Destiny's Wrath (Destiny Series - Book 3) by Straight, Nancy (manga ereader txt) 📕

Jimmy knew this was no place to be walking alone at night; then it hit him – he was far more dangerous than anyone he would come across this evening. He had just killed seven people. This revelation didn’t provide him any comfort at all; he felt his first pangs of guilt for what he had done.

Jimmy watched the man near the dumpster. At first it looked as though he didn’t even see Jimmy approaching, then without warning, the man scrambled to his feet and started walking swiftly in the opposite direction. Jimmy froze. What could the man have seen in him that would make him react that way? Did he not get all the blood off? Was his knife sticking out? Could the man see Samael?

From out of the shadows Jimmy heard, “Hey, white bread, what are you doing walking around here? This ain’t your neighborhood. Did Mommy forget to pick you up from school?” Jimmy stopped where he was and tried to locate the voice through the shadows. A very large black man and a skinny white guy were standing, watching him. “You hear me, bro?” It was the skinny guy talking.

Jimmy ignored them both and kept his course, but the little guy wouldn’t let it go that easy, “You ignoring me? I hate to be ignored. Isn’t that right, Terrell?” The large black man said nothing, merely nodding in agreement.

Jimmy put his hands up, as if to show the two that he wasn’t a threat, “I’m not looking for any trouble.”

“Well, then today is your lucky day, because it looks like trouble might just have found you.” The skinny guy grinned and continued, “That is unless you’d like to make a donation to our cause this evening?”

Jimmy knew he had twenty dollars in his pocket; he was sure this would be enough to get the two to leave him alone. But a voice inside him said, “You just killed seven people. You’re going to take crap from these bags of shit? If you give them money, that just proves you can’t carry through with the plan. You’re weak.”

It was Samael. He had been silent all day. Jimmy hadn’t needed his encouragement or berating to carry through with the plan. Samael was very much a part of Jimmy, not in a split-personality way, but in a demon-possession type of way. Samael had told Jimmy that he would have to prove his worthiness to him or Samael would find a new host. At first it felt like a hollow threat, but Jimmy could feel Samael growing stronger, his hatred running deep for a universe he felt had betrayed him. This hatred appeared to stem from something in his recent past. Up until March, Jimmy had been just like any other high school senior - normal. These last few months, Jimmy had grown darker. He wanted nothing more than to hear stories of Samael’s conquests and the powers he possessed. Samael could turn Jimmy into a shape shifter: he could live forever – but not until Jimmy proved to Samael that he was worthy of such a gift.

Jimmy eyed the two carefully. The little mouthy one was just a lot of talk. Jimmy should take down the big guy first. Then he reconsidered, as Jimmy looked at the two with more prudence; the little guy was probably quick. Jimmy wasn’t sure if he could beat him in a foot race. If Jimmy went after the little one, he’d lose the element of surprise with the brick house standing next to him, but he doubted the big guy was very fast on his feet.

“A donation? What kind of donation are you looking for?” Jimmy began stalking his prey. He could feel Samael’s approval without a word.

“I’ll take whatever’s in your wallet.” The skinny guy was smiling. He puffed up, trying to throw out his chest, nearly willing himself to be taller. He seemed to say just as much with his hands as he did his mouth; they were in motion with each word he spoke.

Jimmy smiled. A person with an average IQ or even a fifth grade education would have realized that this wasn’t the right response to a shake down, but Skinny Guy was thrilled with this outsider paying him for just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Little did he know that his payment would be delivered by the blade of a knife.

Jimmy was within an arms’ length of Skinny Guy when he reached behind him as if pulling out a wallet. He wrapped his fingers around the knife’s handle, turning it ever so slightly to make sure he had the blade going exactly the way he wanted it. Still feigning innocence, “I don’t want any trouble. I appreciate you’re willing to accept a donation. I hope this is enough.” In one fluid motion, Jimmy pulled the dagger high into the air and down hard on Skinny Guy’s neck. He didn’t even look to see the expression on Skinny Guy’s face. Jimmy lunged the three steps to his big friend, and sliced his throat from one side to the other.

Both the thugs fell to the ground with their hands grasping the gigantic gashes in their necks. Jimmy restored his hoodie that had fallen down in his blitz attack. He took the blade of the knife and wiped it off on Skinny Guy’s jeans. As he stepped back into the less shadowy area of the parking lot, he noticed a video surveillance system pointing in the direction of the dumpster area.

It didn’t look like a state-of-the-art system by any means. Jimmy stepped back into the shadows again to try to get a better view of the camera without taking the chance of being directly in the camera’s field of view. He didn’t notice any blinking lights on it. No wires were protruding from it. The camera looked weathered, as if it had been there for years. Jimmy knew lots of stores put fake cameras outside in parking