Chapter Text
There’s a reason I’ve been sending Mephisto and the twins to keep an eye on her, and not tailing her myself. As she nears, I can sense her. The hunger flares, the beast salivates.
Finally, it’s time.
The waiting is like a held breath.
I can’t be sure how is going to go, and I don’t have the luxury of making assumptions—so I simply have a plan for every contingency. Certain thoughts know better than to push their way into the center of my mind, but still, their whispers linger at the edge of my thoughts.
Luke’s voice brings me back to the ruins of a church on the zone’s border that I’ve chosen as today’s stage.
“Let us get this one started, boss!”
“Only a dramatic entrance will do.” Kieran sweeps a hand in front of him.
“We’ve kept quiet like you said to.”
“But it’s high time we made some noise.”
I evaluate the twins. They’re still young, but they certainly have no lack of spirit. “Fine. Show me what you’ve got.
***
I lurk in silent shadows.
Mephisto approaches the car from above and behind, tracking it even as the zone’s Protofield causes space-time distortions, and staying well out of the driver’s view. His mechanically augmented mind scans through wireless frequencies until it finds the one that activates the car’s computer—and then he hacks it. The engine sputters and dies, and the car rolls to a stop mere yards away.
She’s so close. Hunger surges, howling. The car door opens, and the mercenary drags her out. She’s more awake than she should be given the C-003 neurotoxin. So, she does have some tricks up her sleeve. A whisper of a smile pulls at the corner of my mouth.
The mercenary brandishes a knife, but there is only defiance in her eyes. That much has stayed the same.
The wind brings her scent to my vantage point atop the ruined church tower—a hint of that familiar sweetness, that salt and liquor. But it’s muted, dulled.
I let my power flow down to the twins. Philip’s invention with their masks proves useful as my power easily clings to them, rendering them invisible.
The twins know better than to keep me waiting.
Luke’s disembodied voice rings out over the yard. “Kidnapping Onychinus's prey without letting us know... That's not exactly polite.”
The mercenary stiffens, scanning the surrounding darkness. He grabs her and holds a knife to her throat. That’s the moment I decide he’ll die tonight. But the twins will get the chance I promised them.
Kieran flicks a dart, knowing my mist will guide it home. It sinks into the flesh of the man’s arm, causing excruciating pain and muscle weakness. “She's ours, by the way. We called dibs a long time ago.”
The mercenary drops her, gripping his arm and stumbling to the ground.
Luke adds, “I’m really curious... She's brave enough to drink from a black glass.”
Luke and Kieran step out of the mist’s veil, revealing themselves.
Kieran casually props up a leg on the doubled-over mercenary. “What will she do when backed into a corner…”
They step towards her. She takes it all in, mind whirling behind her eyes.
“You're pretty bold for releasing information about the Aether Core in The Nest like that,” Luke says.
Kieran follows, “Explains why boss is interested.”
The twins have committed a fatal error—underestimating the desperation of a creature near death. The mercenary has recollected himself. “I see… Sylus sent you… But the Aether Core… Is mine!”
With his good arm, he pulls a pistol from his waist and levels it at her chest. His finger moves, and a gunshot rings out across the yard.
But my mist already surrounds him. As my power turns the momentum of the bullet’s trajectory into heat, the metal glows red hot. Tendrils surge through the man’s chest, bringing forth excruciating pain and freezing his limbs in place.
The bullet’s molecules give out, its energy feeding my power, and another tendril grips the gun in his hand, wrenching it away. Mist surges through the mercenary’s core, circling his throat from within, lifting him off the ground. Fresh, seething fury like this—it’s been a while. It’s delicious.
I make his every cell scream in pain for threatening her. The only reason he gets the mercy of a quick death is that I’d rather not keep her waiting.
And just like that, he turns to mist. Her eyes rise to follow the stream of energy as it flows towards me.
The bell behind me tolls. It has the same tone as the one in our dark chapel. Her eyes widen in fear-limned wonder.
Mephisto caws, sweeping up to land on my shoulder, and I reach out a hand to absorb the energy that used to be the mercenary. An easy step forward takes me off the edge of the tower, and my form shifts to mist as it plummets, re-solidifying at the foot of the tower.
Mephisto rematerializes on my shoulder, and the twins kneel. I’ve let them have their fun. “Take out the vermin that are still running amok.”
“Yes, sir!” The twins’ souls shimmer with the desire for the thrill, and they go to ‘greet’ the people who think they’ll be meeting the mercenary. Mephisto takes to the wing to join them.
I walk slowly towards her. I won’t let that keening desire be my master again, no matter how brightly it burns in my veins. My mist longs to ensnare, envelop, caress. I keep it in check.
