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“What’s that supposed to mean? You spared one person while slaughtering the rest!”
“And how am I different from any of the vampires here? They survive off human flesh, too.”
“They source it from donations!”
“Details.” She clicked her tongue, unfazed.
Monster. I was looking at a monster.
I hurled a blade of pure darkness at her. She shimmered into an elegant, nine-tailed fox and jumped out of the way. Her fox form was larger than any werewolf, extending nearly as tall as the tree lines.
Aubrey’s voice echoed out of the fox’s mouth. “I have one tail for every one of my lives, Luna. I’m a master of escape by now.”
Nine tails. So she’d been sent back nine times and kept returning.
“Do you have no remorse? For the lives you’ve destroyed?”
Her tails extended behind her, flaring like a peacock. “I only killed the worst of this university,” she growled. “Rapists and abusers of women only. You should be grateful! I’m a feminist.”
All murders were of men, according to the oracle.
“How do you know they were the worst?”
“Because I only went after men I knew for sure hurt people! What do you think triggered my most recent rampage? I was hungry and angry, and there were all these body parts of my friends, some I’ve known for centuries, strewn about, so I returned the favor.”
The fox’s eyes narrowed while I processed that.
“You can’t prove their guilt, though,” I stated, trying to think of a plan.
Should I go on the offensive? Would Aubrey hurt me?
“The vibes were good enough,” she said, licking her paw nonchalantly. “Sorry, bestie.”
“Bestie? Bestie?”
My blood pumped with rage. “You destroyed Reaper’s life off vibes? What about mine?” Bitterness contorted my face, and clouds blanketed the sun. “You don’t get to call me bestie.”
I should have been scared, staring down a lethal, otherworldly demon, but I only felt fury and betrayal from my friend. “Do you have any idea how much fear and panic you’ve caused on this campus?”
“Fear strengthens you. Without fear of failure, you never learn to grow.” She reared back on her hind legs, stretching. “I always used fear of being Houseless to push you to be better.”
“No, you pushed me to be artificial. Fake. An image of myself that made you look good.”
I scowled while she looked at me with disdain. This deceitful, traitorous hellion—
“Aubrey, you were friends with my mother! How could you get closer to her than I ever did?”
“Your mother’s a viper. I respect that about her.”
Bolts of dark lighting struck. Aubrey watched them hit with disinterest. So my shadows didn’t affect her, either.
“It was you, wasn’t it?” I accused. “You sent the Bulgae.”
She blinked. “I always knew you were smart.”
“Not as smart as you are deceitful.”
“You say all that, and you have just as deceitful of a partner at your side.”
