Severing Sanguine: A Companion Book to The Fallocaust Series Book 2 (74 page)

Then I looked down at the bodies of my two new friends; new because I had repaired them and made them brand-new.

I picked up Sir’s animal body first and smiled at the severed head of Mouse that I had sewn onto the stuffed penguin’s body. He didn’t smile back though, his lips were turning black and his eyes were staring off into nothing.

Once I found a new place to live I would wash him, wash the blood off of his tux he had on, then perhaps I would sew his face into a smile. Maybe weights onto his body too since his head was so heavy it was always upsetting the balance of his body. Well, it didn’t matter either way, Sir the boy was here and so was Patches, my plan had worked out quite well.

“Well,” I said, picking up the body of the rabbit which now had Julia’s head sewed onto where the original rabbits head had been. “Let’s go then. We need to find a new home before the sun rises, then once we’re all settled in I can make everyone else into little boys and girls too. Wouldn’t we like that?”

“Yeah!” Sir said happily. He skipped ahead, his little legs springing him up to the air. Patches followed him, holding a little dolly in her right hand. They sprinted off into the night, the sounds of children playing echoing off of the alley’s walls.

Barry laughed beside me and put an arm around my waist.

He was taller now, the same age as me. He had sparse facial hair, but he still had the little bear ears that stuck out of his head. Everything else had changed, even his voice had changed. It had gotten deeper like mine, and more gravelly.

He also had red eyes now.

Barry kissed my cheek before giving it a pat. I smiled back at him, feeling better in this moment than I had in months.

“I sure missed you, Sami,” he said in his raspy but smooth voice. “Come, let’s find us a new home.”

The smell of smoke joined my nose already full of the enticing aroma of blood and gasoline. I heard a low roar behind me as I walked down the dirt path and towards the alleyway.

I so badly wanted to stay for the fire. I quite liked fire. But I had places to be and I knew – there were a lot of infernos on the horizon.

“Yes,
mihi
,” I said to him, smiling wide with my mouth closed, the world becoming smaller as my eyes squinted under my smile. “Let’s find us a new home.”

Jack wrung the wash cloth into the bucket, the large and almost entirely empty room filling with the orchestra of trickling water as the rosy drops rained down onto the pink-tinted water below.

He squeezed out the remaining water before, with careful and trained hands, he gently started washing the alabaster body that was stretched out on the makeshift slab below him.

One day they promised him a skyscraper of his own, but for now Jack would’ve settled for a better equipped room to prepare the dead for resurrection. This room was more of a hospital morgue, with white walls, a grey linoleum floor faded from being washed over and over again, and metal slabs cold to the touch and squeaky wheels. On top of that the cleaning chemicals made his skin irritated, and even the heavy fragrance of soap wasn’t enough to kill the sterile smell in the air.

Jack let out a breath not realizing he had been holding it. He had learned the ins and outs of this job since he was assigned it two years ago, but it was always tense when he had his boss looking over his shoulder.

As if on cue, a flawless hand with long, slender fingers and well-manicured nails, came into his vision and took the cloth from him in a gentle but firm touch. A moment later Silas appeared beside him where he started cleaning one of the long lacerations on Elish’s chest.

“Pat it dry afterwards, love,” Silas said, his voice kind but still holding in its tone dominance, like a hammer wrapped in linen. Jack had been brought to his knees many times under that voice, and today was no different.

Why was he here?
Jack took a deep breath, but the tight restriction in his throat made his breath shudder; as if his lungs were trying to prevent it from leaving.
He hasn’t watched me do this since I had stopped apprenticing him…

With this thought the tremble came back to his hands. Though he pushed it down as ridiculous paranoia and instead started patting dry the healing wounds on Elish’s chest, feeling his oldest brother’s skin warm under his touch.

Jack smiled at this and placed a hand over Elish’s chest. He could feel his heart beating strong underneath the closing wound on his chest.

Despite his fear he took Silas’s hand and laid it on Elish’s chest as well.

“Now… how long do you think it will be, Jack?” Silas asked. The king, of course, knew, but it was another part of Jack’s job to memorize the times it took for his immortal brothers to resurrect.

Silas was the slowest, then Nero, Elish, and Garrett resurrected the fastest. Though Garrett always took longer to grow limbs, so if you wanted him to be gone for the longer just remove fingers. Nero though grew limbs fast and Elish always recovered from head wounds quickly…

Jack’s eyes flickered over to a black leather-bound notebook that he had. The one that held all of his well-written notes and instructions. It had silver writing on the front that was a language of his favourite book in the world, Quenyan from Lord of the Rings. He had learned that language from Elish when he was in his early teens and Elish had learned it from Silas. Just a pet hobby, it wasn’t like anyone spoke it. It looked beautiful written though.

