Heat drained from my face and diverged from my limbs. A sickness grew in my stomach, sending vomit to the back of my throat. I knew these signs from the last time I took a life. My body gagged and revolted. It wasn't a simple response, and no I wasn't being remorseful. Please, I didn't care about fools who waged wars to lose. I bit my lip at the knowledge.

Erwin stared at me, expecting my quick and superficial response. Still, I had no choice. A bound heart granted him the ability to restrict and prod my physical state. Imagine ten steps further, hurling your lungs and breaking out in a cold sweat. Oxygen would become sparse and insignificant as the world spun nano-circles with my body. The revolutions would pulverize my organs and turn my form to mush. I'd be conscious, powerless to end the unbearable pain shredding my mind.

"Are you sure?" I stared into his sapphire orbs.

"Why wouldn't I be?" he questioned.

"Once the debt is cleared, you have no way to control my next actions."

He scratched his chin then pointed at me. "True, but what will you lose?"

Did he plan this from the moment we first met? My energy would mark me as responsible, but that wouldn't mean Trevor wouldn't believe me. Right?

"If I bring your name up and family affiliation, the investigator working the case won't discount my claim, even if I become responsible for the spell."

"Words of the damned. Ah, but what was his name?" He paused, searching for the answer. "A Mr. Trevor Skilts, I presume? The one you risked your heart and now your life for? All that's well and good, but Lanna, you're missing a very important fact." Erwin walked closer, raising his knuckle to brush my face. "Human laws require concrete evidence, and that evidence points to you. The words of a Witch condemned to Hell claiming a dubious binding spell you accepted, was the cause, seems far inadequate."

Erwin had a point—a measly one—but still a point. He could spread the information of my involvement like a wildfire. They'd say I stayed ahead of the police by being contracted to them and misleading the case. Add my family backing and history; Erwin had a solid case in controlling the gossip mongrels. Once the media corners the higher ups, the iron links would snap shut on my wrists. Why bother looking for the true mastermind when my energy was all over the crime scene? Energy couldn't be destroyed and no one could impersonate another's life on the molecular level.

"Very well." I snorted at his explanation. "But if you bank on a flimsy reason, you'll find your perfection shattered." Turning my back to him, I clenched my hands together. Things will be okay, they always were. I mean what's the worst that could happen from this ordeal?

"Relying on Humans to trust you, Lanna how you've fallen."

I glanced at him, smiling. "Please, I trust no one but myself."

"Don't lie now."

Damn him. It wasn't true, no matter how much he claimed he controlled my heart, my mind didn't trust. I ignored his slight jab and walked out of the glass enclosure, the door slamming shut behind. The Humans watched with sullen, dead eyes. I didn't care if they died. They welcomed death from the hell they experienced. Yet, staining my hands a deeper red left the bitter taste of defeat. That woman would laugh and mock me for years to come. She told me I'd never be capable of resisting the damn dark side. Now, she'd be right. Even if I technically didn't convert back, circumstances be damned.

The air grew heavy and dank. My skin tingled from the energy permeating my surroundings. Sucking in a lengthy breath, I withdrew and focused my attention. The engraved magic circle would require substantial amounts of energy. Almost two-thirds of my energy hold. The fatigue from such a large spell would accelerate and leave me unconscious, such were the dire effects of magic usage. Yeah, ultimate bliss for a minute, but the end effects were a massive overdose.

Okay, you moronic dumb chick, let's cast and be done. I rubbed my forehead, remembering Trevor's unknown reaction. The emotions I garnered from him swelled my chest. Yet, I knew there was more to him. Would our relationship change after this?

I expelled the thought, closing my eyes and hummed as I threaded strings of energy into the unseeable circle. The physical drawing was a mere placeholder, only after filling the lines to their max would the words sprawled upon the surface gain power.

Adrenalin gushed through my veins, permeating from my pores and the euphoria spread over me in tsunamis. Each ounce of energy expended, lifted me higher.

I floated, affixing the final thread binding the outer circle to each of the five inner ones. The criss-crossed pattern divided by defined circles illuminated within the darkness. With the main body created, the words engraved into the surface shaped and overpowered the base form.

The energy layer disappeared, replaced by perfect imprinted circles and an ancient language—Caligo—the darkness dweller's secret.

Unveiling the physical form, I sighed at the pool of darkness shooting from the floor in beams. The field was contained within the crafted circle, but hollow at the center where the Humans sat. Even with death encroaching on their living forms, the thoughtless fools stayed put. I giggled at their pitiful selves, my emotions uncontrollable from the current high.

I can't wait. A single word for activation and those fragile beings will crumple under my power. Ah, what a sight. Imagine their screams and the way their bones will shatter. They'll experience my grand strength for themselves. What bliss!

"Exafin," I uttered the single phrase. A start and end code. The curse will continue until it devoured all that remains.

The bond attaching me to my energy bursted to flames and with that my giddy euphoric died. My mouth grew drier than the hottest desert. My legs trembled, begging me to remove the tiny weight they carried.

The screams rung high vibrating my eardrums and blurring my vision. Yet, all sensations vacated my mind. My brain muted, crashing my feedback system.

I swayed, the dim lights fading to oblivion. The high ceilings swirled and blackened as darkness blanketed all senses.