Kacie
My father’s breathing is haggard and strained beneath me. At my words he roars angrily. He’s weak, useless below me, unable to get away. When I straighten my back, lift myself up, and stare down at him. I take a moment to look over the expression of fear and regret in his eyes. I don’t bother with emotion because right now, I feel nothing. There’s only a high, a haze of bliss from his acceptance. It’s settled over me as I hover over him. The power of taking what I want, getting the revenge I sent out for. I’m hurting him, torturing him, killing him. I focus on this as he stares up at me.
“All of this will do nothing. You may have killed my friends and you may have won the fight between you and I, but there’s one you haven’t and can’t win. You can’t win against death,” Charles chokes.
I don’t want to hear anymore. I don’t want to hear the truth drip from his lips like poisoned honey. I won’t let him win and I won’t let his words get to me. I won’t change my mind and I won’t hear another word. I’ve heard enough. I yank my hands out from his flesh and reach forward with both hands. I wrap them around his neck, his skin burns and he screams.
Finally.
I release him, but only for a second before I reach for his face. Both of my hands cup his cheek and the flames come alive with the need to steal his last breaths. They flames spread from my hands as his eyes widen. They make their way up his untouched cheeks, they burn and consume like only fire can. His mouth widens before his lips curl and the rest of his face gives in to the flames as they take what he has left to give. His eyes find mine before his body is enveloped with flames.
I hover over him, holding him still and watching as his face cooks until it burns. The lumps that were once his hands slam against me, but do nothing. They bounce off of me easily. He makes a gagging sound and his eyes roll into the back of his head until the flames consume those too. I watch him, taking his pain, and not looking away for a single second. I stay on top of him and take, take, take. I watch him until his chest rises and falls for the last time.
He’s gone.
The smell of burning flesh filled the air. I should have been happy now but I wasn’t. He was still gone. I hear footsteps behind me but don’t turn to look. I stare down at the man who brought me into the world, or what’s left of him. It is done. Vengeance is mine. I took my revenge, but it does nothing to keep the sadness at bay. Now that I’ve ridden my home of the threat, there’s nothing left but for me to look at the loss. I can’t ignore his words that ring in my ears. I throw my head back and scream, cry, mourn and the flames double in size and surround me. I close my eyes and submit myself to the promise of erasing everything, burning everything.
I want that, don’t I?
Why wouldn’t I?
“Kacie.”
Nyx’s voice calls me calmly. My hands drop from the body beneath me. I turned and look up at her. She stands above me, completely untouched. Her milky eyes are kind as they stare at me. She offers me her outstretched hand and I look at it for a moment before looking back up at her. She nods her head and I look down at my hands. I need to call the flames back now but I’m worried I’ll fall apart if I do. I’ve gotten what I wanted and now… now I can stop. I can stop everything now.
“You need to call it back now Kacie,” Nyx said gently. “If you don’t you’ll be lost.”
I turn back to her and stare up at light blue eyes. I don’t want to be lost but I know I don’t want to face what I’ve lost. I don’t want to feel the crippling emotions that’ll rush in and crush me beneath its weight. The flames crackle around me and promise to eat everything. They swear to rid the world of it all and I want to do that. I want to keep burning until I can’t anymore. I want to consume everything around me until the world is dead at my feet.
“Now Kacie,” a voice said.
The voice cuts through my thoughts and I turn to find it. I’m trying to remember who this voice belongs to. I turn and my gaze locks on a woman. She’s familiar and something tells me she should irritate me, but the flames lick at my ears and I start to turn away from her.
“No, you don’t get to do that!” She screams. “You don’t get to forget everything, you don’t get to abandon those who’d never abandon you. You don’t get to take everything from me just to throw it away when it gets to painful to bear,” she angrily hiccups.
My focus is back on her and I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face. Tears stream down my cheeks and I swipe at it causing it to dry up. Clara. She’s on her knees in front of me now. Someone walks away from chains behind her and toward us.
“My love,” he whispers.
My heart splinters and I feel as if I’ve been wounded. I grip at my chest in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but when I drop my chin to look at my hands there’s nothing. It hurts. I lift my chin to look at him as he drops to his knees in front of me. He reaches out for me but I inch backward. I don’t want to hurt him.