I would put my foot through his face before the day was out. My anger made me crave shifter strength. There was nothing I could do in this situation on my own. Bastien had already proven that he’d amassed more power just to be stronger than me.
If I could physically fight back, then I’d have the upper hand. Shifter healing would help once I drove Bastien off the road, because I knew that if I made it to the cemetery, I wasn’t going to walk out alive.
“You don’t have to worry about what happens to our kind after we die, honey. You’re going to take a long nap in my soul-cage, so I can use your power and the time you have left to avoid my own death.” He jerked the wheel, taking a curve sharply.
I slid into the door and felt my heart stutter as two wheels lifted from the ground for a slit second. The wheels slammed back down and sent a shudder through me.
Bastien’s lips curled into an angry snarl. “When I die, fate will turn me into its servant until the end of time. I didn’t sign up for any of that bullshit.”
“Servant?”
“Where do you think we go when we die?” His gaze slid sideways to give me an incredulous look. Then his expression softened. “Ah, I forgot. You’re not the brightest bulb. You see, we live only so that we die. Kind of sad, isn’t it? We got handed a fat load that we never wanted. Bunch of shit, if you ask me.”
He wasn’t answering my question. His constant complaining grated on my nerves. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep silent until I realized I might actually bite through my cheek with the way he was driving.
That left my jaw unhinged, and a bit of Vi came out of me.
“You really are a selfish sack of shit. You know that? You really think that your life is worth more than those that you’ve killed. I’ll have you know, I’ve seen the apocalypse, and I’ve met Archangels. You’re nothing but a worthless speck on this big, blue planet.”
Ness would have been proud of me.
At least, I thought so until Bastien lashed out. With a massive hand, he shoved my head into the passenger window. I heard a dull crack, but I didn’t think it was the glass. Head spinning, pain running from my skull to my spine, I slumped in my seat.
Maddox, please come help me. I can’t get out of this on my own.
Bastien laughed. “You’ve really gotten yourself into some interesting situations. Too bad you can’t tell me about them once you’re dead. As much as I’d like to hear your stories, I can’t afford to let you breathe too much longer. A power like yours needs to be snuffed and stolen sooner rather than later. I hope you understand.”
He…wasafraidof me?
It was my turn to laugh. If that was the case, then I dove deep and dredged everything I could from deep within myself. The darkness that held my arcana seemed infinite. It was a great void, a place where souls went to fade away. And it was all mine.
I let it pour out of me and spread ahead of us. The arcana moved faster than the car. As it spread, I felt every dead thing under the ground for miles ahead.
Head spinning from the rush of power, I laughed. Bastien realized what I was doing. He palmed the side of my head again. I stiffened, but he was stronger than me. My head hit the door, not the window, this time. The plastic of the door softened the blow.
Bastien’s voice dropped into a menacing growl. “Put it away, bitch.”
Again, I laughed. “No.”
I found a dead bear and reached into the afterlife to ask if it could help me. Bastien gripped me by the hair, but my mind was already deep in the world beyond. The bear’s spirit came rushing back into its body.
Breath held, I thought that it’d used me to get a second chance at life. Then, the trees broke open and a black blur came rushing out at us. The bear wasn’t that big, but it also wasn’t alone. I’d opened a door between worlds. Others came in answer to my call.
A wave of animals slammed into the side of the car. Their bodies slowed the car as it went off into the ditch. I had barely a moment to mourn the poor creatures that sacrificed their bodies for me, then the sudden stop jarred me and scattered my thoughts.
The world wavered. Time stopped.
Eyes blurry, I lifted my head to take in our surroundings.
Come on, Maddox. I know you can taste my power. I sent it out so you could follow the candy trail. If you take too long…
Maddox
The heady rush hit me.My breath escaped me as the hunger rose. Addie’s power grazed my trembling soul. It made my beast growl ravenously. It nearly shoved its way out of me as I stumbled out the station doors.
If she was using her arcana, that meant she was in trouble. I couldn’t stand here and waste time on two legs. I would have to use my teleportation ability to get as close to her as possible. I just hoped that it would be close enough to catch up.
I ran to the back of the building where no one would see me shift. How many times had I shifted today? I’d lost count. My energy was waning, but Addie’s arcana filled the hollow void yawning inside me.