Dark Paradise by Angie Sandro

Author:Angie Sandro
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2014-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

Mala

Biggest and Baddest

Rage surrounds my body—a tainted black aura hovering above my skin that crackles with raw energy. Hate throbs. Burning and consuming like fire until only the ashes float through my mind. Of my conscious thoughts, there’s nothing but the desire to destroy.

Magnolia doesn’t move when I reach for her. My hands land an inch above her shoulders. I try to scream at the burning agony racing up my arms, but no sound passes my tightening throat. I can’t even draw air into my lungs. I drop to my knees and cower before Magnolia with my hands cradled to my chest. Smoke mixed with the odor of burnt flesh sears my nostrils.

“You dare attack me, cher,” she whispers.

Her arthritic hand reaches for my face, and I rear back. The hand fists and then rotates counterclockwise. My intestines form into a knot, imitating the twisting of her hand, as if she’s reached inside my stomach and wrings out my guts like they’re wet clothes going on the line.

Sweat runs down my face. I stare up at Magnolia, panting. “You’re not strong enough to best me,” she taunts with a toothless smile, and I know she’s right. I glance at Mama for help, but she’s passed out. Why can’t she ever be there for me when I need her? Even when she’s in the room, I’m alone. Helpless.

Maybe Magnolia reads the defeat in my eyes because she releases her fist. The pain in my stomach eases. When she reaches for my hands, I’m too afraid to pull away. She peels open my clenched fingers, and I whimper at the sight of black, flaking skin. “Magic for us is like breathing. It comes naturally from deep inside,” she says. “It forms by our will. You only have to think of what you want and that desire becomes reality if you got the know-how.” Breath ranker than a septic tank blows across my palms. My eyes close against the pain in my tingling hands. It hurts worse than when blood returns to a limb that has fallen asleep. “This is Lesson One, Apprentice.”

God, please save me from Lesson Two.

The springs in the couch creak. Magnolia sits before me with her cane resting across her bony knees. “Now, where were we?”

I struggle to stand up, finally placing a hand to the ground. There’s no pain. I lift my palms close to my eyes, studying the unmarked surface. “You healed me.”

“Would you prefer I leave you broken?”

I grit my teeth, rising, but I don’t get too close. Magnolia is crazy, which means unpredictable. I’d be a fool to challenge her again, but I’d be even crazier to let her stay. The rage still simmers inside me. I wasn’t in control the first time I went after her. The rage took over. I’m more scared of what I’ll do if she lays hands on me again than of what she’d do to me in retaliation. “I’d prefer if you left. Get out!”

“What did you say?” Her eyes still have that insane glitter, but I don’t care.

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