She gently cracked the door open further to listen in on what they were saying.
"Women are fickle and weak-minded. They're easy to manipulate and control. It really shouldn't be this difficult for you to just fuck her, Julien!"
"Look, she obviously only has eyes for him. I've been trying to gain her affection for years, but she only sees me as a friend. I really don't think it's possible for me to use her to influence the leader."
Primrose felt her heart lurch with betrayal; her only friend for so many years wasn't really her friend at all. He only associated with her as a means of getting closer to Michael, to power.
She felt an inner darkness and rage that she had never felt before. How dare he treat her like this? Like she was no more than a simple pawn?
She recalled Michael's request's for their ritual;
"In order to travel between dimensions, we will need to sacrifice our very beings, our souls, the core of who we are. You, a woman of purity, must feast on the blackest heart on earth. I, a man of darker intentions, must ingest the noblest."
Well, Primrose thought to herself. If it's a black heart you want...
She was about to make her presence known before Julien spoke again.
"Besides... I don't want to."
"Yeah, don't I know it." She heard Julien's father scoff. "It's all that time you spend with that servant boy, you've gone all... queer."
"I don't want to use her because she's a good person! I can't do it."
Oh, Primrose thought. Well that complicates things...
Before Primrose could consider her options any further, she felt Michael's presence behind her.
"Well done, pet." He cooed into her ear, the sensation of her breath on the nape of her neck made her shiver. "You've found what we were looking for."
Oh no! She cursed herself internally. We're bonded, stupid! He knows everything I'm thinking!
Michael waved his hand in front of the door, using his magic to propel it open.
Both father and son took in his appearance with a look of sheer shock and terror etched upon their faces; Michael looked upon them as a predator might look upon his prey.
"Well, well." Michael sauntered over to them, hands clasped behind his back. "I dare say it's been an extremely long time since I last had the pleasure of your company, Jeff."
Jeff's brass colored bowl cut covered his eyes as he fell to his knees and bowed before him. "M-my lord, it's an honor to see you again." He said, nervously.
"Now, now. I think this will be easier on all of us if we agree not to lie to each other... don't you think?"
Jeff looked up at him, startled. "Why of course, my lord."
"Good." Michael grinned devilishly, before crouching down to look at the petrified Jeff on his level. "It's funny that we should unexpectedly reunite on tonight, of all nights. The night where my lover and I are in need of the blackest of hearts... know anyone who might fit that bill?"
Jeff cluelessly contemplated the question in his head, and while Primrose did not condone what Michael was about to do to this man she couldn't help but feel offended at his absolute stupidity.
"Well I mean, Sally from level 7 is kind of a bitc-"
Jeff was cut off by Michael's hand on his throat.
"I mean you, you mewling quim!"
"Dad!" Julien screamed with fear as he watched his father's face turn purple.
"Michael, please!" Primrose pleaded.
Michael relinquished his hold on Jeff at Prim's request, the man dropping to the floor with a dull thud.
Jeff sat up and rubbed the red marks on his neck as he struggled to regain his breath.
"And you," Primrose felt her heart hammering in her chest as his attention turned toward's Julien. "Like father like son." He said, mockingly.
Primrose stepped forward, trying her best to appear commanding and authoritative. "Leave him, Michael. He's not the one you need."
"No, you're quite right." Michael sighed. "He isn't the one I need."
Primrose screamed as Michael grabbed Julien from behind, delighting in the way the young boy's body flailed against him in the most pathetic manner.
"He isn't the one I need because he feels remorse! An impossible feat for one with a black heart!" She desperately exclaimed, praying to whoever would listen that Michael wasn't so far gone that he would not listen to reason.
"He planned to fuck you, Prim. You really think I'm gonna let him live?" He laughed loudly and heartily, and it was the first time that Primrose had ever felt truly afraid of him.
She was slowly becoming paralyzed with fear and hopelessness, desperately searching her mind for a solution to this mess when she felt two strong arms grab her from behind.
"Let me go!" Primrose screamed.
"Not until your boyfriend drops the kid and agrees to negotiate." Jeff replied with his hand wrapped around her neck.
Michael glared at him, tilting his head and dropping Julien as though he were simply a bag of garbage, useless and in need of disposal.
Primrose winced at the sound of Julien's head cracking upon contact with the hard floor. She hoped that the fall was not fatal and he was merely unconscious.
"Okay, now... listen up, Langdon or princess gets it."
Primrose vaguely became aware of the cool metal of Jeff's dagger now pressed dangerously close to her throat. She considered using her magic to free herself, but alas, she was still untrained and any action taken at this precarious moment would have to be utterly precise. She wasn't even sure that Michael would be capable of it.
"You've had your turn playing the leader now for eighteen years, and what have you accomplished? Fucking nothing! It's time for you to step down, and let someone more capable take charge."
"Hmph," Michael scoffed. "I would, if I thought such a person existed."
"Hey, this isn't some joke!" Jeff raged, pressing the knife in slightly deeper to further illustrate his point. Michael's expression darkened as the tiniest drop of blood fell from Primrose's neck. "I'm demanding you to relinquish control immediately and go! Take your little harlot with you too!"
"Ah, poor little Jeff." Michael languidly fell backward into a plush, red velvet sofa. "Whoever said the meek would inherit the earth was wrong."
*Clunk!*
Primrose wriggled free from Jeff's grip as he fell the floor clutching the back of his head. Behind him stood Ms. Mead holding a brass candlestick.
