Chapter 18 The Dark Eyes

The distant shadows weave their web of conspiracies while shrill screams of the tortured taint the stale air in the room. With their mission proving to be a success, all they have on their hands now is a waiting game.

"Who the fuck is the head of the scorpions?" a man barks to his pulp of a subject.

The tattered hybrid spits his blood to the floor rather than answering. His scorpion tattoo is proudly displayed on his chest that has been struck too many times to count by a uranium-dipped whip. His eyes are weak - one is swollen shut. He refuses to answer, and the merciless man strikes him again with the whip.

He screams out from the burning pain, but still he holds his allegiance to his clan - his brothers.

"You have no idea what's going on," the bloody man spews, laughing directly after despite his tragic circumstance.

The clicking of heels scrape against the floor to draw chills over the bodies of everyone, not just the tortured. They all hold their breath as she passes, each one praying they're not her intended target as she stalks down the hall.

"Where is it?" the dark, impatient voice of the woman demands.

"I've already given it to one of our hybrid men. He drank it, and now it's just a matter of waiting," the eager mignon obliges.

"How long?"

He shakes his head while running over his math one last time before committing to an approximated date. He knows the penalty for pissing her off, and he dare not find himself on the receiving end of her wrath.

"It was a small amount - barely even enough for this to work - and it's so stale… it's going to take a while. Perhaps, two weeks?" he asks rather than states.

She lets out her distasteful puff of air, and then she paces back and forth while growling under her breath.

"That's too long."

"I'm… I'm sorry, ma'am, but it's… it's… just not enough blood to make it any quicker," he stammers out while cowering down.

She screams while throwing her arms out, and the man collapses to the ground as he stares at the air evading his lungs and gasps for his next breath. She takes a deep breath while cleansing herself of her tantrum, and she releases her invisible hold on the man's throat.

He coughs as the air finds his starving lungs once more, and he shakily crawls back to his knees.

"Two weeks is long, but it's too risky to go after her with Araya so close by," a new voice interjects, his smooth tone not showing the fear the others display.

"I'm not afraid of Araya," she growls out. "I'm stronger, and you fucking know it."

He smiles as he strokes the soft skin of her face that hides her true age.

"I know you are, but she's stronger than us. We can't risk our numbers. We'll need to be able to win this war before it starts. With the United fighting the Unaligned, and the scorpions chasing around leads for emergents, we have a rare opportunity to move around, unseen and unnoticed. With your weakness, we can't risk your safety unnecessarily."

"My weakness," she scoffs. "I'm not too terribly worried about my damn weakness. No one can get close enough to me for me to worry about my weakness."

His lips stroke hers, gently calming her raging storm.

"I know, but I do worry about it. Let's play it safe for now."

"The longer we play it safe, the more it hurts. I need her blood - a lot of her blood - to reverse what they did to me. I'm sick of playing it safe."

He nods, running a hand through her hair. "We'll get it soon enough, my love. Just let me worry about the details. She'll come. She'll have no choice."

With begrudged acceptance, she bites back her rebuttal. She knows Araya would come for her if they act rashly, and until she's fully recovered from the damage the Scorpions caused, she might not be able to take her. He's right. They have to wait on the daughter to come to them.

The second she's healed, fully restored, and completely in control, Araya Crush will be of little consequence. She wants the United and the Unaligned to bow to her the way she was once made to bow. She'll break them just as she was broken. And they'll know fear like they've never known it before.

He kisses the back of her hand as she follows him out, and they head off to play the devil as the screams of the tortured push their sadistic fantasies into reality.

"Go on ahead, my love," he says softly. "I have to make a phone call."

She smiles before leaning into him and placing a very showy kiss on his lips. "Don't be long."

He offers her a smirk, and then he walks away to head into a soundproof room. He waits patiently for someone to answer the call he's made.

"James," the voice on the other end says. "What happened to the blood?"

He sighs out, seeming a little upset. "She went after it. One of your men talked and told her they were going to break into Seminole because Aria Banner's blood was there. She beat us to it. A hybrid has taken it to start the calling. We'll just have to intercept her before she gets here."

"Fuck.How long?"

"Approximately two weeks. Don't make a move until then. Araya Crush is getting closer to finding out the truth. The last thing we need to do is deal with her before we have Aria's blood. Her blood is the key to everything."

"Very well. How are you going to keep your bitch under control?"

"She stays in most days. Using that much power weakens her, and she'll sleep for days on end after exerting such force. She's not as strong as she thinks she is, but we might need her if Araya gets involved. If nothing else, she can give us time to get away and complete our mission. Speaking of which, how is she? I haven't gotten to see her in a few weeks."

He's certainly not talking about the woman who thinks he loves her. Another holds his heart, and that's the one he's truly doing this for.

"The same, as always. None of the blood we've used has worked."

"Aria's will. I know it will. She'll be fine soon, and then we can all move forward. I need to go play lover to the bitch now. Take care of her."

"I will."

The man pushes his phone back into his pocket, and then he puts his deceitful mask back on as he emerges from the room. His violet-eyed weapon walks toward him, carrying two drinks in her hands.

"You look like you could use one of these," she says, oblivious to the betrayal in his touch as he accepts it.

"You look like you could use some rest. I'm sure you're exhausted after what you did to Seminole."

She smirks, tossing her hair back.

"I can sleep after," she murmurs before bringing him down to meet her lips.

He puts his drink down and then places hers on a table before wrapping her up in his arms.

"Then let's take this somewhere a little more private," he murmurs, the falsified love in his eyes fooling her.

She grins while willingly becoming his to own, unaware of his true desire. He picks her up to carry her away, taking on the role of the doting lover, as the cries of pain and the prayers for death serenade their stroll down the eerie halls.