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“I didn’t kill Eudora,” Thorne answers.
“No, your men did, which makes you responsible.”
“She’s still alive, you insufferable asshole!” I shout.
Kragen stares at me like I’ve spoken a language he’s never heard before. “Lies! If she were alive, she’d come to me.”
“How can you be this dumb? She’s the one who sent me here to kill you.”
“Lies. Shut up, bitch.”
I’ve struck a nerve and continue my attack. “She wants you dead so badly that she’s followed me through two different cities to ensure I complete the task.”
I’ve never seen Kragen so flustered. His demeanor changes, and he lowers his arms. “You’re lying.”
“She hates you so much that she pretended to die and is forcing me to kill you.” I continue my assault.
Kragen doesn’t hesitate. He moves toward me at full speed, wrapping his hands around my neck and pushing me off the porch into the water below. His hands are still tight as he holds me against the slimy bottom of the swamp.“I should’ve killed you the day I took you from that ship.”His words echo through my mind.
“You weren’t strong enough then, and you’re not strong enough now.”I reach inside, pulling the ability that started this shit show in the first place, and wrap my hands around his. Slowly, I pull his fingers away from my throat, pushing my hands between his hand and my neck.“Get the fuck off me. You don’t control me anymore.”
Slipping my arms closer to his head, I twist my body, freeing myself from his hold. I breach the surface, leaping to a cypress tree nearby. “I knew there was more to you,” Kragen says, landing on a different branch. “It only took three hundred years for you to discover it. Join me, Elsbeth. We can rule together.”
“You’re joking, right?” I can barely keep my smile at bay.
Thorne leaps from the porch, landing on the branch next to me. “In case you’re confused, asshole, Elsie won’t be joining you.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. What a shame. We could’ve been great together, my dear.”
Without warning, I leap off my tree, landing beside Kragen. “I’d rather die.”
“That can be arranged.” Kragen moves faster than I can track, wrapping an arm around my waist and lifting us into the sky above.
“Elsie!” Thorne shouts as we fly over the tops of the trees and the swamp below.
“We’re not doing this again!” I shout, rotating my body to face his.
“That’s going to be a bitch of a fall,” Kragen says moments before I free my arm from his grip.
“I’d rather recover from the fall than smell your putrid breath one more second.” Pulling my arm back, I punch his jaw hard enough to dislocate the bones and tendons holding it in place. Blood covers me, as his wound pours dark red liquid. I take advantage of thedistraction and follow the first punch with another, hitting him on the other side, completely separating the bones in his jaw.
The assault causes Kragen to loosen his grip, hurling me toward the murky water below. I’m a few hundred feet up. Kragen’s right. The impact is going to hurt like a bitch. I rotate, putting my feet toward the ground in hopes I’ll be able to land standing up. With the rate of speed I’m moving, there’s no way this is going to work.
“Elsie. Your legs will shatter,”Thorne’s words echo through my mind. He’s telling me something I already know, but I don’t have any better ideas.
Pulling my legs to my chest, I brace for landing when something grabs me from the air, moving me away from the water. Seconds later, I’m standing on the porch of the house without a clue of what happened.
“Are you okay?” Everly’s weak voice asks. She’s standing beside me with a wide smile covering her face.
“Holy shit. You can fly?”
The tiny girl shrugs. “I guess. I saw the pirate do it, so I borrowed the skill.”
“Thank y…” My words are cut short by Kragen landing beside Everly.
“Who is this lovely, talented creature?” He picks up one of her small braids in his hand, rubbing it between his fingers.
I pull her from his side. “Leave her alone.”
