Page 260 of Sinister

Somehow, he hears me.

But the moment his eyes flick to mine, the creature strikes. She mimics his earlier move, punching toward his chest and digging her claws into his skin.

“No!” I scream.

But just in time, Sin teleports again—vanishing before she can do more harm. He reappears behind her and immobilizes her, though he’s clearly in pain. His face is pale, blood still trickling from his wounds. But he pushes through it.

“You have to kill him! Kill Snowden, or the creature cannot die!”

The only response from Arnoult is a groan of pain, some guttural, unintelligible sound.

“The only ones dying tonight . . .” Snowden growls, gritting his teeth, “are you.”

He straddles Arnoult, who is lying on his back in the grass, and raises the knife high, gaining momentum to stab him in the heart.

Sin notices and quickly teleports to help him, but just as he reaches Arnoult’s side, the creature tackles him to the ground. They both roll onto the grass.

Arnoult is still pinned under Snowden’s body, and both of them search through the grass for the knife.

Once again, Snowden finds it first. Arnoult grabs for it, trying to wrest it away, but the blade is now lodged between their two bodies. Snowden pushes it toward Arnoult’s chest while Arnoult desperately tries to stop it from breaking his skin.

Sin struggles to get away from the creature long enough to help his mentor, but by now, she’s too fast. She won’t give him any opening—any window to intervene.

As I watch, heart pounding, wondering whether Snowden will finally plunge the knife into Arnoult’s chest, something catches my eye—a glint of light in the grass just a few feet away from me.

The gun.

It’s the same one from before.

I move in slow, methodical steps and pick it up with trembling hands. Just as the tip of the blade breaks Arnoult’s skin and blood seeps through his shirt, I raise the gun and aim it at Snowden.

I’ve never fired a gun before. I’ve never even held one. But I understand how it works. I think I can do this.

In that moment, I don’t hesitate. Maybe I should have stopped to consider what it means to take a life to save another.

But the truth is, I don’t care about Arnoult. I don’t care about Snowden.

I only care about my Sin.

And if the only way to make that creature stop hurting him is to kill Snowden, then that’s exactly what I’ll do.

I swallow hard, eyes fixed on my target. My fingers find the cold trigger.

I fire.

The first bullet strikes him in the arm, but I’m already committed.

I take a step forward, then another step, reloading as I go.

Snowden turns to look at me, his face a mask of shock. While he was so focused on the man, he forgot about the girl he called docile.

I shoot again.

This time, the bullet hits his chest. He teeters off Arnoult and collapses in the grass, groaning.

I take another step forward, reload once more.

When I reach him, when I’m standing right over him, I aim at his head.