Chapter 20 #3
Fuck. That voice. Snake's claws dug deeper into my shoulder as cold dread slithered down my spine.
My eyes darted around the room, but I couldn't pinpoint where Scorpio's voice had come from. The veil was twisting, warping reality in a way that made my stomach churn. It wasn’t something I could see yet; it was a feeling, a powerful sensation deep in my soul.
“Damn, I can feel it,” Rhodes stated, holding up his arm to reveal his hairs standing on end. This was bad.
"Show yourself, you coward," I spat, even as the guys moved to form a protective circle around me. Sweet, but pointless. This wasn't their kind of fight.
His laughter echoed through the maze, seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. "Oh, Palmer, still so defiant. It's adorable, really. But tell me, how's that working out for you? Running to your demon lovers for protection?"
I felt rather than saw Ashland tense beside me, raw power rolling off him in waves. But before any of them could react, I held up my hand. Wait.
"Better than being your lab rat," I shot back, trying to track the distortions in the veil. Something was off about his voice, about the way it resonated through both realms simultaneously. "What did you do to yourself this time, Scorpio? Finally fuck up one experiment too many?"
"Experiment?" He chuckled, the sound grating against my nerves like broken glass. "No, babe. I've evolved. Transcended the limitations you're all still bound by. Would you like to see?"
My stomach lurched as the shadows ahead began to twist and writhe. Snake's claws dug deeper into my shoulder, his mental presence radiating pure terror. Whatever was coming, it was bad enough to frighten my usually fearless familiar.
"Oh fuck," I whispered as Scorpio emerged from the darkness. He'd always been tall, but now he seemed to tower over us, his form distorted and wrong in ways that made my brain hurt trying to process. His usual leather face mask was gone, revealing features that flickered between solid and spectral.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" He spread his arms wide, and I noticed his skin seemed to ripple, like something was trying to break free from beneath it. "All that power you felt when you opened the veil? It's nothing compared to this."
"What did you do?" I managed to ask, even as bile rose in my throat. The energy coming off him was toxic, corrupted.
"Like I said, I transcended," he started, but then his whole body jerked violently. "No! Shut up!" His head snapped to the side like he'd been struck. "I won't let you—"
"Palmer, get back here." Talon pulled me between him and Misha. I hadn't even realized I'd been walking toward Scorpio.
"He's fucking lost it," Felix added, stepping slightly in front of me.
Scorpio started laughing maniacally, the horrible sound echoing through the maze. It was so much louder than should've been possible.
"Who are you talking to, Slade?" I asked.
"NONE OF YOUR GODS DAMNED BUSINESS!" he roared as his body shook even harder. "Fuck you! No! I said n—"
Scorpio's voice cut off abruptly, and his body completely stilled as he stood near a paint splattered wall.
"Careful," Ashland whispered.
"Be ready," Rhodes growled.
Slowly, Scorpio lifted his head, and his expression had completely changed. A warm smile, one that I'd never once seen him wear, spread wide. Shivers raced down my spine. I'd never seen that smile on his face, but I had seen it so many times on—
"There's my girl."
Horror dawned as I realized what I was seeing and hearing. "Asrael," I breathed.
I felt the others tense around me, ready to attack, but I held up my hand. This was spirit realm shit—their powers wouldn't do much good here.
"No," I breathed, stepping back until I hit Misha's solid chest. "This isn't possible. You're dead."
Scorpio's body moved with Asrael's familiar grace, and that paternal smile still stretched across his face. "Death is such a limited concept, my dear.” He shot a pointed look at Jasper, bringing his point across. “You of all people should understand that."
Snake hissed, his tiny body trembling against my neck. Yeah, buddy, I feel the same way. The wrongness of seeing Asrael's mannerisms puppeting Scorpio's body made me want to vomit.
"What did you do to him?" I demanded, though I wasn't sure which 'him' I meant.
"I simply... expanded his consciousness. Showed him true power." Asrael's voice came from Scorpio's mouth, but then the body convulsed and Scorpio's darker tones broke through. "Get out! This is my—" Another violent shake. "Quiet, boy. The adults are talking."
"Palmer," Jasper's ethereal form flickered beside me. "His spirit signature... It's not possession. It's worse."
"How could it be worse than possession?" Felix muttered.
