Reapers - Master of Souls (Reapers Chronicles Book III)

3 - Salvaged

(NP: I'd Come For You by Nickelback)

We were in the middle of one of Hector's experiments when I found him staring at me. I was again, suspended in midair inside my tank with the hundreds of needle-like lights piercing my body at different points.

"What?" I rasped, sensing the SirenSoul's effect fading quickly. "Get this over with, will you?"

His wild eyes continued to scrutinize me.

"Why?" he asked, this time, without any trace of disdain. "I'm sure he knows you're tainted. I can't reverse it, so it is most certainly that you will turn into a wraith sooner if not later. So why? Why does he keep fighting to get you back? It doesn't make sense."

"H-he?" My voice quivered. "You mean... Vincent."

Removing his lab goggles, he rubbed his temples with his fingers. "Yes. I just saw him outside rallying a small group-"

"He's coming for me," I hissed, looking right and left before giving him a nod. "And he's going to scoop your eyeballs out and feed them to you."

"That's not the point!" he shouted, losing his usual maniacal grin. "He's probably dead by now-"

I cut whatever he was saying with a scream. "He's not! And when he gets here, you're so dead, Hector!"

"Angst." He forced out a laugh, twisting a finger into his ear. "I haven't heard that in ages. You see, Aramis, Vincent was barely alive by the time we handed him over to Vladimir's group. I have to commend the twins for their creativity while they were working on him. You know, they actually used Helcium daggers? Genius! The cuts do not heal quickly and they hurt longer.

"Don't worry my little doll. I told him you said goodbye." He tilted his head, giving me a pitiful look. "He's quite lucky to be alive, that Vincent. But by going back here, it appears he is pushing his luck and this time, it's running out. He's exhausting what little chance he has to live through this battle just because of a familiar whose soul is rotting she won't even going to last very long. Pointless, don't you think?"

"Shut up!" The words clawed their way out of my throat. "Y-you'll... never get it. We're not like you."

I began to squirm from the invisible forces restraining me. In no time, the pain set in. My hands and feet felt like they were impaled on the wall and the stakes seemed to drive in deeper with every move.

The scream I had been holding back finally came out.

The Swarth across from me let out a bloodcurdling wail. It began hitting the metal closure over her head, denting it in a matter of seconds.

Some kind of gas pumped out of the tank's base. The Swarth screeched, its head twitching from side to side as it pounded on the glass. The fluid in which it was submerged into gradually receded.

All of a sudden, a shrill static sound filled the whole laboratory. Then, with the faintest thud, the lights went out.

I hit the floor, face first.

Panting, I got up and pressed my face on the glass. It was too dark to see anything without acute vision.

All I heard were footfalls coming from the computer area. Even the Swarth had stopped trying to bust its way out of its tank.

"Master." It was Millie. "The backup power supplies are not working. The Swarth vat cannot be completely refilled. What shall we do?"

Hector let out a grunt. "Tell Cairo's men to find out who did this and when they do, kill hi-"