Jeffery tears off the leg of a crab. Around him are dirty utensils, stained table linen, and broken cookware. His eyes gleam excitedly, his mouth opens.
"Ahhh beautiful! So beautiful!" Spittle collects at the corners of his mouth.
Hunched over the table he turns a page with grimy fingers, and under a single bare bulb covered in fly excrement, he inserts the leg into the neck of a squirming rabbit. The rabbit kicks and flails when the foreign flesh is introduced. Not many know that rabbits can scream, but they do.
"Shut up!" The man screams. He shakes the rabbit in frustration, not caring if the violence prematurely kills his experiment. The crab, slowly dying from asphyxiation, lays beside his elbow. The pathetic waving of its legs quickens when another leg is removed. Jefferys whispered words melt and meld crab and rabbit together. He sweeps the crab from the table, done with it. It lands among the dead, dying, and rotting. Flies burst up in a cloud then settle back down to feast and lay their eggs. Previous broods of maggots swim amid the banquet.
The rabbits heart is beating so hard, its eyes so wide, and its new limbs flail with renewed vigor. When released it stumbles in a panic, falling off the table and down to the floor. The crab legs try to walk as a crab would walk. The altered animal is only able to take a few bounds at a time. Jeffery laughs as it runs into a wall.
Behind him the heavy head of a donkey lies sideways on the floor. As you watch, the body attached is a that of a doe that has splayed its legs desperately trying to lift the skull it was never meant to have.
But Jeffery is getting bored...
Chapter Three
Moderators: Devon Goral, Jonas Drava, Onyx
Payment comes due
Months of planning had gone into this afternoon. Her prey was sneaky and her patience was at an end. The Library added an ominous pressure to get the job done, the only thing that gave her the time she needed was that they had no other book recovery agent on staff. If ever they acquired another of her qualifications she was as good as compost.
Last week she had met Jeffery at a cafe in town. His pathetic attempt to impress her, first with knowledge, then with the promise of glory, failed to entice her the way he intended. All she wanted was the job to be over and his decapitated head in her hand. Jonas had played a waiter, even shaving his beard to blend in with the restaurant staff. She felt more comfortable agreeing to go to today's meeting having him watch her back.
The neighborhood was no better than a slum. It was half deserted with remnants of vehicles, broken lives, and the stench of offal. Jeffery's apartment was a basement accessed from stairs connected to the street. The top half of the building was scorched brick and broken windows. Disposable teenagers stood near the alleys and corners trading drugs for cash. They kept their eyes on the street, looking for more sales.
She was twelve pounds heavier with all the blades strapped to her body. She wore her most worn and tattered coat, the hood pulled way down. There was a cloud of violent intent that surrounded her, she didn't need someone trying to sell her bad pharmaceuticals or think she'd be an easy rape. Any of the ragged souls that looked her way was met with a stare from a predator. A stare that said, "You are made of meat and I'm hungry".
Jonas was somewhere near. She couldn't smell him, but she could feel him. Her glance caught a large, dirty, bum huddled against the cold across the street. A bottle lay at his feet, another was gripped in his hand. She didn't have telescopic vision but she could bet that bottle in his hand was broken at the bottom and razor sharp. She felt like smiling, and she did so by squinting her eyes. If she was inside for longer that the agreed upon time frame, that bum would break into Jeffreys apartment and back her up.
She took the stairs down purposefully, the door was opened before she could knock. There she stood, wondering if it was wise to cut the bullshit and end his life right there in the doorway, but that wouldn't guarantee her the book. Jeffery ushered her in, balanced on the balls of his feet like an excited child.
She kept her back to the wall and lowered her hood. Candles were lit to illuminate the room, not that there was anything to see. If a place could be filthy and clean at the same time, it was this room. Jeffery offered her a chair, she took it but positioned it so he could not wander behind her.
"I am so glad you decided to talk with me! I can see that you have so many questions. I will answer them, only because we have so much to share. You have so much power Ms. Solare, Onyx. Yes, Onyx, I enjoy your name on my tongue!", he uttered with barely contained joy.