Quickly Jack tried to do the calculations in his head. He took a moment before speaking with confidence. “I think he will be awake tonight. The muscle has healed over and almost all of the fat layer has healed as well. Since he’s breathing soundly and his heartbeat is strong it means his head wound is completely healed also.”

Jack looked at Silas, eager but nervous for his response. He would either get that faint smile or the king’s face would harden in disappointment, and if he was in a foul mood, he would get verbally berated or worse, hit.

The relief Jack felt when he saw Silas smile was painted on his face, and when Silas patted his hand with a nod he had to resist jumping into the king’s arms. Instead he held himself back and beamed instead.

When Elish was washed and dried they wheeled the metal slab he was laying on to the elevator for pickup. The elevator was too small for the metal slab; he would be carried up by Nero once he came back from a meeting with Ellis.

Jack pressed the button for Silas’s floor, trying to enjoy his king spending time with him. They had spent a lot of time together when Jack was younger, but since he had started college and his duties as the Grim Reaper of the family, and since Silas had been busy with his own kingly duties, it didn’t happen as often as Jack would like.

He still summons me for sex every couple of weeks and I love our conversations after we’re both basking in the afterglow, but still – this is different.

And I treasure it more since… since…

I have been so scared for Sami
. Jack’s face became tight and tense; he stared down at his shoes as the despair and worry washed over him again. The same thing that happened to him every time he was reminded that his friend was missing, and the family was actively searching for him. Jack had been tearing apart every district in Skyfall but no one had seen his tormented friend. Elish had given him leave to use all of the family’s resources to try and find him. Elish had been so kind and helpful, and yet – nothing.

The guilt over what had happened overwhelmed him to the point where he cried at night from worry. So many things he should’ve done different, Sami missing for over two months had been the sole result of all of Jack’s mistakes.

I had only pushed him away because he would’ve gotten himself killed attacking Valen and my other brothers,
Jack said to himself.
What else could I have done? I did it to protect him… I did it because he was just a greywaster and my brothers’ soulless monsters. They wouldn’t hesitate to rape and murder Sami just for the sheer thrill of it. Not to mention the thrill of being able to hurt me.

Jack’s fists clenched as the anger started to trickle down. Anger over this was a new feeling, before he had met Sami Fallon he rarely got angry at his brothers’ abuses. But since he had spent time with that mad greywaster he had found his confidence, he had found his pride. If an orphan greywaster who had so many issues could stand up to four chimeras, why couldn’t he?

“What are you thinking of, lovely boy?” Silas murmured. Jack’s tense body relaxed as the king gently stroked his neck. “Don’t lie now; what is making your beautiful face scowl?”

Jack sighed and tilted his head towards his king’s touch. He didn’t think he could lie even if he wanted to, though he seemed to be getting better at lying.

“I’m worried about Sami,” Jack replied honestly. “I made a lot of mistakes with him and I feel responsible for making him run off. I’m also responsible for him killing Valen’s friends. It was all because I was trying to protect him from the family.”

The elevator doors opened, Jack stepped back to let Silas exit the elevator first, then followed him down the decorated hallway towards his top-level skyscraper apartment.

“Yes, Nero told me all about it,” Silas replied. “You wanted to date Sami, did you not?”

Silas turned around and Jack was shocked to see a flicker of hostility in his eyes, enough to make him stop in his tracks. Though as soon as Silas saw the surprise in Jack’s face the hostility disappeared and a smile took its place.

“Y-yes,” Jack said with a nod so faint he wasn’t sure if he had actually nodded. He kept walking and they both entered the apartment.

“Did he seem happy with you? Did he act of himself?” Silas asked.

Kinny, who had been obviously taking a break from his sengil duties because he was sitting on the couch eating potato fries, jumped to his feet and rushed towards Silas, a smudge of cheese on the corner of his mouth. It was obvious the sengil wasn’t expecting them to be back so quickly.

“Yes, it seems so. He has a lot of quirks, but I found them endearing,” Jack said back, handing Kinny his coat. The confusion over this brothers’, and, to a larger extent, the king’s interest in Sami, once again flooring him. “I – I like him, King Silas.”

Then Jack cleared his throat. “I was wishing once he’s found… that I could ask your permission to take him as my boyfriend.”

Silas’s head snapped towards him. Jack stared back in shock as the king’s green eyes seemed to cut him down right on the spot. The hostility coming back with vengeance that no conjured smile could erase.

