Chapter Twenty-Seven
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JAZMINE SEDAKA SENSED dozens of soldiers racing past her apartment building not long after night fell. Her sire was amongst them. She left the couch the moment Lachial was no longer within her range. Already dressed in dark clothing, she pulled on black sneakers and pocketed her key.
Breathing in the fresh air when she left the building through the back exit, the cambion knew something big had happened. She didn’t care what it was, she was just glad it gave her the opportunity to further hone her skills.
Lachial usually only checked on her during the day now. The gullible fool thought she was firmly beneath his control. So far, no one had put two and two together. No one knew she was the one responsible for murdering so many mercenaries.
Giggling beneath her breath, she raced southward, easily avoiding the humans who were on patrol.
Taking the Williamsburg Bridge, she crossed into Brooklyn and went on the hunt.
It wasn’t as easy to pick her victims off one by one now.
They were too terrified to walk alone at night.
Now, they remained in their patrols of up to ten people.
She lucked out a few minutes later and saw two men hurrying along the sidewalk together. None of the buildings in the other boroughs had power, unless they had solar panels and a battery to store power on. Clouds hid the moon, giving her perfect conditions to work in.
Jazmine trailed after the pair. She waited until they cut down an alley before she struck.
Lifting her arms, she made a throwing motion.
Shadows became solid beneath her command.
Black ropes of magic looped around the humans’ necks and yanked them backwards.
Tearing at the bonds in futile panic, they gasped for breath, unable to take air in as they dangled two feet above the ground.
The cambion pushed the shadows away, revealing herself.
“Let’s see what sort of rats I’ve caught in my trap,” she said as she examined them.
Their legs were kicking in their desperation to get free.
One of them went for the gun at his hip.
A tendril of shadow branched off from the one around his neck.
It plucked the weapon free and tossed it aside.
“You two have been bad,” Jazmine said, scanning their souls.
They were as black as the shadows that were holding them aloft.
“What are you?” one of the men choked out.
“I’m your doom,” she replied with an insane grin.
She knew they were beyond redemption, not that she particularly cared.
All of the inhabitants of this city would die by her hands.
Once New York was empty, she would move on.
Bit by bit, she would eradicate every living soul until she would finally have the peace she craved.
Lifting her hands again, Jazmine crafted more ropes made out of shadows.
She knew her time was limited, but she wasn’t a fool.
Seeing a dumpster at the far end of the alley, she reached towards it.
Shadows solidified and pushed the heavy metal container towards her.
A tendril lifted the lid and held it open.
“What are you going to do to us?” the human wheezed breathlessly. His friend seemed to be having a heart attack. His face was red and sweat poured from him. He was making weird choking noises.
“I’m going to kill you, of course,” the shadow wielder said, then her hands rose.
Both men were lifted up high, then she slammed them into the dumpster.
More shadows boiled into the container, grabbing hold of their limbs.
She ambled over and peered into the dumpster, then clenched her fists.
When her fingers sprang open, her victims were torn apart.
Bloody chunks of meat splattered against the metal walls.
“That never gets old,” she said, chuckling at the unsightly mess she’d just made.
Motioning with her hand, the lid gently swung shut, hiding the bodies. They would eventually be found once they began to stink, but no one could tie their murders to her.
Jazmine knew she needed to get back to her apartment, just in case Lachial decided to check up on her. She still had no idea why the soldiers had all rushed northward. She learned the answer when she encountered a patrol of mercenaries after she hurried back across the bridge.
“Rahab’s enemies are even deadlier than our allies,” a frightened man was saying. “I can’t believe they snuck past our patrols and wiped dozens of us out without being caught.”
“Who are their enemies, anyway?” someone else asked.
“I heard they’re a biker gang who are just as big and muscular as Rahab’s crew,” a third person said. “But they don’t have their freaky red eyes.”
“What if the Mad Prophet is right?” the first man asked. “What if both factions are aliens? What if they’re here to take over our world?”
“So what if they are?” a human said in unconcern. “We need someone to lead us out of this chaos. Rahab’s ruthless, but he’s smart. Oliver Giamano is a spineless weasel. We all know who we’re really working for and it isn’t the politician.”
“Our representative had a meeting with the Governor to discuss how many of us have gone missing,” a male said.
“He came out of the meeting with the feeling Giamano doesn’t give a rat’s ass about us.
We’re just useful tools to him. We could all get torn apart and he’d just find more chumps to take our places. ”
Murmurs of agreement came from the group, then they moved on with their patrol.
Jazmine continued her run and made it back to her apartment just in the nick of time. She sensed Lachial on the edges of her radar, then he moved closer. He paused right outside her building, making sure she was there. His four guards were with him, as always. They moved on and she relaxed again.
“Who are Rahab’s enemies really?” Jazmine mused as she took her shoes off again.
She sat down on the couch and stared at the painting of the boy in blue.
“This Mad Prophet knows more than the humans think,” she went on.
“My sire and Rahab both want me to fight their foes. They must be aliens as well.” She’d been unable to think clearly when she’d been told about the enemy faction.
Her curiosity had been roused now. Lachial had told her to notify him if she sensed someone who was similar to the soldiers, but different.
“They want me to breed with this knight,” she said to the painting.
“As if I would ever allow a man to put his hands on me.” She shuddered at the thought and pulled the shadows around herself for protection.
Nothing could get to her when she used her power.
No one could ever make her do anything she didn’t want to do.