"Tell me more about the wizard that made me, and how you overpowered and killed him. You must have a great power yourself."
Jefferys fevered eyes glazed and he licked his thin lips. "Have something to drink, I know you like your beer. Yes!"
She looked at the open bottle, a modest brand, a minor brewery that could not compete with Red Orc. It grated to play the guest, but she did pour a small amount into a greasy glass by her right hand. Her movements were measured and steady. Her prey was unstable and even that was being gracious.
"Jeffery, I'm dying to hear all about your triumphs." She took a miniscule sip. It was more than likely the beverage was spiked with something. She was betting on a sedative rather than poison. She just reduced her time to finish this, but still she had to play the potential accomplice.
Jeffery barked out a high pitched laugh. "And so I shall!" He went on to tell her how his mentor had never recognized his brilliance. The wizard was old, unwilling to take advantage of all that power. His mentor had told him of a young girl that attempted to steal from him, how he had changed her very form, melding her two natures to become one. The old man had saw into her, had seen the animal inside. He had seen her when the girl depended on blending in for her very survival.
Onyx listened silently while he continued.
In truth the wizard had done it on a whim. That girl had been as an ant at a picnic. Anything she could steal from him would be a mere crumb, but it was annoying on principle. Jeffery had been studying in his quest to impress, he had taken a book on animal transformation and flesh melding. What he found was familiar to the offhand tale his mentor had told him. He had discovered his mentor had made something special, something unique. If Jeffery could make the same, could control the same, he could rise far above his teacher. Without revealing just what made that girl special, he began to experiment, first on small animals and insects. His mentor was blind to all the wonders he created. Already he felt smothered and so the wizard had to go, Jeffery had to be free to use his talents. A nightcap of poison from a subservient pupil solved that problem over a weekend. Now he had his freedom, the spell book, and some idea on where to find the girl. He waited, he watched, he worked on his creations.
"Now Onyx, now that I have you, there is nothing stopping me." During his rambling, he had not noticed she had not imbibed any more of the tainted beer. She had felt a small fuzzing of her thoughts, but her adrenaline was keeping her alert. She lowered her eyelids halfway, and kept her lips loose and stumbling.
"Jeffery, I have you to thank for what I am. You have my loyalty, how can I help you rise even higher? Show me how you make your creations, I want to witness your brilliance."
She leaned forward, propping her elbows on the table as if to keep her upper body stable. Jeffery beamed, clapping his hands together once. He left the table and dug behind the wall. Plaster and rotten wood fell to the dirty floor as he brought out the book. He placed it between them, opening the cover and turning pages to find a good spell to pick from. She swayed a little, and when he was retrieving the tome, she poured the rest of the drugged beer and was now was aping intoxication. Jeffery reached over the table and patted her hand, then a caress, petting his prize.
Her left hand had unsheathed a knife under the guise of rubbing at her thigh. Over in an arc her arm came, pinning his wrist to the table with a heavy wet thunk of steel. He screamed like a small animal caught in a trap, and indeed he was. Through the high pitched cursing, arcane words began to flow. Immediately her head felt split in two. She left the knife in his wrist, gritting her teeth against the pain. Her right hand filled itself with another longer and curved blade. Jeffery flailed and tried to pull his arm free. The table between them jerked backwards along with his body. There was no flesh to tear and free him, she had made sure to pin him through the bone. Her right hand crossed over then slashed under his chin, the pain behind her eyes eased into cool relief. With all her anger she grabbed a fistful of his sparse hair and cleaved away his head from the neck.
Disgusted, the head was dropped to the floor. Jefferys body hung from that pinned arm and slumped over the edge of the table.
"I regret I couldn't have made you suffer." she growled, taking a leather packet from under her gore spattered coat and wrapping the equally messy book up with it. From her pocket she took a plastic bag, heavy ply, using it to bag up the departed Jefferys head. Proof of death was not required, nor was it worthy of a bonus, she didn't have one particular reason to deliver it with the book to the Library, but she was going to do it anyway.
