Page 56 of My Master
“I won’t!” she shrieked. “I have to help him! He needs me.”
Maria reached out for her again but Esmeralda swatted her hand away. Maria grew instantly annoyed. “Esmeralda, I’ve put up with a lot of your shit, but don’t piss me off any further. Now, think rationally. You have a child to protect and you can’t risk either of your lives. Understood?”
Esmeralda’s eyes flared vampire red in anger.“No! I have to help him! He needs me!”She began shrieking like a madwoman and struck at Maria, her hands flailing in all directions. Maria dodged the blows successfully. Her hormones were making her crazy and the enhanced vampire powers the baby was supplying her with made her stronger. Maria saw no other option.
“Ezzy, I’m truly sorry about this…” Maria’s arm jumped forward, striking Ezzy on the side of the head. The blow wasn’t strong enough to kill her, only to knock her out. Esmeralda sagged and nearly fell to the floor but Maria caught her before that could happen.
The distant wail of ambulance sirens sounded in her ears. Maria smiled at the timing and smoothed out Ezzy’s hair. She easily picked her up in her arms and began to carry her towards that direction, feeling only slightly guilty about how good it felt to finally knock Ezzy’s ass out.
* * *
“Shut up!”Isis slammed her fist down on Caesareon’s face. His lip split open and blood swelled forth. He smiled, the blood running down his chin and staining his teeth. “My mother is dead! You killed her!”
“Oh, I will not deny that I did, though her blood wasn’t nearly as satisfying as yours, my warrior. But tell me, can you even remember their names?”
Isis punched him in the jaw, but he made no move to defend himself or hit her back. He seemed to be enjoying this little game he was playing. He wasalwayswrapped up in some game and frankly, Isis was sick of it.
One side of his face began to swell, sealing his eye shut from the force of her strength. “Shut up!” Isis barked, feeling tears spring free from her eyes.
Caesareon’s laugh pounded in her ears. “Your mother is dead, yes but—”
“SHUT UP!” Isis grasped his head between her hands and slammed it into the ground. Immediately, a pool of blood formed under it. Caesareon frowned.
“You do not wish to hear the truth?” he whispered as if it were a strain. “Fine, but I grow bored with this game fast.” His fingers dug into the side of her waist and flipped her over him. She scrambled into a standing position, as did he, though she noticed he swayed. The wound she inflicted on the back of his head wasn’t as light as he thought it would be.
Isis braced herself, legs standing firmly apart. Behind Caesareon, she saw Antonio’s body stir. Happiness swelled in her heart, but she kept her face neutral. He was alive, he was well, and that’s all that mattered. For now, she had to keep Caesareon distracted.
He swayed again, but smiled. “Dear, Isis, you remind me so much of him…”
She raised an eyebrow. “Of who?”
He laughed. “Why, your other half of course. Do you remember how I told you that he was an amazing public speaker? He spoke of loyalty and cowardice. Ah, I remember the words perfectly…” He smiled at her, though his gaze had grown distant, his lip twitched. Something was happening to him, something was seriously weakening him. Behind him, Antonio sat up.
Isis raised her eyebrow, having absolutely no clue what he was talking about. “I don’t give a fuck!”
He shrugged. “I only assumed you would want to know the truth of your own flesh and—”
But Isis didn’t wait to hear his next words because Antonio pulled the knife from his chest and tossed it to Isis. Isis caught the dagger with ease and rushed forward and sliced it through Caesareon’s neck.
His eyes went wide for only a moment with shock, his mouth opened to form a word, one word only. “Demetria.” And then his head fell from his body and to the floor. As it did so, Isis felt a string inside of her being cut. Just like that, she was free. The dagger fell from her hand and to the floor with a clang, splattering blood to her ankles. Isis fell to her knees. It was over. Caesareon was dead. She had killed him.
“My mother’s name was Halima…and my brother’s name was Azizi, you asshole,” she whispered, feeling relief course around her veins, but there was also sadness, though she wasn’t sure why.
Isis wasn’t sure how long she stayed in that position, hadn’t even realized that she was crying until Antonio’s hand gripped her shoulder. She leaned her cheek into his warmth, feeling the tears trickle from her eyes. She choked on air and blood and tears.
“It’s over,” Antonio whispered.
Isis nodded and reached for Antonio, needing something solid and permanent to hold on to like a life line.
“It’s over,” the echo of his accented voice was what cradled her into darkness, drowning Isis in air and blood and tears.
It’s over…
24
“Will she be okay?”
“She’s suffered a lot of external damage, but that’s healed fairly quickly. A lot of her damage is psychological, she only needs to rest. She’s suffering from exhaustion.”
