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Description

[The Devil’s Throat]

Ragda sat upon his throne, head languidly resting on his hand as he listened to the footsteps approach.

“So they live,” he commented, barely listening as Mr. Kelly gave his report.

“Well…” the bald man tried to say sheepishly, “I wouldn’t…”

“You were outmaneuvered and lost track of them, until their bodies lay at my feet, I’m not so stupid as to assume they were dead, so go find them, have them killed.”

“Um…sir?” Mr. Kelly mentioned nervously, “If I may, one of the lot was a recognized government privateer, it might not be so easy to just…”

“If you can’t take the short way then, by all means take the long one, but, for the love of ME…” Ragda waved at him dismissively, “Find them and kill them already, now, begone, I’ve other matters that need my attention.”

Mr. Kelly bowed, grateful to leave the room while Vanitas took the opportunity to step into the light. Before addressing her master, she took a second to warily eye the retreating back of the other subject. When her gaze returned to Ragda, she was surprised to see him smirking at her.

“Don’t tell me you’re jealous of the new recruit,” he cackled in the old queen’s direction.

“Of course not,” she responded sincerely.

“Because, I want to assure you,” he reached out his hand, taking hold of Vanitas’ flesh and forcing her to walk towards him, “Though I do play favorites in my court, I would never think to replace you,” her muscles jerked and twisted painfully, bones popping in and out of socket as they all moved in unnatural ways, “Not when we share such an unbreakable connection,” he extended his arm, wrapping around her waist and pulling her onto his lap, “My dear, sweet, Granddaughter.”

“S-sev-eral times…removed,” Vanitas managed to grunt back at him, “But you’re misinterpreting me!”

“Oh?” He released his hold over her and allowed Vanitas to stand under her own power once more, “Do tell.”

“…that…is to say…” she grumbled, straightening her clothes where his fingers had rumpled them, “That you…when I came to you with a report of failure, your response was one of insult, barely restrained rage, and torture.”

“Yes, I recall, perhaps I did overreact,” Ragda mused, while stretching out to caress her cheek, “But…I had a good reason.”

“You…” Vanitas caught herself before speaking her actual thoughts and bowed to him, “Of…course you do…did…my master.”

“Truly…” he grasped her face in his hand and squeezed her cheeks until her eyes were bulging out of her head, “You make such delightful faces when you’re in pain, and the sounds…they’re enough to drive a man wild!”

He kept squeezing her until he heard her jaw crack and then finally shoved her away.

“That said, gnats can be quite bothersome,” Ragda told her, assuming a more serious tone, “Yet, because of their small stature, also quite difficult to remove, to one such as yourself, you may seek to find a balance, to live with them as they propagate, but not I, my only desire is their swift and immediate removal before they spread their disease among my flock.”

“And…what disease might that be…” she said through gritted teeth swallowing back some blood left in her mouth from his ‘loving caress’, “My…master…”

“Hope,” he responded bluntly, a wry smile on his face, “Such a simple…pathetic emotion, but it warps the mind, makes the bent, and the broken to assume…things beyond their station…”

Vanitas stared back at him, her throat remarkably tight, her mouth feeling like sandpaper. She knew that he had sussed out her intentions, that this was nothing more than a veiled threat. No, she corrected herself as she was thinking it, Not a threat, a mockery, he knew as well as she that there was nothing she could do to escape his grip. As much as anything else, she was the gnat, buzzing around his head, free to bite, and sting, but, in the end, praying he wouldn’t swat her to death. Ragda noticed the recognition behind her eyes, the change in her posture and stance, and he smiled warmly, standing up from his throne and giving her a big hug.

“So glad we understand each other,” he told her as they separated, “But, I’d be fibbing if I said there wasn’t another reason,” with a flourish he gestured to the darkened tunnels surrounding him, and, with a calm clear voice he called out, “Bring it in!”

As he commanded, a group of cloaked individuals walked into the room carrying the orblette between them, supporting it on the long spear that cut through its center.

“So, you did know what it was?”

