Scarlet's City by Shia Naawl (nice books to read txt) 📕

material. I quickly went for him but having a mage fight against you was equivalent to a vampire but only this time, they can control the fucking elements and don’t have unimpressive fangs to show off.
My back hit and shattered the mirror as his used his power to manipulate the air to push me back –hard. I threw the sharp-tipped glass towards him and hit his lower abdomen deeply. His hissed but I used that time to side-kick him in the stomach and unsheathe his sword at the same time. Since I was mostly not human, the weight of the sword was like a feather to me. I stepped a few feet away from him and waited. I wanted know why him of all species of the supernatural kind wanted to kill the Mistress of the City.
I saw his lips moved quickly and heard a faint soft language only mages knew and cast. The fucker was trying to cast a spell on me. With my speed, I began to slash him with his sword. I couldn’t cut his tongue out if I needed answers from him, can I? While he dodged and punched, his lips still kept on moving without fail. This was great workout and the mage was the only one that actually had at least some skills. Damn it, if only I can use compulsion on him. It’s funny how I can use it on those who are undead or monster but mages were human, or at least, mostly human. Humans didn’t come under the compulsion category for me. Why? Magick is always inconsistent, never fully expecting how it’ll turn up –like vampires six months and under can sire a child. We don’t know why but it just is. With Magick, you’ll hope for the best and cross your fingers. I mean, who else are part Demon, part Vampiress, part Necromancer and part human, other than me? My two main creatures, my Demon and my Vampiress, take the lead most of the time. This was one of them.
The floor beneath me turned from marble into quick sand and I was about to go down fast. Without hesitation, I leaped in the air and launched myself onto him. I grabbed one of his knives in the process and applied pressure on his throat, spilling only a little bit of blood. While I was about to speak, his gutted me. I was no more than surprised as I looked down. He had his big hands wrapped around the hilt and as he twisted, it only went deeper. My blood poured out and it did hurt but hurt was an unnecessary emotion I didn’t need right know. I looked back up and smiled at him.
‘Was that supposed to hurt?’ I asked.
He only grunted. He apparently got the message and stopped. Usually any of those who are attacking me never give up and try and make me feel pain, while this mage stopped –knowing it was inevitable because if a stab wound that has been twisted and dug even deeper into ones flesh and didn’t even hurt the person, what else are you going to do? If a knife didn’t make an effect on me, what the hell are you going to use? A gun? It wouldn’t do much good apart from the person’s hand on the gun gets cut off.
My small body grounded his to the ground to make him stay still, while I get some damn answers from him and even though he was 6ft 8 and I was only 5ft 12, I was still stronger because I wasn’t full human and he mostly was. He was a smart man.
My body used all its strength to pin him down to the ground. The knife I had one his throat moved up to his cheek.
‘Tell me, mage. Why the fuck did you attack me in the shower? I mean, couldn’t you at least wait till I was finished and dressed?’ I said.
His grunted again but he spoke this time. ‘And miss your sweet ass, lady?’
I slowed pressed my knife down to his cheek and dragged it down. I made a nice line of blood that was pretty deep. His hissed.
‘You sent those imbeciles to kill me?’ I asked. You never know, people in the 21st century uses if-you-want-to-get-it-done-right-do-it-yourself rule.
‘Do I look like I associate myself with pussies?’ He said, looking clearly offended. Prejudice, aren’t we? So a war mage that has a thing against vampires, great –what’s next? The fucking bodyguard of the Pythia?
‘Why?’ I demanded.
His gave me a smile. ‘Why what?’
I really didn’t want to play this bullshit since I was still wet and naked. I simply adjusted my position and deliberately kneed his bollocks –hard. He made a struggled and compressed moan.
‘Fuck the crap, mage. Why the hell did you try to kill me?’ I demanded once more.
‘Like you don’t know, motherfucker. You stole our mages, Carmine and your head on a silver fucking platter would suffice.’ He said bitterly. Carmine? What the fuck?
‘You think I’m Carmine? I don’t know whether to laugh or be insulted.’ I said.
He gave me a look. ‘You’re not Carmine?’
‘Do I look like I’m Carmine?’ I said and gave him a face. We don’t even look like each other. Jeez.
‘How do I know you’re not her? That you’re pretending not to be her to save your worthless life.’
‘Do you even know how she looked like?’ I said incredulously. Is this guy living under a rock? Maybe. Mages are crazy about the elements –that and mint tea.
‘The title; Mistress of the City was enough to know who to target.’ He said blandly.
‘You got the wrong girl. I’m Scarlet –her twin.’ I emphasized.
‘Then where is she?’ He demanded.
‘You are totally naive about what’s been happening haven’t you? Where were you in the last couple of months?’ I said. This guy was waayy behind schedule.
‘I was out fighting a rogue mage who time-travelled back in time. Getting back was a bitch on sticks’ He said.
Oooooooo.
‘Carmine is dead. You’re new Mistress of the City is me.’ I replied.
‘Bullshit.’ He said. That word came instantly. Was it really that hard to believe? Probably.
That was when my bodyguards burst into the bathroom. Why do they always come at the wrong time? Maybe I should get them watches or something that has to do with the time or clocks.
‘Where the fuck were you guys?’ I snapped.
‘We were attacked by mages.’ The both replied blandly. Well, that explains it.
‘O.’ I said to them, since I didn’t know what else to say. I turned back to the mage that lay underneath my hands.
‘Are you going to attempt to kill me or poof off somewhere when I get up?’ I asked.
‘Do I look like the type to ‘poof off’? Lady, I’m not some pixie who poof’s off to fuck knows where.’
‘Brian, get me a towel.’ I said. ‘Christopher, get me my souvenir.’
Brian threw me a white towel while Christopher walked off to get it.
‘What were you talking about when you said Carmine took your mages?’ I asked.
‘Ever heard of the new wine called Ambrosia?’ He asked sarcastically.
I clocked on to what he said. Ambrosia was liquor but for vampires. ‘Carmine stole mages to make Ambrosia. Ambrosia was made from mage blood.’ I said. I was betting that all of the mages didn’t give their consent for this. The mage blood thing was still a new thing to me. Oh fuck Carmine. What else have you done?


