by Kol Anderson
"You're not a prisoner," Kent said. "You can go wherever you want as long as you use your best judgment and without letting them know the truth."
"Is that a rule?"'
"Well, yes. It is. The other rule is don't kill anyone until it's absolutely necessary. And trust me you don't want to cross that one. There are going to be consequences."
"What kind of consequences?"
"Could you just not kill anyone for the time being?" Kent said. "Without my having to give you further explanations?"
The car came to a stop at the same street where Kent had picked up the girl. "Okay honey," Kent said to the woman in the backseat. "Get going."
The woman opened the door and got out of the car and Kent drove off without stopping to see where she went. Jensen went back to looking at the world outside his windows, the world that somehow looked different and like someplace Jensen had seen but never truly experienced.
***
The tattoo place was in a shady part of town. Not a lot of people would so much as think about setting up a business in such a place, but Jensen guessed the vampires who owned it were probably shadier than anyone else around. Instead of parking his car outside, Kent honked in front of a garage and the gate opened, letting Kent park his car inside. The tattoo place’s design shielded it from the sun on every angle. From the garage they went through a screen door that led to the back entrance. People greeted Kent when they went inside and immediately Jensen could tell they were also vampires. There were a few humans too, one of the artists and another one who sat at the cash register. Kent led him to a set of closed doors and they went in. The same vampires who had taken him outside of PRY were now working on their human customers on four different chairs. The female vampire saw them and stood up first. "Kent," she said, cleaning her inked hand before shaking Kent's. She looked at Jensen with approval. "Not bad," she said.
"I don't think you've been properly introduced," Kent said to the four vampires who were all looking at Jensen now, and Jensen was having a sudden burst of anxiety, remembering what it had felt like being back in that room under their scrutiny. "Jensen this is Zoe," Kent introduced the female who shook hands with Jensen. Then he pointed to the remaining three one by one and they came to shake Jensen's hand. "Noah, Edward, Henry," Kent said. It was obvious the same creatures Jensen had thought were frightening before now looked just as normal as any humans. They were obviously trying to make him feel at ease.
"The usual?" Zoe asked.
"Yes," Kent said.
Because the customers in the room were all human, they were all being secretive. Zoe excused her customer and led Jensen to a small room. There was another chair and Jensen settled into it. "Where do you want it?" Zoe asked, holding up the tattoo gun that she dipped in some liquid.
Jensen raised his shirt and pointed to his flank.
"Good choice," she said and pointed to Jensen's shirt. "You're going to have to take this off."
Jensen unbuttoned his shirt, set it aside. As he settled back in the chair, Zoe turned on the machine. "Not afraid of needles are you?"
"No," Jensen lied.
Zoe placed the needle on his skin and Jensen did his best to not freak out. "Aren't you going to copy the design or something?"
"I've been making this for decades," Zoe said. "Done thousands of vampires by now."
"So, what is this some kind of special ink?"
"Yes," Zoe said. "It's a centuries old remedy. Witch magic."
"There are witches too?"
"There are all kinds of things, Jensen."
"Here in Wentworth?"
Zoe grinned. "We've all fallen down the rabbit-hole. It's okay to be a little freaked out."
"I'm not freaked out," Jensen lied again. "Just curious."
"Right," Zoe said. "Is Kent a good maker?"
"I think so."
"He's good I bet," Zoe said. "My maker is an eighty-year-old going on one hundred and fifty who is extremely bitter and constantly needs approval from his progenies, of which there are four. Kent's not like that is he?"
"Don't you know Kent better than me?"
"Jensen," Zoe said. "No one knows your maker more than you do."
Before Jensen could wonder how long this was going to take, Zoe was done. She lifted the machine from his skin and replaced it on the tiny table. Jensen got up and put on the shirt. "It was nice meeting you, Jensen."
"You too," Jensen said and they shook hands.
When they came out, Zoe went straight back to her customer and started working. Two of the male vampires were doing the same but the third, the one Kent called Edward, stood to one side, talking to Kent in a low voice. Kent looked at Jensen. "Done?" he asked.