“Of course I did,” Ragda chuckled, “After all, we’re practically family.”

Reaching down, he rubbed his hands across the surface of the orblette, causing a cascade of green sparks to shoot out from between his fingers.

“…Isn’t that right, cousin,” he breathed, his words not even a whisper.

Digging his fingers into the surface of the sphere, Ragda reached deep into it and ripped out a jagged chunk of its body, raising the smoking hunk of rock above his head like a trophy and laughing all the louder. With no further hesitation, his fingers stretched around the stone and consumed it into his body. Finally the smile was wiped off of his face, his expression contorted into one of pain and grim determination as his entire arm was consumed in purple flame that slowly turned green before dying down.

The smile returned, but Ragda was still shaken, barely able to get back to his chair before collapsing.

“Ooooh-ho-ho,” he chuckled, “It hurts so good…”

Vanitas watched him, the man slowly passing out, and waited until she was certain Ragda had fallen asleep. Then slid closer to the damaged orblette, reaching down carefully she popped off a section of it.

“Put…It…Back!” Ragda growled at her, a green flame flickering from his half closed eyes.

She decided not to push it and dropped the piece back down where it eerily fused back together with the orblette.

On the other side of the city, Belix arrived at the hideout, a small apartment built into a hollow space behind an old bakery. There wasn’t much to it, an old cot where Clyde was wearily resting his head, a desk with some tools and sundries on it, and a chair that currently held Evie. She was holding a pistol and staring intently at the door. When Belix entered, her arms laiden with bags and weapons, she almost caught a bullet.

“You want to keep that arm?” the elfin woman demanded as she dropped her wares on the table.

“I want to lock the damn door!” Evie snapped, waiting impatiently as Granger shuffled himself inside, then clicked the lock shut.

“Whatever makes you feel safe,” she dusted her hands off and looked over at Clyde’s slumbering frame, “Is he…”

“Pretending to sleep,” Evie explained as she sat the pistol aside, tucking it away into a cabinet, “But he needs some rest, so let him.”

Clyde grunted, quietly, you could almost mistake it for a sleep rattle. Belix internally debated if she should steal another kiss, just to see what he would do.

“So,” Evie demanded, dropping back into her chair while Granger sat on the floor, “What’s our next move?”

“Whorehouse?” Belix shrugged, joining Granger on the floor, “Honestly I got no clue, all we know about them is…fuck, what the Hell do we even know?!”

“They’ve embedded themselves into the local government,” Granger offered.

“How do we know it’s only local?” Evie wondered.

“We don’t…” Clyde grumbled, keeping his eyes closed as he spoke, “Ragda’s only been around for a few months, but Vanitas…she was the Queen of Knott, no idea how far her connections could go.”

“Van…” Belix paused, then suddenly realized, “Ah! So that was the Silver Minx.”

“Who?” Evie raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t want to know…” Granger complained, “We know they’ve got numbers, it can’t just be senators and secretaries.”

“About that,” Belix put in, “It’s not just guards and soldiers, it’s monsters, we were almost overrun the other night.”

“What kind of monsters?” Evie wondered.

“Um…dragonfly…vampire…bug…things…” Belix shrugged, “You kill them with iron weapons or you cut their heads off.”

“Noted,” Granger muttered ruefully.

Evie fell into a contemplative silence and Belix leered at her curiously.

“Something you wanna share?”

“Does he know?” Evie wondered.

“Does who…” Granger started then loudly groaned, “You can’t be serious!”

Belix looked between the two and let out an irritated sigh.

“No, please,” she muttered, rolling her eyes, “Pretend I’m not even here.”

“Kelly,” Granger stated bluntly, “The bald fucker you shot some arrows at?”

“Yeah?” she turned to Evie, “What doesn’t he know?”

“That it comes at a cost,” Evie mumbled.

“Godsdamn it woman!” Belix complained.

“He’s motivated by civic renewal,” Granger explained, “He wants to preserve the current ruling class, keep their upward mobility going.”

