Dead Man's Deal The Asylum Tales - By Jocelynn Drake Page 0,158
the task? He will remain your warden.” He had spoken without consulting any of the other council members and none would disagree with his decision out loud, though several looked like they wanted to.
My attempt at reverse psychology had been clumsy and ham-fisted, but it was all I could think of. I was afraid that if someone else was assigned to watch over me, the Towers would simply kill Gideon for his failure to curb my magic use. Luckily, the warlock who had just spoken had been so eager to see me suffer that he didn’t think about my possible motivations. I scowled at him, playing my part, but others didn’t look so convinced.
“For your first assignment,” the witch broke in, drawing my eyes back to her, “you will kill the dark elf for his attack on the Towers. And you will kill him with magic.”
Panic surged through my frame for a second and I even saw Gideon stiffen beside me. I knew why they’d decided this. Punishment for outmaneuvering them. I’d lose a year of my life for killing Reave with magic, and not one of the crappy ones off the end. It could be one of the good years right out of the goddamn middle. But it wasn’t losing a year of my life that bothered me. It was the fact that Lilith would have me in her clutches for two whole years since she was holding a chunk of my soul.
Of course, this was all assuming that my body would be preserved during the years I was dead. I couldn’t come back if I didn’t have a body to come back to.
I wanted to scream and rant at them. I wanted to tell them that they were handing me into the most dangerous being in existence—Lilith would use those two years to break free and I wouldn’t be able to stop it. But I knew they wouldn’t listen. They wouldn’t believe me when I told them she really existed and they would never believe anyone could be more powerful than the Towers. There was nothing I could do.
Not trusting my voice, I gave a jerky nod and turned toward Reave, who was watching me. He’d known he was going to die when Gideon and I brought him to the Towers. He’d had enough time to accept it. Hell, he’d probably known he was going to die the moment he embarked on this insane scheme. He was just disappointed that he didn’t take me down with him.
“Release him,” I barked. Gideon hesitated. I liked to think that he was mentally scrambling, trying to think of a way out for me, but in the end, the binding spell disappeared. There was no way out. If I didn’t do as they asked, they’d kill me. If Gideon did it for me, they’d kill both of us.
Reave balanced on one leg, the toe of his injured one barely touching the floor. His bearing was straight and his head was high as he stared me in the eyes. He was in pain but you couldn’t tell. I hated Reave. I hated him because he was behind the death of countless creatures. I hated him for tearing Robert out of my life. I hated him for all the harm he had done to Bronx. I hated him for helping to destroy the life I loved. But standing there as he was, with body straight and gaze unflinching, I had to respect him, and that was the only reason why I killed him as quickly as possible.
Gathering up a quick swell of energy, I thrust both my hands forward and Reave jerked as if I had plunged them through his chest. I clenched my fists together, gathering the energy around his heart, crushing it. The Svartálfar gasped, his eyes widening in pain, and then he collapsed, dead.
It took only seconds to kill him and it would cost me a year of my life. I could hear Lilith laughing maniacally in my head as she celebrated the second year I now owed her.
“Excellent,” the witch said, jerking my attention back to the council. “An agreement has been reached. All is settled. This meeting is adjourned.” She pounded her staff on the floor twice, signaling the end of the meeting. There was a low murmur of conversation as people either disappeared from the chamber or filed out of the room through one of the doors. The council members disappeared one after another. Except the dandy.