Page 107 of All Your Bloody Lies

“Good girl…” I pant, my hands shaky as I bring them to her arm. “Stop now, that’s enough.” She groans and the pop of her fangs releasing me accompanies her arms letting go of me. “Don’t touch me,” I promptly interject, just in case she gets any stupid ideas.

Surprisingly, she moves down to her knees behind me.

“Well, fuck,” she whispers.

“Yeah,” I say softly.

“I see why your kind is hunted and sent to the Beyond—Why you are a dwindling species,” she remarks, her tone not angered, butmore as though she understands her predicament. “Dangerous. Your file said you couldn’t do that unless your blood was in our system.”

Of course I have a file.I run my fingers up and through my hair, which is impossible to do, it’s so tangled. Not sure why, but that pisses me off more than I already am.

“I’ve never done that before,” I confess, releasing a sigh. I’m so Gods damn tired. Maybe I should have been more careful with how much she took from me because I feel pretty faint. No matter, I’ve gained a weapon. “Molly, I need you to help me get up.”

I reach up and feel her take hold of my forearm and begin to drag me to my feet. “You drank a lot…”

“Yeah, I did it on purpose,” she confirms. I’m agitated, it wasn’t something I needed clarification on. I already knew she had. “I was dead the moment I bit into you; I figured I’d solidify your fate all the same.”

When I am upright, I pull myself away from her and stumble forward. My arms are no longer black, and I can see how badly I am shaking.

“Daigo is coming,” she says while stepping away from me.

My rage is about to consume me. I was careless, fuck, I should have demanded her to drink only a small amount. I need her to fight for me, but I’m so angry at both her and myself.

I raise my hand toward her.

No, don’t, stop, stop—wait!I can only take so much. I have no idea what I’m doing. Why am I lost in my fury?

“If you command me to fight Daigo, I will hold back, just kill me,” she says, arms wide. “I don’t fear death.” She is so calm, it only infuriates me more.

My hand begins to close, all the blood in her head beginning to pull toward the center. The immediate shriek that emanates from her makes me release a soft laugh.

I am slowly crushing her skull from the inside. Unlike Mathas, who I’d destroyed in seconds, I want her to suffer. That, and I want Daigo, who is coming up the slight hill, to see her go.

“I don’t fear death either,” I seethe. “He fears me. It’s why I can’t die.” The moment the final word comes from my mouth, I crush her skull and pull all the blood from her eyes. Then, just as I hear Daigo beginning to rush toward me and scream, “NO,” her head is in pieces.

I’m so Gods damn tired.

My vision blurs, and I stumble, but as his feet get closer to me, I know I have to keep going. I pull every drop of my blood from Molly I can and throw it at Daigo.

I watch as his skin shifts, and the sharpened points of my blood ricochet off his scales. “I told you,” his wrath spills from his teeth as he charges. “I am your kind’s worst fucking nightmare!”

Molly must have meant something more than just an employee to him. The anger he is emanating tells me that is the case.

With a deep breath, I swing my fist at him as he comes close enough to make contact. The punch to my side is nothing, but the stab against my thigh is painful. I quickly look to see that fucking tail of his stabbing right through me.

“Hope this suffering was worth fighting.” He raises his hand, and I try to move, but the leg with his tail through it is useless. The swipe of his claws makes me scream.

His foot connects with my stomach, and I tumble backward. My hand lands awkwardly, and I feel it snap upon impact. The tail that is slowly making its way further through my muscle makes me tremble.

No, no, no—I can’t go back!

I hiss through my teeth, “What I wouldn’t give to fucking—” I let out a loud cry as he removes his coarse tail and drags it across my stomach. It tears at my skin, and I push it away, or at least attempt to. “—cut that tail off and cook it!”

He smiles down at me.

Think, think, think…

“I’m just going to take your heart out over and over again until they come to get you.”