Seduce Me ~ The Path To Forgiveness

Path Two, Step Thirteen: Consumed By Madness

"Hello, Matthew!" My monster greets warmly as Matthew materializes beside me and stares at the unfamiliar demon.

"Do.. do I know you?" He stammers, momentarily stunned.

"Oh yes, we're quite close. Isn't that right, pet?" He smiles as his gaze slides back to me and Matthews eyes widen as his hands ball into fists.

"This is the guy from your dreams?" Matthew asks softly in disbelief and I nod as he glances over to me.

"B..but then this can't be real, can it?"

"Very insightful, Matthew. One of us isn't real but I wonder which of us it is? Hmm?" He asks as his eyes bore into me and I feel myself weakening under his gaze, my legs numb and dead beneath me, and Matthew barely manages to catch me before I hit the ground.

"_______?! Are you alright?" Matthew asks frantically as he lowers me to the ground and kneels beside me, his eyes filled with worry. Panic rises in my chest as I try desperately to move my legs, feeling very much like I did the first time I awoke to find them little more than dead twigs.

"Aren't you tired of this game?" My monster taunts and Matthew shoots him a sharp look, blades materializing between his pale knuckles.

"Leave her alone! If you want her you're gonna have to go through me." Despite his bold words they fall flat as my monster chuckles happily in response.

"As much as I would love to rip your heart out before her eyes you're much too valuable to dispose of." He sighs almost sadly with a shake of his head. "But cutting you up a bit should be fine if you'd like to try."

'Much too valuable..' 'As long as I live..'

"No.." I whisper softly as it dawns on me.

"Perhaps I'll keep you. She does seem to enjoy your screams after all." He taunts further and I can't help recall Matthews pleas. 'Please, just let me die.'

"Why are you doing this!?" I scream as tears begin to pool in my eyes, already accepting the path I must take to end this nightmare.

He doesn't respond until I raise my eyes to his, seeming to relish my expression as the first of my tears fall. "Because your mother is a traitorous whore." He takes another step towards me and Matthew begins to rise to his feet but I stop him, pulling him against me and resting my lips beside his ear as I swiftly grab one of the small knives from his hand.

"I'm so sorry. Please forgive me, for everything." I sob softly as I feel my cracked mind finally shatter, driving the blade into his neck before he has a chance to react.

I wrench the blade out as he falls onto his back, clearly in shock as he stares at me in disbelief. Blood spurts from the vicious wound, I've hit something vital, and he gasps for breath, managing one word.

"R..Raestrao." The word is barely audible, distorted by thick gargling as blood trickles down his throat, but it has it's desired effect.

He's dead before James steps through the portal, my now empty hand falling to my side as my arm can no longer bear its own weight, and he stares mortified at the scene before him.

"Matthew!" He screams as he rushes forward and drops down beside his brother, putting pressure on the wound as he searches for a pulse.

"It's no use." I sigh as I watch him, feeling detached as if I were watching a play or movie, and he turns his gaze to me, filled with the same disbelief as Matthews seconds before he died.

"You.. You did this." He states dumbly, eyes wide and hands trembling in shock, and I simply nod in response.

He reaches forward, rage building in his eyes, and his fingers close around my throat. I make no move to stop him, my body and mind dead, as he squeezes tighter. He doesn't see my monster approach him from behind, though I do even as my lungs begin to scream and my vision begins to darken.

"Why wouldn't he listen to me!?" He screams as his grip tightens, the bones in my neck cracking beneath his fingers, and just as I pass out I hear my monsters sickly sweet voice.

"My Lord, your father's been looking for you."

I awake in a familiar concrete room, screams pouring from my cracked and aching throat as I thrash wildly in my chains, as my monster watches me from the doorway.

"Welcome back, my pet. While I can't deny I've enjoyed breaking your mind I've missed cutting on your skin. Since I'm such a nice guy I'll give you some time to rest, you've been through so much after all. I'll see you bright and early." He chuckles as he steps into the hall, casting me a backwards glance before he departs. "Oh and the future Demon Lord, James I believe you called him, will be wanting a word with you when he's back on his feet so you'd best prepare yourself for that as well."

"It's all in my head." I whisper to myself as the thick door slams shut, my eyes slipping closed as I await the nightmares end. "It's all in my head."