Alyssa
I grunt as my combat boots land unceremoniously on the gravel on the side of the lake. I swivel my head to take in the one hundred and thirty-seven cult members scattered along the edge of the water, all still and breathless. A smirk breaks on my face as I kick the nearest lifeless body, and it turns to ashes. One hundred and thirty-six cult members now.
A chuckle escapes my lips as I watch Blakely shoot me a death glare.
“Don’t kick another one, you brat; our orders were clear - leave the bodies for the authorities to clean up.” She tosses her brown hair over her shoulder as she saunters close to the shoreline.
“What fun is that? I just wanted to leave a message for the useless cunts that we stepped in where they couldn’t get their shit together.” I follow her to the coastline and crouch next to her, grabbing a stone and skipping it across the water.
“As much as I wanted to see you incinerate the entire place, the council were clear that we were to eradicate the members and leave a message.”
“I think the message is pretty clear,” I glance over my shoulder before picking up another stone before she grips my wrist to stop me from tossing it in the water.
“Stop with the fucking rocks, you idiot, you’re off your game today. Want to talk about it?” Blakely watches me expectantly as I drop the rock and stand up straight next to her.
“Nah, nothing to talk about apart from how much of a badas you were today.” I shoot her a shit-eating grin and wink as I turn and stretch my back. “You should have seen the way you just about skewered the five on the tree over there.” I nod my head in the direction where her spear is threaded through the mid-sections of five cult members lodged into a tree.
She scrunches her nose up at the sight of her spear. “That’s going to be such a cunt to clean.” She grumbles as she stomps over and dislodges the spear, the men’s guts splattering across her torso as she inspects the damage to her spear.
Does she need to clean it? No, considering we’re about to head to the next location that the council sent across to kill some more of the low-life scum. Is she still going to clean it? Absolutely, because the bitch has weird tendencies to keep her spear squeaky clean. I roll my eyes as she pulls out her cloth and starts to wipe at the stem.
I turn away from her and stare out at the water of the lake. My pale skin begins to itch as the inscriptions covering my skin begin to burn. I groan as I look down, noticing the main ones on my arms have begun to glow red. I tug my sleeves down to hide it from Blakely. She knows they exist, but apart from that, she doesn’t know what they mean. A sick reminder to me from father dearest of my humanity… or lack thereof.
I lean against the nearest tree and cross my arms as I take in our surroundings, feeling the familiar presence I’ve felt for weeks now. I scan the treeline on the opposite side of the lake before closing my eyes to scan for heat signatures. Nothing. It’s like whatever has been following us knows to stay just out of distance for me to not be able to locate them, but close enough to watch. I growl under my breath and kick the tree before storming into the lodge next to the lake to search for the artefact that the cult members were harbouring.
The log cabin is in disarray on the inside; the couches have been shoved onto their sides, the coffee table splintered through the middle, and all the kitchen cabinets have been thrown open. My eyes fall to the single person still groaning on the floor, and I grin wickedly at them.
“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” I crouch next to the man who looks to be in their fifties, with slightly greying hair and worry lines etched into his skin. I run a fingernail down his arm, leaving a gash in his skin that makes him release a blood-curdling scream. His blood runs down his arm slowly, the warm liquid flowing over my hand.
“P-please. Have mercy. I know what you are.” The man pants, his eyes wide, and the smell of piss fills my nostrils. Fucking gross.
“If you know what I am, then you know why I’m here. I will not be leaving without it. So tell me, dear one. Where. Is. it?” I growl at him, shoving a finger into the fresh gash on his arm.
“Y-you won’t f-find it here. You w-won’t find it e-ever,” he spits.
“See, that is where you’re wrong. I wouldn’t be eradicating your entire organisation if you weren’t harbouring the artefact. So, let me ask again. Where is it?” I dig my finger into the gash further, my nail piercing into his bicep muscle. He screams as his eyes screw shut. I hear footsteps come into the lodge and feel Blakely stand beside me. I glance up at her to see her tilting her head in confusion at what I’m doing.
“What?” I ask her.
“It’s not here. I can’t feel it’s presence.”
“Oh, I know, I’m just having fun,” I smirk at her before I feel the heat surface at my fingertips, and his body goes up in flames. I grab Blakely by the top of her arm and hurl her out of the lodge before the entire thing goes up in flames.
As we stumble out of the lodge, she stops short, and I run into her back like it’s a wall.
“What the fuck, Blakely?” I grumble before looking up and seeing her staring at the god-like man standing in front of us, his dishevelled brown hair flopping over his forehead, his grey eyes searing into us with a slight orange hue from the fire blazing behind us.
“Who the fuck are you?” I growl at him.
