Chase cracked Laci with the whip for what he hoped to be the last time. She was in the corner of the room in a heap, streaked with blood from the severity of the beating. His mouth was dry from shouting at her. He wiped the spit from his lips.

  Nathan stood behind him in shock. “I think she’s had enough.”

  “She doesn’t know when to quit. You give her an inch, she takes a mile. One taste of blood and she thinks she’s back in the halls of the H Project again. This is what it takes to remind her,” Chase said coldly.

  The metal door to the interrogation room cracked open, and to Chase’s horror, a shoeless Lilith emerged. She wasn’t the type to escape quietly, either. She was going to milk this scene for revenge, and everyone knew it. A wave of dark magic washed over everyone’s minds, stunning them briefly.

  “Oh, no you don’t,” Nathan said, firing his gun at her.

  The dart stopped in its tracks and hovered in front of her face, motionless. She smacked it to the floor, and gave Nathan a dark stare as he reloaded.

  “We can do this the easy way or the hard way, filly. Don’t move a muscle,” Nathan growled.

  With a flick of her forehoof, Nathan flew three feet off the ground and his back was crushed into the wall behind him. The drywall crumbled around him as she pushed further, and her magic wrung his hind leg and loudly snapped three bones. He shrieked in agony, but Lilith did not flinch. Laci cried out and broke loose from Chase, but fell to the ground when Lilith cocked her head.

  Chase reached for Nathan’s gun. “You don’t know what you’re messing with.”

  Lilith reached out with her other hoof and took hold of his mind. She was bombarded with memories of Laci, humiliating him in a dining hall, getting beaten down until she danced like a doll. She knew exactly what to do.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  “You’re right. I don’t know anything. I’m just a little filly,” she said.

  Her magic rippled through his body and made him piaffe, head tucked, feet sounding against the tile in rhythm. He tried to fight her, ears flickering in anger, but his magic wasn’t strong enough to counter hers. She watched him diligently for a moment, and when she grew bored, she set the whole room to sleep where they were. Chase’s knees buckled and he tumbled to the floor, Nathan slid down the wall, and Laci fell unconscious. Lilith brushed off her arms and trotted down the hall to freedom.

  Her magic wrenched open the lock on the double doors at the end of the atrium, and she hurried out into the receptionist office. Alissa, who was parked at the desk, jumped up and spat her coffee when she saw her coming. Lilith shot her arm up and sent Alissa flying over the back of her chair, comatose in the corner behind the desk. She busted through the front doors and bounded through the parking lot, bare hooves clattering brazenly on the pavement.

  Tranquilizer bullets flew from the towers beside the gates, and Lilith mustered up some magic to shield herself. The outer wall loomed ahead of her, ten feet tall and topped with razor wire. The red lights above the gate blazed brightly, and there was no chance of unlocking its heavy metal latch, rated for stopping a semi truck from plowing through it. With a dash of magic, she built a staircase up over the wall, and raced up it as it disappeared behind her. She tumbled to the grass on the other side, air cold and sweet with the smell of liberty.

  Her mission wasn’t complete. Two catch trucks started up in pursuit of her. She dashed for the woods, but it seemed like it was miles away. Her hooves tore at the ground, heart pounding, lungs pumping, but she could go no faster. The roar of the trucks chasing her grew louder, and she stopped running to look. One ahead of the other, they were coming straight for her, guns pointed out of their windows.

  She planted her hind legs firmly and reared up, summoning her magic a final time. The truck soared backwards through the air, flipping over and landing upside down on the windshield of the one behind it. Flames exploded from the front of the crushed vehicles, and the stench of burning gasoline filled the air. Lilith disappeared into the forest, head spinning from pain and thrill. Her vision dimmed from her wild use of power, but she surged with the new strength of autonomy. With a triumphant whinny, she celebrated her victory. She could hardly believe they hadn’t been able to hold her down.

  …

  The sharp October wind slapped her sides violently as the harsh cold was setting in. She had been hiking through the wilderness for hours, and the sun was beginning to set. She pulled her magic cloak around herself tighter, but it did little to protect her from the elements. She was spent, and her head still hurt from abusing her powers. Her legs were stiff and rattling from the chill, and she could not force them to go any further. With a trembling sigh, she curled up at the base of a cedar tree to rest. The shrill whistle of the wind calmed her, and she soon fell into a deep sleep.