Scarlet Song

Chapter 15

Nyla nods, accepting his decision on my changing before looking over at me. "How can you be so sure with how weak she is right now? Darling, lower your glamour. I can smell the exhaustion that clings to you. Why do you do this to yourself?" I lower my glamour and sigh deeply as Voltair looks away from me. "This is the strength of my resolve, m'lady. I'm pushing myself into a more predatory state to ensure I won't lose to Vera. I'm usually in a much better state than this but, she's caused enough harm and she has threatened Voltair. I won't stop until not even all the depths of the seven seas will see her existence again." Nyla startles me a little as she smiles and curtsies to me. "Very well, then. You have our alliance and will still have it when you win against Vera, my girl. I wish the very best for you, darling. If you need anything, simply ask and you shall receive. I hope married life to Captain LaCrue finds you well." She strolls closer to me and runs her finger under my chin tenderly. "Don't give their downward glares any wieght. You are a queen, my girl. You are a LaCrue and as good as Queen to your people. Everyone will have plenty of shit to talk until they have to shovel it." I nod and smile warmly at her as we turn to leave. I don't think either of us let out any semblance of a breath until we made it back outside. Voltair chuckled and sighed. "That-went easier than I had anticipated. Now, the only obstacle left being your starvation." He leans in and kisses my forehead and inhales my scent. "You just have to promise you will pull through this, Moone." I giggle and nod, tilting my head. "Are you ever going to stop calling me that?" He chuckiles and smirks as he looks at me playfully. "Possibly. I mean, what would you rather I cal you? My wife?" I blush and giggle more, shrugging. "Maybe. That one might be a stretch but, I can learn to live with it." He playfully acts offended and, for that moment as we alk back, things felt like we were at peace. It didn't feel like an entire war was on the brink of breaking out. We were blissfully oblivious to being afraid or stressed until we made it back and Xoraya laces her arm with mine. "I have something on my ship that will help over the next few days provided the plan is still in place. Its a holding cell, enforced with bronze so, you'll stay put as the hunger takes over. Are you ready?" I look to Voltair and swallow back breaking down as I seen the agony in his eyes as I nodded. He locked eyes with Xoraya and grabbed her arm firmly. "Bring her back to me in one piece--Please." She nods and grabs his arm just as firmly. "You have my word, Volt. Do you still have her collar? I'm letting Marcus be the one to taunt her out in two days time. It's scary but, sometimes putting our loved ones on the line is the only way to bring out the strongest in us. You'd be amazed what someone is willing to do or change to save a life when it comes to someone that holds their heart. Our family may be backwards but, I love her. She's my sister and one of the better of all of us. She is safe with me." He nodded and released her arm before his arms flew around me as he pulled me close and kissed me deeply, his fingers tangling in my hair. When he stepped back, I seen one of the rarest sights when it came to him, he was crying. As we split, we held onto each other until the last moment as Xoraya walked me to her ship. After some sniffling, I looked to her and smirked. "Do I want to know why you have a cell specifically made for us on your ship?" She giggles and shrugs. "I had a point of time that my instincts were far less tamed than I thought. I spent months breaking myself of going after Marcus when hunting was scarce. It's not easy but, it's worth it, Rue." I nod and walk on board with her, raching back to undo my dress to dress down before I went in. I handed my dress off to Xoraya as Marcus waved me in and I stepped down into the holding cell and he locked it behind me. He stayed for several hours, talking to me and keep my brain busy. He showed me his scars from the months it took to break Xoraya and sang shanties with me until Xoraya returned and sat next to him. "I have Amspehone taking Voltair to hunt. It was hard enough to get him to leave to eat, I couldn't imagine if he was here to see you like this. He's so torn being apart rom you, Rue. How the hell do you have a vampire wrapped around your little finger?" We all laugh and talk the night away. It all served as some peace as the days ensued and soon, it got harder and harder to talk to Marcus as he sat outside of my cage. Before I truly started to slip, I remember Marcus telling me not to be so harsh on myself. I told him how insecure I felt about Voltair seeing this side of me. "You needn't have such shame, LaRue. In all forms, you and your sisters are magnificent. My nana used to tell me stories of creatures called "elementals' and that's what I think of when I see you all. You are forces to be reckoned with and a testament to the strength of your race. Never be ashamed of it." It seemed like forever dragged on as I fought every fiber of my being not to lunge at the bars at Marcus when he left for a while and I knew that meant that everything was about to get worse for me. I found some confort when