Page 57 of Sophie's Ruin
“She didn’t run and hide,” I said, more to myself than to Damien standing beside me.
He smirked. “She knew there was nowhere for her to go where your magic couldn’t reach.” His pitch-black gaze focused on me. “How does it feel to be so feared? As a vampire, you were impossibly strong and fast, but with black magic flowing through your veins, you’re virtually unstoppable.”
I did feel unstoppable, but I also felt…cold and detached. The feeling reminded me of when I’d projected myself into Stern’s lair in my dream. I’d floated like an apparition outside of myown body then, and it felt like I was doing so now. I was simply an observer, watching myself carry out my revenge with cold indifference and without emotional attachment. I still felt things…like loathing and fury directed toward the clans, but I was losing sight of why I was waging this war. I knew I couldn’t stop, though—the darkness wouldn’t let me.
“Sophie?” Damien asked, drawing my attention to him. “Are you ready to finish this?”
“Finish it? Oh, this is not the end. I’m only getting started.” The words escaped, and I had no idea where they’d come from. My voice was eerie and dark, like smoke and shadows.
Damien threw his head back and laughed, the menacing sound ringing out in the night.
“Youarejust getting started,” he said, when he looked at me again. “You’re the beginning, Sophie. Together, we will show the others the ultimate power they can achieve if only they give in.”
“Give in?” I asked, confused.
“To the darkness. As you have,” he explained, matter of fact.
The light inside me sputtered at his words.
That’s strange,I thought, my brows knitting.
I hadn’t realized that light still burned. A part of me wanted to put my hands protectively around it and nurture it back to full strength, but that part was tiny and weak. It was buried deep inside and easy to ignore. The bigger, stronger part of me wanted to let the light go out. After all, Henry was the keeper of the light, and he wasn’t here. If he was really that concerned about me, he would have found me again by now. The tiny, weak part of me hoped that he still would, but the bigger part wanted him to stay away.
The darkness feared him, I realized. Was it afraid he could still pull me from its embrace? Because he couldn’t, I was sure of it. I just hoped he would eventually learn to love that side ofme. After all, I’d changed for him…to better protect him from the dangers of this world. Speaking of…
My eyes narrowed, and my ears perked up as I listened for any sound coming from the mansion. All was quiet, but the silence felt unnatural. It reminded me of the Black Forest, where predators roamed in the hushed stillness, veiled by the darkness.
A heartbeat later, they came out of nowhere, converging on me much like the forest creatures had done the first time I’d faced them without the hex bag in my pocket. Ravagers. About a dozen or so. At the first sight of them, Damien glimmered out, leaving me alone and surrounded. I wasn’t scared, though—my shadows were ready. They rushed out from all around me, splintering in different directions to fend off the feral vampires when they attacked.
Some of the Ravagers darted toward me, while others scuttled closer, crouching low to the ground. A few launched themselves at me, their fangs and claws gleaming, as they flew through the air. The black vines of my magic were there to defend me. They speared the Ravagers in the air and twisted around the ones on the ground, tearing the limbs and breaking the bones. I didn’t need to lift a finger as I stood unmoving in the middle of the courtyard in front of the mansion. Death reigned all around me, and I was its Queen. After my shadows had snuffed out the last cry of agony, an unearthly silence settled over the place.
Several moments passed as I waited for what would happen next. If Yvonne had known better than to run and hide, surely she hadn’t thought that little diversion would stop me. The sound of a door opening snapped my attention to the mansion’s grand entrance. Yvonne emerged from the darkness of the house a moment later. The whites of her wide-set eyes stood out against the blackness of the night and the golden-brown toneof her skin. Her face was a sickly pallor, her thickly curled hair disheveled as if she’d run her hands through it too many times.
“We need to talk,” she said, her amber eyes fastening on me. Her low and husky voice wavered.
“Talk?” I smirked. “Let me guess, you’re going to blame everything on Camilla?”
“No.” Yvonne shook her head. “It was her plan, yes, but I helped her carry it out. We all did.” She paused, and swallowed audibly. I heard her heart speed up in her chest as her breathing hitched. In the next moment, I knew why. “I am willing to pay for my actions. But the rest of the clan doesn’t have to. Spare them, I beg you.”
My gaze stretched to the dark house behind Yvonne before returning to her.
“I have to admit I admire your courage. You’re the only one who had the guts to face me like this.”
Yvonne’s face paled even more in the moonlight. Silence stretched for a few seconds until she found her voice again.
“Does my courage buy my clan’s freedom?” she asked, lifting her chin.
“Freedom? No. But they can have a head start if they choose to flee.” I raised my voice for the next part so the ones inside the house could hear me. “They should do so now because once I’m finished with you, I’ll be going after them.”
Shadows erupted from the mansion at my words. Not shadows—vampires—moving with supernatural speed. They fled through the windows and side and back doors. The exodus was over quickly, and a shuddering exhale left Yvonne when the last of her clan had fled the estate. Her eyes glimmered with tears as she lifted them up to the night sky. I followed her gaze, momentarily lost in the star-studded canvas.
“It’s a beautiful night to die,” I said, lowering my gaze to Yvonne’s face.
My right arm shot out in front of me, and the shadowy vines of my magic darted out, quickly crossing the distance between us. They wrapped around Yvonne’s throat, and a strangled sound left her as she gripped the torc of churning shadows around her neck. Her bulging eyes settled on me as she thrashed in my magic’s hold. She might have accepted her fate when she’d turned herself in, but the survival instinct was impossible to ignore. It still urged her to fight for her life, so she did, even though it was futile. The fingers on my right hand curled, and the vines followed my will, twisting tighter around Yvonne’s neck. She clawed at the shadows, her razor-sharp talons slicing through the black tendrils and flaying her skin. Blood gushed out of the open wounds, its sweet scent filling the air. I ducked my chin and bared my fangs as my vampire side reared her head at the tantalizing smell.
“Stop!” came Henry’s voice from behind me.
It echoed in the courtyard, interrupting the hushed quiet. The grip of my magic still tight on Yvonne’s throat, I glanced over my shoulder. Henry stood a few feet away, his chest rising and falling rapidly. He must have run here.
