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LYRIC
That was it. I lost it.
The last thread of my control.
My breathing got uneven as I tried and failed to suppress my tears. One came running effortlessly.
The Executioner turned fully to face me, wearing a smile. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was amused by my tears.
“So, what’s it going to be, Lyric?” She walked back to me. “Are you going to tell me what you know? Or should I go ahead and inform my colleagues?”
Neither of the options was better. There was no way I was letting her leave when she already had her suspicions.
Amidst my fear and tears, something struck me. Her colleagues didn’t know I existed. So, if she didn’t report to them, they’d be entirely clueless.
I gulped with a flutter of nerves. What if… what if I could Siphon her memories? She wouldn’t remember seeing me and won’t be able to expose me to the others. It’ll give me enough time.
“Lyric, it’d be a shame to do this the wrong way…” She went on talking while I zoned out.
I observed our proximity. She was close enough for my hand to wrap around hers. Based on the research I’d been making, I should be able to do this.
My heart was beating worse than it had been moments ago. It was thumping so hard against my ribcage.
Think, Lyric. Think.
I bit the inside of my cheeks, my eyes zeroing in on her lips as they moved, her neck, and down to the hand I needed to hold.
“Okay, then,” she shrugged with finality. “Let’s do this your way.”
She turned away from me, heading for the door.
I stopped thinking and acted. My hand shot out, grabbing her strong one. It was so cold in my hand.
She whipped around at me, but before she could react, I dug my nails into the skin of her wrist and focused like the research said.
She winced immediately, but the effect must have taken place on her as she couldn’t seem to fight me.
Wow. Seeing someone as strong as she was grunting this way in pain didn’t seem real.
I didn’t exactly know if I was doing it right, but I felt the energy leaving her hand and going into mine.
It was clearly working. She kept grunting in pain and couldn’t fight back.
Her knees buckled until they gave out, hitting the floor. In that moment, seeing her on her knees in front of me, it gave me a kind of thrill. The Executioners were deadly people. Yet, before me, this very one was defenseless.
It made me feel powerful.
For a moment, I was lost in the thrill of it, not even hearing the lady’s painful grunts.
I kept going and going, not knowing when to stop. Until she passed out in front of me.
I released her wrist as I stepped back with a gasp.
My emotions and reasoning clicked into place. My lips shook and I had it bite down on it.
Okay. Was she supposed to pass out?
I took in her form. The place where my nails dug into was there, little drops of blood all over the wrist.
But what bothered me the most was the paleness of her face. Was it normal to look that way after losing your memories? How was I even sure the process worked?
I took a hard gulp, looking around like there was someone else in the bathroom with me. Of course, there wasn’t.
I tried to steady my own breathing as I checked her respiratory rate. Dread settled low in my stomach when I couldn’t see anything.
Okay. Just calm down, Lyric and check properly. She must definitely have a heartbeat.
Dropping to my knees, I took her blood–free hand and checked her pulse. Mine beat louder, contrasting the quietness I felt
in hers.
The two fingers I placed on her wrist were starting to shake so terribly. I couldn’t… I couldn’t feel a pulse.
“No,” I muttered to myself, shaking my head. “No…”
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I took her bloodied wrist to check but got the same result. No pulse.
I dropped the hand so quickly like it burned, my own pulse running too fast.
She couldn’t be… she couldn’t be dead. It couldn’t have killed her.
“Please, wake up,” I gently touched her head, afraid I’d break her further if I touched her roughly. “Please. Please”
Fear tasted like acid on my tongue. It burnt the back of my throat, forcing me to scratch it.
My lids grew heavy with sweat as reality slowly began to settle in.
I just killed someone.
I wanted to Siphon her memories and ended up killing her.
I rose to my feet on shaky legs, unable to think clearly.
However, when I heard a sound just outside the door, it helped me with a little reasoning. A new sense of fear.
My eyes widened as I listened to the running footsteps.
No!
I ran out of the restroom, my eyes darting down the passage, but I couldn’t see anyone.
I ran farther, going out to the main exit. Still nothing. Whoever it was, they were gone. They saw me, and now they were
gone.
My throat grew thick. I noticed too late that I wanted to retch and ended up throwing up on the floor.
I bent in half, my hands over my knees for support. Tears spilled down my cheeks as I threw up everything I had from the party.
My head ached.
“What do I do? What do I do?” I repeated in a whimper, itching my scalp with both hands.
There was a corpse in the bathroom. Someone had seen or heard us and I didn’t even know who it was. And here I was, ruining the floor with my vomit.
I couldn’t do this.
I ran out the door, ignoring the field and heading straight to the main house.
As soon as I was in the confines of my room, I pulled at my hair and screamed. I screamed so hard my lungs hurt.
It was a good thing everyone was at the field and there was no one to hear me.
The terror of everything that just happened weighed heavily on me.
I killed an Executioner.
But that was never my intention. I only wanted to erase her memories. I thought I could. How did she end up dead?
Oh, gods. How do I dispose of the body? Who was it that heard us?
I was doomed. Finally, I was doomed.
I needed help.
I thought of calling Jace but quickly decided against it. Jace would be mad at me and might not want to help me. He warned me not to make the research. Maybe I should’ve listened. Maybe I wouldn’t have killed someone tonight. Now that she was dead, her people would definitely come to know what happened.
“I didn’t have a choice!” I cried out, like there was someone in the room to hear me. “She’d have exposed me. She’d have exposed me.”
I crashed on the floor, weeping profusely
Gods, I was so so scared. Maybe it was time to leave.
No. I needed to take care of the body first.
But how do I dispose of the body when there was a party taking place in the field?
But it was in the restroom. Anyone could walk in on it and freak out. The party would have to come to an end.
Oh, gods; the kids had waited so long for this day and I was just about to ruin it with someone’s death. How would they feel knowing that someone died on their sixth birthday? Right in their party?
I couldn’t do this to them.
I wiped my face, arranged my hair and left the room. My breathing was a little too loud.
I could take the body elsewhere, keep it hidden until the party was over.
I could-
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My thoughts came to a halt as did my feet when I noticed a gathering around the guest house.
No.
No no no.
Please, don’t tell me.
I swallowed hard as I hastened my steps, my stomach churning like it was about to release more vomit.
I made my way through the mumbling crowd and into the house. My puke was still there at the entrance, feeling me with revulsion.
But that wasn’t even the worst part. It was my fear being confirmed as I noticed the gathering extending to the restroom.
They’d seen the body.
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