Becoming his Monster

by Amelia Hutchins

  “Why? Afraid those closest to the girl you’re pretending to be will be able to spot the real you?” he asked.

  “They didn’t know me, Lucian. You did, though, didn’t you? You knew all my dark and dirty needs and desires. You, above of all else, knew me inside and out. You knew my hopes because you crushed them. You knew my desires because you played me with them. You knew my wants, my needs as no other could or would ever know. You saw through my skin and exposed the flaws in my soul. You saw through the walls I’d erected and known I was as broken and shattered as the world around me, and somehow you glued me back together. And when I had finally risen, when I had finally found my feet and rose to stand on them, well, then you kicked them out from beneath me and sent my world crashing down around me. Who knew that the man who had built me up would be the one to tear me down?”

  “Is that what you think, creature?” he asked sadly.

  “I died because of you, because I had loved you. I killed our baby because it couldn’t live with what your girlfriend had placed inside of me. Your fucking game destroyed my world, and now you want to call me a creature? I belonged to this world, you don’t. He deserved more. I deserved more from you.”

  “You play her so beautifully, don’t you, creature?” he mused.

  “Unfortunately, it’s not a part I’m playing. It’s what you left of me. I’m stuck playing it because it’s the only thing I know how to do. Survive. You did this to me,” I chuckled indifferently with a shrug. “I am what I am, and if you’re strong enough to kill me, I guess it won’t matter either way, now will it?”

  My fingers trailed softly over the glass barrier, dragging along the smooth surface as power rippled in warning. Spelled glass covered in ancient wards meant to keep monsters like me locked within sent electricity rushing through me in warning. I paused, finding a vulnerable point and digging into it with my magic. I pushed harder, sensing the one who’d placed them was close. A woman stepped from the group, putting her hands against the glass as she stared back into my soulless pits. She had a crown of red, unruly curls that framed her petite face and war glyphs tattooed into her flesh. She was beautiful in her own right, a warrior to the marrow in her very bones. I felt it as I peered deeper into her soul, yet the moment she touched the glass, I felt her. As if a part of her had become the wards that locked me into this cage and held me prisoner.

  Interesting.

  I filed the information into my mind for later and pushed more power against hers.

  “Bloody hell,” she groaned as she shucked her robes and pushed both palms flat against the glass. I watched her wards rise, stacking over one another as she struggled to redo what I undid easily. One weak point and I’d unraveled everything she could throw at it. She was efficient, quick, and layering powerful wards one after another. Wards so strong a normal creature wouldn’t be able to untangle—but I saw them, through them, ready to capture the beginning before it was placed. I pulled my hand away, surveying the perspiration that beaded her flesh, slowly dripping from her hair as she sagged against the glass.

  “You think they could hold me if I hadn’t wanted to be here?” I asked, needing to see how she responded.

  “Think I fucking care?” she snapped, and I laughed, slapping my palm against the glass and watching as her back bowed. I pushed more and more magic into bringing them down, so much that my power formed and shot through me. Darkness slithered over my flesh, caressing my arms until it filled the whites of my eyes, turning them pitch black, as if I’d been plucked from the TV screen of American Horror Story and placed into their endless, secure prison. I nibbled my lip, sucking it between my teeth as I toyed with her until she screamed and blood dripped from her nose.

  “Keep going, you can do it,” I encouraged with an evil laugh that even scared me a little. My magic slithered around hers, pulling her flush against the glass as I watched her struggle to get away from it. She screamed as Synthia stepped forward, pulling her as she struggled to undo my hold on the female.

  I felt the rush to continue, to end her until she was nothing but a lifeless corpse, but I pulled back and watched as she sagged in relief as Synthia’s electric blue eyes lifted to hold mine. She knew I’d released her, which I hadn’t needed to, but that I had.

  “You’re pure fucking evil,” the female uttered as she lifted her eyes to hold my lifeless ones. “I can feel it in your magic, your touch. You’re evil incarnate. You don’t belong here.”

