Page 25 of Secrets in Salem: Part One

As the noises continue, panic grips me tighter, a dull ache forming in the middle of my chest. My heart suddenly begins to beat slower, but the ache builds until I'm gasping for air while my lungs strain for a single breath. A second later, my eyesight blurs, a deep red haze fading over everything in my vision. A loud buzzing in my ears makes it impossible for me to hear the destruction downstairs, dulling my senses until all I can focus on is the pain where my heart is and the constant buzz.

Desperate for air, my mind grows fuzzy, like something dragging me underwater so deep it feels like I'm drowning. Everything around me begins to fade until suddenly something inside mesnapsand my vision goes black.

***

Rage.

A deep, pulsing rage burns through my veins. Something stirs within me, a need so dominant that it overpowers the bite of anger that's claiming my body. A need so fierce that it's the only thing I can think of, the only thing I know Ineedto do.

Kill. Slaughter. Destroy.

The familiar scent of burning greets my nose, my skin feeling unbearably hot, but I tune it all out and pay attention to my surroundings. Movement from downstairs draws my attention so I zone in on the goings on there. Loud banging sounds out, things falling to the floor.

With everything tinted red, my eyes clear and hearing sharp, I focus more. Much to my surprise, I find myself sensing four bodies. Foul, rotten, tainted bodies. Malice wafts from them, easy to sense from all the way up here. Their souls are tarnished and blackened, their bodies only vessels for the vile, vicious, and disgusting things they've done and will no doubt do. In a split second, they become one thing, and one thing only.

Targets.

The stench of fire grows stronger, and the sizzling sound of material burning hits my eardrums before I realize that my skin is torching the comforter around me. Steam pours from and around my body, my clothes burnt and singed much like the once pretty comforter. It doesn't matter. All that matters is the rage. Theneed.

The unrelenting urge to wreak havoc on those broken souls.

With movements as quick as lighting, I'm out of the bed and standing at the top of the stairs. I pause, tilting my head to listen to the movements of those I've branded as mine to rid the world of. They're not worthy of life. Not with their rancid souls staining the earth.

Quietly, I make my way down, the scent of burning wood growing stronger with each step I take. Smoke spirals around my feet like snakes, winding up my legs the longer I stay in one place.

Just as I make to walk through the house, looking for the tarnished humans, one steps in front of me.

"Yo, I found her!" the man calls out, eyeing me with a lewd sneer. His eyes travel over my skin, over my burnt clothing, before coming up to my eyes. I'm not sure what he sees there, but his own eyes widen, and his panic becomes almost palpable. I can taste the fear in the air, and I revel in it. I bask in the terror that's pulsing from his skin.

Tilting my head while my eyes bore into him, I give him a smile that causes him to shake when I say, "It would appear thatIfoundyou."

The human takes a step back, his whole body shuddering. His eyes never leave me, not even as his friends join us. Three men with souls equally corroded and rotten. They all turn toward me, each one taking a step back as soon as their eyes meet mine. My smile grows, the smoke around my legs grows thickening while the wood beneath my feet burns to a blackened state.

"What the fuck?" one asks, each of them backing away slowly.

Grinning widely, I feel the need expanding until it overtakes my senses. The world dims until the only focus I have is for the four strangers before me. I take a step, breathing in their delicious fear like I'm starved. They match my movements, stumbling back with every step closer I make. Much too fast, they run out of space, their backs hitting the wall behind them. Quick as a flash, I dart forward, coming to stand in front of them. Their looks of horrified surprise sooth the raging inferno bubbling under my skin. Their tangible distress molds together, the taste sweet on my tongue.

"Who sent you to your demise?" I ask, my voice sounding nothing like it usually does. There's a smoky rasp to it, darkness and danger seeping from every word. It's maddeningly intoxicating. There's something alluring about it, like coming home after a long week away, though I don't think my targets feel the same.

My skin warms further, enough that small sparks come off my feet where they stand on the charred floor. The smoke around my legs darkens, the smell of fire and brimstone tainting the air. It's oddly comforting.Familiar.

"Look, lady, I don't know what the fuck you are, but you need to get stepping and let us go," one of the trembling fools mumbles, pressing further into the wall when I take another threatening step.

"I don't need to do anything but make sure the world doesn't have to suffer from your toxicity. I'll ask again. Who sent you?" I ask, heat pulsing from my skin when the rage simmers closer to the surface. The entire floor burns, the wallpaper bubbling and peeling from the walls. Burnt patches appear over the walls, scaling upward until they reach the ceiling. My vision grows hazy, the red tint deepening until everything around me is painted in various shades of red.

Facing the strangers again, I notice their looks have changed too. Instead of human flesh, my eyes see empty shells with hearts as black as coal embedded in the caverns of their chests. They beat erratically, working hard to pump tainted blood through their veins.

A growl vibrates the floor, and it takes a second for me to realize it's coming from me. It's a terrifying sound, something skin-tingling and hair-raising. It sends shivers through me, ones of enjoyment and craving. The need building inside me expands and takes over, whispering for me to end them now.

"Look, it wasn't our idea. Some chick needed help, said you done her wrong. She was settling a score. Please, don't hurt us. Please," the one to the left stutters, his entire body trembling.

I eye them all, my fingers twitching with the effort it's taking me not to destroy all four of them here and now. "Save your pleas for someone more sympathetic. You won't find mercy here."

And then I lose the battle with my rage.

The heat building within me explodes, bursting out with so much force that it blows everything away from me in one swift blast. Flames lick the walls, the heat so fierce that a fire scalds the floor.

The men are shoved hard against the wall, their skin blistering and burning with the intensity of the fire. Their cries are like music to my ears, their horror filling a dark pit inside me. My grin grows as I hear them scream, listening to their pleas and watching them realize no one will come to their rescue.

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