“I can’t.” I fell back, snatching up my phone. “I can’t do it, Reese. I can’t pierce her in the heart… What if I just stab her in the arm or something? She’s allergic to the steel. Wouldn’t that be enough?”
He sighed. “No, that’ll just hurt her, not to mention make her really, really angry.”
How could I kill an innocent person, someone who didn’t have any control over their actions? It wasn’t her fault what she’d become, just as it wasn’t mine.
I snapped out of my train of thought, looking out the window. “Reese?”
Where the hell did he go?
A soft tap registered at the door, and I jumped, dropping the blade in my hand.
“You gonna let me in?” the magician whispered.
Seriously? How did he get in here?
I unlocked the door and grabbed him by the lapels, pulling him inside. Knowing him, he probably waltzed into the house without bothering to go invisible, just to make things interesting.
“That her?” he queried, spotting Brittany as he rounded the bedside.
“No, that’s my neighbor. We got into a fight about who the best boy band was, so I clobbered her.” I gave him a light backhand to the chest. “What do you think?”
He knelt down, studying her face. “Talk about a cat fight. What happened?” I pointed at the silver frame, and a small smile formed on his lips. It immediately vanished though as his gaze traveled up to my leg. “You’re bleeding.”
Before I could protest, he swept me up and settled me down on top of the bed. His fingers slowly glided up my calf, hiking the pant leg.
“I’m fine,” I assured. “It’s already healing.”
“Did she bite you?”
I shook my head.
“We don’t have much time,” he murmured.
“Have you done this before? I mean…kill someone who isn’t attacking you?” I asked weakly, looking at the girl’s unconscious frame.
Reese eased my pant leg back down and turned his attention to Brittany once more. “It’s merciful in comparison to what end she’ll face elsewhere.”
I couldn’t bring myself to look. I climbed off the bed, making my way over to the rubble still sitting at the foot of my bookcase. A thunderous crack erupted, and Reese’s frame came hurtling beside me. He bit down on a howl, prying out a shard of broken frame glass from his abdomen. I spun around. Brittany’s burnt face sneered up at us as she staggered to her feet.
“There’ll be nothing merciful in what I’m about to do to you,” she spat, flashing Reese a wicked set of bloodstained teeth. But that wasn’t the only thing bleeding. Blood coursed down her hand from where another large shard of glass was pressed firmly in her palm, the barbed end primed at Blackburn. She sprang forward. As if stepping outside myself, instinct seized control over my mind. I dropped to the floor, plucking up the dagger I’d dropped not a moment before. The girl was mere inches from plunging the jagged glass into Reese’s neck when she suddenly gasped, hobbling backward.
It took a moment for my mind to finally regain command over myself as my eyes traveled down. My fingers were still wrapped around the handle of the dagger, now plunged in the left side of the brunette’s chest. Warm liquid pooled over my hand and I gasped, recoiling back until I hit the wall. I was covered in her…in her blood. Just as I’d witnessed in the alley with her male counterpart, Brittany’s pained expression turned brittle, as did the rest of her until there was nothing left but a pile of ash splayed across the hardwood floor.
My hand instinctively shot to my mouth, but I shrieked, slamming it back down to my side before my bloodied digits could connect with my lips.
“Kat—” Reese’s arms caught hold of me as my knees buckled under. “Kat, you’re okay.”
“I just…”
“I know.” He settled me on the floor, brushing the mess of hair from my eyes. My whole body shook, and he sank down in front of me, purposely blocking my view of the poor girl’s remains. “Hey.” Reese angled my face up to his. “Thank you.”
Chapter 23
By the Way
I couldn’t bring myself to do it. After taking a shower, I came back out into my bedroom. Reese had cleaned up everything, but as I sat on my mattress, my stomach churned. How could I sleep not two feet from where I had just killed someone? Every inch of me was still stained by an invisible taint. It didn’t matter how hard I scrubbed at my skin, how much I lathered, how much soap I used. Brittany’s blood was still there. I couldn’t see it, but I could feel it.
“We can go back to my place, if you want,” suggested Reese. “The bed in the basement is all yours. My mom won’t know.”