Chapter Sixteen #2
“Apparently not good enough!” The cleric roared louder, lunging at the fence.
This time, he didn’t make it close enough to strike.
Austin reached through the bars and wrapped his hand around the man’s throat like a gator snaps his jaws around its prey.
His fingers were teeth that dug into the man’s jugular. No survivors.
“You…are the monsters…” Austin snarled through gritted teeth.
The storm inched closer, its deadly howl ringing in his ears.
Austin didn’t flinch at the rain trying to flood his eyes or the slicing of the wind against his cheeks.
He wrenched the cleric toward the fence till he cooked the wretch’s face against the enchanted iron bars.
The holy man yelled, slapping helplessly against Austin.
Rage like he’d never known before unleashed itself from his body as he tugged harder.
He might have brained the damned priest if he wasn’t taking similar damage himself.
The cleric glowed with divine power. It burned his palms till Austin could feel it ignite his muscles.
It was worse than the dryad in the laboratory.
It carved down to the bone and purified his undead essence. Austin was forced to unhand his prey.
Sebastian snatched him by the back of his jacket and forced the dead man to stumble backward, nothing but bone left of his palm and the top side of his hand was bubbling fat seared in a hot skillet. Austin hugged his rendered palm to his chest.
Havershum slipped out of the shadows, inspecting the wound with worried, glowing eyes.
There was no time to talk about the incredibly rash thing he just did.
Sebastian bellowed, “Leave this place and do not return. Your god can not save you from the wrath you’ll face if I find you near my property once more. ”
“You’ll burn!” The cleric spat, climbing to his feet.
He held a glowing hand to his seared face, healing all the pockets of flesh that were roasted into drippings.
“You’ll all burn! I’ll turn this manor into ash.
I’ll render you heretics into sacrifices for His holy crusade!
And I’ll make sure that bitch stays dead this time.
I don’t care how many times I have to kill her! ”
The hurricane snatched the man by the back of his robes, and he disappeared in a puff of black smoke. Sebastian whirled on his boots, lenses of his mask flashing.
“Inside,” he snarled, jabbing a gloved finger at the front door. “Now!”
Austin ducked his head, leading the way back inside the house quickly. Shame crept up through his bones till it was the only thing inside him other than regret. Failure was one thing. But disappointing Lord Rosemont was a whole other thing.
Barely a step inside the front door, and Sebastian snapped, “Austin!”
“I am sorry, my lord,” Austin murmured, whirling to meet his fate.
Failure. All your fault. Weak. Useless. Replaceable.
All the darkness he’d been running from rushed at him like a gust of wind.
The door slammed so hard, it rattled the wall.
But even it’s sharp sound wasn’t loud enough to muffle the roaring self-loathing in his ears.
Everyone in the house rushed forward, but Austin took no solace in their concern.
He deserved this punishment.
“Whoa, whoa, what happened—” Dahlia was stopped as she disappeared in a puff of smoke.
“Sir?” Smith was next. Then Melody, who looked like she was going to say something. One by one till it was only Havershum, Austin, and Hyacinth in the front hall. Hyacinth put up her hands like white flags, stepping back.
“No, not you, Hyacinth. You need to stay,” Sebastian ripped his wet mask off his face.
It smacked against the side table and immediately formed a puddle at the base.
A tense moment of silence passed. He could feel his maker’s disappointed glare boring through him, but he couldn’t meet Sebastian’s eye.
Then, with a sharp snarl, his maker spoke, “Austin, what were you thinking?”
Austin didn’t have a good answer. I was angry that he killed her didn’t seem to suffice enough.
He normally wasn’t an uncontrollable beast, but he’d lost more than his cool there in the rain.
Failure. Weak. Useless. Replaceable. The house rattled from the force of the wind, but his shivers weren’t from the bitter wind or cold rain.
“My boy, you cannot simply go out and fist fight a cleric because he riled you up. We’ve talked about this. You experienced firsthand what they’re capable of. Do you want to be reduced to ash?”
“No, sir,” Austin exhaled, eyes still glued to the floor. Failure. Weak. Useless. Replaceable. The taunting was ceaseless.
Sebastian paced in front of him. His boots squelched with each irritated pass. “Because that is what will happen if you rush into a fight with a cleric of his caliber without protections. Need I remind you what happened to Octavio?”
“No, sir.” Austin peaked up finally, remembering the second undead they’d made together.
A dwarven man with an extra set of arms. Nice fellow but only lasted a few months.
They ran into some sun god’s cleric and left with blood on their hands and missing their short companion.
He’d been destroyed with a snap of the cleric’s fingers.
While Austin was old and strong enough by now, that it would take more than a single spell to render him into nothing…
it didn’t mean it couldn’t happen. A simple touch reduced his palm to sticky paste and bone.
“You know better, Austin. I’d like you to actually show me that you do.
” Sebastian put out his hand and Austin placed his mangled extremity in it.
His maker turned his palm upward and inspected it.
“You’ll need a new hand, my boy, this one’s lost too much, it’ll be useless to just sew on muscle and flesh to the bottom half of the bones.
Go down into the lab and pick out a new one.
I will meet you down there momentarily.”
“What about Hyacinth?” Austin blurted out, looking to the red-haired, wide-eyed woman lingering an arm’s length away.
Sebastian stared at him for a long, silent moment. Then, he sighed, “I wish to speak to her…alone.”
“Sir…” Austin blurted out then regretted it.
“Are you worried I will yell at her too? She did not reach through the protective layer of a fence and snatch the neck of an unknown cleric without consideration or forethought. Hyacinth will be fine.” Sebastian was seething.
Austin only witnessed his maker truly angry a select few times in their long, long lives together.
It stung worse than he could ever articulate to be one of the few things that infuriated his maker so.
Austin grimaced, embarrassment biting into his flesh more.
He looked anywhere but at Hyacinth as he tried to find his words.
Normally, he wasn’t the problem. If anything, Austin prided himself on being the solution.
The good kid, so to speak. But it was hard to do that when his body reacted so viscerally and without hesitation.
I’ve gone off the deep end. I’ve truly lost it.
I’m spiraling out of control. He must think I’m…
He exhaled heavily, “I didn’t mean it like that, sir.
I just…that man…I wanted—I don’t… Sir, please, let me be here for this part.
Then I’ll go find another hand and sew it on myself. I promise I won’t cause a scene again.”
“Alright,” Sebastian sighed, motioning to the tearoom at the front of the house. “Everyone take a seat. Hyacinth, I apologize in advanced.”
“For what?” she croaked, stressfully stroking Snuffles. To the bunny’s credit, Austin could see that Snuffles was exactly where he wanted to be.
“For what I’m about to have to tell you. About how we found your body. And about the priest who means you harm.”