Ethereal Malignance by D.P. Vaughan

Author:D.P. Vaughan [Vaughan, D.P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: D.P. Vaughan

John followed Jessica’s presence to the crowd near the stopped train. He marched briskly to her.

“Let’s go,” he said quietly. “The train’s no longer an option.”

She opened her mouth and then looked around. “Chuyện gì đã xảy ra thế?” she asked.

“I’ll explain later,” he said. “We have to go before the police arrive.”

They made their way through the city streets, away from the sirens, and stopped near a payphone. Jessica caught her breath. John didn’t need to.

“Nashgrakh?” she asked.

“Dead,” John said.

“Oh,” Jessica said. “Good, right?”

Power surged through his veins. “Very good. He caught a train.”

“Oh,” she said thoughtfully. “The poor driver.”

Nothing I do is ever good enough!

“If I hadn’t done that, Nashgrakh would have killed me, killed you, and destroyed the world!”

Jessica was quiet for a while. “I wasn’t criticising you. I just feel bad for him.”

A twinge of something that might have been guilt flickered in John's mind but was quickly drowned out by the power coursing through him. He rubbed his temple and then pointed to the booth. “Payphone.”

“Thank you.” Jessica looked at him, her eyebrows raised. "I'm surprised you remembered." Her voice carried a hint of bitterness.

He waved off her thanks, sincere or not, and focused on the feelings of power within. He felt like he could take on anything; he never wanted to feel helpless again.

Jessica said something, but he didn’t hear.

“What?”

“I said do you have any coins? For the payphone.”

“Oh, right,” he said and searched his pocket.

“Are you all right, miss? Is this man bothering you?” said a man from behind them. He looked to be in his late thirties, dressed in a sharp suit and tie, his hair neatly styled. Human, not ethereal.

“We’re fine here, thanks,” John said in a biting tone.

The men faced off against each other.

“I was talking to the lady, thank you very much.”

“It’s okay, really,” Jessica said. “I was just going to use the payphone to call my parents.” She looked pleadingly at John. “Bình tĩnh.”

“What’s that?” the stranger asked. “Why don’t you come with me? How about we just—”

Hit him!

John snarled and punched the man in the gut. He flew backwards and collapsed on the ground like a ragdoll. Injured or dead, John didn’t know and didn’t particularly care.

“What the hell are you doing?” Jessica screamed in a high-pitched voice.

“He was going to cause problems,” John responded coldly.

“He was trying to help!”

“He was trying to help you. He was going to call the police on me.”

“So what?” She had tears in her eyes.

“If he called the police, best-case scenario is that I’d be arrested,”

She rolled her eyes. “Arrested?”

“And worst-case scenario, I’d end up dead.”

“Dead? You’re insane.”

His eyes flashed with anger. “Don’t be so goddamned naïve.”

Had she never seen the news? Read a newspaper? Had any idea of life outside her parents’ ivory tower?

They glared at each other, ignoring the unconscious man on the ground.

“Do you seriously not get that being Black is a health hazard when dealing with the police? You’re too smart to be so ignorant. The police might be your friend, but they’ll never be mine.

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