by K. A Knight
The woman sits up, her back arching, tits swaying with the movement, and her head turns from side to side like a robot. What is she now? She was a human with hopes, dreams, fears, love...a home. Probably a family and now? Now she is whatever they want her to be. Nothing more than an experiment, something to control. Her eyes are vacant...still dead.
“You see, we can’t create a soul. For now he has been struggling to get them to function like us. They are simply vessels, servants very similar to my nephilim, but you?” He turns, eyes blazing with something, and I step back, knowing I’m not going to like whatever he’s going to say.
“All your life, Dawn, have you not felt different? Like something is missing? Just out of your reach? You were the very first, he did not work for me then, he was doing it in secret, trying different things. A lot of them died. You weren’t made in a lab, no, he found your mother when she was pregnant and low on money. Money opens a lot of doors, it did with her. She let him run tests on her baby. She thought he was trying to find a cure to an autoimmune disease, but really he injected pure power and magic into the embryo. Into you. He watched her, and when you were born human, he thought he had failed so he left you alone. Just another sheep. We all felt it that night, the night your power was unlocked. He did as well and sought you out. But we couldn’t find you until, suddenly, you came to us. Now here you are, our very best. The only one to ever survive, you are proof this works. You are the future.”
“I-I’m not like her!” I almost scream.
“No, you are better. A living, breathing, thinking, soul-filled creature. You have so much potential, so much untapped power…the things you could be, Dawn! Think of it! The things we could do together, and using the same process with you, we could fill our courts again. Make more supernaturals than humans! We would be unstoppable.”
“You made me a monster,” I state, my voice dead.
“We made you better, stronger, you are immortal! We made you more than you could have ever been as a human.” He spreads his hands in front of himself like it’s simple.
“You made me a monster!” I scream, my heart cracking. Everything I thought I knew about myself is crumbling around me and pouring from my mouth.
All the rage, the pain...the hate. Filling me up and exploding from my mouth. How dare they play god. How fucking dare they make me into this! They have no right. They claim to be doing it for the better good, but everything comes down to power. They want more, they want to rule, and they don’t care who they hurt along the way. They are changing things that should never be changed. It enrages me until I can’t stop.
All this time, I thought everything I had survived, lived through, was for a reason. So I could be reborn and find my mates, that I had a purpose. A destiny. Instead I was a madman’s creation in a bid for power. I am corrupt, an experiment, nothing more than wrong. The world falls from beneath my feet and I do what any monster does when threatened—attack.
The scream changes, warps into a war cry so loud and powerful the window shatters next to me. Shards float and my hand flings out, palm flat, stopping them until they hang suspended between us. Amos watches me in shock and pride.
“See? See what we made you? Just think of everything we could do together!” he yells as wind whips around the room, unnatural wind. It lifts me from the floor as my eyes light up white, lasering around the space.
Amos steps back, fear entering his expression for the monster he created. “Dawn, stop this,” he orders. “Stop it now!”
It whips faster and faster, fuelled by everything. I see flashes of Tim’s mocking smile as he beats me. I see my human body dying, my hands clawing through mud and dirt until I suck in lungfuls of air. I watch the human girl die again and again, I watch Griffin’s eyes as he explains his past. I see it all. All the suffering these men have caused because they thought they could play god.
“I am ordering you! Stop this now, you are ours to control!” he shouts over the wind.
It was the wrong thing to say. I fling out my hand and the shards turn like daggers and fly towards him. They slice him, cutting into flesh, carving him for me. He screams, ducking and covering his head as his blood drips to the floor.
He created a monster, one he thought he could control. He was wrong. I’m a monster, that’s for sure, but he will never use me. Never control me. I will kill them all for what they have done to me, to every woman down here…to every single human and monster alike.
But then I see the good. Nos, his warm smile and white eyes as he watches me with pride, his hand outstretched to me as he calls me. “Little Monster.”
