The fear gushed over Cal. The grating voice snatched his breath away, the anger in the tone coiled around his throat. It squeezed.
“That boy should have been dead the day you found him. Fix this.”
Cal had gotten so used to the silence, perhaps the swooning nausea he felt was just the surprise. But no matter how long it had been since he’d been plagued by the voices, this voice was different. It was closer.
“Don’t make me ask again.”
It was so close.
“Kill him.”
Why were Cal’s eyes locked upon Laszlo? Why did something about the picture feel so horribly wrong? Laszlo walked just a few paces ahead of him. His eyes gazing out over the water, the stars upon the water reflected in his dark eyes. His face softened as it did sometimes, when he stepped just a little outside of his walls and some distant feeling came back to him. A sadness. Or maybe even a bitter joy. Some part of himself that Laszlo hid.
“Don’t anger me.”
Why did Laszlo have the diamond on his neck?
“NOW.”
The man leapt from the bushes, and Cal saw red.
A shout. A body barrelling into his shoulder. Laszlo fell, arm reaching out to try and cushion his fall as he dropped into the shallow water. The stars upon the lake scattered, and he gasped as the icy water seeped into his clothes. He turned.
Cal.
Pale hands gripped the blade, blood dripping from the wounds, but Cal didn’t pull away. The man towered above him, twice his size, yet Cal wasn’t breaking to his strength. He stood, hands raised, pushing the knife back. His face twisted into a fury Laszlo had never seen on him.
“You… you won’t…” Cal hissed, pushing his weight against the man’s hold. Their arms shook from the battle of strength. “You won’t have your way!”
Cal fell back. He’d fallen? No. He dropped, hands still gripping the knife, but falling with the man’s push. Cal’s leg kicked out, his foot smashing into the back of the man’s knee. The man cried out, falling to the ground. Laszlo fought to stand, but Cal was already upright. He stomped on the man’s wrist, kicked the knife into the water, and grabbed the man’s shirt with bloodied hands.
“I’m done with this!” Cal shouted. His fist raised. His pupils were blown wide. His face twisted with… fear? Rage? Confidence? Laszlo didn’t think there was a word in any language that could describe it.
His fist fell. Knuckles finding purchase in the man’s jaw.
“I’m done!”
He wasn’t shouting at the man. His eyes were searching the lakeside for someone else. Something else.
The man threw him off, and the two scrambled up again to meet. This time it was the man’s fist that met Cal’s face, sending him stumbling backwards, but Cal only flew forwards again.
“No more!” Cal shouted. “You hear me? No more! I’m not standing by anymore!”
Cal’s hands grabbed at the man’s hair, pulling hard. On the back of his neck sat the black diamond.
Mother Haera.
Laszlo’s legs shook.
She’d found him.
“You won’t hurt him anymore!”
Laszlo forced his legs to work. He grabbed at the back of the man’s shirt as Cal’s elbow crashed into the man’s jaw. Laszlo pulled, and the man stumbled free from Cal’s grasp. Cal crumpled on the spot.
His hands wrapped around the man’s throat. He met his attacker’s eyes and stared. Recognition flashed through the blue eyes of the stranger. And Laszlo squeezed.
His hands fit far more comfortable around throats now. It was easier than it had been last time.
He waited until the man’s struggles grew weaker, and Laszlo drew in close. “Tell Haera to come herself next time.”
He let go.
The man fell. Coughing. Gasping. Choking. But he turned, crawling away until he had the strength to stand and run. Laszlo watched him go. His fingers twitched from the effort.
They were coming for him. Again.
And Cal had seen.
Slowly, he turned.
Cal was pushing himself to his feet. He was shaky, his eyes not focusing properly.
Idiot.
He’d probably never fought in his life. Actually, Laszlo was pretty sure that Cal had never even had an argument with someone. Why did he throw himself into the knife’s path like that? Cal’s lip was bloody and swollen, his body swayed from the effort it must have taken to stand. Tears streamed from his eyes, though it was as if he didn’t even notice. He was favouring one leg – the one that hadn’t kicked – and his hands… his hands were just red. The blood covered Cal. His clothes, his skin, even his hair. He was a mess. An ugly, broken mess.
And all Laszlo could think, was how incredible he looked.
For a while, they just stood, taking one another in. Laszlo hated to think what Cal saw when he looked at him, but when the pain finally registered across Cal’s face in a flicker of panic, Laszlo close the space.
Me: Cal is so sweet and perfect, he deserves all the love and care and support.
Also me: Make him hurt.
Tagging: @nyxnevin and @concerningwolves If you’d like to be added to the Godless tag list please let me know ^^
All I could think about is this part of the plot, and I had to write it even though I’m still a few chapters away from it. Cal and Laszlo did this all themselves, and I did not plan for them to become a thing, but here they are, becoming a thing. Very rough, but hopefully it’s readable!
Laszlo is so not into Cal, what are you all talking about?
'Cal’s eyes opened slowly. They were like the ocean, really. The deepest blue depths, waiting to swallow up a sailor who wasn’t too careful.’
“Mother of Gods, his name is Rical, Spinel! Are you so far removed from this Plain that you really think I’d hurt him?”
‘“You haven’t answered me,” Laszlo said again, his hands covering Cal’s – to keep him gripping tightly, he told himself.’
‘Cal was silent a lot, he said little, but the words were always there, lingering just behind his eyes. Laszlo watched as the thoughts flickered and danced in Cal’s eyes – like the stars in the lake behind them.’
This is all one the same page. God, this boy is in deep.
Thank you @klywrites, @bookenders and @inexorableblob for the tags <3
From Godless (since when do I write anything else?) - last part of my writing spree last night before I died
The question fell from Laszlo’s lips before he could catch it. “Is that why you picked me?”
Cal stiffened. “No? I didn’t even know until later…”
“Then why me? This is too much of a coincidence.”
He turned. He hadn’t expected Cal to be as close as he was. The two stood, barely apart, and Laszlo was locked in the depths of his eyes once more. The thoughts were moving over Cal’s face again, though this time, it felt like Cal was searching Laszlo’s expression for something.
“Yeah, it is…” Cal whispered.
Tagging: @writings-of-a-narwhal @softdramahoe @siarven @nyxnevin if you guys are up for it ^^ And anyone else who wants to be tagged!
