"Beloved?" Liam asked. "Did you just kill him?"I bit my bottom lip. I did. I did just kill him. I growled. Damn it. I pushed the vibrating energy back into his body. Mr. Kline gasped in a breath."Bowling alley," he wheezed. "Under the bowling alley."I tilted my head at him. "Now, was that so hard?""Kira, you have to protect me from her. She's going to kill me.""You should have thought of that before you worked for her." I turned away from him. "He's all yours, Liam."The lights flickered and faded just a little. A dark cloud billowed down the stairs and across the room. I jumped to the side as Mila solidified in the middle of it. She strode right towards me. The darkness formed around her like a cape. The pink god power flared to my fingertips, but my lack of energy made it short out. She threw me to the side. I hit the bar counter and slid down it. She reached out and twisted Mr. Kline's neck. He died instantly. His soul left his body, twisting in agony as it drifted up
I hurried through the bar and up the stairs. Everyone was dead. I flew up the stairs to the apartment. It was quiet. I ran up the stairs and checked the bedrooms. I found Anton dead across the bed in his room. Kezia and Amy were gone. No bodies.Liam called for me somewhere down below. I couldn't believe it. Everyone was gone. Cherry, Anton, Cole, they all lay lifeless on the floor.No. No. This could not be happening. I would not let this happen. My pink wings fluttered behind me with agitation. I would not let this be.I stormed down the stairs back to the bar. The men spread out, checking the lifeless bodies. Liam caught my eyes."They're all gone," he said.Anger flared inside me. This wasn't fair. This was not how things should be."Not for long.""Beloved? Your eyes..." He stared at me."I'm sorry, I need this." I pulled all the energy in the room. Liam and his remaining men fell to the floor. I could feel their life energy inside of me."I'll give it back. I just need t
It took me three days to get out of bed. Liam visited me several times a day, but I didn't listen much. They still hadn't found Kezia or Amy. I had all the books with the family blood runes brought to my room. They laid out over the floor and bed, all just within reach. My head felt fuzzy, and my body ached like mad. I felt like I had been stretched like taffy, and everything was just trying to figure out where it fit again.On day four, I finally decided to get out of my room. I showered and dressed. I wore the black leather this time. I donned my freshly cleaned Ardor Brothers jacket. I slipped on a pair of tall leather boots. Everything fit like a glove, and this time, I felt like I could pull it off. It was that, or maybe I didn't care if I did.I looked down over the balcony. Anton was sitting watching the television. It was playing the news. The giant hole where the bowling alley used to be was plastered all over the large screen with a headline reading: "Sinkhole appears in mi
Karma sauntered through. Her hips swayed with every step. Angandriel followed a step behind her. He was shirtless and all his muscles were on display. He was perfect eye candy to match her. People parted as she walked through. She stopped ten feet in front of me and looked around."Why are these people staring at me?" She snapped her fingers from side to side. People's eyes moved with her hands. "Can they see me? Why can they see me?" Her eyes landed on me.I shrugged.She pointed to the nearest man. "You? Can you hear me?"He nodded quickly.She narrowed her eyes and leaned close to him, inspecting his face. "Why is that?" She pinched his cheek. The man grimaced but was smart enough not to pull away."What have you done, Lanie?" She let the man go and turned back to me."My name's not Lanie."She waved her hand. "Oh, whatever, Lanie, Kira. Just pick one.""I'm neither."She heaved a heavy sigh. "Then, just pick something. I'm getting tired of this game.""I don't think you
Cherry brought me a White Russian, and I took it upstairs to the lair of curtains. I sat in the armchair overlooking the dancefloor, which was full of tables with chairs. The atmosphere was relaxed and the lights were still on.I sat sipping the drink when my first clients came in. They kneeled in front of me with their heads bowed.I sighed. "Can you please sit in the chairs?"The first one lifted her head. I realized it was Priscilla and the other two were Taryn and Halley."Beloved, we've come to pledge our allegiance to you.""Okay. I appreciate that, but seriously, please sit in the chairs. It's easier for me to talk to you if I can make eye contact with you. Also, I think you'd be more comfortable."Priscilla hesitated then slowly climbed to her feet. "Alright, Beloved. If it makes you feel better.""It does."When all three moved into chairs, I put my elbow on the armrest then rested my chin on my hand. "So, how is the orc community?"Pricilla bowed her head a little as
I plopped down in the armchair. I ran my hands through my hair. I had become a queen like the ones little girls dreamed about, except little girls didn't think about all the war and politics real queens had to endure. We were talking about things like people and territories, not sparkly ponies and dragons.I pinched the bridge of my nose as I thought. How was I going to find Kezia? How was I going to stop Mila? I guess I needed to get Kezia back, and then that would stop Mila, so I should make that my first priority. If Liam hadn't found her in town, then she probably wasn't anywhere around here. My stomach started to swirl with all this indecision. I could feel the magic inside me fizzle and snap.I pulled the book with the resurrection spell on my lap. I looked through it again. It needed one thousand souls and a major node. The only major node near here was in Utah, so... it looked like that would be where she would eventually end up, maybe after she got one thousand souls. I had
