Chapter 19 #2
“Yes, my husband is a disgrace. I may still have affection for him, as you heard, but since he has replaced me with something so pitiful,” she waved her hand at me, “I have no use for him anymore. And neither does anyone else.”
Oh no. I had only made things worse. “So, how can one of you be killed?”
Her eyes narrowed as she considered whether to answer me, her sinister smile telling me exactly what she thought of my chances of survival. “Beheading. Our bodies can withstand a lot of torture, and we may feel like we are dying, but until we lose our heads, we can survive it.”
Huh. That was not what had happened to him at the meeting, but good to know all the same.
“And now? What is the status of his punishment currently?”
“Why? Do you think you will escape me?” Her laugh sounded like pure amusement.
“No. I am under no delusion you plan to spare me.”
“Good.”
“So, then, what is the harm in telling me?”
She paused, studying me as if I were an exotic type of insect she was getting ready to squash. “You’re not a complete idiot. Of course not, he wouldn’t put up with you if your ugly face hid an empty head.”
“Right. Thanks. So, please, tell me what you did. Then you can kill me.”
She stepped closer. My heart raced. “Well, as of now, Chaac has agreed to take him to the underground caves. Your lover can’t swim, did you know that?”
“Yes, he did actually admit as much to me.”
“Did he?” Her eyes narrowed further.
“So, then what? You’ll leave him in a cave with the only exit being underwater?”
“See, I was right about you. You aren’t that stupid. My husband will never willingly submerge his head underwater. He almost drowned centuries back, and the memory has, shall we say, stuck with him.”
I thought about the pools under the house and the hidden pool in the center of the house. They were all shallow. I imagined his head under the water, the weight of his horns sucking him down. Abandoning him to a cave surrounded by stone and water would truly be a hellish punishment.
“And then what? You leave him there to starve?”
“Well, not anymore. After I handle you, I’ll cut his head off personally.”
“Did you drug him?”
“Enough.” She stepped closer, but I didn’t flinch when she pulled a rope from seemingly out of nowhere.
The goddess of suicide preferred death by hanging, after all.
All those nights spent reading hadn’t proved completely useless.
I grabbed her wrists and struggled as she grew her muscles to overpower me.
My muscles expanded as well as we struggled, doing my best while she still underestimated my abilities.
But she was ancient, more experienced, and much better at killing people.
Soon, she had the upper hand, the rope tightening around my neck.
Had we come this far only to let this savage kill me?
Black spots danced in front of my eyes. I had barely any time left to find a way out of this.
I would have to be ruthless. What would Cassandra do?
I gave up on my physical struggle, pouring all my attention into my last defense.
Filling my lungs one last time, I dove inside her mind as I had done once before.
Pushing past the almost overwhelming anger and need to see me obliterated, I focused on her makeup, the cells and DNA that make her tick.
If I could use my power to heal someone like Darryl, could I use it to harm another? Out of options, I had to try.
Holding the thought of my Monster as I first saw him on that fateful night, I pushed my energy inside her and willed her brain to turn into stone.
The pressure immediately eased on my neck, but I couldn’t afford to lose my advantage.
Working my way out, I hardened each layer, bone, muscle, organs, skin, all into granite.
Only when she stood immobile in front of me, a perfect sculpture, did I yank the rope off my neck and gasp for air.
When I could breathe normally again, I walked across the room and opened the door.
Peeking my head out, I waited for someone to appear and expose me, but the corridor remained empty.
I grabbed the key stuck outside of the lock, shut the door, and locked myself in with the statue.
Now what? Would she turn back? I half expected her to, but I had thought about this beforehand, when waiting for my Monster to return to me the night before.
I had pondered how he had been able to turn into a boulder while waiting for his enemy.
He had never turned back to stone since, as far as I had seen.
I circled her frozen body. Nothing moved.
Would she stay this way long enough to give me time to save Camazotz?
Would they even move him if she suddenly went missing?
Then, the full extent of my mistake occurred to me.
Instead of going straight to him, if I could even get to him, I’d have to assume her shape and pretend to be her.
As my entire being rebelled at the thought, I couldn’t think of another way around it—not one that would guarantee his continued existence.
And I wanted him to live. I wanted our life up in the mountains.
Even though he was a lying, cheating, hypocrite—perfect mate, bah!