Voltage

Chapter 20

Despite the police meandering around with bags, cameras and small writing devices, the silence is stifling. It stretches tight between us, so tense and taught that a single word from my mouth may have erupted a chaos in which no one would be able to stop.

Eventually the police leave, abandoning a small white card with a number on the table in case anyone feels like talking because, somehow, they hadn't gotten a word out of Daniel-perhaps it had something to do with every time they stepped too close I growled. How am I to know who wants to help and who wants to take him away?

Sometime later, Chris stumbles through the doorway, practically throwing himself over the counter in his rush to get around to us. He takes his time to cheek us over, shaking Daniel to make sure he's alive since Daniels sleeping on the counter from exhaustion. Once he's sure we are both alive and unharmed he props himself onto the counter. His lips move, but his words are lost in translation between the rush of blood in my ears.

I'm assuming Trip come in with Chris, but I didn't notice him straight away. Again times lost to me, seconds, minute, hours, it doesn't matter. His hand resting on my shoulder is enough to kick start my mind onto hyper drive and send me into whirl pool of thoughts. Dark, gruesome thoughts that leave me trembling in horror. They crash into each other, chunks of each through cracking to mould around the next thought, each scenario worse than the last.

I want to know who dared threaten my family. My mind grabs at every possible suspect, flinging around theories so fast I can hardly graze a logical thought over it before it's swung aside to make room for the next suspect to get slammed into my mind. The planes of my mind become a mine field, and every step triggers the next land mind to blow me off my feet.

Perhaps that girl Rhoge had left to destroy my family while I was distracted with that male-Kenan. Were they the ones implementing this? Is she his proxy, murdering those he picks? I growl at the thought and fight the urge to hunt her down to peel her beautifully dark skin from her equally beautiful bone.

Or maybe it was the people who attacked the ring. They could have easily tracked me down from my scent alone. But why wait so long? Why not go straight to Chris's place and tear it apart before coming here and destroying everything?

Or perhaps, Trip did it. My blood freezes at the thought, but so does my mind, locking onto the betrayal with greedy fingers. Why would Trip do something like that? What motives would he have to charge into the house and murder Miss Illmose, than come for us downstairs? Or had he killed her from a violent rage at not finding us? But that wouldn't explain the blood everywhere.

Had Jack come home early? Is he the red some smeared across the walls?

Behind me comes a startled growl, the fingers that had been massaging my shoulders jerk out of reach as if zapped.

Yes, a dark part of me growls, put so much electricity into him his blood runs with the power, til his very being bleeds into nothing but pure energy, until his heart is nothing but a burnt husk. Show him not to mess with your family. Show him he's nothing compared to you.

Part of my bulks at the voice, but I don't ignore it. The words are so dangerously sweet I feel myself caving before I even turn to snarl at Trip. It's not me, the voice that whispers seductively demented thought in my head, but it's not someone else either.

Make him regret challenging you! Kill him! Maim! Fight! KILL!

"Kaz," Trip growls warningly. He flexes his raises hand, the burn marks still pulsing bright red all the way to his elbow. More than I'd ever burnt him.

Not enough! More! More! Fight! Kill!

"Where were you?" I growl lowly. Slowly my body turns to follow, twisting to push away from the counter I'd been leaning against with my hip. "Did you do this?"