Jensen turned to check his reflection in the mirrored wall to one side and lifted his shirt. The same scorpion that he had seen on Zoe and Kent was now on his skin too. It seemed strange. All of this. Everything, including the fact that he was getting a tattoo—he had never thought he would ever be the kind of person to get a tattoo, but now that it was on him it made him feel like he was becoming part of something new. He let the shirt fall over his flank and turned to Kent. "Are we going to test this?"
Kent gestured for them to go outside.
When they were finally close to the entryway of the tattoo place Jensen took a deep breath.
"Ready?" Kent asked.
"Let's do this," Jensen said and stepped out in the sun.
At first the rays seemed harsh despite the cold weather, and Jensen was about to retrace his steps. But when he looked at the exposed skin of his arms and saw that nothing was happening, that he was just as solid as the rest of the people around him, Jensen felt a kind of magic. He turned to Kent and grinned. "It worked."
Kent grinned back. "Let's go," he said and they started to walk back to the car.
When they passed a female, a human, with lovely blond hair Jensen felt her heartbeat, the pulse at her neck at that special place where they were supposed to bite them—all Jensen wanted to do was to stop and take a taste, just a tiny taste—but Kent… Kent was leading him away from her and there wasn't much he could do about that.
CHAPTER SIX
The sedan came to a stop right in front of Liam. He took a look around to make sure no one was watching before getting in. Mustache Man smiled his perverted smile. The beads of sweat on his forehead looked even more persistent today.
"Hello," Gary said.
"Hi," Liam said.
"Where do you want to go?"
"Doesn't matter where," Liam said and reached into his pocket for the Valium he had stashed there earlier. He could feel Gary watching his every move. Liam let him stew a little before actually talking to him. "Are you single?"
"Does it bother you if I'm married?"
"No. Just curious."
"Well, I am married," Gary said. "Two beautiful kids."
Liam had no idea what to say next. The only reason he had agreed to meet Gary was because he was angry. Austin never so much as apologized for the way he treated Liam. And he was gone the whole day anyway, some days he didn't come back home until much later when Liam was already asleep. Liam wanted to feel like he was doing something in response to what Austin was doing, and if he couldn't win in the usual ways, he would win this way. Gary was putting up the nice guy act, but Liam could tell the man had a perverted side to him. The only good thing about living the way Liam did was that it gave you plenty of insight. A sort of premonition about people in general. Of course, every once in a while someone would still be able to surprise him, but that didn't happen very often.
Gary took him to a motel.
He poured Liam a drink, vodka from the tiny bottles in the minibar while Liam stood in the middle of the room. Suddenly, Gary was confident and Liam found himself being a little ill-at-ease. Gary tried to kiss him and Liam backed away. "What's the matter?" Gary said.
Liam couldn't understand why he couldn't bring himself to let the man kiss him. He'd had worse. He chugged the vodka. It wa
sn't enough. It did almost nothing. Gary came towards him and this time he kissed Liam's neck. His hands landed on Liam's crotch. He should have tried to look for cracks. Now it was too late. What was he thinking coming over here? He had been lonely, that was the only explanation. Lonely and angry was a bad combination, he hadn't been thinking.
"I want you so bad," Gary said. But thankfully he didn't try to kiss Liam again. "How about we switch to the bed?" Gary said taking his drink glass to the bed. Liam reached into his pocket for another Valium. "Come," Gary said from the bed and Liam went up to him. "Lie down." Liam climbed the bed. Doing what he was asked was probably the easiest thing to do. Gary got on top of him.
Liam closed his eyes.
Gary needed his body.
There was no need for Liam to be present for this.
