Disappointment unlike anything she had ever known consumed Belle at the thought that Jamie had not died. The feeling itself frightened her so much that a chill ran down her spine. The desire to kill someone, truly end their life, was something she had never experienced before. She had not even been able to harm a rodent in the past. But after the day she had killed that man in the basement, something inside her had changed. Now, she no longer found the thought of killing to be entirely wrong.
She had always been full of compassion toward any living, breathing thing. When had she become so vile, so heartless? Though she knew it was natural, even justifiable, to be furious when someone hurt your child in such a cruel way, one that could have been life-threatening had Angel been human, she still did not believe the sheer rage and her strong urge to kill, to watch the man suffer, were normal feelings.