Chapter 3

‘So how much for my head severed and be placed on a silver platter?’ I asked casually, as if it was normal for a small-talk subject –but what is normal?
‘Half a million grand.’ He said. His accent was more cockney.
I let out a low whistle. I’m worth that much? Should I be flattered? I turned to Brian who was standing a couple of feet away from me and his gaze solely on the war mage.
‘How much was it before Brian? A quarter of a mil?’ I asked.
He nodded.
‘And you can’t simply refuse right? Fuck I wouldn’t even refuse it.’ I stated.
He shrugged. ‘The price of your head is going up by the hour. Since I’m doing this for the mages, why not get some cash out of it?’
‘Nothing than a good compensation.’ I agreed.
‘Damn straight, lady.’
‘Scarlet. And your name is...?’
‘Adrian.’
I waited. He didn’t continue. ‘Got a surname?’
‘No surname.’
He wasn’t very good at the small-talk, was he now?
‘You still going to try and kill me?’ I asked.
‘For now, no. I need you to tell me the location of the place they are keeping the mages. As for later...we’ll see.’
‘Ain’t that fucking reassuring?’ I muttered.
‘No shit.’
Christopher came in with my souvenir. He threw it at me and I caught it with my right hand. I held it by using Carmine’s hair as its holder. By now most of the skin on her face has already rotted away and in result to that, Carmine gave a stinky funk. Her eyes were still open and her lips cruel. When I killed her, a lot of people believed she weren’t dead because there were no witnesses (despite the fact that all those that has given a blood oath to her felt her fucking die) so her head was the proof and my souvenir in the process. See? Even our supernatural kind is denial? She didn’t look so hot now since she was body-less and not to mention her neck was the one that tasted my silver blade. Not very pretty. I put it in front of Adrian on the table. He put down his mint tea and looked at it then looked at me.
‘A gift? Really? I’m flattered but unfortunately I have to decline.’ He said blandly.
I pointed at the head with my right hand. ‘That’s Carmine.’
‘She doesn’t look very much like you to be your twin.’
‘We’re immortal-born. Magick is a damn exception to everything and every damn loophole of the shit I had to endure in most part of the centuries of my life.’
Carmine was the smaller more petite sister with jet-black hair and blue eyes. I was the sister who was slightly taller and bigger, that had dark red hair and green eyes. My sister, of course, was the prettier version of us and even though we don’t look alike –who’s to judge? We’re twins by blood. Nothing really is ever going to change that apart from the fact I won’t let my creatures take control of me fully –which got her killed in the first place, btw. And who was the one who had to kill the being who killed the two women? Me, of course. It’s funny how my sister’s sense of humour bites her in the ass. Should I feel remorse? The bitch tried to kill me, fuck you very much. What do you think? Do I even love her like a normal twin should? No. I looked out for her in our stage of when we were mere children but that was out of duty and when she was more fragile. Fact: immortal children takes longer to grow (and I mean decades) to reach their full adult form.
He was the one that whistled this time. ‘Centuries, eh?’
‘Centuries.’ I repeated. ‘Adrian, meet Carmine. She’s a bit under the weather.’
‘Under the weather is a bit of an understatement, isn’t it? He said.
‘What can I say?’ I stopped for a while. Since we had nothing to talk about, we might as well get down to business. ‘What do you want Adrian if