Chapter 20 #4
The darkness around him writhed, his form flickering between Scorpio and something much worse. But I wasn't afraid anymore. Because for all his posturing, all his grand claims about transcending death, he was still just Asrael. A pathetic control freak who couldn't stand losing his grip on power.
"You're going to regret this insolence," he promised, his voice distorting. "I'll show you what true power looks like."
I smiled, feeling my own power rise to meet his challenge. "Bring it on, old man. Let's see what you've got."
The walls themselves seemed to vibrate with his scream, reality fracturing around us as the merged beings fought for control. Neon lights flickered wildly, casting strange shadows that moved independently of their sources.
Asrael held up both hands and began to build visible power in them, swirling orbs of that sickly green mind control magic that belonged to Scorpio.
"Here's what's going to happen, Palmer! Your demons are going to watch this.
They're going to get a front row seat to this hunt, and there's nothing any of you can do about it! "
"Watch out!" I screamed as he shot both of his hands out, sending the power towards our group. There was nothing I could do to stop it. Not that fast. The magic hit my guys like a freight train, knocking them to the ground, including Jasper.
"No!" I screamed. Snake launched from my shoulder, chittering in alarm as he scurried between their prone forms. The neon lights flickered wildly, casting eerie shadows across their motionless bodies.
"What did you do?" I snarled, power crackling beneath my skin as I faced the twisted fusion of Scorpio and Asrael.
He laughed, the sound warped and wrong coming from both entities at once. "Just ensuring we have an audience, my dear. Can't have them interfering with our little... reunion."
I dropped to my knees beside Rhodes, my hand hovering over his chest. He was breathing, they all were, but their eyes... fuck. That sickly green tinge I remembered all too well from Scorpio's mind control experiments.
"They're conscious," Asrael's voice purred through Scorpio's twisted mouth.
"Aware of everything. Just... unable to move.
To help. To save you. But I want them to have an aerial view, that's so much more poetic, don't you think?
" His brow pulled together as he pushed his will onto The Exiled, and slowly, they stood and then took flight, each of them perching at random points deep within the maze, high up on the walls.
"You sick fuck." I stood slowly, letting my rage fuel the power building inside me. The veil between realms rippled around us, responding to my emotions.
"Such language," he tsked. "I taught you better than that."
"You taught me a lot of things," I spat. "Like how to spot a desperate, pathetic piece of shit hiding behind stolen power."
His form flickered violently, Scorpio's features wrestling with Asrael's influence. Good. Keep them fighting each other.
"Jasper," I called out to my mate through our bond, not taking my eyes off the abomination before me. “Focus on pushing your power to me, with everything you’ve got!”
“I’m really going to enjoy this moment, Palmer. I want you to know—”
I didn't let him finish. Jasper’s power flared brightly as I reached deep into my own, into that place where spirit and reality collided. The veil responded instantly, rippling around us like dark water.
Snake hissed, like he was an actual serpent.
He’d defend me no matter the risk, but this was not a fight for a squirrel.
I didn’t need to worry about him during this fight.
He had to go hide out until everything was over.
“Go, Snake!” I urged him through our mental link, and Snake's mental presence surged with understanding, though he wasn’t particularly happy about being ordered to retreat.
But he was the best kind of soldier, and he listened, darting into the maze and disappearing into the darkness.
"What are you doing?" Asrael's voice held a note of uncertainty that made me smile.
"Showing you what real power looks like." I thrust my hands forward, channeling everything I had into manipulating the veil. Not tearing it open like they had, but weaving it, reshaping it.
The air itself seemed to crystallize, surrounding me in a web of spiritual energy. His eyes widened as he realized what was happening.
"Impossible," he breathed. "You can't—"
"Can't what?" I taunted, sweat beading on my forehead as I maintained the construct. "Can't fight back? Can't be stronger than you?"
He thrashed against the spiritual bonds, his form rippling violently between Scorpio and Asrael. "I made you!"
"No," I corrected, drawing more power through my connection with Snake and Jasper. "You tried to break me. Big difference."
The walls of the maze pulsed with the energy surging through me, but something unexpected happened.
Felix's artwork on the wall behind Asrael, an intricate koi fish painted in vibrant blues and greens, began to shimmer under the neon lights.
I blinked, certain my eyes were playing tricks, but no, the painted gills actually fluttered, scales gleaming with an impossible wetness as though the fish were truly alive, swimming through concrete instead of water.
What the hell?
My power crackled at my fingertips as realization dawned.
This wasn't just about manipulating the veil between life and death anymore.
Somehow, I was blurring the boundaries between reality and fiction, bringing imagination into existence through sheer force of will.
The implications sent a chill racing down my spine, both terrifying and exhilarating.
What else was I capable of?
"This ends now," I declared, feeling stronger than ever and prepared for whatever came next. "One way or another."
Asrael/Scorpio's laugh turned manic. "Oh, my dear. This is only the beginning."
The air crackled with dark energy as he gathered his stolen power, preparing to strike. But I wasn't that scared little witch anymore, running from shadows and hiding from monsters. However, I could lure him into the maze. I could use it to my advantage, and that was the best plan I could think of.
So I ran. I was Palmer fucking Vale, and I ran. Not because I was afraid, but because I was done being afraid.