Cyrus screams and writhes in agony, unable to stop the second attack. Wolf repeats the motion, puncturing Cyrus’s other lung easily. Cyrus gasps as blood fills the plastic airways, pooling in the tubes. “Wh…uh…why?” He chokes out as the rustling of his breath escapes from the tubing.
“I’m a visual kind of guy. Why listen to a story when I can recreate it for you? Why not let you feel what Warbler felt, right up until the moment when Iris held her death chilled body? Only I won’t weep over you, and I certainly won’t dig your grave with my bare hands.” Wolf quickly unsnaps the bonds keeping Cyrus in place. He lifts one end of the table so that Cyrus’s body tumbles onto his stomach. The impact forces the tubes in deeper while gravity drains the blood.
Cyrus gasps, his body seizing. “Please. Don’t—”
“Mynah said she found Warbler on her stomach so the blood in her lungs could drain. I suspect Creeper intended to return to her, and Mynah got there before he finished playing. I sincerely doubt that you’ll be that lucky.”
Cyrus lies in a pool of his own blood, the warmth of the liquid pulsing through his clothes. He can almost see his heartbeat rippling through the fluid around him. “Ki…kill me.”
“Not yet! Creeper tortured her for hours. He did all sorts of unspeakable things, some that I cannot even stomach. Rest assured that whatever little virtue you still have will remain.” Wolf sniggers as he lifts Cyrus’s body up and places him face down on the table once more. He picks up a razor from the table, stalking up to Cyrus’s head. Wolf slowly removes the hair from Cyrus’s scalp, the strands forming a dark cloud under the table. “He beat Warbler, though. Mynah said she was covered in bruises and blood. That is one pleasure that I can enjoy.”
Cyrus heaves at the sound of his blood splashing through the cracks of the table and onto the floor. The tubes in his chest make lying flat unbearable. He lifts his body up onto his elbows and knees, putting as much space between the tubes and the table as he can bear.
“Oh, that’s cheating, brother!” Wolf chides as he reaches for a long, heavy board. “That’s far too easy!” He slams the board down on Cyrus’s legs, breaking the bones in his shins. The force of the blow is strong enough that shards of bone protrude from his left calf. Cyrus groans, his body convulsing.
Cyrus! Suryc wails through his mental bond with his Cadogan. Hang on! She’s coming! Iris and the Ddraigs are coming to find you! Don’t give up!
Suryc, I’m sorry. Protect Iris and Siri, even when I’m gone. Tell Iris that I did try…and tell her I love her even still. The rest of his thoughts are lost to the Ddraig as Cyrus’s body falls hard, the tubes in his chest sealed shut against the table’s wooden surface.
***
“There you are!” Lerual screeches as she drops to land beside me and Siri somewhere in the marshlands between my former house and the House of Piranhas.
“We’ve been searching for you for so long,” Enomena explains, sliding down from her turquoise Ddraig’s back. Anemone immediately takes to the skies once more, no doubt in search of food.
“Is something wrong with the nomads?” I demand, immediately rising from my small fire and meager amount of stew. I don’t know why I even bothered to stop tonight to cook; my stomach has long ceased its protesting growls. Food does not satisfy me anymore, not when I am so heartsick. I won’t be able to eat until I make sure Cyrus is okay…that my actions haven’t broken him beyond repair.
“Ekard is trying to stir up a revolt, but that’s nothing new. So far Drake is unwilling to follow him, as far as I can tell. I’ve been trying to catch up to you for three days now, following Siri’s scent. And every time I think I’m close behind you, I’ve come up short. What’s the plan?” As Lerual speaks, she casually eyes a half-eaten deer carcass by Siri’s feet. Though she says nothing outright, her eyes speak volumes as they longingly follow the outline of every meaty contour, her belly roaring hopefully.
“Have at it,” Siri grumbles, spreading her wings wide. “I’ll catch up to Anemone and find something else.” Lerual does not need any more encouragement.
I wait impatiently, my chipped fingernails digging into my thighs while she finishes her meal. My mind screams with the desire to share my plans and keep moving, but I know that Lerual and Enomena will not be able to hear me over the sounds of the deer’s bones cracking under the weight of the Ddraig’s strong jaw. The first time I saw Siri eat, I barely managed to keep my own food in my stomach. Now, having many more horrors to occupy my mind, a Ddraig’s eating habits hardly affect me. When Lerual’s long tongue snakes out of her mouth to lick the blood off her lips, I finally find enough silence to lay out my next moves.
“I’m going to the House of Piranhas to free Cyrus and try to stop Wolf from becoming the monster I fear I’ve unleashed. Enomena, I want you and Anemone to hurry back to Ekard and the rest of the Ddraigs. Make them come to the House of Piranhas. Tell them to fly hard, even by the light of the moon. I need them there in five days.”
“Five days! Even by wings, that’s a difficult task,” Lerual exclaims, staring at me in wide-eyed horror.
“We’ll
