Things standing shall fall, but the moving ever shall stay
- BASAVANNA
As you might have already guessed, Zoey is going to go through some bad stuff, this chapter. I would have skipped this chapter, if not for Tabu's inner turmoil, which is similar to what, someone important to the story, experiences in the later chapters.
As they ran, away from the direction in which the Asuras gave chase to Jack, Tabu wondered why he didn't want to hurt Zoey. He was going to hurt Zoey. There was no question about that. But why, did he not want to do it. It was not as if the girl had been particularly kind to him.
Should I hurt her? Now, that was a serious question.
How should I hurt her? How, indeed.
Then Zoey made her mistake, spoiling the perfect web of cues and subtle hints, she had laid down to manipulate Tabu.
Her lips curved in a soft smile.
Tabu noticed.
Instead of asking himself, is she going to hurt me? He instead wondered; does she know what I am thinking about?
Had she not made that mistake, Tabu would have retreated into a mental space where he would slowly reconsider his options. On contemplating further, he would decide, that taking any action could be devastating. And so, become a pawn for Zoey.
(Yeah it sounds like a load of crap, but 'The Method' almost always works.)
In place of that, Tabu decided to end things quickly. Since, he was not carrying his knife anymore, he used his teeth.
He went for the throat.
Ayu didn't look back. She would have, had Zoey begged for help. But the unstable woman did not make a noise. Didn't even scream.
Zoey didn't mind being mauled. The only thing that upset her, was the fact that Tabu didn't act like she had expected him to.
Strange girl.
Ayu ran. Her feet hurt and she knew she couldn't keep running. Maybe the Asuras were chasing her. Maybe Tabu was. She didn't dare look back, and the beating of her heart was the only sound she could clearly make out.
She had to something.
The lighter!
She flicked it on, but it released no fire. Angered and frustrated, Ayu forgot her fear for a moment. She browsed her mind for options but she couldn't find any, then she blacked out. She lost consciousness for a moment, and dropped on the ground.
Tabu reached her, he had retrieved his knife, and used it on her.
He had walked a few paces before he turned on hearing muttering.
Ayu was standing, the knife sticking out her back. Tabu charged at her but she stabbed a hand forward gripping the lighter. Tabu halted. She mouthed the word 'Suryastra' and her lighter blew up. She screamed as she witnessed flames crawl over her body. A different coloured flame, much greyer.
The end of book one
Sneak home and pray you'll never know
The hell where youth and laughter go
-Siegfried
Sassoon