Liberation

Chapter 31

Henley's point of view:

Giddy with excitement that my plan worked for once, I practically skip down the alley after Will.

It's only when I see him twitching on the ground with blood pouring out of him that my happiness is brought to an abrupt end.

"Will? What did you do now?" I ask, rushing to his side.

But he just mumbles incoherently, just the same as he would when he's intoxicated.

"Speak clearly," I order him, but the only words I can catch are "blonde" and "the box."

Rolling my eyes, I make a quick swishing movement with my wrist, and his arm finally stops bleeding.

I am in no way at all a healer, but the power of control enables me to manipulate body functions. I can make people bleed, but I can also make them stop.

I just usually prefer the first option.

"Now stop your blabbering and tell me who did this," I tell Will as he just looks at his arm, probably waiting for it to open back up or something along those lines.

"The blonde one...Cassia was her name I'm sure, she said she would...heal me. And then she did this," he says.

I face-palm my forehead and sigh. "Mother must have dropped you on your head during your infantry. Why on earth would you think Cassia would actually help you? You can't trust these people!" I shout, not able to comprehend his carelessness.

"And now they've gotten away, haven't they? Will, they could be anywhere in the city!" I add.

"Yeah. They got away with my box of powers," he grunts as he stands up.

"THEY WHAT?!" I yell, causing him to stumble away from me in fear.

"You have hundreds of powers in that box, William Collins! There's no telling what those in the hands of Adam could mean for them," I seethe in anger.

But when I see the hurt and anger mixed on Will's face, I take in a deep breath to collect myself. "Listen, those powers are your responsibility, likewise is what's left of this city," I tell him.

Will does a double-take before he answers. "What do you mean the rest of this city is my responsibility?"

"I have business with Julia that will take time. You know that prison far off in the middle of the woods, a further distance than even your city? The one we had built a while ago for the ones that were different?" I ask.

"Ugh, that place? Why are you taking her there? Why not just get the information you need from her here?" Will asks.

"Because I need her somewhere where no one will try to free her. This place is a threat to that, especially now that you say that her friends are out there somewhere. But while I'm gone, I'm putting you in charge of this place. Do what you want with it, just try not to burn it to the ground any more than already has," I tell him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"And what of Julia when you get what you need from her?" He asks uncertainly.

But I smile, knowing that I can make everything the way it once was before she came along as soon as I'm finished with her. "Let's see: her friends abandoned her, her boyfriend wants to kill her, her family is under your rule now, so I'm willing to bet that she won't put up much of a fight when I kill her once I'm through," I say.

Will looks at me nervously, taken aback by my plans. "You sure you can count on that? I mean, how many times have you tried killing her in the past?" He asks.

By then I forget my tolerable manner, anger seething from his words. "I need answers as to why the power of dominance didn't destroy her so that when I rebuild the power system, I won't make a mistake again. But Julia Lancaster will die. Make no mistake about that. I'll see you in a few months, Will," I say angrily, turning my back on him as I leave, each step echoing against the concrete ground.

I admit it that I can be angry and vengeful, but I can't blame myself for it.

Sometimes that's the only way to get things done in my life.