She sits on her heels, gripping her wrist in her lap, eyes fixed on me.
They are just as beautiful as when I first saw them. There still is all the same hatred, defiance, and greed for life. My sorceress, my demoness, my dragon—yet she sits like a weakling in the dirt and looks at me like a stranger.
“Tch.”
“You’re… Also here for the Core, right?”
I crouch before her. She doesn’t even know the most important thing. “Even if you wanted to sell your soul, you still have to find someone who can pay the price.”
Recognition flickers in her eyes, then her gaze falls to the ground. Surely, she can do better than that, after all this time. After what she did to me.
I reach out for her chin—her skin just as soft as I remember—and pull her eyes back to mine. “Look at me.” Beyond words, my power surges, responding to my will.
“You!”
The red glow of my eye falls across her face, and I hear the whispers of her desires. The desires that bound our very souls. They still ring with such sweet greed.
Possess him, devour him… Do that and you’ll gain the power you’ve always dreamed of…This power, it’s yours for the taking… just… kill him…
Images flicker like ghosts. The sorrow on her face. Her hands covered in blood. A clock ticks.
She pulls her gaze away. Stubborn as ever.
Her trembling hand finds the mercenary’s knife, gouging it towards my eye. My mist catches her hand—but she’s fast. The tip of the blade bites my skin.
I chuckle, wiping the cut away with my thumb. Well, some things haven’t changed. “Is this your gift to me?[1]” A reminder of the blades she plunged towards me on the day I gave her my mark, of the way she always coveted my eye…
But her eyes widen with shock and disbelief at the sight of this power that should be so familiar to her.
“Or is it how you greet a new friend?[1] I guess you don’t remember anything.” I brush the back of my fingers gently along her cheek, taking in the light in her eyes like the first drops of water after a long, long desert. In every little detail… she is the same. Still so achingly beautiful. The hunger surges. “Allow me to jog your memory.” I drop my hand to her throat, the pulse of her life against my palm like a salve.
“…L-let go of me!”
She struggles, gasping, and that indomitable will to live is a sweet song. My power—the power that once rested next to her very soul, that she knows like her own breath—entwines the words. “From your past to your future… to all the crimes you’ll inevitably commit. After all, you and I, we’re the same—true kindred spirits.”
Her words echo in my memory. I said I'll live, didn't I? No matter the cost. If following our hearts is a sin, then you and I must be the last of our kind in this world.
I can feel her soul stirring—but her body is too weak. Her eyes flutter shut, and she goes limp in my grasp.
With speed born of instinct, I catch her, shifting my hand to cradle her head as I pull her against my chest. Frustration and impatience crackle hot and urgent in my veins. She wouldn’t be here if she wasn’t ready—whether she remembers or not. Fate is a powerful force.
The smell of her hair is exactly the same… I feel her breath, her pulse. She seems unharmed other than her unconsciousness and the lingering weakness caused by the neurotoxin. So, I have the brutes at The Nest to thank for this delay.
I let out a frustrated noise, then sigh, scooping her up in my arms. By the time I reach the car hidden just up the road, Luke and Kieran return from clearing out the surrounding area.
They glance down at the girl in my arms, then at each other, uncharacteristically quiet.
“Drive,” I command.
I keep her in my arms as I sink into the back seat, and the twins have sensed enough of my mood that they silently obey, sliding into the front two seats and starting the car.
I close my eyes, listening to the sound of her steady breathing. That sharp, familiar ache twists in my chest.
I take her hand in mine, brushing my thumb along her palm. So much fire in such a small body. What is it that they call her power in this era?
Ah, yes. Resonance.
Resonance is the key.
***
As I carry her into the base, her muscles tighten. Her eyes flicker under her lids, breath shaking—I feel the nightmares coming for her. Instinctively, she curls towards my chest. As soon as her eyes open, she’ll twist away.
I cradle her, looking down at the red glow that falls across her face. Gently as I can, I let my power seep into her mind. A thrall state is like a dreamless sleep. The nightmares cannot reach her there. Her muscles soften and her eyes stop their movements.
I give her only a single command, one that she is in no place to resist.
Rest.
The twins hover curiously as I carry her up the hall, and all it takes is a brief glance to get them to heel. Lowering their heads, they return to their chores.
A tendril of mist opens the parlor door, then closes it behind me. I ease her down onto the daybed. Did she really think she’d stand a chance in the N109 Zone in this state? She must have used an inhibitor—I bet I have that Philosian to thank for that—but the neurotoxin has still taken its toll.
I can’t decide if I’m impressed with her courage or baffled by her naivety. Last time, she was thrown into the abyss. This time, she threw herself.