Burning Hope

Chapter 19: Don't Be Afraid of Your Own Shadow, Just Someone Else's

I went back to my dorm and set my alarm clock for the next day. It had been an interesting Thursday; I had received a written death threat that was in my own notebook, had been insulted by a superstar, learned of a tormented girl who can only help her crush by making her think she hates her, and gotten battle advice from a tree. I silently wondered what the next day would hold. I grimaced once I realized I had to train with Talia. She'd probably put me on some top-secret ex-Soviet training regiment while screaming at me to do better for the glory of Mother Russia. Great. Just what I needed on a Friday.

I groaned and flopped onto my bed. Hazu came into the room shortly after. She paced around the room for a little bit, talking to the plants in a hushed voice. I smiled: she was adorable. If I wasn't straight, I'd definitely date someone like her. Even the fact that she was possessed by a demon made you want to protect her. She was small, timid and cute. What more could anyone want in a girl? Suddenly, she just stopped. No talking, no moving, no nothing. Concerned, I walked over and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hazu? You okay?" No response. I began to panic. What should I do? I walked around to her front and started shaking her. "Hazu! What's going on? How can I help?"

Hazu's eyes slightly opened, then closed for a little bit, then suddenly snapped open. "It would be fantastic if you stopped trying to get with my man, slime."

I narrowed my eyes. "What? What does that mean?" She laughed once more, and not in that adorable little giggle I was used to hearing from her, it was...unstable...deranged.

"You know, I really expect an apology from you, thief. I really thought that you were telling the truth when you said you weren't interested in my man."

I was now sure that Hazu was currently taken over by Kage. How could I help her? What had Jian done the last time that Hazu went psychopathic killer on me? Oh yeah! He'd given her a pill. Yesterday morning, I had seen Hazu taking some of those capsules, and then putting the bottle in her drawer. All I had to do was get to the drawer, find the capsules, then give them to Hazu. And in order to do that, I had to stall Kage as long as possible.

"Hazu, I didn't steal your boyfriend." I said in a calm voice, throwing a bit of false innocence in there as well. "Why would you even say that to me? I thought we were friends."

Hazu's face contorted into a sadistic smile, the room filling with the scent of rotting flesh once more. "'Friends don't bold face lie to one another. Don't play innocent with me, Prince Scarlett Seraphina Rosetta Drakani Nilakanta Liora Kaida of Sciana. Stay away from my Great Diplomat, Lucian. He. Is. MINE!"

I slowly began to make my way towards the dresser. "Me and Luc aren't a thing." That physically hurt me to say. "Hazu, if you want Luc, by all means, take him." Ouch. "I don't want anything to do with him." I felt like I had just been shot six times.

"LIAR!" Hazu shrieked, tugging violently on the ends of her hair. "I can see the way you look at him! I can see the way you talk to him! I can see how comfortable you are with him! I can see the way he looks at you like every little thing you do is the most adorable thing on the entire freaking Earth! It. Is. Not! I AM!" She leaped towards me, which made it easier to move towards the dresser. "Luc and I are meant to be together! Not, you! ME! I am his one true love! Luc, is MINE!" She continued screaming. Honestly, why did so many people want to date my boyfriend, again?

Hazu pulled a butcher's knife from her boot—how exactly, she managed to fit it in there without someone noticing? I have no Idea—and she swung it at me as fast as she could, in which I dodged it somewhat easily. I felt my hands get really hot, so I held them up in defense, and as the knife touched my hand, it melted into a pile of silvery goop on the floor. Hazu looked down in surprise, giving me the slight advantage.