This is incredible.
Victor took her by the waist and began pumping his cock into her as though it was the only thing he knew how to do. Keiko’s butt was small and toned, and he took it in two handfuls and used it to give himself more leverage.
It was animalistic sex, the type that scratches the deepest, most primal itch. Keiko was crying out in pleasure, and Victor was growling without realizing it. She was his for the taking, not for Terrance, or for the patrons Heaven’s Gallery. She was his.
His cock slapped into her, making lewd rhythmic noises. Victor’s pace somehow continued to intensify, moving his body against hers with faster strokes and thrusts. Keiko’s cunt would tense up against his shaft every few seconds, and the velvety outer lips slid along the skin of his shaft like soft, pleasurable vacuum skirts.
“Look at me,” she whispered. “Victor, look at me.”
He met her eyes, and saw in them so much of what he felt in himself. Even over just the past few days, discovering his new abilities had left Victor with a confusing mixture of power and temptation. This could be his outlet. She could be his whore.
Keiko glanced down at her naked breasts and then blushed slightly. She let her legs wrap around Victor, and for a moment, locked him in a tight hug with surprising strength. He was too horny to remain pulled against her for long and broke her grip as though breaking out of a submission hold.
Keiko laughed and then let out a sultry moan. Victor began building speed again, his cock pulsing with horny, erotic energy. Keiko’s body was soft against him. She was a young goddess, still coming into her potential, and Victor was fucking her.
“Oh fuck!” Victor felt the pleasure building, pushing up against his crotch and chest like magma readying itself to blow out of a volcano. Keiko kissed him and ran a hand through his hair. She bit his lip gently as they parted and then let out a passionate cry.
Keiko’s entire body tensed up and shivered as a powerful orgasm overtook her. She arched her back and pushed her pussy up at an angle that allowed Victor’s sexual onslaught to go even further.
He pumped his cock into her as hard as he could, the sound of their bodies mashing against each other echoing out, like a hard slap against a naked buttock. Victor felt the intensity of his primal impulses peak, and then let out a cry as his cock exploded, blasting seed deep inside Keiko’s hot, wet cunt.
“Oh man…” Victor collapsed forward as his dick erupted. Keiko was regaining lucidity after her own climax and slowly ran her hands over his back, hugging him to her. The pleasure was unbelievable, overwhelming, and fleetingly cruel.
“Thank you,” said Keiko.
“For what?”
“For that.” She smiled at him. “I feel like it cleaned my slate.”
Neither of them said anything else for a while. Keiko was the first one to get up. She collected her clothes from where they’d been scattered around the room and began getting dressed. Victor didn’t say anything, not until he saw her reach her hand behind the tiny mini fridge, and bring it back up holding a gun.
“Keiko…” He shook his head, feeling a wave of shock rush over him. “No!”
“If I left right now, to kill Terrance… would you try to stop me?”
Victor blinked, and took a second to consider her question.
Could I stop her, if I tried? Does it matter if I could or not?
He gritted his teeth in frustration.
“Let’s go to the police,” said Victor. “There are other ways to do this. You can tell them what he did to you.”
“Even if I had the evidence to prove it, Monteiro runs everything in this town.” Keiko smiled sadly. “Besides, I’ve already done more than enough for them to justify arresting me.”
“Keiko, listen to me,” said Victor. “What he did was wrong. Maybe he even deserves to die, but you don’t deserve to have to live with that on your conscience.”
“I wouldn’t have to, Victor,” she said. “That’s what you’re not understanding.”
“Hold on, please. Don’t do this!”
“I don’t want to fight you, Victor.”
Keiko turned to him and smiled. Her expression was frozen for a second, a mask of hidden pain and lost innocence. She brought the barrel of the gun to her head and pulled the trigger.
CHAPTER 21
The ringing in Victor’s ears was enough to keep him from hearing his own shouting. Keiko was on the floor in front of him. She was dead.
“Fuck! God fucking damn it!” He slammed his hands against his head and felt hot, angry tears dripping down his face. “Not now! Not fucking now, not after everything!”
Victor took a deep, shaky breath, and started getting dressed. He couldn’t stay there. He had to leave, he had to go, he had to get away from what had just happened.
“Why…?” He shook his head and felt a strange, contradictory smile creep onto his face. “Just… why?”
The next few minutes went by in a walking daze. He had his clothes back on, his father’s dress shirt and dress pants and dress shoes. He was walking through a pitch black subway tunnel, binding his onyx aura at a low level so he could see.
She’s gone. I knew her better than I’ve ever known anyone, from those few seconds of being in her mind. And she’s gone.
The memory of sharing Keiko’s experience were forever burned into Victor’s mind, like a tattoo inked into the fabric of his psyche. It made it even more painful to think about the little time they’d shared together, and how he’d known deep down inside that she was broken enough to do what she’d done in the end.
She said that I was like her.
“Vic... Victor?” A voice that he recognized crackled to life in his ear, Kronenberg’s voice. “Can you hear me, Victor?”
“Yeah. I can here you.”
