37. Xeraphine

37

Xeraphine

W hen strength floods my arms, I wrench apart the metal restraints on my wrists and swiftly seize Zade. He can't support us, and we collapse to the floor.

That's alright; this is far more comfortable. As energy courses through me, I press my entire body against him, trembling with the sensation of his lifeforce draining. I detest killing with my Amoro, as it's the least bloody method, yet it is the most agonizing for them.

"Get off me, bitch!" he grits through his teeth, my demand for him to keep his mouth shut holding nicely. I can only hope that Daigo or that Vampire won't interrupt because I'm feasting. My body fills with the energy to heal me, and I find the strength I so desperately need to fight.

I need this, not to escape, but to kill.

If they think I'm going to run, they are sorely mistaken. They've unleashed Belial himself, and they got sloppy.

I sit up on Zade, my hands press against his chest as I consume him. The point where I would normally stop is approaching, and I don't want to. If I could feast on him for hours, I would, but I can tell I'm desperate and pulling from him as though my life depends on it.

Truthfully, it does. If Daigo comes in, or that fucking female Vampire does, they will stop me, and I need to lose control.

I need this life.

"Stop…" The choked word filters through his teeth. "Please…"

"Please?!" I whisper, leaning forward and lacing my fingers around his throat, squeezing. I won't tighten my grip enough to kill because I don't want to end his life in such a weak manner. "Fuck your please. You pieces of shit deserve more suffering than what I could ever give you. You—you die here, right now. Belial will not welcome you into his world, and the Gods will spit on your withered soul."

At the end of a lifeforce is a seed, at least that's what I associate it to look like. The bud of life, the one that sprouts into the energy that keeps a heart beating. It's always tethered at the end, and when I would normally stop.

It holds all the energy to keep someone alive. That's the true heart of everyone's life.

This is what I'm seeking, and as he whimpers and shifts under my weight, I lean forward and open my mouth. It seeps through his, and with it, his last breath.

I truly don't like the way I feel when I lose control, when I'm overfed, but right now, I don't care. The moment that life hits my Amoro, my skin turns to fire. From the tip of my scalp all the way to my toes, I am shocked with power, ready to release it.

I haven't used my legs in I'm not sure how long, possibly days, so I stand cautiously. My hands are completely black, but it stops at my elbows. Damn it all—the venom! That piece of shit! It wasn't enough for me to completely pull my Amoro to the surface.

"No matter…" I whisper and look down at Zade, who is now a shriveled corpse, "They'll all die." At least my vision has returned, and I am no longer in a constant state of blur .

With as much force as I can manage, I crush Zade's skull with my heel, which protests, feeling the splinter of his bone piercing it. The gush of blood and its splatter up my leg makes me smile.

The jiggle of the door handle makes me shoot my gaze in its direction. I can now tell I'm in a barn, but it looks more like a slaughterhouse. Cows and deer alike hang from hooks, and I'm surprised I hadn't smelled how bad it stunk in here until just now.

I'm gone as the door opens, slipping back into the darkness and seeking to watch my next prey as he rushes toward the downed Zade.

"Shit!"

His scream is thunderous, and the moment I see his features, I recognize who it is. "Kit…" I hiss, the anger in my grumbly tone echoing straight to his ears. He's the son of a bitch that connected me to the twins. I should have told Kairhyse about him being at the party.

When his head whips around, looking from where the sound came from, I'm standing in front of him. Before another word filters from his throat to call for help, his head is nearly decapitated. Hanging barely from the muscles and teetering over his shoulder. The blood jets upward, raining down on me before the thud echoes of his body hitting the ground.

Raising the blade I hold in my hand, I lick the crimson from it and grin. My hemokinesis is back, at least enough for me to make a blade from my blood.

Spinning it between my fingers, I move toward the open door. I can hear four sets of feet running, and my nose twitches with the anticipation of killing all of them.

They're coming in my direction, and as I emerge from the barn, I'm hit with the scents of the forest. It feels refreshing, but I'm prepared to fill the air with the smell of death.

Four men stop, all different shapes and sizes, but all Shifters. One of them is beginning to shift, his shoulders contorting, but I won't give them the time to try and overpower me. No, they're meaningless lives in comparison to Daigo and that Vampire.

I slice through my wrist, drawing blood and pulling it in front of me. Creating sharp darts, I throw them out toward my victims. As I did to Mathas, they slice through their torsos. They all hit their mark, my blood seeping straight into their bloodstream, and straight to their hearts.

Too easy.

With a simple grip of my hand, my blood wraps around each of the beating organs in their chests and crushes them as though they were paper in my grasp.

I barely register the rushing feet coming in my direction, and quickly dart out of the way, only giving me enough time to avoid being hit. The chocolate hair is all I see before the back of a fist plummets into my face.