  “Is that what they told you?” I laughed soundlessly. “I assure you this, druid: If I were evil, you’d be nothing more than a corpse right now. You laid those wards assuming I had no knowledge of them or their origin, but I did. I could have added mine into yours so that it drove back through you, ending your life. Rather fucking sloppy of you, really. Disappointing for someone with so much power running through her veins. You should be glad that I am not what they say I am, or you’d be very much dead right now. But then I guess the only thing I am good at killing is myself, isn’t that so, guys?” I asked, tossing my hand around in a useless gesture. “Tough crowd,” I smiled coldly, letting my magic fill the dome until it pulsed and strained with it.

  “Magdalena,” my mother’s tone slithered through me like ice water on a hot day. I plastered on a fake smile and lifted my lifeless black eyes to hers. I watched her flinch and recoil from me, but then I didn’t really blame her. I did resemble most horror movies nowadays with their invasion of demons and their wonky-as-fuck eye affliction. I’d recoiled myself as I stared at the monster I’d become in a mirror. Thick black veins ran through my flesh, pulsing with strong dark magic as I let it rush through me. I tilted my head, staring her down as I slowly closed the distance between us, giving her enough time to scamper away from me.

  They all took a step away from the glass. Away from me.

  Whatever.

  I was what I was, and I’d become it to protect them. All of them. I’d saved one child because only one of us could have survived what Katarina had done to us. If I hadn’t, she’d have buried both of her children. It also wasn’t as if I’d wanted to play their game, but then the rest of us had been nothing more than collateral damage.

  “Hello, Mommy,” I purred coyly as the memory of her damning me to Hell came back. “Did you miss me?” I asked, hating myself for doing it. “Am I everything you wanted me to be and more?” I laughed coldly in a deadened tone. It filled the dome, but it was empty.

  I wandered closer to Kendra and leaned my forehead against the soothing glass. I slowly, carefully tapped my nail on the glass, watching as her mouth formed a perfect O as she listened. She stepped closer, tapping back as she watched me. It was in our language, the one we’d perfected as children when we were in trouble, and only a wall separated us.

  “It’s you,” she cried as she shook her head.

  “It’s not her.” Lucian’s voice pulled us back, forcing my eyes to swing to his wide frame, lingering on it. “It knows everything about her, all her secrets and everything else. It knows all of us, every single person she’s ever encountered. That isn’t her; it’s the seal wearing her like a fucking suit.”

  I stepped back and forced my eyes to return to normal, matching hers identically. She caught it, but even now I could see the distrust forming and growing in her eyes. Good, it was time she started using that brain. “I’m glad you’re doing better, that you’re healthy and your daughter is not dead like my son is.”

  She shook her head as horror registered on her delicate features. “Magdalena…”

  “I’m fine. I really am. I’m okay with what I have become,” I muttered as I backed away from the glass, turning on my heel to move to where Lucian stood, glaring. “So what’s it to be, then, Lucian? Lock me up, tie me up? Kill me? Dissect me for your perfect fucking seal? Whatever it is, get on with it already. You bore me, Blackstone. I have places to be, creatures to kill, and none of them have to deal with you or yo
urs.”

  “I’m about to show you why you’re mine,” he chuckled. “I’m about to shove you back into that box and toss your ass into the first endless void I can find.”

  “And if it isn’t inside of me?” I laughed coldly. “What then?”

  “It’s there, I can feel you. You forget, you’re a part of me.”

  Chapter 4

  My eyes slowly roamed over the men, who began removing their shirts. Power exuded from them; raw, untapped, uncut electrical current filled the dome before they’d even entered it. Brands slithered over flesh; muscles rippled as weapons were checked and placed into their holsters. The dome trembled, and for a minute, I couldn’t rip my gaze off the male perfection being displayed to see what was happening inside it. I stared up as the dome’s ceiling opened, revealing a glass ceiling above it, and through the glass the large full moon shone down, lighting up the room in its earthly glow.

