possible tw // if you get queasy at mentions of blood (cuts, gashes, wounds, gory, etc)
LUCINDA BEURLING
"No..." I whisper as I stared back at the man who's face has been living in my dreams for days, the man who killed my father. Louis sat there in a chair, tied with thick ropes and blood soaked all over his shirt. By the wooden stakes that were scattered on the floor next to him, I assume Harry and the others have been torturing him or something. "W-What is he doing here? How long have you guys had him?"
"Since that night," Harry answers and walks over to the man, kicking his foot roughly to wake him. "Don't worry, the fucker can't do much from here. These ropes are pretty strong and Ava has been doing some witch shit to make sure he stays weak."
Louis lifts his head, a bone-chilling evil smile spreading across his face when he spots me behind Harry. I'm already starting to feel nauseous, and the need to crap my pants just at the sight of him...
"Mmm...Lucinda..." He sings.
"Shut up," Harry speaks for me. "Are you gonna be more cooperative today? Or are we still gonna have to torture it out of you?"
He doesn't answer him, instead he just continues to stare at me with a disgusting grin on his face. I shift uncomfortably under his hard eye contact, suddenly wishing I never agreed to come to this place.
"Oh well. I liked the torturing method better anyway," Harry shrugs and snaps his fingers at the witch. I'm confused when she does nothing but glares at Louis, until he starts to scream.
"Ah! You fucking bitch!" He groans loudly in anguish, his eyes squeezing shut. Oh my...I remember this...that's what she did that night.
"What are you doing to him?" I yell over his screaming. I hate myself for actually feeling the least bit sorry the man, even after all he's done.
"I'm making the blood vessels in his head burst...over and over again," she tells me as she holds her focus on him.
I slowly nod, gaping at the anomalous sight. I never thought I would be standing here, watching a witch cause a vampire pain just by glaring at them...not to mention that this is my second time witnessing this. It all still seems so unreal, like I'm stuck in some weird dream.
"Alright! S-Stop!" He finally surrenders. I quietly sigh in relief...not that I don't want him to suffer, but hearing someone scream in agony isn't exactly something I like to hear.
"She stopped, now start talking," Nick orders.
He takes a few seconds catching his breath before looking at us again, "If it wasn't already obvious, I want the girl's blood...for Nestor."
"Nestor?" Harry's face scrunches, "Who the fuck is that?"
"He's your worst nightmare," he says with a slick smile. We all stare back at him with confusion. Nestor...? I've never met a Nestor in my life and by the face of the others, they look like they haven't either. "Oh, come on! Think, darlings...I want the Beurling girl's blood for someone...for Nestor."
"Oh my god...Nestor..." Ava gasps and looks at all of us with wide eyes, seeming to be the first one to put it together.
"Use your words, witchy. We aren't mind-readers," Harry rolls his eyes.
"He wants the blood for Nestor," she emphasizes. "It's him, he's the one all of them want to wake."
"Oh my god..." I gasp out. I mean, I know we already knew about him, but now having an actual name attached to the monster?
"Great. And here I was hoping that he didn't even exist and this was all a hoax," Madeline complains.
"Wait, wait. Nestor? That's the powerful jackass that wants to kill us all?" Harry questions with a dirty look. "What the fuck kind of name is that? I expected something more spooky like Gargamel, or Lucifer..."
"Hold on...we need more," Nick reminds. "How many of you are there? We know it isn't just you that's been after the Beurling blood."
Louis does nothing but tauntingly snicker back in response, which only results in Harry picking up a stake from the floor and stabbing it through his tied down hands. I shriek and look away as he screams in agony again. How is Harry so nonchalant about doing this? I know the guy deserves it, but he's practically grinning ear to ear as he tortures him...
He pulls the stake from Louis's hand and arches an eyebrow, "Wanna try again?"
"T-There's a lot of people that want her blood for Nestor, I-I don't even think I can give you an exact number because I honestly don't know," he reveals. "The amount of people wanting to help Nestor has grown over time and it's still growing."
"Names would help."
"Screw you."
"Wait!" I yell when Harry lifts the wooden stake again. "Let me talk to him..." I can't believe I'm actually doing this, but I need to help somehow. I'm the one he wants the most so...maybe he'll answer to me more? Plus, I just couldn't handle seeing the torture again.
"Now's not the time for your heroics, princess-"
"No, let her," Nick interrupts him. "This was the plan, remember?"
He hesitates for a second before dropping the stake and moving from in front of me. I exhale a deep breath and try to ignore the tiny veins that start to crawl under Louis's eyes when I get closer to him.
