The Ghost and the Darkness Volume 1 (The Fallocaust Series Book 2) (25 page)

He stopped and withdrew his mouth from my nipple, his hand firmly clenching my half-hard dick in his hand. In the silence I opened my eyes and looked at him.

Silas’s face was a granite mask, his eyes two knives that flayed mine as soon as they met.

He shook his head back and forth and clicked his tongue. “You’re lying.”

I gasped and let out a shocked scream as I felt an overwhelming jolt of pain spread from his hand to my penis, ripping up my back and pooling in my brain like lava. For a moment I stood on my tip toes until I fell to the ground, gasping and trying to stifle my own cries. I tried to get away from him but my legs were twitching and useless. I lay in pieces on the floor, crumpled on my side.

Then another one, this one on the back of my neck. It was like a white hot knife had driven itself into my last vertebrae and was being twisted around like a screwdriver. I felt every muscle in my body spasm and constrict as the burning electricity fried my every last nerve.

I heard Garrett yell. That alone scared me into a panic, my over-taxed nerves bordering on launching me into an anxiety attack.

Garrett, dammit, you said you had to remain collected!

“He doesn’t know, Master, please!” I focused my eyes and saw Garrett on his hands and knees. His head was bowed. “Elish can attest to it, he saw it with his own eyes. Reno never got the chance to even see what direction Reaver went. He’s just looking for a better life here with us.”

Silas kicked him aside like a dog in the way and pressed a boot up against my neck. “Sing little bird, where would he be hiding?”

This is what he wanted from me? An idea of his location? That I could lie; I didn’t know where the hell he was, just that it was several hours by plane and covered with rocks. But... I did know cities we scavenged, perhaps that would satisfy him.

I screamed again, my own agonizing wails mixed in with Garrett’s. The suave chimera had lost his composure upon seeing me hurt. We were both fucked, weren’t we?

“Just tell him, Reno! If you know tell him!” Garrett’s strangled voice begged.

My head lulled from side to side, as my mind slowly returned I saw Silas looking down on me. “I want my property returned to me, Reno. I want Reaver, I want Perish and I want that squealing little defect Killian as well. You will tell me his hiding places.”

I coughed with his boot pressed against my neck. “I’ll tell you where we used to scavenge; he never had secret bunkers or anything. Fuck, man, I’m telling the truth. We... we scavenged a lot in Gosselin, Sognir, and Gaushall, maybe even Anvil. We also tried the outskirts of the Las Valleys, the canyons... the canyons fuck he could be in there. It goes on for miles, there are caves there.”

I heard Garrett give a sigh of relief; he turned away from me for a moment with his hand on his head. He was all nerves. His green eyes full of an unbridled fear I felt burrow into me. I wondered what I looked like to him right now, an animal being put in its place perhaps.

“Your pet is stubborn, Garrett,” Silas snipped, releasing his boot against my neck. “All this time and only now I get a real answer from him?”

He believed me? Oh thank god, I think my heartbeat was already jack hammering enough he couldn’t read me. Fuck, thank god.

“Do you remember how we enjoyed watching Elish beat Jade?” A smile spread on Silas’s lips that filled me with a gnawing dread. I lay there, naked and exposed, staring up at him. My cold chain hanging from my collar, weighing me down like there was an iron ball attached. “Do you remember... when I made Elish scream for Jade’s mercy?”

A chill fell on me when I saw Garrett’s face go several shades pale. “Master... I am not Elish... I... I have no issues admitting... my... my feelings for him. Just ask, ask me what you want to know. I’ll tell you. You know I am obedient.”

The king clucked his tongue and walked to the side of the room. I heard Garrett suck in a breath as he picked up something else. My heart fucking sank into my feet when I saw he was holding a small whip. “Tell him then. Tell him how you really feel.”

I tried to curl myself as small as possible, knowing it wasn’t any use to do anything. If I picked a fight or beat my chest right now I would only get broken down. I wasn’t Reaver, I was far from Reaver. I was just a dumbfuck waster who got caught up in this shit. I didn’t –

“I love him a lot. I love him already.”

What?
My eyes widened from shock, I looked at him in bewilderment as those words fell from his lips. Garrett squared his shoulders when he saw I was looking at him, and stood as tall as he could manage under the weight of Silas’s gaze.

“That is very plain to see, love, it fills me with such an insane joy that you’ve fallen in love... for the tenth time.” A bemused smile appeared on Silas’s lips. I tried to mentally prepare myself for whatever would come next. “Tell me, what happened to your other lovers?”

