‘This is for Lucas,’ she hissed. ‘And for my parents.’ She’d rehearsed these lines so many times, wanting their names to be the last thing Victor ever heard.
She brought the sword up over her head. This was it. This was the moment she’d been dreaming of for months. It all came down to this. Yet she couldn’t seem to gather the strength to swing.
‘Oh, Evie,’ Victor sighed impatiently. ‘You’re not going to kill me,’ he said. ‘Firstly, you don’t have it in you. And secondly, you need me.’
Evie’s sword arm wavered. ‘Why would we need you?’ she asked, incredulous.
‘I should think that would be obvious,’ Victor answered with a smile, gesturing to the room behind them – the one with the horror wallpaper adorning it. ‘We’re all trying to achieve the same goal. If you’re planning on killing all the Originals out there before they destroy this realm, then you need my help.’
‘We don’t need your help.’
It was Vero who’d spoken, snatching the words right out of Evie’s mouth.
Victor smiled thinly at Vero. ‘What if I told you I know where they live?’
‘I’d say, Congratulations, now tell us before I let Evie slice you into cocktail wiener-sized pieces,’ Ash replied coolly, swinging the nunchuckers in his hand.
Evie noted the beads of sweat popping on Victor’s temple. ‘Think about it,’ Victor blurted, a gratifying tremor entering his voice. ‘There are only three of you. These are Originals – unlike anything you’ve ever dealt with before.’
‘Actually, I think you’ll find we dealt just fine,’ Ash answered, winking at Evie.
Victor’s eyes flashed wide in surprise. He hadn’t known that Evie had killed one at the Bradbury and she felt a burst of triumph as he did a quick double take, reassessing her in the light of this new information.
Victor cleared his throat. ‘But against a dozen?’ he asked. ‘And all the other unhumans they’re gathering around them? I think you’ll find you do need me.’
Evie had heard enough. She took a lightning fast step towards him, switching the sword into her left hand at the last moment and smashing her right fist into Victor’s jaw. She ignored the pain that burst through her knuckles and slammed all the way up to her shoulder, and watched Victor stagger backwards and topple into the coat stand. His gaze flew to the umbrella stand containing the swords and he lunged for it, but in the same instant Vero darted forward, kicking it out of his reach.
Evie felt a calm descend over her. The blood rushing in her ears had dropped away, the adrenaline had crystallised inside her, bringing a clarity of vision and focus. The sword felt like it was part of her body, an extension of her arm – just like Victor had told her it should. And if she wielded it with true intent …
Suddenly Victor moved, a knife flashed silver in his palm as he dived straight at her. Evie spun sideways as the blade scythed the air in front of her. She used the momentum to throw all her weight at Victor, sending him slamming into the door. She followed it with a roundhouse kick that sent the knife flying out of his hand.
Victor clutched his bruised fingers to his chest and stared at her, breathing hard and fast, trying and failing to mask his fear. Evie stepped towards him, her heart slamming into her ribs.
‘You asked me once, didn’t I want revenge?’ she said softly, breathing fast. ‘Well, can you guess what the answer to that is now?’
She raised the sword once more. This time she was going to do it. Victor shrank back further against the door, his eyes fixed on the glistening edge of the blade.
Time slowed. Evie felt every pulse of blood charging through her body, feeding the rush of adrenaline. She readied herself for a final blow.
And then a hand circled her arm.
‘Evie,’ Ash murmured in her ear.
She whipped around.
Ash shook his head at her slowly, his fingers tightening even more around her arm, trying to tug it down. ‘Victor’s right. We do need him.’
Evie glared at Ash but he didn’t let go.
‘Evie, you deserve revenge,’ he said, ‘and I will happily stand aside and let you have your revenge after this is over, but only after this is over. We have to fight what’s out there first.’
Evie glanced at Victor as Ash spoke and saw the relief wash across his face.
‘We can find them without him,’ she hissed through her teeth at Ash.