Chapter 33 #3
Absorbing the energies emitting from their auras, I snatched their Kinetic blades from their weapons belts, angled them around to where they pointed back at them, and hurled their blades in a single swift motion.
The barrage of weapons impaled the remaining guards in their most vulnerable areas.
Ensuring my escape, I exploded another powerful pulse from my body, blasting in all directions.
Bodies disintegrated into dust. The King’s Palace quaked harder than the other blasts before it.
With a final glance, I studied my sister’s deceased state, committing it to memory as a reminder to never again become someone’s weapon. “I love you, little sis. I’m so sorry.”
Stumbling on shaky and numb legs, my vision blurred again.
The state of my body resurfaced, reminding me that I hadn’t yet healed properly.
It would take a considerable amount to recover from the amount of damage I’d endured.
I could worry about that later. Just not here.
I wasn’t safe. No one was safe as long as I remained at the King’s Palace.
In the glow of the flickering lights, I caught sight of another guard standing in the blasted doorway. With each gutter, I glimpsed more of his face. Familiar, but I couldn’t be sure. No one could be trusted in this building.
“Chrome!” the guard cried. “It’s me, Onyx!” He raised his hands by his head in peaceful surrender. “Your friend,” he said as I advanced on him, a cold fury driving me on.
My upper lip curled at him. I had no friends. The one person who stood by me through everything was now dead by my own doing.
“Onyx…” I said, testing the name out on my tongue to see if it rang true. With a tilted head, I appraised him with hunger. He was strong. The desire to deplete him strangled me. I could probably heal the rest of my injuries from him.
“It’s me, man. Remember?” he pleaded. “The rooftops? The fun little drinking game we had that one night? It was my stupid idea, and I nearly missed the ledge. You had to pull me up with Slate.”
“Slate,” I repeated.
“Yeah. Slate. Your cousin. Your partner,” Onyx clarified as patiently as if he faced a wild animal.
Memories of laughter and drinking blinked in my head.
“Ah, that’s right.” My chest deflated as the memories of my cousin and I crashed into me like a violent surge.
The missions we went on together. The first time Slate had killed.
Our talks and laughs on the rooftops, and our ability to read each other like an open book without uttering a word. “Where is he?”
“I don’t know,” Onyx said, fear weaving into his voice as if he’d given me the wrong answer. “But you need to get out of here. Now.”
“Why should I trust you?” I asked, scrutinizing him. “What’s to stop you from delivering me to the king’s doorstep?” This place was laden with traps.
“Because I’m on your side—always have been. The insurgency, remember?” he urged, casting a quick look over his shoulder. “Come on. We gotta go before the Warriors start swarming us.”
“Let them. I’ll kill them all,” I said, my voice flat.
“Well, as fun as that sounds, now’s not the time, oh legendary one,” Onyx quipped. “Follow me. I know a way to get us out.” He spun, heading out into the hallway.
“I swear to fuck, if you—”
Onyx whirled around to face me. “I won’t.
I’ll get you out without you having to take any more lives today.
” Onyx held my gaze. In his bright amber eyes, I saw the friendship.
As fragmented as I was, I saw he meant what he’d said.
He knew what I’d done and how much it destroyed me. “Let’s set you free, Brother.”
The toes of my boots clipped Onyx’s heels as he led me through the maze of the prisons. Without looking over his shoulder, he unsheathed a sword from his holster strapped to his back and tossed it to me.
Even limping, I snatched the hilt from the air, examining the blue sigils igniting at my touch. I grimaced, shaking my head. “I need an Elemental sword,” I murmured to him. The lights flickered above us, the electricity barely hanging in there from my attacks.
The image of Peri’s lifeless body draped in my arms stayed branded in my mind, forever lodged in my ribcage and sternum like the worst of pressures.
I’d just killed my sister—depleted her. I couldn’t come to grips with it. The only true family I had. And now, the devolution process had officially taken hold.
