Chapter 85 Eighty Five
DANIKA
The car door barely makes a sound when I ease it open. I slide out slowly, the bat clutched tight in my grip. The night air bites at my skin, sending a shiver through me. Gosh, it's freezing.
I move slowly, my heartbeat thundering so loudly in my ears I'm convinced the vampires can hear it. I keep to the shadows, skirting the edge of the warehouse. Cautiously, I slip past broken crates and rusted barrels until I reach the side entrance. Once I'm there, a frown creases my brows. It's weird how not a single vampire noticed my movements. Should I be worried or not?
The metal door is cracked open just enough to let voices spill out.
"You were never very bright when it came to me, Kaziel," Vanya purrs. "For someone so powerful, you always had such a... fragile heart."
My fingers tighten around the bat.
"I loved that about you," she continues. "It was always so easy to sway your heart. It was really cute how you mistook my ambition for devotion. Dating you was never about love, darling. It was about preparation."
My stomach churns.
"I was grooming you," Vanya says. "Studying your body, your core, and your weaknesses. Honestly, there's no greater candidate for the sacrifice."
Kaziel exhales.
"Wow," he drawls. "All that drama just to create a puppet of your own. You might as well get yourself a fucking robot."
I bite down hard on my lip to keep from bursting into laughter.
Vanya snarls. "You were always meant for this. Your body. Your power. All of it. I've been planning to use you long before—"
"You should've planned for one thing," Kaziel cuts her off.
"And what's that?" she hisses.
"The possibility of the hell awaiting you if I ever discovered the truth."
Oh, I love him.
"You still talk back," Vanya growls. "We'll see if you can keep that smart mouth when you're nothing but a walking dead."
"If you're hoping to activate the sigil," Kaziel says calmly, "don't bother."
For a moment, there's only silence. My breath catches in my throat.
"...What?" Vanya whispers.
"It's gone," he continues, unhurriedly. "The core sigil has been erased."
I can feel her disbelief from here.
"That's impossible," she snaps. "You're lying."
"I'm really not."
"How?" Her voice cracks, her fury bleeding into panic. "That sigil was ancient. It was bound to your core. You can't just—"
That's my cue.
I straighten, a slow smile spreading across my face as I step forward and push the door open fully. The bat drags behind me as I walk in, the metal scraping loudly against concrete.
Scrrrrch.
Every head turns. I sashay in, my hips swaying, chin lifted. The moonlight pours through the broken windows, illuminating the creepy-looking pentagrams and red candles.
"Hi," I say sweetly. "Miss me?"
Vanya spins towards me, her red eyes wild with both rage and shock. "You—"
I stop a few feet from Kaziel, planting the bat upright beside me and resting my hand casually on top of it.
"Oh," I add, tilting my head. "And just in case you're wondering how..."
I glance at Kaziel, who's watching me like I just descended from the heavens. Pride flashes in his eyes from where he's kneeling, his hands tied behind him.
"...turns out," I finish, smiling at Vanya, "you shouldn't underestimate the woman who's truly in love with him."
Her scream of rage rattles the warehouse.
"You bitch!"
I lift the bat, patting it on my palm. "Looks like the ass whooping I gave you the last time just didn't teach you a lesson. Let's fix that now, shall we?"
Kaziel smirks, tearing off his restraints like they're made of paper. The vampires instantly come at me, and in a blink of an eye, they're all gone. Only a pile of steaming ashes remains. The girl from earlier squirms from her position on the floor. She'd been gagged and tied up.
Just as I attempt to move towards her, Vanya's eyes snap to me, madness flashing on her face.
"You," she hisses.
I barely have time to shift my weight before she lunges.
A ripple of energy washes towards us in waves, the temperature dropping.
"You will not fight back," Kaziel's voice rumbles over the warehouse as though there are five of him speaking.
The words smack Vanya with crushing force. She freezes mid-stride, her muscles locking. Her body trembles as she tries to fight his command.
"Don't," Kaziel says calmly, moving to stand beside me. His eyes glow molten gold. "You will not touch her."
Vanya's lips peel back, rage burning through her gaze as she's forced to remain still.
My fingers tighten around the bat.
"Oh," I say softly, taking a step forward. "Good. I was hoping you'd stay put."
