REM

Chapter 17: One of many

"W-what do you mean by that?" Kane asked, stuttering, even though he knew full well what she meant. He didn't want his thought to be confirmed, but he needed it to.

"Well, you're a traitor, Kane. Dahling, the small piece of respect I had is gone, long gone." Opaque spoke nonchalantly as she looked at her nails, only satisfied when she saw that there were no chips of bubbles to be seen. Though, they only ever looked that perfect when she did them herself.

"So that means..." Kane trailed off, not feeling the need to finish.

"Yes, that's exactly what it means. You're dead to me. And when you're dead to me, well... You're just dead. So, there are several ways that this could go down. You could do it yourself, I could do it, or one of these useless henchman could do it as I watch." She smiled, looking up at a Kane, still immobilized in midair, only able to move from the neck up. "Oh, I'm sorry, dahling. It sounded like I was giving you that choice, silly me. I wasn't."

Opaque stood, walking a very slow circle around Kane. Kane, was left with nothing but his mouth to try and persuade her to stop. "Opaque! Ple-"

"Bite your tongue. Nothing gives you the right to use my name... I believe 'your highness' will do just fine."

"Yes, Op- your highness, please don't hurt me, I'm sorry, I didn't mean any of it! I'll hint them down, I'll kill all of them if you want me to! They mean nothing to me, honest! The little one will go first, he's pathetic, no one will miss him." He blubbered on, hoping that he could find one thing to say that would make the woman spare his life and keep him safe. He was willing to do anything that she pleased afterward, he just couldn't die. He hadn't lived enough life, yet.

"Oh stop it, it's truly pathetic." The ghastly grin on Opaque's face was unbudging. "It won't be nearly as fun to kill you with all this blubbering, but... I suppose I'll make due." She stopped the circles she was walking, glaring straight into the eyes of the terrified man before her.

"It's funny," the woman continued, "when people will say anything simply to spare their own lives. It's deplorable, but funny."

Kane uttered no response, the only evidence Opaque needed to know that what she was saying was truthful. "Especially the part about you killing the little boy. Calvin... Keith? Ah! Kiyon. You know you couldn't hurt him. You couldn't. But I... I'll take great pleasure in watching all of the life flee from his malnourished body. He'll die in the worst way, a quick death is too good for him." Opaque went on and on, not necessarily because all she said was true, but because she wanted Kane to absolutely hate himself before he was dead. She wanted him to feel useless, and that everyone would die because of him, because they would.

"And who's that blue haired freak?" She tapped the side of her chin with one long fingernail, though the rest of her posture was painfully still, and didn't look all that comfortable. "Riz? His name was? A joke. Almost as funny as a joke as your 'friendship'." She made finger quotes around that one word. "It's obvious that he wanted in your pants," she scoffed,"only heaven knows why."

"What do you-" Kane had gotten, himself to thinking, his current confused look displayed this, but given his current situation, that wasn't a good thing. He felt stuck, though not because he was physically stuck. It was just shocking how oblivious he had been all those years, given the fact that Opaque was telling the truth. Which he had now way knowing whether or not she was.

"Oh it was obvious, dahling. Everyone knew, except you." She clicked her tongue, her face cold and stuff. Though, internally, she was taking great joy in the grimace that Kane's face was contorted into. "But, enough chit chat, I think it's time to get this show on the road, hmm?"

Kane opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a low, chopped breath.

Opaque noted that. "Short of breath I see? Well then. How about now?" She drew her fingers to a close, the clear blue energy crawling it's way up to Kane's neck. Her arm shook slightly, it had been years since she had used any sort of power.

Kane gagged and sputtered, small droplets of spit flying across the room. The tension and suspense in the air made everything go rigid. Opaque's body was standing painfully straight, while Kane's own was contorted into a weird bending position.

Kane's vision faltered, black spots clouding his peripheral. His eyelids grew heavy, drooping down bit by bit until they connected with each other. His body, which had been resistant up until that point fell relaxed, unconscious, but still alive.

"There, that's better," Opaque hummed, opening her hand, letting Kane fall to the floor. She took a step, but wobbled. Using that much energy really took a toll on her, but no matter. There were things to be addressed.

She walked over to Kane, stooping down to caress his jawline, bending even further to whisper into his ear. "Goodbye, dahling." Then, with full composure and a nonchalant face, she stood.

With the heel of her left shoe, she flipped the man over onto his back. She slipped the bottom of the shoe under the side of his face, and harshly swung her foot to the left, bouncing once or twice. A gnarly smile splattered across her face after hearing the deafening crack the bones of the male's neck made when snapping.

A laugh then filled the room, beginning as a soft chuckle, but quickly escalating into a body-rattling cackle. She stepped off of the man's body, her heels clicking loudly on the floor. Instead of closing Kane's lifeless eyes, she stared into him, capturing the last moments of terror and holding them in her memory. "Haha, oh, such fun. GUARD!" She called out for a guard, to dispose of Kane in whatever way they saw fit. If they decided to add him to the food menu, Kane would have been more meat than anything else they had been eating, she wouldn't care.

A guard came running around, which meant that it was no longer Opaque's problem, and that she could reclaim her seat on her throne. And that she could refill her wine glass, watching the rest of the group wait for the savior that would never come.

"Oh, that reminds me. That little rat should be waking up soon," she sneered, clapping her hands together. And with that, Amaya was awoken.

Hhhhhhh, I'm like a death virgin I've never written an actual death scene. Please critisize, though, please keep in mind that this entire book is a first draft, and that it will be heavily edited after the completion of the book.

How do you feel for Kane? Do you mourn for him or do you feel happy that he's finally gone? Such a shame it was in the middle of his redemption arc.

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