“I need to complete my research,” Kellan said, voice thready and unhinged. His hair had fallen from its perfect coif and his skirt was askew. “So excuse me, won’t you?”
He reached over and smacked a button, causing all the cages to unlock at once.
Everyone backed off as venomous creatures poured out, taking their freedom while they could. Kellan held up his ring and Wren gasped, remembering it from the warehouse. The way Blu had come to him as if he were under his control.
He did it again now, every creature turning to face them instead of Kellan.
“Uhh…Wren?” Black said dubiously.
Wren let go of the man, shoving him to the floor and diving for a syringe that was lying next to an overturned metal cart.
“STOP HIM!” Kellan yelled, but before the man could react Blu had fluttered in front of his eyes, sharp little talons scratching the skin.
Wren didn’t think twice before he jabbed the needle into his thigh, feeling the now-familiar sensation of cold entering him, then heat sparking. Magic rushed in his blood, feeling like it was trying to break through his skin to escape the confines of his body.
When he opened his eyes, he could see the glow from his cursemark spilling out and lighting up the room. He met Kellan’s gaze, sensing slight fear.
“I’ll kill him,” Kellan said.
Wren stepped forward, all the creatures pausing in their march toward Wren’s family and slowly making space for him.
Kellan twisted his ring again, holding it out like that would help against Wren’s innate abilities.
Every animal in the room turned to face him, and Kellan abandoned his hold on Teddy and backed up.
“How does it feel to be stalked?” Wren sneered, his army surrounding him. Spiders and scorpions and snakes crawled and slithered up his legs to cover every inch of him, moths settling on his shoulders, a huge Komodo dragon at his feet. Blu perched ontop of his head, wings sharp against his sides. “How does it feel to be cornered?”
The liger approached from the other side, padding slowly and boxing Kellan into a corner.
“Get back, you filthy things,” Kellan shouted at them. “I created you!”
He reached into his pocket to grab some components, trying to use magic that fizzled out with little to no effect.
He’d really never had any power.
Wren grabbed a stray syringe from the table and threw it at his feet. “Go ahead. Take it,” he taunted with all his teeth bared.
Kellan reached for it, then screamed as a spider landed on top of it, fangs and arms outstretched toward him. He scrambled back just as a bat swooped down, delivering a bite on his neck. A moth followed.
He screamed and tried to bat them away, but more kept coming.
“Please!” He curled his fingers into claws, attacking his own face and neck in a desperate attempt to save his own life. He was scratching blindly, breaking skin and drawing blood. “PLEASE!”
Wren watched.
He was sick to his stomach, but a vindication he never thought he’d feel washed over him. This wasn’t just for himself. Or Teddy. This was for every person or animal that had ever been hurt in the name of the institution that trained them. This was for every accusation swept under the rug, and every bruise hidden under the clothes.
This was justice. And he wasn’t sorry he was the one delivering it.
A cobra as thick as Wren’s thigh slid over and wound around Kellan’s legs, smaller taipans going for his arms. Kellan tried to brush them off but was soon overwhelmed as more and more of them covered him until there was no visible skin left. Thosefighting hands wilted under the assault, swallowed by crawling legs and writhing bodies seeking revenge.
Wren watched.
Spiders and scorpions found the gaps, entering his ears and nose and mouth to silence his screams. The pleading stopped. Drowned out by wet coughs and wheezing breaths before that too quieted. Stings found ways under the skin. Blistering it. Turning it into one pulsing wound. As if on cue, all of the animals struck, pouring venom of his own making into him.
He was consumed, overpowered and conquered. He writhed on the floor, magic that he couldn’t contain saturating the air. Magic he wasn’t entitled to. Magic that didn’t belong to him that he so cruelly wanted to steal. Wren bid the creatures to move away, leaving Kellan arching and spasming, his eyes bulging.
And he watched.
