Chapter 13
Ales
I would say I was the most patient person in the world. I sat there for two days and tortured Cyril/Jace using the slowest, crucial way possible. I kept him in a dark chamber with limited breathing space one size too small for him, but did I care? No, I didn’t. Finally! I said to myself as I lined up my knives. These knives were specially made from my sword, my spear and shield. No one could take away from me what I once was. I picked up one knife and twirled it in between my fingers, loving the way it felt so familiar to me. It was as if I was holding my spear, my sword and my shield all at the same time.
Before I could go to get Cyril out of the chamber, my cell phone went off. I looked down at the caller ID and it was the person who found Cyril for me.
“My boy!” I exclaimed. “You came through for me like you always do.”
He chuckled.
“Always. You’re like a brother to me Achilles, you know that.” He reassured me.
“I know Alf… I know, not too many good brothers come by easily.”
“Don’t I know that! You calling me Alf brings back old memories. Haven’t heard that name in a while.”
I was astonished.
“Really? What does everyone call you now?”
“They just call me Sebastien now, or you know, the king of Soleuvre whichever works for you.” He laughed loudly and proudly.
I joined him in his laughter.
“You’re still the same as ever, but you know me, I prefer the Beast of Soleuvre the most. I heard you went and got yourself married with kids?”
He chuckled. “Yep. Got me a wife and kids now. Guess who it is?”
“Who?”
“The bloodlust.”
I didn’t think anyone, or anything, could shock me.
“What? Damn… now that’s something else. The gods truly know how to mess around on us, huh?”
“You don’t have to tell me twice… hold on Achilles.” I heard him shouting in the back. “Cory, leave your brother alone. He doesn’t feel like showing you any more magic tricks… Hello?”
“Yes, I’m still here.”
“These damn kids are going to drive an old beast like me to be fully gray.”
I laughed so hard at that, but then I settled down when I saw Patro bring in Cyril for me. I nodded at him. He saluted me as a joke and walked out of the room.
“I guess I’ll be joining you soon then, my friend. I’m having a girl.”
“Oh, congrats, brother… please tell me you didn’t go out and have a baby out in the world and forgot all about Alana?”
“No, no…in fact, Alana is now Elani. Hence, this fool I had you look for. I don’t know how he slipped into this world, but I plan on burying him alive, so he can die slowly.”
“You never cease to amaze me at the new ways you come up with when it comes to torturing people. Also, I’m happy you found her. Come visit so our wives can finally meet each other.”
“I won’t hesitate to once we’re done here.”
“Good… I can hear you have business to handle. Say hello to Patro for me, will you?”
“I will. Until next time, brother.”
“Yes.”
I smiled, knowing I looked deranged as I turned to face Cyril. This was going to be fun. As soon as he woke up, he’d see the same person he ran away from here just to remind him he should never lust after things that don’t belong to you. Well, in this case, the woman that never will and never has belonged to him. I planned on destroying his entire body piece by piece for not only betraying me but using my mother and killing her as if she was nothing but a mere fly on the wall. He was mine for the kill.
***
Jace opened his eyes and looked around the dimly lit room before setting his eyes on me. My sinister smile spread the moment he recognized who snuck up on him and took him. I was sitting back on a chair as I twirled a blade between my fingers.
“Finally…” I began. “You’re up. Here I thought you would miss all the fun.”
I watched his eyes as he realized he was held up on a torture device. No way would I have him upside down like I had the nameless one. I smiled because I knew letting him hang upside down would have killed him faster, but I didn’t want that kind of death for him.
I tilted my head a bit as he tugged on his restraints on both wrists and ankles.
“Going somewhere?” I taunted him.
He screamed, and I laughed.
“Can’t hear you. Might want to speak up,” I said. “Let me help you with that!” I flicked my right wrist and the throwing knife flew in the air. Bullseye! Right in the gut it stuck.
