( 1 ) — 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚. ❝ 𝓵𝓪 𝓿𝓪𝓵𝒆𝓾𝓻 𝓭'𝓾𝓷 𝓱𝓸𝓶𝓶𝒆 ❞
✧ — “ So, I’ve been thinking… ”
✧ — The sound of the statement reverberated from wall to wall in the small, enclosed space once serving as an office. Now, with hundreds of books lining the length of the four walls, it appeared to have been fashioned more as a library in recent years. It smelled of linoleum and heavily worn papyrus, everything covered in a thin and endearing layer of dust. Beams of light filtered in through the stained glass between the white structures of the window pane. The colors offered a myriad of beautiful hues that brought reflected color to the private world.
✧ — A man had draped himself over the cushions of the only piece of leisure furniture in the room. The black boots covering his sizable feet were laced with deep grey strings that matched the soft cotton shirt he dressed himself in that day. His tongue snaked out to swipe over his canines as his hazel eyes fell on the individual standing in the doorway.
✧ — Waiting for his visual acknowledgement was a male in his mid twenties who stood at five feet and three inches. Nearly black curls flopped messily over his small stature, decorated with a few streaks of soft pastel peaches and eggshell. Dark eyeliner appeared to be smudged above his almond shaped eyes and it served as a fitting addition to his outfit. The red tee that he wore had the word ‘ gross ’ across the chest and the sleeves were torn off. It fell over his torso and sat in the forefront of his faded light blue jeans. There were large gaps in the denim in the form of intentional rips; instead of peaks of bare skin underneath, one would find the cross-stitching of black fishnets.
✧ — All in all, it was quite the spectacle to be receiving when the sun was nearing its apex.
✧ — “ Don't hurt yourself there, mom amour, ” Amari replied evenly, hazel eyes still affixed on the intruder. He made no motion, appearing more stone than man on the couch. “ You might pull a muscle. ”
✧ — The male in the doorway cleared his throat, then. It was crude and scratchy, but served its purpose of quieting the vampire. “ As I was saying, I’ve been thinking about you. ”
✧ — Amari let out a mirthless exhale. “ Did you suddenly realize you want me ?? ”
✧ — “Actually…yes. ” The candid reply had certainly halted any further thought from the vampire. His body had jolted up into a sitting position as he took in the other male’s body language. The confident way he was standing and the folding of his arms over his chest only made the immortal man more suspicious. Of all the witches boarding with him, this one never played along. “ Part of you, anyway. ”
✧ — Amusement lazily washed over Amari. “ I don't think you're ready for part of me, ” he shot back going to stand now. He used his speed to shift past the witch and close the door, smile already rising to paint his face in a healthy, pearly white accented glow. “ However, I’m not opposed to helping you get there. ”
✧ — The witch turned, gaze open and somehow disenchanted. One of his arms pulled away from his chest to lift a hand into his own line of vision. His fingers flexed and unfurled. “ That won't be necessary, ” he said, calmly. His wrist flicked, Amari’s heart leapt, and the vampire’s form was sent toppling back over the futon.
✧ — Just as he was gathering his bearings, the metal rods holding the futon aloft began to bend beneath his weight. They attempted to wrap around his form, but his heightened strength made quick work of pulling them away long enough for him to get out of their range.
✧ — “ Z… ” Amari started, voice low in a sort of warning.
✧ — The witch seemed every bit as composed as he had been moments prior. If looks could write a thousand words, this would only have warranted one: displeasure. “ I should’ve clarified that the part of you I want isn’t dangling uselessly between your legs, hm ?? It might have saved you some embarrassment. ”
✧ — “ What are you on about ?? ”
✧ — “ What is that thing that you say all the time ?? Still monologuing ?? ” His words were followed by a single look in Amari’s direction. The vampire suddenly doubled over. He could feel every vessel of blood surrounding his brain bursting in waves of force. The skin of his face and neck were turning a soft grey, as if the very moisture was being wrenched from his body.
