fact, I’ve often wondered what would happen if you actually tried to fight me and I let my Vampire instincts take over.” He shuffles forward, elevating his arms to the side of him until the chains are tight and the edge of the cuffs stab into his skin. “Usually, I hold back, but not anymore. Now cross that line and let’s see what happens.”
Anger simmers inside of me, raw and blazing like fire. I glance at Evan, knowing it’s time to get this over with before I lose my cool and rationality. “Do you remember what we were talking about downstairs? And how we said we were going to assess the situation first before we decided on anything?”
Laylen paces back and forth, dragging the chains along the floor with him as he watches me like I’m his prey. “Oh, I can’t wait to see what you two have planned next. More exorcisms? Magic? Or my favorite endeavor?” His lips curve to a taunting grin as he stops pacing and leans toward me. “Begging.”
“I was tired,” I lie through a clenched jaw, cringing at the memory of the meltdown I had. I’d come up here and begged Alexander to release his control over Laylen. He was my relative after all so I should have been able to reason with him. Turns out that not only is Alexander a player and dimwitted, but he’s kind of a douche.
“Sure you were,” Laylen says with a chortle. “And that’s probably why you cried, too.”
“It was the dust in the air,” I say, clenching my fist, the veins beneath my skin bulging with adrenaline. “So shut the hell up or I’m going to make you.”
He raises his hands to the side of him, palms aimed toward me, and he gives me a mocking expression. “Oh, the dust. How convenient.”
“Evan, just do it,” I say through gritted teeth. I’ve become even more aggravated and am brimming on my limit of control. “Before I lose my cool.”
“Are you sure?” Evan checks, crooking his eyebrow. “Because you know how things could turn out; what could end up happening to him.” He looks at Laylen who rolls his eyes.
I assess Laylen; his cocky demeanor, the arrogant smirk on his face, and the overconfident way that he stands. He’s not the Laylen I know, but if he were here, he’d tell me to do anything it took to save Gemma. That much I know. “Yeah, let’s get it over with.”
Evan nods his head once and then cracks his knuckles. Twisting his neck to the side with his hand, he pops his neck. “You might want to step back,” he suggests as he moves around me and motions with his hand for me to step back. “Things might get a little heated.”
I edge backward until I reach the oval table in the center of the room. As much as I hate backing down from a fight, when Evan tells me things are going to heat up, I know it can mean things may literally heat up. He’s actually lost control of his pyrokinesis power quite a few times and he even accidentally started a house fire once.
Evan’s hands are glowing like hot coals embedded into his skin. A mark in the shape of a flame begins swaying on his skin, back and forth, making a roaring path up his arm. Without warning, he jumps for Laylen, sticking his hands out in front of him. Laylen anticipates Evan’s move and uses his long legs to step swiftly towards him, his fangs slipping out of his lips as they get in each other’s faces.
“You think you scare me.” Laylen extends his fingers towards Evan’s throat.
Before Laylen can reach him, Evan’s back bows inward, like a stretching rubber band. His lips part and his eyes shift to a deep black. There’s a loud snap and then Evan’s thrown back into the wall. The impact is so hard some of the stones spilt open and then as quickly as it happens, he’s suddenly shooting forward again, straight in the direction of Laylen. When their bodies collide it’s as loud as a train wreck; metal hitting metal, rocks smacking together.
I start to step forward, the need to be in the action consuming me, but then I pull back, even though it kills me, because fighting and kicking—which I’m the best at—is useless for what we’re trying to do.
Laylen is slightly dazed and his legs buckle when Evan’s head rams into his stomach. Losing his balance, they