My heart broke as I saw his lip tighten to a thin white line but by his sheer will he stayed standing up straight, harboring any pride he could muster. “They died.”

“What killed them?”

His mouth twitched, I saw the hurt in his eyes. “Several killed themselves, you killed quite a few and... and I killed one.”

“Mm, indeed... Garrett?”

“Yes... Master?”

“Beat him.”

My mouth opened in a low cry, my arms wrapped themselves over my head and I continued to try and make myself small. I wish I had some clothes, even just socks; something to shield my body from what I knew was coming. I had never felt so fucking helpless.

“For... for how long, King Silas?”

“Until it ceases to please me.”

Over my muffled whimpers I heard a dry chuckle. I looked up to see Garrett with his hand towards the whip but Silas pulled it back. “No, no, you’re not Elish, remember? Do not whip him,
beat him
.”

Garrett stared at him for a moment, before his eyes fell to me. Silas smiled and took a step back, his arms crossed confidently to his chest, the whip hanging down to his knees. Looking like the devil in a grey dress shirt.

Every game was different... every breaking in of a newcomer was different. I bet what he did to Elish and Jade were exactly suited for them. Tweaked and tuned to fit their individual personalities to induce the most suffering. Silas’s game for Garrett was to hurt me, that would cause him the most pain. Not just hurting me, but hurting me with his own hands and physical strength

I wanted to mouth to him that it was okay but I wasn’t that stupid. If he knew it was okay Silas would only make it worse. He would switch to something even more damaging, even more mentally painful. I knew that fucking kid; that was Reaver through and through. I had seen Bridley after four days with Reaver, when he was still alive. My friend had paced around him like a cat with a dead mouse, proud as punch and flaunting his prize. That guy hadn’t just suffered; Reaver had mentally destroyed him.

Yes, that was your advantage.
I tried to draw up every single Reaver file I had. If this was him, if I was Reaver’s enemy, what would he want? He would want to see me suffer and the person who loved me suffer. Reaver would drink my tears and cum to the image of my master’s pain-filled gaze as he drew down each agonizing blow on my bruised flesh.

I let out a cry as I felt the first punch to my back though it was more from surprise than pain. Garrett had nothing behind it. My suave chimera stood half-kneeling over me, his chest heaving up and down, a look of pure agony on his face. He closed his eyes with a frustrated yell and hit me again, this time on the shoulders.

A moment later I felt a cold chill, I looked up in time to see Silas crouch over me before he put a hand on my shoulder. “You’re holding back from me, Garrett. Must I teach you?”

I shrieked, an electric energy burning every blood vessel in my body. I screamed so loud I felt my eyes bug out of my sockets. My body tensed and contracted in on itself so hard I felt my own piss run down my leg.

“STOP!” Garrett screamed, there was a release but my body wouldn’t stop trembling. The remains of the electricity travelling invisible roads up and down my body, leaving behind its own aftershocks that, to my humiliation, made me keep pissing myself.

I tried to speak but my tongue was frozen to the roof of my mouth. I felt it open and close like a fish out of water. I didn’t flinch when Garrett hit me hard on the chest, or again on the side of my face.

I tried to cough but it caught in my throat, a moment later I felt a blow to my chest that knocked the wind out of me. I started to inhale rapidly, bordering on an uncontrollable hyperventilating. Each breath was hoarse and ragged but still he continued to hit me.

Then everything stopped. I could hear their mumbling voices but I only caught the end of their conversation.

“I went so easy on you, you’re lucky you’ve never given me any large troubles,” Silas said crisply. “And if my mind wasn’t elsewhere I might have made it worse.”

“Thank... thank you, Master,” Garrett croaked, his voice held a weight of sorrow that crushed my heart. I saw unshed tears in his large green eyes.

“Don’t thank me, Garrett. I am not done with him. If I don’t find Reaver in one of those locations mark my words, there will be a second visit.” Silas took a step back with his hands folded behind him, giving him a deceitfully celestial appearance. His shining eyes fell to mine, and another sarcastic, knowing smile creased to his lips. “Keep him close, you never know when another one might decide to kill himself.”

He turned and waved a hand at us. “You may leave.”

Saul looked grim when we emerged from Alegria. He had Garrett’s personal car waiting for him, this one with darkened windows and a lower profile. Where hopefully no one would notice us.

The old man with the stern face stood with his arms to his side looking forward, the door opened and waiting. Garrett got in without so much of a nod, his sunglasses covering his eyes, hiding any emotions he might be feeling. I didn’t have anything to hide the welts forming on my face.

