Children of the Lost Ruler- Ghost Goddesses Book One

I Blow Up Like The Chernobyl Reactor

That was it.  I'd held my tongue long enough.  "And what if I don't want to, Mel?"

The girl jerked around, her eyes pitch black and raging.  I smiled.  "You don't get to call me that," she snarled.

"Nor do you have the right to call me Lara.  Who the hell said you're in charge, anyways?"  I saw that she'd begun to summon hellfire, and I considered my mission accomplished.  She and I hadn't been getting along, and it was better to get this over with.

Melaena glared at me.  “Oh, you think you’re so fucking special, don’t you?”

“No, but it’s clear that you think it of yourself.  Must’ve been nice to have a father.”

“Cry me a river,” she said lazily.

“I would, but hell doesn’t need another.”

She lunged at me.  I sidestepped, pulling out my cat o’ nine.  “I wouldn’t if I were you.”

Mel just laughed.  “Who the hell do you think you are?”

“Your worst fucking nightmare.”
At those words, the mansion started to change around me. I stumbled, taken aback.  This was not happening to me.  I wasn’t gonna show my fear.  I’d be fine.  I must keep my nerve, I thought to myself.  I set my face in a blank expression.

Moving my arm, I noticed that my whips hit something.  Good.  I wasn’t alone.  The metal tips glinted, coming back red.  Which means that this wasn’t as bad as I thought.

Or maybe it was, I thought, noticing the person in front of me.  They ran forward, enveloping me a hug.

I tensed under her touch.  I slapped my cat o’ nine across her back.  She screamed, shrinking back.  “Why’d you hurt me, sissy?”

I faltered.  She was just an illusion.  She died three years ago.

“I hurt you because you aren’t real!” I screamed back.  I didn’t care what they heard anymore.  

“Maybe I would be if you saved me,” she whispered back.

“Maybe you would be if you did as you were told, Larissa!”

The child lunged at me.  I rolled out of the way, slamming my whips on the ground and grabbing my compact of throwing stars.  I reared back and threw one.  She ducked out of the way.  I threw another.  It buried itself in her chest, but it was far enough away from the heart that it wouldn’t kill her.

“Stop it!  Help me sissy!”

I ignored her, covering myself in shadows and moving behind her.  I threw a third star sideways,  It went exactly where I’d planned, slicing her jugular.  She let out a strangled scream, collapsing to the floor.  I sprinted to her, cradling her in my arms.  “I’m sorry, Rissa,” I sobbed.  “I’m so, so sorry!”  The young girl’s eyes bore into mine.

“It’s okay Lara.  I love you.”

“I-” I choked back tears.  “I love you, too.  You rest now.  It’s okay.”
She went limp in my arms.  I looked down to see my clothes drenched in blood.  I screamed.  

“Are you happy now, Nyx?” I yelled.  “Are you happy?” I asked again, voice barely audible.  The house went back to the way it was when I arrived, and I broke, laying on the floor sobbing.
Anna started to walk over to me, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder.  I jerked away, sending her a death glare.  "Don't."  She didn't move.  Instead, she lifted my head in her lap, which would cause her to get secondhand bloodstains on her jeans, but she didn't seem to mind.

"It was her, wasn't it?" she whispered to me.

I nodded slightly, letting out another round of sobs.

"Lara.  It's over now.  You're safe."
I shuddered under her touch.  She sat me up, fixing my hair.  "Thank you," I managed.

"Of course.  Let's get you changed."
I nodded again, "That'd be nice, unless they want me to stay in clothes that're soaked by the blood of my sister."  There were a couple of appalled gasps from behind me.  I turned to them. 

"Say a word about it, and y'all can consider yourself dead, got it?
Without a word, Melaena grabbed my hand and started walking.  Shouldering my bag, I followed.  She led me to a bathroom, and stopped.  She went in before me and grabbed a bottle out of the sink.  “Use this on your clothes,” she said bluntly.

“Why?”

“It’ll get rid of the blood, and they’ll just need to dry.”

“Thank you,” I replied, smiling.  I was stupid to wear one of my favourite shirts.  She didn’t respond, she just shoved it into my hands and walked off.

I threw my bag on the ground, hearing the clunk of my pistol connecting with the ground.  I changed into black leggings and a white and grey marble patterned shirt.  I then sprayed and folded my clothes neatly, shoving them in the trash bag I brought with me for emergencies.  I decided to be stupid and shadow travel just outside the room that we were in previously, gettting there faster than should’ve been possible.  After entering, I went up to Melaena.  “Thank you.  I really appreciate it.”

“Don’t expect it to happen often, Laraline.”

“I won’t." I turned to the rest of the group.  "What've we figured out?"

Percy stepped forward.  "That we need to go to Camp Jupiter."

I nodded.  "Okay, so we go give Roman Zeusy's camp a visit.  How do we get there?"

"We haven't quite gotten that far," he confessed.

I smiled.  "We have four demigods that're related to Hades, and you don't know?!"

Jason facepalmed.  "Why didn't we think of that?"

Smirking, I responded.  "Your answer's simple, Sparky!  You just aren't as awesome as me.  Now, let's head out, shall we?"