***
After spending two whole hours at PRY Liam came back home to find Austin's car in the driveway. It was a little surprising because Austin had told him it would be another late night at ‘work.' When he stepped inside the house, he saw Zachary standing quietly to one side and Austin sitting with a drink in hand, one leg perched over the other knee. Instantly, Liam knew there was something wrong. That was the kind of intuition he now possessed. He now sensed a negative thought, an antagonistic presence. But it didn't make him feel any better because most of the times he couldn't stop the conflict from happening and had no control over how things would transpire. By the time he walked in front of Austin, Austin had finished his drink and he was toying with the glass in his hand. "Where were you?" he asked Liam.
"With some friends," Liam said. It wasn't a lie. After spending a good part of the day with Gary, Liam had gone to PRY and spent the rest of the time there with Moira and the bartender talking about whether or not chaps should be in fashion. "At the club," he added just to make sure Austin knew what friends he was talking about.
"Did you do anything else today?" Austin asked and this time he looked up at Liam.
Liam's mind went back to everything that had gone on in Gary's room. Everything came back to him now and Liam tried to push it back, afraid Austin would know what he was thinking just by looking at him. "Not much," Liam said. "Why?"
"I've been calling you," Austin said. "Why weren't you picking up?"
"I left my phone at home," Liam said. He had done that purposefully to dodge Austin's calls. Austin got up and Liam flinched reflexively.
Austin grinned when he gave that response. "Are you afraid of me?"
Liam said nothing. Not sure what the right answer would be. He just stood there, his eyes looking at the carpeted floor of Austin's house.
"You know you should be afraid of me," Austin said, walking behind Liam. Liam felt his skin bursting into a million goosebumps every time the man spoke. "After all, I've warned you a million times not to do anything I don't like, and you still went ahead and did it."
This time Liam was sweating just as hard as Moustache Man Gary. He knows, Liam thought, even though he had no reason to believe it.
"Zach," Austin said. "Why don't you take the little shit downstairs and show him what he's done?"
Zachary grabbed Liam by the shoulders and forced him to the basement. Liam didn't say a word although his heart was thumping so hard inside his chest it felt like a drum beating right next to his ears. He told himself that if he acted like he hadn't done anything they couldn't possibly know. He just had to make sure he didn't spill anything. They might know something but they couldn't possibly know everything. Liam had been careful. As Zachary led him through the hallways, with that vise grip reminding Liam how easily he could break his bones, Liam tried to focus. If Austin or Zachary roughed him up a bit, it wouldn't be a big deal. That's what always happened. No matter what Liam did wrong, Austin would forgive him. That's how it worked. Austin wanted to get back to their thing just as much as Liam did so he wouldn't dwell on it too long. So why is he getting Zachary to take you to the basement? Considering the fact that Austin had never involved Zachary in their fights, this was a big deal, regardless of what Liam was trying to tell himself.
And then they got to the basement and Liam saw what they were trying to show him.
Moustache Man Gary was stripped of his clothes and tied in the basement to a wooden post, badly beaten up and squinting under the bare light bulb right on top of him. Liam felt like someone had ripped the Earth from under his feet. His body started trembling, shooting adrenaline that made his legs weak and his stomach feel funny.
"You remember Gary?" Austin said, walking up to Moustache Man. "Of course you remember him. You fucked him in that motel room, didn't you?"
"I-I c…" Liam couldn't bring himself to finish whatever thought it was and continued to stare at Moustache Man.
"Don't you dare deny it," Austin said. "Or I'll have you tied here instead of him!"
"I'm sorry!" Liam said, finally able to spit out those words without stammering.
"I wish that was enough," Austin said. "But it's not. You'll have to make it up to me, Liam."
"Tell me," Liam said. "Whatever you want, I'll do it!"
Austin came up to him. "I do have an idea," he said and raised his hand. Liam saw the hammer he was holding. "Take this," Austin said. "Take this and use it on him the way I tell you."
Liam looked at Moustache Man, who looked like he was starting to wake up. "Austin," Moustache Man said. "I have kids! Please let me go!"
"It wasn't his fault," Liam said. "I made him do it."