“Nobel,” she mentioned sarcastically.

“Insane,” Granger corrected her.

“If he doesn’t know…” Evie mused.

“We can’t,” Granger insisted, “That man is not our ally.”

“But…he’s possibly in the dark, we could…”

“I like your enthusiasm,” Belix mentioned, “But, no, I don’t fuck around with cultists.”

“He’s not…”

“Yes he is!” Granger snapped, but then sighed, “Then again, that does put us back at square one.”

They paused for a moment, trying their best to come up with a plan.

“There has to be an angle we’re not seeing,” Granger muttered, “A way to …I dunno, track them or…”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Clyde finally spoke up from the bed, rolling over to face them, “The numbers in his army, they gotta come from somewhere…”

“Right,” Evie shrugged, “The military.”

“We killed, urm…close to thirty the other night, and those guards, they didn’t transform, not even when they were drowning…”

“Why would they transform?”

“Why wouldn’t they?” Clyde shrugged, “I’m just suggesting, instead of us assuming we’re fighting against one army, what if it’s actually two?”

“That’s…” Granger mentioned, wincing a bit at the thought, “A bit terrifying actually.”

“And how does that help?” Belix wondered.

“It…doesn’t,” Clyde admitted, then sat up, cradling his head in his hands, “But…I’m just speculating here, but, we could, maybe follow one back to their base?”

“We…” Evie stopped, thought it over, “It’s possible, but, how do we…”

“No wait,” Belix mentioned, “He’s onto something, we went to a soup kitchen and got attacked in the same night, that means they’ve got an active presence in the homeless population, meaning they come and go, meaning…”

“If they’re sending messages, then they’re leaving a trail,” Evie nodded, “Which soup kitchen did you go to?”

“Why the Hells are you going?” Belix demanded.

With an exasperated sigh, Evie spread her arms and the air in front of her shimmered, changing and altering her appearance randomly before finally disappearing.

“Fair point,” Belix admitted, “But, counter point, I don’t trust you to rush off on your own.”

“I could go with her,” Clyde offered.

“Shut up!” Belix snapped, and continued to glare at Evie.

The spy rolled her eyes and sighed.

“So…” she glanced over at Granger, “You two were talking I take it?”

“You thought we weren’t?” the big man shrugged.

“No, but I hoped you were wasting your breath resolving your obvious sexual tension.”

“Don’t change the subject,” Belix snapped, “You betrayed him, Used him, how the Hells are we supposed to trust you?”

“I’ve already told him,” Evie pointed at Granger, “Don’t…”

“I’m not!” Granger snarled at her.

“But understand my purpose.”

“To save your own ass?” Belix demanded.

“To serve my country,” Evie corrected them, “Having our leaders overtaken by some kind of brainwashing monster-cult isn’t exactly a good thing.”

“Belix,” Clyde put in, “She woke up Granger back in the caverns.”

“AFTER she knocked me out!” the big man grumbled.

“If she wanted us dead, we certainly would have been,” Clyde insisted, pressing the issue, “She exposed herself and she’s already taking a risk helping us.”

“So what?” Belix shrugged, “Could be she’s just playing a long con.”

“Of course she is, she’s a spy,” Clyde agreed, “We’re not exactly swimming in allies, I realize four’s not much better than three, but, do you really want to lose the only chance we’ve got?”

They considered his words, and Evie gave an amused chuckle.

“What?” he wondered.

“Nothing, it’s just…” Evie laughed again, shaking her head, “The one person here who understands me is the one person I can’t use.”

“Besides which,” Clyde mentioned, holding out his hand, one of his spider’s springing to life and crawling onto his palm, “I know a way to keep her in line.”

He whispered something to the spider and it chirped in response, instantly jumping off of his fingers and scuttling across the room to perch of Evie’s shoulder. Evie visibly cringed and fought the urge to brush it off.

“If she goes anywhere near that Kelly guy now, we’ll know,” he stated before lying back down.

“You’re sure about this?” Belix asked.

