Bound to Earth

6: I'm Not Eating My Brothers

Stress expelled from my body with each scream I yanked from the man. It felt so good to collect fear the old fashioned way—a blade in hand. While passively collecting the anxiety from people in crowds was enough, it wasn't fun. 

Majority of the time, I was collecting from too many people to see what someone feared. That was the best part of my diet, being able to see what horrors went through the minds of monsters themselves. It was always inspiring.

Their scent was everywhere—fire, sugar, roses, cinnamon—entwining with every breath, but uniquely separate. I was almost certain they were nearby; I could feel it in my bones. Either way, I wouldn't risk using my powers.

Tonight was proof I needed to be more careful. 

If they felt this way about me being a human, I couldn't imagine what would swarm their minds once they knew exactly what I was. There were days I didn't even want to think about my own being. Those were the days I drank.

I threw my knife, the blade dragged across the achilles tendon of the troll. Even in my drunken state, I was a total badass bitch.

He collapsed to the ground screaming in pain as his calf shredded. The jewels and precious metals in his arms sprayed across the pavement with an echoed tinkling. No one was around to hear him scream.

The stingy little fucker crying on the ground, had more than enough money to get by, but he wanted more. Too bad I was walking by when he robbed the jeweler. I wouldn't take any, didn't have a need for it. So the police would find him exactly like this, dead over a pile of gems he stole.

I crouched in front of the troll, toying with the gold in front of him. "Any last words?"

He scrambled to collect whatever gold he could in his arm. "You damned—"

My blade slid into his skull, crunching the bone. "Nope? Great." Blood seeped over the sparkling valuables, soaking the air with the stench of death.

"Do you feel better now?" Malachi stepped out of the tree line.

I was tempted to drive the blade through his skull. Then I'd feel much better. "I was, but now I'm not so sure."

Valentino stepped out behind Malachi. "Dude, I told you to watch from a distance. You were supposed to let us handle this."

Alistar appeared at my side, crouching with me to inspect the troll. Brynjar's heavy footsteps stopped where the gold scattered the floor. He shifted through the pile, examining a piece of jewelry before throwing it to the side.

He found a necklace of weaved diamonds and shoved it in his pocket before going through more of the valuables.

"Are you serious? You watched me kill this troll for stealing the diamonds then you go and steal them?" This fucker. "You heathen." 

Brynjar glanced at me, grinned. "Your point is?"

Alistar slid my blade from the skull of the troll, cleaning it with the troll's clothes. Valentino gagged at the slurp of the blade being removed.

They were lucky I didn't feel like killing anyone else tonight.

I waved Brynjar off. "Nothing."

Malachi shifted his weight on his feet, tugging at a dreadlock. "I'm sorry."

Don't say anything bitchy. "What?" I glared at him.

"I said, I'm sorry."

"What for?" I snatched my blade from Alistar's hand, sheathing it. Malachi took a step back before I could put the blade away. "You're not scared of me, are you?" I smirked.