Jonas entered just then, the feeble lock on the door bent like tin under his weight.
"Hi babe." She gave him a closed mouth smile, holding the book and bagged head aloft like a bunch of flowers and some wine. From his perspective she looked like she went slip n' sliding in an abattoir. She wasn't going to say at that moment all she wanted to do was go swimming in a lake of spiritual bleach.
Jonas' shoulders lowered in relief. He had been ready to rage and that endeared him to her for she had no doubt he would have removed Jefferys head as well. Without the benefit of a knife.
She nodded at the unbroken bottle in his hand. "Will you do the honors?"
Jonas nodded firmly, uncapping the green glass and tossing the clear fluid around the room, on the body, especially on the body. A trail was dribbled to the doorway. Once they were at the threshold he took one of the lit candles and crouched, setting fire to the alcohol. He closed the door behind them.
Last week she had met Jeffery at a cafe in town. His pathetic attempt to impress her, first with knowledge, then with the promise of glory, failed to entice her the way he intended. All she wanted was the job to be over and his decapitated head in her hand. Jonas had played a waiter, even shaving his beard to blend in with the restaurant staff. She felt more comfortable agreeing to go to today's meeting having him watch her back.
The neighborhood was no better than a slum. It was half deserted with remnants of vehicles, broken lives, and the stench of offal. Jeffery's apartment was a basement accessed from stairs connected to the street. The top half of the building was scorched brick and broken windows. Disposable teenagers stood near the alleys and corners trading drugs for cash. They kept their eyes on the street, looking for more sales.
She was twelve pounds heavier with all the blades strapped to her body. She wore her most worn and tattered coat, the hood pulled way down. There was a cloud of violent intent that surrounded her, she didn't need someone trying to sell her bad pharmaceuticals or think she'd be an easy rape. Any of the ragged souls that looked her way was met with a stare from a predator. A stare that said, "You are made of meat and I'm hungry".
Jonas was somewhere near. She couldn't smell him, but she could feel him. Her glance caught a large, dirty, bum huddled against the cold across the street. A bottle lay at his feet, another was gripped in his hand. She didn't have telescopic vision but she could bet that bottle in his hand was broken at the bottom and razor sharp. She felt like smiling, and she did so by squinting her eyes. If she was inside for longer that the agreed upon time frame, that bum would break into Jeffreys apartment and back her up.
She took the stairs down purposefully, the door was opened before she could knock. There she stood, wondering if it was wise to cut the bullshit and end his life right there in the doorway, but that wouldn't guarantee her the book. Jeffery ushered her in, balanced on the balls of his feet like an excited child.
She kept her back to the wall and lowered her hood. Candles were lit to illuminate the room, not that there was anything to see. If a place could be filthy and clean at the same time, it was this room. Jeffery offered her a chair, she took it but positioned it so he could not wander behind her.
"I am so glad you decided to talk with me! I can see that you have so many questions. I will answer them, only because we have so much to share. You have so much power Ms. Solare, Onyx. Yes, Onyx, I enjoy your name on my tongue!", he uttered with barely contained joy.
"Tell me more about the wizard that made me, and how you overpowered and killed him. You must have a great power yourself."
Jefferys fevered eyes glazed and he licked his thin lips. "Have something to drink, I know you like your beer. Yes!"
She looked at the open bottle, a modest brand, a minor brewery that could not compete with Red Orc. It grated to play the guest, but she did pour a small amount into a greasy glass by her right hand. Her movements were measured and steady. Her prey was unstable and even that was being gracious.
"Jeffery, I'm dying to hear all about your triumphs." She took a miniscule sip. It was more than likely the beverage was spiked with something. She was betting on a sedative rather than poison. She just reduced her time to finish this, but still she had to play the potential accomplice.
Jeffery barked out a high pitched laugh. "And so I shall!" He went on to tell her how his mentor had never recognized his brilliance. The wizard was old, unwilling to take advantage of all that power. His mentor had told him of a young girl that attempted to steal from him, how he had changed her very form, melding her two natures to become one. The old man had saw into her, had seen the animal inside. He had seen her when the girl depended on blending in for her very survival.
