The Lost

41- Pleading

Azure

Rosin threw herself to the side in some pointless attempt to escape even as the fingers snapped shut around her. Hearing her shriek in the way she did was so indescribably wrong— Rosin was Rosin, she didn't make such distressed sounds, didn't utter such helpless cries. But she knew just as well as I did how this creature despised her. The only one of us that didn't cower at the sight of him, whose defiance wasn't forced. Sam's intentions were probably near-murderous as a clawed hand swiped across the ground and grabbed her tight. Too tight. It all happened as fast as I could blink; one second she had turned to face him, the next he had snatched her off the floor.
Rosin had been screaming when the hand shot out to catch her. Now, as Sam yanked her up to his height, she was emitting the most horrifically strangled cry I had ever heard. Her eyes bulged with pain.
"Rosin!" I was shrieking, straining for her. But then, Lucius regained control of his legs.

It took Lucius exactly five seconds to recover from the shock he got at seeing Sam suddenly appear outside of the tents. Five more to realise he was halfway through grabbing Rosin off the floor. Then that surprise had expired, drained away... and the only thing left in its place was a smouldering, savage rage— an emotion that swelled up in his face like water bursting through a dam.

Aspen had a temper that made him swear and shout. Mike got mean when he was annoyed, so did Rosin. They tended to groan and grumble and say things they later regretted. Sam... Sam's anger was something that terrified me— quiet until pain came shooting through your body, sometimes in the form of nails, sometimes in the form of a grip that could kill.

Lucius was nothing like Sam, Mike or Rosin. Or even Aspen. I still didn't know much about where the boy had come from... but if Lyn's stories were true, Lucius had grown up getting into fistfights. Dealing with derogatory laughter and judging eyes, unhidden looks of spite... all things to fuel an anger he had kept repressed for Lyn's sake. Fighting would get him kicked out, Lyn said, and she would have been left all on her own.

But Lucius wasn't in the school now. And he had a temper. It was not mean— it wasn't something that came in harsh words and dirty looks, like Rosin and Mike when they were annoyed. And it wasn't quiet either.

Lucius was violent when he was angry. And for a boy that knew how to throw a decent punch, that was slightly worrying. Especially for people who tried to hurt us.

Lucius came diving onto his knees when he saw Sam and Rosin, yelling obscenities like the world was ending, deafening everyone. He grabbed Sam by the wrist and yanked down, so sudden and sharp that it even caught Sam by surprise. The human was forced to take a step to steady himself. That moment of unbalance was all Lucius needed; nails bit into the snatching hand, pulling and clawing until the grip loosened and he was able  to pry Rosin out from underneath the giant fingers. I heard her rasping his name in a voice that wasn't her own. Everything was lurching around me with all the movement, but I just about managed to catch glimpses of what was happening. As quick as Sam had grabbed her, Lucius had freed the girl from her capture and she went slamming to the floor.

Hair was hanging over my eyes when the hand stopped pitching left and right. Both me and the human that held me were watching as Lucius scooped Rosin's now strengthless body into his own hand. She gave no protest. He pressed her to his chest before Sam could even think about picking her up again. I longed to smile but, for obvious reasons, I simply couldn't. Lucius. That boy was like an angel. We should have been thankful this aggression was only ever directed at anyone that tried to hurt us, never at us.
A savage glare was on Sam as boy stood up. Lucius' teeth were gritted, his eyes practically ablaze with anger. Even as he stood he didn't remove either of his hands from his chest. Never once took his eyes off the person in front of him. A little relief washed through me; Lucius would die before he let this human take one of us from under his protection. Including me. If Mike couldn't help me then Lucius would.