He knocked me over the head with something. I stumbled, everything going unfocused for a moment. An ache throbbed from the back of my skull once I gained my bearings. Kyle had tied me to a beam in the middle of the place.
The door still rested within my field of vision, about 15 or 20 feet ahead, tempting and just out of reach. He’d found the switch to turn on weak fluorescent lights that flickered overhead. I itched to suddenly be on the other side of that door yet here I remained.
Suddenly he appeared in front of me.
“I saw a little taste of your power the night we met. I’m willing to bet whatever you are is much stronger than a baby mage running on fumes. You’ll make a better sacrifice."
Oh god. "Please, you don’t have to do this."
"Yeah.” Kyle smiled. If you took away the capture and homicidal intent, with those eyes and that face, he’d almost look sweet. “I’m going to anyway."
"Help!” I shouted. “Help!"
"Nobody’s near. And even Rob knows where to buy a halfway decent shield from an illusionist. We’ll be hidden for long enough."
Kyle felt so sure of these facts he had no problem leaving me alone. The bonds wrapping around my chest and tying my hands together didn’t give much when I pressed against them. The fibers itched against my skin in a few spots, some kind of twine maybe, something he found here.
The space around me was mostly bare and smaller than the warehouse like building I saw outside, an office area?
Kyle brought his car around so he could carry in some supplies. He may have used material on hand to tie me up, but he wasn’t totally winging this either. He had a plan. I really needed one of those too right about now.
A bag dropped on the floor with a heavy thud as Kyle swung his foot back to slam the door behind him shut. The gust of wind the motion created caused something to rustle and slide across the floor. Newspaper?
We were in an old newspaper building, the warehouse to print or store the papers in the back and an office area up front. The papers, the still flickering lights, the gasoline can he removed from one bag, they’d all help him build a raging fire capable of burning everything in its path, including me.
At least I had a little time. Kyle’s goal was gaining power, so he was preserving his magical energy and doing most of the work the old-fashioned way.
With mastering my hidden angel powers not really on the table in the next few minutes, I needed to do something fast. Anything. Shit. The thing you don’t learn about survival until you’re faced with it? How much everything you must do to make it out alive totally and completelysucks.
"I’m not, I…” My voice wavered, so I tried again. “Please, I don’t have power."
Yep, I resorted to begging.
"Oh, come on,” Kyle complained. “Go out with some dignity."
"Well, if I’m sofreaking powerful,” I spit out. “You think I’d be able to stop you, but I can’t. So whatever you think I’m worth, you’re wrong."
"A life’s a life.” Kyle didn’t even slow down as he worked in a corner of the room I couldn’t see clearly. “You’ll get me something. If you can’t give me enough juice, then I’ll find more."
"No, I’m serious. This has been a theme in my life.”
His anger towards Rob had been white-hot, but I found a stronger fury inside myself. Suddenly I wasn’t even trying to convince him anymore. If I was gonna die here, I just needed to vent and get this off my chest before too late.
“Other people decide that I’m valuable, that I can do somethingfor them,and then they make my life miserable. Nobody freaking justasks mefor a favor. And thesesuper specialpowers that are worth snatching me for aren’t ever enough to fight back with. So yeah, I’m supernatural alright, but so fucking what?” I laughed bitterly and it turned into a snarl as I continued. “My other side has never helped me when I needed it, so if you think you’re gonna have better luck now, I gotta tell you honestly, you’re gonna be sorely disappointed."
"Still not working." Kyle called out from somewhere behind me and to the left.
"I’m not trying to fool you.” Being an angel? Totally not worth all the hassle. The only part of this whole experience I didn’t regret…was meeting Lysander.
Something must have convinced him because he drifted back into my field of vision, watching me curiously.
“I just need to tell you that Itold you so.” I declared the words with all the authority a tied-up guy could manage. “In case I’m too dead or on fire to tell you later, I told you so, Kyle. I fucking told you so!"
Incredibly, Kyle dropped the papers he held for building his makeshift firetrap.
“Okay, that right there?That’syour problem.” He pointed a finger and stalked closer to me. “You think one day, boom, your powers will switch on and you’llbecome strong.”He scoffed in disgust. “Nah, you’re either strong or you aren’t. The best abilities in the world in the hands of a coward or weakling won’t do shit. You gotta be strong on your own. The power just backs you up."
"What the fuck do you know?” I screamed. Was this douche seriously judging me right now? “You’re a psycho who lights himself on fire!"
