Page 122 of Legendary

What the hell was going on?

Nick’s eyes cleared and he readjusted his grip on his sword, and swung down low, cutting Elise right at her calf. She unwound her tail, hissing as he swiveled around and sliced at her other one. Garrett ran up to him, but Nick took his sword and slammed it into Garrett’s shoulder, ripping it out and shoving him to the side. Nick looked stunned at the empty space where I should have been, his hand gripping his sword more tightly.

His head swung around right as I got behind him and struck him hard with the leg of the broken chair from earlier. His face looked like he was back to himself again, but then as quick as that came it was gone, so I reared back and hit him again. The wood snapped in half, and he fell to the ground. Elise pushed past me and grabbed his face, opening his mouth. Her tail slithered around her, the end dangling over his mouth. Three drops of her black venom fell on his lips and dripped into his mouth. His body started convulsing slightly and his eyes opened, showing just black emptiness, but then he slumped over and retreated within himself, falling silent and still.

“Did you kill him?” I asked, concerned.

Elise rolled her eyes. “Did I kill him?This coming from the guy who nearly bludgeoned him with a piece of wood.” She wiped the still open wound on her calves and shook her head. “No, Blondie, he isn’t dead. He’s just out, but whatever took over him got a piece of my mind just now.”

“Took over him?”

“Possessed him,” Beetee explained, rolling her shoulder with a wince.

I kicked his sword away from his hand and looked down at him. “Who would do that?”

Leah let Garrett lean on her as blood leaked from his shoulder. “Lilith most likely.” Garrett nodded in agreement with his wife.

Elise clucked her tongue. “You’re wrong.”

Beetee looked from me to Elise and took a deep breath. She stepped over to Garrett and Leah. “Let me get you guys some help and then I’ll go check on my parents.” She gave Nick’s unmoving body one last look before she hustled the Enchanters towards the recovery room.

“What do you mean wrong?” I said, wiping the sweat from my forehead.

“Wrong as in not correct.”

I bent down to press my fingers to my best friend’s neck, feeling his pulse. “Please don’t be a fucking smartass right now.”

She bent down as well and narrowed her gray eyes at me. “I could feel it, the darkness that was harboring in him and it felt familiar. I would know if it was Lilith’s doing. I’ve spent most of my life with that woman. This darkness felt like it knew him too much, the way it settled behind his eyes. You may not be able to see a possession easily, Blondie, but I can.”

I scratched my eyebrow a little confused. “So, if Lilith didn’t do this you think Dani did? It’s Nick, she wouldn’t. I mean she has compulsion sure but isn’t possession like an entirely different evil on its own.”

Elise placed her hand on her cheek, looking at me like I was the most ridiculous creature. “Surprisingly enough, you are right about that. You need a shit ton of dark magic to be able to pull off a possession. Compulsion can morph into possession if given the right motivation, the right push from the right host if the powers were just bestowed on you. It happens a lot in Hell, but Lilith has been the only one I’ve seen be able to do it with ease here. Possessions are so much easier when you have an attachment to the entity you’re pursuing.” Her eyes looked a little far away as she finished.

I turned Nick's head, noticing the blood coming from the side of his face where I’d hit him. “But why? Why would she even do this? Especially if Lilith could just do it herself.”

“Dani wouldn’t want to if she had any control on what she was doing.” She grabbed Nick’s arm and started to hoist him up. I helped her by draping his other arm over my shoulder. “What’s the point of her doing it herself, when she could…” Elise groaned as we started to move Nick past the front desk and towards the stairs. “I think I might know what’s going on and with that, I’ll have you know I’m never nervous about anything nor am I ever scared but this shit right here…might change that.”

The little psycho was nervous and even though I didn’t like her, at all, I found myself on edge again. During the entire time I’d known her, I never heard anything Elise said, but maybe this is time I would start listening.

DANI

Ifelt the pain in my chest as it flooded into my veins, it was strong. I felt my connection with him simmer and then shrivel up and die. That shit was awful, the venom leaving a bad taste in my mouth. I knew Elise was strong, but I didn’t know she could do that. The more I learned about her the more I realized how little I still knew and how much she had kept from me because maybe I wasn’t worth telling those things to. My body pulsed with negative thoughts, so much anger and self-loathing running rampant within myself. I took a deep breath remembering what it tasted like, conjuring up his darkness again, letting it wrap itself around him and forcing him to submit to me. I tasted his fear again, his sadness, his guilt and it was so heady knowing I had so much of it. I couldn’t quite remember why I had it in the first place, but that wasn’t important.

I felt a hand at my back. “You did so well, my love.” Lilith praised, holding my elbow and helping me up off the ground. I looked around as Isabel, Rae, and Dimitri were watching me, their faces a bit stunnedat what I’d just displayed.

“Let me guess, no one is dead because she clearly can’t follow simple instructions?” Isabel scoffed.

I cut my eyes to her, and a flat thick black rope circled around her neck and cinched. Gagging sounds were coming from her as her airway was constricted. I watched as her blue eyes looked over my shoulder to Lilith who simply let out an exhaustive breath. “Dani, stop now.”

I immediately let Isabel go as she coughed viciously. She grabbed at her throat, sucking in air.

“I would like to see their deaths in person, so maybe this was for the best. That boy will be coming to find you and I sincerely cannot wait for when he does.” Lilith waved over to where the others sat. “You did as I asked with such vigor, so you can kill someone tonight.” She leaned into me, whispering in my ear, before turning around and sauntering out of the room.

My mind formulated what she had said and I smirked with the intent to make this one hurt. I willed my shadow silhouettes to appear as they shifted and swayed near me. I didn’t need to say anything for them to understand what I wanted.

Dimitri moved out of the way as they circled around Rae, grabbing her arms as she struggled to release herself. She started spewing obscenities at me and I would have silenced her if I didn’t want to hear her scream so much. I let my shadows twist her arms back in the most unnatural way possible.

This would be torture for her. And it would be torture for everyone else, I would make sure of it.

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