All Rotting Meat

by Maleham , Eve

  As another silence expanded, Banes refused to look away from her. Long seconds passed, before Tycho softly cleared his throat.

  ‘You were also witnessed trespassing around Rebirth’s training facility during the daytime,’ Cecilia said, ‘again, in areas which you were prohibited from entering.’

  ‘Commander,’ he said, ‘with respect, I spoke with you after my training period; why are you bringing these accusations up now?’

  From the corner of his sight, he saw Tycho narrow his eyes slightly and his posture stiffen.

  ‘They have only recently come to light,’ she said, ‘but there are more serious issues here, Banes. I have recently uncovered that you have withheld information from Rebirth.’

  ‘What information?’ he said.

  ‘That, not only were you in relationship with Commander Feigrey, but that it was not solely contained to a brief time in Dreyrigr – something that he himself neglected to mention.’

  ‘That’s going too far, Marr,’ Tycho said, raising his voice as he flushed, his eyes turning to burn into the back of her head. ‘Intuneric disclosed that he had a brief affair with me. That should have been enough.’

  ‘For any other person, it would be, Feigrey,’ she said, not turning around to face him, ‘but you are not just some standard recruit, therefore, it should have been apparent to Intuneric that the utmost clarity was needed. However, our sources confirm that you reignited your relationship at various other points throughout the years.’

  ‘Our paths briefly crossed,’ Banes said. ‘It was hardly a continuous affair.’

  ‘But you still didn’t care to mention it?’ she asked, an eyebrow raised.

  ‘No,’ Banes said, ‘because there was hardly anything to mention. I told you that we used to have a relationship, and I thought that was enough. Why you’d want to know about a few sporadic fucks over the years is beyond me.’

  ‘I agree with Intuneric, Marr,’ Tycho said. ‘I hardly see how that warrants this treatment. It’s a petty infraction at most.’

  ‘There are numerous infractions, Feigrey,’ she said, a flush of heat entering her voice, ‘including trespassing, and you cannot deny that trespassing is a serious offense.’

  ‘Don’t I get to protest my innocence?’ Banes asked.

  ‘This is not some human police interview, though I am sure you are familiar with them,’ Cecilia smirked. ‘You don’t get a phone call and a lawyer, Banes.’

  ‘Then, how do you know if I’ve done any of the things you’re accusing me of?’ he asked.

  ‘Because Rebirth’s judgement is final,’ she said. ‘Surely you knew that? When Rebirth reaches a decision on any matter, that matter is final.’

  ‘I agree,’ Tycho said, ‘but, Marr, we are co-commanders, and I believe that this is unwarranted.’

  At this, Cecilia turned around to him, her eyes meeting his.

  ‘This is not a debate, Feigrey,’ she said. ‘The matter stands that Intuneric has committed transgressions against Rebirth, and, as such, he needs to face a reprimand.’

  ‘What kind of reprimand?’ Banes said, his heart catching in his throat, desperately wishing for expulsion.

  Cecilia looked up to the two officers behind him and gave a brief nod. Before Banes could react, one of them had pounced on his arm, roughly stretching it out on the table to show the pale underside of his forearm, before strapping the belt over the top of his wrist and elbow to hold it in place.

  ‘What’s going on?’ he asked, his heart hammering inside his chest, trying to wrench his arm free, though he knew the attempt was futile. He looked up to see Tycho, who refused to meet his gaze. ‘This is ridiculous; I didn’t think that I’d done anything wrong. Not seriously wrong.’

  Cecilia smiled. ‘Yes, that’s why you’re being allowed to stay with Rebirth,’ she said. ‘It seemed unfair to expel you from such a glorious thing over your misconducts. However, action still needs to be taken to deter you from committing them again.’

  ‘Like this wasn’t enough already?!’

  ‘It’s standard procedure,’ she said, ‘no more than a child being punished for misbehaving.’

  ‘What do you mean punished?!’ Banes asked, ice sweeping through his body. He turned around in his seat to see the officers donning long, rubber gloves, taking out a small plastic bottle of clear liquid, and carefully unscrewing the top. ‘What’s that?’ he said, his voice rising. Cecilia took her hands off the table and stood up, standing slightly back. ‘Is that holy water?’