Holy Belial, that hurts. I crash into the wooden structure nearly twenty feet back. With a groan, I peel myself from the rubble and grind my teeth together. The female Vampire steps toward me when I see, at the corner of my vision, Daigo.

"Fucking idiot!" he curses. "Gods damn idiots. Lars is going to be pissed."

"Where is he anyway?" I ask, getting to my feet and rolling my head around my shoulders. "Hmm?"

"Take her head, Molly."

She straightens her head, her slanted eyes disappearing behind the smile as she stares at me. If I saw her walking down the street, I'd think she was gentle. However, that punch to the face was anything but.

Her speed is inconceivable.

The moment I blink, she's in front of me. I barely catch her arm that's coming around to hit my face once again. Her leg is next, and although my forearm takes the brunt of the kick, I'm pretty sure my bone cracks under the sheer force.

I bring my coagulated blood up and throw it across her face. She closes her eyes and mouth, and in that moment, I throw my forehead against hers. The slight stumble back and curse give me enough to throw a kick into her stomach.

Blood comes into my view as I pull it into shards and throw it at her. Her recovery time is quick, and she's gone from in front of me before they hit their mark.

I drop to my hands and knees as her leg swings to hit me. When I roll, her foot hits the ground, and I feel the force as it shakes below me.

"She's nearly four hundred years old," Daigo says through a light laugh.

I need to separate them.

"Sorry, but it's only a matter of time before she gets the drop on you and takes that pretty head off your shoulders." He places his hands onto his hips. "Just settle down and get back under the IV." Like Beyond I'll be getting back under that willingly. "You've done enough damage, and can just sleep until they come collect you."

My gaze shifts between him and Molly, my breathing slowing as I contemplate what I need to do. He is probably right—I likely won't be able to beat her. As strong as I am, she's nearly eight times my age, and I'm not as full as I need to be. Zade's life healed me, but didn't fill me. Frustrating .

I take a breath as he warns, "Don't run."

I do just the opposite. I'm on my heels and rush into the darkened forest as quickly as possible. Daigo isn't fast, he isn't a quick Shifter, and I'm thankful for that because as Molly's feet rush right behind me, it's only her set that I can hear.

After taking a slight incline, I try to assess where I'm at. Nothing looks familiar; all I know is I am surrounded by trees and cascading mountains. At least that confirms I'm not in the city, but for fuck's sake, not even a single sign or pathway to give me any clue if I'm in the middle of nowhere, or somewhere I can get to a main road.

Molly is so damn close, and there is no outrunning her, so I stop and turn to face her. My bare feet dig into the soil to put pressure behind my punch .

The smack it makes as she catches it pushes a gust of wind around us, clearing the immediate area of all the fallen leaves.

"Why?!" I hold her crimson eyes, "Why are you fighting me?!"

She tilts her head, "Why not?"

The registered pain in my ribs makes me hiss, but I'm capable of keeping upright, even if I stumble a few feet back.

"Daddy Daigo commanding you huh? How does it feel to be—" I have to stop halfway through my comeback and take a breath, my hand resting over my ribs. "Jeez, you're strong."

"I'm happily fed," she says with a chuckle, "I'm sure you'd be more of a fight if you were equally as full."

I grin, "Let me feed from you and become so. I promise I can make you squirt and writhe better than that little boy we just left behind."

I'm surprised when she throws her head back and laughs, "Oh, I have no doubt you could, but I don't think so." Her eyes trail down my bare body, and then back up to my eyes. "Daigo is my employer, you must understand. It's nothing personal."

With a heavy groan, I roll my eyes, "I get it, fine. Morals, who needs them, right?"

She hums, "You get it. If you go back under, I'll come visit. I can possibly convince him to let me just poison you, keep you sedated but not so drugged up."

I shake my head, "Nope, I'm—I'm alright, only way I'm going back anywhere with you guys is if my head is off these shoulders."

"What beautiful shoulders they are," once her statement leaves her lips, she's behind me. Before I can move, her knee is crashing into the base of my spine. Her hands grip my shoulders and tear me down to my knees.

The feeling of the tendons in my spine pulling back together the shattered tailbone makes me quiver. "I have to say." She grabs my chin and lifts my gaze to hers. One of her arms is snaking around my neck, and I know she is going to rip apart my throat and tear my head from its place. "The all-black in your eyes, I really like it."

I can't let her do this, fuck, what am I going to do ?

"Wait, please…" I feel my Amoro slip through my throat, as if it were lacing through the tendrils of my words. "Don't do this."

Her eyes shift between mine, and I can see the hesitation.

It feels like fireworks are going off in my throat. "Molly…" Her head twitches, and she blinks several times as if something is clouding them. "Grab me tighter, Molly."

I'm almost in too much shock to register that she does exactly as I command.

"Feed on me, Molly."

"What…?" I never told her to release me, but she's trying to. Her hold on me is tight as her head is leaning down toward me. "I never consumed your blood!"

