“Keep walking toward me and for every step you take I will stab him.”
Cinder stood frozen with inaction. He wanted nothing more than to throttle Ran’imy, get his hands around her neck, but he knew her better than most and her threat carried weight.
“We had a special term for women like you back in my day,” Ellis remarked as he drifted close to Ran’imy.
“Fuck off, ghost boy.”
“Well, that’s just rude.”
Io whimpered.
“You know, I’m getting a little tired of this game,” Ran’imy growled. “I came here for one purpose and I really see no reason to delay any further. It might have been fun to make him suffer a bit more, but I think I’ll enjoy it more watching your world fall apart as the light fades from his eyes.”
Finally, a word bubbled up out of Cinder, startled by the plea in his tone. “Please…”
“Holy shit,” someone cried, a murmur running through the gathered gargoyles. A few of them began to make quick exits, ducking into other rooms.