Bri said nothing and sat and watched the entirely new side of Fangs. He had been terrifying before always following through with threats but she could see that the true nature of what he was had been kept hidden from her until now. He was the scariest thing in the room. The utter blackness of his eyes made it clear he had no problem making the demon bleed, no fear of failing in the act.
“I do know where the original is, but I find myself curious to see what Sleeping Beauty has hidden in that pretty head.”
“Dreams of me. Fucking her.” Fangs said no joking in his tone. He was baiting the demon so as much as she wanted to blush she forced herself to allow him the floor.
Adam laughed, his chuckle reverberated through the room and the scent of burning flesh stung her nose and eyes. “You’re right Vampire.” His voice was no longer welcoming and the distortion behind it had Bri gearing up a dose of pure vengeance if need be. She was not weak and with her glamour’s down she was a good match for Fangs when it came to violence.
“Smoke in mirrors.” Fangs laughed waving his hand in the air. “Where. Is. The. Original?”
“Does she know what you are capable of?” Adam asked his tone normal once again.
“She has an idea but I warned her I am no longer fighting fair for the sake of politics. One of mine was taken and I am willing to kill a demon an hour till I have that fucking knife. Perhaps I start with you.” He was so calm, so sure of himself and not in the least afraid of following through.
Oh shit.
“Does she know that you question your strength when she is near?” When Fangs said nothing Adam continued. “No, perhaps because you know that a weakness to a Vampire is a sure way to the final grave. She is your weakness, your own proverbial sun.”
“She is my weakness until I have the knife. My claim on her was an attempt to save her life. I am stronger than a little passion and need. More importantly I know the difference.”
Those words were a slap, and the pain would last long into the night but she refused to look into it at the time. She needed a clear head and as much as she wanted to know more, it was not worth the cost in the end.
Adam looked to Briar chuckling. “She is absolutely breaking apart at the seams no thanks to that little statement.” His stare leveled. “Were you aware before that statement that you were so expendable to him?”
Choosing her words wisely she spoke, “I am the one who walked away from him and as much as I love this little trip down Heartbreak Avenue I only want the knife. If opening all the little trap doors in my mind will achieve that goal, then have at it.”
“ Bri no!" Fangs all but shouted but it was too late. Once again in being a smart ass she made herself a target. She could feel him in her head, moving things around, finding buried secrets and there was nothing she could do. Fangs voice was a blast in the room but she couldn’t decipher what he was saying, few words broke through the invasion that Adam was making.
After sorting through her mind he must have found what he wanted because the pressure died off and Fangs words were a din roar. “God Damn it! What the fuck were you thinking?”
She snapped her head to the side and leveled her stare on him, her own eyes rimmed in red at the absolute fury she had all a rage inside of her. A new little trait her former lover had yet to see. “Fuck you, I am not a pussy. It’s my knife so I pay the price.”
Adam looked at Fangs. “She tends to pay the price for everyone it seems. Don’t make it personal, it is natural for her.”
Not meaning to ask but the words escaped before he could stop them. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
That pressure was back full force and Bri could do nothing but wait it out until he had whatever weapon he needed to answer Fangs. Had she been able to make a conscious thought she would have begged him to stop.
“She has paid dearly over the last seven hundred years for everyone around her. Starting with her stepfathers kingdom. From the womb she was protecting others, agreeing to marry Prince Fil to please a man who hated the very sight of her.”
Though the words were harsh and struck deep she knew they were true. King Hubert despised her mother’s infidelity and his anger was outsourced on Bri.
“Let’s see, what else?” Adam went on and tasked his tongue before laughing again. “Oh this is good, real good.”
“Stop now I swear to god I’ll rip you apart!” And it wasn’t a request, Bri wondered why he was so pissed. This was a perfect chance for him to get his answers, the ones she had always refused him.
“She thinks as we speak that you should be pleased at finally getting the truth.” He drew his brows. “I see our little Beauty here is a pretty little liar as well.”
“Let’s see, the next line of business, and this I tell you was burr-ied. In an attempt to help her father gain power in hell, as a new demon she accepted the deal of maturation to become a “vengeance demon” and allow Fil the full five hundred years all mates are demanded to give.” He paused laughing at the expression on Fangs face. Gone was the anger, in its place complete naked shock. “I don’t think she even remembers the deal, yet I can see it clearly taking place. She begged him to release her, to help her but he demanded your servitude didn’t he Briar?”
Adam was watching her closely his eyes full of compassion, the hunger of feeding from her secrets her fear at the grand reveal. What he was seeing, perhaps, was even to awful for him.
“The same deal was given to Ashess, ah yes I see your fight there as well. He forced her to feed from you for her strength never telling either one of you that the feeding would be permanent, to seal the two of you in strength. She is what did he call it…” He tapped a finger to the side of his mouth, the pressure of his search digging inside of her mind to the point of agony. “Ah yes, a "Succubus”.”
