37. Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Kalevala Darana
Long Black Talons Erupt
Ipace our new-found home until the wood creaks under my heels.
The night is humid and thick, the type that clings to the skin, but I can barely feel it.
My body is too hot with anger. It pulses beneath my ribs like a living thing.
My fangs are finally out after being put away for so long.
My nails throb. My vision keeps blurring into red rings.
The Headmaster is going to figure this out and it will be my head on a stick.
My body will be the fall-guy. I clench my fists so tight the knuckles pop.
I tell myself I’ll obey him and inform him of all the misconduct and harm she has brought to myself as well as so many others. He has to believe me.
Argus won’t believe a word you say, parasite.
The enchantress mouths off inside my head.
I’m losing hold of the front. My body is bound to be taken over again.
I can’t go back. I won’t let her consume me and flaunt my body as the true perpetrator.
I love Beau. I never meant to hurt Elowen.
I scrambled. I thought I was in the right.
The Headmaster is smart enough to know that her mind games are invincible.
No one stands a chance against her powers.
Is he going to have to kill me to rid the world of her evil soul once and for all? How many more years will this planet have to suffer her existence?
Beau will accept me, as Kalevala. Right? He’ll accept me for me. He may not want her, but maybe he could want me.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
I should not have sent that sorry excuse for breath, Benny.
I know that now. I taste the mistake like uncleanly blood in my mouth.
To put it simply, he was the easiest for me to manipulate.
The quickest access to Elowen. He had already carried an infatuation for her.
It was an easy choice, or so I assumed. Yet, he fucked up my plan even more than I thought.
She was right. Unfortunately, he did not show restraint.
I know he hurt her. Traumatized the girl.
I know what it’s like to be taken advantage of.
That was not what I asked of him. I can’t take it back.
The moment I felt his personal lust sharpen as he neared Elowen outside her work, I understood just how far I had let myself slip.
My thoughts spin out of control. I just needed her to be frightened.
Even more so, I needed Beau nowhere near the scene.
I needed a way back into his attention. Instead, I unleashed something rabid and wild.
Borderline uncontrollable. Not that I pity him.
I also underestimated just how far Beau would go for her. I was sorely mistaken. Maybe he does love her. Maybe the bond is true—
Silence, Kalevala. They aren’t bonded. You have watched from afar for too long. Your brain is starting to rot. I can smell the decay from here.
I fear that I may have summoned something back that none of us can contain. Beau’s past. I operate in this shell of myself for now, but I know how easy it would be to let her take control again. I want myself back. I want my body back. What am I going to do?
My skin ripples. The shift begins before I can stop it.
The vampiric shell of my body melts first, sliding from my bones like shedding silk.
The air around me heats with the scent of scorched earth.
My legs elongate. My eyes split into burning dual pupils.
My hair twists into shadowed tendrils that whip in the wind. The world sharpens as colors intensify.
“Free at last. That sorry cunt thought she could keep me bound for long. I don’t think so. A shame that I won’t be allowed to keep this true form for long. I’ll need to secure myself a witch bitch to seal this deal.”
Empusa. Please. Let me back in. Please.
“Kalevala, if I want to use your body as my host for whatever I please, I will. It would be nice for you to shut the fuck up and allow me to enjoy this before your disgusting form returns. Before long you won’t even exist. I’ll have you erased so I can take my physical form on this planet once again. ”
Empusa, I’m begging you. Don’t do this. We can figure this out together.
“I, Empusa, The Devourer, one of the oldest creatures the council pretends no longer exists, or never existed for that matter, will not worry with the thoughts of a worthless whore.”
Anger digs in my throat as Kalevala attempts to shut me out again. My form falters. My legs begin to shorten as my vision blurs. I slam my elongated claws into the railing on the stairs in our home, clinging to it as long as I can.
Let. Me. Back. In. Empusa.
“Silence, Kalevala. It’s mommy’s turn to play.” I tsk aloud.
Oh, Beau would be horrified if he saw me like this.
“Or maybe he would finally understand the depth of what I feel. You have no part in this, little girl. Beau Drewitt is my fuck-toy, not yours.”
Kalevala cries from within my body, scratching at nothing but the black abyss that surrounds her.
Her cries turn into screams. Her screams turn into cursing.
She thinks he cares for that little human.
That sweet faced nothing with wide eyes and warm blood.
He doesn’t understand what a bond could look like with someone who actually matches his hunger.
Someone who understands how to bend the night.
Someone who would kill for him without hesitation.
Someone like me. I’ve tortured so many men. I’ve never had to wish for more men to beg for release from my grasp. Pathetic, sex-hungry, worldly men.
I’m begging you. Let me out. I’ll find you a new body.
"But, darling, he will need to recognize me to obey me. Don’t you know how hunting works? My prey needs to think I’m redeemable. It’s swindling at its finest.”
I dig my claws into my chest, trying to steady the thundering inside. All of Kalevala’s wailing is giving me a headache. If I could take over her body myself right now, I would.
The Headmaster will kill you for what you’ve done, Empusa. He will kill us. Your host body, my real body, our vessel.
“The only thing that the damn Headmaster is going to do is smell the remnants of weakness that I have excreted. You sicken me, Kalevala. Sicken me. As soon as I know how to get you out of me, there will be no more us or we. There will only be I.”
He will of course learn that we forced that boy to attack the Ella baby.
The creature he became was just an added bonus.
I will continue to eagerly await my opportunity with Beau.
Hopefully soon, I might get lucky and Kalevala can watch from wherever she exists in this shell while I please our Beau.
Once he retreats in the pleasure between my thighs I don’t believe he’ll ever want anyone else ever again.
He’ll know true lust then. After all, that is my thing.
Beau.
“Please shut the fuck up. I can take care of Beau Drewitt just fine, thank you. You wouldn’t know how to suck a dick if someone gave you a guide.”
Just kill me. Make this misery end.
Kalevala continues her wailing and I consider making the trip for a witch immediately.
Unfortunately, I need this body just a tiny bit longer.
Beau’s name burns on my tongue. I slip my hand across my now naked body and shape them around my curves.
Oh, it feels so good to be back. What a pity that I have to shift to Kalevala’s ugly body again.
I’ll keep up her facade until I win this puny game and then I can use Beau for what I really want him for.
He will make the perfect hunter. His stalking tendencies have already proven just how far he would go.
This is too easy. Fool the headmaster. Fool the council.
Fool Beau. And Empusa gets a new fucktoy and hunter, all in one.
I shift back violently. My demonic form melts away with a sound like tearing bark.
My limbs shorten as my skin smooths. My chest steadies as I run my fingers down my frame.
I wipe the blood from my nose with the back of my hand.
The night feels colder in this fragile shape.
I lean forward against the stair railing.
The street outside is quiet. Elowen’s neighborhood is full of elderly and nobody outcasts.
I close my eyes. If Beau knew the truth of what I am, would he run? Would it be fun? Or, is that what it would take for him to finally see that no one in this world will ever love him with the same brutal devotion that I do? Yes, he would be my underling, but that’s an honor in and of itself.
Whatever comes next, Beau will belong to me. Kalevala is going to have to take a motherfucking seat and watch while the cat plays.