Tabula Rasa (Unlike Loki: Book Two)

Chapter 37

(Anna)

I turned around and ran back towards the castle as fast as I could.

I ran back towards the opening I had come through. Right before my feet passed the entrance, my body slammed into a barrier. I stumbled and fell backwards, the air knocked out of me.

"No, no. Don't be like that. Don't run away from me." The girl said.

"Kid," I said, getting up, my eyes angry. "Get out of my way. You've done your job. Leave."

"My name is Talia." She spun around me, making the air thin with her high speed. She stopped back in front of the entrance when she succeeded in getting me to gasp for breath on my knees. "And no one said I was done yet." Before I could stop her, she turned around in the blink of an eye and ran inside the castle.

"NO!" I screamed, rising to my feet, stumbling over my skirts, and followed after the miniature bitch.

I ran through the entrance, trying to find which way she went. I decided to head straight towards the throne room, knowing that's where I had left my son with By. My skirt was torn in places, making it hard to run. My hair had fallen down and I could feel the dirt collecting on my skin. I entered the throne room in a craze.

There was not a single person in sight.

And then I heard a scream.

My son's.

I ran in the direction of my little boy's screams, adrenaline setting in.

And then something tackled me from behind. It immediately began scratching at my skin, particularly my face and arms. I swung my arm over my body, backhanding my assaulter.

It was Mrs. Anderson.

I rolled over, standing to my feet as she groaned at the mark that I left. I didn't hesitate in rushing towards her and kicking her roughly in her stomach. She cried out in pain, rolling over, grabbing at her stomach.

"Did you really think you could hurt me?" I asked her, yelling. "I am stronger than you. You may have amazing demon powers, but you are weak. You are deprived. And you lost. Get over it."

"Would you simply get over it?" She asked me in a low, demonic voice. One that I had never heard before. "You killed both of my sons and then murdered your own brothers, men I looked at as my own children." She spat.

I kicked her again, making her cry out, and then put my foot on her chest, not caring how hard I pushed. "Let's get something straight, mother. One of your sons violated me, my body. On multiple occasions. And the other invaded, and tortured my mind. He was the reason my adoptive brothers turned crazy. The reason why they tried to kill me. He turned them into monsters. They made me kill the love of my life; they made me kill Loki! I didn't take to kindly to that." She grunted, trying to remove my foot from her chest.

"Revenge is revenge, darling. You and I are the same." She growled.

I scoffed. "No, no we are not. Because, you see, I fight for those I love, and I fight for myself. You, you fight for a cause, and a horrible one at that. You care about the survival of your pawns who will do your dirty work. And now look at you. You're out of practice, and you've decided to throw yourself into the rink. Good luck. Because you're bound to lose in round one."

Her eyes glowed bright red, her skin turned gray and her fingers turned into long talons. My eyes grew wide and the sight of her transformation. I frantically tried to think of an idea, something to keep her down. I didn't have many options, so I decided to wing it.

I tried the floor, seeing if I could manipulate it, to secure her arms and legs. And sure enough, the ground vibrated. There must be enough earth-likeness in it for me to be able to do such a thing. I quickly moved my foot from her chest and manipulated the hard floor so that it restrained her. She writhed under them, screaming.

"He will die!" she yelled as I slowly backed away. She was secure, not getting out of those bonds for a long time.

"Over my dead body." I said quietly, just loud enough for her to hear.

And then I ran, hoping I wasn't too late.