Ten. Nine. Eight...
I sink down once again to get into a better position to jump at the first beast to my right. This will be quite a fight and if I'm not careful I won't even make it to Maria. Lyall's look wanders from Etain to me and back. He is thinking hard how to end this, I guess. There is only one way and it's bloody.
Seven. Six. Five...
I take a deep breath and have to wonder what kind of drugs Celeste is smoking usually. This is pretty concentrated and my head starts to play tricks on me. I shake my head to get rid of the shadows behind the beasts that start to move on their own.
Four. Three. Two...
A growl before I'm about to jump up but Lyall is faster and holds Etain captive in his arms. Some of the other beasts also growl but none of them stops him. "Etain...", Lyall says softly. He tries to make her listen to him as she also starts to fight back.
Lyall got himself in a very good position to hold Etain and he is strong. I'm sure if she would slip out of his grip she would be quite a challenge, even for him, but it's not happening. I could interrupt them. By how I interpret the faces around me I guess it would split the tribe. Etain and Lyall, both have their fans and people who disagree with them.
There are only two beasts in front of me, who are separating me from the leading couple. I use the distraction and my chance. With an angry growl, I dart from the ground to dig my fingers into one of the beasts throats on my right; ripping it out. Slipping down to the next one's feet making him fall and break Etain's neck in the next movement. The beast that just fell doesn't get up behind me but just stares at Etain.
Lyall also looks at me in disbelief with the limp body of Etain in his arms. I'm close to the two and start to pant as the shadows start to move again. Releasing another angry growl I look around to catch their movements with my eyes but I can't. "I told you!", a try to get my head back to reality.
That's when one of Lyall's arms snakes out on my throat and he growls at me. Good. He is the leader of that tribe and I'm not the one to split it, but I won't let Maria go. I shouldn't care about this tribe, but I do. Lyall was always honest with me and he doesn't earn anything less. Maria although... she hurt Nora. "How dare you laying hand on anybody here?!", he grumbles and I chuckle again. It's about time...
"Lyall... come on. Let them hate me.", I whisper and keep on smiling. He takes back his hand slowly but I can see the gleam of his dark eyes. "We know how Etain would vote. Now...", he looks into the crowd behind me. "Who votes for my suggestion to let the butcher handle that?", he wants to know. Lyall shifts Etain in his arms to hold her in a very loving gesture. The one beast, whose throat I ripped out, also get carried up from an acquaintance.
I don't wait for the outcome of the vote. I waited long enough and Lyall is distracted by looking at the votes. Jumping to the side I take a few more steps to Maria before more beasts start to block my way and the fun begins.
~~~~
I take a few steps back at the sudden rage that breaks out of Ethan. This is how it looks like when the thunderstorm you see coming hits you. I can't stop watching, yet, the brutality he uses to bring one of those beasts down after the other is not only astonishing but also fairly frightening.
I take another few steps back and find the beast, who played the fiddle for us standing next to me. He looks at the fight with clenched teeth. "Come on, brother! Show them what it means to mess with the Irish!", he yells and I'm surprised that he seems to be on Ethan's side.
He doesn't intend to help him though. I also realize that Lyall is not moving and interrupting. Why is nobody helping him? After thinking hard I remember the name of the beast next to me. "Connor...", I take his arm and he looks at me in surprise. In the next moment, he takes my hand in his and grins.
"Don't worry, beautiful, he won't come after you." That was actually something I knew already. "Why isn't Lyall stopping it?", I ask while both our looks wander back to the fight Ethan is keeping up. There are three more beasts in line waiting until he is done with the one he is battling at the moment. At least they don't attack him all at once. Wait. Why not?
Ethan's face is smeared with blood and I can't actually tell if it's only those of his attackers. Their sharp claws cause cuts and wounds at his arms and feet, but he doesn't seem to care. I'm not even sure he feels it at the moment. His glassy eyes betray that my opium was a bit too much. I don't smoke a whole cigarette at once usually.
"They wanted to fight him for quite a while, but he was still not rehabilitated. Lyall kept him away from all of us to avoid more of these fights.", he explains before yelling more cheers to Ethan. "Careful, lad! Watch your back!" I see.
As long as he was vulnerable like a human it wouldn't have been wise to let them test him and as far as I figured out our Lord was threatening them too. I can't blame him for wanting Ethan back. I always knew he is a good guard but the skills he shows at the moment were never in my mind. I should be frightened but I'm attracted by his ability to still move so smoothly while displaying so much roughness.
While Connor was talking Ethan took down another beast and I realize that all he is doing won't kill them. He is breaking necks and bones, ripping out throats and shedding a lot of blood, but there is no head torn away or heart ripped out. Fortunately, I'm not as sensitive as most women in the headquarters. Especially those newborn ladies. They are all so fragile it's ridiculous.