“Do I want to do it?” he clarified the question, “No, but, it’ll put your minds at ease and it’ll be easier for her to move around than if she was escorted, so…”

“Well…” Evie considered while still glaring at the golden spider on her shoulder, “He’s not wrong but…”

“Better than nothing I suppose,” Belix shrugged, then turned a stern glare towards Evie, “But, and you listen good, If you even Think about after that…uh…”

“Kelly,” Granger supplied the name.

“Right, him, you even think about going after him, I don’t care how it goes or what he says, we’re done, you can rot after that for all I care.”

“Good to know how loved I am,” Evie complained, but rose from her seat to make her exit.

“And, if you get captured,” Granger called after her, “Well, just don’t get captured, we don’t have the manpower to come and save you.”

Evie bowed her head and walked out the door, leaving a disquieting silence in her absence.

“Would you really abandon her?” Clyde finally asked.

Neither of them responded, lost in their own thoughts.

On the other side of the city, hidden in some dark catacomb, Ragda sat upon his throne, sweating profusely and shaking.

“Are you in pain, master?” Vanitas wondered as she stood vigil over him.

“Why?” he growled back, “Would that make you happy?”

“I’m merely attempting to…”

“To discover a weakness!” he snapped, “To hurt and control …Fuck You!”

He jumped up from his chair and started to anxiously pace around.

“Damn it!” he shouted, his voice agitated, “It was only a small piece, why is it like this?!”

“Are you in pain sir?” Vanitas repeated.

“Would you shut your goddamn mouth!” he yelled at her, “I need, need…rest, yes, that’s what I need, keep everyone away, I need to…”

“But, sir…” Vanitas pressed, “You’ve meetings today.”

“Cancel them!” he snapped, stomping way.

“The senator Revana has requested your aid!”

“Do it yourself, I don’t care,” he shouted back at her before slamming the door shut, “Just leave me be!”

Left alone in the room, Vanitas couldn’t help but to smile, her eyes slowly drifting over to the damaged orblette.

Description

[The Devil’s Throat]

Ragda sat upon his throne, head languidly resting on his hand as he listened to the footsteps approach.

“So they live,” he commented, barely listening as Mr. Kelly gave his report.

“Well…” the bald man tried to say sheepishly, “I wouldn’t…”

“You were outmaneuvered and lost track of them, until their bodies lay at my feet, I’m not so stupid as to assume they were dead, so go find them, have them killed.”

“Um…sir?” Mr. Kelly mentioned nervously, “If I may, one of the lot was a recognized government privateer, it might not be so easy to just…”

“If you can’t take the short way then, by all means take the long one, but, for the love of ME…” Ragda waved at him dismissively, “Find them and kill them already, now, begone, I’ve other matters that need my attention.”

Mr. Kelly bowed, grateful to leave the room while Vanitas took the opportunity to step into the light. Before addressing her master, she took a second to warily eye the retreating back of the other subject. When her gaze returned to Ragda, she was surprised to see him smirking at her.

“Don’t tell me you’re jealous of the new recruit,” he cackled in the old queen’s direction.

“Of course not,” she responded sincerely.

“Because, I want to assure you,” he reached out his hand, taking hold of Vanitas’ flesh and forcing her to walk towards him, “Though I do play favorites in my court, I would never think to replace you,” her muscles jerked and twisted painfully, bones popping in and out of socket as they all moved in unnatural ways, “Not when we share such an unbreakable connection,” he extended his arm, wrapping around her waist and pulling her onto his lap, “My dear, sweet, Granddaughter.”

“S-sev-eral times…removed,” Vanitas managed to grunt back at him, “But you’re misinterpreting me!”

“Oh?” He released his hold over her and allowed Vanitas to stand under her own power once more, “Do tell.”

“…that…is to say…” she grumbled, straightening her clothes where his fingers had rumpled them, “That you…when I came to you with a report of failure, your response was one of insult, barely restrained rage, and torture.”