The elf leader spoke first. "This was Grange territory. If it isn't anymore, then we have every right to it."The rat leader sauntered forward in front of his minions. "I have come to claim it. Fight to the death. Whoever's left standing, wins."Don Archer stayed back. His men stood quietly behind him while he watched this play out.I turned my attention to the other two. "I took out The Grange Faction, so this is my territory. Get out."The rat-man snickered, sending a wave of laughter through his group.The elf leader regarded me. His blue lightning crackled in the palm of his hands. "I highly doubt you did that. They were a strong contender in this town. You're brand new to this. We don't even know your name."Don Archer nodded in agreement.Liam stepped in at my side. I held my hand out to halt him. I didn't want to play games. This would not be won through talking. I was going to have to demonstrate my power."This is my territory now," I growled. I let the pink god power
I sat behind Liam on his motorcycle. I didn't know much about motorcycles brands, but this one was black and thick. It must have weighed a thousand pounds. I held on to his leather jacket as an army of ten men escorted me back to the Ardor Bar.We pulled into the parking lot. The bikes settled in around us, each cutting their engines until it was silent. The men dismounted their bikes but waited for me. I swung off and waited for Liam.He turned to my waiting gaze. "I feel like you want to ask me something.""Can I go to Utah?" I asked.His face drew down into a deep frown."I think Mila took Kezia there. She's going to sacrifice her.""Beloved, you can't leave us. If you do, we'll be defenseless.""But Kezia..." I stared up at the imposing orc. He gave me the most pleading look an orc possibly could. I hung my head. "I understand."He held a hand out for me to lead the way. I walked down the stairs to the double doors into the bar. My group of ten bodyguards followed me only a
I don't know how long I lay there crying and wailing and sniffling. I couldn't believe he was gone. I'd been played. I'd let the darkness use him and use me. I needed to be smarter. I needed to figure out what she was doing before it happened. How did one even learn those sort of skills? I was no hero. I was nothing.The deep pit of depression pulled at me throughout the hours as I lay on the cold hard ground. I couldn't pull myself up. I couldn't go on. I had killed Mila and now I had killed Remi. I let Kezia and Matei die. No matter what I did, I was never good enough to save the people I loved. I'd even killed my own mother. What was wrong with me? I was living ball of bad luck. Bad Karma.I raised my head. Had Karma done this to me? Was that the reason? I slowly pushed into a sitting position."Karma!" I screamed. I had nothing left; otherwise, I would have pushed so much power into her name; it would have knocked the rest of the castle over. "Karma! Did you do this to me!?" M
Yes, I was looking at a freaking Dragon in front of me. It must have been three stories tall. What is that, thirty feet? It was freaking huge. Its black scales glittered in the moonlight, and if I weren't shaking in my boots and worried about being eaten alive, I would have thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Atlas, it was terrifying. Complete and utter terror gripped my throat, even more than the ominous darkness that used to chase me home from work. This thing had fangs and claws and wings! It was the embodiment of a predator and it was assigned to kill me.The thing reeled back its head after in a great roar as if to bellowed out fire on me, the tiny figure standing in front of it. I instinctively rose the Aurora sword in front of me. Instead of normal flame, it blew out a steady stream of black and purple fire. The sword sliced it in half, protecting me. After the breath, it turned its head and gazed at me with one bright golden hazel eye. The fearsome intel
I woke up bound and gagged in a very cold and dark place. I could hear water dripping somewhere far off. The smell of mold and dirt filled my nostrils while the wet, cold air penetrated my clothing made me shiver. I pulled at the power I had stored inside me, but it was gone. It felt as if I had been completely drained. I even felt drained of life.I wiggled in the grime until I was able to free my gag. "Hello?" My voice echoed off what sounded to be stone walls.I could be anywhere. For a moment, I thought I was dead, but I think I was too uncomfortable to be dead just yet. After much struggling, I was able to sit."Remi?" I whispered. "Angie? Sandriel? Natalia? Anyone? Can anyone hear me?""No one can," a familiar voice echoed.It surprised me at how close it was, maybe only a few feet in front of me. The deep smooth female voice was easy to place. The water dripping in the background grew silent. Even the air around me stopped."Karma," I said."Oh, aren't you just so smart