  ‘Three drops,’ she said.

  The other took out a pipette and dipped it into the bottle, filling it up with water. His palms began to sweat and prickle. He could feel every time his heart beat, and feel his lungs shrink as his breaths grew shallow. His mouth was dry. He looked up to Tycho, whose eyes, although he wasn’t looking at anything in particular, were smouldering. He shifted uncomfortably as Banes drew his eyes down to his lapel, his chest, his shoulders, the texture of his jacket, the faint shine of the metal buttons. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the man position himself over him.

  The water was undiluted; a white, teeth-aching heat. There was a fraction of a moment when the water hit his skin, and it began to seep into scorching, blistering, fire, which smouldered on down past his skin, into his muscle tissue, and down to the bone. The inferno turned to needles, so hot that all degrees of temperature left his mind, and he was left with the sheer agony of it, stabbing through his flesh in every direction, deadening the cells in his arm.

  Blood burst into his mouth from where he had bitten his tongue as tears sprang to his eyes, and a strangled scream escaped his mouth as he looked down. His arm was shaking; the skin immediately under where the drop had hit had melted away, circled by blistering white.

  The second drop hit. A gurgled scream filled the room as he tried desperately to pull his arm free. He looked up to see Tycho, and felt heat rising to his face as he realised that his vision had blurred with tears.

  The third drop hit, just as the pain from the first one had begun to shift into a dull, smouldering agony, and reignited it. He was screaming, pulling so hard on the belt that his skin was being rubbed raw. The holy water seemed to spread underneath the skin of his arm, so that now, the entire limb felt as though the flesh had been replaced with burning razors.

  Through his hazy sight, he saw Cecilia smile. He moved his gaze. He didn’t want her to look at him. Tears dripped from his eyes as he clutched his arm, his body shaking and his breath coming out as moans. Goddamn fucking bitch.

  ‘Well, Intuneric,’ she said, ‘it seems that you are beginning to understand the seriousness of your misconduct. Hopefully this reprimand will serve as a valuable lesson for you, which you will use for the benefit of Rebirth. I thank you for your time and cooperation during this procedure; it is deeply appreciated.’

  She turned, nodded again to the two officers, and left the room, Tycho following closely behind her with his eyes straight ahead, not once turning to look at Banes.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Power Slipping Away

  Cecilia’s officers had removed him from the interrogation room shortly after she had left, and driven him back. He had bitten his lip as he had tried not to cry out; even the slightest movement that sent tremors through his arm muscle resulted in a blind, blistering echo of agony. He had entered his apartment and not taken in any of his surroundings as he limped into the kitchen, holding his arm steady and trying to reduce all movement before he could run his arm under the tap. The flash of cool water hitting his burns had caused him to scream again; a supernova was erupting under his skin. He used his good arm to clutch onto the side of the sink as he grew dizzy.

  ‘Fucking bitch…’

  He stood at the sink for nearly an hour, with the tap running until the surface level pain subsided and the water became ineffective. He sighed, gingerly removing his arm from the sink, and gasped. The pain, though numbed slightly, was acute and sharp.

  His mind foggy,
he turned to his medicine cabinet and swallowed five painkillers while, one-handedly, he reached for a bottle of vodka to wash them down with. He sank down to the floor, opening his fridge and sinking his arm into the welcoming cold of the freezer.

  He dozed off into a light, disturbed sleep, where he wasn’t sure if he had slept at all, before waking to a numb arm and a stiff face. There was something off about his apartment.

  Banes rose to his feet and tenderly wrapped his arm in a damp cloth, stabbing jabs of feeling slowly returning to it. He frowned as he slowly paced forward into the centre of the room. Everything was roughly where it should be, but books on his bookshelf were incorrectly arranged, and the cushions on his sofa were in the wrong place. He moved through to his bedroom; the duvet on his bed had been pulled down further than it had been, and the door of his wardrobe was slightly ajar.

  Maybe a surveillance camera had been hidden somewhere, but he was certain that there was at least a listening device planted in his flat.

