Rage

Kill her! Kill her! Kill her!

The hairs on the back of my neck rose as my heart hammered against my ribs. Threatening to shatter its cage, sending pangs of torment throughout my nervous system, I sucked in a deep heavy breath, stood motionless showered in Eryth's fury.

The world became dotted with red, drenching my sight till only the throbbing pulse of Venessa's carotid artery fixed itself within my line of sight. Pulsing with the sounds of her calm, collected heart, I reached for Laevatein.

I didn't care that Venessa was more powerful. I didn't care who she was. She just needed to die! She needed to die for what she did.

SHE NEEDED TO DIE!

"Are you alright?" Eryth voice came like a cold waterfall, pulling me back from the red. "You—" He paused, "you're flushed. Shall we leave? I've heard enough from this clown. Julia, send word to everyone in Blackpool. Venessa Lysander is no longer welcome. Also, send a detailed report to the magistrate informing him of all that transpired. I'd like criminal charges placed on this woman's head. Also, inform the Lysander family that her name is to be stricken from its ancestral records."

Heart still pounding, Eryth's worries came as a gentle stream pushing down my blinding rage, threatening to overflow to the surface.

"You can't do that!" Bellowed Vennessa, stomping down on an ill-placed hand, turning it to a paste. "I am you're bloody Mother!"

"And that is the problem, Julia, escort the former Lady Lysander out. Should she resist, kill her." he calmly said, pulling me out of the chamber room by the hand to the outside, allowing the crisp salty winds to billow gently against my cheeks, cooling my thoughts.

"What happened?"

I looked up, studying his golden eyes deepening. "Why didn't you just kill her? I… I could feel your anger. Your hate. Why didn't you."

"You felt it? Interesting." He smiled, glancing around at the empty courtyard, searching for something. "To kill someone is never the answer. You've got to break them, to peel away at their will till only death seems like the only solution, and only when they are at the end do you appear, wielding Azazel Blade."

"Azazel?' I muttered, confused by the reference. I'd never heard of this one.

"The God of Death, although some believe he was more than that. More than what he appears. But never mind the Myriad Gods, what is this about you feeling my emotions." Eryth probed, leaning close enough that I could feel the heat racing off his body. "What do you feel now?"

I bit my lips, confused yet curious about what it meant to be an empath. I'd never been mad a day in my life. At least not furious like this, where I only saw blood. I'd always been taught to keep a level head, to think hundreds and thousands of steps ahead of my enemies, which usually ended up being my parents.

Father had instilled a calm mind into my heart, but to feel others' anger or share their pain seemed… Confusing.

Lifting my head to meet the two gold orbs holding me in their sight, I bit down a little hard, a little unsure, but as I lowered my mental defenses to keep a calm mind, my senses reached out.

"So?"

"Nothing," I said, confused when suddenly I felt someone pierce my heart. Twisting a dagger till the hilt touched upon my still beating heart. My stomach churned, and my eyes grew wet as pain so great sunk its claws into me, tearing me down till I wished for nothing more than to cry.

"How?" I soon whispered, holding back the tears threatening to fall. But It hurt so much. "How do you still keep walking?" I asked. If not begged in such a tone, I'd never thought I'd have such a gentle voice filled with heartbreak.

I'd never felt such a horrid feeling before, such a cursed sadness that sunk so deep into my bones… I tried to pull back, to cast away the sense… of being so broken.

His smile slipped away into a thin line that only seemed to deepen my sadness as a profound sensation of exposure, of shame, sunk into my pores.

Eryth backed away. "What power. Shut it off. Shut it off now."

Wiping the tears away, I turned the other way, unwilling to show another my tears, and walked away.

Gods, I've never cried a day in my life! I hate this damn skill. Lily, can't I delete a skill? This skill is stupid!

"You can't delete skills, but you can fuse them should they meet the proper specification. If you master your bloodline, you can combine anything. Although I think being an empath is the best thing you can do. And you know it. Suck it up, girl, or suck him up. Get him thinking of you instead of some other bitch."

Grrrr, why are you so perverted?

"Tsk. Girl, I'm a part of you. I just have the balls to say what's in your subconscious." Lily curtly mentioned. "Or if you want, we can hook up with Cece. Bet she'll teach us a few things. Julia isn't bad, either. I hear elves are super sensitive."

Where the hell did she hear that? But is it true? Is it their ears that make them so… What am I saying? Dummy Iza.

Slapping my cheeks and pulling myself together, I noticed I'd walk quite a ways away before the emotions generated by Eryth had finally faded. Finally, bringing me some type of peace.

Gods, I hate that feeling.

"I'm good!" I shouted, noticing Eryth nodded.

'Well, let's not do that again." he said, drawing close. " Keep that skill to yourself. Most seekers who arrive have systems, like you, but none of them have a 'skill' like that. It's dangerous."

I agree. To gauge a person's emotional state is to know what they'll do in the long run. It's a very dangerous skill. But wait—

"Do you have a system?" I asked, and he smiled.

"I'm not foolish enough to answer that question." He said shamelessly.

My cheeks flared into balls," Hey! I told you I had one."

Eryth chuckled. "Most seekers or those who fall through the cracks like you have one. It's not hard to figure out. It's not a big deal. It means you're almost guaranteed to be a born killer or of relevance."

"What do you think I'll be?"

He stared, turning his back, "Let's go. It's time I show you my real business. Although you'll need to sign a blood contract."