Ahh, there’s the real him. I would be willing to bet that he thinks he has some clever plan that will no doubt involve kidnapping me and either selling me or using me for his own advantage.
I’ll have his head before I allow that to happen.
I shrug, “You are mistaken, I simply set the spear on fire. He must have been covered in some kind of accelerant. I can certainly come and try to help put him out though,” I reply pleasantly, making sure that I even smile sweetly.
He narrows his eyes, his gaze immediately filling with suspicion, as they move to the dead vamp at my feet. It wouldn’t prove anything other than the fact that I can fight, but we both know that he doesn’t believe that I didn’t use magic to keep the soldier burning.
There’s a reason why I didn’t just admit to it, though. I am in an unknown realm, and I don’t know how long I’m going to be here for or how to get back to my realm. I need to play this extremely carefully. I know that he wants me, and I need to ensure that I do not get trapped by him.
Unfortunately, that means that rather than staying with them, learning about the realm I’m in, and resting, I’m going to have to get out of here as quickly as I can.
He nods, but there’s an underlying threat to his voice as he replies, “That would be very much appreciated. Once it’s all taken care of, we can feast and get to know one another better. I’m sure that you are tired after your journey.”
Again, my smile is sweet and naive. It’s far better for him to underestimate me, I reply, “Sure, that sounds great. Let me just help the women out from under the bed. They’ve had quite a fright.”
He waves his hand dismissively and looks at them both with disgust, “Leave them. They’re only slaves. They will be beaten for their insubordination and cowardice.”
Oh, hell fucking no. Fire lights my veins as fury burns through me. A threat to me is one thing, but I will not stand for a threat to them.
To be fair, I was just looking for an excuse, and this is the perfect fucking excuse.
I don’t think about the consequences.
I turn around, several things happening at once, a part of my magic that I haven’t encountered before reaches for the man. I feel my eyes glow, although I make sure to keep my wings hidden, even as my claws lengthen.
With glowing eyes and claws, I could be anything, but my wings will definitely give me away, and I can’t have that.
The new magic plunges into his chest, holding him immobile and silent. It finds his soul and searches.
“Guilty, guilty,”the Voices chant.“This one is damned.”
I nod in agreement with the chanting Voices, aware that they’re connected to the new magic somehow, and realizing that Raiden was wrong, they aren’t the voices of the dead. Even though they do behave in a similar way. No, these voices are so much more.
They always have been.
In a voice that is my own but is so much more, I look the doomed man in his eyes, “Thadius Bleufornt, I find you guilty. Your Soul is damned, your heart is black, and your life and afterlife are forfeit.”
My clawed hand plunges deep into his chest, wrapping around his heart and pulling it free, leaving behind a burned and blackened hole.
He looks at me with knowledgeable terror etched in his gaze as I close my hand, and his heart turns to dust, and with it his soul.
The magic pulls back, and I’m so fucking glad that the knowledge of what just happened stays.
“Who the fuck are you?” Styx asks, as she climbs out from under the bed despite the fact that the other woman is trying to stop her.
“Neith,” I reply, repeating my answer from before, and then sigh as I answer her other question. “I don’t fucking know.”
Understanding crosses her expression, “Neither do I.”
“Well, that definitely makes us friends,” I grin, and she nods, matching my smile, while the other woman looks at us both with fear.
The fact that Styx didn’t run away from me screaming after the little show that I put on is extremely telling about the shit she’s been through.
Or maybe it just means that she’s bat shit crazy, either way, I think we’ll get on great.
“Seriously, thank you.” She tells me, darkness and shadows crossing her gaze. “He was going to do more than just beat us, and we are trapped here. Every time I try to escape, they bring me back, and the punishment is worse. I’m difficult to kill, and they take advantage of that. He was going to bind you to him as well. He didn’t believe that you didn’t use magic to set the soldier on fire. Not that I think anyone would have believed it, especially since he’s still burning. He has ways to keep you under his control.”
Her words confirm what I already suspected, so it’s not a surprise to me. I don’t like the hollowed look that crosses her expression when she talks about him.
