8. Vaughn
Vaughn
Authority did not have to announce itself, and a king did not have to proclaim his presence. Silent obedience did that while men lowered their eyes to the weight of power. To rule, one had to differentiate currency and Crown…
As I walked into the chamber, I could see the difference. Heads bowed in unison. Robed Masters knelt at my approach. Torches flickered, bowing to their future king as well. With each step closer to my throne, muffled cries grew.
“Mmmph. Mmm-Mmm.”
Echoes bounced from the stone wall, hesitating as John’s head jerked towards me.
Eyes widened. The cries that left him turned into sobs as his head shook back and forth violently.
Not once did I avert my gaze. I let my presence grow so thick, he was nearly hyperventilating behind the linen gag that was stuffed into his mouth.
Where I was in an all-black suit, the Lord who was known for his expensive style was completely stripped of his finery. He cowered on his knees, nude, huddled in chains between two bowing guards in navy uniforms.
I stopped, standing before iron. Before the same throne that had once rested in my family’s castle. For seconds, I let the Lord plead to me with his eyes. Slowly, I lifted my hand. Hooded heads from my Masters rose. I curled my fingers into a fist as my voice boomed through the large room.
“We are—”
“The shadows above kings!”
“We are—”
“In the blood that silence brings!”
“We are—”
“The truth they fear to find!”
“We are—”
“The wrath they left behind!”
I narrowed my eyes at John. “Once again—”
“Born to rise!”
“Forever more—”
“The kingdom in disguise!”
I lowered my hand as hooded figures took me in.
Footsteps approached, and John grew even smaller as veiled figures advanced from the dark hall, carrying even more torches.
The black cloaks they wore swayed, and the veils that covered their heads were kept in place by the upside-down crowns they wore.
It wasn’t a replica of my own iron crown, more a thin band with points casting downward, but it was enough.
I was The Unavowed.
They were The Judic.
Together, we were The Order.
I motioned for the guards, taking in the way the larger man pulled the gag free from John.
“P-Please. Please. I didn’t do anything. I—”
The shorter of the two gripped John’s hair, jerking his head back so that he looked up to face me. Brightness grew as The Judic surrounded the Lord, leaving me at the top to close the circle.
“Lord Allford.” I paused, letting the silence stretch out.
“Everyone knows who you are. You’ve walked comfortably into rooms your entire life.
Tonight, you stand in one that does not belong to you.
You should feel honored. You’re in a place few are granted to see.
And a room where fewer are permitted to remain.
The Order does not summon without purpose. Do you know why you’re here?”
John’s mouth opened, only to close. “I-I saw you. Earlier today. I walked out in front of your car. I didn’t s-see you pulling out. I apologize.”
My hand lifted to the Judic, but my focus stayed on Lord Allford.
“You’ve been discussed. Now, you face evaluation.”
“For walking out in front of your car? I swear—” His lids narrowed as his head dropped. “Discussed? Does this have to do with Allen Taylor? With his businesses?”
The first Judic stepped forward, walking over to hand me a paper. I took in the words, nodding as the Judic returned.
“A secret or a slice? Choose.”
Confusion left John’s hand lifting. “I don’t understand.”
I opened my suit’s jacket, withdrawing the jagged blade I always kept on me. The Lord’s fingers dug into stone, and he shifted in the chains.
“A secret. Okay, a s-secret. My wife is dying, and I’m already engaged.”
“And yet I already know. That’s not a secret, Lord Allford.”
“What do you mean? I haven’t told a soul. Allen is the only one—he is the reason I’m here.”
I walked forward, rearing back and letting the blade slice over his shoulder. Flesh tore under the jagged teeth. John yelled, folding his shoulders in as he began to curse and cry.
Water dripped in the distance, becoming a mantra with the howling as the second Judic headed my way. I took the paper, lifting my gaze back up to John.
“Secret or slice?”
John’s brow crinkled in alarm. “I-I… I…” A sob left him. “I’m a horrible father. I’ve beaten my son. I—”
I stomped forward. “Please! No one knows—I—fuck!”
The yells increased from John as I brought back the knife again, connecting with the forearm he held up as protection.
Sobs and screams were immediate.
The third Judic left his position, coming up to hand me the paper. I unfolded it, lifting my head. I let time drag out.
“Secret? … Or … Slice?”
“I forced myself on a woman today!”
I stiffened despite trying not to react. A piece broke apart from me in that moment. Fear. I was never afraid. I let out a deep breath maintaining composure. “Continue.”
“T-The woman I’m going to marry. We were in the library.
She wanted to talk but—She brought it on herself.
She was kissing me back. She wanted it. I don’t care how innocent she is.
She’s about to belong to me. So… I drug her to the back of the library and forced her pants down to taste her.
She kept trying to push me away. I would have gone a lot further than that if Allen wouldn’t have interrupted and caught us. Serves her right for leading me on.”
Paper crumbled in my fist, and I let it fall to the floor at my feet.
A minute.
Two.
Masters shifted as I licked my lips, gripping to the handle of my knife as I kept my voice loud enough where all could hear.
