The Witch Born to Smoulder (Inferno Book 4), стр. 39

‘Eva?’ asked Orpheus, nudging Violet further forward so she was teetering on the edge.

‘YES!’ I shouted. ‘Let her go now.’

Orpheus released Violet and ordered, ‘Arrest the witch!’

From the edges of the crowd came the police, sprinting towards me. I turned to Violet, who called out to me, ‘Eva – never stop believing…in love.’

And then she stepped off the platform. I heard the crack of her neck breaking and then she swung like a rag doll.

‘NO!’ I shrieked, sprinting towards her. I grabbed hold of her, but her warmth – her life – it had left her body. I pulled her close and slipped the rope from her neck. She was gone. I held her in my arms, kissed her forehead. Raw pain stabbed my heart, seeping through my body until it saturated me, drowned me. And then I turned to the biggest monster of them all.

‘MURDERER!’ I screamed.

The crowd went whisper quiet. Even the police stopped in their tracks.

‘She took her own life, Eva,’ said Orpheus. ‘But she deserved to die – just as you do.’

I placed Violet’s broken body onto the platform below and let the deepest, darkest of hatreds consume me.

From my jacket I took out the black crystal, making the crowd gasp and move away from me.

‘I am a witch, but I was a good witch.’ I turned to Orpheus. ‘You have done this to me. And your actions killed this beautiful, kind, gentle woman. For that, you shall rot in hell.’

Orpheus roared, ‘You poisoned my son and even my wife – you made them love you! Why, you nearly had me love you, you wicked, wicked witch! But today – your wickedness, the devil inside you will die. You will die.’

I struggled to control the fury that erupted like a volcano inside me. ‘You’re the one with hate in your heart, Orpheus! You’re the one who has poisoned our town with your fearmongering, with your paranoia and repression. You are the one whose actions murdered an innocent woman tonight.’

I turned to the crowd. ‘Shame on you! Shame on all of you! Search your conscience –

every single one of you let this happen!’

The air around me was cold and still. I turned back to Orpheus. ‘And you shall pay!’

I clutched the crystal and held it above my head.

‘VOCATIO!’ I shouted and remembered the moment when Violet, dear sweet Violet, had stepped from the platform to save me.

Within seconds, the creatures of the dead flew in from the dark skies, swooping amongst the crowd, who screamed and ran for their lives. Orpheus dropped to the ground, covered his head.

‘From the darkness of nights – from the souls of the dead – from the powers of evil…I command you to listen.’

The moment I’d spoken, the dead creatures turned their rotting faces towards me.

One word and the creatures would kill them all – Orpheus would be dead. And I would become the Fire Queen.

Inside me waged a battle of light and darkness – of life and death, of the sun and the moon. My heart burned with rage and a bitterness that craved for only one thing: revenge.

The dark powers of the crystal pushed their forces into me. I fell to my knees, the killing curse sitting ready inside my mouth. I closed my eyes, pictured Violet’s face. I remembered her words – believe in love. Would I finally put an end to Orpheus’s dictatorship, or would I become the real monster? The moment I chose to kill, there would be no turning back – no chance of restoring my balance ever again.

‘Eva!’ screamed a voice I knew like my own.

Jet!

‘DISCEDO!’ yelled Jet.

Immediately the dark creatures evaporated. Jet walked forward and cast a spell that blasted my crystal wand into the air. For a moment, I watched the wand flicker as it twisted. I leapt forward, arms outstretched. The moment before I reached it, the wand was snatched by Orpheus.

I collapsed onto the ground, beside Violet. My body convulsed as the wand’s power left me and surged into Orpheus’s body.

‘Eva! Run!’ screamed Jet as he sprinted towards me.

I tried to move, to get to my feet, but I couldn’t.

Jet was a few metres from me when Orpheus stepped between us and pointed the wand at Jet. Immediately, Jet fell to the ground.

‘JET!’ I screamed.

Jet reached for me. Orpheus stepped closer to him, wand raised.

I stared at the wand in disbelief. I had assumed, wrongly assumed, that only a witch could bring forth its powers. But the wand contained its own dark powers that had transferred into Orpheus, making him powerful and deadly.

Orpheus began laughing as Jet writhed about in pain. Then he kicked him, knocked Jet out cold.

‘Kill him!’ yelled Orpheus, motioning for his guards.

‘NO!’

As Max drew his gun and pointed it at Jet, I mustered every ounce of energy I had left. I rolled to stand, unseen. Every set of eyes was on Jet.

From my hands I released a fireball into the air, and it exploded with a bang, sending fire in all directions, setting the ground alight. Digging deeper than I ever had in my life, I created a fire circle around Jet, the roaring flames protecting him.

‘Go!’ I screamed before falling to my knees.

He lay motionless through the flames. I tried to go to him, but Max picked me up and in the blink of an eye, he’d handcuffed me and was hauling me towards the town hall. I tried to find some heat, some fire, but I was cold to the bone.

I glanced behind myself before I was taken into the hall. There were spot fires everywhere, police were scattered and Orpheus was trying to get past the flames that protected Jet. I smiled. Jet wasn’t there. He’d fled like a puff of smoke.

My smile disappeared as I was hauled into the bright lights of the town hall, away from Jet, my heart hurting in a way I’d never expected to feel.

‘Eva! Eva! Eva!’ said Max, his hands roaming roughly over me