Springtime Love

Today’s scene comes from the end of A Butterfly’s Fire. I took it because it really shows off some of the dangers of the ladybug shifters.

Felicia
held her hand over Somali’s chest. “The wand is around her neck and appears
embedded in her skin. We’ll have to take care in removing it.”

“I’m
just going to cut it off her,” he said. Derrick wished he was going to be
around to see the look on Peta’s face.

He’d
tied her to the table spread eagle style just as a precaution in case she woke
before they began. Her shirt had been cut open baring her golden-brown skin and
the silky scrap of fabric of her bra.

Felicia
put a hand on Somali’s stomach, and Somali made a soft sound they both ignored.
He had used a low dose sedative to keep her out just long enough to wake while
he was cutting her.

He
wanted her to feel the pain she’d put him through by not dying that night.
She’d made him wait for this, watch her grow for twenty years too many.

The
broad finger shook as it neared the glittering crystal. The titanium was what
made her so impervious and soon it would do the same for them.

“It’s
almost alive,” Felicia murmured. “This is amazing. It protects itself by
appearing to be nothing more than a tattoo.” Her fingers grazed the crystal,
and she gasped.

Somali’s
eyes opened, and the pupils glowed ruby red.

Somali
screamed, and Felicia ripped her hand away. “Let me free,” she cried. “Now,
Derrick, and I’ll give you the same favor you said you’d give me.”

“What’s
that little snot?” he sneered.

“I’ll
let you live,” she said coldly.

There
was none of the innocence in her face that had marked it all these years. Her
eyes were barely even human as they stared at him.

Across
the table, Felicia was gasping, her color coming back.  

“I’ve
done my homework, Somali,” he told her as he pulled the gun from the holster at
his back. He hadn’t expected this to go smoothly because hell, it never had.

“Derrick,
don’t engage her,” Felicia snapped and picked up the knife from the table.

Derrick
snorted. He’d been prepared to blow her brains out though he knew his window
would be short to get the stones from her.

The
guardian could survive even a gunshot as the body cocooned over and began to
heal. She’d become immortal in that time. So, he’d have to take the stones as
soon as he shot her.

“Peta
will be here soon,” Somali said. “Do you really think you’ll get out of here
with the wand?”

“Peta
won’t look here, little sister.” Felicia laughed at the fear in her eyes that
turned to surprise as she raised the knife next to her. “Oh, yeah. We have the
same father.”

“He
was never my father,” Somali snipped.

“Now,”
Derrick snapped.

Felicia
drove the knife at her chest, and he aimed at Somali’s head and fired.