They all looked at me with fear in their eyes. I could hardly hold back my laughter. They were afraid of me! And to see that was such a glorious sight. It made giddy feelings rise up inside my chest, and I smirked.
"Alright. You've all made wise choices today. Now, get me a printed list of everybody who lives here. I want to see if any cowards left here. Everybody, get in order. Alphabetically! For every one mistake, five die!"
I laughed as I saw them arrange themselves quickly. They were all such cowards, and having power over them felt good. I flexed claws, reveling in the feeling. All of a sudden, I felt a tap on my leg. It was a child, small and innocent. Well, innocence never lasted long, now did it?
"What is it, boy?" I snapped, laughing when he shook with fear.
"I have the list, Miss... Miss-"
"Call me Onyx." I replied. I didn't know where the name had come from, but I knew that it felt... Right. After all, I was dead inside, wasn't I? There was no emotion anymore, and there was beauty in that. Beauty like a precious stone.
"A-alright, Miss Onyx. H-here's the list."
I snatched it from his small hands, scanning it over quickly. When I looked up, the boy had gone to join the rest of his group, taking his place in the alphabetical line. I started at the front of the line, where a teenage girl stood. She looked to be around sixteen or seventeen years old.
"Are you Dani Alison?" I asked, staring her straight in the eyes. No lie would get past me.
"Yeah." She replied. "Ask anybody here. Everybody knows me."
"Is she Dani Alison?" I asked, shouting at the people. A chorus of 'yeses' rang back at me. "Alright." I replied. "You're not lying."
Several hours passed, and they were spent interrogating. Nobody was killed, sadly. About half of the way through, I noticed that somebody was missing. Victor Sli.
"Alright!" I shouted. "Who and where is Victor!?"
One of the men near me answered. "Victor is the lion shifter that you killed. And as for where he is-" the man pointed at the lion corpse.
"I thought I told somebody to clean that up!" I shouted.
The little boy chimed in. "I'll do it. " he volunteered.
"No. It's fine, it's fine. I'll take care of it."
I went back to checking. And up until the near end, there were no people missing. But when I called out the name 'Lucas Zephyr', nobody was there to claim the name. I felt my expression grow darker, and I glared at everybody. I felt sharp claws on my feet dig into the ground, making large, deep dents in the metal.
"Who and where is Lucas Zephyr?" I shouted. Murmurs whispered through the crowd, as did shocked expressions. "Well? Stop chit chatting and tell me, for frick's sake!"
"He's Moone's s-son." The boy stuttered. "A-and as for where he i-is, he must've ran a-away."
I looked at the first thirty people in the line, who had already been checked. "Hey, you people. What are you waiting for? You have five minutes to pack, and then, you're going after Moone. I don't want any of you return without Lucas. And bring him back alive. I want the pleasure of killing him myself, during his public execution."
They scurried off to pack, and I finished up checking everybody. Just after I finished, I saw the thirty people leaving, armed with weapons, which made a smirk appear on my face. I would destroy Moone's entire bloodline, so that idiots like him wouldn't even have opportunities to be in positions of power. Then, and only then, would I feel free.
But wait. Christina and Lillian were both dead. And sure, I had my parents, but seeing as what had happened to me, they'd never accept me. But who needed acceptance when you had pure, raw, beautiful power. That was what really mattered.
I sent the rest of the people away, planning to start their 'initiation' tomorrow. I scoffed. Wherever would I find one of those branding rod things on such short notice? I'd figure something out. Certainly I had enough power to go into town and get somebody to make one for me. But instead of some stupid moon, it'd be something that represented me. And I'd put my initials on the thing, too, so that people would know that they're a part of my army, and that I controlled them. They'd have a mark to put to the face of death.
I walked over to Victor, and sliced his head clean off. Yet another trophy to hang on the wall. I called for somebody to clean up the body, and they did. I held Victor's head as I walked into Moone's old office. His blood was still there, and I enjoyed the smell for a minute or so before calling somebody to come and clean it up. After they had, I took my seat in the office. I had also gotten better furniture in those few minutes. There was one of those somewhat curved chairs that were really, really soft, and I took a seat, switching on the TV. My crime was being talked about. They were so flabbergasted, and apparently, they couldn't identify him. I smirked.
Because who would ever suspect a lion of what I did? I gave a giddy laugh, wrapping myself up in my cloak. It felt like the perfect day, honestly, if you took out the beginning of it. But at least I had Christina's power. Power was the only thing that mattered in the kill or be killed world called life.
I stayed up through the night, savoring entire tubs of ice cream and watching the news, along with a few crappy Disney sitcoms. Life was far more difficult than deciding which dress to wear or which boy to date. Life was difficult, yes, but life was also a game.
