Page 104 of All Your Bloody Lies

“Thanks…” she clears her throat. “Ten minutes until the entrance, do you smell her?”

I shake my head, “No, but even if she is up here, I wouldn’t. By this time, her scent would have been confined strictly to the van.” The road isn’t meant for a sports car, and as we turn off the paved streets, I slow. “They would have had to open the doors to the van. I’m guessing they got gas somewhere, but it wasn’t at that gas station.”

She releases a heavy sigh, “The sun’s going down, do you think it’s smart to be driving these roads?”

Probably not, especially not with a Mundane in the car. I would normally take these windy roads as though I don’t care if I roll from them, but with her in the car, I have to go slowly.

“I’m thinking,” I know she won’t like it, but it’ll be quicker. “I park next to the ranger’s post, and I go for a quick run. That way, I can pick up any scents that may be familiar. You’ll be safe there, and I’ll be no more than five to ten minutes in each direction.”

The soft hum she releases is followed by, “Okay, take your phone and I’ll watch your location.”

I can’t help but shake my head. “Stalker.”

A minuscule laugh comes from her throat. “She’s surrounded by them, it would seem.”

It doesn’t take us more than ten minutes to get parked in front of the ranger’s office. After instructing her to tell them that I went for a piss if they ask why she’s there alone, I’m off.

She commented that she’ll pretend to sleep and will play on her phone to make sure she doesn’t accidentally fall into a slumber. It’s not as though she could come find me if something happened, so even if she does fall asleep, it’s fine.

I start off by going north, climbing the mountains with ease. The trees surrounding me fall silent as I listen for her. Whether it’s her steady heartbeat or her gentle breathing, I’m only looking for her. The scents of spruce and grass filter out as I seek just the scent of her cherry blossom and soft peony, with hints of ripe strawberry. It never ceases to surprise me how sweet she smells and how opposite it is to who she is.

After running for so long, I stop, and instead of running back to Sydni, I shoot her a text.

“I didn’t find anything north. Are you okay? Can I head east?”

Butterfly [20:34]

Yes, I’m good. Rangers haven’t come to see me.

I’ll text you when I get there.

I’m going to destroy them for taking Xeraphine from me, and Sydni. I know she doesn’t want a savior, but I don’t give a fuck. Them, and whichever Hause they belong to if they do, will burn, and turn to ash for ever thinking they could lay a Gods damn hand on what is mine.

37

Xeraphine

When 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 isapproaching, 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.

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