Page 155 of The Book Reader
“My powers, they are gone.” Mist sobs. “I’m mortal,” her body shaking with her tears.
If she weren’t so evil, I could feel sorry for her, but I am far past caring.
Jade turns to me and moves to rush over, but I hold my hand up, freezing her in place.
“Fuck you, bitch! I’m going to rip your fucking heart out!” she yells at me, making me laugh.
“I’ve got you now, you’re going to do fuck all.” I walk over to her and slap her hard around the face before I grip her chin and make her look at me. “When I got my powers back, I saw it all, each life, how it ended, and who ended it. I’ve seen what you have done to me, and I am going to make you pay.” I let go of her chin, then punch her hard in the face. I feel her nose crack under the force of it. She winces, closes her eyes, and spits out a mouthful of blood. I huff a laugh at her. “pathetic”
Turning, I make my way over to Mist, who is now on her knees, shaking with her sobs. I grip her hair and pull her up to standing. She looks up at me, her eyes pleading with me, but those pleas land on deaf ears.
“Did you ever let me go when I begged you to? When I look up at you crying because I was in so much pain and knew youwere going to kill me, did you ever let me go?” My resolve is rigid and unmoving.
Mist sobs hard, “No… No, we didn’t, and I’m so fucking sorry.”
I huff a breath and close my eyes. “It’s too late for that,” I whisper before I lift my hand and place it on her chest. Using her own powers, I shoot a bolt of lightning into her chest to wrap around her heart and squeeze tight, shocking it. Her eyes widen for a second before her body goes ramrod straight and stiff, she begins to shake violently, and foam starts to pour from her mouth. I can hear her choking on it with each breath she struggles to take, her eyes lock with mine, and for a split second, I can see the regret she has deep in them. She shudders and then falls limp against me.
It doesn’t take long for her heart to stop beating.
I drop her dead body to the floor; I can hear Jade screaming in horror just as Mist turns to a dust pile.
I took her powers, but she is still a daemon.
Turning, I walk over to Jade; she has tears running down her cheeks. “I will find a way to come back from the dead and kill you, I swear to all the gods in hell and heaven that I will,” she spits at me, but it misses.
I watch her for a moment, Lexus and I both enjoying the powers that we have running through us.
No one is going to be killing me or hurting anyone I love ever again.
Jade has the power of fire; I don’t need hers as mine is much greater.
“Too many people get away with doing bad things with no consequences,” I say as I release my hold on her. She falls to the floor and looks up at me. “I’m here to make sure dues are paid. In full,” my voice has a dark edge to it that I don’t recognize. Jade stands and moves toward me fast. I lift my hand to push her backbefore I use it to push her up into the air. She screams out in rage again, which makes me laugh. “For you, just like your friend Mist, a life for a life.” I lift my other hand, fist them both before I pull them apart, Jade’s body rips in two, her guts are trailing between her body parts before they drop to the ground, bloody sprays over me. I just stare at her limp, dead body hanging in the air. There is something beautifully poetic about this moment. She had spent so much time breaking me apart that now it was her time. My hand closes, releasing her of my powers, her body drops to the floor with a loud thud before she turns into dust. I can’t help the smile on my lips; I feel so alive in this moment. This has been a long time coming, and now I'm ready for more.
Clapping makes me turn around; Macy is standing at the top of the stairs, watching me. Her eyes are bright red and laced with anger. She looks at the reapers behind me, curling her lip, before pulling some of her anger back and smiling at me.
“I must admit, when they told me that you had come back, I didn’t think I would still find you alive. Jade and Mist have been with me for a long time; both are very powerful.” She walks down a couple of steps.
“Not as powerful as me,” I say, moving to the bottom of the stairs and looking up at her.
“I can see that now,” she laughs lightly. “Are you here to kill me also?” A hint of amusement clouds her voice.
“Yes” is all I say. She nods her head slowly, her hand clenching and unclenching; she narrows her eyes at me. “I am the princess of Hell,Book Reader; you will not beat me so easily.”
I can’t help the smirk that covers my lips. “Is that a dare?”
Taking a step back, she is going to think it’s out of fear, but it’s not.
It’s because if we’re going to fight, I need a little more room to throw her around. “I would be careful what you ask for.”
She laughs, throwing her head back. “I am never careful, tell me. Did Gaelan tell you how much he enjoyed his stay here yesterday?” She raises an eyebrow.
I know she is trying to bait me; it’s not going to work this time. Shaking my head, I let Lexus flash over my skin for a second, turning it white, then back to my honey-colored skin. “He did. He enjoyed the part where I came and got him, took him back to our home, and fucked that drug you gave him out of his body.” I can’t help the smug sound of my voice. She wanted him all for herself, and it backfired.
She hisses at me with anger before shimmering from the stairs. I step back again and look to my left, trying to see where she has gone. I turn to look to the right, she appears there fast, her fist connects with my face, punching me hard, sending me flying backwards to the ground. I laugh a little and then spit out a mouthful of blood from my lips, lifting a hand to wipe my mouth. “Why?”I look up at her. “What did I ever do to you?” she steps closer to me, I can see the anger simmering over her body, her eyes look so much darker.
“You were born, they gave it all toyou, some dirty daemon witch.” She says harshly. She lifts her hand, sending a wave of red lightning my way. I try to roll out of the way, but I feel the heat tickle along my ankle before the skin starts to burn and run up my leg. Gasping, I watch as my gold spells move to cover the burn, taking the evil powers and pulling them into my body, and the skin then heals. The spells remain.
“They even gave you a fucking daemon, the only female in all of the underworld to have one.” She sends another bolt of lightning at me. I lift my hand, deflecting it and pushing into one of the walls. It hits, smashing the stone and leaving a vast, crumbling crater. Lexus giggles,“When can I rip her head off?”A quick smile flashes over my lips, “soon,” I whisper.