  My stomach rolled, dropping to my feet as I lowered my gaze to Lucian’s. “Get them out of here, now. Please,” I uttered thickly as my mind did the math and rushed with chaos at what was about to unfold. How the fuck had we forgotten that?

  “Don’t think you’re in a position to be making requests, creature,” he leered as his body rippled with power. Behind him, Ryder, Zahruk, and Spyder all tossed their shirts aside and stared at me as if I was enemy number one. They shed any resemblance of humanity in the process, and stretched their necks, rolling their shoulders as power moved through the rooms in the same motion.

  I took an involuntary step back, putting more distance between us. They were fucking ripped, muscles coiled as brands pulsed with raw, live magic that wasn’t from this realm. Runes danced upon their chests, covering the flesh. I exhaled slowly, letting the air in and out of my lungs as I struggled to calm the tension I felt, which coiled in every nerve ending at what was about to happen. Magic rushed through me as I considered what was happening, and reveled in the thought of a worthwhile fight. It had been a while since I’d had a challenge.

  “Synthia,” I said, staring at her until she pulled her eyes away from Ryder and stared back at me. “I didn’t kill your druid, so you owe me. Get my family out of here. They don’t need to watch this happen.” She just glared at me, and I growled. “I’m about to fucking die, get them out of here!” Her eyes narrowed and yet she ignored me, settling her gaze back on Ryder with a frown.

  She was afraid I’d hurt them? Her shoulders lowered, and those eyes came back, staring at me as if weighing her options and what she would do. Hope flared through me, only to be dashed as she gave me her back. I groaned and brought my wrist up to my teeth, letting the sharp fangs drop as I ripped through my flesh, biting an entire chunk loose before I stepped up to the glass and dipped my fingers into the blood. I brought them up and began painting.

  Blood slid over glass as my fingers smudged over it, twirling as rune after rune was placed. It clashed with the ones they’d placed on the floor, but mine were older, more powerful. I held eyes with Lucian as I continued to paint in my blood, watching as the men sweat while waiting for the druid, who had begun working on the glass to allow them into the dome. It was taking longer than they’d anticipated, which worked out well for me. Everyone held their breath as I continually moved my fingers, painting the dead language over it.

  “The fuck is she doing?” Zahruk demanded, his sapphire eyes finding mine as they glared in warning.

  I broke eye contact and lifted my eyes to the moon, which hovered just barely out of sight of the hole in the ceiling.

  “Healing runes maybe? I’m not sure. Whatever it is, they’re fucking old. I think it’s a dead language, or maybe one not from this world. How would she even know a dead language if she is as young as you said she is?” the druid said as she continued guessing out loud what I’d painted onto the glass.

  “It’s primitive,” Lucian said, forcing all eyes onto him, and I grinned.

  Primitive meant old as shit, which meant whatever I was, was too. It also said Lucian was old as well.

  “Hurry the fuck up and get the wards done. She’s almost done.” The angry clip in Synthia’s tone couldn’t hide the worry and hesitancy from me. Her man was entering this dome with an unknown, and she wasn’t, why? A hiss escaped her cherry-colored lips as I slapped my palm against the glass in a finishing touch and it briefly ignited before fizzling out.

  “I don’t think whatever it was worked,” the druid stated absently as she paused and stopped removing the wards as she examined my work. Her eyes continually scanned the trail of blood before she once again began to remove the wards.

  “I’m going in to keep her busy,” Lucian announced and I smiled coldly. “Guard the fucking door, Spyder. Don’t let this monster out.” His tone was clipped, and hatred oozed from every word he’d ordered.

  I watched him as I slowly backpedaled away from his entrance. I didn’t look away from the deadly eyes that threatened to drown me again. They would be a perfect death, drowning in the obsidian depths that swallowed me whole. He waited, stretching his neck as the druid worked faster. Her fingers danced as the magic clung to them, weaving with her magical touch as she removed and rearranged them.