“You feed Ash?” Fangs asked but his voice was barely audible over the pain.
“She despises it, hates the very feel of fangs on her skin, don’t you Briar?”
She didn’t answer, was beyond answers. She hated feeding Ash because with it came Ash’s emotions and the darkness in Cinderella was un-fucking-livable. Feeding Fangs had been pleasure among any other.
“She has been desperate to protect you, completely devoid of what you are capable of, she only knows fear and the evil Fil is capable. Jesus, it’s almost sickening to see the wealth of love she has for you.” He snarled the last part and turned his attention back to Fangs. “And you berate her for it out of pride. You are truly a fool.”
“She deprives herself of all things, avoids peace because it has a cost. Looking in her mind has been a lesson in absolute pain, in the barest sense of the word. She is simply waiting for a coffin to curl up in. I venture a guess at saying that she is completely ruined.”
With that single word she had lost the fight. He Bring her feelings and thoughts come from another while you are helpless to protect yourself is the worst type of death.
“Perhaps be a gentleman and give the girl a spinning wheel and prick her damn finger because she needs a good night’s sleep and honestly, eternity would do her a world of good.” With that he pulled back from her mind gently closing all her doors and lockers where she safely hid her most treacherous memories. One by one they were locked away but it was no use, he had effectively opened Pandora’s box and what came back, if any part of her did at all, would never be the same.
“Where is the knife!?” Fangs demanded his voice like a razor, he was not asking again.
Game over.
“Are you aware that even if she finds the knife, she must use it? Fil is stronger than he has been given credit for, I know him and he will not go gently into that light. You are giving her false hope.”
Fangs moved faster than Briar could track, his fangs were dropped and his veins had gone as black as his eyes and covered his smooth skin like a band of ropes. Those daggers hidden in his mouth sank fast and fierce in the neck of Adam Cane as a wail of torment ripped through the house, shattering the fesh
as Cane’s wife and daughter rushed into the room.
“Tell me now or you die in front of your wife and child, I could care less!” For the first time in his thousand years Fangs made a threat he had no intention of keeping. He wasn’t thinking in the box he did business in. This was all about Briar and a claimed Vampire would do anything to save their claimed.
Bri was shaking uncontrollably as she tried to stand from the seat but her joints were making mini earthquakes and her voice was so not cooperating. “Please…” Adam gasped. “Release me… I’ll give…anything.”
Fangs retracted and Adam gulped in air his eyes demanding his wife leave and take their daughter with them. “Who has it?” Fangs demanded again.
“The Weaver.”
*
“What the hell does a Contaca Soul need the knife for? He’s not even a demon.” He let the blood drip from his Fangs so that Adam knew he meant business.
“He was given the Blessed Knife for safe keeping.”
Fangs stepped back and thought of the reasoning behind giving something as important as the knife to a Contaca Soul. It made no sense. They didn’t have the strength or resources to keep it safe. He needed to get Bri back to the crypt and get that little fucker Peter Pan to start answering some questions. If anyone knew all there was about Contaca Souls’ it was Peter Pan.
He stalked toward Adam each step taken with hatred and malice. “If she is any different than the girl I brought in here when she finds her footing I will take a pound of flesh for every nightmare, every tear, every god damned flinch she makes!”
Adam nodded and the smell of his own fear, fear of Fangs revenge was a permeable stench in the room. “May I say something to make an amends to you on good faith?”
Fangs snarled having heard all he needed from the worthless snipe, but nodded, hedging that it may be needed.
“What I opened in her was a service. I may have hurt her in the process but she was as tattered as a string on a runaway kite, it was a matter of days before the tether keeping her sane broke.”
Adam adjusted his tie as he continued to speak, his voice calm, level and filled with a sadness Fangs didn’t understand. “It takes courage and strength to survive what she has and still want to find the good.” He stepped forward to Fangs with a threat of his own. “A warning if I may: She was shattered by whatever connection you severed between the two of you. Her reasons for leaving you were for your safety and her own, however foolish they were. Find a way to salvage whatever is left of that connection because your love is going to keep her stronger than any blood any contract and any knife let alone the blessed one. Fil will kill her. He will not hesitate, no warning and no flinch, he will do it the first chance he has.”
“What happens between Briar and I is our business and you are crossing a line I won’t hesitate to kill over.” Fangs didn’t need advice from a demon on Briar. He got to see the mess she was up close and personal and still he wanted her. His reasons for denying to let her back in were strictly because she was planning to walk in the end. The end game did not include them. No happily ever after, no once upon a time. What was, was, and it came and passed and now it was about survival. As much as he loved her, wanted her he would watch her leave. Leaving him was all she had left, he understood it now and he wouldn’t fight her.
“I’m willing to test that line and offer her my support as an ally.”
“Why would you offer yourself as an ally when I am the dog at your heels?”
