“…okay. So, say I do help, hmm? What’s in it for me?”
Sebastian’s perfectly manicured brows rose high. “Besides your life? Freedom. Freedom to live in a world free of shinwa. Freedom to live without fear. All those who want you dead will be gone.”
“Except Lucien and you.”
“Oui,” the fae answered with a devious grin.
God, this was all so fucked up. Just what was Lucien thinking, the group of them killing out entire races? Genocide for the sake of avenging his maker’s death?
“Sorry to break it to you, pal, but I’m just human. There’s nothing I can do to help you.”
“You’re wrong,” the fae snapped, looking suddenly desperate. Tristan took a step back, shocked at the sudden outburst. “You are the one the pythia have been seeing, I don’t doubt this. You are the last Uruwashi. And once Master has bitten you tonight and you awake anew with your powers and the gift of fire you will be unstoppable.”
Sebastian frowned, watching his hands as he fussed around the cart. “I think there is something more than what we see though, if I must be frank. Something dark is on the horizon. Death awaits to take us all on swift wings… I fear war is coming. War comes and it will eclipse all wars to be the most brutal in the history of the world…”
Tristan had enough of the shit this guy was spewing and rushed him. “You’re insane!” He reached the cart in two big paces, hand out to grab that knife he’d been eyeing since he awoke. His fingers were mere inches away when all his forward momentum came to a shocking halt. His side burst into pain, stiffening his entire body. He cried out and dropped to his knees. Faintly he heard Sebastian hiss something as he leaned over Tristan.
Nothing mattered now but the awful pain in his side. The electricity surged through his torso, up his ribs, his collar bone, even licked his face. It was accompanied by a loud buzzing noise, like that of a—The sneaky son of an elf tased me!
It was only seconds that the grimacing fae had that nasty little box pressed into Tristan’s bare flesh, but it was enough and by the time Sebastian pulled away, Tristan’s entire body was wracked with pain.
With a satisfied harrumph, Sebastian tossed the taser to the cart and then went to crouch next to Tristan. “I healed you because we need you alive, but alive means you only have to be breathing. Do you understand?”
“Fuuuuuck,” Tristan hissed as he rolled over to his side, curling up in a ball. Every muscle in his body was tight, he felt like they were going to tear him apart.
“Tres bien.” The fae stood and went to the cart. “Now, if you promise to be a good boy, I shall feed you. Even give you clothing to regain some decency. Though, you have nothing to hide,” he said, amusement heavy in his voice. The sound of a tray lid being lifted tinged, followed by the smell of food.
Tristan’s stomach growled loudly and he moaned again, his mouth watering in response to the godly smell of food. Shiny leather shoes came into view and he looked up.
Sebastian grinned and put a silver tray down in front of Tristan’s face. “Bon appetite monsieur hunter. It shall be your last meal as a human. I hope it finds you well.”
Tristan could only sneer in answer as the fae turned away again. A bundle of black cloth was tossed and him and then Sebastian was leaving the cell with the cart. The sound of the door locking behind him was crushing. Tristan laid on that cold floor and stared at the door for a long time, long after the sounds of Sebastian had left, lamenting his chance to break free.
The smell of hot food hit him and he moaned, forcing himself upright. He didn’t even bother with the clothes Sebastian threw at him as he pulled the plate into his lap and started to shove food into his mouth. Of course there were no utensils but it was easy enough to eat with his hands. Red potato halves smothered in butter and herbs, roasted asparagus, and a slab of steak so rare it ran juice and blood so dark down his arms that he looked like he had just killed someone. He had the right someone(s) in mind too.
More than once he choked from eating too fast. Sure, the thought that it might have been poisoned or something had crossed his mind. But they obviously needed him and he was too hungry to care anymore. He grabbed for the big cup and nearly spilled it in his frenzy. He’d taken down nearly a third of the warm liquid before he noticed the bite. It was red wine. Very strong red wine, but there was something more to it. Something... wrong.
