Chapter 37 — The Black Knight

Susan finished reading a newspaper as she sat on her sofa by the window in her room upstairs, then she kept it aside, and moved to pick up a novel by her bedside table. She returned to the sofa, opened the page where she had stopped last night, and kept on reading.

Reading novels, Susan discovered, was perfect for distraction. It took her mind off recent happenings, of her world, and took her to a world of her own. In her world of fantasy, she didn’t care what happened in her and without, especially the disturbance slowly stirring in High Town City (which the news, and the newspapers carried), and the great, uncontrollable urge to kill. She cared for nothing in this state actually, save for the story she read, and this way, she could control her power.

The voices in her head would always speak, and sometimes, they read to her. She loved it when they read—these voices could be soothing. But there was nothing more annoying than when she was the central subject of the discussion of these voices, and this, the voices never did with discretion or silence.

They spoke like they needed her to listen, and gradually, Susan was beginning to shut out the voices with the doors of her mind, for she had so many. All she had to do was close each door to enjoy a brief moment of silence. Brief, because she had to return to listen to these voices.

These voices were the spirits of her dead victims come to haunt her, but since she knew no fear, and needed to find death, they always suggested the most horrible things for her to try.

Susan had tried them all anyway. She had dropped buildings on herself, drank poisonous substances, jumped into volcanoes, stayed for hours beneath the seas, and tried everything. Yet, nothing could hurt, talk more of killing her.

“As a profound bloodstone,” Susan said as if she was reciting something from the book whilst looking at it, “I expect you’d be careful sneaking up on me.”

Hannah appeared in her room. “Your sister said I should check up on you.”

Susan didn’t raise her head to look at Hannah. She just kept it buried in the book. She knew it was Vivian who sent Hannah, and this part of her power wasn’t something she was keen on letting her sisters know.

Surely, her mother did know, but the blood Queen barely said much, so there was no need to worry on that front.

“Also, she wishes to know where you hid those scientists,” Hannah added.

Susan still didn’t look up.

Hannah made to turn, but changed her mind and paused as she said, “What if they find a way to destroy you? Or worse, what if they find a way to destroy us? We are bloodstones after all. And you are one of the strongest among our kind. They may never find the effective weapon that could put you down, but they could create something against us. Think about it.”

Susan didn’t need to think. She shut the book. Hannah was right. They may never have a weapon to kill her, but they could find something against her kind.

Bloodstones. Maybe they looked like humans, but they were cut out of rocks. Harder, they were than diamonds. To destroy them would require the effort of a fellow bloodstone, or an army of them, and this would involve them reshaping a part of themselves, or the entirety of themselves into a weapon.

Susan took to her feet, then she walked up to her bedside table and kept the book on the surface. She turned to Hannah, and arched a brow.

“After you,” Susan said.

Hannah disappeared, and so did Susan.

***

Susan, Vivian, Janice, Hannah, and Dena toured a partly destroyed and scattered underground lab, and around them were dead bodies, some pinned to the wall with black spikes. Lights flickered, and multiple cracks appeared on the walls and pillars.

The place was ready to cave in, but Susan’s power resisted it.

“Someone was here,” Dena said.

“So it seems,” Hannah said.

Janice was studying one of the spikes that went through the head of a man, pinning him to the wall, and Susan looked around like all this was new to her.

“Where are the samples?” Vivian asked Susan.

The collar of Susan’s long black coat was up, and she had a composed stature which said she wasn’t bothered, but her look did betray her.

“I don’t know,” Susan said.

“We must assume someone already has them,” Janice said, pulling one of the spikes to look at it and releasing the body it pinned to the wall to fall to the ground. She showed the sword-length pin to the ladies in the room.

Susan stooped before a female scientist with a ripped lab coat that revealed deep gashes, and she touched her. The wounds on the lady’s body closed, her blood returned into her. The chest of the lady gently rose and fell, then her eyes opened. At the sight of Susan, her eyes widened in horror and she looked like one about to scream, then suddenly, she looked like one who was at ease.

“What happened here?” Susan asked.

The lady gently shook her head. “I don’t know. I saw no one. It happened so fast, no one had the chance to scream.”

Susan suppressed a smile, but frowned as Vivian came next to her to question the scientist.

Susan stood with the decision not to let her sisters know what had happened here. She had multiple secrets now, so this would just be one of them. The blood Queen may know, but she may never reveal a thing. At least, so far Susan wasn’t out of line. But seeking to kill herself was out of line. Well, that didn’t count. Not now.

Besides, it would be absurd telling her sisters, and her friends that she was the one responsible for this mayhem. She had caused it. And with swift merciless justice, she had ended it with her alternate self before they all had arrived. Good thing she was fast.

And those black spikes, it was all part of her other warrior outlook. It was a black diamond armor, and a spirit she was beginning to get accustomed to, one only the blood Queen may have seen her wear. Beneath the blood sea, they had a name for this. And it was called…

“The black knight,” Vivian said after looking at the spike. “That’s what attacked.” She looked up at Susan, but Susan displayed no emotions.

Dena nodded. “We’re all doomed, then.”