“Jesus Christ, what the fuck happened? Were you unconscious, or underground, or something? Hold on, let me get Lucy.”
Victor started walking faster, intention crystallizing in his mind as he came to terms with what he had to do.
She died because of him. I should have just let it happen.
“Victor,” said Lucy. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“What’s the status on Night Angel?” Lucy’s voice was authoritative, but he could still pick out a sliver of concern hidden within it.
“She’s dead, Lucy,” said Victor. “She… wasn’t a bad person.”
The other end of the line was silent. Victor reached the end of the tunnel and walked up a long flight of dusty, abandoned stairs. They exited out into an old industrial park on the outskirts of the northern edge of the city.
“Just… head back to Monteiro Tower,” said Lucy. “It’s okay. Whatever happened, it’s over now.”
“I’m coming back,” said Victor. “Terrance is the reason all of this happened. He created what she was, pushed her to do what she did.”
Anger began to seep into Victor’s voice. His grief manifested itself as a heavy, furious need for revenge.
“Terrance is in the hospital, Victor,” said Lucy. “You can talk to the police about him and they’ll—“
“No!” he shouted. “That’s what I said to her, before I really understood. There’s nothing they can do, or will do.”
“God damn it Victor, you can’t kill him!” Lucy’s voice was angrier than he’d ever heard it before. “You don’t understand!”
“I understand all that I need to.”
Victor didn’t know if there was a way to stop the nanites from transmitting a signal, but he tuned out as Lucy continued to shout at him over the connection. She stopped after a couple of minutes of him ignoring her.
“Hey buddy…” Kronenberg took over for her. “I realize that whatever happened has left an impact on you, but there’s more going on here than you can see.”
Victor didn’t say anything.
“Did she tell you where she got the… stop, Lucy, we have to tell him!” There were sounds of a light struggle, and Victor
could hear Kronenberg arguing with Lucy in hushed tones.
“Fine.” Lucy swore under her breath. “Victor, do you remember the place where I first found you when you came back to Undercliff City?”
Victor hesitated for a moment before answering.
“Yeah,” he said. “It was near—“
“Meet me there in ten minutes!” Lucy cut him off with enough urgency for him to get the point.
“…Fine.”
It was on the way to the hospital, anyway. Victor didn’t think there was anything Lucy could say to him that would change his mind about what needed to be done, but he felt like he owed it to her to listen to what she had to say.
She’s done me at least a few favors. Even more if I take into account her watching out for me back when I was a kid.
Fifteen minutes later, Victor arrived at the alleyway. Lucy was already there, wearing a heavy wool coat over her business casual blouse and tight skirt. She did a double take when she saw him.
“That’s… your father’s suit.” She smirked at him. “It looks good on you.”
Victor stared at her for a few seconds.
“Well?” he asked. “What’s this about.”
Lucy nodded to him and started walking down the street. Victor followed her, and they made their way into the tavern, which was minutes away from lat call. She nodded to Sammy, who seemed to recognize her, and a moment later they each had a frothy beer in front of them.
“What I’m about to tell you isn’t something that I can talk about openly.” She gave Victor a serious look. “Never on the phone, or inside Monteiro Tower. Not even in my apartment.”
“Okay,” he said. “What’s this about?”
“Monteiro is corrupt.”
Victor shrugged.
“I know that much already,” he said. “I’ve known that ever since they forced my dad out.”
“You don’t understand.” Lucy spoke through gritted teeth. “This goes beyond the low-level corruption you see in most billion dollar corporations. I… I don’t know how to describe it to you so that you’d really understand.”
Lucy took a sip of her beer, and Victor did likewise.
“I’ve already seen the type of person Terrance is, Lucy,” he said. “I’ve seen the kind of things he’s capable of.”
“Did you find out how Night Angel ended up with the nanites?” There was a hint of excitement in Lucy’s voice. Victor frowned and shook his head.
“No… I didn’t.” Saying it out loud made him aware of how strange it was, for that critical part of her memory to be absent.
“Victor, the technology Monteiro develops, the technology I work with and your father devoted his life to, is being abused by people within the company.” Lucy took a deep breath. “I’m not sure how deep it goes yet, but I know Terrance has something to do with it. He’s one of the lynchpins that ties all of it together.”
“…What?”
“Kronenberg and I, along with a few other people, are working to gather evidence and make sense of it all,” said Lucy. “I know for a fact that at least some of the murders and disappearances tie back to what’s going on behind the scenes at Monteiro.”
Victor leaned back on his stool and thought about what she was saying.
She’s right. Keiko didn’t kill all of those people.
“That’s all the more reason for me to get to Terrance now and—“
“We need him!” hissed Lucy. “Terrance isn’t the only one involved. He’s a disgusting scumbag, but he trusts me, and eventually I think I can use him to get the bigger picture.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Victor shook his head. “You don’t understand Lucy! He blackmailed and raped her. I can’t just smile and nod at him the next time I see him.”
“No, Victor,” said Lucy. “You don’t understand. I want your help on this, but in your current mental state, you’re only going to fuck things up.”
