Every Hero Deserves a Blowjob [A Paranormal Romance]

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Lauren

It was all slipping away. She ignored the pressure in her chest, forced herself to bottle it up, but it was too real. As the chasm at her feet dwindled and then disappeared, she felt her momentum stutter to a halt.

She tore at the ground in her struggle to understand. She couldn't do this anymore. She couldn't stomach the emptiness she felt.

The morning breeze sent a shiver through her. When the hurricane of thoughts wracking her mind finally subsided, all it left behind was quicksand. She was grateful for it.

She stared at spot where they had been. How far would she have to dig before she could wrap her claws around the worthless rat's throat? Lauren could feel her adrenaline fading and with it, her resolve. She sunk to her knees.

Lightning and ice battered the field of roses around her, but she couldn't bring herself to lift her head. She couldn't bear to imagine Tera's pretty smile as she crumbled before her eyes. Why did you have to go and do something so stupid?

She fought the thought away, fought all the thoughts away. It was better to feel empty than to let herself be consumed by what stood on the other side of that door. Her own failure to protect the one she cared about, again.

As the deafening cracks drew further apart, the field of roses settled into a deadly quiet. If the heavens tore themselves open and left her a smudge upon the earth, that would be fine. Probably better than any alternative.

"Are you just going to sit there and play in the dirt like a dog?"

Lauren didn't recognize the condescending tone, nor did she care to speak to whoever it was. The weight in her chest left her cemented in place and her mind screamed to be left alone. If she opened her mouth to speak, she knew she would break. Utterly and completely.

"Fuck you." She said the only thing she could manage, but even that was too much. Each syllable exposed the shakiness in her voice, the cool air stealing the warmth from her heart. Warmth she had shared only moments before with— She swallowed the bitter thought and shook her head to clear the rest.

"To think Pheonice raised such a rude witchling. Never mind. I'm bored with this."

Something snapped inside Lauren, and the miserable swamp in her gut churned. She stood with a viper's speed and aimed her claws at the back of the bitch's head. Whoever she was, she had a mouth on her. One that Lauren would very much like to close for eternity.

There was no valor to be had in this moment. The gray-haired woman was a fool for turning her back. The woman whose energy matched what had killed Tera was gone. And here came this maggot to kick her when she was at her absolute lowest.

She could have stopped herself. She could have melted back into her previous spot when she saw the woman walking away. But she didn't want to.

Lauren's claws were inches from the base of the woman's skull when she realized that her arm wasn't moving any closer, as if glued in place. The membrane separating the distance between them glinted and her own reflection warbled in its surface. The resulting shockwave gouged the earth at her feet, the rest of the impact sent skyward.

Lauren studied the back of the woman's head, sifting through the possible answers to this turn of events. Few women in the 10th held enough magical acuity to withstand one of her attacks. Not a witch, then?

"Done sulking?" The woman made no effort to turn. She merely tilted her head, so that her voice would carry.

Lauren could see Gina, Haven, and Valeri near the river at the edge of the field. Was it odd that she felt relieved by their safety? She supposed one death was enough. But where were the others? Were they also...?