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Steve’s act of pure, pointlessevil caught everyone by gut-wrenching shock For a long moment we just stared at him and the lifeless body by his feet Even Steve looked stunned, as though he’d acted without thinking it through

Then Evra ild "Bastard!" he screa himself at the pit of stakes If Harkat hadn’t reacted and knocked him aside, Evra would have impaled himself on the stakes and died like his son

"I can’t believe?" Alice muttered, face whiter than usual Then her features hardened and she ran for the pistol she’d discarded

Debbie sank to her knees, weeping, unable to deal with such wickedness As hardened as she’d beco in her life had prepared her for this

Harkat was struggling with Evra, pinning hi hysterically and pounding Harkat’s broad grey face with his scaly fists, but Harkat held fir through the towards the stage like aat Steve, jaws slack

Evanna was looking on silently If theit incredibly well

Darius was stiff with terror, holding his breath, eyes wide

I was still behind Darius, my knife at his throat I was the calmest of everyone there (except Evanna) Not because I was in any way unaffected by what had happened, but because I knehat Ipart within me had flared to life and taken over coh differenteyesIt was a dreadful, wicked place, where only the dreadful and wicked could prosper To defeat an evil monster like Steve, I had to sink to his depthsWhat did it matter if I followed Steve down the road of total evil? Stopping hie for all the people he’d killed - was the only thing I cared about now

While I was thinking all this through, Gannen snapped to his senses and saw that Vancha was closing on theht ar foully RV rose shakily and stumbled after them He stopped, vomited, then reeled ahead

Alice found her pistol, brought it up and fired But there were too et close to them

Steve stopped by the tunnel entrance at the rear of the stage Gannen tried to push him downit , but he shook his protector’s hands away and turned to glare triuly - at me

"Go on!" Steve screamed "Show me you can do it! I dare you! I double dare you!"

In that moment, as if our minds were somehow joined, I understood Steve entirely Part of hierously on the edge of outright ht, so had the human within Steve He needed me to match his evil deeds If I killed Darius, Steve could justify his cruelty and continue But if I didn’t respond to his evil with an equally evil act of my own, it would drive hoht even snap beneath the weight of full realization and go mad I had the power to destroy him - with mercy