Jace screamed, but the gag placed in his mouth prohibited him from screaming louder. I stood up and walked over to him pulling the knife out of his gut. I watched as blood rushed out. I stuck the knife in the same spot and lengthen the cut more to his midsection.
I tsked. “Don’t you worry, Jacey, you won’t be dying anytime soon, or would you prefer I call you Cyril?” I shrugged my shoulders as I pocketed the knife and placed my palm on his wound.
I pushed hard, and tears fell from his eyes, but it was too early for tears. I was nowhere near done with him. I removed my hand, looked at my palm then looked back at Jace’s pathetic face.
“You killed my mother, huh? You thought you could betray both of us like that?” I walked up closer to him, nose to nose. I noticed the moment his pupils dilated, and he knew I was now tapped into the craziness of the greatest warrior to live. I continued.
“I will drench myself in your blood and wear it as honor to my mother,” I said, wiping the palm, coated in his blood, over my face.
I opened my eyes and watched as he shuddered. I knew how deranged I must’ve looked, but I didn’t care. “The party’s just begun,” I said as I head-butt him.
I splashed a bucket of ice-cold water on Jace’s knocked out body. He woke with a gagged shriek and shudder.
“Wake up, sunshine!” I exclaimed as I threw the bucket in the corner.
Jace’s eyes landed on me once again, and I winked at him as he was trembling from the cold. I snapped my fingers and automatically one of the guys on my team cranked up the a/c. After a minute or two, the cold blasted through the vents causing the room to grow colder.
I turned my back on Jace as I went toward the small silver table that displayed every kind of knife I needed. My hands slowly grazed over them and my eyes shut, wanting the sensation of the blades to take over my entire body. My body didn’t even register the cold building in the room. I finally opened my eyes and grabbed a carving knife, one that was carved out from my sword. They all were, but this one was special to me. I twirled it in between my fingers as it danced to its own rhythm. I held it steady in my hand. I turned to face Jace and watched as his almost naked form began to tremble.
“Are you cold?” I menacingly asked him. “Here, let me warm you up.”
He watched me as I walked toward him and pulled out a remote control, pressing the button.
On cue, my favorite song, Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics blasted in the cold room. I bobbed my head to the song and began to hum along as the first verse came through.
He let out a whimper as his body began to feel the zip of electricity. I pressed it again and his body jolted this time. I stopped, not wanting him to pass out for this part just yet. I walked up and stood right in front of him. I made sure he saw the carving knife in my hand, gripping his attention. I didn’t say anything as I moved my hand, placing the tip of the knife on his collarbone. I began to outline his upper body with the tip of the knife without drawing too much blood. By the time I reached back to where I started, his upper body was painted by his blood. I smirked as I plunged the knife into his left shoulder unexpectedly. The stench of piss filled the room, but I couldn’t care less as I wiggled the knife there.
I focused as I removed the knife from his shoulder and let his blood coat where I wanted to carve out his skin. My left palm landed right on his wound and he began to squirm. I shook my head, knowing it would hurt even more because he was moving so damn much. I twirled my knife and began to remove the skin slowly and efficiently.
Jace’s screams seemed to expand over his gag as I continued to remove the skin slowly.
I stopped and tilted my head to see what I had done so far. It was a sloppy job and I cut my eyes at Jace for causing this. I shook my head. He was an idiot through and through. He couldn’t even stay still for this moment when I was making his skin detach from the rest of his body with precision.
“Ungrateful,” I grunted.
I continued like this until his flesh was half off his body. I stopped and took a step back. I tucked the knife in my pocket. I clapped my hands and smiled.
“Damn, Jacey…This is probably my best work yet. Almost a masterpiece.”
At this point, the room was freezing, but there was warmth in my body. I was about to approach him, then the room grew warm once more. I sensed a presence and turned to my right, wondering who the hell was disturbing at this moment.