“Date him?” Silas said, his voice as cold as ice yet it seared Jack’s mind like the fires of hell. “You want to date him?”

Jack stared back, unable to move, the hairs on his arms prickling and raising on quickly erupting goose bumps. Even Kinny had frozen in place, both their jackets draped over his now shaking arms. The both of them stood in fear, equal spectators but what show it was they were watching seemed lost on both of them.

None of this made sense…

“Silas… Master…” Jack whispered. He rubbed his nose from sheer nerves and looked at Kinny for support, though all he caught was a blur of black and blue, the sengil already halfway to the kitchen.

Then, like the incident had never happened, Silas’s smile returned. He reached a hand up and gently stroked Jack’s face, ignoring the fearful, stricken look of his black-eyed chimera. He dismissed it to the void like it had never happened in the first place.

“Yes…” Silas murmured with a nod. “Perhaps that would be best for now. I would destroy him with the state I am in now. Yes, yes, I know enough to know that…” Silas’s tone dropped though his rambling words kept falling from his mouth. “Once I’m back – once I’ve accepted it… perhaps then.”

Jack stared, confused and worried. Silas wasn’t one to mumble and ramble, only when he was in an emotionally dire state. Usually when something had gone wrong in Kreig with Perish’s research. Was that it? Was that why Silas seemed so…

Wait a moment.

Did King Silas like Sami? Was – was that what it had been all along?

The thought made Jack’s mouth drop open, and suddenly everything started to make sense. Everything from Silas’s invested interest in Sami, to the first generation being so involved in Sami’s life as well.

“K-King Silas…” Jack stuttered.

Awareness suddenly seemed to click back to Silas’s eyes. He looked at Jack, as if forgetting he was even there, before Jack saw his jaw tighten.

“Get me some tea,” Silas said sharply, before uncharacteristically he snapped at Jack, “Now!”

Jack nodded so quickly and rapidly he felt dizzy. He almost ran out of the living room and into Silas’s large kitchen. He spotted Kinny, pale-faced and grave, leaning against the stove which held a steaming kettle.

Then Jack heard the familiar sound of the doors leading to the hallway opening. He peeked out and saw Nero, Garrett, and Ellis walk in. Though usually Jack would walk out to greet them, their expressions were all grim and that alone made Jack stay silent.

“Okay…” Jack heard Nero say, not waiting for Silas to greet him. “We got issues, Kingy. We have bad issues.”

Jack tucked himself into the best blind spot he had and watched the four of them with fascination.

“What is it?” Silas asked, his voice was back to its normal silken tones, as if the slight manic moment Jack had witnessed had been nothing but a phantom. Though it was so unlike Silas to act as such perhaps it hadn’t happened at all.

“Missing people and murders… and lots of them,” Ellis said, her purple-blue eyes seemed aflame, and she kept shifting from one foot to another. “We have two people missing from Cypress, entirely missing, and a headless corpse that was discovered last night in Nyx, the northern area which boarders Cypress. To top it off…” Ellis sucked in a breath and shifted her weight again. “There was a house fire in Cypress four days ago. We thought nothing of it but a thien noticed crows picking at the wreckage, and we found two headless corpses still smouldering in the remains.”

“Crows…” Silas murmured. Ellis nodded Silas.

“You can guess which ones, Father. The half-crow half-ravens –
his
crows,” Ellis replied. “The bodies belonged to a brother and sister. Frank and Julia Gallenski. We asked around and we got a rather interesting report from where Frank worked… an opiate den run by Giuseppe Xian-wu. He – he says Frank ran off with a new, and rich, customer, who came in with a lot of money.”

Then Ellis paused, her chest rose as she took in a deep breath. “Several people reported seeing a man wearing a rubber Halloween mask the morning of the fire, a clown to be exact. He was carrying a stuffed bear in his arms.”

Jack held a hand up to his mouth to stifle the gasp. There was no mistaking who Ellis was talking about. Sami was in Cypress? But he had spent two weeks asking around there and there was no sign.

And not to mention – did they think Sami was killing people? Not Sami… he would never kill someone, or at least… he wouldn’t kill someone innocent.

Would he?

“He’s killing because he’s upset…” Silas said. “All of my loves fall back on that when they’re in emotional turmoil. Why he wants their heads though… I am not sure.”

“We need to find him, Dad,” Ellis said frustrated. “The Underground Free Media has picked up the story and since Elish is dead he wasn’t able to send word to squash it. Nero couldn’t get to them in time. The newspaper is blaming it on a chimera, and since they’re right I don’t know what to say back. Sanguine is getting sicker and sicker, something has to give and–”