Redhead's scream echoed through the forest. We swiveled around to see her in the metallic claws of a giant beast. Brown spikes covered its body and tail. Its oval head had blinking red antennas sticking out from it. I wasn't even sure how we missed such a creature.
The fucker was ugly. Its height and weight should have alerted us.
"Darn it," Angel cursed. "It's the silent detection bug."
Leo's black eyes were revealed. "That thing is a bug?"
Angel nodded. "Yes, it is. It's one of the most deadly bugs in this forest. It hunts small creatures that have a high energy output. Those antennas help to detect such creatures. The blinking red light is detecting us. We have to watch it with this one. Those spikes can detach and damage anything then reattach themselves to the bug."
"Like a boomerang," Leo offered.
"Yes, more or less," Angel agreed.
Leo watched the beast. "How do we defeat such a thing when its skin is so course?"
Angel stared at the creature. As if she took too long to answer, Leo stepped off. That same sword from before in his grip.
"Stop!" I commanded.
He paused and glanced at me with furrowed brows. "Sir?"
I watched as Redhead struggled to get out of the grip of the beast. Since she was so tough last night, she should be able to handle a bug.
I walked away. "Let her handle it. We'll watch for now."
Angel rushed after me. "Let me remind you that you are the one who needs to battle these beasts. Scarlet is a powerful siphoner-vampire but —"
"Exactly," I interrupted. "She can handle this."
I didn't have to look at her face to know she was startled by my response. Somehow she expected me to jump every time something went wrong with the redhead. It was ridiculous.
We made it over to the clear camp space. Leo was not pleased with my command. His clenched jaw and shining black eyes told me that much. I did not point out that he had not gotten out of his attack mode.
This was good for him. A simple punishment for both him and the witch. It grated on my nerve the way he was ready to fucking jump into battle at the sight of her being captured. One night of conversation and God knows what else and he was ready to throw his life away. Well, today he was going to sit right here and watch as the scene unfolded.
I just wanted him to make a move, one fucking move. All this anger needed to be released and I was dying to teach Leo a lesson. It didn't matter how they ended up in that river or what they were doing. His first wrong move was staying there with her.
She was my enemy but she also meant something to me. It was strange. Or maybe all these mixed emotions were because of Kyleon. He and I were one for a long time. His emotions were mine. He loved Scarlet even when she was no longer Scarlet. It was because of this love why he never got rid of her. It was why his life was a headache.
Those affectionate sensations must have lingered with me. I used to like her. She was amazing. I, too, had thought she was the most beautiful girl we had ever seen at our first encounter with her. Kyleon would brag about her for hours. It got worse at their first kiss and then when he bedded her. She was his universe. If she asked him to give her his life, he would.
I would be lying if I said jealousy had not settled in my heart at one point. I loved my brother. No one would ever come before him in my heart. Regardless, a few times I fell into the pit of envy and daydreamed what it would be like to have her look at me the way she did Kyleon. I thought that feeling died when Kyleon got hurt. It should have been crushed.
Last night when I found her with Leo. The fact they were nude raised my blood pressure. I wanted to murder him. Deep down I knew she was teasing me, but the confident look on her face had me blowing out steam. The frightening thing was I considered her mine.
I didn't love her and she didn't belong to me or my brother. Deanna made sure of that fact. Still, my every being marked her as mine.
Angel collapsed on the log beside me. "It's Scarlet. She can handle this."
I kept my mouth shut. Leo drummed his fingers on his thigh. Scarlet was not a pushover. I had seen her in many battles. She could handle herself. Her little stunt last night should have been clear evidence of that.
My gaze strayed to the battle. Scarlet had managed to get out of the grip of the beast. She seemed like a tiny insect in front of the large creature. Spikes flew after her but she was fast. For a regular creature, her movement could not be caught with the naked eye. I, for one, was glad for my powers at this moment.
Though this was my idea, I did not want her to get hurt. Not by anyone else but me. If I could not hurt her, then no one else could. It was sick and twisted but that was my way.
Scarlet kept dodging the attacks, searching and analyzing the beast. It didn't leave room for its opponent to attack. Scarlet had to be on constant defense. The spikes were on rotation which didn't allow her to get closer to the beast either. She had to think fast and find its weakness before it tired her out.
Her spells were of no use in this case. Most incantations took time to cast, even if the witch was skilled enough to cast it without calling its name. A powerful spell was what she needed to defeat this bug. She wasn't going to get to pull that off if she kept running around.
"Come on," Angel clasped her hands under her chin, cheering Redhead on.
Scarlet halted in her tracks. She found a way to defeat the beast. Several spikes attached themselves back to the bug while another set was sent out. The redhead leaped, landing on of the moving spikes. She used them as steps to get up to the beast. The giant tried to slap her away, but she hopped onto his hand and used that to travel up his body. It grabbed the air, trying to catch her.
Redhead made one final jump. A series of energy balls left her palm. They connected with the beast's face. One knocked out the creature's eye. Its creaking cry shook the leaves on the trees.
The beast grew desperate, thrashing and stomping everywhere. Scarlet got an opening. We all saw the opening. Yet, she didn't do a thing. The annoying woman stopped. All she did was watch as the beast threw a fucking tantrum.
It then dawned on me. She wasn't going to kill it. Damn that woman!
I shot to my feet. "Leo."
I didn't have to say anything else. Like before, we were in sync.
He dashed off. "On it."
I hurried after him. We couldn't allow that creature to escape. When he got better, he was going to come after us. The second reason was we never left things unfinished. If we didn't kill it, some other creature would.
The creature turned to escape. A gravity spell tumbled from my lips. It pulled the beast down. It collapsed with an ear-blowing boom. The gush of dust and debris from the explosion flew everywhere.
I wanted to fight but there was no fun in fighting a creature when he was down. Hence, I got straight to the harvest. The energy from the wounded beast guided me through the dust.
I reached out with my powers and called on the energy in the beast. It recognized me as its master and obeyed my command. It swirled around me before seeping through my pores. My emotions went haywire and I was filled with strength. The need to run, jump, laugh, cry, yell, and roar at the same time consumed me. I squeezed my eyes shut until it all calmed.
I ceased the reaping, wanting to leave some of the power for Leo. It was working. He, too, was getting the abilities of each beast he collected from. I could have just transferred the power to him but it was much better for him to do it by himself. I knew he put twos together and knew why he sucked the souls. It was because he was the clean-up guy.
The harvest captured the powers of the beast and left the soul and body. His soul-devouring technique seized the soul and disintegrated the body. I kind of wish that power was mind but it was convenient for him to have it and not me.
The dust cleared and Leo hurried over to the beast.
"What are you doing?" Redhead shouted. "It's already down."
Leo ignored her and did what he did best. The creature's remains dispersed into the air.
I turned to the witch. "I don't know what kind of sick game you are playing, but you do that again, and I'll make sure it's you that turns to ash."
Not really, but that should put things into perspective.