I don’t lose consciousness this time like I always have before, which is strange in its own right, but instead, my vision shifts. The next thing I know, I have the stick in my hand that wasn’t there two seconds ago.
I hear the ping of metal, and I look over to see my stick just turned into a scythe, two massive arched blades poppin’ out of each end. The blades face opposite directions and gleam in the light of the chandelier, and instead of lookin’ at the weapon with a giant what the fuck floatin’ around in my head, I know exactly what to do with it.
It’s as though someone just downloaded a bunch of badassery into my brain. I not only know how to effectively wield this weapon, I can practically hear it sing with excitement. Holdin’ this thing is like runnin’ into an old friend. I suddenly know that one end will turn this demon to dust, and the other will allow me to slice him up into a pretty little pile of kindlin’. Hmm, which one would be more fun? I ask the black haze coatin’ my vision.
Kindlin’ it is.
In a breath, I twist the scythe up and smoothly remove the arm that Mickey is holdin’ onto me with. His screams immediately fill the room, and I back away from his pained bellows and the black blood pourin’ out of his stump. I cross my feet and twirl my weapon like some kung fu master who’s spent her whole life studyin’ and readyin’ herself for this moment.
Mickey’s pain turns into fury, and a limb comes flyin’ out of his body, aimin’ right for me. Somehow, I manage to dodge the attempted grab and with a twist, remove the limb and one of Mickey’s legs. He wails again, but a new leg and arm instantly bursts out of his trunk-like torso.
So he can regenerate, but it hurts, I catalog, as I wait for him to make his next move. Calm confidence settles in my every cell. My heart is even, and so is my breathin’. I feel different, like my senses are heightened, and there’s a tinglin’ that erupts down my back like a ticklish itch. I feel capable and ready, as if I can tear this demon apart for even entertainin’ the thought of hurtin’ the people I care about.
I can tell by the shouts in the hall that he’s still simultaneously occupyin’ the guys with his thick wall of vegetation that’s writhin’ and attackin’. My teeth clench at the thought of him hurtin’ them.
“You’re just making this harder on yourself,” Mickey spits at me as he struggles to get to his feet on his new limbs while I clutch the scythe in both hands, poised and tense. “The Ophidian is going to get you one way or another. Morax’s plans will not be foiled by some stupid cunt and her bloodline. You and Delta will never be safe. There is nowhere you can hide that he can’t reach you,” he snarls, and then he lunges.
With a firm grip on the staff of my scythe, I shove, makin’ the weapon hit him square in the chest as he dives for me. With strength I didn’t know I was capable of, the bark-covered demon goes flyin’ back and slams into the branch-covered wall.
He lands in a heap on the floor, joinin’ the mountain of broken glass left behind from the table he shattered. Without hesitation, I quickly make my way over to him. I’m barefoot and steppin’ on glass, but I don’t feel an ounce of pain as I flip my scythe from the blade that allows me to do damage, to the blade that allows me to reduce this demon to dust.
I have no idea how I know that, or how I know to do any of this, or how I’m suddenly so damn strong, but I don’t care. I’m awake durin’ a tribulation for the first time in my life, and I’m seein’ exactly what I’m capable of. Instead of bein’ scared or in shock, I feel complete and right in a way I can’t put into words. This is how I was always meant to be. I can feel that I was fractured before, and I know I need to do everythin’ I can to ensure that I’m never broken into pieces that way again.
I suddenly feel the call of the Hellgate pulsing inside of me, and it makes me pause. I’ve known for weeks that the gate was there, but I’ve never felt a pull to it or a draw like Flint and Alder have described happens to them. It’s been silent for me the whole time I’ve been here, but suddenly, I can feel it now.
I breathe in its need as its demands ring in my ears. I can feel the weight of it settlin’ like an obligation on my shoulders, and I know it needs somethin’ from me, I just don’t know what.
Mickey groans and sits up from where he collapsed to the floor. I pull my attention away from the Hellgate and focus back on the demon who thought he could come into my home and threaten my people.
A voice in the back of my mind inserts that this is technically Flint and Alder’s home and that I need to be less clingy, but I punch that thought across the face, and it goes skitterin’ away.
I press the blade of my scythe against where I suspect Mickey’s throat is beneath all the tree limbs and lean in closer. “You move one inch, and existence as you know it is over,” I growl.
He freezes instantly, which is exactly when the bay window to my left explodes. I don’t even flinch as glass comes flyin’ toward me. Shards embed