Ethan stumbles forward and falls to the ground. In the next movement, he rolls to the side and gets up again. Oh, Ethan... A smile on my face and I enjoy the show. I'm not stupid though. Usually, I would leave this place of danger right away, but this is a rare occasion to see the butcher and at the same time be safe. I take back my hand from the man who seems to burst of excitement just to see Ethan going wild and I do understand.
It's when the last beast in line slides to the ground that Lyall growls out and all the eyes wander to him; all the eyes, besides Ethan's. He looks at Maria who is still held captive. "Alright, anybody else who wants to try their luck with the butcher before we execute Maria's sentence?", Lyall asks dryly.
He is indeed another kind of leader, but by how people look at him and the unconscious woman in his arms I can't help but wonder. How did he know Ethan wouldn't just go on a killing spree? I wouldn't have been so sure about that, to be honest.
Some of the beasts growl silently but nobody is taking a step forward or raising their voice. Others are looking at Etain and I can see that some of those animalistic vampire's don't hide their disgust for Ethan. I take my time to watch Ethan closely. Something is not right. He started healing and stands straight, catching his breath but his eyes are restless.
"Did Maria ever tell you why she got banned?", I wonder. "Sure, because of her husband. Why do you ask?", Connor asks and Lyall arches a brow. "Don't.", I can hear Ethan ordering and his flashed up eyes drill into me like a knife. I gulp and stay silent. The way I talked to him before still lingering in my mind and also his threat. I shouldn't press my luck too much this night. Lyall takes another look from Ethan to me and back before nodding in Maria's direction.
The two beasts behind Maria free her and she jumps away from them. "Maria. Who gave you those weapons? I know that they are not from the stack we got from London.", Lyall asks still calm, while Ethan takes a stance. He chuckles once more, the bloodlust clearly written in his face. "Come on, Maria. Last chance, tell him or you'll need to tell me.", he says.
"I'll kill you first and then your offspring! All this will end tonight!", Maria answers Ethan. Lyall doesn't move a muscle. "So be it.", he simply says and Ethan starts attacking Maria. I'm impressed by how Maria is moving and using her sharp nails that started to form over the years. Even though, it's obvious that Ethan starts to play around with her. Causing minor wounds all over her body.
It doesn't take him too long to tire her and start to make her bleed. His lips are still in a wicked grin as he finally pins her at a tree. Blood is drooling out of her mouth corners. One of Ethan's hands holds her throat while the other sneaks behind her to press her against his body. With a sudden pull, he drags her away from the tree and her arms desperately trying to free herself.
It is of no use. A cruel crack and she cries out loud. The chuckles from Ethan mix into her pain inflicted sobs. I know why they call him a butcher. The wounds he gave her were all well planned and breaking a back like that, without anything but his own strength is precise.
"Now, tell me... who gave you that guns?", his voice is calm as he runs his nose along her neck. Maria starts shivering at his soft touch. What did he do to her to cause that kind of reaction? I gulp. No, he didn't rape her, did he? I always believed in his strong sense of justice, even though his methods may be rough. No. I don't want to believe that.
Just when this thought runs through my mind he licks along her cheek and the tears start to float down her face. "Tell me... who did give you the weapons? Who is it that I need to kill?", he whispers next to her ear. One wouldn't have been able to understand it, but the beasts around me went silent a while ago and not even the noises of the night are loud enough to hide the dirty undertone of his words.
"I will enter you again, Maria...", he continues and presses her against the tree again. She clenches her teeth and the fear in her face does only seem to amuse him. He forces his knee between her legs and she tries to bite him, but her throat is still in his grip.
"You know what?", he says before using his now free hand that was on her back to lay it underneath her breast. "I won't if you tell me who the traitor is. Who sent you to let me suffer?" A side look to Lyall shows me his disagreement with this kind of questioning, but he doesn't interrupt.
Ethan slips his hand underneath her shirt and I just have to stop that. The moment when I wanted to call his name Maria speaks up. "I already told you last time, that you can't have my heart. There is someone who already stole it!", she growls before another scream of pain leaves her throat. My eyes widen at the red stain that forms on Maria's shirt where Ethan's hand is.
He didn't rape her when he says he will enter her. Now, this is the moment even I can feel the shiver that runs down my spine and the goosebumps that form on my arms and in my neck. Maria screams in agony, but she doesn't faint. "Who, Maria? A name... you know that I can do that for hours.", his tone still cold, but his eyes are searching for something next to him that isn't there.
