Twilight Siege

26

“Then tell me what you want.” My voice rose to nearly a shout in frustration. “You know what I wanted. I wanted you to pick me,” Ronan snarled at me, spittle flying from his mouth. “You said there were no sides, but that’s wrong. There’s always been sides and you chose wrong.” He was deranged, and he was furious with me. “I get that you’re upset with me, so take me, but leave her out of this. She has nothing to do with us.” Despite a slight crack in my voice, I managed to sound firm and controlled. My heart was pounding at the confines of my rib cage and adrenaline had primed my body to fight but I desperately hoped it didn’t come to that. “I don’t want you, been there, done that. Now I want the necklace—you come take her place, hand over the necklace, and we’ll talk about letter her go.” His eyes sparked with insanity and he no longer attempted to tame his curls, which now scattered in all directions and added to his look of madness. “I can’t simply take off the necklace, it’s spelled onto me,” I calmly explained, hoping if I could keep our exchange from becoming emotional, Ash and I both stood a better chance. Unfortunately my words had the opposite effect as he screamed, “Bullshit! You had it off before, take it off now before I kill her.” He squeezed Ashley’s good arm, making her cry out in pain and blood began to drip down her neck where the blade had pierced her skin. “I’m so sorry Ashley,” I whispered as a tear ran down my cheek. Seeing her panting for air, her body bloody and broken, tore a sob from my chest as frustration eroded my composure. “Please, leave her out of this! I’ll try to take it off, just give me a second and I’ll try.” I closed my eyes and raised my shaking hands to the back of my neck. I worked at the clasp and begged it to open but there was no heat or power like there had been the last time when I managed to open the clasp. If I couldn’t get the necklace off or find a way to stop him, Ronan was going to kill Ashley. More sobs ripped from me and my chest heaved up and down as I tried over and over. “Please,” I whispered. “I can’t get it off, please don’t hurt her.” I was terrified and desperate with no idea how to use my powers against him. The only form of attack I had used previously was pushing darkness into the Red Cap and I had done that inadvertently. If I could repeat the trick, maybe I could get us out of there alive, but it would require me to get close enough to touch him. A spark of hope flared to life in my chest as I dropped my hands. “Maybe you can get it off, use your magic. I don’t know how to do it.” I turned my back to him and lifted my hair to reveal my neck. I hoped that the vulnerable position I had offered would set him at ease and minimize his suspicions. He yelled out in frustration and when I whipped around in surprise I watched in horror as he took the hand holding the knife and slammed it into Ashley’s temple. The impact made a sickening crunch before her body fell limply to the ground. I cried out and made to lunge for Ashley but Ronan yelled for me to stay where I was and turn back around. Too stunned and horrified to argue with him, I slowly turned back around. Ashley had just been knocked out, that was all, she’ll be okay. Hopefully that would keep her out of further danger. I tried to reassure myself as I listened to his footsteps draw closer. It wasn’t easy to remain still as he walked toward me, but I reminded myself that letting him near me was the only way I knew how to stop him. Ashley desperately needed my help and it was my fault to begin with that she was in this situation. As he approached I could smell the same cologne he had worn the night he tricked me into having s*x with him and my stomach instantly seized up with disgust, causing me to dry heave. To help hide the movement, I raised my arms and lifted the hair from my neck. His hands softly touched my arms and slowly slid in toward my shoulders and finally to my neck. Flashes from that night assaulted me and my tears returned as I sobbed uncontrollably. I tried desperately to gather my wits and calm myself down but the intensity of the situation had me running on pure emotion. “Quiet, I can’t very well do this with you shaking all over the place.” He chided softly in my ear. Knowing he couldn’t see me, I cringed from his nearness and at the sheer insanity emanating off this man that I thought I had known. He may have been hoping to calm me down, but his words were just what I needed to rekindle my anger. What an asshole! This whole situation was his fault—he attacked us, he was the crazy one, and he wanted me to calm down so it would be easier for him? Oh, hell no. I took in several deep breaths and attempted to quiet my shaking body. He grunted with frustration behind me as he worked at the clasp, entirely focused on his task. I could do this, I had to do it. I had no doubt he would kill me if I didn’t kill him first. I spun around with lightning speed I hadn’t known I possessed and slapped both of my hands onto his face. For a split second he stood stunned, his brown eyes looked startled into an innocence that hinted at the sweet boy-next-door I had initially believed him to be. Almost immediately the telltale tendrils of darkness extended under his skin before he screamed out in pain and flung me with his magic. My back slammed into the brick wall and instantly my arms and legs were immobilized with invisible bindings into a prone position. He bent over gasping for breath, holding his face where the black veins were still visible but slowly fading. “f*****g b***h! You have no idea who you’re up against. Morgan of the Lake has been plotting her uprising for centuries—do you really think she’s going to let Merlin and a pathetic human get in her way? The necklace may be spelled to stay on you, but once your head is removed it should come off quite nicely," he spat viciously at me. As his breathing calmed and he stood tall, his eyes were drawn to my purse that had been dropped on the wet pavers. Ronan turned over the carry-all purse, scattering the multitude of contents across the ground. He paused, head tilting to the side, and terror ran through me. Innocuously piled with my hair brush, gum and lipstick was the black blade that Lochlan had given me. Ronan gently picked up the knife and as he turned in my direction his lips widened into a sickening grin. “This will do nicely, he’s nothing if not predictable. Lochlan ever tell you that I was the one who gave him that pretty scar on his eyebrow? I’ve always had an affinity for a good blade and thinking of him finding you sliced open with his own blade…I think I’m getting a hard-on.” “Was any of this ever about me, or has it always just been about Lochlan?” I asked, hoping to give myself time to come up with a way out of that alley. His words and my vulnerable position terrified me, but every time I started to panic I reminded myself that crying and begging wasn’t going to help me.