Page 63 of Twisted By Darkness

“Shadow Mage!” The Collector roars, but his voice is failing. The pressure the darkness creates on him must have gotten him on his knees, drawing all breath from him. This is my turn. My chance of killing him, and ending this once and for all. “Not much of a fair fight, is it?”

I call my shadows back, and they rush into my chest, curling around my fingertips like smoke. Not because I’m so honored, but because my hands shake with exhaustion, and I know I might have to face Kayn, too. The Collector blinks and blinks, unused to the light. “Look around you,” I say, catching his eye. “Watch your Palace fall.”

He gets to his feet, baring his teeth at me. “You are a dirty one, Shadow Mage.”

“You literally kidnap and enslave.”

“And that makes it right for you to steal other people’s property?”

Anger simmers inside me. “They’re not property.”

The Collector dips his hand into his fancy suit and brings out a knife. A dagger, actually. The shape is unique, different from anything I’ve ever seen. It’s long and thin, all made of a silvery metal that glitters under the light. “You are ruining everything, Shadow Mage,” he goes on, approaching me. “My business. My home. My reputation. Kayn is on the way, but I’m sure he won’t mind if I slow you down.” He moves the dagger skillfully between his fingers. “A stab to the right spots, and you won’t be able to ruin anything else.”

Showing him my palms, I shrug. “You can try.”

The Collector pounces on me.

CHAPTER33

CASSANDRA

Iwas never good at physical activities. When I was a kid, I ran a lot from bullies and the kids back at the orphanage who liked to punch me. After I grew up, that habit just escaped me. I know how to throw a punch, but that’s that. Ever since I killed the Chosen One, I lost count of how many times I promised myself I would start aerobics.

Because when the Collector comes at me with a knife, I know I can’t fight him the usual way. I can’t parry and steal his dagger, use it to stab and put him down. That’s not me. I’ve never had a self-defense class, though that might have helped now.

No, I’ll have to dodge his attacks long enough so I can touch him. Once I do, I’ll suck his soul out and this fight will be over. We don’t need to stretch it longer than necessary. I just need to put him down so the wards will drop with him.

And I can’t forget Kayn. He’s still coming for me, and I have to act fast. He’s the one adversary I’m not ready to face.

The Collector slashes his dagger in a downward motion, and I dodge to the right, stretching an arm to grab him. He moves away, aware that’s all I need to put him down. The man is fast, skilled, and he comes at me with another swipe of his dagger. I step back, but this one is so close I have to suck in my stomach to avoid my intestines from spilling onto the ground.

Shit. He really wants to get stabby. I thought he would imitate Apollo and go for non-fatal spots, like my legs or arms, just somewhere that would get my guard down so he could capture me. But no, the Collector doesn’t mind almost killing me. He’s confident in his healing skills.

The Collector and I dance around one another, circling each other, eying every movement. He’s in this for real, and he knows I won’t spare his life. He feigns to the left, and I move with him, stretching to grab his suit and pull him closer just as he makes to the right again, a victorious smile on his face, the dagger poised.

The blade slashes a line across my skin of my upper arm. The burning isn’t a surprise, and I don’t stop, trying to grip his arm, to touch his skin. The Collector laughs when he sees my blood rising from the cut.

“So Mages do bleed,” he teases, grinning.

I don’t let him see my pain. Grinding my teeth together, I keep moving, away from the dagger, trying to get a hold of him. “Of course I do. But here’s whatIwant to learn...” I gape at him with a smile as I see a silhouette growing behind him. “Do angels bleed?”

Tristan crashes an enormous vase on the Collector’s head. The white and blue porcelain shatters, raining down, bouncing off the Collector’s shoulders. He stumbles with the impact, then whirls around to glare at Tristan. There’s betrayal on his face, shock, as if he couldn’t imagine Tristan doing something like this. It’s amazing how he truly believes he’s superior to us.

Tristan gave me the second of distraction I needed. The Collector stumbles again, moving closer to his desk, his back to the wall. All hell breaks loose as I follow him. I hear screams and furniture breaking, and I have to end this as soon as possible. His guards will stop fighting once he is dead. Probably.

I pounce on him, gripping his wrist with a hand and raising the other to grab at his face. The Collector reacts, lifting his dagger and pressing the sharp tip to my left shoulder. It bites at the skin there, and we freeze, gaping at each other, gasping for air.

“You can’t kill me,” he says.

Lie. It’s a lie, and he knows it. He knows I can, and I will. He knows nothing will stop me now.

“We’ll find out,” I reply, going for his face again. The dagger sinks an inch, making me wince.

“You’re this willing to sacrifice yourself? Because of what? Of people you don’t know?”

I shake my head. “I’m not a hero, but I can’t bear the idea of you capturing and forcing Tristan and Mei to work for you.”

“Then take them. Take them and go,” he hisses. A trickle of blood runs down the side of his head. So he bleeds. “Kayn will find you anyway, and you won’t be able to run or to fight him.”

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