Free Crystal and the Damned - Possession by Burggraf Audrey Page B

had voluntarily ended their lives ?
    The living room gleamed, all the lights on, but she saw only the shadowy corners.
    The All Powerful was standing in front of a window with his hands behind his back. His presence seemed strangely unreal. He was too white, too tall. Around him the air appeared to be heavier, and the room seemed to be waiting for him to move to recover its normal atmosphere. I hate him, Crystal could not help thinking to herself, before her glance fell on the Empress.
    Her stepmother, a black shawl tossed elegantly over her shoulders, was talking to Glory. An animated discussion.
    “I have always felt empathy for Sybil,” the Empress said. “Nothing is worse than a mother who cannot save her child. However, her suicide strikes a blow at our power. The Order of Hell and the Dark Clan are going to be delighted about it. I do not think that we can….”
    “We will bury her with all the honors due to a Paladine,” the All Powerful cut in without turning toward his wife.
    Silently, Glory nodded in agreement.
    The Empress glared at her and for the first time Crystal had the feeling that her friend was losing her footing. There was no longer an ounce of arrogance in her.
    “If we concentrate on the best strategy to adopt, your Highness, I also think that we have to give Sybil a funeral worthy of the name. We ought to present a united front and show the whole sect that we support our Paladines right to the end,” Dollface justified herself.
    “ We ought to ?” the Empress picked up. “It seems to me that my husband and I have always generously supported your cause. Your errors are not ours, Glory. If you had paid attention, Sybil would still be alive. But perhaps you were not meant to be first Paladine. You have the caliber, but do you have the soul ? Do you have enough empathy ? Or are you still the person you used to be ? Were we wrong at the time ?”
    His back still turned, the All Powerful raised a hand.
    “Enough. This is no longer subject to discussion. Now, please leave us – my daughter just came in.”
    Crystal hunched over when the two women turned their heads to her. Her stepmother cast an inscrutable glance at her but Glory gave her a discreet sign offriendship that acted like balm on her heart. She pushed herself forward to allow them to leave the room, conscientiously keeping her eyes riveted to the floor. The carpet had never before been the object of such interest.
    One second, two seconds. The sound of voices faded away. The silence, unbearable, was like an impassible gulf between the young woman and her father.
    “You honor us with your presence, Daddy ,” she said ironically, in a sharp tone. “Enchanted to know that if I die, you will deign to travel.”
    “Don’t talk foolishness. You are my only child. I did not come to settle this sad affair ; my wife will take care of it for me. I came for you. I felt you use your power, the power of our bloodline, and I sensed your fear, your fragility. I did not think anyone else should be involved in this. I came in person. For you.”
    Crystal burst out in a sinister laugh.
    “So, you took the first excuse that you could lay your hands on just to teach me a lesson : the death of a Paladine. Yes, I used my powers,” she confirmed, “and I have bad news for you, Daddy  : against the forces of Evil they don’t measure up.”
    “Not yet. They are not sufficiently developed. That is why I would like you to wait to use them.”
    Crystal paced up and down the living room with the ferocity of a lion in a cage. The All Powerful obstinately turned his back on her, and that drove her crazy. She felt her anger, too long contained, rise up in her like a storm.
    “Why ? You should be happy ; I’m behaving like one of the Damned. That was your goal, wasn’t it ? It was what you wanted to make of me, when you forced your blood down my throat to transform me. Why are you complaining ? You killed my soul so that I would be this kind