“Yes, I recall, perhaps I did overreact,” Ragda mused, while stretching out to caress her cheek, “But…I had a good reason.”

“You…” Vanitas caught herself before speaking her actual thoughts and bowed to him, “Of…course you do…did…my master.”

“Truly…” he grasped her face in his hand and squeezed her cheeks until her eyes were bulging out of her head, “You make such delightful faces when you’re in pain, and the sounds…they’re enough to drive a man wild!”

He kept squeezing her until he heard her jaw crack and then finally shoved her away.

“That said, gnats can be quite bothersome,” Ragda told her, assuming a more serious tone, “Yet, because of their small stature, also quite difficult to remove, to one such as yourself, you may seek to find a balance, to live with them as they propagate, but not I, my only desire is their swift and immediate removal before they spread their disease among my flock.”

“And…what disease might that be…” she said through gritted teeth swallowing back some blood left in her mouth from his ‘loving caress’, “My…master…”

“Hope,” he responded bluntly, a wry smile on his face, “Such a simple…pathetic emotion, but it warps the mind, makes the bent, and the broken to assume…things beyond their station…”

Vanitas stared back at him, her throat remarkably tight, her mouth feeling like sandpaper. She knew that he had sussed out her intentions, that this was nothing more than a veiled threat. No, she corrected herself as she was thinking it, Not a threat, a mockery, he knew as well as she that there was nothing she could do to escape his grip. As much as anything else, she was the gnat, buzzing around his head, free to bite, and sting, but, in the end, praying he wouldn’t swat her to death. Ragda noticed the recognition behind her eyes, the change in her posture and stance, and he smiled warmly, standing up from his throne and giving her a big hug.

“So glad we understand each other,” he told her as they separated, “But, I’d be fibbing if I said there wasn’t another reason,” with a flourish he gestured to the darkened tunnels surrounding him, and, with a calm clear voice he called out, “Bring it in!”

As he commanded, a group of cloaked individuals walked into the room carrying the orblette between them, supporting it on the long spear that cut through its center.

“So, you did know what it was?”

“Of course I did,” Ragda chuckled, “After all, we’re practically family.”

Reaching down, he rubbed his hands across the surface of the orblette, causing a cascade of green sparks to shoot out from between his fingers.

“…Isn’t that right, cousin,” he breathed, his words not even a whisper.

Digging his fingers into the surface of the sphere, Ragda reached deep into it and ripped out a jagged chunk of its body, raising the smoking hunk of rock above his head like a trophy and laughing all the louder. With no further hesitation, his fingers stretched around the stone and consumed it into his body. Finally the smile was wiped off of his face, his expression contorted into one of pain and grim determination as his entire arm was consumed in purple flame that slowly turned green before dying down.

The smile returned, but Ragda was still shaken, barely able to get back to his chair before collapsing.

“Ooooh-ho-ho,” he chuckled, “It hurts so good…”

Vanitas watched him, the man slowly passing out, and waited until she was certain Ragda had fallen asleep. Then slid closer to the damaged orblette, reaching down carefully she popped off a section of it.

“Put…It…Back!” Ragda growled at her, a green flame flickering from his half closed eyes.

She decided not to push it and dropped the piece back down where it eerily fused back together with the orblette.

On the other side of the city, Belix arrived at the hideout, a small apartment built into a hollow space behind an old bakery. There wasn’t much to it, an old cot where Clyde was wearily resting his head, a desk with some tools and sundries on it, and a chair that currently held Evie. She was holding a pistol and staring intently at the door. When Belix entered, her arms laiden with bags and weapons, she almost caught a bullet.

“You want to keep that arm?” the elfin woman demanded as she dropped her wares on the table.

“I want to lock the damn door!” Evie snapped, waiting impatiently as Granger shuffled himself inside, then clicked the lock shut.

“Whatever makes you feel safe,” she dusted her hands off and looked over at Clyde’s slumbering frame, “Is he…”

“Pretending to sleep,” Evie explained as she sat the pistol aside, tucking it away into a cabinet, “But he needs some rest, so let him.”