“Penelope Taylor happens to be very important to my plans for the future.” I turned, walking slowly down the line of Masters as I stared into the darkness of their hoods. My voice got louder as I continued and doubled back to him.
“Penelope Taylor doesn’t belong to you, Lord Allford, she belongs to The Order.”
John shook his head back and forth.
“I…You were there for… her? You—You—”
I surged forward, gripping his face tightly as I leveled the blade at his throat.
“Yes. I was there for her. I am there…for…her.”
Tighter, I squeezed into his face, forcing his jaw open.
John couldn’t react before I drew back and stabbed the blade into his tongue, twisting the knife into the thick flesh as I carved a hole through the muscle.
Blood poured over his bottom lip, running a river to his chin.
Violently, John thrashed. The guards held tighter, but the Lord was no match for my power or size as I locked onto his jaw with crushing force.
“Ahhh! Ple-ase!”
Harder, I forced in the blade, feeling teeth bite against metal. A thick chunk of his tongue slipped free, and I smiled, letting go and slowly rising.
“What belongs to The Order, stays at The Order. Your tongue tasted what’s mine. It’s a part of us now. Just as you are. Masters…” I held to the evil smile. “We like to taste, too. I present you with a gift. Feast.”
My tone deepened through the word, and a sea of black rushed in from all sides at my offer.
Hands tore into the Lord’s body, digging and gouging while others sunk their teeth into his flesh.
Blood sprayed out from the side of John’s neck, and my cheek tugged back even more as a Master stabbed a knife into the Lord’s stomach, stopping just so he could physically rip open the incision.
Like an animal, hands dug and pulled, fighting to tear out the screaming man’s intestines.
They weren’t eating—they were setting an example.
“You gave them a treat. Very generous of you.”
I turned, letting my gaze flicker to Redmond.
“Am I not generous? I’m so generous.”
My sarcastic humor had him laughing. I wiped the blood from my blade, opening my jacket to return the knife to its sheath. Concern over Penelope was like a punch in the gut. Emotions I kept trying to fight forced their way through giving me no choice but to face them.
“I have to go.”
“Did you know? About what he did to her?”
I glanced to what was left of John.
“No. John may have forced himself on her, but he’s not the one I’m worried about.”
“The father.”
The response didn’t require an answer. We both knew the real threat.
“This ends tonight.”
“Of course, Sire. You won’t see us, but we’ll be monitoring. Don’t forget to wear the mask. Call if you need anything. We’ll clean up behind you.”
Ringing filled my car’s interior.
One call.
Two.
Three.
For all the blood and destruction I was capable of, I couldn’t get Penelope to pick up the phone. The sickening pressure in my stomach was automatic as I hit end, pushing redial.
“Answer.”
My jaw tightened.
Turning onto her road, I couldn’t stop the plethora of conflicting thoughts. They overwhelmed me. They stole me in a mass of memories and… loss.
Colors. Screams.
“Answer.”
Had I not heard my own father repeat that exact word when my mother hadn’t picked up?
We’d rushed home, but she wasn’t alone. Katherine, my infant sister, was already dead on the floor, and a younger man held a knife to my mother’s throat.
She’d been covered in blood and already been stabbed a couple of times.
Her body shook so hard from the sobbing.
My dad had tried to reason with him, but the man hadn’t hesitated.
Blood had poured from her like a faucet.
I tried to run after the killer. The stranger had been too fast. Even so young, I’d tried to help—to do something.
My father hadn’t. He’d ran right to my mother, holding her as she died in his arms. And me…
I did what came naturally. I’d walked forward and picked up Katherine’s blood-soaked, cold little body, mimicking my hero—my father.
“Penelope.”
The name came out strangled in my constricting throat. From as controlled as my body was, inside me was a storm—a tidal wave of raw emotions that refused to be denied anymore.
I kept fighting this. Fighting my wants versus my needs.
What was right?
What was wrong?
I used to know. My direction had been so clear.
Until her…
Ringing.
Ringing.
“Answer. Answer.”
Darkness was all I saw in the distance as I came up to her house. There was a reassuring comfort in that. She could be sleeping. Sleep meant she wasn’t dead. Sleep meant I wouldn’t lose her like I’d lost everyone I’d ever been close to—loved.
Was I making the right decision?
I threw the car in park wondering if I should end this connection with her now.
Penelope would be better without Lord Allford.
I did put her in a position for a better life.
But better than with me? Sure, I was The Black Line.
Yes, everything was a war. But I could give her the world if she wanted it.
I could… have her… for me. And didn’t I deserve that?
Deserve her? She was the perfect choice.
Even Redmond thought so. And I could make her into the perfect queen.
“Answer.”
“Answer.”
I wouldn’t lose someone again.
I wouldn’t lose her.
And I could. I’d seen how fast everything could be taken. I had lived it. And if I couldn’t protect her from the world, I would hide her from it. They couldn’t hurt what they couldn’t find.
Yes…
Penelope would be mine.
With me.
For. Me.