between them. “You’re right – you turned your daughter into a monster. Well, it takes a monster to defeat one, and you and the rest of the Eldritch Club will reap what you sow.”
“Hazel, comeon.” Quinn tugged my arm. He sounded frantic now. “We have to get Zehra away, remember?”
I shoved him away and turned back to Gloria. Her cheeks glowed with wet tears. Her jaw trembled, and her face collapsed in terror. I pressed my hand against her chest, between her breasts, over her heart. I felt it race beneath my fingers, the beat speeding so fast it seemed ready to burst through her chest.
Yessss. What is sunken will again rise. You are the conduit, my star-twin.
The god cried with triumph as the fire flowed through me. Flames leaped from my palm, and I pressed them into her skin. She screamed, her body jerking. A warm joy spread through me at the pain I caused.
This is who I am – the biggest monster of all.
Someone tackled me from behind, dragging me back, tearing my hand from her chest. The flame flared across the room before sinking back into my skin. Gloria’s screech pierced my ears as fire tore through the ruined fabric of her dress, wreathing her face in an orange glow. My breath caught as I looked into her eyes and saw my mother. The god yelled in protest, but the connection had broken. The rage within me turned cold.
Quinn held me while Trey rushed over and smothered the flames. I buried my face in his shoulder, gripping his shirt, begging him silently not to let me go.
I can’t believe I did that. It was so fucking stupid. I hadn’t come here with murder on my mind. We were getting Zehra out. We needed to leave the pillar beneath the gym, and we needed Gloria alive for now, or the parents wouldn’t come to graduation.
But when I’d ignited the fire inside me, IwantedGloria to burn. I’d relished the anticipation of her suffering. How much of that was me, and how much was the god’s influence calling me, begging me to become his conduit once more?
“Fuck,” I whispered. “The god… he got inside my head. He wanted me to burn her.Iwanted to burn her.”
Quinn’s arms held me steady. This time, he wasn’t going anywhere. “We all want her to burn. It’s not your fault, Hazy.”
“He was trying to raise the pillar,” I mumbled as Quinn dragged me toward the door. A wild thought occurred to me. I dug my phone from my pocket and snapped a picture of Gloria’s slumped body, just in case I needed it as evidence or for blackmail.