Clyde grunted, quietly, you could almost mistake it for a sleep rattle. Belix internally debated if she should steal another kiss, just to see what he would do.

“So,” Evie demanded, dropping back into her chair while Granger sat on the floor, “What’s our next move?”

“Whorehouse?” Belix shrugged, joining Granger on the floor, “Honestly I got no clue, all we know about them is…fuck, what the Hell do we even know?!”

“They’ve embedded themselves into the local government,” Granger offered.

“How do we know it’s only local?” Evie wondered.

“We don’t…” Clyde grumbled, keeping his eyes closed as he spoke, “Ragda’s only been around for a few months, but Vanitas…she was the Queen of Knott, no idea how far her connections could go.”

“Van…” Belix paused, then suddenly realized, “Ah! So that was the Silver Minx.”

“Who?” Evie raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t want to know…” Granger complained, “We know they’ve got numbers, it can’t just be senators and secretaries.”

“About that,” Belix put in, “It’s not just guards and soldiers, it’s monsters, we were almost overrun the other night.”

“What kind of monsters?” Evie wondered.

“Um…dragonfly…vampire…bug…things…” Belix shrugged, “You kill them with iron weapons or you cut their heads off.”

“Noted,” Granger muttered ruefully.

Evie fell into a contemplative silence and Belix leered at her curiously.

“Something you wanna share?”

“Does he know?” Evie wondered.

“Does who…” Granger started then loudly groaned, “You can’t be serious!”

Belix looked between the two and let out an irritated sigh.

“No, please,” she muttered, rolling her eyes, “Pretend I’m not even here.”

“Kelly,” Granger stated bluntly, “The bald fucker you shot some arrows at?”

“Yeah?” she turned to Evie, “What doesn’t he know?”

“That it comes at a cost,” Evie mumbled.

“Godsdamn it woman!” Belix complained.

“He’s motivated by civic renewal,” Granger explained, “He wants to preserve the current ruling class, keep their upward mobility going.”

“Nobel,” she mentioned sarcastically.

“Insane,” Granger corrected her.

“If he doesn’t know…” Evie mused.

“We can’t,” Granger insisted, “That man is not our ally.”

“But…he’s possibly in the dark, we could…”

“I like your enthusiasm,” Belix mentioned, “But, no, I don’t fuck around with cultists.”

“He’s not…”

“Yes he is!” Granger snapped, but then sighed, “Then again, that does put us back at square one.”

They paused for a moment, trying their best to come up with a plan.

“There has to be an angle we’re not seeing,” Granger muttered, “A way to …I dunno, track them or…”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Clyde finally spoke up from the bed, rolling over to face them, “The numbers in his army, they gotta come from somewhere…”

“Right,” Evie shrugged, “The military.”

“We killed, urm…close to thirty the other night, and those guards, they didn’t transform, not even when they were drowning…”

“Why would they transform?”

“Why wouldn’t they?” Clyde shrugged, “I’m just suggesting, instead of us assuming we’re fighting against one army, what if it’s actually two?”

“That’s…” Granger mentioned, wincing a bit at the thought, “A bit terrifying actually.”

“And how does that help?” Belix wondered.

“It…doesn’t,” Clyde admitted, then sat up, cradling his head in his hands, “But…I’m just speculating here, but, we could, maybe follow one back to their base?”

“We…” Evie stopped, thought it over, “It’s possible, but, how do we…”

“No wait,” Belix mentioned, “He’s onto something, we went to a soup kitchen and got attacked in the same night, that means they’ve got an active presence in the homeless population, meaning they come and go, meaning…”

“If they’re sending messages, then they’re leaving a trail,” Evie nodded, “Which soup kitchen did you go to?”

“Why the Hells are you going?” Belix demanded.

With an exasperated sigh, Evie spread her arms and the air in front of her shimmered, changing and altering her appearance randomly before finally disappearing.

“Fair point,” Belix admitted, “But, counter point, I don’t trust you to rush off on your own.”