I rolled my eyes as Patro stood there with another figure. The guy was tall, taller than me and muscular but not too muscular. He had sharp features and his jet-black hair cascaded down his back. I wondered why he didn’t look feminine with all that damn hair. I looked from him to Patro, wondering what the hell they wanted.
When no one said anything, I barked, “What!”
Neither of them seemed fazed by my outburst. Patro shook his head and then spoke.
“You can’t kill him, Achilles.”
I narrowed my eyes looking Patro up and down.
“I will kill him.”
“You can’t,” Patro spoke once more.
That time, before I could say a word, the man with the jet-black hair started to walk toward me. I looked at how pristine and proper he looked with his black suit. It made him look like he spat out money. He didn’t say anything as his expensive dress shoes click-clacked on the cement ground. When he finally reached me, he observed the body. He whistled, nodding as he eyed Jace.
“Fine work, but I need him before he dies. Jace belongs to me, and I’m here to collect.”
I cocked my eyebrow, wondering who the hell this man was. Before I asked, he spoke.
“I’m Hades. Nice to meet you.” He smirked as if it were some joke.
I honestly didn’t give a damn who he was. The urge to kill was still there. I turned from him to face Jace. With a swift swipe, I cut off half of Jace’s penis and he threw his head back. The stench was a mixture of piss and excrement. Pathetic. Before I could even continue, Hades chuckled and spoke up.
“I’ll be taking my leave,” Hades said and snapped his finger. Just like that, Jace and he vanished.
I growled like some deranged animal. I don’t know what came over me as I turned and stalked over to Patro. I didn’t understand what had happened, and I didn’t care, as I let out such a guttural roar, ripping my shirt in the process. I was losing myself and I felt it. The moment I slipped, I saw Patro as my enemy. Patro put his hands up as a sign of surrender, but I didn’t care.
“You let him take that damn coward like that? Did you know about this?” I bellowed.
“No! Achilles, listen…That’s what I was trying to tell you. Jace/Cyril couldn’t be killed by you. He belongs to Hades.”
I saw red.
“Every! Time! Every. Damn. Time!” I couldn’t see straight.
“He owns Jace. He didn’t achieve his end of the deal, so Hades is going to deal with him. He doesn’t like dealing with them dead before the deal has taken place.” As much as Patro tried to explain to me, I didn’t care. All I heard were excuses, not just from Patro, but the gods too, in every damn thing they did. Every damn time I wanted to show how much this person did wrong by me, they would do something reckless like take him from me. I looked at the person the gods sent down as my advisor and confidante as he stood there trying to remain neutral. He knew I was ready to pounce on him. Without so much as a second thought, I attacked him.
***
I opened my eyes and looked around like a wild, crazed man until I saw Elani staring back at me. I tried to stand up to go to her, but something held me back. I looked down to see the shackles at my feet that hindered me from moving closer. I was going to kill Patro for putting these on me. I pulled on the shackles, and they seemed to move a bit more. I reached out to the glass window separating us. She just stared at me, not saying anything. She was in tears and it drove me mad to see that. I didn’t know why she was crying. I banged my fist on the glass window, wanting it to break under my strength, but it didn’t budge. The more I banged, the more she teared up. It was driving me nuts. I didn’t know which one of us was making the other react, yet neither of us relented.
I knew I looked deranged as I knocked on the damn glass. I wanted her to come to me, and it felt like it would be impossible. I stopped in mid-air as she clutched her slightly bigger baby bump and teared up some more. She looked like she was in pain and, this time, I was not going to leave her alone. I started to punch the window, raining fists on my end. I needed to get to her.
“Elani!” I screamed over and over. The glass started to break under my fist. If I hadn’t stopped screaming, I wouldn’t have heard her voice.
“Baby…” Her soft, sweet voice traveled over to me, pulling me in. I quickly turned to face her.
If she was afraid of me, she didn’t indicate it. Instead, she started to walk toward me looking at my fists. Was she afraid of me?