✧ — The books on the shelves began to rattle. “ I rote memorized pages and pages of shit my ancestors thought was world changing, but I don’t know...I woke the fuck up and realized it just wasn’t enough. Then, I remembered something very important. We have an encyclopedia made of slowly decaying flesh under our roof, drinking our tea for free. One that, mind you, promised to offer his centuries of magic knowledge to our quaint little coven if we offered you shelter. ”
✧ — Pain nearly blended each of the male’s words into one as his vision slowly encased itself in crimson. He’d dealt with similar inducements during his imprisonment, but none felt so aggressive as the one now loosening his grasp on his basic facilities. Each breath felt like a labor, each heartbeat reminded him that he was suffering from what would have killed any other type of creature in the blink of an eye. He knew the spell. Blight. “ We had a deal… ” he managed to spit through gritted teeth.
✧ — A moment later, the pain subsided. Amari gasped for any air he could pull into his lungs. “ Oh; right. The pact. We find a cure for you and you record all the spells you were forced to read in someone’s sex dungeon, ” Z recited, emotionless. “ I’d love to see the material you’ve written so far. ”
✧ — “ Didn’t do what you swore; I know. That’s why this entire encounter isn’t exactly civil. ” Bubblegum colored soles came into Amari’s line of vision. Amari could no longer bargain for his life; he knew he was now at the mercy of the temperamental witch. “ The others have so much patience with you, maybe too much. I think they truly believe you’re worth saving, ” Z continued, bending forward to press the soft pads of his fingertips into the bottom of the vampire’s chin.
✧ — With no struggle, he lifted the vampire’s head to meet his gaze. Much like his stance, the look Amari found in his eyes translated to confidence. He knew that what reflected on his own face was submission. “ ...but I don’t really care what they think. You’ve only got one use and it isn’t to waste my time sifting through your awful personality to find any redeeming qualities. ”
✧ — The constant hum of books tapping against their shelves had steadily faded into the background until entire room began to shake with a force Amari couldn’t quite pinpoint. As if a storm had brewed in the enclosed space, the books began to fall off of their perches and dance about the room in a show of telekinetic prowess. “ Now, time to party. ”
✧ — Z’s hand fell away from Amari’s face. They lingered in front of the kneeling vampire’s eyes long enough for him to see that the black polish on the middle fingernail of the male’s left hand was chipped and the pinky seemed to have been done in a rush. He would think only of this to distract him from whatever torture was to come next.
✧ — “ Do us both a favor and only think about what you’ve read. It’ll save me time and you a headache. ” Before Amari could ask why, those same hands were now flared open on either side of his head. He had but a moment before his eyes were lulling to the back of his skull, mouth agape. Every image, letter, and face that had ever been gathered by his visual sense glazed over his eyes as blood poured out of them to drip down his cheekbones.
✧ — He could feel his brain virtually liquefying and, in his panic, he tried to black it all out. “ Or we could just do this the hard way, ” Z replied to seemingly nothing, though Amari could barely hear it over the ringing bouncing through his skull from the bursting of his eardrums. The once comforting black had begun to resume the terrible listing of images that had overloaded his senses with an unnatural fervor.
✧ — An eternity passed before the small storm subsided. Every nerve in the vampire’s body had been rubbed raw, leaving him deprived of all sense of self except for the sight that greeted him when his hazel eyes rolled into place.
✧ — The earth seemed to have shifted on its axis. No; he was lying down now. He couldn’t remember how he ended up horizontal. He could barely remember who or what he was. His healing ability didn’t seem to be working.
✧ — “ Stay with me, sport. ”
✧ — He heard the voice but it sounded eerily close, far too close to have been uttered in the outside world. Thinking more on the matter, he couldn’t even hear his own heartbeat. This meant the voice was coming from within his mind.
✧ — “ We still have hundreds of books to go. ”