“I could go with her,” Clyde offered.

“Shut up!” Belix snapped, and continued to glare at Evie.

The spy rolled her eyes and sighed.

“So…” she glanced over at Granger, “You two were talking I take it?”

“You thought we weren’t?” the big man shrugged.

“No, but I hoped you were wasting your breath resolving your obvious sexual tension.”

“Don’t change the subject,” Belix snapped, “You betrayed him, Used him, how the Hells are we supposed to trust you?”

“I’ve already told him,” Evie pointed at Granger, “Don’t…”

“I’m not!” Granger snarled at her.

“But understand my purpose.”

“To save your own ass?” Belix demanded.

“To serve my country,” Evie corrected them, “Having our leaders overtaken by some kind of brainwashing monster-cult isn’t exactly a good thing.”

“Belix,” Clyde put in, “She woke up Granger back in the caverns.”

“AFTER she knocked me out!” the big man grumbled.

“If she wanted us dead, we certainly would have been,” Clyde insisted, pressing the issue, “She exposed herself and she’s already taking a risk helping us.”

“So what?” Belix shrugged, “Could be she’s just playing a long con.”

“Of course she is, she’s a spy,” Clyde agreed, “We’re not exactly swimming in allies, I realize four’s not much better than three, but, do you really want to lose the only chance we’ve got?”

They considered his words, and Evie gave an amused chuckle.

“What?” he wondered.

“Nothing, it’s just…” Evie laughed again, shaking her head, “The one person here who understands me is the one person I can’t use.”

“Besides which,” Clyde mentioned, holding out his hand, one of his spider’s springing to life and crawling onto his palm, “I know a way to keep her in line.”

He whispered something to the spider and it chirped in response, instantly jumping off of his fingers and scuttling across the room to perch of Evie’s shoulder. Evie visibly cringed and fought the urge to brush it off.

“If she goes anywhere near that Kelly guy now, we’ll know,” he stated before lying back down.

“You’re sure about this?” Belix asked.

“Do I want to do it?” he clarified the question, “No, but, it’ll put your minds at ease and it’ll be easier for her to move around than if she was escorted, so…”

“Well…” Evie considered while still glaring at the golden spider on her shoulder, “He’s not wrong but…”

“Better than nothing I suppose,” Belix shrugged, then turned a stern glare towards Evie, “But, and you listen good, If you even Think about after that…uh…”

“Kelly,” Granger supplied the name.

“Right, him, you even think about going after him, I don’t care how it goes or what he says, we’re done, you can rot after that for all I care.”

“Good to know how loved I am,” Evie complained, but rose from her seat to make her exit.

“And, if you get captured,” Granger called after her, “Well, just don’t get captured, we don’t have the manpower to come and save you.”

Evie bowed her head and walked out the door, leaving a disquieting silence in her absence.

“Would you really abandon her?” Clyde finally asked.

Neither of them responded, lost in their own thoughts.

On the other side of the city, hidden in some dark catacomb, Ragda sat upon his throne, sweating profusely and shaking.

“Are you in pain, master?” Vanitas wondered as she stood vigil over him.

“Why?” he growled back, “Would that make you happy?”

“I’m merely attempting to…”

“To discover a weakness!” he snapped, “To hurt and control …Fuck You!”

He jumped up from his chair and started to anxiously pace around.

“Damn it!” he shouted, his voice agitated, “It was only a small piece, why is it like this?!”

“Are you in pain sir?” Vanitas repeated.

“Would you shut your goddamn mouth!” he yelled at her, “I need, need…rest, yes, that’s what I need, keep everyone away, I need to…”

“But, sir…” Vanitas pressed, “You’ve meetings today.”

“Cancel them!” he snapped, stomping way.

“The senator Revana has requested your aid!”

“Do it yourself, I don’t care,” he shouted back at her before slamming the door shut, “Just leave me be!”

Left alone in the room, Vanitas couldn’t help but to smile, her eyes slowly drifting over to the damaged orblette.