Mara the Wicked (A "Dead Seed" story)

Thirteen: The Blood Bath

Mara drank from the human until he collapsed to the floor. Oops, she hadn't kept her promise to him. Oh well. She needed her strength back. It would take a long time for her flesh to regenerate and her powers to fully return, but as the last bit of blood slipped down her throat, she already felt stronger.

Aimeric would return soon.

A wave of panic washed over her as she realized she hadn't thought this plan out very well. She should have kept the human alive. She could have sat back in the chair and made it look like the restraints were still on her wrists and waited for the opportune moment.

But Aimeric would see the human was dead now. He would know right away that she was up to something and that she had broken free of her bounds.

She had to get out of this place. For good this time.

Taking the hammer she had used to break her hands with (and grimacing at the pain it took to grip it), Mara quietly opened the door, feeling a bit of rendezvous as she did — she had escaped this place once before ... she didn't want things to play out as they had last time. She didn't want to ever see this place again. This time there would be no stopping until she was far away from here.

She edged against the walls, hammer raised in case she came across anyone. She stumbled, still weak.

Mara came to the door of the prison and peeked inside. She could use another drink — it would help her escape. She was so damn weak still.

Opening the door, Mara crept inside and quietly closed the door behind her, turning the knob gently until it latched without a sound. She didn't have time for games, she grabbed the nearest human that was chained to the wall and bit her, drinking her quickly.

Wiping her mouth, Mara crept back outside the room. Her legs were stronger now. Her broken bones didn't hurt as much.

Mara went back out into the hallway and made her way to the back door she had left from last time.

"Where do you think you're going?" Lucas said from behind her.

Without taking a moment to think, Mara whipped around, raising both the hammer and her free hand. Her free hand summoned a sliver of white light that lashed out like a whip, striking Lucas in the chest. The hammer came down on the side of his face, cracking the bones of his cheeks.

Lucas screamed in pain.

He was going to bring everyone's attention to her!

Mara used her magic again, this time whipping the light across his neck, cutting off his scream midway. Lucas' head tumbled to the floor, leaving a trail of blood between it and his body.

The use of magic and over-feeding brought on a wave of nausea. Mara leaned over and threw up the blood she had just consumed. Curdled, hot red liquid came out of her mouth like jelly, spilling onto the floor in front of her.

She didn't have time to gain her composure.

She had to leave.

Run before Aimeric and everyone else was led to her by Lucas' scream.

Mara turned and ran, half-stumbling to the back door. She tried to pull it open, but it wouldn't budge. Looking above her head, she saw there was now a lock on the door. A padlock.

She tried her magic. It wasn't strong enough to break it.

She would have to find another way out.

Someone was yelling upstairs. They had probably heard Lucas' scream. Mara ran to the staircase and began to ascend. She made it to the top when the door opened and there stood that bratty kid: Julian.