BLOOD AND BONE | rewritten

26

Delphinium's leg screamed in agony as she wrapped fabric torn from the hem of her jacket tightly around it. The exit wound easily soaked through the makeshift tourniquet, but she could feel it slowing. The pressure was uncomfortable when she took a step, but at least she wasn't having to physically hold the gore within her torn skin anymore.

She wiped her red hands on her pants, hoping it would go unnoticed when she exited the alleyway she was currently hiding in. Perhaps passerby would simply think it was a trick of the red-orange lanterns.

Her gaze was only down for a split second, but it was enough to make Jake come suddenly into view. She didn't know where he'd come from, only that he was here to attack her in her most vulnerable state.

Summoning what little power she had left, she prepared to make him back off. But he gave her no time, summoning a sliver of ice and holding the jagged edge to her jugular. Delphinium went stiff as her back hit a metal wall.

"Get away from me." She tried to put steel into her tone, but they could both hear how false it was.

"You blew my plan to shit."

All of his actions were so erratic and unpredictable she never would have guessed he had a plan at all. "That Needle was coming at me with a gun." She could barely hold his gaze, disturbed by the emptiness in it. "What was I meant to do?"

"There is a bounty on our heads. I was going to commandeer that vehicle to find who put it there. But you're dead weight." His icicle dug into her skin, and she knew he was going to finish it. The blood slick on his teeth was red, so red.

For that split second before he slit her throat, Delphinium's mind whirled, trying to figure out what he meant, needing to find what would make her irreplaceable. If there was indeed a bounty on their heads, Corinthian evidently meant to take the payment for himself. That would explain why he had that gunman put to death. And why he needed them alive. But Jake's betrayal...

It struck her at once: he planned to give them over to test his theory, to watch whether Corinthian killed them or not. He'd known everything the entire time.

Power. He worshiped power.

"I still owe you a favor," Delphinium gasped out. "You heard Corinthian: I've torn down the most influential figures in the world. I can level cities with just a thought. I will be a weapon in your arsenal."

After a moment's thought, Jake relinquished the icicle and retreated ever so slightly. Delphinium remained pressed against the wall, its coolness seeping through her clothing. If he came that close to her again, she wouldn't dare freeze. Physically nor metaphorically.

Jake suddenly spoke again. "Don't think I'm fooled. You're not really threatened by this." He toyed with the sliver of ice. "You're threatened by me. Terrified. Because I know what will make you crack, splinter and shatter. I know how to ruin you."