Tabula Rasa (Unlike Loki: Book Two)

Chapter 38

(By)

I was hiding with Leolin in a small, dark room.

There was something trying to find us, calling out for Leolin sweetly. It sounded like a little girl, but I knew better. I knew that she could very well be possessed by something extremely powerful. I was powerful too, but that didn't mean I was unbeatable. I was man enough to admit that.

Leolin was shaking and I did my best to keep him calm. He was good at keeping quiet, and was attentive. But there was no reason a child this age should have to experience fear.

I knew what it did to a person.

"Come out, come out!" The girl's voice cooed.

"She's not right. She's not supposed to be here." Leolin said quietly.

I quickly put my finger to his lips, shushing him, worried that he would be heard.

Suddenly, the door swung open, bright light invading my sight, making me squint, my heart skipping a beat.

There was a little girl, maybe about 7 or 8, with long blond hair and in all black. The first thing I noticed, though, were her eyes. They were black pits, and that wasn't even the best way to describe them. She smiled maniacally, with sharp, horrid teeth.

"Your date got a little interrupted. I am now the substitute." She said softly, but evilly. It was not a natural mix, and made shivers travel all through my body. I held on to Leolin tightly.

"What do you want?" I asked. It was a stupid question, but I was trying to stall. I had nowhere to go in this closet-sized room.

She smiled wider, knowing what I was trying to do. "I like you." She twirled her girlish hips in a flirtatious way. "We could be friends, you know? I could get you into high places. Very high places. You desearve to rule and have what you want. I can give you Anna. I can give you a kingdom. I know who you are."

I lost all feeling in my face. There was no possible way this girl, this demonic child, knew who I was or what I wanted. But the look on her face worried me that she wasn't lying.

"And if I want Leolin to live?" I asked, knowing she had been searching for him and not me all along.

"Ah, now I am afraid that cannot be a part of our deal. Blood for blood, you see?" She reached forward, impossibly fast and tried to grab at Leolin.

I kicked my leg out, colliding with her stomach. I heard her grunt and used the momentary lasp to rush past her and out into the hall. I ran with Leolin against my chest. He didn't weigh much and he held on tightly.

Suddenly, I felt something collide with my ankles, and I went sailing through the air.

Leoling let out a loud scream that I was sure I twisted as best as I could, while I was in mid-air. I ended up landing on my side, protecting Leolin with my arms. The wind was knocked out of me, but I recovered quickly and rushed to my feet, picking Leolin back up.

And then I felt a gush of wind, and a sharp pain in my bicep. I stumbled forward, the force too great for me to keep total balance. I looked at my arm to find that it was bleeding profusely, a deep cut carved into it. I winced in pain and in panic. If I lost too much blood, Leolin would have no one to protect him. He'd be done for. I refused to let that happen.

"Awe, little By-By has a boo-boo." The girl was ahead of me, a small knife with my blood dripping off of it, in her hand.

"Why kill him? He is only a child!" I was yelling in frustration.

"Because he got to live and I did not!" She yelled, her eyes spinning in chaos.

"You are just a child! Why would you want to kill anyone! You can't tell me that you solely want to kill an innocent prince." I said, trying to keep my voice calm. I needed a plan, and I needed it now.

"I am not the only one who wants his blood spilt." she said, looking through her eyelashes. "But I am the only one left standing." She shrugged her shoulders gleefully.

I looked at her, confused. "What do you mean, that he got to live and you did not?" There had to be something to her words, giving the passion she had thrown into them.

She chuckled angrily. "My mother didn't even care that I didn't make it through the gestation period. She tossed me away and forgot about me. I was thrown into the In-Between, where I was taken in by the fiercest creatures. They raised me and taught me and kept me up to date on what my life would have been like. Time goes by faster in the In-Between. I am a decade of age, even though I was born after that," She pointed furiously at Leolin, who was shivering with fear in my arms, his eyes wide and his breathing uneven. "But I look younger, due to the fact that I was extremely premature. I am smart and powerful. And now I am free." She held her hands out wide and bowed dramatically, laughing. She stood back up, cracking her neck. "My father, the one who took me in, told my uncles and aunts and cousins to raise me, set us all free. And he sent me to do whatever I pleased. And that child's blood is what I would very much like to taste." She licked her lips and flipped the knife in her hand.

I had to hold back my own bile. "But why him?! And you do realize that your mother could have done nothing to save you." I told her.

"She could have done anything, tried anything, but she looked the other way!" She was breathing heavily. "It was like she was relieved! She never should have gotten pregnant in the first place, then the whole problem would have been fixed. She should have known that she could only have offspring with one man, and that man was certainly not my father!" She screamed, tears falling onto her unnatural-colored skin.

I paused. There was no way. "Who was your mother?" I asked quietly.

She laughed, smiling horribly. "I think you know."

I think I did.

Anna.