It's Maria's turn to start laughing. Contrary to Ethan I think it is desperation that drives her. "You think you found friends in here? I got it from Connor! Connor! Connor! Connor!", she keeps on repeating and Ethan growls out before ramming his fangs into her neck. At the same moment, Lyall's head snaps into our direction and yells. "Take him!"
Connor next to me doesn't move a muscle and the surprise is written on his face. Several beasts jump at him and take him off his feet. "No! Lyall! I didn't do anything.", Connor keeps on assuring. He shows no resistance to the hands that hold him but keeps on pleading to listen to him.
With that entire rumor, I nearly forgot about what Ethan is doing. A roar before he rams his fangs once again in Maria's neck. She stopped yelling Connor's name but only because Ethan is about to fulfill his promise. Of course, I saw people killing, but I never saw this kind of transition.
Ethan's entire body is trembling out of the physical effort he uses to hold Maria. The atmosphere around them seems to vibrate, similar to the way the world looks over a fire. Yes, that's it. They seem to burn without flames. At first, both of them burn equally, but the more Maria's fire shrinks the more Ethan's heat seems to rise.
I've never seen something more beautiful than Ethan burning like that. The power of his sheer appearance radiates and comes in waves over me everytime I see him gulp down. I can't prevent my eyes from flashing up. Raising a hand to my pulsating heart I unconsciously step forward, only realizing that when I already entered the clear circle of the crowd that marked the fighting scene of the two.
I need to keep my countenance, but it's hard not to adore him right now. Another roar as he finally drags away from Maria with a hard pull. She slides down the tree trunk and flaps to the side at his feet. When Ethan turns around I can see him holding her bleeding heart in his hand. That's what he meant with breaking hearts literally. I need to confess that my imagination wasn't strong enough for that.
Inspecting Ethan's face my own heart skips a beat. He is staring at me and our looks are locked. The blood is still running down his chin and throat even when he tries to lick it away. His eyes are also fully flashed up, but the dull expression tells me that he is not really seeing me. Usually, his look is piercing, but I never saw this before.
"Ethan...", I say silently. He shakes his head slightly before walking over to me slowly. What is he doing? I'm not sure if I should be excited or afraid; maybe both. "Are you happy now?", he says. "What do you mean?", I ask confused. Instead of answering he kneels down in front of me and holds up the heart to me.
What am I supposed to do with this offer? "Ethan, what are you doing?", I want to know. "I told you, Gwendolyn! I will steal a thousand souls for you, but you...", his voice faints. Agog at his words, I also kneel down and take his cheeks in my hands. "Ethan, what are you talking?"
The heart slides out of his hand and he wraps his arms around me. "Gwendolyn... why?" He presses me against his chest and I can see Lyall watching closely. "Ethan, darling, that's not my name.", I try to find out what's going on. His grip around me tightens and I have to breath out.
"Everything's okay, darling... I'm here." I hope to calm him because his whole body is still trembling. "Why must it be him?", he says with a heavy sigh. At the next moment, I can feel his fingertips running down from my ear to my shoulder and my body reacts. "We are not alone, Ethan. Are you okay? You seem a bit off.", another way, but if that doesn't work I'm running out of ideas.
"I'm always alone.", he whispers before his fangs slowly break through my skin and I flinch. At least I didn't moan the way I would like to. That's totally wrong and not how I pictured it to happen at all. Especially because he doesn't even realize it's me. Who the hell is Gwendolyn?
Lyall hands Etain over to another beast and moves to come to rescue me but I raise my hand to stop him. "Don't, it's fine. He will be fine in a moment.", I try to convince myself more than Lyall. "Ethan... You need to wake up!" I comb my hand through his hair. His grip around my waist tightens as he draws away from me for a moment.
"Why, mo gradh?", his other hand wanders in my neck as he places his forehead at mine. "Why...", he keeps on repeating before he rams his fangs once more in my neck. This time it's not gentle. "Ethan!", I scream scandalized and Lyall once more comes closer.
"I said no! Stay away.", I look grimly at Lyall and see his confusion. Alright, I will bring his mind back and he'll never forget my name again. His grip tightens once more and with the speed, he is sucking the blood it dawns on me that he doesn't intend to stop before I look like Maria over there.
I struggle to move out of his hold but every movement only makes him hold me tighter until I'm out of breath and I slightly start to panic. "Ethan! You gave your promise not to replace me! You need me! Nora needs me! ", I yell in his ear.
He doesn't stop and Lyall still looks at me but doesn't move. I'd rather die than let him call me by another woman's name again! I hiss out and show my fangs. It happens seldom but I can't tolerate this behavior.
"You fucking idiot! Ethan Vinge!! You promised to rescue me. Stand by your word and rescue me now! Ethan, I need you! Rescue me from the butcher!", a desperate try to not get killed by the only man who even thought about to touch me before.