like I was demon-possessed, or like Jean Grey from the X-Men when she went all Dark Phoenix.
Either way, I hoped it scared the piss out of him.
He dropped the knife. “I’m sorry,” he sputtered.
You can’t kill him.
That stupid do-gooder voice in my head was back again, reminding me this wasn’t me. This wasn’t who I was.
But God I wished it could be.
I stared down at the floor uncertainly. Since I hadn’t willed myself to float up, I wasn’t sure how to control this new ability of mine. Was it just hovering, or could I actually fly? If it was the latter, that might be the coolest thing to ever happen to me. No one could fly. In spite of rumors to the contrary, vampires couldn’t. They couldn’t turn into bats, either.
I lowered myself down, feeling a rush when my feet hit the hard wood floor. Just standing was the strangest relief. When I’d been tied up, there was a small part of me, even for the briefest time, that thought this might be the end for me.
There’s nothing quite like being tethered to certain death to make you really really not want to die.
But I also wasn’t going to squander this opportunity to get the information I needed. If this guy was terrified, he might talk to me if only to save himself. If I could keep him scared long enough to find out what Deerling’s plan was, then maybe, maybe this whole ordeal would be worth something.
“Take off your mask.”
His hands trembled, but he didn’t argue. He lifted the mask from his head and dropped it to the floor, but kept his face lowered as if he was afraid to show me who he really was. He should be.
When he raised his head, I growled audibly.
“You.”
Anderson, the jackass deputy whose nose Wilder had broken. Now I was wishing he’d punched his fist right through the guy’s face.
I was also immediately worried about Hank.
Why had I been stupid enough to think the police might be safe people for Wilder’s brother to be with? I already suspected the sheriff was in on it. I should have known there would be no such place as a safe haven in a town supported by lies and hatred. I felt naïve for believing the police force might remain untouched by corruption. I should have known better.
Callum was right not to trust anyone. He’d been right to want to keep me close. There was no protection for us outside the pack. No one had our best interests in mind.
Even the police didn’t think we were people anymore.
I wondered what would have happened to Wilder if we’d left him in jail another night. Or what Anderson would have done if he’d caught him this time.
“What did Deerling do to the woman?” The fire on my arms had begun to snuff itself out. I was hoping it would last longer, but I was getting tired and a headache was building up steam, making my whole head feel swollen. I might as well have been blinking shards of refined glass.
I was going to have one hell of a magic hangover once I slept this off.
“She’s dead.”
Of course she was dead, I already knew that. That’s why they had Hank arrested after all. “Who killed her?”
“What are you talking about? The wolf killed her.” In spite of his shaky voice, he sounded like he was telling the truth. At least the truth as he knew it. I reminded myself Anderson had been with us when the woman died. He might not know what really happened that night.
“How many other wolves does he have locked up?” I glanced down to the dark stain on the floor. “How many did he have?”
“I don’t—”
“Don’t you dare lie to me,” I shouted, the flames streaming up again. My headache moved towards a migraine. If I didn’t get him to talk soon, there was a good chance I might not be able to walk out of here.
The other problem was if there was anyone else outside, they might start to wonder why I was shouting angrily rather than screaming in pain. If it would help, maybe I could make him scream a little. At the right pitch, screaming sounds the same from both sexes. Agony has no gender.
I took a step towards him, and he backed against the wall. If he could have gone right through it, he would.
“Tell me the truth.”
“I can’t be sure. Six, maybe? Ten?”
The hair on my arms rose as