I’m so sorry, Peri.
More memories trickled back to me, igniting another wave of pain.
I swallowed my emotions, sending them to the deep void to swallow.
I failed the insurgency. In the end, I hadn’t been strong enough to withstand the king’s will.
Everyone had put their faith in the wrong person. I’d fucked everything up.
I’d have to fix this, but first, I had to get the hell out and then regroup.
As Onyx and I weaved through the prison cell blocks, I allowed my turbulent wrath to fuel me. The more my mind returned to me, the more it compounded: the guilt, the anger, the pain… Someone needed to pay.
I’d lost everything. Nothing else to lose now.
Fuck it.
The beast I had worked so hard to repress for so long lifted his head, popped his neck, and then spread its ghastly wings, ready to take the reins in my oncoming fight. I willingly stepped aside, handing over complete control. I didn’t want it anymore.
It was time to let go.
“Why do you need an Elemental sword?” Onyx asked over his shoulder, confusion thick in his voice.
“Because I’m half-Elemental,” I responded, dull and hollow.
Onyx’s steps faltered. “Wha…”
“Ask Slate about it later.” I pushed past him, heading for the stairwell, ignoring the blaring alarm sirens.
The cameras eyed me, and I paused, staring them down.
My currents ignited to life with electricity, directing my energy to the wires connecting them to the building.
Sparks jumped from the cameras, the wires now fried to a crisp as smoke billowed from them.
Every single one in the King’s Palace was rendered useless.
“Cameras are dead. Let’s move,” I told Onyx as I charged up the flight of stairs to the training room. Gods, that felt great to finally kill those fuckers. I didn’t care if the king saw me, but I couldn’t risk Onyx getting tangled in my mess.
“Thank the gods,” Onyx murmured. “But the training room is packed with guards and Warriors preparing for an attack.”
“Let them come,” I said as I shoved into the training room. A Warrior stood on the other side, his back facing us. As the door opened, I swung Onyx’s sword into an arc, slicing the back of the man’s neck on the other side.
The figure collapsed in my periphery. Other Kinetic Warriors rushing around the room froze at my entrance. I’m sure my bloody appearance did me no favors, but anyone who stood in my way would die. No more holding back. It was time to feed the beast inside of me with a deep-seated rage.
Every Kinetic paled, fear shining bright in their eyes. Apprehensively, some reached for their blades at their waists.
I chuckled, the air chilling from the haunting sound.
There was no beating around the bush. Formalities always annoyed me.
Since I held their undivided attention… “The king needs to die,” I announced.
“If you fight for that tyrant today, you are branding yourself as his mental slaves. And forgive me, but I don’t have time to deprogram you. ”
“Chrome, what are you doing?” Onyx said into my ear from behind.
“Feel free to sit this one out.” I meant it. I didn’t want him to get blood on his hands when this was personal for me.
The Warriors armed themselves with blades, various currents igniting on the sliver of skin exposed at their necks beneath their gear.
I shrugged. “So be it. Your choice, then.”
My magic reserves would need to be saved as much as possible for my escape, so I’d take them on hand to hand. I just needed to get to the Elemental blades that Forest kept hidden in the weapons room.
Someone stole my sight, my vision blacking out, and I smiled.
For once, I was actually grateful for the sensory deprivation that Grim and Forest made me endure—this was nothing new. At least this time, I kept my other senses.
Kinetic energies charged me. Without my sight, I could single out the direction their shouts came from, but the movements of the weapons that swung at me told me what I needed to know.
Sensing a sword swinging at my neck, I dodged swiftly and swept at their ankles in a kick they didn’t anticipate. A small blade darted toward me, probably a knife, judging by the small whiffs of air that brushed against my face.
My fist clenched around the hilt of my sword, waiting for the right moment to wield it.
But I focused on the knife lancing my way.
With my free hand, I snatched it from the air with my element once it was inches from my face.
