the woman who is the Heart of the MacLeish meet her Mate than will her Awakening begin. Be it the day of her birth or not, the Summoning of her True Power will be brought on by the communion of her Soul with that of the Soul of her Mate, the other half of her very being, the man the Goddess of All made just for her."
“Well, shit,” she breathed. “At least if I go crazy and start killin’ people, this asshole will be the first.”
Recognizing the click that echoed off the dense rock walls as a Zippo lighter, a small orange and blue flame appeared in the darkness awakening yet another memory. "You!" She spat, working hard to sound ferocious instead of shocked. "I should've known."
Eyes flying to the tattoo of the Three Heads on his hand, more specifically on the thehar webspace as her Human Anatomy Professor called it, or the spot between the thumb and forefinger like she thought of it, Ellie raged, "You killed my parents. I know you did. I remember now. I remember it all. I saw you. You were skulking around the barn the night before they disappeared, smoking a cigarette. That fucking click and the scent of lighter fluid. How did I not remember until now?" More furious than she knew possible, she seethed, "It was you, wasn't it? You murdered my mom and dad then left their bodies for the coyotes without a single drop of remorse. Just say it. Admit you… You… You piece of worthless shit. Say it. You're gonna kill me, too. Leave my body in the desert. The least you can do is admit what you…”
Slap! Slap! Slap!
The echoes of a slow, sarcastic clap reverberating off the walls of the cave she knew so well stopped her words. It was the place she and Celia used to call their clubhouse. One of the safest spots on earth for two young Witches growing up in the middle of nowhere, or so she thought. Now it was forever tainted.
Straining her eyes to see who dared to taunt her with mocking applause, Ellie leaned as far forward as the tightly tied ropes around her chest would allow. Who was insulting her anger and rage? Who dared to further defile the memory of her parents?
Then there was silence. Only the crackling of the fire the fucking Chimera had set could be heard. She knew what direction the obnoxious clapping had come from, but all she could see was the opening to a long tunnel that led farther into the cavern and opened into a grotto where the spring ran down the walls and formed a pool of water.
“Show yourself,” she demanded. “Come out and face me. Goddess knows your lackey has me trussed up like a calf ready for branding. What the fuck can I do?”
One… Two… Three…
Counting to ten. Trying to hold back. Sure, she was showing her hand, doing everything no one is ever supposed to do when being held hostage, Ellie just couldn’t stay silent. She was pissed.
Angry that these assholes had murdered her parents.
Furious that the bastard had taken her from Ranger.
Enraged that they'd wounded her Mate.
Mad that whoever was calling the shots was playing games.
She was just pissed and refused to be a helpless, whining victim.
“Alright, how about I talk, and you listen?”
When no answer came, Ellie just kept going. "You are a fucking coward. You hide in the shadows. Attack when no one is watching. Sneak up on people. Kill them with magic. Defile the dead. You are nothing more than vermin - the Rats of the Supernatural World. You have no real power that is your own. You are useless and worthless."
"And what's more, you know it. You can't stand yourself. That's why you do what you do. That's why you kill." Taking a deep breath, she roared, "Hell, look at you. You're scared to face one little Witch who doesn't even have all her powers yet. You're cowering in the dark like a yellow-bellied, spineless piece of gar…WHAT THE FUCK?”
Snarling turned to screaming. Blown back by a gust of wind that tipped her over, slid her and her chair across the sandy floor of the cave, and crashing her headfirst into a rock wall, Ellie refused to give up.
“That all you got,” she yelled, the sound way weaker than she’d intended, but it didn’t matter.
There was no doubt she had a concussion, if not a cracked skull, and still, she refused to give