Chapter 9 When Monsters Fight
Cressida's POV
The darkness swallows me whole.
It doesn't hurt. That's the scary part. It feels good, like diving into warm water after being cold for so long. The black veins on my chest explode outward, racing across my skin like lightning.
"Cressida!" Isolde screams.
But I can't answer. My mouth won't form words anymore.
The four hunters charge at me, their glowing weapons raised. Thaddeus leads them, his sword of light blazing so bright it should blind me. But in this new darkness, I can see everything. Every movement. Every breath. Every weak spot in their bodies.
The darkness whispers: Kill them. Rip them apart. Feed.
No. I'm still me. I'm still
One of the hunters swings at my head. Without thinking, black shadows pour from my hands like smoke. They solidify into claws, blocking his sword. The metal screams as my shadow-claws tear through it like paper.
The hunter's eyes go wide. "She's already Stage Two!"
"Impossible," the woman with silver eyes hisses. "She just got her powers days ago "
I move.
I don't remember deciding to. One second I'm standing by the bed, the next I'm across the room with my hand through the wall where Silver-Eyes was standing. She dodged, but barely. Her perfect blonde hair now has plaster dust in it.
I'm fast. Faster than humans. Faster than I've ever been.
"Cressida, stop!" Thaddeus shouts. "You don't have to do this!"
But the darkness is hungry. It's been waiting for this. All those times I held back, all those moments I tried to stay human the monster inside was just getting stronger.
The third hunter, a man with gold eyes, throws something at me. It explodes in golden light, burning my skin. I scream, but it comes out as a roar. The sound rattles the motel windows.
Good. Let them be scared. Let them know what it feels like to be hunted.
Black shadows erupt from my back like wings. They're not real wings more like tentacles made of living darkness. They slam into Gold-Eyes, throwing him through the bathroom door. I hear bones crack.
"She's too strong!" the fourth hunter yells. "We need backup "
I'm on him before he finishes. My shadow-claws wrap around his throat. His blue eyes meet mine, and I see my reflection.
My eyes are completely black. No white, no color. Just endless darkness.
And I'm smiling.
"Cressida, please!" Isolde's voice cuts through the monster's hunger. "Don't kill him! You're not a murderer!"
The hunter in my grip is turning purple. One squeeze and he's dead.
I want to squeeze.
The darkness demands it.
But Isolde's voice... it sounds like my mother's. Like Landry's. Like everyone I've ever loved, begging me to stay human.
I throw the hunter across the room instead. He crashes into the TV, which explodes in sparks.
"Thank you," Isolde whispers. "Thank you for "
Silver-Eyes attacks from behind, her spear aimed at my spine.
The shadows catch it mid-thrust. They wrap around the spear, around her arms, around her whole body. She struggles, but the darkness is stronger.
"Let her go," Thaddeus says quietly. His sword is pointed at Isolde. "Or I hurt your friend."
The monster inside me goes very still.
He wouldn't. Would he?
"You don't want to do that," I say. My voice sounds wrong deeper, with an echo like two people talking at once.
"Neither do you," Thaddeus replies. His hand is shaking. "Please, Cressida. I know you're still in there. Fight it. You're stronger than this curse."
"Am I?" The shadows pulse around Silver-Eyes, squeezing tighter. She gasps for air. "Because right now, I feel strong for the first time in my life. Nobody can hurt me anymore. Nobody can hurt the people I care about."
"That's the demon talking," Thaddeus says. "Not you."
"Maybe the demon is the real me." The words taste like truth. "Maybe I was always a monster. I just needed an excuse."
Isolde stands up, even though Thaddeus's sword is inches from her. "You're not a monster. Monsters don't save people like me. Monsters don't feel guilty. Monsters don't care."
Her words hit harder than any weapon.
I look at Silver-Eyes trapped in my shadows. At Gold-Eyes groaning in the bathroom. At the fourth hunter unconscious in the broken TV.
What am I doing?
The darkness whispers: Surviving. Winning. Becoming what you were always meant to be.
No. This isn't me. This isn't
Thaddeus moves fast, too fast. His sword slashes across my chest, cutting through the shadows. Golden light burns into my skin. I scream and stumble backward, the darkness flickering like a broken light.
"Now!" he shouts to the other hunters.
But they're too hurt to move.
It's just him and me.
Thaddeus charges, his sword blazing. I meet him with shadow-claws. Light and darkness collide, exploding in a shower of sparks. We trade blows, moving so fast the room becomes a blur.
He's good. Really good. Every strike is perfect, aimed at vital spots. But I'm fueled by something older than his celestial power. Something darker.
My shadows wrap around his sword arm. He tries to pull free, but I'm too strong now. I pull him close, my black eyes meeting his golden ones.
"I don't want to kill you," I whisper.
"Then don't," he says. "Surrender. Let us help you."
"By killing me?"
"By ending your suffering."
I slam him into the wall. Cracks spider-web across the plaster. "I'm not suffering. I'm free."
But even as I say it, I feel the darkness eating at my mind. Pulling me deeper. Changing me into something that won't remember Landry, or Isolde, or any reason to stay human.
Thaddeus coughs blood. "The others... they're coming. Dozens of hunters. You can't fight them all."
"Watch me."
I raise my shadow-claws for the final strike.
Then I see Isolde's face. She's crying, hands over her mouth.
She's not scared of Thaddeus.
She's scared of me.
The monster pauses.
And in that pause, the darkness starts to fade. The shadows retract. My black eyes flicker back to normal. The power drains away like water, leaving me hollow and weak.
I collapse.
Thaddeus struggles to his feet, sword raised. But he's too hurt to finish me. Blood runs down his armor.
"Next time," he gasps, "I won't hesitate."
He grabs Silver-Eyes and the other hunters. Golden light surrounds them, and they disappear in a flash.
Gone.
Sirens wail in the distance. Someone called the cops.
"We have to go," Isolde says, pulling me up. "Can you walk?"
"I think so." My whole body feels like one giant bruise.
She helps me toward the door. We're halfway to the parking lot when I see it.
On the motel room wall, written in black shadow that won't fade:
STAGE TWO: 6 HOURS REMAINING
"Cressida?" Isolde's voice shakes. "What does that mean?"
I open my mouth to answer.
But then my phone buzzes. A video message from an unknown number.
I press play.
The screen shows Landry's hospital room.
And standing next to my brother's bed, smiling at the camera, is Sable.
She waves.
Then she puts her hand on Landry's chest.
The video cuts to black.
My phone buzzes again. A text: "Come to Mercy Church alone in one hour, or your brother's life support gets unplugged. Your choice, little monster. Choose wisely."
My legs give out.
Isolde catches me. "What? What is it?"
I show her the message.
Her face goes white.
The sirens are getting closer.
We have one hour.
And I have to choose between saving myself and saving Landry.
Again.