Austin grabbed Liam's jaw. "Which is why you're going to show me how sorry you are," he said. "Or everything that you don't do to him I will do to you!" Austin pushed Liam to the floor. He left but Zachary was still standing quietly to one side, as though not even present. The man could easily pass for a machine instead of a human being. Regardless, Zachary was there and Liam couldn't try to run or save Moustache Man so he could go back to his kids. He sat against the wall of the basement and looked at Gary, and though he didn't even like the guy, the fact that he had a family bothered Liam as he sat there watching Gary cry. Liam wanted to say he was sorry, wanted to apologize, but he wasn't sure it would make much difference to Moustache Man who was now looking up at Zachary and pleading with him to let him go, even going so far as offering him a bribe, all of which Liam knew wouldn't work. But he couldn't bring himself to break it to Gary who must still be hopeful that there was a way out of this that didn't involve him getting mutilated with a tool.
"I should have never let you talk me into meeting you," Gary said, and Liam realized he was saying this to him. "I should have just walked away! This is all because of you!"
Liam wondered if Gary even remembered that he was the one who had begged to see him. Begged. Actually called Austin's place and begged. How did people forget so easily?
"You were bad news," Gary said. "You were bad news and I should have just left you alone! I wouldn't have been in this mess! It was supposed to be a fucking hook up! Why the fuck can't you tell him that?"
Suddenly, Liam didn't feel so sorry for sweaty, mustached Gary who had obviously pissed his pants quite a few times already. To Liam it was nothing new, things taking a turn for the worse, but for Mustache Man it must have been a total surprise. Before Liam could find something to say, Gary was speaking again. "If I'd known your boyfriend happens to be a psycho, I wouldn't have done this!" Liam wanted to ask if Gary didn't know that when Austin hit him in front of everyone and insulted him, if he really thought Austin could be anything other than a psycho after the way he treated Liam. Again, Liam said nothing and let the man lash out.
Hours went by as he sat there, and Austin finally came back. Liam was just as terrified of him as before. Gary started pleading again but Austin came right up to Liam. "Get up," he said. So Liam stood and faced Austin. Austin tried to place the hammer in Liam's hand but Liam pushed it away. There was no way he was going to hurt someone, let alone some guy who had children. But Austin wasn't giving up. "Take this," he said, "and break his fingers. Do it and you g
o scot-free."
To Liam it seemed worse than being beaten up. "I can't."
"You're a fucking disappointment, you know that?" Austin said. He grabbed Liam's hand and placed it on an old table next to them. When Liam tried to stop him, Zachary pushed him into the wall and stood in front of him, making it impossible for Liam to move. What Austin did next was completely unexpected. He lowered the hammer on Liam's hand and the pain that came as a result was blinding, white hot. It made everything go blank and Liam screamed. Zachary let go of him and Liam sank to the floor. He stared at his bludgeoned hand, bloody and swelling up in places, and sat on the floor and cried.
"I told you Liam," Austin said. "Everything you refuse to do to him will be done to you."
***
Liam stared up at Austin. The nightmare wasn't over. "Come on, Liam," Austin said. "Just do as I say and we'll go get your hand fixed. If you take too long your hand might never look like it was before."
Liam swiped at the tears on his face. But none of that made any difference to Austin. Gary kept pleading and crying too, but none of that made any difference to Austin either. "Please," Liam said. "Let me go."
"Do this one thing," Austin said. "And we're done, Liam."
Liam hated himself. "I can't," he cried.
Austin pulled him up by the hair, made him stand in front of Gary. "Sure you can," he said and placed the hammer in Liam's free hand. "The hand thing was for before," Austin said. "This time, I want you to take this hammer and hit him in the face, don't care about where it lands, just hit him!" Austin was saying all this almost excitedly, kind of the way he got when he was making Liam part of some sex fantasy. All of this, it wasn't just revenge on Gary and him, it was serving some kind of twisted fantasy of his, and when Austin didn't get his fantasies he got mean.
"Come on Liam," Austin said, closing his hand over Liam's left hand that was holding the hammer now. "Be a good boy, huh? Do this for me? Don't make me break your face too."