Page 80 of Winter Unleashed
“Back at ya,” I said as hope filled me. Liam was at my side, Isaac was supposedly safe, and Celeste looked freaked out. Things weren’t going well, but they were looking up.
Philip had grabbed our discarded weapons before entering the house and tossed them to us as Belial moved to the head of our groups. I wasn’t sure if we’d get close enough to Celeste to use them, but the knife felt good in my hand.
The loud cracking sound of Belial’s broken magic echoed through the small area. My ears were still ringing when Celeste fell to her knees. She aimed a sickening grin at him as she rose to her feet again.
“Fuck,” I screamed in frustration at the same time that wriggling sensation hit my gut.
This time, it hit so hard I doubled over. It only lasted a few seconds before it changed to feel like tiny sparks of electricity running through my veins. I stood upright again, looking down at my hands. My skin was glowing as if lit from the inside.
“Red,” Liam said from beside me, “you feel that?” I nodded, half wondering how he knew. He smiled. “It’s time.”
It took me a moment to figure out what he was talking about. My Vinura power had finally arrived. Liam had told me it would come when I needed it the most, and he’d been right.
This time when I reached for my wolf, she responded, eager to help. Unsure of what to do, I hesitated, and she nudged me letting me know she was ready. She was the answer. She knew what to do, and trusting her, I closed my eyes. A little gasp escaped me when, for the first time, I saw my wolf. I’d only seen her in mirrors after the shift. Any other time when I reached for her, I felt her but never saw her.You’re magnificent,I told her in my mind.
Her eyes that normally matched mine glowed white, and a shimmering spindle of pure white light appeared in between us. A thin strand of it shot out toward me and without thinking, my hand reached for it. The instant I touched it, a low swooshing sound filled my ears, and the world turned silvery-white.
It was the opposite of blacking out. I was more alert and felt more alive than ever before. My senses were even more powerful than usual, and I could see things before they happened. It was a little like the slow-motion that came with my Alpha power but more intense, more focused. Everyone that mattered to me faded away, and all I saw was Celeste.
She noticed the change in me and froze. Before she’d even taken a step, I blocked her path to the front door. I felt her fear, smelled it, tasted it.
She backed away from me as far as she could in the small space. After a moment or two she seemed to regain her composure. She took a deep breath and cupped her hands one over the other like she was holding an invisible ball. A swirling black orb formed in the space between her palms, and she pushed her hands out to throw it at me.
I tilted my head as the orb floated toward me at a snail’s pace, but I somehow knew it was traveling much faster. When it was an inch from hitting me, I flicked it with my finger, and it fizzled out.
Celeste screamed and dropped to her knees again. Her body shook as fear took over, and it pleased me to no end. Joy filled me as I watched her melt into sheer terror. As I looked at her, kneeling in her kitchen, a laugh bubbled up inside me.
“You think you could have killed Artemis?” I asked as I moved toward her. “Look at you, you can’t even stand up againstme.”
“No. Stop, please,” she cried. “Don’t come any closer.”
Because I didn’t need to be near her to kill her, I stopped moving. “Do you think I’ll show you mercy? My best friend may die because of your poisonous fog.” I pinned her with eyes I instinctively knew were glowing white like my wolf’s had been. “I won’t make that mistake with you. I’llmakesureyou’re dead.”
She sputtered and threw whatever spells she could muster up. I flicked her little orbs away like they were flies. I should have just killed her, but it was entertaining to watch her make a fool of herself.
She’d started all of it. From the beginning, it was all her. It was because of her that Cybil had taken over Stella’s mind and body to make her do horrible things. I’d almost died at the hands of vampires and pixies because Celeste had sent them to terrorize me. And vampires had killed some of our shifters on her orders. It was because of her that the children had lost part of their childhoods by being locked away all day and night while being scared some creature might attack them at any moment.
All of it. All the shit that had happened over the past few months was because of Celeste. She deserved a little torment.
When she’d exhausted herself and could no longer summon up so much as a spark, she looked at me with a look of terror that was both satisfying and comical.
Without having to ask her, my wolf responded by releasing a tendril of light toward Celeste. The glowing vine slithered its way around her waist. She began to cry as she clawed at the vine, but it was unaffected.
Even with all her power there was nothing she could do to save herself, and she knew it.
“Don’t kill me. Lock me up. Use me for your benefit. I don’t understand. Why kill me when I can help you?”
I shook my head and waved my hands at her dismissively. “Because you’re a menace. You like hurting people, and I won’t tolerate that.”
“Please. I’ll do anything. Anything you want,” she begged. “You have no idea how powerful you could be if I help you.”
I clucked my tongue. “You see, Celeste, that’s where I differ from creatures like you and Cybil. My goal isn’t to be the most powerful being in the world. My only purpose is to keep those in my care safe. To keep monsters like you from hurting them.”
Tired of watching her beg, I let another tendril of light wrap around her neck and tighten until it decapitated her. As her head and body fell to the floor, my energy waned. The white light grew dim as my legs weakened.
“Uh, help,” I grunted as I fell.
Before I hit the ground, Liam caught me in his arms. He looked down at me with a mix of pride and lust.