Heaven's Crime (gxg) ✓

thirty-five. whose brilliant idea was it to provoke the ax murderer?

          The blade cleaves through the table, halving silk and ceramic alike. 

           It takes me a moment to realize I'm still alive.

          "Mithridatism," Veah says, the faint trace of her shock paling her face. "The practice of immunizing yourself against poison by ingesting small doses every day."

           Okami grins, licking the blood from the corner of her lip. Savouring it like wine. 

           Glasses and plates crash to the floor. The other Mafia jump to their feet, outrage sparking in the air. The lights turn on, and there is no more darkness, no more fire-lit shadow. The entire room is illuminated, and every single person in the banquet hall jumps to their feet like they are ready for battle.

            Okami's ax is embedded in the table.

            She didn't kill either of us. Why? 

            From the corner of my eye, I see the girl on the dance floor. Her element was adrenaline. She stands free of her bonds, unmoving, all of her muscles bunched as though she is a predator lying in wait.

             Two problems. 

             What's it gonna be, Kaya?

             Ax murderer or adrenaline-induced junkie?

             In a matter of seconds, it is decided for me.

             Every single member of the Mafia in the room pulls out their gun.

             No, let me rephrase that. Considering the small, minor detail that this is the Mafia hotspot of the century.

              Every single person in the room pulls out their gun.

              A symphony of metallic clicking.

              "Murphy's Law," I whisper. 

              "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong," Veah finishes under her breath.

               I love her.

               Throughout the room, the cold black steel of rifles, shotguns, pistols and berettas are aimed in every direction from the Italian Mafia. Combined with katanas, swords, throwing stars and kamas from the Yakuza . . . well, we certainly have a party.

               I'm pretty sure my death is imminent.

               Nobody in the room breathes.

               A single teaspoon clatters on the floor.

               Veah's eyes are on mine. A storm, lit by the white-hot glare of thunder, narrowing on me. Wordless. In a single breath, I know what she is asking. I nod.

              Out of all the guns in the room, we are at a standstill. Nobody moves; nobody tenses a muscle. There must be at least ten weapons pointed at me, but I can only stare at Veah. Between us, Okami's ax is buried in the wood. There is blood speckling her sky-blue kimono.

              Despite the fact that half the room has a gun trained on her head, that smile on Okami's face slowly deepens.

              All it takes is a single moment. A single strike of lightning.

              Veah is the first to fire her gun.

              And the entire room explodes.