I knew though. The pieces were falling into place, and holy fuck, was it bad. "You merged with him," I said, horror dawning. "When you possessed him, you didn't stop there. You fused your spirit with his living body."
"Very good!" Asrael/Scorpio clapped, the sound echoing unnaturally. "I always said you were my brightest student."
"This is fucking sick," Talon growled, but I barely heard him over the roaring in my ears.
Because this? This was a perversion of everything I stood for as a spirit witch.
Spirits were meant to cross over or fade away, not violently merge with the living.
Not to mention this was a demon soul in a mage's body.
It wasn't natural, no matter what. The energy coming off him felt wrong, corrupted, like rot spreading through healthy tissue.
"Why?" I asked, buying time as I frantically tried to figure out how to handle this clusterfuck. "Why him?"
"Because he was there," Asrael's voice purred. "So hungry for power, so willing to break every natural law to get it. I want you to know, you were my first choice. I waited for you. I always seem to be fucking waiting for you. But you never came. Disappointing."
"I'll kill you a hundred fucking times over before you'd even get close to her," Jasper boomed, his voice matching the same volume and intensity as Asrael's.
Asrael laughed. "Oh, Jasper. How I've missed you.
" His calculating gaze slid to Rhodes, and I braced myself.
Asrael was a master at everything, but he was by far the most talented mind-fucker I'd ever encountered.
"Are you planning to start fucking him again, Rhodes?
Will that be out in the open this time, or another big secret that gets you killed next time? "
His words hit like a fist to the face, and I knew they’d affected every single one of my demons, but nobody reacted.
Nobody gave him the reaction he was looking for.
Well, not until the lowest, deepest growl I'd ever heard in my life started.
I glanced at Rhodes and found him visibly shaking with repressed anger and pain.
The sound coming from Rhodes was pure rage, but there was pain there too. Deep, raw pain that made my heart hurt. I wanted to reach for him, but Asrael's smug expression stopped me. He'd always been like this. An expert at finding the sorest spots and digging his fingers in until you broke.
"What's wrong, Rhodes?" Asrael taunted through Scorpio's twisted face. "Not feeling chatty about your dead lover? The secrets you kept that got him killed?"
"Shut your fucking mouth," Misha barked, sending a blade flying at Asrael that he side-stepped all too easily.
Asrael's laughter echoed through the maze, distorted and wrong. "Or what, Misha? You'll kill me? Been there, done that. And look at me now—stronger than ever."
My stomach turned as his form rippled, Scorpio's features blending with something darker, more demonic. This wasn't just possession or even fusion—it was an abomination, and it was worse than whatever he’d transformed into on that platform before he’d died.
"You're not stronger," I said, forcing steel into my voice.
"You're desperate. So desperate you had to hijack someone else's body because you were too weak to maintain your own form. "
His smile faltered for a split second. Gotcha, asshole.
"Careful, Palmer," he warned, but I was done being careful. Done playing his mind games.
"Or what? You'll try to possess me next?" I laughed, harsh and bitter. "That's what this is really about, isn't it? You're jealous. Jealous that I can manipulate the veil naturally while you had to resort to... this." I gestured at his twisted form.
Snake chittered in agreement, his tiny presence burning with protective fury. The guys tensed around me, ready to strike, but this was my fight. My mentor. My monster to face.
"You understand nothing," Asrael spat, his composure cracking. "I transcended death itself! I—"
"You're hiding inside Scorpio like a fucking parasite," I cut him off. "Some transcendence."
The air crackled with dark energy as his anger built. Good. Let him lose control. Better than letting him play his usual manipulation games.
"I made you what you are," he hissed, Scorpio's face contorting unnaturally. "Everything you can do, every power you possess is because of my training!"
"Wrong again," I said, stepping forward despite the guys' protests. "You didn't make me anything. You just took credit for what I already was. Like you always do! You steal other people's power because you can't stand being weak."
His roar of rage shook the walls, but I held my ground. Because finally, finally, I saw him clearly. Not as the all-powerful mentor who'd shaped my life, but as what he really was—a desperate, broken thing that couldn't accept its own end.
"I should have possessed you when I had the chance," he snarled. "Should have taken that body and power for myself instead of wasting time trying to mold you into—"
"Into what?" I challenged. "Your perfect weapon? Your obedient little soldier? Hate to break it to you, but that ship sailed a long time ago. And now? Now you're just sad."