When we arrived home I stood there for a moment, wondering what was supposed to happen now. But when Garrett immediately went to the balcony with a smoke and a drink I gave up looking at him for guidance so I took it upon myself to shower and change into clean clothes.

When I got out he was still out there, lighting one cigarette after the other and making himself one drink after the other from the liquor bottles left outside.

I fell asleep with my eyes watching the flaring orange ember, rising and falling every couple minutes.

Day came with me passed out on the couch, a blanket thrown over me. The apartment was empty, not even Luca was here. Garrett had gone off to work and there I knew he would stay until the evening, if he even came home at all.

I ordered in some food, even though I really wasn’t hungry. My body felt raw and tender to any slight touch, during the night the red and purple welts had turned into black bruises, though they were nothing compared to the mental bruises I felt on my brain.

I poked my hamburger and potato fries, the smell that would usually make me salivate and act like a starved dog only made my stomach sour. I took two bites before giving up and placing it into the fridge.

This was a familiar feeling... one that was so imprinted in my mind I felt like drawing it up was as easy as clicking a file on a computer. I had woken up similarly when Bridley had fucked me. Though I hadn’t been fucked just... beaten on by my master. Elish smacked Jade around, maybe I should just get over it.

Though perhaps I could get over it a bit quicker if Garrett would just look at me. He was ignoring me like the plague. I could understand if he felt bad but... why was he shutting himself away from me? I didn’t fucking do anything wrong.

Maybe that was a chimera thing. Ignoring the person who had gotten hurt, even when the hurt guy would give anything for just a hug. Reaver had done the same thing when Bridley had did what he did. I had hated it, he just ranted and raved and threw shit when he had found me. Then after he went off for his two weeks of torture.

Though that being said, Garrett didn’t have someone to take it out on, he couldn’t touch Silas. I guess he was just going to drink and smoke himself into a stupor and at the same time bury himself in work.

Sure enough... Garrett came home completely hammered that night.

My suave chimera was a mess, and though a good pet would support him and take care of him I was too pissed at him to really care. I watched as he stumbled inside with a mumbled greeting, before grabbing more liquor and going to the balcony alone.

The entire day had been mental torture for me. I had never watched more TV or seen more movies in my life. I just wanted some distraction to get my mind off of what Silas had done to us. That was just a small bandage though. I didn’t want to ignore it anymore. That was driving me crazy. I wanted to talk to him about it, get some fucking reassurance that he wasn’t mad at me, maybe even get a hug. Not ignore it.

I didn’t even have drugs, and my opiate pack of smokes were gone. I wasn’t allowed out of the building to buy more, Garrett wouldn’t allow it.

My mouth twitched, I watched the dark silhouette continue to smoke, the tumbler resting beside him next to an overflowing ashtray. Garrett wasn’t paying any attention though; he didn’t care. Well, I wasn’t going to sit around and drown my brain with more television, I needed to go out and get my mind really off of shit, at least for a while

I changed into normal clothes, and grabbed my jacket. I didn’t hide any of this from the large windows that separated the living room from the large balcony. If Garrett wanted to stop me, at least it would force him to talk to me, to acknowledge my existence.

He didn’t though, and with the press of an elevator button I descended to the main floor.

The doors opened and I strolled through the elegantly decorated lobby. Ignoring the reception lady and the thiens holding their bushmasters. Surprisingly no one stopped me, maybe because Saul wasn’t there to notice my escape. I adopted a face that said I was busy and on my way to something important and I walked through the doors.

Immediately I felt better. Once I was out of the eyesight of the thiens and the people hovering around Garrett’s skyscraper I took a relieved breath of frozen winter air and exhaled a large plume.

It was nine at night. Everyone was out and dressed in fancy clothes with even fancier hairstyles, all of them walking by me without so much of a look. The elegant elites and the lower class visiting the shops, going to dinner dates or returning home late from work. In Anvil everyone was dressed in sweat-stained jackets and stitched together clothing from over two hundred years ago with boots held together with duct tape and rubber cement.

We were all poor in the greywastes. Even if you had three thousand tokens to your name you were still poor, because everything out there was used and old. You waltz into Aras with tight leather pants, clean fluffy hair, and a tight shirt two things will either happen to you: we’ll make fun of you and then we’ll scam you somehow, or within the week it’ll be dirty, ripped, and stained and you’ll start looking like a greywaster anyways.

But here... things were a lot newer, even though most of the clothes and shoes were pre-Fallocaust they had the machines to wash them well, and the shops to repair them. So much shit right at our fingertips.