The cultists who weren’t on a mission gathered around, like the tricoteuse who used to gather around the guillotine during public executions in civil-war-ridden France, calmly knitting away while heads rolled. I could get on board with that sort of gal. I could feel the awe of those gathered around me, and it felt good to have them enraptured. This was why I’d done this. This respect and this nervous excitement were precisely the reason I’d set this goal of becoming a goddess. I was judge, jury, and executioner, and here was my salivating audience.
“Hold this one still,” I ordered, pointing to Nomura.
A few giddy cultists volunteered, rushing forward to hold him steady. He didn’t flinch. His eyes were fixed on mine, like he’d known this would happen. I supposed there was one exception to the “nobody wants to die” rule, and that was the rare individual who had nothing left to lose. Still, he’d serve his purpose.
“You may kill me, Katherine, but you will not kill the hope in those who still wish to see your defeat,” Nomura asserted.
“You think anyone else wants to be put on the chopping block?” I smiled at him. “You pledged yourself to my cause. Or did you forget?”
A gasp went up from the now-standing insurgents, all of them staring at Nomura. I stifled a snort. News of his betrayal had spread, but it obviously hadn’t spread far enough.
“You blackmailed me,” Nomura replied calmly. “You threatened the life of my son. What else was I supposed to do? Anyone in my position would have done the same.”
“And where did that get you? Shinsuke died anyway, and he died for me.” I looked to the crowd. “Shinsuke was a member of my cult, and he attempted to betray me. He died for it, torn apart by Purge beasts. And so will you, though you’ll be pleased to know I don’t have a handy group of Purge beasts, so it’ll just be plain old execution. Magic or blade, though? I haven’t decided yet.”
“Spare us a monologue, Katherine,” Felicity Crowley spat. “What is it with you and the sound of your own voice? You’ve always loved it, but you never did realize that nobody was listening, did you? Jeez, most of us drowned you out before you even started.”
I chuckled. “Perhaps, if you had been listening, you wouldn’t be standing here now.”
“And miss putting you back in your place? Never.”
Felicity was a tough old boot. She was the kind of woman I would’ve ended up as if I’d taken a different path: strong, intelligent, beautiful, and good with words. I’d often admired her in the past, but she just gave off a vibe that smacked of a lack of ambition. She was the leader of a coven, but she could’ve been so much more.
“And what place would that be?” I replied.
“Six feet under.”
I laughed. “Bring me Nomura’s blades.” She was on her high horse now, but she’d be toppling out of the saddle in a second.
The cultists wrenched the two katanas from their straps on Nomura’s back and brought them over to me. I held their elaborate handles tightly, feeling the satisfying weight of the twin swords. I’d never been particularly good with weapons, always preferring the blissful shiver of pure magic, but this was going to look ever so dramatic.
Felicity, Cormac, and Remington had the decency to look pale. In fairness, I’d expected more from Remington, since he probably knew about my Imogene ruse by now. Maybe it was the shock that was rendering him silent. I tended to have that effect on people. Even Felicity seemed stunned enough to shut her trap.
“Not so chatty now, are we?” I mused as I took a step toward Nomura.
“You don’t need to do this,” Cormac cut in, his words hitting my ears with that soothing Irish lilt. I’d forgotten how intoxicating an Irish accent could be, and Cormac was a looker in his own right. Dark and mysterious, I’d have called him. He had nothing on Davin, but he wasn’t too shabby.
“Ah, but it’s not a matter of need, Cormac. This is purely a matter of want.” I didn’t wait for him to speak again. “Any last words, Nomura?”
“You will not be smiling when all of this comes to a close,” he said quietly. “I have nothing more to say to you. Reunite me with my son. I pray my sins and his may be forgiven, so that he and I may be at peace.”
“Oh, there’s one more thing.” I’d been waiting for this.
“Of course there is,” Felicity muttered, but I ignored her.
“I was the one who killed your wife, Nomura. She was on a mission to retrieve a hidden cache of rare magical artifacts when I happened upon her research party. I killed them all. So let’s call that three for three, shall we?”
Nomura’s eyes widened, a look of overwhelming rage and horror washing over him. But before he could breathe a word, I raised the swords up and swiped them across his neck in a perfectly synchronized display of grace and precision. I didn’t wait for his head to fall. Instead, I made my way past him to the secondary line, choosing victims at random. A few security magicals were cut down, just to hammer home my point. I meant business, and if these idiots didn’t yield, they’d suffer the same fate.
“Is that the only way you know how to negotiate?” Cormac’s sour tone called to me.
I turned back. “Productive, no?”
“You’re a monster, not a goddess. You’ve always needed to be the center of attention, even when you were a student in New York. Looks like nothing has changed.”
I’d known the Crowleys for a long time, but if they thought they could use little anecdotes to make me appear weak, they had another thing coming. The Katherine they’d known back then wasn’t the one standing before them today. I wasn’t Katherine anymore. I was Eris.
Regardless, my skin prickled with anger. “Are you really that eager for a taste of these blades, Cormac? Do you think you can get under my skin with a few choice words? Weaklings like you mean nothing to me. I could kill you all and it wouldn’t make a dent in my day.”
“You’re desperate, Katherine,” he replied. “I always knew you were power-mad, but even you must be able to see that it’s not going to end well. You’ve got Chaos itself turning against you. This is all going to blow up in your face, mark my words.”
“If you even have a face by the end of this.” Remington had finally found his voice.
“He speaks!” I gave a mock gasp.
“And you probably won’t want your precious followers to hear what I have to say,” he shot back. “Look at you—you’re falling apart. And if you lose your body before you can find a vessel to hold this new energy, you’re pretty much done for. I would’ve thought someone like you would have something in place to stop that from happening. Apparently not.” It seemed as though Odette had done more chattering than she’d let on. Evidently, Remington knew something of my plan, and there was only one person who could’ve given him that kind of information. Although, it looked like he’d only come to this realization now that he’d figured out something was off about me. These cracks weren’t exactly subtle.
“I’ll find my vessel, don’t you worry.” Rage burned in the pit of my stomach, and I was having a hard time controlling it. I couldn’t afford another outburst, but these punks were making it very difficult to keep calm.