Griffin swoops about me, feathers curling around to warm me, his mind brushing mine. I see Aska roar as his dragon soars through the air. I see a black shape zooming towards me on the night. I see Jair striding through the glass and madness, his eyes only for me.
Yes, I was made.
Yes, they might have created me, but they are not responsible for me. I am, me alone. I make my own choices, my own destiny, and they are mine. Not this man, not this madness and hate. I am not something wrong, I am not evil.
I am Dawn.
Skinwalker.
Mate.
Draya.
Vasculo.
Neriso.
Little Monster.
I am all that and more, and it’s time I showed them what they created.
I drop my arm, letting the wind die as I pull the power back within me. The glass falls to the floor with a shattering jingle as my feet touch the ground.
Amos clambers up to stand, his expression outraged, the cuts on his face and body healing as his power hits me. I throw mine back at him, meeting him halfway. We are evenly matched...in fact, I think I’m stronger. I step forward, pushing him back with each step. “I am not yours to order about. I will stop what you’re doing here. It’s evil and wrong. I will stop you.”
He laughs even as he is pushed backwards. “If I am evil, then what are you?”
“Evil’s worst enemy. You have no idea what you created, and you are scared of that. You don’t know what I’m capable of, I can hear it. You should be scared, because when I’m done, nothing of your precious council will stand. You will be dust, forgotten to the ages while the humans rule, and everything you hate most will still be alive while you are nothing more than a bad dream.”
I’m concentrating on Amos so hard, I don’t hear him until it’s too late. A sharp prick comes at my neck, and I swirl to see the man from the lab backing away with a needle held in his hand.
“As I was saying, Dawn, you are ours, with or without your permission. We need you and we will use you,” Amos sneers behind me, his voice warping halfway through until it’s slower and deeper, disjointed, and wrong.
No, wait, that’s me.
I stumble to the side, my head fuzzy and my eyes going dark as my ears ring. “What have you done to me?” I ask, but it comes out garbled.
I fall to my knees and then to my side, the blackness claiming me as I fight it.
No!
But it’s no use. I’m gone.
I wake up cold and naked.
Why always naked? Can’t the evil bastards just let me have clothes? Not that I have modesty, but my mates will kill anyone who sees me like this, and these fuckers are mine, not theirs. Cracking open my eyes, I blink at the bright light above me, groaning as I turn my head to the side. My whole body aches like I drank way too much and passed out. Whatever that drug was, it was really powerful.
I’m in the lab, strapped to one of the metal tables. When I look down, I see bindings on each ankle, over my middle, and shackling both wrists. It seems they aren’t taking any risks this time.
Lifting my head hurts, so I lay it back down and wait. They must have something planned. They wouldn’t just leave me here if what they said is true—I’m too valuable, as disgusting as that thought is. My mind focuses on what he said. Is that why my mother left? She knew there was something wrong with me? What about Tim…did he sense it too?
These thoughts get me nowhere, so I push them away and focus on my body, feeling the drug slowly ebb away until there’s a crunch of glass. Raising my head, I see Amos come through the door and walk over to me. He looks down at me sadly, as if I disappointed him. Asshole.
“We do not need your permission, you have outlived your usefulness, we can get what we want by force.” He sighs then, almost sadly. “You could have been so powerful, it’s a shame.”
Amos wants to leave me here. And I know it’s to die. I have outlasted my purpose. Well, fuck being smart, fuck being good.
It’s time I let my monster out to play.
He turns away. Growling, I yank on the bindings, thrashing as I try to get to him, but he leaves the room, and about a minute later I hear the bunker door slam. The silence is eerie down here. I look around the room, but I don’t spot the guy who injected me or the woman. It’s empty except me.
I relax my head onto the table and wait, letting my strength return as the drug leaves my system so I’m ready for what’s to come. It takes hours before someone arrives. It’s stupid of them, because the drug is fully out of my system by now and I’m back to full strength and pissed as hell.
