Chapter 38
Standing there all tall, dark and formidable like, my dad broke eye contact with me, but only momentarily to glance up at the gathering doom brewing above our heads.
When he finally spoke, his deep voice crawled down my spine. "Don't you think this little storm of yours is just a little ostentatious?"
My storm? He'd assumed, of course, that I had the power to control the weather. Like I was some kind of freak of nature.
"As if," I snorted, cocking a brow at him.
The brief movement seemed to spark a flash of lightning, followed by repeated thunder rolls. We both turned our heads at the same time, eyes trained on the murderous, blood-red moon like watching a disaster movie with three gigantinormous tornadoes spinning wildly out of control, waiting for them to touch down and wreak havoc all over the place.
The only thing missing was popcorn.
"I always knew you would live up to your name and cause chaos and destruction," Dad announced, returning his attention to me. "Although, I never counted on any of this." He sniffed with pride. But only temporarily. "You defied a direct order to destroy humans. And now, instead of allowing your power to be a celebration of your wickedness, you decided to keep your soul to do what exactly? To save lives?"
I wasn't sure if he was asking me, or telling me.
My dad may not have counted on the fact that I would fight back, but what I hadn't counted on was how much he could hurt me without even touching me. I raised both hands, placing them on either side of my head and squeezed hard to keep my brain from leaking out of my ears. Just his mere presence alone caused blistering waves of agony to flood my mind, possessing me first before attempting to swallow me whole.
That couldn't happen too many more times and be very healthy.
Satisfied that he'd successfully turned my brains to mush, he smiled bitterly. "Are you ready to end this little display of defiance, and get on with using the power entrusted to you?"
I nodded my head slowly, knowing I wasn't even close to being finished. Finished defying him, that is. My reply sounded like the tagline from a movie. "The one angel designed to destroy the world, becomes the only one who can save it."
Teeth clenched tight, his incredibly disgusting voice hissed in my ear. "It's going to be such a shame to put out your fire."
I gave him a serious eye-roll. Or attempted to anyway. "Go tickle a brick."
My dad responded by rubbing my head like he was trying to comfort a spastic puppy. I jerked away and growled at him. What he had yet to figure out is that I'm more like a hillbilly hell-hound.
"You have failed, Chaos. Your dreams of saving the world are all being shattered as we speak," Serenity chimed in, voice tight with excitement. I could tell by the energy roiling in the frigid air that she was just moments away from raising enough power to execute a simultaneous attack on mankind by unleashing her global army of undead supersoldiers. Already the putrid stench of billions upon billions of rotting corpses attempted to claw its way into my nostrils.
That's when I felt it.
My dad attempting to use the power of darkness to sever my soul. I was surprised at how little it did to squash my youthful arrogance. "I haven't failed yet, Serenity. I've just been taking my time to come up with an even better way to kill you."
She stalked around me, hand purposefully brushing my bare arm. Between my dad trying to peel me apart like an onion, and Serenity's touch...well, let's just say I fought to keep my face blank. Especially when I spied the athame lying on the opposite side of the stage. I must have succeeded because Serenity stopped right in front of me. Placing both hands on her bony hips, she purred, "I can make you do whatever I please. You'll beg to give me your immortality if it will stop the pain."
Further defying my father, I managed to stand up at last. "I seriously doubt that. I'm going to be sixteen forever. And you..." I paused, allowing my voice to fill with an extra special dose of contempt. "In a few more years you're going to be nothing but a rotting bag of bones."
She smiled at me then, eyes sparkling with humor. Motioning to my dad with a flick of her dainty wrist, he responded by turning up his power.
Waaay up.
I screamed, pulse jumping in my throat. I tried, but I couldn't breathe past it. Pain washed through me from the tip of my toes to the top of my head–clean and sharp-edged. My dad wasn't simply trying to break me. No. I could feel him siphoning energy from me like a soul eater. Sebastian may have been the Angel of Death, but he wasn't the monster who'd been attempting to draw on the power of the lost souls. My father was.
Good thing I had the forethought to release them.
As I continued to grow weaker and weaker by the second, impossibly, my dad seemed to grow that much stronger.
Serenity motioned with a wave of her hand and the torment stopped abruptly. I was still trying to drag in great lungfuls of air when I caught movement out of the corner of one eye. Squinting, I found Harry Scary cloaked in darkness and creeping up behind Serenity. Body caked in dried green ooze, face and chest dripping with fresh scarlet blood, it became obvious to me only then that the reason Harry hadn't attacked sooner was because he'd been binging on a wide assortment of dead witches like an evil all-you-can-eat buffet.
Oblivious to the approaching danger, Serenity pressed her face nearly into mine. "Do you believe I can hurt you now?"
I nodded, brain loose and rolling around in my skull.
I believed.
Visibly shaking, the urge to panic was all but taking over. I wouldn't call it fear exactly. More like the sudden adrenaline pumping through my veins made me very, very unpredictable.
Serenity stared at me and laughed, the sound high and clear. But not only that it was the annoying sound of victory. Like nails down a chalkboard. "Are you ready to admit defeat?"
I didn't bother giving her an answer. With everyone's attention sharply focused on me, I started to hum the theme song from Jaws.
Serenity titled her head to the side, exposing her long, delicate neckline. "Why are you humming?"
Capturing her by the waist, Harry Scary opened his jaws and drove a mouthful of fangs into her neck.
"Oh, I don't know..." I finally replied. There was nothing funny about the look in her eyes now as the laughter seeped out of her face. "But it sure beats the heck out of getting your throat torn out."
Serenity let out a shrill scream that hurt my ears, her obsidian eyes wide with terror as she looked to my dad for help.
His power crashed into me, voice taking on an urgent tone. "Let her go."
I staggered back from the blow, surprised at how I still managed to remain upright. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Dad dialed back on his energy, but only slightly. "You were right about something," I admitted. "I can control the elements." As if on cue, lightning rippled across the sky. What I didn't bother to mention was that I'd just figured it all out. Thomas had tried to explain it to me and, as usual, I didn't bother to pay attention. Until now. Recalling his words to me, I asked, "Have you ever heard of an Odyssey?" Dad's piercing emerald eyes blazed with understanding. "Then you also know that I'm capable of controlling the dead?" He nodded. Again, I had just figured it out. Who knew creatures created by Serenity could be used against her in order to bring about her own untimely demise?
I certainly didn't.
Focusing my attention, I used the power behind my eyes to retrieve the athame. The double-edged knife felt heavier than I expected. Coiling my fingers around the gilded silver handle, I practiced swinging it by slicing the blade back and forth through the air like a Samurai.
"Drop it," Dad warned, taking the action as a threat.
I glanced over at Serenity, waiting for him to follow my eyes. "See that necklace of teeth wrapped around her throat? If you don't call off the army of evil scourge, I'm going to tell Harry to rip her apart."
My dad hung his head, appearing sorry for the first time since I'd met him. Yeah, sorry that he was on the receiving end of my wrath.
"I can't. It's too late."
A sinister blackness descended upon the earth like a blanket of death. The sudden absence of noise that followed was punctuated by an explosion that nearly blew out my ear drums. I raised my head only to find what appeared to be a never-ending volcano pouring itself out of the moon and directly into the incandescent sky, setting it on fire.
Lord knows I didn't want to. But I finally had to admit that we were all doomed.
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Don't forget to vote if you want Serenity to DIE!!!
Gee, that doesn't make me sound like a maniac one little bit!!!!