17. Psycho

Ipaced my padded cell when the door clicked open and my least favourite person hijacked the entryway. Captain Fucking Douchebag lifted his chin with the smuggest smirk known to man (not that it had much effect). A splint remained strapped to his broken nose. I visibly sneered at him.

"I can sign it for you, if you want?"

Fern pulled at my shirt, dragging me down the corridor, all humour lost. "I've got a surprise for you."

Ripping out of his grasp, my eyes narrowed. "You aren't taking me fucking anywhere."

"Not even for your good doctor? It's the fundraiser ball tonight, you know."

I fucking know. The orchestra melodies vibrated through the castle, the tune haunting and sinister.

I lifted a brow and his smirk reappeared full force, like he was privy to something that I wasn't.

"Fine," I said. "But touch me again and I'll break your jaw to match your nose." He growled before turning on his heel to lead me down the corridor.

After re-emerging from the theatre with my brain fully intact, I wanted to kill him. I desperately wanted to rip him apart and gnaw the flesh from his fucking skeleton.

Micah forbade me. I couldn't risk any upsets until she found my sister. So I relented. Even though it clashed with every goddamned cell in my body, I relented. For her. For them both.

As Fern's back turned, I used the opportunity to ingest the vial of Micah's elixir. I wouldn't let this imbecile fool me again.

He swiped through to the security control room, simplistic and unadorned except for the wall opposite, overloaded by monitors. All screens displayed various angles of the communal hall, decked out and filled with the rich and famous of JC.

I refused to step foot in the enclosed space. There was no one else around, which meant this was a trap.

Fern swung into a lone office chair, typing away as the images redirected to zone in on one particular individual—Micah King.

My breath hitched in my throat. Micah was a vision in dark purple, her gown skintight with a deadly slit that practically came to her navel. I choked down a groan. Fern could get fucked if he thought he'd get a reaction out of me.

He spun in his swivel chair and looked me dead in the eyes, twirling a pen between his fingers.

"You think I couldn't tell? Think I didn't catch the preferential treatment she gives you? Think I didn't notice the way you look at her?" He tapped the end of the pen to his temple. "I see everything. And with this knowledge, I'm finally going to destroy you…by destroying her." His mouth lifted in a triumphant grin.

Fuck the trap. My feet drew me forward until I passed the threshold. I closed the door behind me, the lock automatically clicking into place.

"Are you threatening me?" I managed to force through my lips.

His head fell back with a raucous laugh. "I took some advice from Katsy. Surprisingly, I think it'll work. A reward system," his tone turned teasing. "But what could I use against the famous Psycho? A man truly mad, truly nuts that he cares for nothing, for no one…or so I thought."

He lifted a side eye to Micah and released a low whistle. "She's a beauty, ain't she? Who knew she was hiding those legs under all that fabric." He licked his lips and I had to prevent myself from pummelling him into the ground.

Fern tsked. "Now this is what's going to happen. You will follow my every demand. Each and every one. If you don't, she will pay the price. Do you understand?"

I nodded, my eyes focused on the flawless female that dominated the screen. Fern didn't waste any time and dropped his pen, allowing it to roll between us.

Leaning back and spreading his knees wide, he pointed to the offending object. "Pick it up."

I stared at him impassively and followed his command. When he outstretched his hand, I snatched it back out of reach.

"You really are as dumb as you look, huh?" He flinched and I let my mask fall, letting the real crazy shine through. Ecstasy laced my veins as the elixir took effect, my instincts transitioning into a fraction of my former glory. It was enough. "You think you could show me my golden girl, threaten and flaunt her in my face, and get away with it?" I released a quick laugh, then sobered immediately. My voice had changed. It was more menacing, more disturbing. "You just invoked your own death warrant, Fern. Any last words?"

Fern stuttered and drew his baton, his other hand hovering over the gun slung at his waist. "I'll shoot you, Psycho. Don't test me."

"Don't fucking test me! SHE'S MINE!" My body launched forward, the baton clanging to the ground as I blocked his downward strike. Dodging his half-assed fighting skills was child's play. He went to unsheathe his gun, but he wasn't fast enough. I took advantage of the distraction, wrapping a hand around the back of his head and stabbing the pen directly through his eyeball.

"I said I'd take your jaw, but your eye will do."

He screamed, pushing against me in desperation. "I'm going to kill you, kill her. I swear, I swear."

"You can't do shit when you"re dead." I pushed harder, my hold steady and sure despite the blood saturating my fingers.

I heard his breath hitch, then his broad form slumped dead, the pen fully embedded into his eye socket. Thankfully, he was situated on one side of the room, so I still had floor space to move around in his swivel chair. The seat cushioning was comfortable and remained warm. Getting in a cosy position, I couldn't detain my grin as I enjoyed the view.