Tristan jerked the cup back, looking down into it. His vision went double and he swayed. “Aaaaah!” he groaned. “That son of a bitch bastard elf...”
The cup slipped from his hand and hit the floor, splattering the leftover wine all over the place. He collapsed back, hit his head, winced but didn’t have enough energy to bitch aloud anymore. As the drug took him under he thought of every conceivable way he could kill that goddamn fae the next time he saw him. And enjoy it.
Sharp, biting, something on his arm. Tristan’s eyes flew open and he came eye to biddy eye with his not so savory cellmate, the kitty-sized rat he’d seen before. He groaned at the jumbo sized rodent and swung at him. To his amazement, and the rat’s by the squeal it let loose, he hit the little monster before it could run out of Tristan’s reach. The rat scurried away and disappeared into a crack in the wall, leaving him alone, once again.
His shoulder was sore where he slept on it against the hard floor. If that was all he could complain about after the past few days, then he counted himself very lucky. The plate of food he never got to finish was taken care of during his little nap. The rat had seen to that.
When he tried to stretch, he realized why Sebastian drugged him again—it was easier to get close to a passed-out person then one who was fully aware and wanted to kill you. His arms were bound out in front of him with a long sleeve of heavy leather that covered him from wrist to elbow. The bindings were held closed by simple toggles, but with his hands right next to each other it was impossible to work them open.
“Damn,” he sighed.
He grunted and groaned to his feet, a little unsteady. The bindings made it hard for him to use his arms to help himself up. And he still had to figure out how to get himself dressed—stupid fae couldn’t even do that much for him. When he reached the far wall where the clothes were, he stopped with a small gasp as he felt that familiar resonance in his blood.
“Oh my god,” he breathed out. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
There was a hesitant pause before she answered. “You sound well.”
“Ah—” he started and then laughed as he bent to pick up the clothes. They were better than nothing. And nothing is what he was still wearing. He struggled with the pants and bound arms. “Yeah, I’m okay, I—fuck all,” he grumped, “how am I supposed to get these bastards on?” Every time he dropped the pants and had to start over he got more frustrated.
“What is the trouble, Tristan?”
He huffed, dropping the pants and went over to the front of the cell to stick his arms out so she could see what he was bound up with. Too bad she couldn’t reach him to undo them.
“I see. What happened? Why are you so cognizant?”
Fussing with the pants again, trying to get them on, he told her all about Sebastian’s visit earlier and the things the fae had told him.
“So,” he sighed, leaning against the wall in his pants, finally, “that bastard elf drugged me so he could bind me up with this stupid-ass leather cuff thing. Fuck! I hate this thing.” His shoulders were aching and it was just plain frustrating. At least his double jointed elbows helped him twist his arms around inside the leather enough that he could use them more than a normal person would have been able too. The movement was starting to chafe though.
“Ash?”
She’d been quiet for a very long time.
“Hmm? Sorry.” It was only a whisper. “I—I was thinking.”
She was processing, but not pacing for once. He could picture the look of concern and concentration across her face. God, how he wanted to take her in his arms and hold her, comfort her, kiss
her. Ash gave a little sob, the sound so close he imagined he could almost touch her. At least he could feel her presence, that alone was a small comfort to him. To them both.
Tristan let out a long breath. “Listen, Ash… Lucien is going to bite me. You and I both know I can’t stop it. Not like this. I… I’m not resigning to my fate. Damned if I’m not going to fight him the whole way, but, you know, it’s going to happen. I don’t see any way out of this.”
She put her back to him against the wall separating them, arms crossed over her chest. She was wearing the matching top to Tristan’s bottoms. She was thankful for the suggestion of modesty, even if her ass poked out the back of the shirt.
“I know,” she answered in a tiny voice.
“There’s something I need to tell you. Christ… I’ve been trying to tell you for days now—I don’t know maybe since the first time I met you. I guess—No, I knew. I always knew…”
Her eyes burned. She knew what he wanted to say to her, could read it off his mind as clearly as if he’d screamed it aloud. But she couldn’t accept it, truly understand it until she did hear him speak the words. She was frightened of what those words could mean, for them both. “Now is not the time.”
