Page 59 of Revenge of the Blood Pack

My stomach drops. The creatureisalien-like. It’s covered in oily black and green veins. Its eyes are sickly green with no whites at all. And its front has more tentacles growing out of its belly. Whatever this is… I don’t know if it has anything human inside of it any longer.

I’d heard dark magic could change a person. I never imagined that would look like this.

“Asha,” it says again, this time more smoothly.

It stands to its full height, and we stare at each other. I feel the dark magic crackling around us in every direction, radiating off of whatever this man has become. It’s like a live wire, and I’m terrified that I’m about to die right here.

It tilts its head and points at me. “Asha.”

I nod. “That’s right. Asha of the Blood Pack.”

Then, it points at itself. “Simon.”

Simon.

Simon.

Simon.

I gasp in a breath, tears filling my eyes.No.No, it must just be repeating me. This can’t be Simon. Not my gentle brother. Not the boy who watched over me my whole life, who protected me, who let me run wild under his watchful gaze.

“No,” I say, “you’re not Simon.”

It tilts its head, and the oily black crawls off of his face like a living creature, revealing… Simon. His brilliant red hair. His beautiful eyes. He’s thinner. Older. But Simon.

“It’s you,” I sob, pressing a hand to my mouth.

“It’s me,” he says, his voice more like Simon’s than before.

“I’ve been looking for you. Searching day and night–”

“Because of your guilt.” His face holds no expression.

“No,” I say, shaking my head, feeling confused. “Because you’re my brother. Because I love you. Because you’re the only family I have left.”

He studies me. “Because you are the reason the Blood Mages found our town. You were selfish, and you led them right to us. And then you had a choice to save others, and you saved your own life instead. Not just in the village, but with the Blood Mages.”

I feel the tears rolling down my face. “Yes, I did all of that.”

“Because you are selfish. You have a dark heart.”

His words are like blows. “No, it wasn’t like that. I didn’t mean for the Blood Mages to find us. And… people don’t always think clearly when they’re being tortured. Yes, I was weak. I just wanted the pain to end, and I wasn’t thinking–”

“That you would cost others their lives.” His eyes never leave my face, studying me like I’m an insect.

I draw myself up taller. “I knew that. I’m sorry for all of it. If I could take it back, I would, but I can’t.”

“You can’t,” he repeats my words and takes a step toward me. “But now you are powerful. You’ll never be hurt again. You’ll never let anyone take and take from you again.” He lifts a handout to me. “And you’ve come to join me. To add your power to mine so that this world will be ours.”

It takes me a second to process what he said. A painfully long second. “No, Simon, no. I’ve come here to save you. To help you get away from the dark magic.”

And then he shows his first bit of emotion. He laughs.At me.“Save me? I don’t need to be saved.” He lifts his hands and gestures around himself. “I’ve claimed an entire town as my food dish, my source of power. There are bodies here, but there are hundreds more hiding in their homes, thinking I can’t smell them, can’t sense them. I will consume this entire town, and then I’ll go to the next, and the next.”

“Until what?” I’m shaking.This isn’t my brother. This can’t be my brother.

“Until I’ve consumed it all.”

“Simon, no. This isn’t what you want. You’d never want to hurt and kill people. You’d never want to cause all this destruction just for power. This isn’t you. It’s the dark magic inside of you.” And I’m pleading, but it’s because my gut is churning. Something inside of me is saying it’s too late, and I can’t let it be too late.

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