* * *
“ Hello again , my dear Ayaka .” Lazarius smiled , unconcerned with my struggles to free myself from his mental hold over me .
“ My name is not …” I began , but he interrupted me , cutting off my words .
“ Ah yes ,” Lazarius looked down at Damascus sitting on the floor , “ She calls herself Shizuka Ryōshi now .” He laughed and turned his gaze back to me . “ Aya , Aya , Aya . When will you learn to stop assaulting my friends ?” He walked closer , shaking his head as if I were a child who had not yet grasp the concepts of right and wrong .
I looked at him defiantly , my loathing of him evident in my eyes , “ I ’ ll stop . When every last one of them is dead and your fangs belong to me .”
Turning back to Damascus , Lazarius reached down a hand to help him to his feet . That brief lapse in concentration almost cost him his life . I pushed off the wall using every inch of my body and every ounce of power and ability I could muster , breaking free of his will holding me .
As I came off the wall , I grabbed my dagger once more . Propelling my body forward and using the wall to my benefit , I traveled toward my target drawing the short blade across the air level with Lazarius ’ throat . It would have seriously injured him at the very least , had Damascus not pulled back on the hand Lazarius had extended him less than a second before . If not for that , I might have destroyed my tormentor once and for all .
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