?Soon, my pet, you shall be free.?
He extended a hand toward the face of the quaking, bug-eyed boy-wretch squatting naked in his bed of musty hay. A large ring stood erect out of the soiled bedding; a long thick chain of iron held the boy to a small range of movement by terminating at the ring at one end and a bent plate of iron around the boy?s neck. The youngster?s mouth gaped wide and he shrank away from the touch, hands coming up in a futile attempt to ward the questing fingers away. His throat vibrated lightly in echo of a mute scream, sound beyond a mere squeak failing to erupt from him after the loss of his voice from previous days? hell.
The caress seemed gentle, a mere whisper of a touch of nail over baby-soft cheek. The man, however, came away from contact with a glistening, fat drop on his finger and a long thin, angry streak of dirty red on the boy?s flesh. Vander Carn lifted the blooded digit to his lips and slowly, sweetly, slid it into his mouth. ?Mmm,? he purred, tongue brushing over the finger, seeking to draw every last clinging bit of the boy?s vita into him. The older man, also nude, shivered, intoxicated, as the boy?s panic and anguish coursed through his veins. His body betrayed his excitement swiftly and visibly.
The finger left his mouth and trailed down his body, through the air, until it met the most obvious sign of his interest. A razor sharp nail, almost certainly a claw, offered the same caress to his own body as it did to the boy?s cheek. He shuddered again as a groan escaped. The boy, too, made a sound, terror allowing him to release what a broken and bruised throat could not ? a strangled scream. The hint of scream proved to be a mistake; Vander?s attention darted back to the miserable child. His dark, sly smile widened.
?Soon, you shall be free. But not yet.? Vander Carn snatched the boy, lifted him from the hay, and slaked his lust. The other four children, situated similarly, sobbed in the knowledge they would be next.
***
Lips peeled back in a snarl as Jaycy peered into the villa?s inner courtyard. She nestled among the nearby treetops, black-striped silver wings tucked tightly against her back. Talon-hands clutched at the tips of the branches she settled in, crushing the first buds of leaves before they had a true chance to bloom in spring.
Her green-gold gaze finally turned from the torture below her and to the rest of her surroundings. The villa rested in a clearing in the middle of the forest; trees surrounded the large square building with an open center. However, while the trees were close enough to allow observing, Vander had been cautious enough to clear them from any missile-weapon range. A shimmering dome, almost invisible, protected the villa from the elements and most likely attacks. She didn?t dare test that theory, however, on the assumption that any attempt to breach the shields would alert him. It would need to be all or nothing, she knew. Too many others had tried to end Vander?s crimes but had turned up dead or not turned up at all. She had been truthful when she told Psly this was a simple matter of killing a blood mage, but she hadn?t told him exactly how either lucky or wily this particular blood mage had been and just how desperate the town was to save their children.
She eased into a more comfortable position on her perch to watch.
***
It was time to prepare.
Vander Carn strode into the courtyard, flowing white robes trailing behind him with his purposeful, measured steps. A twisted, gnarled gremlin scuttled behind, hands wringing as it moved. ?Bring me the light one,? the man ordered. He stood next to a plain area at the corner of the yard, a plot of earth void of even weeds or insect life. A wide circular band of silver lay embedded in the ground, top line flush with the ground?s level.
The gremlin hurried to comply, scampering to the boy Vander first took earlier in the day. It knelt close to the boy and pulled roughly on his arm to bring him to the ground. A pop echoed through the courtyard and the boy fall, managing another screech of pain. The gremlin coiled the now-slack chain around the boy?s ankles twice before turning its attention toward the iron plate collar. It grasped the two ends in its hands and pulled, grunting with the effort. The space between the ends widened until it became enough to allow the gremlin to slip off the boy?s neck. The monster dropped the now-useless collar to the ground and hauled the boy up, simultaneously untangling him from the rope while taking a firm hold.
The gremlin dragged its victim through the hay and dirt toward its master. Its head bowed as it presented the quivering child, forked tongue licking out and over cracked lips. ?Here, master,? it offered. Vander peered down and gave the gremlin an indulgent pat on its head before curling fingers around the boy?s bicep. He tugged the boy from the gremlin?s semi-reluctant grasp, eliciting a whimper from the child. ?There, there,? Vander patronized. ?You?ll be soon free. Come.?
He gave a cold chuckle and stepped into the circle with the boy. His free hand dipped into the voluminous robes and drew a long, thin bone stiletto.
***
Jaycy?s eyes narrowed and she lifted the rifle to sight her target. She peered down the barrel, carefully modulating her breathing. She needed to make her attempt before his shields came up; the silver circle and ceremonial robes confirmed what she?d expected ? he was about to sacrifice the boy for an influx of power. He would need to raise shields within that circle, though, to contain the power enough for him to grab it. Thus, she had to strike before he finished shielding.
