Part of Them

Part 28

"Excuse me?" I questioned. I must've misunderstood.

They wouldn't make me embarrass myself like that, right? That would be humiliating...

"This wasn't a suggestion, it was an order. If you don't show us your wounds and injuries and tell us who or what exactly did that,we will do that for you and get a mage who tells us the stories behind them," boomed Rei's voice.

"I highly doubt a being so powerful even exists, brother," I retorted back confidently. There might be one or two mages in the entire world like that to exist, but that's about it. And finding them would be nearly impossible.

"We're well connected, little one," spoke Rosen in a finalizing tone. "We know somebody very powerful and they are very close to us, so if you choose not to tell us the stories and creatures to blame, we will surely find them out in a matter of seconds."

While we were talking, Alerus started wrapping the wound on my stomach back up in clean bandages.

Gulping, I shook my head. He was only bluffing. I'd feel the beings' presence if it was nearby.

"You're bluffing," I said, "Show me who it is then, maybe then I'll oblige your every command," I laughed bitterly.

"We're not playing this game, Faer," said Rei in a deep, commanding voice. "Strip."

Avoiding his eyes, I looked to the ground. I had to get a clear head in order to think my options through. Maybe I could weasel myself out of this by making up some stupid excuse or by threatening them somehow?

I had no idea.

"I said strip," he repeated with authority.

Feeling the weight of this statement, I let my shoulders droop, and got up from the bed.

If I didn't do it, they would do it themselves and I was almost certain that I didn't want anybody to undress me forcefully. I'd rather do it myself.

Accepting my depressing fate, I swallowed down a big lump in my throat.

I pulled my arms out of the cozy maroon hoodie and stripped it over my head.

The others didn't show any surprise on their faces, but I heard Rosen intake a sharp breath and I knew almost immediately as to why that was. The scars on my back...

Linda, a woman who was like a mother to me for some time, had carved something into my back the night she found out about me being a vampire.

What she carved, I still don't know till this day. I never dared to look.

Panic struck me. The mark on my back would make it obvious that something big had definitely happened while I wasn't with them.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Alerus look from the side of my back to Rosen. He seemed to put two and two together and grabbed me by my shoulder and spun me around so that they could also see what Rosen was so horrified of.

Having submitted to my fate at this point, I let him do whatever he wanted.

Now facing Rosen, who was still standing rooted to the spot on the other side of the bed, I noticed that he had tears in his eyes as he looked onto the spot where my backside had once been.

Was it really that bad?

What could possibly be carved into my back to cause such a reaction from him.

I didn't hear much from behind my back. I thought that they would react as shocked as Rosen, but I didn't hear a thing. There was complete silence in the small make-shift infirmary.

I would've turned back around because I wanted to know what they were seeing if it weren't for Alerus' hand on my shoulder holding me in place.

Turning my head over my shoulder to ask them what it was that was carved on my back, I met eyes completely void of any emotion.

I heard Rosen's breathing picking up.

"T-thats a c-curse, isn't it?"