Page 123 of Anathema Codex

When he turns his eyes up toward me, they’re full of hatred. There’s no light left in that washed up hippie body of his, so I do the one thing that I would want someone to do for me if I ever turned into a drugged-out follower.

I pull my arm back and throw the hatchet so fucking hard, that it breaks the sound barrier as it flies toward him. A loud, sickening crack, and Sun Wolf falls back with athud.

“Looks like I’ve still got it,” I say with a laugh. “I haven’t tossed that thing in a few years so it’s good to know that my aim never fell off.” I snap my fingers at Red, who looks up at me, her eyes still a little hazy and she nods. While she’s busy trying to yank the hatchet out of ole Wolfy’s face, I turn to face Trixie and Aftyn again.

Crossing my arms over my chest, and chuckling at the grunts behind me, I wait for her to answer my initial question.

I can see the tears starting to brim in her doped-up eyes as the kid puts an arm protectively around her.

Red shoves the handle of the hatchet in my hand before she wobbles on her feet again.

“Hey, think you can make it to ground zero on your own?” I ask her. She looks up at me and shrugs. “Tell you what, you go back to where we left the hippies to rot in the sun, drink some of that cactus shit and when we get home, I’ll ween you off that shit like I did with Ichabod, okay?”

Red uses the back of her hand to wipe her mouth. “But you hate drugs.”

“I mean, if you’d rather die here, then by all means,” I continue with a shrug.

But I know Red better than she knows herself, and the prospect of living under my roof is more than enough to make her fight for her own life, which is something I really care nothing about. I just need her alive long enough to bear witness.

I watch her over my shoulder, waiting until she’s gone from view, before I turn my attention back to the odd couple.

“Well, I guess this is it, huh?”

Aftyn tenses, his jaw squaring and I can’t help but laugh. He gives up his position way too easily and that’s why I’d never be able to really give a shit about him.

At least with Ichabod there’ssomemystery to how he’s feeling about things.

Or at least there used to be,I think as I scratch the back of my head.

“Remember when you and Ichabod had me tied up in the back of the van, Trixie? How I told you to be fair and give me a chance to defend myself? Remember what you said?”

A tear rolls down her face as the grin starts to grow wider on mine.

I can see the answer on the tip of her tongue. She knows exactly what she said to me and what happened after, but she’s so fucking stubborn in wanting to maintain what we’re both now recognizing as a façade, that she shakes her head instead of answering.

“’Fuck fair’,” I remind her softly.

A sigh escapes me as I crack my neck and think of Ichabod. I know that she cares about him and no amount of smack water will ever erase the memory of their lives together away completely.

And just as I’m starting to think of changing my mind, the kid pulls his shirt over his head and gives Trixie a shove back.

“Go Daughter. Save yourself, save our child. It’s the only way to bring life to the Holy Ground of Light again.”

“Your… your what?” I ask, my voice trembling slightly. My body starts to follow suit and I’m getting to the point where I won’t be able to hold onto this hatchet much longer if I keep shaking like this.

“Surprise,Dad,” the kid says evenly with a sinister smile on his face. “I’m going to be a father, and you know what? That’s something else that I’ll have with The Daughter that you never will.”

What. The. Fuck.

The world looks different through shades of fury and rage. White, red, and even a little black around the edges.

“Run, piggy,” I snarl at Trixie who immediately turns on her heel and hauls ass. The best part of a kill is the chase, and I’m damn good at both. Granted, she gets to live to see another day since I told Ichabod that I’d be back this time with the bitch in tow. The kid however…

“What’s the matter? You too macho to run with your bitch?” I ask him as the black edges begin to form a frame around him.

“I’m not afraid of you, Lakyn,” he spits back at me.

“First, and may I add, last mistake,” I reply with a grin.

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