Blood Vengeance [COMPLETED]

Chapter Thirty-One - Soul Destroying

There was a stillness in the room that teetered on the edge of a shattering destruction, as Hector stared at Selene, and she, awkward, forced herself to keep looking at him. She felt that if she looked away she would never be able to raise her eyes to his again.

She knew she had disappointed him, betrayed him. She had forgotten him; Epershand and Arthur had broken her down, not letting her rest, continually stoking the fire of her sexual desire until the resistance itself burnt them both up.

She glanced at Arthur, who lay still on the floor, one hand around the stake lodged in his chest, his fingers clutching it in an attempt to pull it out.

But in that moment Hector reached out and touched her, his fingers holding her chin, pinching the jaw bone, forcing her to turn away from Arthur.

He moved closer to her, compelling her to look at him and only him.

"What do you want me to do with him?" he asked.

Selene quivered. "Arthur?"

"Yes. You're the only person in this room who cares for him at all. What do you want me to do with him?"

Hector released his grip on her, allowing her to look over at Arthur once again. He too glanced at his brother, and they were united as they watched him.

"Kill him," said Virgil, stepping forward.

"What has he done to deserve death?" asked Hector, turning slowly to look at Virgil.

"What? Are you mad? You saw what he did. He raped her." Virgil's hands were outstretched, pleading with Hector to exact a just punishment.

"Was it rape, Selene? Did he force you?"

Selene tried to think about how she had felt. If the wounds were still on her body, if she could still feel the skin he had ripped, she might have said yes. But as it was, she felt that she were trying to recall an experience that had happened to someone else.

"Did you want him to take you to his bed?" asked Hector, raising his voice, thrusting out his chest.

"Yes." Her eyelids closed over, veiling her true feelings. "I wanted him." It was easier to speak when she couldn't see Hector.

"Well," said Hector, pulling at his earlobe in a thoughtful way, his other hand in his pocket, "that is not a crime. And besides, there is no crime relating to fucking a human. There's no law that says you have to be gentle. There's not even a law that says you can't force a human to engage in sexual relations with you. That's what happens the world over, every minute of every day. A human is forced, penetrated, often against their will."

"There used to be a time when humans made love to one another. Where sex was consensual, with mutual respect between the parties. You took that away from us." Virgil gritted his teeth, hissing the words.

Hector smiled. "You're idealistic. You have no idea what it was like. You were never there."

"And you were?"

"I was. I made love to women when I was as fragile as they were; when I was entirely breakable. But just because two people are mortal, doesn't mean they made love, or respected one another, or that the sex was even consensual."

"I bet it was a damn sight better than what just happened to her," he said, jerking his head at Selene. "Or what happened to me," he added, glancing at Selene, and she recognised a compassion, an understanding, in his face that she had missed before.

"She was yours," said Xander. "Aren't you angry that he took what was rightfully yours?"

"I have no rights. And it seems to me that Selene has made her choice. You can do whatever you want with him," he said, pointing to Arthur. "He's powerless until you move that stake."