“WELCOME TO the end, my darling.”
Vlad’s words might have been heard by some, but his voice was low and meant for me alone. He lowered his arms and walked up to me. I could smell his scent, a musky cologne that made me nauseous.
“I have news for you, 49th.”
And then he was right in front of me, flashing a grin that sent chills down my spine. He leaned close so only I could hear.
“The Realm is no more. Even the old goat is dead. All but you. Now it’s your turn.”
He quickly reached past me, snapped up one of the wireless microphones, stepped away, and spun to the closest camera, mic at his mouth.
“Keep it rolling! Keep them all rolling. I want the whole world to see what we have here! Because what we have here”—his accusing finger stabbed at me, frozen behind the podium—“is hatred!”
But my mind was on his previous claim. The Realm of Mystics was no more. There hadn’t been an ounce of deception in his voice. It was true. That’s why I’d frozen. He was going to kill me because he could do it now without compromising his plan.
He’d won!
I was completely lost without a clue what to say or do. It was just me, the seventeen-year-old girl who’d had her brain wiped, now cowering under a powerful man who could crush me with one fist.
But that wasn’t true. I was as fast as him, maybe faster. I was, but the world was watching. I couldn’t fight Vlad here—it would only make me look like the terrorist they thought I was!
“Hatred!” His voice echoed over the PA system. “Now . . .” He lowered his voice. “You’re probably wondering who I am. Who is this man in the white jacket who’s somehow managed to slam every door and incapacitate every guard without moving a muscle? Think of me as the angel of truth.”
That wasn’t true and I had to tell them, but I could hardly breathe, much less speak.
He lifted a finger, pacing. “Truth one: The esteemed president of these United States of America introduces you to a wonderful little girl, but when that wonderful little girl comes out, you see that she’s the monster the world has been hunting. You have to wonder why the president would deceive you. The answer is me.”
“That’s a lie!” the president snapped, standing. “A lie!”
“Shut up, Calvin.” Vlad strode to the left, eyes on the president, who returned his hard stare, face white and sweaty. “Sit down!”
Calvin Johnson hesitated but then eased back down, unable to find the right words for his own defense.
“Better,” Vlad said. To the auditorium: “Truth two: She’s here because I told the president that if he didn’t give her the floor, I would expose my deal with him to use StetNox, a nasty little piece of malware that he released two years ago. With it, the president can manipulate any bank account with impunity. My funding put Calvin Johnson in power with the understanding that when my malware brought the world to its knees, he would be there to sweep up—that was the deal.”
The president stood again, nostrils flaring. “He’s lying! The evidence will show . . .”
Vlad lifted a hand, and the president slammed back into his chair as if shoved by an unseen force.
A collective gasp broke the room’s silence. Just that one gasp as the world saw Vlad’s power.
“So sorry, Calvin,” Vlad said. Then to the rest of the hall again: “So you see, there’s a lot of nasty business under the skin of this world, but nothing so threatening as that innocent-sounding girl behind the podium, shaking in her boots because she’s now realizing that this was always my plan, exposing her failure for all the world to see. The end is here.”
“That’s not true,” I said. My little voice echoed through the room, but the anger that was welling up inside of me wasn’t little. I could feel it rising like a fast tide, fueled by an ancient ocean of frustration and grievance.
He turned, brow arched. “No? What’s not true? That the president’s a crook or that you’re more dangerous?”
“It’s not true. I’m not dangerous.” I spun to the hall. “He’s lying, don’t listen to—”
“Hatred!” he roared, overpowering my voice. “You all heard what she said at the cathedral she blew up. You’ve seen the death and destruction that followed. False religious zeal in the heart breeds hatred, which breeds violence. When a young skull full of mush comes to believe that her God rejects others who don’t believe the right thing, she becomes an antichrist, willing to kill and destroy those she thinks her God hates. This is terrorism of the highest order, and it, not war, is the world’s greatest security threat!”
The cameras were winking red, broadcasting his half-truths to the world.
“And the girl before you is an antichrist who would have brought this world to its knees had I not come to save you all.”
He was twisting the truth, rambling, confusing them with deceit and fear. I couldn’t let him do that!
“No!” I screamed. The word came from me like a wave. A rippling surge of energy hit the front of the room, toppling two of the cameras, slamming into the front rows with enough force to knock confused ushers and attendants back several feet as they gasped. The whole room saw it.
