Page 64 of Possess Us
‘You’re afraid,’ I tease.
‘I am not afraid of your demons.’
‘No. Not them. Me. You’re afraid of me.’
‘Don’t make me laugh. You?!’ He forces out a nasty laugh. Spit flies from his mouth, and his eyes widen. ‘You are a fucking whore. A vessel to use and discard. Held in chains that you secretly long for. All your kind long for control. To be handled and commanded. To be used.’
‘Maybe I do.’ I lean into his face. ‘But not by creepy old bastards like you.’
‘You won’t kill me. You can’t. You’re weak, Willow. Afraid. All the loudest females are. The louder you are, the more insecure you are. The more you need to be controlled. And the more you deserve to be put in your FUCKING PLACE!’
His hand breaks free of the rope, and his fingers grip my throat, squeezing tightly. I feel that pull of energy as he channels me.
I’m his conduit, too.
Idiot! He’s pretended to be caught so he can get me close.
His fingers stretch out, sending the guys flying backwards through the air and slamming into the wall.
He’s freed himself of the restraints, the chair arms snapping like kindling as he slowly rises. The fire in the fireplace doubles in size, the flames going black and plunging the room into a deeper darkness. His eyes are somehow more soulless than any of theirs. His hatred is endless.
‘I am the only one who knows you, Willow. I am your family. Your reason for living.’
I claw at his fingers, my nails dragging along his skin and drawing blood. The wounds heal instantly.
He draws more and more power from me, my connection to the demons fuelling him and weakening them. They push themselves back onto their feet. But slowly and with difficulty, as though sore and stiff.
The black flames stretch out of the confines of the marble fireplace and stretch up and along the walls. But in Xion’s eyes, they are a vibrant red.
‘A Brotherhood without a conduit is nothing,’ he says darkly. ‘But a disobedient conduit is nothing but a dead whore. So, let’s speed this along, shall we?’
The manor trembles in reaction to his immense power. Chunks of plaster fall from the ceiling, and cracks appear in the wall as he wrenches at my power of connection. No longer is he taking gentle pulls, but stealing it all.
Lust runs at him. The floor becomes quicksand around his feet, pulling him in.
Pain is next, sprinting at Xion.
The wallpaper comes to life. The painted vines become all too real, exploding from the walls and wrapping around Pain, trapping him and keeping him pinned.
Fear throws a dagger. It stops mid-air, multiplies, and all of them return to him, impaling him on the door.
All of us are trapped. The all-powerful leader has us exactly where he wants us, and with every passing second, my life force is being taken. And his is being strengthened.
‘I can purchase another Conduit, Willow. I can recruit more men to serve like that.’ He snaps his fingers. ‘You bringmyenslaved demons tomyhouse of worship, and try to get them to kill me foryou?’ He spits in my face and sneers in utter disgust. ‘When I have finished here, you will be a husk. An empty vessel no good to me or them. You will become just as the last conduit, and the one before that, and the one before that. A shell. You won’t think. Feel. Eat. Drink. Your soul will be burning in Hell, your body left behind to wither and die slowly. I may fuck you. I may hand you around to those still alive. Or perhaps I will keep you as a warning for my next conduit so she knows what will happen if she dares betray me. Either way, one thing is guaranteed. You will die unloved. Unnoticed. Unmissed. The world will not be different without you in it. There will be no mourners at your graveside. You will not even have a grave. I shall have you buried in a ditch. You are pointless beyond your use to me, and now you have become useless even in that regard.’
I grit my teeth. I will not let him steal my soul for a power boost. Not after I survived everything I have. Not the system I grew up in. The endless placements. Not the abuse of the Brotherhood. And not the agony, terror and death I have endured and caused tonight.
I feel my strength failing as I sense his powers grow.
Fuck that!
I plunge my thumb into his eye, sinking my nail in deep until I hear a wet, squelchy pop and warmth seeps down my fingers.
He drops me, stunned by the pain as he grabs his eye. Blood and whatever hell else is in an eyeball oozes down his cheek. The wound isn’t healing.
‘You foolish bitch!’ he snarls, lowering his hand and balling his fists at his side.
He begins an incantation. His voice quickly becomes otherworldly. Demonic.