She didn?t expect the rifle shot to work; in fact, she expected that she would need to kill him in close combat (which wasn?t something she had planned on telling Psly or would ever tell him if that was how it happened). The shot was intended to distract him and steal his attention. Besides, what if it did work? Vander assumed no one knew where the villa was despite the precautions he took. Her initial survey of the situation confirmed that.
Her brows furrowed, seeing the stiletto. Shouldn?t it have been silver?
***
Twilight.
Vander turned his face up to the sky, waiting for the moment when neither moon nor sun faced the world. The air around him thrummed, echoed from the terrified lamb and his weapon; a combination of living power-focus and deathly essence-stealer, baptized in the destruction of his first master at the climax of their first (and only) combined ritual.
His grip tightened on the boy, his breath hitched in anticipation.
The moment had arrived. He lifted the bone.
***
Jaycy paused, the barrel of the rifle slowly lowering, pointing toward the ground. That wasn?t any kind of metal ? the gleaming white made it obvious what it was, even in the growing dark. Could that mean that he had protections against all kinds of metals, but those same protections meant he couldn?t use metals? Which might mean that bone would be able to get through his shields?
She frowned, watching him. She only had a moment to decide, honestly, before he began the ritual. Either she could continue as planned and hope the silver bullets worked, or fire the more rare and hard-to-acquire bone-tipped rounds at him. Even if they didn?t work either, she would still distract him as she meant, right?
Hurriedly, she ejected the .408 Chey Tac round and dug into the pack at her waist. Once more she raised the barrel and took aim, breathing slow and steady. Vander let the boy go, dropping him like a potato sack and made steps toward the silver circle-edge, presenting a clear shot for the redhead. It was now or never; Jaycy pressed the trigger on her exhale just after he raised the stiletto to begin forming the circle. The specialty bullet zipped through the protective shields and crashed into his chest; at the distance she was much more likely to deal a fatal blow by sending through shrapnel into his torso than into his brain. She didn?t need to be as accurate; there were more chances to kill him from the shot.
She reloaded and fired with practiced efficiency, then repeated the action twice more. One more bullet went into Vander while the other two downed the gremlin. The dissipation of the shields around the villa confirmed she made her mark. With a grim smile, Jaycy re-holstered the rifle in its special harness on her back, between the wings. She dropped lightly off the branch and wings snapped open, spreading wide to regain altitude. After a moment, she flew toward the town to inform them of her success and let them know they could go retrieve their children.
She never noticed the extra set of eyes, watching from deep within the trees.
He extended a hand toward the face of the quaking, bug-eyed boy-wretch squatting naked in his bed of musty hay. A large ring stood erect out of the soiled bedding; a long thick chain of iron held the boy to a small range of movement by terminating at the ring at one end and a bent plate of iron around the boy?s neck. The youngster?s mouth gaped wide and he shrank away from the touch, hands coming up in a futile attempt to ward the questing fingers away. His throat vibrated lightly in echo of a mute scream, sound beyond a mere squeak failing to erupt from him after the loss of his voice from previous days? hell.
The caress seemed gentle, a mere whisper of a touch of nail over baby-soft cheek. The man, however, came away from contact with a glistening, fat drop on his finger and a long thin, angry streak of dirty red on the boy?s flesh. Vander Carn lifted the blooded digit to his lips and slowly, sweetly, slid it into his mouth. ?Mmm,? he purred, tongue brushing over the finger, seeking to draw every last clinging bit of the boy?s vita into him. The older man, also nude, shivered, intoxicated, as the boy?s panic and anguish coursed through his veins. His body betrayed his excitement swiftly and visibly.
The finger left his mouth and trailed down his body, through the air, until it met the most obvious sign of his interest. A razor sharp nail, almost certainly a claw, offered the same caress to his own body as it did to the boy?s cheek. He shuddered again as a groan escaped. The boy, too, made a sound, terror allowing him to release what a broken and bruised throat could not ? a strangled scream. The hint of scream proved to be a mistake; Vander?s attention darted back to the miserable child. His dark, sly smile widened.
?Soon, you shall be free. But not yet.? Vander Carn snatched the boy, lifted him from the hay, and slaked his lust. The other four children, situated similarly, sobbed in the knowledge they would be next.
***
Lips peeled back in a snarl as Jaycy peered into the villa?s inner courtyard. She nestled among the nearby treetops, black-striped silver wings tucked tightly against her back. Talon-hands clutched at the tips of the branches she settled in, crushing the first buds of leaves before they had a true chance to bloom in spring.
Her green-gold gaze finally turned from the torture below her and to the rest of her surroundings. The villa rested in a clearing in the middle of the forest; trees surrounded the large square building with an open center. However, while the trees were close enough to allow observing, Vander had been cautious enough to clear them from any missile-weapon range. A shimmering dome, almost invisible, protected the villa from the elements and most likely attacks. She didn?t dare test that theory, however, on the assumption that any attempt to breach the shields would alert him. It would need to be all or nothing, she knew. Too many others had tried to end Vander?s crimes but had turned up dead or not turned up at all. She had been truthful when she told Psly this was a simple matter of killing a blood mage, but she hadn?t told him exactly how either lucky or wily this particular blood mage had been and just how desperate the town was to save their children.
