Chapter 8 Prey #2
“Because you promised me. But you lie,” Legion answered simply. “Yet even if you could have restored him to a physical form, you could never have completed the other part of your promise.”
“To make him love you?” Roan smiled grimly. “You think that has something to do with my powers?”
Legion stared at him through lank fur that hung down in front of their beady eyes.
“I haven’t even been able to make people stand you, Legion,” Roan chuckled. “There’s just something about you that no amount of mind control can make people not see.”
Legion’s eyes narrowed.
“Oh, did I hurt your feelings again? Because that’s what this is all about, isn’t it?
Your feelings? So interesting for a psychopath to have those,” Roan quipped.
“Here’s the truth, Legion. I didn’t bother to bring Weryn back, because I knew he’d never love you.
No matter if Eyros himself wished it to be so would Weryn love you.
You are unlovable. So I knew it could never work. ”
“So why are we still allied?” Legion asked softly with another shuffle. Just one more and he would be near enough to end this. For now anyways. Roan avoided connecting their minds as if he found it distasteful. So Legion knew that they had more leeway than others ever would have.
“Because there’s no going back for either of us,” Roan laughed. “Even if we wanted it.”
“Daemon has not punished any of the Immortals,” Legion pointed out.
“You think not? Why do you think he hangs back and lets them fight this war with us? Why do you think he leaves the War Children out there?” Roan shook his head. “You’re a fool if you think Daemon would forgive us. Because we don’t think we were wrong. Even now, we weren’t wrong. Were we, Legion?”
“I did not care about all of that. I just wanted Weryn,” Legion said simply.
“Oh, right, you didn’t act out of morality or strategy.
You just wanted daddy to love you.” Roan leaned his head back and shook it.
“You’re not fit for Daemon’s reign, Legion.
You’re a monster through and through. In this new world, Vampires must be elegant beings who sip on blood from willing throats. That will never be you.”
“I control my hunger,” Legion said. “It does not control me.”
Roan looked down at his missing finger with a questioning eyebrow. “Forget this night, Legion, you’ve indulged too long. You can’t reel yourself back in. When was the last time you tried to stop yourself for a long time?”
Every moment of every day with you.
“What about the incident with your family? I think that is a prime example of how you’ll snap again. They gave you food, shelter and cover,” Roan listed off. “They were necessary for your survival back then. But you killed them!”
“That was long ago,” Legion growled.
“Becoming what you are,” Roan gestured with a moue of disgust at Legion’s form, “has only emboldened you. You look like the monster on the outside that you are on the inside. You can’t force that back inside. When was the last time you even shifted back to your human form?”
It had been a long time. Even on Earth, Legion remained in their true form. They merely kept to hidden areas where people who were not supposed to did not see them. Being in their human form was what felt alien to them.
“You think Daemon can have a shaggy monster around the humans he hopes to convince he’s not a threat to?
” Roan chuckled. “So even if you could control your need to kill–which you cannot–your very presence is an affront to his new kingdom. You don’t fit, Legion.
You never will. So I’m your only last, best option.
” Roan narrowed his eyes at Legion. “The question really is if I still need to be allied with you.”
Time had run out. Legion knew it. They lunged.
Or rather, they tried to. But they were stuck in place. Frozen like a statue. Legion strove to move, but not even their eyelids twitched. Roan laughed.
“You really are a moron. I admit that I lost my temper. Lost my focus. Forgot that you’re a wild dog.” Roan’s lips writhed back from his teeth. He looked at his injured hand. “And I paid for it. But don’t worry. You’ll pay for it even more.”
Roan began to circle him as if he were examining an animal ready for the slaughter. He tapped his chin with his injured hand. The blood streaked the sleeve and arm of his jacket, but it was already drying and he didn’t seem to be experiencing any pain.
“What was your plan, Legion? To kill me? What exactly would that do? I could have just taken Shaela’s form here.” Roan gestured over at the Wyvern Vampire.
Her eyes widened and she took another half step back.
“Where do you think you’re going, Shaela? How far do you think you could get before I root you to the spot, too?” Roan snapped.
She swallowed. “I think we should all get out of here.”
“Do you have enough power to get us out of here?” Roan asked.
She shook her head. “Not yet. I would need blood and rest and–”
“So you are useless to me,” Roan sighed.
