The Discarded

Chapter 33

Saturday November 15th 2014

Cesare wheeled himself out of the bathroom at the knocking on the outside door. "Come in!" It had to be Alexandra or Dr. Robert. They were the only regular visitors he had.

Cesare had just a moment to curse his luck before Abraxas walked in. Black on black, power that in another would be called arrogance radiated from him, the confidence of a man who knows he's death on a short leash. His eyes flicked over the room without surprise at finding Cesare alone.

Anastasia stepped in behind him. She'd never shown this last week. Not one day. But Cesare had. Alexandra never became even slightly okay with it. She didn't badger him, but every time the akatharton's name came up, hate twisted across her face. If she didn't like Anastasia before, this week had only honed the blade razor sharp.

Lust rolled off Anastasia. a tsunami of hunger untainted by good, depraved and corrupt beyond redemption or care. It hit him like a sledgehammer after a week of being away from it. His needs hooked his eyes to her lush curves and the hint of cleavage she showed. The sight of her pale skin birthed memories of its fever-hot life burning under his touch.

Cesare wrenched himself from the aura to see the person behind the mask of a sex goddess, the real Anastasia who he'd seen through windows of weakness and stolen moments. She looked ... sad. The hair that had flamed and burned with supernatural fire was dull and faded. Where it had moved sensuously with a life of its own, it now hung sorrowfully still.

She moved to the side to make way for Pantagruel. The massive monster had to turn sideways to slip into the room, taking a stand next to the door. A wife beater showed off a body of muscled perfection, bulging arms rippled with hulking strength paired with shoulders wider than the door and a narrow waist of shredded abs. He wasn't simply big, he was strong enough to dismember Cesare without trying.

Blaez came in last, a prince of the school butchered into a mangled lesson of weakness. They'd replaced the heavy bandages with lighter ones that showed the lines of his face. Cesare met the boy eye to eye. He'd expected fury, and it was there, banked and subdued, the rage of a broken, impotent thing. The door clicked shut, with Bleaz leaning back against it.

"I thought we could have a moment, Cesare. To talk about the recent incidents." Abraxas stepped forward as he spoke, dominating the room with his presence.

Cesare wheeled toward the back of the suddenly small room where the only window stood. "Of course, I can see why you'd want to clear the air." The window opened easily, letting in the cold November wind.

"Now would be a good time to define our places and roles in this school," Abraxas said from behind Cesare. Searching outside, Cesare found what he was looking for—the two ravens he'd seen stalking him.

On catching sight of him, the grim birds swooped down to perch on the windowsill. Turning back to face Abraxas, Cesare hoped the ravens were as smart as he thought they were.

"It's important that we know our place, Cesare. That's where we went wrong with you. When you got here, I didn't know you'd so little contact with your own kind. Out there in the world of humans for so long, it's no wonder you came to us confused. We," his gesture took in the Thagirion. "are scions of power, singular and perfect. While you're as common as sand. I can see how you would look at our corrective actions as wrong. But each was for your benefit, to show you what your place is in our society."

"My place?" Cesare asked.

"Yes, your place. The pain you've suffered has been because you fight against it. I realize that some of this is our fault. We should have taken you aside when you arrived and taught you this. Our natures define us, we are born to rule, just as you are born to serve. A gazelle is not a lion and could never be one. It's the lion's job to rule and the gazelle's to feed him." Thin lips creased into a smile as Abraxas continued, "It's the natural way of the world. All this has ..." Abraxas cut off as the door opened.