Onyx listened silently while he continued.
In truth the wizard had done it on a whim. That girl had been as an ant at a picnic. Anything she could steal from him would be a mere crumb, but it was annoying on principle. Jeffery had been studying in his quest to impress, he had taken a book on animal transformation and flesh melding. What he found was familiar to the offhand tale his mentor had told him. He had discovered his mentor had made something special, something unique. If Jeffery could make the same, could control the same, he could rise far above his teacher. Without revealing just what made that girl special, he began to experiment, first on small animals and insects. His mentor was blind to all the wonders he created. Already he felt smothered and so the wizard had to go, Jeffery had to be free to use his talents. A nightcap of poison from a subservient pupil solved that problem over a weekend. Now he had his freedom, the spell book, and some idea on where to find the girl. He waited, he watched, he worked on his creations.
"Now Onyx, now that I have you, there is nothing stopping me." During his rambling, he had not noticed she had not imbibed any more of the tainted beer. She had felt a small fuzzing of her thoughts, but her adrenaline was keeping her alert. She lowered her eyelids halfway, and kept her lips loose and stumbling.
"Jeffery, I have you to thank for what I am. You have my loyalty, how can I help you rise even higher? Show me how you make your creations, I want to witness your brilliance."
She leaned forward, propping her elbows on the table as if to keep her upper body stable. Jeffery beamed, clapping his hands together once. He left the table and dug behind the wall. Plaster and rotten wood fell to the dirty floor as he brought out the book. He placed it between them, opening the cover and turning pages to find a good spell to pick from. She swayed a little, and when he was retrieving the tome, she poured the rest of the drugged beer and was now was aping intoxication. Jeffery reached over the table and patted her hand, then a caress, petting his prize.
Her left hand had unsheathed a knife under the guise of rubbing at her thigh. Over in an arc her arm came, pinning his wrist to the table with a heavy wet thunk of steel. He screamed like a small animal caught in a trap, and indeed he was. Through the high pitched cursing, arcane words began to flow. Immediately her head felt split in two. She left the knife in his wrist, gritting her teeth against the pain. Her right hand filled itself with another longer and curved blade. Jeffery flailed and tried to pull his arm free. The table between them jerked backwards along with his body. There was no flesh to tear and free him, she had made sure to pin him through the bone. Her right hand crossed over then slashed under his chin, the pain behind her eyes eased into cool relief. With all her anger she grabbed a fistful of his sparse hair and cleaved away his head from the neck.
Disgusted, the head was dropped to the floor. Jefferys body hung from that pinned arm and slumped over the edge of the table.
"I regret I couldn't have made you suffer." she growled, taking a leather packet from under her gore spattered coat and wrapping the equally messy book up with it. From her pocket she took a plastic bag, heavy ply, using it to bag up the departed Jefferys head. Proof of death was not required, nor was it worthy of a bonus, she didn't have one particular reason to deliver it with the book to the Library, but she was going to do it anyway.
Jonas entered just then, the feeble lock on the door bent like tin under his weight.
"Hi babe." She gave him a closed mouth smile, holding the book and bagged head aloft like a bunch of flowers and some wine. From his perspective she looked like she went slip n' sliding in an abattoir. She wasn't going to say at that moment all she wanted to do was go swimming in a lake of spiritual bleach.
Jonas' shoulders lowered in relief. He had been ready to rage and that endeared him to her for she had no doubt he would have removed Jefferys head as well. Without the benefit of a knife.
She nodded at the unbroken bottle in his hand. "Will you do the honors?"
Jonas nodded firmly, uncapping the green glass and tossing the clear fluid around the room, on the body, especially on the body. A trail was dribbled to the doorway. Once they were at the threshold he took one of the lit candles and crouched, setting fire to the alcohol. He closed the door behind them.
It's mercy, compassion, and forgiveness I lack. Not rationality.
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