Page 68 of Shadows of Fate

I was pleased they didn’t have any females here at the moment as I turned and conjured up a wall of ice to separate our corner from the rest of the floor. I was finding I had to be more creative in order to interrogate these fools.

All three of them jumped from the couch, blades drawn. But the blond male was clearly the more laid-back of the three. I could tell he was going to attempt to calm me. They looked at each other, clearly shocked by the show of power, but no one made a move toward me.

“Now, now. Just listen. Let’s chat, shall we?” he asked.

I rolled my eyes. “No thanks.” I sent pointed daggers of ice at all three males, pinning them back down to the couch beneath them. The tattooed one and the olive-skinned one grunted when the ice daggers went through their chests and into the couch behind them. Sadly, the blond was just pinned by his shirt. “Now, you’re going to listen carefully. I’m looking for someone. Someone I believe all three of you males know.”

I let my gaze travel between the three of them, wondering if they truly grasped the ending they were looking at right now. More than likely not, but they all remained quiet. Apparently, they were smarter than they seemed.

“I’m looking for a male who calls himself Viktor. Ring any bells?”

Each of their eyes widened slightly—not much, and if I wasn’t watching them so carefully, I probably would’ve missed it. Nevertheless, none of them spoke.

I smiled, partially hoping for this. “That’s fine. I get it. You don’t want to betray him.”

I walked forward to the blond male who spoke to me. Laying my hand on his thigh, I gently squeezed and winked at him, only to turn him into solid ice. He didn’t even have time to scream. I giggled and looked over at the other two males.

“Looks painful. Okay, so who’s ready to chat with me?” I asked.

They both just stared at me for a moment before the tattooed male jumped to his feet, running at the wall of ice I’d constructed. He began banging on the ice as hard as he could, but it didn’t even crack. I pulled a silver dagger from my waist and threw it at him. It landed in his thigh, and he fell to the ground screaming.

“For Fates’ sake,” I grumbled before looking back at the last male standing. “So. Viktor. Where do you think he’d be?” I arched a brow in question.

“Uh, well, I mean, I heard he had a place in the Court of Ravens. I’m not sure where, but I know he was taking some of the recruits that way for some big deal type thing. We were told to stay and keep gathering women… and, uh, well…” He swallowed audibly and stared at me.

“Speak. Now,” I growled.

“We were told to look out for a female vamp with ice magic… To bring her in alive. So you see, yeah,” he muttered in a rush.

I scoffed and then started chuckling. “You think you’re going to bring me in?”

He shrugged and then pulled out a dagger while his friend finally got off the floor, holding mine in his hand. His wound was healing over. I looked between the two of them.

“Bring it on then. By all means,” I goaded.

The olive-skinned one stepped forward while the other threw my dagger back at me. Being that I had hit a new level of needing to feel something, I let the dagger hit me. It landed just above my hip, and I laughed at the pain. They both staggered at the sound. Pulling my blade from my flesh, I smiled at them as I licked the blood off from hilt to tip.

“Mmmm. Tastes like spicy revenge,” I purred with a giggle.

The males stared at each other for a moment before the olive-skinned one muttered, “This has to be her. She’s fucking nuts.”

“Ohh, you truly have no idea. This isn’t even the fun part yet,” I replied with a smile. I pulled my shadow stone dagger from my boot, letting the light shine off the onyx stone. I threw it as hard as I could into the tattooed male’s head. It smashed into his forehead, and he flew back, smacking into the wall.

“Hm, dead looks good on him. What do you think?” I asked the last male standing. The sassy one who thought he could talk me out of my fun. Laughable. Truly. “Well. Any preference on how you go out?” I asked.

“I-I-I—” he stuttered, and I sighed.

“Why are males so Fates-damned disappointing?” I walked over and pulled the shadow stone dagger from his friend’s head. He just watched me. I guess realizing his fate, which honestly took the fun out of it for me. I did enjoy it when they screamed. I walked up to him and ran my fingers along his jaw. “Make sure that whatever comes after this, you let those fuckers know I’ll see them again.”

He stared at me wide-eyed as I froze him solid.

I let out a breath and stared around at the remaining carnage. Oh well. Time to light it up. I pulled out a few matches from my boot, struck them against the side, and then tossed them on the three dead males. The ice-covered ones were complicated, of course, water and fire didn’t mesh well. But I was determined to see them all in flames, so I made do.

I leaned against the far corner wall, watching the flames take them all. Letting free periodic bouts of ice to keep the fire from spreading. I wasn’t trying to burn down The Moonlight Inn, just these pieces of shit.

As the flames started to die down and just ash remained, I took down the ice barrier. Everyone was just sitting on the couches glancing at where the wall was, as if trying to decide between fleeing and waiting it out hoping they’d be safe. I waved to them and started to head for the door. I’d leave some coin on the bar for the damage I was leaving behind, of course.

“Hey, Ice Sickle,” a familiar voice sounded from next to the bar, and I glanced over at him.

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