The dark forest started to clear as I flew forward on my delicate wings. The first thing to catch my eye in the firelight was Kezia strapped to a pole in the middle of the nexus circle surrounded by what looked to be human bones. The rose bushes that were planted six years ago were the size of people, bushy, and well cared for. Their blooms were just starting to fade as the fall equinox rose. A hundred or so crystals sparkled in the moonlight spread out over the complicated circles drawn in the dirt. Mila stood at the edge of the circle chanting in a language I couldn't make out.Kezia's eyes darted towards me as I appeared out of the trees. Mila immediately stopped her chant as she looked in my direction. A wicked, too big smile gaped open. Pointed teeth spilled across her face. She extended her fingers out and flicked them at me.Dark tendrils of shadows leaped from the trees. They wrapped around my ankles and wrists, pulling me down to the ground. I could feel the familiar fear gr
I stood looking out at the stars in the night sky from the roof of the Ardor bar building. The power from the crystals thrummed beneath my skin as I swirled it inside me, converting it to my pink energy. I needed to do this. I had to go all out like I had done for the brothers in order to save Kezia. It wasn't fair that she was taken hostage because of me.I closed my eyes. I searched deep inside the well of power within me and whispered, "Remi." The word escaped my lips with a deep insistence with power behind it.The night pressed in thick around me like a cloud that descended and hung about in a fog. I realized it was Remi's shadow fighting his summoning."Remi," I bit out. The power behind the word was sharp.The shadows merged into his figure. He stumbled forward on to his hands and knees before me."Kira," he heaved a breath. "Where did you learn that trick?""I need you to take me to Kezia."He lifted his head. "Don't do that. Forget about Kezia. She's lost. Just let it b
The evening died down. I was left sitting alone again, but this time my basket of crystals was full of energy. Their surfaces pulsed with pink light. The elves' energy was different, but it was intense. It wasn't as easy to mix with my own, but when I did, I felt powerful.I collected the basket and went downstairs. I bid good night to Cherry with a nod. I carried my basket through the back then started up the stairs."Beloved," Liam's deep voice drew my eyes up from the stair steps.I nodded. "Liam.""Where are you going with all those crystals?""I was taking them to my room to practice."His eyebrow ridges knit down. "Practice what?"I smiled innocently. "I'm just testing what I can do. Don't worry; I'll be careful."He eyed me suspiciously. I tried not to let my smile waiver. I felt like he could see right through me, but I held firm. I had to do this. I couldn't just let Kezia die, not like Mila."Alright, be careful. Good night, Beloved.""Good night." I inched around h
I sat outside in the parking lot were a bar counter, numerous tables and chairs, and many lights decorated the area. The elves sat politely at the tables, drinking their fancy top-shelf drinks. The Ardor Brothers pretended to be having a good time, but the suspicious glances between the two factions put a damper on the party.Lord Quillion finally strode across the parking lot towards us. He took a seat in front of me with a pained look.I remained silent with a smile on my face. No more plastic smiles for me. This one was genuine."Lord Quillion," I said."Beloved," he responded. He said it as if it tasted bitter on his tongue.That made me smile wider.Cole spread the contract out on the table between us. "This claims The Kingdom will be allies to the Ardor Brothers for the next fifty years. They will aid us with whatever we require, including sharing materials and funds. The territories will remain separate, but the people of either territory will be allowed to move across the
"I accept the terms," Lord Quillion said.I extended my hand to him. We shook, then I backed away. Both armies stepped back to give us space.Liam squeezed my shoulder. "Let me fight for you."I shook my head. "This is my fight."He gave me a worried glance but gave a slight nod. "Good luck, Beloved."Granite gave me a soft punch. "We're counting on you." They both turned and stood to block the entrance to the bar. They watched me with their iron-grey eyes. I couldn't help but smile. For such cold, hardened warriors, they had such warmth in their hearts.I turned my attention back to Lord Quillion. He stood at the center and lifted his long sword to the sky. Dark clouds appeared and swirled overhead. Blue lighting ripped from the sky on to the sword. He held pointed it toward me, then screamed a battle cry.I cringed. It sent a primal surge of fear through me. I stood my ground as he ran forward with the sword. For a moment, I felt frozen, but I calmed my thoughts and felt for
I didn't sleep. I paced the room. I tossed and turned in bed, but I never managed a wink of sleep. Hours ticked by. Painful minutes ticked by. There was nothing. No word. No text or message. I was just stuck in the dark and I didn't dare bother them because it could mean life and death. At seven o'clock in the morning, I stumbled down the stairs on tired legs. I wanted to sleep, needed it, but I couldn't. I made some cereal and sat looking out at the sun in the sky over the city. The harsh sun reminded me of my garden. I let my mind wander to that peaceful place. I thought about the blooms, the sun, and the pink glow. Before I knew it, I was standing in my garden.The plants were still there, but they looked wilted. The ones next to the stream were okay, but the rest looked a little frazzled. I added more of the glittering water next to them and they slowly perked up. I touched others and they blossomed again. The tiredness slowly drained from me as I walked through my creations.I