Victor didn’t say anything. Lucy finished her beer and turned to meet his eye.
“I’m going to make sure you’re taken care of,” she said. “I’ve already found a place for you to stay. And soon enough, the third member of our team will be back in town, and she can help you learn to control your auras.”
“I don’t know what to say,” said Victor. “I can’t just pretend like I don’t know what I know.”
“Victor…” Lucy spoke in a soft voice. “This is what your father would have wanted for you.”
Victor’s mouth tightened into a scornful smile.
That’s one more thing that I’ll have to address eventually. She deserves to know the truth.
“Alright,” he said. “I’ll leave it be. For now.”
Lucy reached her hand over and set it on his shoulder. It felt warm.
CHAPTER 22
The neighborhood Lucy brought him to was within walking distance of Sammy’s Place. It was on the edge of the city, closest to the highest part of the cliffs, and a small park with a nature path leading up along them was only a few streets down.
The two of them stopped in front of a house that was a mixture of the two contrasting themes of Undercliff City. It was an old building, only a single level and probably first built in the early 20th century but it had been recently renovated and looked well enough maintained.
There was no car out front, which was odd, given there was off street parking. A massive apple tree grew on the front lawn of one side of the yard, and a fire pit that looked like it had never been lit stood a good distance away on the other.
“I think you’ll find your new roommate to be rather accommodating.” Lucy knocked gently on the front door. Victor heard a mechanism trigger, and then surprisingly, it opened on its own.
“Hey, Kronenberg,” called Lucy. “Is your drone back yet, or still at the office.”
“It’s on the way.” The entire house spoke, and for a moment, an irrational childhood fear of ghosts reared its ugly head in the back of Victor’s mind.
“Did your helper get the guest room set up, like I asked?”
“I hope you understand how lucky you are for having me as an employee,” said Kronenberg, with a sigh. “Welcome to your new home, Victor.”
Lucy led him forward. The house was simple and tiny, consisting of a large room that managed to be a kitchen, dining room, and living room all in one, and three doors on the opposite wall. She gestured to the door on the right.
“That one’s yours. The other one is Kronenberg's.” She nodded to Victor and then headed for the door. “I’ll be in touch.”
Victor watched her leave, and then walked over to the door on the right. He opened it to find that it was a bedroom set up to provide palliative care. Lying on a small bed, with several wires and monitors attached to his body, was Kronenberg.
“It’s nice to finally meet you in person.” His mouth didn’t move, and the room spoke for him, but Victor could tell from Kronenberg’s eyes that it was him. “I apologize for not getting up to greet you. It’s been a long day.”
“Yeah.” Victor smiled. “For you and me, both.”
BOOK TWO
THE RIVALRY
CHAPTER 1
The wind was strong. Victor felt his body swaying dangerously to one side as a powerful gust swept across the cliffs. He dug his fingers into craggy, almost minuscule finger holds and scraped his feet against the sheer rock wall for purchase, pulling himself up onto a thin ledge.
It was late afternoon, and he was on the outskirts of Undercliff City, scaling up one of the high cliff faces from which it took its name. It was midwinter, and though the air outside was dry and cold, Victor was making due in jeans and a thick sweatshirt.
He leaned his back against the rock wall behind him and glanced down at the ground, which was at least a hundred feet below. Slowly, he let his gaze scan up and across the towers composing the skyline, most of which emerged out of the impoverished inner city like haughty flowers sprouting from rough dirt.
Monteiro Tower was one of t
he highest. Victor frowned as he looked at it. He’d been in Undercliff City for a month already, but the place still felt odd to him, somehow foreign and familiar at the same time.
I guess I should feel like I’m back home.
The original reason Victor returned to Undercliff, the city in which he’d spent the first ten years of his childhood, was to figure out what was wrong with him. He still remembered what it had been like on the trip over, the blindingly intense hot flashes and skull splitting headaches.
Lucy had been the one to help him through it. She’d been Victor’s father’s former assistant, and a bit of a babysitter to him when he was younger. Her job at Monteiro, as a program director now, involved experimenting with the same types of technology that Victor had been unknowingly infused with.
Regardless of whether he had wanted it or not, Victor was an aura binder now. The nanites, advanced nanotechnology coursing through his blood, allowed him to channel several different types of abilities outward or inward, depending on what he wanted to do.
And that was the reason why he was working his way up the cliff face, with no ropes or safety lines to speak of. Victor had control of two out of four auras, scarlet and onyx. They were useful, and in a sense, gave him access to cheat codes in real life, albeit to a limited extent. But he’d also seen what the other auras could do, and knew that there was a level beyond his current reach.
Flying. I want to learn to fly, or at the very least, hover.
Victor inched up to the edge of the cliff. He thought about stepping off, falling through thin air, and what it would be like to rise into the sky. He took a second to search his awareness, prodding at the energies of his auras as he had so many times in the past, and searching for something new.
He could feel his scarlet aura, his onyx aura, and nothing else. Victor took a deep breath and slowly let it out. He started to turn back toward the climb ahead of him when a noise chimed in his head.
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