The Beautiful Monster

276  Kill them

Blair smiled at him, but she looked nearly frozen with fear as she did so.

"I think she just needs a little push, sir," she replied as she gestured to Benjamin.

"Whatever sick game you're playing, I don't want to be a part of it! I'm not going after you," Melina said firmly, trying to detach herself from this situation.

She didn't want to be sucked into this nightmare. Ignorance seemed like complete bliss at this point, and she would rather be happy than torn apart. She doubted that she had a choice, though.

Alaric walked closer to Benjamin, stopping behind him. He placed his hand on the back of Benjamin's neck.

"I want to see how strong you are. That's the only way I can see if you're worth the trouble of my game," Alaric said coldly before squeezing his hand and crushing Benjamin's neck.

Benjamin toppled over without a sound, staring at the floor lifelessly.

"No!" Melina screamed as she watched Benjamin fall to the floor. Her entire body locked up as she stared down at Benjamin's body, hoping that he would somehow get up. She didn't just watch him die. That wasn't right. That was impossible! She came here to save him!

"I think that's plenty of motivation. Don't you think?" Alaric asked Blair with an amused grin.

Blair giggled and nodded.

"Plenty, sir," she replied.

Melina felt her legs weaken and then buckle, making her crash down to the floor on her knees. She couldn't keep her eyes off Benjamin, drowning in her grief and shock. She felt like she couldn't breathe. How did this happen? It happened so fast, too fast for her to react. Guilt struck her like a punch, and it felt nearly impossible to even suck a breath in.

Alaric looked over at Melina. He waved his hand, a dark energy forcing her to her feet.

"Get up. Show me what you got," he said before looking over at Blair. "Put her to the test."

Melina wanted to collapse again, but whatever dark powers he had kept her from falling over. She faced Blair as she approached, feeling dread overcome her. It seemed like Benjamin wouldn't be the only death that happened tonight.

*******

Even if her life was on the line, Melina had no motivation to fight Blair. Honestly, she felt like laying on the ground and giving up. Everything felt like it was crumbling all around her, and she would be crushed by the pressure eventually. Maybe she needed to let Blair win so that she could get this awfulness over with. She was over this nightmare that she kept being forced to live.

"Come on! Fight back!" Blair spat at Melina before slapping her across the face.

Melina stumbled to the side, feeling a stinging sensation ripple through her face from Blair's sharp smack. She grimaced at the pain as she reclaimed her balance, straightening up again. She put her hands up, blocking a few more hits from Blair before receiving a punch to her lip that split open the bottom one.

A metallic taste spread over Melina's tongue as she drifted it over the cut in her lip. The taste made her stomach turn. She had no idea how vampires enjoyed blood. She hated the taste, smell, and sight of it. Soon, she would probably be covered in it if she kept letting Blair land hits on her.

"I thought you were a fighter, Melina," Alaric commented as he circled around the living room, watching the one-sided fight. "I guess you're actually a coward like your adoptive father."

Melina knew that he was just saying those things to get under her skin. Admittedly, they made her angry, but she wasn't going to be tricked into fighting. She didn't care enough. Alaric was just going to kill her anyway. Instead of toying with her, she wished that he would get it over with and put her out of her misery.

"You're an embarrassment," Blair hissed before shoving Melina to the ground. She wrapped her hand around Melina's throat and sent a current of electricity through her body.

Melina shuddered on the ground, seizing from the shock. Her eyes closed tightly as she waited for death to eventually take her. She just wished that Tyler was here with her. She wanted to see him one more time before she went.

"Stop, Blair," Alaric growled, waving her away.

Blair grumbled beneath her breath and let go of Melina before stepping back.

"She's never acted like this. I swear," she said, defending herself.

Alaric shook his head, looking annoyed.

"You told me that she was a threat, a challenge!" he snapped at her.

Blair parted her lips to speak, but another voice took over.

"Don't underestimate her. It'll be the last thing that you do."

Melina lifted her head to see Tyler standing in the doorway of the living room. Her eyes grew twice their regular size as she stared at him in pure shock.

"How?" she breathed out, not knowing how he knew that she was here. She promised to not tell Tyler where she was going to keep Benjamin alive. She should've never trusted a demon to keep his promise. Now, she lost her adoptive father, and a piece of her heart was crushed into dust. The damage was irreparable, and the trauma would follow her forever.

"No one was answering their phone. Plus, I had a tracker on this one's car," Tyler replied as he sneered at Blair. "Nice Jeep."

Blair paled as she looked over at Alaric, who was glaring at her.

"I'm sorry," she gasped.

"Prove you're not completely useless and kill them!" Alaric spat at her before stepping back.

Blair nodded and faced Tyler as he moved to help Melina to her feet. She suddenly sent a picture frame flying at Tyler's head.

Tyler quickly ducked, forcing Melina to lower herself too so that she wasn't struck in the head by wood and glass. He left Melina's side to run at Blair, tackling her to the ground. He tried to land a few hits, but Blair dodged them before delivering a hefty punch to his jaw. He grunted in pain before elbowing her in the stomach, knocking the breath from her. He climbed on top of her, lifting his hand for the final blow.

Suddenly, Alaric's eyes flashed as he waved his hand.

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