I swing.
The bat cracks against her ribs with a sickening thud, knocking the breath clean out of her.
"That's for tormenting my man," I snarl.
She screams as I hit her again, harder this time, sending her stumbling back.
"That's for thinking you could turn him into a fucking doll."
Another hit. Her knee buckles.
"And that—" I grunt, swinging again as she collapses to the floor, "—is for being a lying, murderous bitch."
She curls in on herself, a cry tearing from her throat.
I don't stop.
Each strike is fuelled by everything she's done. Every scar she left on Kaziel. Every body she stacked. Every fucking lie.
"For hurting innocent people!"
Crack.
"For using love like a weapon!"
Thud.
"For laying a hand on a child!"
She sobs now, folded in on herself, her arms wrapped around her head like a wounded puppy. Blood trickles from the corner of her mouth and nose as she gasps. Only when I notice that she truly does look deformed do I step back, my chest heaving. Blood steadily drips from the bat.
Vanya doesn't move. She just whimpers. I look down at her, disgust roaring in my gut.
"This?" I say coldly. "This is all you truly are. Pathetic."
Kaziel's hand settles on my back, steady and warm.
"You okay?" he murmurs, his voice laced with pride.
I nod, my eyes never leaving her crumpled form.
"Oh, I'm great," I say softly. I lift my gaze to the poor girl Vanya had been hitting earlier. The girl is shaking so hard it hurts to look at her.
I drop the bat and rush to her side, my hands gentle as I peel the tape from her mouth and work at the restraints biting into her wrists. Her skin is cold and raw, but the moment she's free, she launches herself at me. She wraps her arms around my neck and sobs into my shoulder like she's been holding it in for years.
"Thank you," she gasps. "Thank you, thank you—"
I hold her tight, rocking her slightly, pressing my cheek to her hair. "You're safe now," I murmur. "I've got you. You're okay."
Her cries slowly go quiet, turning into shaky breaths. Then she pulls back just enough to look past me. Her eyes land on Kaziel. And they cloud up with tears right away.
"D-Doctor Kaziel," she sobs. His gaze turns tender.
"Nina," he says softly.
"I didn't do it," she chokes. "I tried—I didn't—I swear—"
"I know," Kaziel says gently. "I know, Nina."
My throat tightens painfully.
Behind us, there’s a sudden shift in the air.
Kaziel's gaze snaps back to Vanya, his jaw tightening. She's crawling, her eyes wild with desperation. Somewhere along the way she'd grabbed a knife. Her hand trembles as she drags the blade across her palm, slicing it open.
Blood oozes onto the concrete, and she starts to chant in a slurred voice.
"No," she rasps. "No, no… he's still mine—"
Kaziel exhales slowly, as if he’s bored to death.
"Dani," he says calmly, not taking his eyes off her. He gestures at me to cover Nina’s eyes. So, I pull her close, one hand cradling the back of her head.
"Hey," I whisper softly. "Don't look."
She clings to me instantly, burying her face in my chest, her fingers gripping my shirt.
"It's okay," I murmur. "You don't have to see this."
She nods, melting into me. Behind me, I hear Kaziel take a single step forward, and the chanting stops.
My heart thuds madly in my chest. I should probably look away too. But, for once, I want to see Kaziel in action. I want to see the parts of him I know he hides from me. I want to see all of his darkness.
So, I turn back.
Kaziel has his boot on her windpipe as he rolls the sleeves of his shirt to his elbows. His eyes are entirely pitch black, and he doesn’t look the slightest bit bothered even as Vanya chokes and sputters, her shaking fingers desperately trying to push his boot off.
“I don’t hit women, Vanya. But I fight monsters and crush them because I can. And you…you’re just another breed of monster. The kind that is destined to die by my hands.”
She coughs up blood, struggling to breathe. Her eyes are bigger than I’ve ever seen them, bulging in their sockets. She looks…terrified.
Slowly, he moves his feet off her throat, and she chokes.
I watch as he crouches in front of her, staring at her with a blank look on his face.
“Since I’m in a good mood. I’ll let you choose. Which would you like, Vanya? A slow death or a quick one?”
“Fuck…you!” She spits, and an evil smirk tugs at his lips.
“Slow death it is.”