Page 80 of Lunar Desires
Yay! Teamwork.
Tidal Pull failed to do anything, the gravitational force slipping through the water. Dammit.
“Pathetic!” Uncle Jonathon roared.
Isaac’s sunlight lit up the road. Our uncle laughed again.
Screw this!
Pissed off by his mocking laughter, I charged him, going for a right hook. It went straight through his face, a cold sting biting my skin.
I recoiled, taking a hop back as ice spread across my hand with cold fire.
“Crap!” I yelled, trying to shake it off.
Rainwater got in now, pouring down my throat. Freezing, invisible fingers held my mouth open, prizing it wider and wider, straining my jaw, defying my attempts to close it.
Damn. It. Hard.
I pushed on my chin, meeting nothing but rigid resistance. The water closed off my airways, filling me like a jug. So cold, a brutal flood with no dam in sight.
Using Tidal Pull in desperation, I prayed it found purchase on him.
But I fell to my knees first, then collapsed onto my back. My lungs were burning, my heartbeat a deathly drum pounding down the minutes until I left this world.
Rain battered my face, numbing my skin.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Slow, arduous beats against the cold and the drowning. There wasn’t much pain, surprisingly, every cell of my being closing off to all feeling other than the probing cold.
An invasion of liquid ice visited my organs. Cooling them down to death.
“There, there,” Uncle Jonathon said, appearing above me as a floating head of water. “This was inevitable. There can only be one Moon. Me.”
I struggled, the fight not leaving me yet.
“Hush now, dear nephew. Let me guide you into the afterlife.”
No voices of my people around me. No other sounds other than the rain.
Come on! Get to your feet and kick the crap out of him!
“There is no help coming,” my uncle whispered, his voice slithering into my mind.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
“I’m giving you an easy death, Riley. Because I do care for you. I do. After all, we are family. We are joined by the same blessed blood.”
Yeah. Right. So caring, so loving. The jealousy, the bitterness, and murderous intent were just a front really. What next? He didn’t mean it, his hand forced by circumstances beyond his control? Like making a deal with a fae to get to me.
What a crock.
He’d had his shot at being The Moon, and now it was over. He could’ve chosen differently, but he decided to be an arsehole.
“I’m sorry you’ll never get to meet The Star,” he said. “But you can’t miss what you never had.” Laughter. “I’m such a caring uncle to numb the pain. After the way you’ve behaved, I should be making it hurt.” A savage snarl followed. “Maybe I should. To teach you a lesson.”
Thump. Thump. Thump.