She eased into a more comfortable position on her perch to watch.
***
It was time to prepare.
Vander Carn strode into the courtyard, flowing white robes trailing behind him with his purposeful, measured steps. A twisted, gnarled gremlin scuttled behind, hands wringing as it moved. ?Bring me the light one,? the man ordered. He stood next to a plain area at the corner of the yard, a plot of earth void of even weeds or insect life. A wide circular band of silver lay embedded in the ground, top line flush with the ground?s level.
The gremlin hurried to comply, scampering to the boy Vander first took earlier in the day. It knelt close to the boy and pulled roughly on his arm to bring him to the ground. A pop echoed through the courtyard and the boy fall, managing another screech of pain. The gremlin coiled the now-slack chain around the boy?s ankles twice before turning its attention toward the iron plate collar. It grasped the two ends in its hands and pulled, grunting with the effort. The space between the ends widened until it became enough to allow the gremlin to slip off the boy?s neck. The monster dropped the now-useless collar to the ground and hauled the boy up, simultaneously untangling him from the rope while taking a firm hold.
The gremlin dragged its victim through the hay and dirt toward its master. Its head bowed as it presented the quivering child, forked tongue licking out and over cracked lips. ?Here, master,? it offered. Vander peered down and gave the gremlin an indulgent pat on its head before curling fingers around the boy?s bicep. He tugged the boy from the gremlin?s semi-reluctant grasp, eliciting a whimper from the child. ?There, there,? Vander patronized. ?You?ll be soon free. Come.?
He gave a cold chuckle and stepped into the circle with the boy. His free hand dipped into the voluminous robes and drew a long, thin bone stiletto.
***
Jaycy?s eyes narrowed and she lifted the rifle to sight her target. She peered down the barrel, carefully modulating her breathing. She needed to make her attempt before his shields came up; the silver circle and ceremonial robes confirmed what she?d expected ? he was about to sacrifice the boy for an influx of power. He would need to raise shields within that circle, though, to contain the power enough for him to grab it. Thus, she had to strike before he finished shielding.
She didn?t expect the rifle shot to work; in fact, she expected that she would need to kill him in close combat (which wasn?t something she had planned on telling Psly or would ever tell him if that was how it happened). The shot was intended to distract him and steal his attention. Besides, what if it did work? Vander assumed no one knew where the villa was despite the precautions he took. Her initial survey of the situation confirmed that.
Her brows furrowed, seeing the stiletto. Shouldn?t it have been silver?
***
Twilight.
Vander turned his face up to the sky, waiting for the moment when neither moon nor sun faced the world. The air around him thrummed, echoed from the terrified lamb and his weapon; a combination of living power-focus and deathly essence-stealer, baptized in the destruction of his first master at the climax of their first (and only) combined ritual.
His grip tightened on the boy, his breath hitched in anticipation.
The moment had arrived. He lifted the bone.
***
Jaycy paused, the barrel of the rifle slowly lowering, pointing toward the ground. That wasn?t any kind of metal ? the gleaming white made it obvious what it was, even in the growing dark. Could that mean that he had protections against all kinds of metals, but those same protections meant he couldn?t use metals? Which might mean that bone would be able to get through his shields?
She frowned, watching him. She only had a moment to decide, honestly, before he began the ritual. Either she could continue as planned and hope the silver bullets worked, or fire the more rare and hard-to-acquire bone-tipped rounds at him. Even if they didn?t work either, she would still distract him as she meant, right?
Hurriedly, she ejected the .408 Chey Tac round and dug into the pack at her waist. Once more she raised the barrel and took aim, breathing slow and steady. Vander let the boy go, dropping him like a potato sack and made steps toward the silver circle-edge, presenting a clear shot for the redhead. It was now or never; Jaycy pressed the trigger on her exhale just after he raised the stiletto to begin forming the circle. The specialty bullet zipped through the protective shields and crashed into his chest; at the distance she was much more likely to deal a fatal blow by sending through shrapnel into his torso than into his brain. She didn?t need to be as accurate; there were more chances to kill him from the shot.
She reloaded and fired with practiced efficiency, then repeated the action twice more. One more bullet went into Vander while the other two downed the gremlin. The dissipation of the shields around the villa confirmed she made her mark. With a grim smile, Jaycy re-holstered the rifle in its special harness on her back, between the wings. She dropped lightly off the branch and wings snapped open, spreading wide to regain altitude. After a moment, she flew toward the town to inform them of her success and let them know they could go retrieve their children.
She never noticed the extra set of eyes, watching from deep within the trees.