The Transcended: They call him Lucius

Part 1: Memories ~ Chapter 8

Amy rocked back and forth on the bed, holding her legs with her nightgown pulled over them. All the memories had come back to her now. Every time he had hit her, every nail he had pulled, every other thing he had done to her. Tears rolled freely over her face as her gaze was fixed on the door of the room she had stayed in for the last couple of months.

-

They had performed physical examinations the past few days—again. Her fingernails had healed without any visible damage and, of course, the beatings had left no markings. The bones that had been broken had long since healed; they told her the x-rays provided no viable evidence. They were also unable to find any drugs in her system, except for those they themselves had prescribed. The general screening of her health came back perfectly normal, not even a raised cholesterol level. Two doctors had looked at her abdomen, but both determined that there was no scar tissue. Amy kept pointing at the mole—which had moved several inches from its original location—but the doctors just raised their shoulders.

"Perhaps the salve he used even made the internal scar tissue disappear?" she tried.

The doctors looked at her and smiled softly. "There are salves that can reduce the visibility of a scar but to completely remove trace? Especially of such a thing you describe..." They both shook their head. "Do you have any idea what this salve was?"

Amy hesitated. "He made it from human fat, bone marrow, and some other parts I don't remember."

The doctors looked at each other but remained silent. She tried to explain to them that Lucius had removed all of her wisdom teeth, but they simply stated that what little dental records they had of her, there was no trace of her ever having had wisdom teeth.

Defeated, she remained silent. The doctors simply finished their report without looking up and left. Worn down, she decided to take a nap before her appointment with Doctor Langston.

-

"Lucius, might I ask you something?" Amy asked softly over dinner as she stirred her soup. She couldn't eat solids yet as she was still recovering from the extraction of all her four wisdom teeth—an excruciating pain she'd never forget, nor the sickening sound it had made.

"You may."

"Do you really worship Satan?" she asked hesitantly, keeping her eyes on her soup.

Lucius laughed.

"I... I really want to know." She looked up.

Lucius' laughter faded and he glared at her. "I personally don't believe in the bible, nor the characters in it, if that's what you're asking. If my clients want to believe in Satan—and think human sacrifice is required for that—I'll play along. Even though I hate relying on others, it's simply impossible to work alone." He took a bite from his steak. "As long as they think it works, it's fine by me. I simply give them what they want. Youth, riches, health, higher rankings in their puny society, and I... I reap the benefits." He grinned. "People like Tom can be very helpful every now and then as you yourself have noticed." He took another bite.

Not knowing how to respond, Amy drank some of her soup.

"Did you know that that man, Jonathan, is a member of the House of Lords?"

Amy nearly dropped her bowl as she stared at him, mouth slightly agape.

Lucius laughed. "Oh, dear... You have no idea how deep this all goes, do you?" He grinned at her in pure delight. "You wouldn't believe how far some people are willing to go just to obtain wealth, power, health, and youth." He leant towards her as if going to tell a secret. "Haven't you ever wondered why certain people in powerful positions seem to age differently than normal people? Why they seem to get older than normal folk? Why they suffer less disease?" He laughed again. "Humans are greedy, selfish creatures. There aren't many people who wouldn't give the life of another in order to make their own better." Still grinning, he returned to his meal. "Now finish your soup, Bobbi."