  Once he was inside, he rushed at me, and I remained rooted to the spot, allowing it. My head slammed against the dome, and I laughed huskily against his ear. His hands moved, finding my throat and gripping it tightly as a moan exploded from between my lips. My breathing hitched as my eyelashes fluttered to dance upon my cheeks. My hands lifted, not needing the air he thought to keep from me, gripping his shirt before I ripped it open, sending the buttons sailing through the air to scatter across the floor. My legs wrapped around his waist, pulling his massive body against mine until a guttural growl filled the dome.

  His forehead lowered, pressing against mine as he assumed I’d succumbed to his traitorous grasp around my throat. I inhaled, greedily indulging on his scent as my legs dropped to hang in the air. In one motion, I brought my hands up together and shoved him away from me, using magic to garner strength before I lifted my foot, kicking him backwards. It sent him sailing across the dome, crashing against the other side of it. I watched as his eyes widened in surprise, which he concealed almost immediately, but not fast enough.

  “I didn’t state how long I would let you abuse me, now did I?” I laughed and brought my hands up to my neck, trailing my fingers over the swollen flesh. “I think I’m wet?” I asked, letting my hand trail down to my body as his eyes changed, burning with blue flames. “Fuck yeah, but then you always had that effect on me, didn’t you?”

  “You’re not my Lena,” he snarled.

  “No, I’m not. That Lena was weak, I’m not. She was easily broken, and I will never be broken again. So yes, your Lena is dead. I was just a casualty of your fucking game. I guess winning it came with some serious consequences, now didn’t it?” I retorted as he paced on the other side of the room.

  “You’re not my Lena,” he repeated.

  “The fuck, Lucian,” I said as I threw my hands in the air. “Did you go daft while I was being reborn?” I asked, finally placing my hands on my hips as I listened to the others joining us in the dome.

  “I know what you are, creature. What you do when you think you have fooled the world, and what drives you. I know because you’re my creation. My responsibility. You’re not fucking tricking me again, ever. She had no soul, so how the fuck are you controlling her corpse?” he demanded.

  “Oomph,” I snorted. “I’m soulless, Lucian. I can’t be controlled by you or anyone else. Or it, because it cannot latch onto anything inside of me,” I explained and watched as his eyes narrowed. “So, gentlemen,” I exclaimed as I turned to face the others, who’d entered silently. “How are we going to play this?”

  “To the death,” Lucian answered, but something in his tone had caught and hesitated.

  “So be it then,” I smirked.

 
; All hell broke loose.

  Chapter 5

  I paced the dome, watching the men as they mirrored my movements. I sensed them before they lunged, moving together as one powerful assault team. As if they’d done it a few times recently, which they probably had. I materialized on the other side, away from them and watched as they stopped, sensing my new location.

  The moment power filled the small room; I disappeared as it groaned from the immense magic filling it. The room erupted into utter chaos as everyone moved at inhuman speeds, sifting and materializing as body collided with body. Growls and groans exploded, filling the place as they struggled to decipher who was who, and where I’d gone. The moment we all became corporeal again, I tensed. I took in the bloodied bodies and shirtless chests that were now covered in a fine sheen of sweat. I, of course, was dripping blood from where they’d caught me but hadn’t been able to maintain it as I’d used my power to dissolve into mist. It wouldn’t be that fucking easy for them to catch me, not anymore.

  “She’s not fucking normal,” Zahruk shouted, his nose dripping blood from where I’d connected with it.

  “No shit, Sherlock,” he snapped. “She isn’t even a she,” Lucian grunted as he swiped blood from his lip with his thumb.

  “Ouch, that hurts. You’ve been in it; shouldn’t you out of everyone here know that I am female?” I laughed as he glared. The sound was as cold and empty as the space where my heart had once beat for him.

  “You going to actually fucking hurt her or just keep letting her go?” Ryder seethed as the question uncurled from his tongue. Golden eyes locked with mine and I winked at him, fully aware he wasn’t fucking around.

  “If it was Syn?” Spyder injected. “Could you fucking kill it so easily then, fucker?”

  “You’re the assholes saying it isn’t her, so what’s the fucking issue?”