  ‘Fuck…’

  He opened his bedside table drawer, took out a roll-up cigarette, and lit it, filling the room with the smell of cannabis. He sat on his bed and watched the night outside through the blinds of his window, the sky morphing through shades of orange tinted purple, before picking up his phone to order some food. He had suspected that his apartment was no longer private when he first returned from training. He had to leave.

  The food arrived, just as shooting pain began to flare up in his arm. He ate with one hand, though, despite the growl of hunger in his stomach, he only got through a few mouthfuls of sweet and sour pork before he cast it aside, the taste of oil heavy in his mouth. There was a knock on the door, and with a cold, swooping feeling, he thought that it was the officers again, and that he was being called back to Rebirth – but the knocks were low, and soft.

  Tycho held up a note to him before he could say anything as he pulled the door back.

  You are been listened to; this flat is not safe to talk in. Walk with me, and stay silent.

  Banes frowned, peering at Tycho, whose face remained impassive, with a slightly impatient air to it. With a sharp roll of his eyes, Banes stepped out of the flat after him.

  ‘What?’ he hissed, grabbing Tycho with his good arm, as he began to walk down the hallway. Tycho sighed.

  ‘I need to explain to you what just happened, and here is not a safe place to do that.’

  Banes let Tycho slip out of his grasp and continued to walk. ‘Where are we going, then?’

  ‘Not far,’ Tycho said, as he led them both down the stairwell to where a black, elegant car was parked, in the side street next to his apartment building. ‘Don’t worry,’ he said, ‘this is my car.’

  Banes slid into the passenger seat; the leather seat was barely worn, the inside of the car impeccably clean, cool, and smelling of mint.

  ‘Couldn’t you just say that we were going to your car?’ he asked.

  ‘How is your arm?’ Tycho asked, his voice low and calm.

  ‘It hurts like hell; how do you think it feels?’ Banes snapped.

  ‘Here,’ Tycho said, handing him a stainless-steel flask. ‘It’s blood – all human.’

  Banes took the bottle from him and swallowed the blood down in long, delicious gulps, each one sharpening his thoughts. He saw Tycho’s hand twitch as he leant in ever so slightly closer to him, his eyes held a starved look to them.

  ‘So,’ Banes said, as he handed the bottle back to him, ‘why are you here?’

  ‘As I said,’ Tycho said, ‘I need to explain to you what just happened, for your safety, and for my own.’

  ‘Which is, what?’

  ‘Cecilia is using you to get to me,’ he said, looking forwards at his hands resting on the steering wheel. ‘Or, rather, she punished you to hurt me. There have been recent decisions made, which we disagreed on – which we fiercely disagreed on. Those charges that she brought against you were unfounded. With anyone else, there would have been a warning, and, as you pointed out, Cecilia had her chance to give you a warning about your behaviour during training previous to this.’

  ‘You knew that, and you let me get burned, anyway?’ Banes said, his voice rising. Tycho sighed and closed his eyes.

  ‘I had to, Banes,’ he said. ‘If I had tried any more to stop that from happening, she would have accused me of favouritism, and had me removed from the room – and still burned you. You’ve seen how she leapt at the fact that we were…had a previous affair together. It is really the only hold that she has over me, and I apologise for it; I should have seen that coming when I admitted you into Rebirth.’

  Banes looked at him as, for a moment, Tycho’s eyes met his. There was a quietness to them that Banes had rarely seen.

  ‘I knew that it would be difficult,’ Tycho went on, ‘to begin Rebirth. Nearly impossible, in fact, and when I first began, it was. However, my ideas caught the attention of a vampire who had not yet been born when I had previously failed, and the chances were that she and her twin brother were the children of Deafol and Aglaecwif Dreor, close friends of mine, who had been captured by the Old Hunters and killed in the last attempt. It seemed something that was fated to be. I desperately needed their support; I knew that with that, I could be forgiven, and vampires would trust me again. And that, indeed, happened. Rebirth began to take form, and as the decade turned, it seemed as if my dreams were ever closer to being realised, and that the world would not have to suffer under humans for much longer.