“No, I know, but I need to get it off my chest already.” The way he saw it, he was dying soon and after that? He just knew that Lucien wouldn’t let him and Ash stay together—no, he’d use her to keep Tristan in line, offering only glimpses and tiny moments of torture of not being able to be close to one another. He saw it as clearly as he saw his bleak cell.
“Ash, what I’ve been trying to say to you all week, what I want to say...” Jesus, why is this so hard? Why did his tongue always stop working when he got to this part?
Ash turned and touched the wall wishing she were face to face with him. She needed to hear this, to see the deep truth of it in his eyes. “Tristan…”
He opened his mouth but the creak of the basement door made him shut it again and groan. Ash gave her own dismayed sigh and turned to watch as their captors came strutting down the hallway wearing matching smug-ass grins. Lucien was poorly dressed again in nothing but a pair of pants, but Sebastian had gone all out and was in one of his expensive tailored suits complete with virgin gloves and freshly shined patent leather shoes.
The pair stopped outside of Tristan’s cell.
“Good evening, monsieur hunter,” Sebastian said, beaming with joy. “Are you ready to finally become what you were meant to be?”
“And what’s that?” he grumbled back.
“La mort ardente… Fiery Death.”
25: The Beautiful People
YOU always let your girlfriend talk for you, Lucien? And so fucking cliché...” Yep, he was being cliché too, but that was the best part. He shook his head in dismay. He was definitely feeling better than the last time he was conscious. He was ready to kick some ass. Now he just had to figure out how. Play it smart. And yes, playing it smart still meant running off his mouth.
The vampire responded with a laugh and a light shrug.
“Fucking elf,” Tristan snapped, “why are you here? Get your jollies off watching vampires kill? Or are you here to get your fucking lying elf-ass kicked?”
Sebastian growled a vampire worthy sound and leapt forward, reaching through the bars. Tristan jumped back seconds before the taser clicked on.
“Ho ho, hey now. Watch where you point that shit. Might hurt someone.”
Sebastian let loose a string of French curses as he pulled back at Lucien’s bidding. Tristan smirked at him, flicked him off with both hands since they were both right there bound together. This only made the fae roar louder, screaming nonsense in French at him.
In her cell, Ash sighed and shook her head, but was smiling. It was a bad idea to rile up either one of them, but she knew Tristan couldn’t help himself. And in truth, she found it amusing too. Served them right.
Lucien sighed and took the fae into his arm even as the angry man fought against the vampire to get to Tristan. When the fae refused to calm down, Lucien wrenched him into the crook of his elbow against his chest and whispered into his ear. Sebastian fell silent as he listened to his master, those green eyes seething at Tristan.
Jaw stiff, Sebastian answered, “As you wish, mon seigneur.” He shot Tristan one last simmering look and turned away.
Lucien stepped up to the bars, titling his head and looking as if he had some secret to share. “You should not be so cruel to him. You do know what he did to save your life? You should be grateful. You should be very honored, the blood of a true fae... of course he only revived you for me. It was a sweet thing for him to do. So thoughtful of his Master.”
“How much longer are you plan on keeping us here? ‘Cause I’ll tell you, the room service blows and I’m bored out of my fucking mind. I mean, come on, there’s no pay-per-view? This joint is so fucking lame.”
Ash smiled. Lucien on the other hand looked startled for a moment before bursting into laughter. Behind the laughing vampire Sebastian caught Tristan’s attention as he dug around in the piles of torture devices and evil toys.
Well, that can’t be good.
Lucien draped his arms on a crossbar, his hands hanging lifelessly on the inside of Tristan’s cage. “Oh, I am so happy to see your fire back. You were just so very pathetic without it. Speaking of fire, you do know what I have planned for you, no?”
Tristan moved closer but was careful to stay out of the vampire’s reach. The door was close, if only it was open. “Yeah, your elf told me before he drugged me again and put this crap on me.” He lifted his arms showing the leather bindings and leaned to the side to look at Sebastian around Lucien. “What, can’t face me like a man, you gotta cheat at every corner to win? Huh?”
