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I shook my head to get the excess blood off my horns, waiting for Jacko to make a move. He juststood there,a gleam of insanity in his dark eyes and a giant grin on his face.
"Finally," I muttered when he opened his mouth to taunt me. I was getting bored of waiting.
"I'm Eidolon's second in command."Surehe was; most people I'd metdefinitelydidn’t give different names when asked about ol' lizard guy's bestie.2"I have his gift."
I gave him a blank look. "Illegal dentistry?"
Jacko's grin grew, until it barely fit on his rat-like face. "I am impervious to death," he decreed, just a touch fanatic and completely loony tunes. "I've evolved beyond pathetic things like stab wounds threatening me."
"More like a horn goring than a stab wound," I critiqued, readjusting my weight so I was steady when he struck.
Jacko straightened, flexing his non-dead body like it was a trophy. "You can't kill me, you stupid bitch."
I rolled my eyes, circling him, watching every move he made. "How very T-1000 of you. Hey, quick question, if I bash your brains in, would you heal another skull? Asking for a friend, obvs."
A quick scan of our surroundings showed no obvious way out. Mirrors encircled us, reflecting me and Jacko over and over. My stomach fluttered with nerves. I'd never liked a hall of mirrors; give me a hook-a-duck game any day.3
"You're the same old crazy, pathetic Aveline, aren't you?" Jacko sneered, taking a step closer.
I matched it, lifting my last remaining knife. "You're overusing the wordpathetic;that's twice now. Did you get a whole new vocabulary when Eidolon tinkered with your body, or is this a lifestyle choice? I gotta admit, it's not a good look on you."
I dove aside with a curse when he launched at me, pure hatred filling his pale face. There were no weapons or torture devices this time; his bare hands reached for me, as if he meant to crush my skull like a grape.4
I slashed out, trying to manoeuvre my wings to cut him with the claws at their tips. I really should have practised this, but I hadn't exactly had free time. I could hardly practise slashing someone's throat with my wing-claws at Dev's bedside or while I fed Taj's dogs.
Neither claws, wings, or my blade touched Jacko; the fucker moved like wind and evaded me, circling until he was behind me. That suited me fine; I arced my knife down and drove it into his thigh, then kicked off the floor and flapped my wings frantically.
I rose a foot, which wasn't impressive, but it was still more than I expected. And it allowed me to kick my legs backward, boots connecting with Jacko's chest.
I set myself back on the ground before I could lose my balance and, breathing hard, I turned to face the bastard. Aww look, he had two footprints on his black shirt. It was a custom designer piece now. One of a kind.
"If that's the best you can do, that's so sad for you, Aveline," he taunted, getting something from his pocket. A knife? A scalpel? A … wait, whatwasthat? It looked like a remote camera button.
"I'm not sure now's the best time for a selfie," I said, backing up, my heart pounding hard and my fear joining my mates'. What was the button for? Something told me it wasn't going to make a mirror flip up like a garage door and show me the way out.
Jacko's face sharpened, vicious and happy. The happiness in his eyes didn't give me a whole lot of optimism. My blood whooshed in my ears, panic making my breath sharp, my body hot.
"I disagree," he replied brightly, and jammed the button.
Electricity lashed me so fast and brutal I screamed before I could trap the sound between my teeth. The charge razed a path through my body, burned my skull, and crackled up my horns. It stabbed agony into every inch of my wings until my knees buckled and I hit the floor. My knife skidded away, my fingers locking into gnarled claws.
My temperature soared, my heart stuttering. For a moment, my own pain filled me with power before it was sucked dry. Jacko roared a sound of pain that tapered into a laugh. Had the psycho shocked himself, too?
When the volts cut out, I fell onto my side, panting roughly, my head spinning.
I hated this, hated pain being my obsessive stalker.Just leave me alone,I wanted to scream at the pain, at Jacko, at my twisted father.
"Well, you survived the first level," Jacko commented, his voice rough and raspy. "I'm surprised."
"You're—shocking yourself too—loser," I groaned, heaving myself off the floor. I didn't knowhowhe was shocking me, but I knew it was worse when I was on my hands and knees.
"A price I'm willing to pay," he replied with a shrug.
"So pretentious," I sneered, weak and breathless.
Fear and rage hit me so hard that I stumbled, my wings snapping out to catch me when I nearly fell. My mates were losing whatever was left of their sanity, and I could do nothing to reassure them because another charge of electricity stabbed through my body. I screamed so loud my voice echoed off the mirrors and back to me, every limb locking, my wings twitching as electricity blasted through them, lighting my whole body on fire.
Magic surged in response, and I grabbed it before it could ebb away from me, sending a clumsy dagger into Jacko's skull. It might have been made of blood and fire, but it was sharp enough to bury to the hilt.