My slanted grin soon dissolved. Mayor Oakview filled the screen, his greedy expression directed at Micah.

I didn't like the image: his beady eyes undressing her, imagining her naked and writhing beneath him. One didn't have to guess what the fuck was going through his brain.

It didn't matter if his last name was plastered over the entrance, or that he was the leading politician ruling the damn city. He was looking at my girl like he was going to eat her, and she was entertaining his hungry stare, wearing an accepting smile.

A growl sliced through my clenched teeth. If she wanted some big-wig rich dude with a dud cock, she shouldn't have demanded my attention.

It was too late for her, too late for us.

My fingers flew over the keyboard, and with a smug chuckle I pressed enter on the computer. I leant back and my hands flexed behind my neck as I watched the masterpiece unfold. Every single door in the asylum clicked open. The fundraiser was about to get a whole lot more interesting.

Did she fucking kill her?I think there's a high possibility that she fucking killed her.

As I watched Katsy's body slump to the ground on the security monitor, a huge weight lifted from my soul, the exact size and heaviness of the blonde tormentor who was now unalive.

My golden girl was blood-drenched, streaks of red smudged over her face as she escaped the clawing celebrations and stalked through the corridors. Inmates ran crazy, chanting and hackling, enjoying their freedom by destroying whatever they could get their hands on. I'd caused an all-out riot.

Guests fled the scene and security were overwhelmed. A deafening alarm chimed through the facility and Fern's emergency beeper buzzed non-stop, vibrating next to his still chest.

I eyed Micah's procession, attempting to guess her intended destination as she geared further into the unit.

She wouldn't be coming to see little old me, would she? Should I wait in my room, naked? Strike a sexy pose?

Twisting down the hallway, she filled the frame of the kitchen, watching Walter and his goons harass young Cookie.

Fuck this destitute, useless castle with dodgy cameras. I was observing body language alone, the camera's vision restricted to blurry images shifting in and out of focus.

Walter soon had her in a chokehold, his arm locked around her throat from behind. He leant forward and licked up the side of her face. I bounced on the balls of my feet, ready to fly to her side and rip out his fucking tongue.

I hesitated. Micah's mouth stretched into a serial killer grin. I'd only ever seen that expression on one other person. Me—in the reflective pools of my victims' eyes.

All went black.

MICAH

Ace's whimpers plagued my retreating form until I found myself at the communal kitchen door, Walter and his crew bullying the poor boy huddling beside the sink.

"Leave him," I said, stealing their attention.

Walter clucked as his eyes roamed over my body, approaching as if he was a hunter. You'd think he would process my red-stained skin or soiled dress. Instead, power and lust clouded his judgement, his two sidekicks not any smarter as their eager steps brought them closer.

"Doctor Chaser, you look breathtaking. Have you come to join us?"

"I came to join Ace."

"He's a boy. He wouldn't know how to handle all of you."

I ignored him and pinpointed my attention solely on Ace, his head popping out from behind his assailants, wide eyes bulging.

"Lay low," I said, and he gave an imperceptible nod.

Walter didn't like to be ignored. Blocking our view, his grasp tightened on the makeshift shank in his hand.

I wonder if he knows how to use it. I was intrigued enough to give him a shot and find out.

Walter jerked forward, flipped my position and had me in a chokehold in a matter of seconds. Sure, his movements were delayed, his fluidity ragged, but I was surprised he could execute the manoeuvre at all.

"I'll show you a good time, darling," he said, trailing his disgusting tongue up the side of my face.

My skin stretched thin, lips tilting into an obscene arch. "My turn." Kicking back, his knee fractured inward. Ace switched off the lights and my bloodlust thrummed back to life with our descent into darkness.

I flipped easily out of Walter's crumbling hold. His knee had shattered and I'd hardly put any pressure into the assault. I grabbed the handle of a frying pan I clocked on entry and proceeded to beat the three idiots over the head with it. Groans accompanied the vibrating hits as steel made contact with their thick skulls. It didn't quantify as a fight per se, their disorientation barely a challenge.

The pan clanged to the floor as I swapped it out for a knife. Grabbing Ace by the shirt, I dragged him to his room. As soon as he was shoved inside, I slammed the door shut and stabbed the knife into the electronic keypad. Energy buzzed around the embedded blade before the lock clicked into place. No one else would be able to enter until it was manually opened, which wouldn't happen tonight.

Satisfied, I turned on my heel and aimed for the control room in search of the one person that would be able to calm the vicious mania that I was engulfed.