It’s not the same blond-haired man from before, it’s four guys. I sniff the air, trying to discern what they are. One smells human, the other smells like magic, and the other two smell...wrong. That’s when I realise those two? They are replicas of the other two.
They made clones?
What the fuck is this place and how has the council gotten away with this shit?
They head my way and I strike. Power flows from me as I scream and launch myself at them, snapping the bindings like they were paper. The lights explode in a shower of sparks, plunging us into darkness. I can see them just fine though, but they don’t see me until it’s too late.
I tackle the first one to the floor, just moving on instinct now. Snarling, I bite, ripping through his cheek and spitting it away. He screams in agony, trying to push me away, but I’m too strong.
The whole time all I see is those women.
I see the one from in here.
I see the ones I saved, and what might have happened to them.
Their images fill me so completely there is no room for anything else. Just hate. Blood fills my mouth as I dig my claws into his chest, tearing it to shreds before slashing his throat. Blood spurts in an arc, covering me and dripping into my eyes.
“Where is she?” someone screams.
I hear them stumbling around the room and almost falling, attempting to escape. They can’t get away from me. Rising to my feet, I leap over one of the gurneys and crouch on all fours before one of the men. His hands are outstretched in the dark, his eyes wide and darting around wildly, his mouth trembling.
I laugh and he shrieks, trying to run away. I land on his back as he hits the floor, and I waste no time ripping his head off and tossing it at the man just about to reach the door. He goes down, falling over it, and shakily picks it up, feeling along the bloodied skull.
I know the moment he realises what it is. His face goes pale and he faints, smacking back into the floor with a crunch. Turning away, I spot the other man just as a red flashing light flickers on above, tingeing everything. The man stumbles back in horror, his mouth opening and closing, and I can taste his fear. I watch as he pisses himself, the wetness covering the front of his trousers and trickling down onto the floor as he cries.
I know I must look monstrous. As I stroll towards him, I catch a glimpse of myself in the shattered glass and laugh. My hair is crimson with blood and my face is covered in it. I look like something out of a horror movie. My eyes are black and white, mixing together in each pupil like the night sky. I have fangs hanging over my lower lip and smoke is trailing from my nose.
“Beware the monster that hides within this small blonde, she will eat you whole.” I laugh, and he falls back with a scream, his back smacking into the ground as he lets out a pained yelp.
I pounce, landing above him on all fours, sniffing along his neck. “You smell like fear,” I rumble, voice low and velvety. Licking a path up his sweaty neck, I chuckle in his ear. “You taste like it. Tell me, I bet those girls cried. I bet they pleaded and begged, trying to reach your heart. What does the inside of your cold, dead heart look like? Why don’t we find out?”
With a snarl, I dig my hands into his chest, prying it open. He screams wordlessly, tears rolling down his cheeks as I crack open his ribs and pry his heart from his chest. Holding it up, I look down at him and frown. “Huh, not black, shame.”
A noise has me spinning to see the other man now awake, crawling backwards on the floor. Grinning, I drop the heart to the ground with a squelch that makes him gag. I bring my fingers to my lips and lick the blood from it as he watches.
He tastes like metal and fear, delicious.
“Oh God, oh God, oh God,” the man chants as he freezes.
“Not a god, not yet, little human,” I purr, and I crawl to him, my body swaying slowly until I reach his feet and sit up, watching him. “Are you scared of dying?”
“Y-Yes,” he sobs.
“Did you fear anything when you tried to play God yourself? Did you fear the consequences, fear what you were becoming? Did you feel anything at all?” I whisper, digging my nails into his ankle, cutting through skin and making him scream. “Focus, little human, I grow bored.”
“I-I was just doing as I was told,” he whispers, and I snarl, snapping my teeth at him.
