He stopped thrashing and stared directly in my eyes. “Let me down.”
I stepped out of the way and released him. He dropped to the ground, gracefully completing his flip. “Your plan tempts me. Maybe I will serve you.”
“Just like that? You’d be my puppet boy?” I shook my head. “It’s never this easy.”
He shrugged. “I’m not a fool. You’re clearly more powerful than me, and I’ve been with worse. It won’t be that bad.”
“That bad? You have never been with anyone like me.”
Without warning, he lunged for me. I easily stepped out of the way. To me, his movements were slow, but in reality, he moved faster than I’d ever seen Boaz move. He reversed directions and ran at me again, scooping up a short branch in the process. I froze him within arm’s reach.
“You’re not learning!” I said. “You can’t beat me. Why are men so dense?” I glanced at the tree branch in his hand. “And what exactly were you planning to do with that?” The veins in my face pulsed with anger. “No answer? Well, let me show you what I’ll do with it.”
Mentally, I took hold of the stick and turned it toward him, despite his resistance. The muscles in his face bulged from straining, and he grunted, spit running over his lips. He was strong but not strong enough. With a quick blast of mental energy, the branch stabbed through his gut and out his back, inches from his heart. He fell over, making a gurgling sound.
I casually approached him. “You are so beautiful, writhing in pain and agony. I could watch you for hours.”
He struggled to speak.
I knelt beside him and stroked his head, but when my fingers went through his short black hair, I pulled it hard. “Don’t ever trick me again.”
And in that brief moment, while I was distracted, he reached up and tore the necklace from my neck.
Chapter 24
Sunlight. Blinding, glaring sunlight. I squeezed my eyes tighter even though they were already closed.
I didn’t want to wake up.
If I didn’t wake up, then I wouldn’t have to live. The thought of living right now was more frightening than anything I’d ever faced. Was that how it was with consequences? Could it be that living with them was more terrifying than committing the very act itself?
Despite the warm sunlight, a chill rocked my body. Alarica was gone. The evil that had existed within her no longer controlled my heart and mind, yet remnants of it remained like aftershocks of a massive earthquake. They were a constant reminder of all the damage I’d caused, all the innocent lives murdered by my alter ego’s desire to destroy.
I tightened my fingers into the wet spring ground. The cool earth against my palm calmed my racing blood. The dirt brought life and death. I wasn’t sure which sounded better at the moment. My reasoning ability was still muddled not only by Alarica’s innate darkness, but also by my own. Because of my past actions, I’d lost the ability to choose right from wrong. I reasoned, however, that if I had the awareness to recognize my conscience had been lost, then maybe it was possible to get it back. I had taken a small step on that path before the necklace, but how would I do it now, after everything I’d done?
The vampire. The vampire who had destroyed Alarica. The vampire who had given me light. He would know. It was him who had told me that power was a dangerous thing. Maybe he could help me again.
Relaxing my fingers, I finally opened my eyes and sucked cool air into my lungs. I turned my head to the side. A glint of silver reflected the sunlight through the tall weeds. I squinted to get a better look. I jerked violently and scrambled away as quickly as possible until my back hit against a tree. I frantically looked around to make sure I was alone, and then returned my gaze to the necklace. I must destroy it!
I spotted a jagged stone poking out from the dirt and used my fingers to pry it free. I approached the necklace slowly as if it were alive. The blood inside the glass orb appeared frozen; ice crystals spread upon its surface like miniature spider webs.
Without hesitation, I lifted the rock and brought it down on the glass. I closed my eyes, expecting it to shatter, but instead the rock merely bounced off the orb. I peered out of one eye. The blood within the sphere was no longer solid—it was boiling. I reached for the orb, wanting to feel its surface for any signs of damage, but just as my finger was about to touch the clear exterior, the blood leapt at me, stopped only by the glass. I jumped and breathed heavily.
Before I could think twice, I raised the rock again and smashed it over and over until I could no longer lift my arm. Exhausted, the rock dropped from my hand. The necklace remained intact with not a single crack evident, but the boiling blood inside had turned black, and I had the eerie sensation that it was laughing at me.