Despite the obvious fact that he's completely restrained and can't hurt me, there's still that lurking thought that he could get to me anyway. When a sinister smirk starts to grow on his lips as he eyes me down, I almost change my mind and make a run for it out the door.
I shake off the anxieties and stand in front of him, but keep enough distance, "Do you have any family? Close friends? Anybody that you really care about?"
His smirk drops, confirming my question.
"Then you might know how it feels when you lose them," I try my best not to let my voice falter. "What you and your friends did to me, when you took the two people I cared about most away...you know how that feels, right? You've lost someone too?"
He still doesn't say anything, but it was enough of an answer. "So you know the pain...that is what you guys did to me. Not once, but twice. So the least you could do is tell me some names."
I'm breathless after saying all I just said to him, my heart is thrumming rapidly inside my chest and I feel like my legs might actually give out in a second from how scared shitless I am right now, but...I'm kind of proud of myself. I can't believe I was even able to hold eye contact with him for that long...
The sick man suddenly starts to snicker again, shaking his head. "It's funny how you blame me and my friends for the death of your parents...when really, it was all your fault."
I frown, "W-What?"
"You were the reason why your mother was attacked to her death, because they were looking for you...right? And your father bled to death that night because he was trying to protect you..."
My blood runs cold at what he's trying to imply, "No..."
"I'd stop talking if I were you," Harry threatens Louis, stepping in front of me again.
He doesn't seem to care though as he continues tormenting, "You didn't need to tell your father to accompany you that night, the night that ended with him being killed-"
"I was scared! I needed my dad with me, I barely even knew what was happening!"
"Louis, stop," Nick cuts in demand.
"But now he's dead, because of the selfish choice you made..."
A choked sob escapes me at his words. An uncomfortable coldness blankets me as the realization of them hits, and his lips curve into a devil-like smile when he gets the exact reaction he wanted from me. I run out of the room and down the stairs, feeling the air get thinner and thinner on me.
Oh my god...all this time I've been moping around like some sad orphan with parents that were tragically murdered, when it's literally been me who caused this. If I didn't exist, they'd still be here...
"Lucinda..."
I hear a creak from one of the staircases and turn around to see Harry standing there with a frown. I shake my head frantically, "He's right, isn't he? I-I've been blaming you guys for everything, but i-it's me...all of it, all that happened is on me, it's my fault-"
"Stop," he shakes his head. He takes me by surprise when he suddenly pulls my trembling body into his, and wraps his long arms around me...like a hug. My mind pauses and questions what the hell he's doing, but my body reacts entirely differently as I feel myself melt in his arms anyway.
"I did this," I whimper into his shoulder pathetically, the newfound aching awareness being too overwhelming to think about anything else.
"Hey, stop," he pulls away and cups my face with his hands gently. "None of this is your fault, Lucinda. That's fucking bullshit, the dipshit was just trying to get a rise out of you. Don't listen to him." His eyes...for the first time, I can see an emotion, instead of the usual voidness...but I just...don't know what it is. For a second I think I might be hallucinating that it could be solicitude.
I don't know why he's choosing to comfort me right now, it's so out of his character...but I also can't seem to pull away for some reason.
"Harry..." I breathe out, unsure whether I'm telling him to get away from me, or keep holding me the way he is. I always expected a touch from him would be cold, disturbing, and would rake nothing but uneasiness through me. But all I feel is...a dancing warmth.
He only responds silently by reaching his fingers to move the hair that was sticking to my face due to my wet tears. The combination of his cold rings yet warm hands against the skin of my cheeks was oddly...satisfying?
What the fuck is happening?
That unusual thought immediately snaps me back to reality once it ran through my brain, scaring me away like a frightened cat, "N-No, I-I can't...I can't do this..."
Something seems to hit him and the mystery emotion vanishes from his eyes. They sharpen faster than I can keep up and his jaw snaps back into a clench as he quickly snaps, "Do what?"
I part my lips to reply, but am cut off when he jerks himself away from me and walks off, causing me to stumble back a few steps from his swift actions. I watch frozen in spot as he swings the front door open and slams it back shut after disappearing through it.
All that just happened in the past few minutes starts to sink in, sending a pounding against my poor brain...and heart. I close my eyes and squeak out a quiet groan, letting my head fall into the cup of my wavering hands.
I'm not going to survive here...am I?
_
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
hopefully the slow harcinda storyline isn't boring you guys, I'm just trying go as in depth I can with them. I promise we'll get there though lol :) <3
Song for this chapter:
Cut by Plumb.
xx harlenaspassion