Epilogue: The Dark Duet by Cj Roberts Read Free Book Online

devolved into gurgling coughs.

    “Betrayal
     again. It’s always betrayal with you, Khoya .”
     His words sounded in my mind as though he were flesh and blood again. “You lie,
     boy. I didn’t make you love me. One cannot force love. What you gave, I
     earned.”

    I held a knife in my hand; I knew I
     did. However, as is the nature of dreams, it disappeared once I tried to plunge
     it into his thigh. I had so much anger, so much rage, and nowhere to put it.
     Rafiq found it more than amusing and it only fueled my hatred.

    “I gave you all
     you earned when I put a bullet in your heart!”

    Rafiq coughed up blood as he laughed.

    “You are the
     man I raised.” Slowly, his laughter subsided and he looked on me fondly. “I
     know you washed my body. I know you buried me in accordance with the law. I
     know you wept for me.”

    His words wounded me despite knowing
     there was no way for him to know I did those things. Worse, it hurt knowing
     they were true.

    “Why won’t you die?” I asked with
     venom. Rafiq smiled wickedly.

    “You can’t kill
     me, Khoya . Not again. I’m all you
     know. I am your mother. I am your father. I am your brother. I am your friend.
     I’ll always be here. You’ll never be rid of me.”

    As much as I loathed it, I was free to
     weep in my dreams and I did.

    “How could you
     have done all those things to me? You stole my childhood. You stole my
     destiny.”

    Rafiq, suddenly unfettered, rolled onto
     his side and sat up. The bruises on his face had healed and clothing had
     magically appeared on his body.

    “That’s not
     what’s bothering you, Caleb. I betrayed you, yes, but that’s not why you killed
     me, is it?” I couldn’t look at him while I processed my shame. “You would have
     killed me anyway. You would have killed me because it’s the only way I would
     have let the girl go. You would have
     betrayed me, Khoya . We are not so
     different, and that’s what eats at you.” He raised a hand and ruffled my hair
     as he used to when I was young. My chest ached.

    I pushed him with all my strength,
     knocking him backward over the table and onto the floor. I leapt into the air
     and landed on top of him. I punched him. Repeatedly. My fists felt ineffectual;
     I couldn’t get the force I required to beat him to death. Switching tactics, I
     held his neck in my hands and tried to squeeze the life out of him.

    Rafiq’s maniacal gaze fell on me.

    “I am a god
     here! You’ve made it so.”

    “Just fucking die! Die! Die! I hate
     you! I wish you were alive so I could kill you all over again!” I dug my
     fingers into his eyes, growing hard as blood oozed onto my fingers. Rafiq tried
     to fight me this time. His hands pushed against me, his legs flailed, and his
     body twisted as he tried to buck me off. “I can kill you, Rafiq. You’re not a
     god. I feel nothing for you.”

    Rafiq’s body went still under me.

    “Master?” I heard a voice behind me. I
     turned and saw Livvie. She was wearing a white robe that reached the floor. Her
     hair was loose and unruly. She wore a slave collar at her throat. A wave of
     overwhelming guilt slammed into me.

    “Livvie? Don’t
     look!” I turned my head toward Rafiq. His body had disappeared. Only a large
     bloody stain remained. My hands were covered in blood and gore. I wiped my
     hands on my thighs, but the blood wouldn’t come clean. “Don’t look,” I said and
     I was sobbing again. “Don’t look.”

    Livvie’s footsteps approached and I
     could actually feel the weight of her arms wrapping around my shoulders. Her
     warmth descended on my back.

    “It’s okay, Master. I know why you do
     it. You can’t help who you are.” I hunched over and her weight followed me.

    “Don’t look.”

    There are moments that define our
     lives. At the time, most of mine were comprised of people I had murdered or
     enslaved. I’d done something about the slaves. I couldn’t take back the murders.
     I