Justice Calling(26)

“You don’t understand,” he whined. “You don’t know what you’ve done. I was so close.”
“I. Don’t. Fucking. Care.” I said. “Save the Bond villain explanation for whatever god greets you in hell. Unless, of course, you want to live.”
There was zero way he was going to live.  Shifter justice isn’t very nice. But he didn’t need to know that yet.
“Yes,” he said, his bug-like blue eyes filled with desperation.
“All you have to do is undo your spells, the ones that suck power from my friends. Very simple.” I smiled at him.
From his reaction, it wasn’t a very pleasant smile.
“I, uh,” he stuttered and then looked up at Alek and then back at me. “I can’t.”
“You worked the spell. How?”
“I found an old book. Bought it on Ebay. Most of it was gibberish, but then some of the spells worked. But I couldn’t get enough power, not from people. They kept dying, you see. Then I discovered one of them.” He looked back up at Alek. “Werepeople. The book described using magical creatures as vessels.”
“Where is this book?” And what fucking idiot warlock had written down such dangerous spells? Rage trickled back through me, giving me a second wind, and I glared down at the shaking man.
“I burnt it. I didn’t my disciples to steal it.  Jimmy and Collin were always lifting things, trying to find ways to gain power like I did. Then they sold that damn fox for weed money. This is their fault!”
“Oh yeah, your problem was that you hired bad help. Sure.”  I looked at Alek. His eyes were flame and ice in the flickering torchlight.
“He’s telling the truth,” Alek said softly.
“So you can’t undo your spells? You really don’t know how?”
“No, I’m telling you. The book didn’t tell me that. Why would I want to?  Before now, I mean. Those two,” he said, motioning toward Harper and Levi, “they aren’t tapped. They are just unconscious. They’ll wake up. See? It’s only that one.”
“Not just him,” I said. “What about the fox? What about those wolves under your office?”
“I can’t do anything about it now. Don’t let that thing kill me. I won’t do it again. I’m sorry.” Bernie said, his voice rising into a high screech.
I sank to my knees and reached out for Ezee’s body beside me, sliding my hand into his soft brown fur.  Shadow bonds wrapped around him in the same twisting pattern they did on Rose.  I found his heartbeat, faint but there.
“This is the crossroads,” I whispered, looking up at Alek. “This is what you saw.”
He just stared down at me, not moving, his face giving nothing away.  I knew somehow that he would let me decide. That if I said the word, he’d become the Justice once more and execute the sentence of death on Bernie Barnes.
That was one path, one road leading away from the junction I now metaphorically stood at.  Down that path, Bernie died. Rose and Ezee also died. Slowly and horribly, or else they would have to be put down by friends. By me or maybe Alek. I wasn’t going to ask Harper or Levi to do it.
On that path, they died.
There was another path.
“No, Bernie,” I said, the words falling like stones from my mouth. “You won’t do it again.”  I summoned my magic, fighting the pounding exhaustion that threatened to stem the flow.
Then I plunged my hand, cloaked in raw power, into Bernie’s chest and ripped out his heart.
I didn’t let myself think about what I was doing. I just acted, shoving the bleeding hunk of muscle into my mouth and biting down hard. I didn’t know if I had to eat the whole thing or not. I hoped not.  It was hot and tough, like trying to chew a raw steak. I ripped off the biggest piece I could and swallowed it without chewing more than once, half choking, and I fought to not immediately vomit it back up.#p#分页标题#e#
Shadowy power exploded in my chest as I swallowed and a flood of images and impressions overloaded my mind. Ugly, jock-type boys gathered around me, taunting me for my glasses, my weird name. Learning Sanskrit. Stabbing a shadowy knife into a screaming man’s chest. Cinnamon rolls.  Shadow power welling inside me as young men sat at my feet, eager to learn. I think I passed out as Bernie’s life and mine collided.
Then the sensory overload stopped and just like that I was awake. My head was clear and this strange new knowledge was there, as though I’d downloaded a new file to the desktop of my brain.
I reached for Ezee, the shadow bonds inside him clear as lines on a map to me now. I knew what they were for, how they leeched his life force and transmuted it into an energy I now knew how to use.