Sebastian made a rude noise.
Lucien smirked showing his little fangs. “You really shouldn’t provoke him so. You’re only making him angry and while I won’t allow him to kill you, you don’t need to be conscious for me to bite you, just alive.”
“Yeah, yeah, heard it all before.”
“It’s just a little bite. One little prick and then we’ll leave you alone for the rest of the night to enjoy the last few hours of Christmas in peace.”
That sparked a thread of worry in him. “What about Ash?”
“Oh well, she and I have other plans tonight. Don’t worry, I wouldn’t let her die just yet. I need you both now, don’t I? Shall we get started?”
Tristan was so ready. He’d find a way out or die trying. “You know, I’m going to fight you on this.”
The vampire smiled big. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Bring it fang face.”
Looking as happy as he ever had in his whole, long life, Lucien pulled a key from his pocket and turned as Sebastian joined him with a set of manacles. The fae handed over the bindings and quickly backed away as Lucien turned his attention to back to Tristan.
Needing a distraction in his head to put Lucien off his thoughts, Tristan started to mentally sing.
“And I don't want you and I don't need you.”
Head bobbing, heart pounding, his whole body was pulsing with energy. It was now or never, he had to fight back.
“Don't bother to resist, or I'll beat you.”
From the other side of the wall, Ash whispered his name nervously. She couldn’t read his mind, just as he intended, and was afraid for him despite the fae at her door.
“What’s that you’re singing in your head there?” Lucien asked as he fussed the lock. “Share for the whole class…?”
Tristan only smiled back, reciting more of the song aloud. “It's not your fault that you're always wrong; The weak ones are there to justify the strong.”
Outside of Ash’s cell, Sebastian was looking cocky and giddy as he whistled his way to opening the door. The tune seemed familiar to Tristan and threatened to distract him but when the sound of his cell lock engaged echoed all around him, his attention snapped into sharp focus again.
/> “Hey you, what do you see?”
Dragging the length of chains affixed with the manacle cuffs behind him, Lucien pushed open the door and took his first step into the cell.
“Something beautiful, something free?” Tristan shouted before springing forward, throwing all of his weight against the door. The momentum forced the door shut against Lucien, trapping him against the frame. The vampire hissed an angry noise, dropping the length of chain.
Sebastian stopped and spun, intent on helping his Master but a hand shout of the cell next to Tristan’s and grabbed the fae by the throat. Tristan saw it happen out of the corner of his eye and felt a surge of triumph.
Dumb bastard, stand too close to the tiger’s cage and you might get hurt.
Lucien growled and gave the door a shove. Tristan gasped as he slid backwards under the vampire’s strength, almost losing his balance. With a burst of energy, he yanked the door inward, freeing Lucien and reaching for him. He grabbed the vampire’s face and jerked him forward, at the same time lifting his right knee.
“Eat this, motherfucker,” he growled and caught Lucien square in the nose.
Hot blood burst from the vampire’s face and down Tristan’s leg. Distantly he heard the sound of Ash’s cell door opening. It wasn’t until he heard a defeated masculine grunt followed by a heavy thud that he knew Ash had subdued the fae. She’d freed herself and would be here any second now to help him take out Lucien. Hopefully before the kid vampire burnt him alive with his power.
Lucien bellowed an angry cry and grabbed Tristan’s thigh just above the knee. “Not before I fucking beat you into submission, she won’t! You’re mine, Uruwashi!”
A twinge of panic and fear shot through him as Lucien’s mouth twisted into a wide grimace even The Joker would have been jealous of.
“You call those fangs?” he spit out. “Ash has a bigger set than you, pal!”
The vampire moved to strike and Tristan did the only thing he could think of in the moment. Using all of his strength, he tossed his other leg up into the air. His foot connected with the underside of Lucien’s chin with a sickening crack just before he slammed to the floor, laid out flat and winded, foot throbbing like he’d broken something.
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