“Could you not–not contact others to come here and get us?” Shaela asked. “Perhaps Raf or–”
“Could I do this or that or the other thing? It always comes down to me,” Roan laughed bitterly.
“What about one of the gates? We were able to lock one for a time to Nightvallen. Can we not unlock one by reversing that process?” Shaela continued though she clearly knew that it was unwise to keep talking.
“If that were an option, I wouldn’t have bothered with you. We would be using one of them now, wouldn’t we?” Roan snarled.
“Well, we can’t just stay here!” Her voice was high and tight.
“Are you afraid of Weryn? Or do you think that Daemon will storm in here and make us pay for our sins?” Roan baited her.
“I know that staying still is death,” she whispered.
“Well, you can blame Legion here for your Second death then!” Roan chuckled darkly. “They want Weryn to find us. Or find them in any case.”
Legion tried to snarl, but they truly couldn’t move.
“Why didn’t you know that?” Shaela’s words burst out of her mouth.
Legion could see that she wished she could pull them back in, because Roan making a mistake was… well, a mistake. Just like snapping a finger of his off without having a plan.
“I did know that, Shaela,” Roan said almost sweetly. “Legion has always wanted this. But this time their subconscious and your lack of ability met in a brilliant and terrible mistake stranding us here.”
“So what is the plan? What do we do?” Shaela cried, wringing her hands.
“I’ll take care of it. Like I always do,” Roan said. “Legion, put out your right hand.”
Legion was able to make a faint growl in the back of their throat, but they stuck out their right hand.
Roan took hold of Weryn’s hand and examined it, turning it this way and that, as if he admired the fur on the back of the scaly skin, the long, black talons that tipped every finger, and the rough palm.
“You know, I have experimented on Weryn Vampires, alive and dead ones, during the War. I wanted to know how to break them down effectively,” Roan explained in what was almost a scholarly tone.
“I found that cutting or ripping off limbs didn’t have much of an effect on the Weryn.
” Roan took hold of the ring finger on Weryn’s right hand.
“You see the moment they simply shifted into their animal or human form the missing limb reappeared in both forms afterwards. Not that it wasn’t painful for them.
Of course it was. But it didn’t damage them permanently.
Legion, rip off every finger on your right hand. ”
Legion let out another strangled moan. Roan released that right hand.
Legion lifted their left hand and was reaching for the thumb on their right hand, ready to do exactly as Roan had asked of them.
Commanded them. They could almost imagine the crack of the bone and the tearing of their flesh.
The spurting of their blood. The pain arcing up inside of them like an electric current.
And they would have to do it again and again and again.
Five times until they passed out. And even if they passed out, once they woke, they would continue the process as they would still be under the compulsion.
“Roan,” Shaela began, but one sharp look from Roan silenced her.
She looked away from Legion, not that she had been eagerly looking at them before. But now her back was to them. Legion imagined that she wanted to cover her ears with her hands.
Maybe she will find the power for one more teleportation…
Legion’s left hand closed around their right hand’s thumb. They began to force it back, preparing to wrench it off. Memories of their prey’s faces started to flicker though Legion’s mind.
Open mouths.
Pleading.
Begging.
Make it stop.
Please don’t!
Why are you doing this?
Don’t hurt me!
I’ll do anything!
NO!
Of course, Legion had never stopped. Their pleas had brought them a sort of pleasure.
Cold and sharp. Like an icicle on their tongue.
But this sensation was completely different.
They felt their heart pounding in their chest. The bitter taste of fear flooded their mouth.
They would have pleaded if they could have said anything.
But they couldn’t. Not out loud anyways.
Roan, do not make me do this!
“Why not? You’ll have those digits back in no time, Legion. But you didn’t really think I was going to let you take something from me and fuck this all up without consequences, did you?” Roan mocked.
We have no time for me to be injured! Weryn will come! He could be here already!
“He won’t even know what year it is if he comes here. His mind will be a mishmash of old and new.” Roan waved a hand through the air. “Not at his best. That’s for sure. Maybe I’ll put him in another soul gem. But this one I won’t let you have. I’ll keep it.”
Nooooooooo!
“I know that your fear isn’t that I’ll imprison Weryn again, but that you won’t have him,” Roan laughed. “I’ll make sure he knows that. Now stop stalling. Remove those fingers for me.”
A voice rose up from the darkness. It said one word, “Enough.”
It was Weryn. Weryn had found them after all.