Page 164 of Barbi and the Villain

“I cannot extract the souls out of a demon since I am one myself. But an Aperite deity could.”

“You mean…me?” I frown. “But how would I do that?”

“Your mother was a Supreme, Barbs. That means you have the ability to extract the souls and save them. And once you do, they will be able to move on.”

I blink. He nudges me softly, and I realize he has full confidence in me.

“But how?” I whisper.

I would love nothing more than save those souls and make Nykander proud of me. But no matter my determination, the fact of the matter is that I’ve only had these powers for a few hours. I don’t even know what I’m doing nine times out of ten!

“Focus your energy on him.” He nods to Damien, who is currently writhing in agony. “Visualize the energy within him—the foreign energy.”

Closing my eyes, I push my energy toward Damien. The moment it reaches him, though, I physically recoil from the evil I sense within him. Yet it’s not just Damien. It’s also Baine. Somewhere inside there, Baine’s essence also lives, polluting Damien’s soul further.

I probe more. There are thick layers of evil and foul intentions. And every time I try to peel a layer, I feel their essence tainting me.

“Breathe, sweetheart. I am here with you,” Nykander murmurs in my ear. His lips are on my temple as he pulls me in his arms.

“It’s so ugly and vile, Ny,” I whisper. “I’ve never felt such sinister energy before. It makes me feel…dirty.”

“You can do this, Barbs. I know you can. Gather all of our energy, mine and yours, and use it as a sword.”

“Okay,” I whisper.

“Now cut through that malevolent energy.”

I do as he says, manifesting a sword in my hands and aiming it at the first layer. I imbue it with my energy, and as I cut, I materialize my intention—not only to destroy the wickedness, but also reform it. The dark, putrid layer begins to dissolve into a white substance, and for the first time, I feel slightly cleaner.

I repeat the same actions all over again. Yet there are so many layers. So many sins and bad deeds. So many wicked intentions.

“That’s it, Barbs. That’s my girl,” Nykander praises me. “He is getting smaller. Keep going, baby.”

I cut through more layers until I find the most noxious one. It is so putrid, I barely keep myself from heaving. Disgust and nausea fill me to the brim, but I push past it.

“Interesting,” the same malefic voice from before speaks in my head. “I see Nykander has found himself a little Aperite ally. Who would have thought.” He laughs. “I cannot wait to feast on your soul, girl. After I neutralize my brother, I will make you my main course.”

He makes a slurping noise, and I drag a heavy breath in, forcing myself to keep going.

My knees buckle, but Nykander holds me steady.

He’s there, next to me. I can feel the heat of his body. It tethers me, keeping me from getting lost in this sea of monstrosity that is Baine.

I inhale and materialize the sword again, but this time I imagine it to be bigger—stronger. The purple glows from the tip of the sword to the hilt, continuing up my body until I’m one with my weapon.

Raising it high, I use all my strength to bring it down onto that putrid layer, cutting through it and turning it into nothingness. This severs the bond between Baine and Damien, but that doesn’t mean my job is done.

More layers appear, from all the sins of the souls absorbed in the past. They are easier to get through since I don’t think anything can be as vile as Baine.

Slowly, I’m out of layers and I hit a wall.

“There’s a wall,” I whisper.

“It’s all right, Barbs. You are doing so good, baby. Imagine you have a hammer in your hand, and use it to smash the wall to pieces.”

I take a deep breath and do as he instructs.

As the wall crumbles to the ground, the same faint lines of energy from before appear—all the souls Damien did not get to fully consume.

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