Greys II - Ghosts

Chapter 2 - Sick or Sane

All alone he turns to stone while holding his breath half to death.
Terrified of what's inside, to save his life he crawls like a worm from a bird.

The Used - The Bird And The Worm

She sat before me wet and beaten and bloodied, shivering with something more than the cold, trembling like something was inside of her wishing to be free. She no longer looked beautiful to me, she looked dead. And that's precisely what she was asking me to do to her; kill her. Not permanently, but still. I was shocked, which was a rare phenomenon for one as perceptive as myself, with as much wisdom and experience and prowess at understanding lesser beings.

I had been sure when she left that she wanted nothing to do with being a hybrid like myself, and yet not even ten hours later she was back, begging for the gift she had previously spurned. She wasn't necessarily begging in the truest form of the word, but if she was as similar to my old partner as my observations seemed to attest, I assumed this was the closest to begging she had ever been. But I would change that. I knew how to make those like him, like her, beg. Pride can be such a tedious, painfully pointless thing.

Though there was nothing I wanted more than to taste her blood, to see what such power felt like on my tongue as I drained it from her warm body, I undoubtedly wasn't the hasty type. Caution is an asset of my breed, so naturally, I wanted all the information before I made a decision, even if the correct choice seemed obvious. Call it extra care. Regardless, I would not dare make a hurried decision, especially if certain hurdles were still in existence, if certain consequences would kick down my door with an ugly sneer and a frustratingly strong Sign at his fingertips. How I hated fire.

The shadow of the woman before me no longer had fire in her eyes, or a look of defiance on her face. She had lost her will, which excited me. It was shocking how different she could look now from the masterpiece I had seen before me just hours earlier. She looked like a different being, like a doll, my doll. Her eyes were wide and empty where before there had been something worthy of envy in them, something deserving of fear. She looked like someone had taken the light from her, the life, like she was already bloodless, just waiting for my venom to take hold and bring her back.

Sometimes she cringed, though she wasn't injured, I would have been able to smell the weakness. Usually, the cringe came when she wasn't even moving, but sitting completely still like she was now. Her injury was something else, something deeper, something in her mind then. I absently wondered if she was poisoned, that would explain her sudden change of heart, self-preservation, or maybe it was just James, he was similar to a poison for most people. He was toxic and maybe she wasn't as immune as I had initially believed. Maybe their connection wasn't the antidote I'm sure he had hoped. I suppose even that was in my favor. She had been annoyingly strong before, it would have been difficult to break her, entertaining yet difficult, and I was tired of putting so much effort into people just to have them forget my labors for them. I gave so much to others like I had to James, yet he left when he should have been grateful, been mine.

Some are meant to be owned by others, some are better off that way. And it isn't cowardice to prey on those, merely smart, advantageous. One should always take the opportunities that are presented. I had learned to not go after those like James though, not anymore. They were prone to violence, to attacking their masters and I was content living forever, building my legacy, my kingdom. Ones such as James may be more powerful of weapons, but they were also more volatile, difficult to collar, and friends to irrational actions. I had learned my lesson against taking in those like him.

Sure, at times my servants bored me, at times death seemed an awfully new and exciting adventure, but others times, like now, I was glad I was still alive to grasp the opportunities life so often offered me. Whatever had happened to Jordan would only make her a more malleable tool for me, more manageable, which is what I wanted. I had almost feared her before, her strength, her anger, but there was nothing to fear before me now. I felt my teeth sharpen behind my lips, tasting the sweetness of my venom.