Page 6 of One Bad Knight

My teeth clenched so hard, I was sure they would crack. I thrust my sword through the heart of the woman though it felt like I was running myself through.

Instantly, the red lights in her eyes were extinguished, and her body sagged.

The screams behind me turned frantic. The two kids had just watched me murder their mother in front of their eyes.

The woman’s mouth slowly shrank back down to its normal size. Black mist spewed from her mouth like vomit before shooting up through the roof and disappearing. The demon got away.

Brown eyes blinked at me, tears filling them, as blood dribbled out the corner of the woman’s mouth.

“My babies,” she rasped. And then she was gone.

The crying and screams behind me only increased in intensity.

Darkness swallowed my heart and chewed on it with a thousand fangs.

This is what you are for, Gatsby. You bring death and destruction.

Blue and red lights swam in through the bedroom window. Someone had seen me arrive after all. They likely saw me let myself into the house and called the cops.

I gently laid the woman down and stood. I couldn’t bring myself to meet the eyes of her children. So, I left them there, tied up and gagged, with their dead mother’s body on the floor.

Disgust coated my throat.

Someone else, someone better, would help them.

I didn’t help. I destroyed.

Slipping out the back, I thought of how I’d have to steal another motorcycle now. It was too far to walk back to her house, and bikes made it easy to slip in and out of places without people noticing or being able to follow.

And if I’d make sure of one thing, it was that I remained alone, and under the radar. I’d lived my entire life enslaved to a cause that wasn’t my own. I wouldn’t give up my freedom or independence for anyone. Not ever again.

Even if I deserved to burn in hell for what I’d just done here.

And I’d no doubt, hell would catch up to me sooner or later.

3

Kat

“Give me two minutes,” I said, scratching Bear’s ears. My dog’s nails tapped across the floor, sticking to my side, though he knew he wasn’t allowed in certain parts of the house. My massive chocolate brown Newfoundland had earned his namesake on sight. He might be nearly as big as a bear, but he was as cuddly as an oversized teddy.

Bear paused at the doorway, knowing he wasn’t allowed in the dining room when there was food. I gave him a scratch behind the ears before he trotted off in search of his own kibble.

“I'm afraid I have to skip breakfast this morning,” I said even as I strode into the dining room.

My uncle and two cousins were seated at one end of the long table. They never failed to be dressed in their suits by 7:00 a.m. Gabe didn’t bother to look up from his tablet, no doubt reading theWall Street Journal. His older brother Dave was on a call with someone and using his stern “business” voice.

Hot coffee, scrambled eggs, bacon and fresh croissants were laid out across the white table cloth. The current chef had made plenty more, and it sat in covered dishes on a credenza off to the side. But I just grabbed an apple from the wire cage of fruit. I had a fire in me right now, and I needed to get it on canvas before I lost it.

“Katherine, we need to talk,” my Uncle John said, pointing at the seat next to Gabe. “You’ve put it off enough, and the painting can wait.”

I rolled the apple in my hand, trying to think of an excuse to avoid the talk, but he pinned me with a look that said there was no getting out of it this time.

I dropped into the seat next to Gabe and set down my bag. Since I was staying, I reached over and poured myself some French press from the silver coffee pot.

“I feel like you spend more time at that little studio than at home these days,” my uncle said, trying to not let his judgement filter in through his words and failing miserably.

I smoothed a hand over my hair. I hadn’t stopped to shower after waking up in a mood I couldn’t describe, but wanted to discover in color. My looks didn’t just contrast my family’s, they completely clashed with them.