I have no idea what is going on, but I won't question it. Because as time progresses, I can feel the spark in my throat beginning to disappear. "Feed, Molly."

She tears my head to the side, and right at the vein in my neck, she pierces me. The initial pain of it penetrating me makes me gasp, but soon, it turns to pleasure. My head falls back against her shoulder. "Move your arms," I pant, my thighs trembling as she moves her arms around my torso and pulls me closer.

The pull of my blood into her veins is instant, and I follow it as it flows throughout her entire being. It travels to her brain, but it's everywhere with how much she is taking in. Far faster and harder than Kairhyse ever did.

"Good girl…" I pant, my hands shaky as I bring them to her arm. "Stop now, that's enough." She groans and the pop of her fangs releasing me accompanies her arms letting go of me. "Don't touch me," I promptly interject, just in case she gets any stupid ideas.

Surprisingly, she moves down to her knees behind me.

"Well, fuck," she whispers.

"Yeah," I say softly.

"I see why your kind is hunted and sent to the Beyond—Why you are a dwindling species," she remarks, her tone not angered, but more as though she understands her predicament. "Dangerous. Your file said you couldn't do that unless your blood was in our system."

Of course I have a file. I run my fingers up and through my hair, which is impossible to do, it's so tangled. Not sure why, but that pisses me off more than I already am.

"I've never done that before," I confess, releasing a sigh. I'm so Gods damn tired. Maybe I should have been more careful with how much she took from me because I feel pretty faint. No matter, I've gained a weapon. "Molly, I need you to help me get up."

I reach up and feel her take hold of my forearm and begin to drag me to my feet. "You drank a lot…"

"Yeah, I did it on purpose," she confirms. I'm agitated, it wasn't something I needed clarification on. I already knew she had. "I was dead the moment I bit into you; I figured I'd solidify your fate all the same."

When I am upright, I pull myself away from her and stumble forward. My arms are no longer black, and I can see how badly I am shaking.

"Daigo is coming," she says while stepping away from me.

My rage is about to consume me. I was careless, fuck, I should have demanded her to drink only a small amount. I need her to fight for me, but I'm so angry at both her and myself.

I raise my hand toward her.

No, don't, stop, stop—wait! I can only take so much. I have no idea what I'm doing. Why am I lost in my fury?

"If you command me to fight Daigo, I will hold back, just kill me," she says, arms wide. "I don't fear death." She is so calm, it only infuriates me more.

My hand begins to close, all the blood in her head beginning to pull toward the center. The immediate shriek that emanates from her makes me release a soft laugh.

I am slowly crushing her skull from the inside. Unlike Mathas, who I'd destroyed in seconds, I want her to suffer. That, and I want Daigo, who is coming up the slight hill, to see her go .

"I don't fear death either," I seethe. "He fears me. It's why I can't die." The moment the final word comes from my mouth, I crush her skull and pull all the blood from her eyes. Then, just as I hear Daigo beginning to rush toward me and scream, "NO," her head is in pieces.

I'm so Gods damn tired.

My vision blurs, and I stumble, but as his feet get closer to me, I know I have to keep going. I pull every drop of my blood from Molly I can and throw it at Daigo.

I watch as his skin shifts, and the sharpened points of my blood ricochet off his scales. "I told you," his wrath spills from his teeth as he charges. "I am your kind's worst fucking nightmare!"

Molly must have meant something more than just an employee to him. The anger he is emanating tells me that is the case.

With a deep breath, I swing my fist at him as he comes close enough to make contact. The punch to my side is nothing, but the stab against my thigh is painful. I quickly look to see that fucking tail of his stabbing right through me.

"Hope this suffering was worth fighting." He raises his hand, and I try to move, but the leg with his tail through it is useless. The swipe of his claws makes me scream.

His foot connects with my stomach, and I tumble backward. My hand lands awkwardly, and I feel it snap upon impact. The tail that is slowly making its way further through my muscle makes me tremble.

No, no, no—I can't go back!

I hiss through my teeth, "What I wouldn't give to fucking—" I let out a loud cry as he removes his coarse tail and drags it across my stomach. It tears at my skin, and I push it away, or at least attempt to. "—cut that tail off and cook it!"

He smiles down at me.

Think, think, think…

"I'm just going to take your heart out over and over again until they come to get you. "

Cinnamon…

My eyes widen, and I take a heavy breath in through my nose.

Apples…

I drop my head and sigh, "Right here…" I whisper. I don't need saving, but I could use some help. "I'm right here… Don't kill him…"

The speed at which Daigo is gone from in front of me makes me dizzy, and I have to close my eyes to center myself. When I reopen them, his back is against the closest tree, rage surrounding Kairhyse as he holds him up off the ground.

"You are lucky she told me not to kill you!" Hearing his voice makes me let out a soft laugh. I actually have to fight tears.

Guess I am worth finding.