“Because I saw what you cannot ever understand. You have a taste of her because of your claims.” He pointed at himself, “I have been in her and I look forward to the vengeance she can unravel. As a fear demon it’s a buffet. But I warn you now, she is not what you think she is, let alone what she thinks she is. Her power is… terrifying.”
“I’ll pass it on.” Fangs said not betting that he would. He lifted Bri into his arms and headed for the door, he made his point . Adam Cane knew what waited for him if he so much as thought about Bri in a harmful way. Whatever he meant about her being something else entirely, well Ezek would answer to that and a shitload more.
Adam followed him to the car but stayed a distance behind. Never a good idea to stalk a stalker. One wrong move and Fangs would have his bite locked in like a junkyard dog. As Fangs jumped in the driver’s seat Adam spoke. “I would offer my assistance to you as well. I find your form of threats a bit demented and I can only imagine the fear you unleash.”
“Perhaps one day I may need a fear demon to help clean up a mess but until then I’m not making any commitments.” Fangs slammed the door and started the cruiser when Adam tapped on the glass.
Jesus this guy was persistent. He rolled the window down and an aggravated “what” sounded through the night.
“Do you know of her scars?”
Fangs glanced at Bri her scars not on display because when he strapped her in he folded her head to the side and let her hair fall around her face just like she preferred. “No, she never told me and I never asked. Figured however it happened was torture enough, no sense reminding her.”
“I think you should ask her. Perhaps knowing the why’s of things helps to understand the reasons.” And with that he turned and walked away, having slipped his card in the window pane of the cruiser.
*
Fangs took Bri to his home, a condo off of Capitol Hill in the heart of Seattle’s Emerald City. He ordered her a pizza and found a series marathon of Deadliest Catch, her favorite. They hadn’t spoken and he didn’t mind the silence. He waited for the pizza and then went to take a shower and give Bri some space. She finally stopped shaking about an hour ago and the constant chatter of her lips softened courtesy of Jim Beam black label.
He had sang those blues before so he knew the relief only three fingers of Kentucky straight would offer.
His mind however was not about to be shut down and it raced a mile a minute. There were too many questions now, things that Adam Cane pulled free and left dangling and Fangs damn well couldn’t ask her about them. His first plan of attack had been calling Peter and leaving a message that he was looking for The Weaver, a Contaca Soul who had been entrusted with one of history’s greatest mysteries and that little Fairy would know damn well who Weaver was.
Second on his list of Fuck you very much was a nice little chit chat he would have with Ezek. If what Adam claimed, Ezek manipulated Bri in her most vulnerable state, making her a pawn in a fight she didn’t have a clue about. As far as he knew Ezek didn’t have a reason to use Bri and Ash in his rise to power. And the whole feeding Ash thing had him hanging his head under the shower's drilling splash in absolute confusion.
He knew Bri was concerned for Ash while they were in Ontario, but that worry stemmed from a fucking life force, a bond forged between the two of them that absolutely neither one had any hope of getting free of. He knew about feeding, with it came the others emotions, their deepest thoughts. He knew Ash and he wouldn’t have fed from her for a million dollars and twelve burn free sunsets. The girl had issues and a dark side to rival the Grim Reaper.
Adams words ran through his head repeating like a god forsaken Allstate commercial. “Perhaps be a gentleman and give the girl a spinning wheel and prick her damn finger because she needs a good night’s sleep and honestly, eternity would do her a world of good.” He knew the meaning, understood it. Like the rest of the world he knew the Disney version of Bri's life. Hell the minute he found out who she truly was he went out and bought the blue ray bonus pack, along with Cinderella, Snow White and Beauty and the Beast.
Speaking of Beast and Belle... Jesus, the way Bri broke down about that had him on an alter of suffering, crying out to the almighty for a request to turn back time. Learning how sacrificial Bri had been in her long life, it must have killed her to know that Belle sacrificed herself so Bri would have a guardian of the contract and the knife, no doubt a protector of Ash's slippers and Winters apple seed.
Fangs came from a world of easy living, fuckin
g wenches and drinking coconut rum until the sun came up. He was happy as a pirate, his days on the water are long gone, but he missed them now as much as he did watching his last sunset. Becoming a Vampire had been a choice and of all his decisions he never regretted accepting his eternal kiss. Had he known that Bri was out in the world waiting for him with Fil as her only option he would have jumped ship, kissed her and ran off together, given her the happily ever after she deserved.
He had stood at her side so many nights, watched her kill some of the most vile beings on this planet, and done it with a dull blade no less and not an ounce of magic. He meant what he said earlier, if she tapped into that darkness she hid from him and the world, dropped her mask, she would be indestructible. He remembered a conversation he had with Ash when Bri left him all those months ago. He said that he would make hell tremble for her. Knowing what he knows now, he didn’t need to. Briar was capable of making it tremble all on her own.
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