A small part of me was amazed by my power. A larger part of me wanted to use it against Vlad.
His lips twisted into a grin. “Do you despise me, 49th? Do you hate me? Do I strike fear into your heart? Fear and anger have the same root, you know.”
I knew he was goading me with truth now. I knew there was no fear in love and I had to find the Fifth Seal, which was my only purpose now.
But I also knew that I’d already failed in Other Earth. Now he was here to kill me in front of the whole world. He’d waited his whole life for this day.
“A witch!” Vlad said, eyes fired. “Hatred gives her that kind of power, and she has no trouble using it because that’s what demons do!”
I was moving at the word demons because he was the demon, not me. Two long strides and then I was in the air, throwing myself at him without concern for what he could do to my body.
He dropped under me just as I reached him, then jerked up, slamming both fists into my abdomen midflight.
The microphone clunked and whined with feedback as it hit the floor. Cries filled the room as the audience saw what defied their eyes. We’d both moved far too fast for their minds to comprehend.
My body tumbled through the air, then slammed into the wall ten feet above the stage. I twisted my head back to gain his position as I dropped to the floor, landing in a crouch—one knee, one foot, one hand. My body surged with power, fueled by a final resolve to end it all now.
Either I would kill him or he would kill me, right here in front of the whole world.
What is shown to be in the one who sees, daughter?
“Do you hate me, 49th? Do you despise those who slashed Talya’s body? Does Ba’al make you sick?”
I was already moving, streaking for him. But so was he, away from me, streaking left. I veered to intercept, driving forward with every ounce of strength and speed in my body. This time my head slammed into the side of his, knocking him into the podium, which splintered and toppled off the stage.
When I landed and spun back, he was already on his feet, arms spread wide, chin lifted to the ceiling, laughing. He wasn’t fighting back . . . A pang of confusion momentarily stalled me.
“Hatred!” he shouted. My confusion ended and I moved, blinded by rage. “It’s all about hatred, and the only way to protect yourself is to hate your enemies and the enemies of God. She isn’t from this world! She’s a . . .”
My knee crashed into his jaw and my momentum carried me past him, but the blow threw me off axis and I spun wildly. I landed in a crouch at the back of the stage.
What is shown to be in the one who sees, daughter?
Vlad stood at center stage. Blood trailed down his chin and he spat to one side, eyes on me. The goading and daring was gone from them, and at first I thought I was getting to him.
I circled to my right, aware of the pounding in my head. I was faster and stronger than most humans, but so was he. I didn’t know how much more my body could take.
Vlad remained where he was, staring me down. “Rage,” he said in a low, gravelly voice. “The key to your demise has always been the rage hidden deep in your heart and in the heart of all.”
I hesitated, confused again, because I knew that he was speaking the truth. And there was something different about him now. I could sense the terrible darkness that seeped from his bones as he stood before me, face flat, levity gone.
“Rage, 49th. Drink it in. Defend your honor.”
Tell me, sweet daughter. What is shown to be in the one who sees?
I blinked. It was the third time I’d heard the faint voice. Why wasn’t I listening? And if I’d failed, why was I still hearing?
You can never fail me.
I couldn’t? But of course not.
You can never disappoint me.
But . . . Yes, but I was disappointed in me.
See yourself as I see you, and then you will know what it means to be in the one who sees.
What had come over me? I stood still, bewildered by what had happened here in front of millions.
When the evil man comes against you, do not resist. Step into the love that knows no fear, daughter. Trust me. Let it all go, just like in the storm.
Vlad lowered his head, gripped his hands to fists, and roared at me.
“Now!”
But this time I didn’t react to his rage. I let my muscles relax and lowered my arms to my sides. No. No, I couldn’t defeat him with fear because he was fear. I couldn’t use shadow to overcome shadow. My safety was in my defenselessness, because only there could I find the power called love.
He flashed me a grin. Without warning strong arms hooked mine and jerked them behind my back. Lifted me high off my feet.
Panicked, I twisted. I was being held four feet off the ground with both arms pinned behind my back by nothing.
But I knew that nothing was one of Vlad’s Leedhan. In the sight of all I hung in the air as if by magic, but it wasn’t magic at all. I was in the grip of the shadow of death.
“Now, 49th,” Vlad said, glaring at me. “Now you die.”