Louisa's POV
The smirk on Derek's face was gone and replaced by ferocious malice.
"Let me correct you, Miss Louisa Reeds. Nobody is supposed to be dead. We were born into this world to live our lives and hug our beloved ones, not to destroy and manipulate other people's lives."
He looked exasperated for a brief moment, but then he regained his cool.
"I used to serve Lucas when I was young and vulnerable. He's such a hypocrite and he used my innocence and love for him to take control of me. He came into my life without notice. When he was gone, he took everything away from me, including my life... and he told me it was for my own good! He locked me up in a cave and let those monsters torture me to death! And is this for my own good?!" Derek pulled off his shirt and let me see his naked chest. I could see there was a hole in his left chest.
The place where his heart used to be.
I was horrified and stepped backward.
At that time, I realized that the person in front of me was nothing but a walking corpse.
There was no life or soul in the remains of his crust.
The only thing left was hatred and revenge.
What's he going to do? I thought to myself.
Derek started to laugh hysterically. He curled up and covered his face with both of his hands.
His messy fringe hair covered his eyes as he looked up at me.
"Miss Louisa Reeds," he licked the blood on the tips of his fingers and said, "Are you ready for your death?"
Before he finished his sentence, I could see sharp icicles flying towards us.
Darren told me that his brother was able to control the element of water.
Now he was attacking us with piercing sharp icicles!
I didn't even think twice.
I pulled Alex behind my back and turned back, using my body as a shield to cover all my friends.
As icicles stabbed into my back one after another, I felt excruciating pain.
"No!!! Miss!!!"
"No!!!"
I heard Mana and Mata's scream.
"Don't move!" I shouted and I felt that my throat was filled with blood. "Stay behind put and don't move!"
More icicles were stabbing into my back.
I heard Derek's sarcastic voice -
"I'm sorry, Miss Louisa Reeds. There's nothing personal. Lucas took away the most precious thing in my life, and that's why I'm taking away his."
"Don't... hurt... my friends!" I shouted and spat some blood on the floor.
"Dickhead! Do something! She'll be dead if those icicles keep stabbing her!" Mata shouted.
"I know! But what am I going to do?!" Mana shouted. "I can't hypnotize him! He's a warlock!"
"The lighter!" Mata shouted.
"Yes! Lighter!" Mana shouted and took the lighter from his pocket.
As soon as he pressed a button, a huge dragon of fire popped up in the air.
Mana jumped out and waved the dragon of fire to burn down all the icicles.
Suddenly, the shower of icicles stopped.
Mata jumped towards Mana and said, "Well done, dickhead! You've made it!"
"Potty mouth..." I heard Mana's trembling voice.
I turned back and saw Mana falling to the ground.
I screamed and lifted him up and saw an icicle stabbed into his chest.
"No, no, no... No!!!" I cried out. "Mana! Stay with me!"
I screamed and tried to pull the icicle from his chest.
Mana held my hand with both of his webbed hands and said, "Miss, don't... If you take it out, I won't be able to say anything..."
My tears were pouring down with blood. I shook my head and said, "No, Mana, listen to me. I'll take you back to the camp and Jafar will find a way to treat you. I need you to stay with me, Mana. I'll take you back...I'll..."
"Miss..." Mana lifted his arm to wipe the tears from my face. "You're so kind to me and my brother... I have never got another friend other than my brother in my life... Please take care of him... He's smarter than I am, but he can't take care of himself... And I can't take care of him anymore..."
"Brother! Please don't leave me! We'll go fishing together! We'll get a boat and..." Mata couldn't speak because he was choked by his own tears.
"It's good to have you be my brother and best friend in my life, potty mouth..." Mana stretched out his arm towards his brother and Mata caught his hand.
Then, Mana turned his head towards me and said, "Thank you for making such a nice cloak for me, Miss... It feels good to be heard... by a friend..."
Mana's hand fell down and he closed his eyes.
His body slowly turned rigid in my arms, but I just couldn't let go of him.
For a brief moment, I couldn't hear anything.
It felt as if the whole world turned silent and I became completely deaf.
Then, I heard it.
I heard my own scream. The screech was so sharp and torn that I couldn't even recognize it was coming from the bottom of my heart.
I put Mana's dead body on the floor and struggled to stand up.
The icicles on my back fell down on the floor and broke into shards.
Alex looked at me with horror and shouted, "Louisa, you're... You're on fire!"
I lowered my head and saw that my whole body was covered by translucent blue and purple fire.
"You..." I stared at Derek, who was looking at me with thrill and excitement in his eyes. "You're a murderer!"
Derek laughed hysterically and shouted, "Yes, let it burn! Louisa! Let the fire of vengeance burn and destroy everything! Like the fire coming from the sky thousands of years ago! The fire that created Radagast Plain! The fire that killed the first Lycan King! This kingdom was started by a fire and now it's ended by another! Let the fire destroy everything! Let our revenge begin! Let the parasites die for their crime!"
His voice was floating in the air, like the chanting from the priest. It became louder and louder until every single margin in my mind was filled with his echoing voice. It kept pressing on my nerves and invading my thoughts until I couldn't hear or think of anything.
Until there was nothing but revenge.
Just when I was about to explode, I suddenly heard a faint voice in my mind -
"You always have a choice."
"Choose love and forgiveness, not hatred and revenge."