I could smell Voltair when he came aboard but, relief was quickly scattered when I could smell blood on him and my first burst of loss of control hit. I collided with the bars and crumpled to the floor of the cell, groaning and panting as Xoraya began to pour buckets of water over me. Voltair speaks, audibly tense. "Is that really the smartest idea with her abilities?" Amsephone speaks up, clearing everything up. "This form is less reliant on her abilities. She is going to rely strictly on getting her hands on something living to eat. Do you have the collar ready?" I assumed his answer as I smelled Marcus get closer to the cell and lock eyes with me as I gripped onto the bars to hold myself back as it burned. He slowly sliced into his plam and let it run into the water surrounding me. At that point, my vision narrowed before it blacked out completely as I changed and I open my eyes to see red as I sought out the origin of the blood and the tantilizing smell. Voltair came to stand over the cage now, sleeves rolled back up to his elbows and he looked me over. He seen my inhuman features now. The spines along my back and the wings that extended from my shoulders, the pearlescent feathers shimmering in the light. My horns extended further from my skull as my jaw extended back and showed rows upon rows of teeth, my tail tangling and whipping like a barrel full of serpents. My body no longer cared about the sting of the brass as I waited for Voltair to open my cell door. All I could think of was how warm Marcus' flesh would be and how quickly my teeth would tear through him. I lean close to the bars and smirk as I locked eyes with Voltair as I whispered. "Come, my love. You know I wouldn't harm you. You are dead, after all. You're not my type of meal, just let me out so I can tear him apart. The human part of me writhed in agony at how venomous I was being and how my words drew out as hungry hisses. I could see the pain Voltair's eyes as he pulled latch loose on my door and let the door swing open. I wasted no time shooting out of the cage and gliding back down to the deck as I materialized nose to nose with Marcus, running my tongue along my teeth as my tail wrapped around him on the ground but whipped furiously close to him. My body was quivering from the hunger but, somehow, I still had more control and looked over at Xoraya as she stood next to Voltair and my body shook as I suddenly tore into Marcus and felt the brass spear fly through my chest before I screamed out in agony and groaned between my teeth. "You can come out now, Vera. Don't act like you're sneaky enough for me to not notice you clouding everyone else's vision. Are they seeing the same?" She walks out along the deck, smiling and waving Zaira out. Zaira was covered in leather armor, making it so she could handle the spear and throw it through me. She was carrying a sturdier form of the chain the Captain used to bind me. "Yes, they are, LaRue. Xoraya is seeing you fail her miserably. Your husband is seeing you be torn apart by Amspehone and Xoraya. Amspehone is hearing the shrieks of agony from everyone and tearing into you. Marcus will wake with no clue who Xoraya is, just thinking she's a woman from his dream after he walks off this ship." I let Zaira chain me and I lock eyes with Voltair, clouded or not. I could see the agony that spread through his entire body. Even as we dove under the water's surface, I could Voltair cry out when the illusion wore off and Marcus hit the water and swam, confused where he was. I prayed Voltair would piece it all together that I wasn't dead and I found a little peace when I looked over Vera fully. A smirk crawls weakly across my lips when I realize how bad Voltair maimed her. Her face was a mass of scar tissue on one side. "You're so lucky you got away with just that, you fucking brat." Vera whips around to smack me hard across my face and I taste the blood as it wells in my mouth. "You shut your your mouth. You'll be dead soon enough. Where I'm going to leave you, no one will ever find you. No one will want to. Now, you get to die slowly and alone. You're not even worth me consuming." I giggle and shake my head, even as she grabs me by my hair and drags me along. A while later, we surface on a dark beach, where I muster enough strength to morph back into my legs as they lead me to what looked like an abandoned home of a baron. "You see, Rue, this baron loved brass. He lined every wall he could with it. A siren's worst nightmare when trying to find her way out. You will either walk inside on your own or Zaira and I will tear you part and you're far too weak to do anything to us right now." I reluctantly nod and wander insi9de and hear the screeching in my head immediately. I make it to the center of the main trophy room before I crumple on the floor. The brass in this room alone was enough to make it so my vision was far too blurred as well my hearing and everything else. All I could think to do was try to break through the floor to find some peace from the agony so I pounded away at the floor boards until they broke and I fell into the basement. The next task at hand was to push the spear the rest of the way through my chest. It was excruciating until it finally feel to the floor and I toppled unconscious onto the floor.