cloaked hearts↝ᵇˡᵃᶜᵏᵗᵃⁿ

07

I'll tell you how I lost my mind

•

𝐑 • 𝐏

"This time, that child won't be able to save you..." she smirks and drops Jennie to the ground. She falls, clutching to her throat and coughing. Something cracks inside me. A sense of realization.

No one gets away with hurting my sister.

Magic waits at my fingertips, wanting to be set free to devour Lucy. I don't let it. Instead, I bring out something else; something so, so much worse.

My eyes slide closed as I focus, so that my mind can reach out, feeling for the fire it craves to touch. When I push at it, it doesn't disappear, and it moves within me, from my eyes to the tips of my fingers. I feel the heat of the flames running up and down my body, setting every nerve on fire - it feels good. I look at my hands, marveling at the fire as it glides over me. It had been long ago since I last unleashed myself, so long since I felt this familiarity.

To my left, Jimin gasps aloud.

"Ah, there she is, at least a worthy opponent. This one was quite sloppy." She gestures to Jennie as she gets up. "I'll show you sloppy-" One minute she's pulling her knives out, the next, Lucy lies on the ground, Jennie's heel on her throat. Her face shows the amount of pressure she's putting on the boot.

A laugh leaves the daemon's mouth as she turns to nothing but smoke, disappearing from under Jennie and forming something horrifying. The creature rises, its black stone's body cutting, forming through the shadows and smoke.

Panicking not for myself but for the poor soul that was witnessing such a thing beside me, I look at Jimin. He stands still, not moving a muscle as the horror uncoils to its full height. But he doesn't look away, he doesn't cover his eyes, and starts praying as I did when I first saw such a thing. Instead, he stares at it with nothing more than a hint of disgust hidden within the fear.

I turn my head back to Lucy; she is no longer in the body of a girl, a monstrosity now, hideous in every way. Yeah, well your mother fell in love with one.

I realize this will be harder than usual. Usually daemons attack aimlessly. But not Lucy, one of the greatest and most powerful daemons alive. She waits for me to strike first, done with Jennie as shadows already start curling around my sister's figure. They take hold of her as the creature laughs. Only the two of us.

But my slow grin is nothing short of lethal.

She steps forward, an invitation to dance. I quickly cast a stronger charm on Jimin and move towards her, slowly.

I give no warning as I attack, feinting right and aiming low. But she dodges me with brutal efficiency, deflecting and positioning to the offensive, and that was all that I manage to see before I bring up my fiery fists on pure instinct.

Her being in her original form is at my disadvantage, my fire will barely hurt her. I thank my mother, as her words come to mind. If one skill does not work, you use the other.

Bracing myself against the force of her blow was a bad idea and had my side bleating in pain. I grunt in frustration; I wasn't fighting a wild animal, but a trained warrior. And most of the time, the warrior killed the animal.

An idea forms in my head as I steal a glance at the vampire. I go to sweep its legs out, but she stomps hard enough on my arm, I think it will snap in two. I twist, lunging to bring my working arm straight into her face. She falls back, trying to rub the fire off her face. Lucy doesn't see the second blow coming to her legs. The next second she is blinking at the sky. I snarled down at her, the nails of my first two fingers pressed in her throat to cut while the other hand pushed against her abdomen, ready to spill her inner organs.