  ‘You can understand my devastation, then, when a few short years later, we learnt that the AIDS virus can kill us just as easily as it can kill humans. Perhaps it acts a little slower, but it was no less fatal. The humans we preyed on were more susceptible to it than others, and most of us, the older born vampires, dismissed our instincts, and drank anyway. A lot of my allies died, people I had known for all my life, and Rebirth lost more than two thirds of its original members. For a while, all we could do was witness everyone dying, or leaving Rebirth behind.

  ‘Cecilia took increasing control over Rebirth; she knew the younger vampires and the reborns, and could forge their interest in a way I could not. I was glad for it – otherwise, once again, Rebirth would have perished. She enlisted more and more people, we found our first major investor, and with that, we were able to infiltrate their establishments and have laws bend around us. Cecilia was my most trusted adviser, my second-in-command, and I had expected that once we were stable again, she could step aside and allow me to continue as commander, but she only strengthened her position and became co-commander on an equal level to me.

  ‘And then, the game began. I sensed that she was not content with having to share her role, that although Rebirth was of my founding, she felt as though she deserved to be the sole leader. She has popular support and spies of her own set against me, as you are now aware, and I have taken similar measures to defend my position. I have sacrificed far too much for Rebirth, more than anyone will ever know, and I will not let myself be discarded by her. But,’ he sighed, ‘I can feel my power slipping away. Cecilia has wrapped herself around Rebirth so tightly that she cannot be removed without great disturbance, so that she is integral to Rebirth, a fundamental fact of its existence.’ Tycho sighed again and leaned back in his seat. ‘I wanted you in Rebirth, Banes; not only did I believe you to be an asset to us, but I wanted someone who I could trust. Someone who Cecilia could never persuade.’

  ‘But you never called for me,’ Banes said. ‘Aside from that interview, we hadn’t spoken in centuries, Tycho.’

  ‘I just needed you there,’ he said. ‘I just wanted to know that someone I knew would be there, someone who knew me. I was an idiot for thinking that she would ignore you, and pass you off as another recruit from Dreyrigr, especially with how I pursued Cecilia for her brother’s failings.’

  ‘She called me into her office,’ Banes said, ‘a few weeks ago. She wanted confirmation that we had a relationship, which I gave her, and then to know what happened to yo
u after the Blood Coup. She said that you may have had black eye, and that if I knew anything about that, I should tell her, since it was security issue.’

  ‘Yes, I know about the meeting,’ Tycho said, ‘and I guessed what was said in it. It’s unsurprising that she tried to turn you against me.’

  ‘She also said that I was the closest person to you.’

  Tycho’s lips twitched into a brief smile. ‘You may be, indeed, though look at how often we talk. However, Cecilia will hurt you to get to me again, Banes, I’m certain of it.’

  ‘And you can’t do anything to stop her?’ he said. ‘Expel from me from Rebirth, or something?’

  Tycho turned to stare at his hands. ‘You want to leave?’

  ‘I don’t want to be tortured,’ Banes said. ‘That’s understandable, right?’

  Tycho nodded. ‘It is.’

  ‘Then, just expel me; we’ll make something up, so I fuck up and you kick me out. You’ve got just as much of a standing as Marr has.’

  Tycho scoffed. ‘She won’t let you simply walk away, Banes. If you cause trouble, she will continue to harm you until you do something that will warrant an execution. Regretfully, there is no getting out of this for the time being.’

  Banes bit his lip, his arm twitching. ‘What if I were to just run away,’ he said. ‘Get on a plane and leave? Like, right now? I could be out of the country in two hours.’

  Tycho glared at him. ‘Then, you would be deserting Rebirth,’ he said, ‘and we would come after you for it.’

  Banes groaned. ‘C’mon, Tycho, I can’t stay here to be tortured by Cecilia every time she wants something from you.’

  ‘It won’t happen often,’ Tycho said. ‘One way or another, this game is nearing its end. Cecilia is watching you; assume that nothing you do is private. She will know about this conversation. If you try to leave the country, she will know about it before you can make it out. She had you burnt over a few paper-thin charges; just think about how she will react if you’re caught trying to run away.’