It hovered before my nose, and I rotated it to point toward a Warrior on the opposite side of the room.
The room fell silent. No one expected me to catch an airborne knife blinded. Then again, no one knew I could control metal. “One last chance.”
A fearful stillness quieted the Warriors.
With my element’s help, I hurled the blade at the targeted Kinetic. The thump of a body hit the floor, and I chuckled.
Chaos exploded.
A second later, I found myself in a blinded melee of battle against my fellow brethren, shoving my Kinetic sword into their throats, chests, stomachs, and spines. I was able to behead some as I gave into the allure of violence and vengeance, promising to deliver eternal wrath.
I let my rage and skill carry me through the fight, trusting my instincts and senses. For the first time in my life, I felt free. The Warriors wouldn’t die with this blade, but at least I incapacitated them long enough to get to the Elemental weapons.
Peri’s honey-colored eyes emerged as if she appeared before me. The next second, my sword drove into a Warrior’s skull to my right.
The memory of Gray’s ice-blonde hair whipped me in the face, taunting me with the fantasy that would never come to reality.
In the following breath, I saw her kissing Slate, holding him close to her.
The shards from my broken heart severed what remained of my soul.
The beast filled the void, guiding me to slide my blade across someone’s neck, taking their head with it.
Each drop of blood fueled me. I sensed their energies clearer than usual while caught up in the bloodlust. The urge to feed from them was strong, but I pushed it aside to focus on the violence instead. That seemed to appease the beast for now.
My sword drove into a Warrior’s chest, and the warmth from the blood splattered across my face.
Moments later, my vision returned. I recognized the man.
Oakland Harper. I’d trained him, even, but I shoved the guilt down before it had the chance to take hold.
I couldn’t afford to give my conscience a voice. Forest didn’t deserve it.
Oakland crumbled to the floor, and I retrieved my sword.
I navigated my way to the back of the weapons room, seeking my locker that contained the Elemental blades within.
Using my element, I twisted the knob to the tune of the lock’s combination.
Once the lock clicked its undoing, I opened the door, exposing the sword, dagger, and knife nestled within.
I took the blades, slipping the knife up my sleeve and the dagger down into my boot. The curved sigils engraved into the Elemental blade ignited into orange swirls at my touch.
“What are you about to do?” Onyx’s voice reached me from the doorway.
“Eliminate the threats,” I answered as I rushed past him.
“Chrome…”
Instead of responding, I returned to the weapons and training rooms. Kinetic Warriors sprawled across the floor, blood pooling everywhere.
Those who kept their heads writhed on the floor, gurgling and crying out in pain.
I squeezed my Elemental sword in my fist, walking toward the maze of bodies before me.
The first Warrior at my feet reached out a hand in a plea, but soon was cut off when I plunged my sword into his heart.
His eyes bulged, lips parting in shock at my betrayal before he relaxed against the floor.
The hand clutching the gaping wound in his chest glistened black, the redfern tainting his blood being his demise.
I didn’t stop there. After a few minutes, every wounded Kinetic earned a pierced heart by my poisonous blade, leaving no loose ends behind.
When I finished, Onyx hung his head to his chest, horrified and heartbroken. “You didn’t have to kill them.”
“Yes!” I snapped, whirling on him. My nostrils flared as I continued to ignore the insidious guilt trying to suffocate me. “I did. They were already gone, Onyx. They are so far gone to Forest’s bullshit…blindly following his orders—”
“And so were you!” Onyx retorted.
I shook my head. “No. I had no choice, Onyx. You don’t have a godsdamn clue what I’ve had to go through to be the ‘legendary Chrome Freyr’ that they have portrayed me to be.” The air in the room grew thicker, and my chest heaved. “If anything, I did them a favor.”
“Chrome,” Onyx said. “You just slaughtered an entire garrison of the Warriors Guild.”
I shrugged. “And I won’t stop until every single Kinetic Warrior and guard are dead.”