ISLAND ILLUSIONS (#2 PARADISE ISLAND duology)

--twenty--

"You've incurred my wrath, you insidious little mongrel," said Jessa, aka the ruler, aka the enormous monster towering several feet up into the treetops. Her voice scorched across the forest like a blast from a fireball.

Any trace of Jessa, the real Jessa was gone, but for the faint outline of her face. This creature was just that: a creature. A gigantic, purple-skinned beast with a mouthful of spells and a belly ripe with hunger.

Fuck.

"The gods are on their way," she said, her words thundering down the ground, further rattling it. As if the place wasn't already headed for a deadly earthquake, her arrival worsened the shaking and dropping of leaves and tree-trunks. "In case you hadn't noticed," she gestured towards the sky, which seemed so close to her with her height, "their arrival is imminent."

Patrek's body tensed as he pressed to Miles' side, forming a blockade in front of Mr. Reynolds. "Let Jessa go, you witch! She didn't ask for this, and you shouldn't be using her for your fucked up games!"

Miles grabbed his wrist, yanking at it to signal for him to back down. "Don't rile her up, man," he whispered, keeping his mouth mostly closed. "We have to be strategic with this. One swipe of that hand," he gulped at the sight of said hand, easily half his size, "and we're dead."

"But we can't let her go around possessing whoever the fuck she pleases, right?" Patrek didn't back down, didn't lower his voice. "You might not care for Jessa, and to be fair, neither do I, but don't we want to save everyone? Well, aside from Taryn..."

Miles winced as he took a quick peek at Jessa's furry companion—Vick, or whatever was left of him. "We can't save everyone, Patrek. At this point, it's us, and that's it." He was about to spin to Mr. Reynolds and confirm this with him, but something blasted towards them, buzzing in his ear—

Patrek collapsed next to him, rigid as a plank of wood, arms glued to his sides. His eyes were open, but he was hit square in the chest by something, and Miles only had to gape at Jessa to figure out what.

Her. She'd shot some striking power at his torso, likely seeking to shut him up. Her finger was still aimed at him, smoke wafting from the tip as she smirked. Patrek's limp body was a crumbled mass at Mile's feet.

"Fuck." Miles ducked, thinking she was about to shoot at him, too.

But she only lowered her arm and shrugged a hand through her violet tresses. "I won't harm you if you stop acting stupidly," she spoke, slicing through the air like a deadly machete.

Since he was crouched already, Miles moved over to Patrek, checking his pulse. Was he dead? Had this Jessa-ruler thing killed him?

To Miles' relief, Patrek's heartbeat was there. Faint but there. His chest rose and fell in uneven motions, and his eyes were forced to remain open by the shock of the hit. Miles closed them, then nudged Kera against the closest tree-trunk as he faced the monster before them.

"You can't stop us, can you? Otherwise you'd have shot me, first. I'm the instigator," he said, realizing too late how weak and wobbly his voice was. She'd cackle at his attempt at being brave; but what choice did he have? Die a coward? Or stand up to this bully once and for all?

She narrowed her gaze on him, as if shooting invisible laser beams right into his core. And he felt them, too; like bursts to the linings of his stomach, lightning to his heart. His limbs were flimsy, flailing about at his sides, and his tongue felt like it was about to slip out of his mouth. He was heavy, sweating, and gritting his teeth against the pain her presence caused.

Earlier she'd been a sinister seductress, swaying him into idolizing her. Now she was a brutal beast wanting him to prostrate at her feet and obey her every command. The sexual appeal to her had evaporated, leaving nothing but a terrifying monster in its wake.