“I fucking hate that excuse. Do you not have a mind? If they told you to leap from a cliff, would you? And as you crashed to the rocks at the bottom say that it was ordered? No! You wouldn’t! You chose this, do not blame others. You made the choice to hurt those women, to disrupt nature. For power and money. Tell me, how do those things feel now? Do they protect you? You see, I will. I will protect those women, every woman who has been hurt. Hurt by men like you who think they are nothing more than a fucking uterus, nothing more than something weaker than them. We are stronger than you will ever know, not always physically, but mentally? Fuck yes, we put up with assholes like you and rise above it. Every day, women out there pick up their pieces from cheating spouses and abusive partners, neglecting people they trust. Women are the strongest thing on this planet, and you will all see that soon. They will see that. For I am the monster who fights for them, for those who can’t, and you? You are simply a weak little man, therefore in your logic, I can hurt you.”
He shakes his head mutely.
“Nothing to say? Guess you aren’t that smart after all,” I purr.
Tired of this game, I end it. Something stretches inside me, something calling for me to use it, to be let out, so I do. I watch curiously as purple mist flows towards the man from my mouth, wrapping around him. He screams and fights beneath me and then suddenly stops, his strings cut. The purple rises from his body, something bright and swirling held within it.
Is-Is that his soul?
It stays there for a moment, and then it’s gone, as is the purple magic. What the hell was that?
I fall back, breathing heavily as the change recedes. Maybe Amos was right, maybe I am stronger than I know, with things hiding inside me. What else am I capable of? No. No, he’s wrong. I can control it...right?
Looking around, I get to my feet and leave the lab, heading into the hallway on bare feet. Amos must know by now, and I doubt he thinks I’m dead. Fine. He wants this to be over? I will end this.
First things first, I need to free my monsters.
I follow the...demon…outside and we stop at the base of the mountain as he tips his head back and grins, sucking in air. “How are we getting there?” I snap, interrupting his moment.
His dark eyes turn to me, and even I feel fear looking into them. It’s like staring at death. The dark abyss of his gaze is so empty and cold, that loneliness, hate, and fear flow through me just from a glance.
“Hop, of course. I couldn’t do it inside, but I c
an beyond the boundaries.”
“Hop?” I repeat, confused, and then look down at my legs, wondering how only using one will get us there faster.
“This is going to get annoying. Hop, dragon.” His voice grows louder at the end, as if I wasn’t supposed to hear the first part. “As in hop across time and space.”
“Ah, well, I drove here and I need the treasures from my car.” I huff.
“Driving...you want me to drive with you?” He seems to be searching his mind for what that is and then his eyes lock back on me. “You came to the sleeping court to fetch someone to...drive us back? Are you a chauffeur?”
Growling, I let my power raise and he waves it away. “Fine, let us hop to my car, and I can call someone to collect it. I can’t just leave it, it has everything for my mate.”
That gets his attention and he sighs. “Fine, then we hop to the council.”
He doesn’t warn me before black smoke encases me. I snarl as the world seems to spin and my ears ring. I have the sense of movement, but I can’t see anything. Finally, the smoke retracts and I look around in shock to see we are next to my car. The snake is leaning against it, watching me impatiently.
“Come on, dragon, I have things to do. Slow me down and I will leave you here for Xaph to kill,” he snaps.
“He could try.” I sniff, making him laugh.
“Maybe I won’t leave you, you’re funny,” he remarks.
Ignoring him, I get into the driver’s seat and grab my phone, dialling Jean Paul’s number. Just as he is answering, I let out a less than dragonly scream as the snake pops into existence in my passenger seat.
“Sir?” Jean Paul panics.
Glaring at the laughing man, I turn back to the conversation, clearing my throat and lowering my voice. “Sorry, I am here.”
“Smooth,” the snake scoffs.
“Can you please pick up my vehicle from the location on this device and bring it to the city? I will meet you there,” I rumble.
“Of course, how are you getting there, sir?” he queries, typing away in the background, not asking anything else.