The People with Useless Power

Chapter Eight

"Don't. Make. A. Noise."

Emily woke up next to a body.

She sat up and glanced at the body once.

Then she glanced again, noticing the woman's pink hair was covering her face as her heart sank. Emily crawled across the carpet- standard apartment carpet- and lifted the woman's hair.

It was Emma.

But she was breathing.

Emily let out a sigh of relief and examined her face, taking her chin in her hand and moving it slowly. Her tan cheek had a cut across the bone, with dried blood clouded around it, and her left eye was blackish-blue.

She opened her one working eye and it widened, terror filling it. "A-are you feeling better?" Her voice quivered as she spoke, and she bit her lip.

"What happened?" Emily whispered, not letting go of her face.

...

Emma hadn't expected Emily to save her like that.

And Lavender was insane.

As Emma rounded the corner to go to Emily's apartment, she saw Lavender standing at the door already, shaking and silent.

"Lavender!" Emma called, and she stopped quivering. "How are you?" she continued, stopping next to her.

Lav turned slowly to face her, and Emma stared at the butcher knife in her hands.

"What are you doing-"

In a millisecond she was pinned against the wall with the knife to her throat. She let out a small whimper, and the knife was pressed down slightly. Emma felt hot blood dribble down her neck.

"Don't. Make. A. Noise," Lav whispered. Her purple eyes were black, dim and black, and Emma closed her eyes to avoid looking at them.

She was going to die. She was 17 and she was going to die without saying goodbye to her older brother, or her little sister, or her mom. Without telling her 'dad' how much she hated him. Without slapping Mara in the face and watching her burn up inside.

Oh my god, I haven't repaid Emily's favor. Her cheeks burned with shame.

"You're going to do exactly as I say," Lavender muttered. Emma didn't move a muscle, and felt sweat slowly glisten across her face. Her hands twitched, her power wanting to be used, and she scorched the wall. Lavender noticed and twisted the knife slowly as Emma bit her lip, drawing blood. "Don't try anything."

As shock and fear slowly started to leave her system, she narrowed her eyes at Lav, anger beginning to replace it.

"I don't like that look on your face," she glowered, moving her knife up to Emma's cheekbone. "How 'bout I cut it off-"

She threw the knife suddenly to the side, slicing her skin, and clutched her left arm, her breath becoming raspy. Emma slid away and raised her hands, and Lav straightened, clutching her chest. She threw a punch at Emma's face, and hit her eye, but she hardly noticed as she let her fire loose, scorching her as she screamed in pain and collapsed.

Emma looked up, lightheaded, and saw Emily twirl her hand in the air. Her eyes were half-closed and dark.

"Risk of heart attack. 100%," she called out as Emma sank to the floor, blacking out.

...

Emily sipped her coffee on her porch and looked across the courtyard, breathing in the fresh night air.  Emma sat next to her and drank from a whisky bottle instead of coffee, and placed it on the marble railing.