Labyrinth: Into the Malignant Book 2

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Leegan

We had been walking for the entire day without a single word, which was fine by me, but Lyric looked like she was about to explode. Her hands were fidgety and every time we heard a sound she would move to the shadows. My frustration had reached an all time high. She clutched a knife in her hands like it was her lifeline. For a while I thought she was waiting to attack me, but saw it was for self defense.

"Okay, you're going to tell me why you look like you're going to explode. Any longer and I swear I will personally set you off" I said taking her off guard. She glared at me and looked around again. "No one is following us," I added but she continued to survey her surroundings. My hands shook and I lunged at her. She didn't have time to protect herself as we fell into bushes. I pinned her to the ground and lodged the knife that was in her hands in the tree.

She stared at me in anger and fear. "Tell me what's got you on edge" I hissed. Her lips only closed tighter. "Tell me or I'll leave you here and take your precious knife" I said. She didn't budge. "Fine" I growled and snatched her knife and started to leave but a strangled cry made me turn around. She had her knees pulled to her chest. I raised an eyebrow and she took a deep breath.

"In my race there are two kinds of us. It is forbidden to mix the two kinds because it could be disastrous. When my parents were young, the king kidnapped them along with a few others and forced them to mate. All of the couples failed and that resulted in their deaths. My parents succeeded with creating me. I never pushed beyond how they were able to return home safely, but they did. My parents snuck me into our territory and hid me in the woods. They thought that my race would reject me. I've lived in the shadows of my territory and only reveal myself to a few.

"My parents convinced the king that I had perished and the only thing from then on I was allowed to be was a memory. I'm not sure how the king found out about my life, but he did and now he is bent on my demise. If I am to travel, I am putting myself out in the open for the kings taking. If you don't know by now, the king is not a very forgiving man. Some say he isn't even a man. He's the monster" She finished. I thought for a moment before replying.

"Why is mixing the two types of your kind dangerous?" I asked. "Each kind has a specific mind set. To mix the two kinds is supposed to be lethal. The offspring would be known for being unpredictable and most likely a killing machine. It's usually the ones of us who have black wings who are 'recruited' for his personal assassinations. The others with green wings are forced into being his warriors. If you combine the two you get an unstable villain. My kind is very dangerous Lee. We are raised to lust for a kill.

"The younger ones who are trying to show their loyalty to the king and become part of his army must kill a person in cold blood. They must demonstrate their abilities. Now that everyone in my species is trying to become part of his army, the killings are getting more intricate. The last one I witnessed was horrific. The girl was torn apart. The one of my kind who filled her had fused knives into her wings and the poor victim never saw it coming" She said with shame. "You're not dangerous. You may be good with knives, but you're not lethal. Was the girl who confronted me trying to become part of the army?" I asked. Slowly Lyric nodded.

"Some of my species have developed a way to lure their victim. You see the king made us live by the coast because we are his weapons. No other creature knows about us. The only creatures who rival us are the Intangibles, those who have a deadly touch and a murderous mindset. They prey on every creature and are able to withstand the greatest pain, but that's beside the point. The point is that no one even knows who we are or what we look like unless we are killing them.

"My species can lure their victim by showing their beauty and making their merging scales with skin glow. It's like a moth to a flame. When that girl was showing you how beautiful she was, she was hiding a spear behind your back. I couldn't watch another person die, so I risked it and confronted her. She was so surprised and scared to see who I was that she left. I was hiding by the main camp and listened to her talking nonsense to the others about me living. Fortunately, they didn't believe her and accused her of guilt from not being able to kill her victim" She answered.