"Ms. Mead! Excellent timing, as always. It would appear that you are the one variable his plan did not account for."
Ms Mead preened herself on Michael's praises. She then grabbed Jeff by the hair with one hand, the other hand detaching and revealing a concealed, robotic pistol, which she pressed against the back of his skull.
"Foolish mortal men, hiding behind science..."
*bang!*
"Magic will outlast them all."
The reverberating sound of the gunshot had woken up the unconscious Julien, his eyes widened at the sight of his dead father bleeding out onto the floor. Primrose's knees buckled as she fell to the ground and wept.
"He'd been 'pulling the strings' for years... for a while it was harmless enough to allow him to believe that he was the one calling the shots." Michael said casually, relaxing on the couch, twirling a lock of his golden hair around his finger. "He had his uses, but alas, every dog will have its day. That and he was truly the most awful man I've ever met. Me! Son of Satan!" He laughed. "I mean, I might be pure evil but at least I didn't orchestrate the world's demise over a cup of coffee."
Michael then jumped to his feet, motioning towards his faithful automaton.
"Ms. Mead, if you would do the honors; I do so hate getting my hands dirty."
They shared a knowing look before she approached Jeff's corpse and with her strong, mechanical arm, she plunged her fist into Jeff's chest.
Primrose knew what was coming and she felt immensely sick at the thought.
After wrestling the organ free from his flesh, she crouched down and thrust the heart into Prim's face.
"Eat." Michael commanded, his voice now several octaves lower than usual and his eyes once again blacker than a moonless night.
Primrose tried to drown out Julien's screams as she reluctantly bit down into the heart.
Immediately her mouth was filled with blood, and she gagged as her tongue came into contact with the still-warm human flesh. The meat was fatty and chewy, and Primrose struggled to swallow it down.
Michael had begun to chant in Latin, and Primrose's glassy eyes met Julien's, trying to convey her remorse with just a look. She hoped that he knew that she didn't want to do this, and that she was more conscience-stricken than she had ever been in her whole life.
Thankfully, a few bites is all Michael required.
"One down, one to go." He said in a sing-song voice.
"Okay, fine." She snapped at him. "I'll go get your other heart... so long as you let Julien go."
Michael quirked an eyebrow. "You know he will die at some point anyway."
"Not like this. Please." She begged.
Michael rolled his eyes and stepped to the other side to allow Primrose to go to him. She helped Julien get back on his feet, though he resisted at first but he was too distraught to put up much of a fight.
She had Julien's arms around her shoulder, halfway to the door, to freedom, when Michael stopped her.
"You have 15 minutes to find the purest heart here, and you must bring it to me so that I might devour it."
She nodded her head a little too quickly and left.
-
"Etu!" Primrose cried out with relief at the sight of the sweet servant boy going about his duties in her private quarters.
She had transmutated herself and Julien down to her bedroom on level 9 as soon as they were out of Michael's eyesight. The journey combined with recent events proved too much for Julien, as he leaned over to vomit into her wastepaper basket by the desk. Thinking back to what Michael had made her do, she almost followed suit, but she swallowed it down and persevered.
"Y-yes, Miss?" Etu replied.
"Boy, am I glad to see you!" She exclaimed, enveloping him in a tight hug, which he awkwardly returned.
Then she remembered why she was there in the first place. "You have to come with us. Now." She said, gravely. "It's an emergency."
Etu's eyes widened as he started to panic. "W-what's g-going on?"
Primrose hesitated as she pulled the two boys out into the hallway. "It's hard to explain."
"Her boyfriends the antichrist," Julien said, wiping his mouth with his sleeve as he finally finished heaving. "What's difficult about that?"
Etu's nerves got the better of him as he started to quake with fear.
Primrose glared at Julien. "You're not helping."
"You just ate my father's heart, I reserve the right to be bitchy!" He fired back at her.
Primrose's head fell into her hands with remorse. "I'm so sorry, Julien. I... had no choice."
Julien sighed. "No, I know you didn't... Besides... he was an asshole anyway. Not that that warrants bodily mutilation, but..."
"You don't have to forgive me, I know I don't deserve it." She furiously wiped her tears away with shame. "I just need you to trust me, so I can help you get out of here."
"And g-go where?" Etu asked.
"I don't know, but you're not safe here, not while Michael's around. Julien personally offended him by trying to woo me, and you Etu..." she stopped to look at this innocent soul, the poor sweet Etu. "You just have to trust me when I say you can't stay here."
She didn't have the strength to tell him why.
She could barely admit the truth to herself, it would be too dangerous anyway. While she was trying her hardest to suppress every thought and feeling, the bond was still going strong, so she had to act fast before Michael caught on and stopped her.
"So what are we gonna do? Where are gonna go?" Julien asked, impatiently.
Primrose tugged on her hair with frustration; think, damn it, think!
"We could... we could steal some radiation suits! I'll take you to the surface and you could just run!" She hopelessly exclaimed.
"We'll die out there!" Julien objected.
"You might die if you leave, whereas you will die if you stay here." Primrose replied.
Julien rubbed at his eyes out of frustration. "Well, worm? Do you fancy our chances?" He wistfully smiled at the other boy, giving his shoulder a playful shove.
Etu blushed under the warm light of his smile and shrugged, unused to seeing the softer side of Julien.
They had reached the end of the corridor, with instructions from Primrose to go to level one and wait for her while she procured the radiation suits, when Julien had a sudden and terrible realization.
"Juliet! She's still up there!"