Page 81 of Iblis' Affliction
‘If you leave, don’t come back.’
“What does it mean?” Slater asked, his lips cold and unresponsive.
“Please, don’t kill anyone, okay?” Miraç leaned away in the chair, holding his palms up. “If you stay, one day he’ll come for you. He didn’t say, but if you wish to leave, no one will stop you.”
“No…” Slater shook his head, unable to accept his punishment. It was worse than the basement. At least, in the basement, he knew Master would be coming for him. In the basement, he could tug a safety bolt out and release himself at any moment, knowing he could go and see Master. Here, he felt buried alive. “Slater wants to see Master…”
“I’m sorry, buddy,” Miraç gave him a cautious smile. “The faster you heal, the sooner he’ll come for you. But after everything you’ve done, this may be your only chance.”
“My only chance?” Slater cocked his head, trying to understand those eyes, full of concern.
“To escape capital punishment. You don’t expect him to forgive you after everything you’ve done, do you? Talha is understanding, but no one is this tolerant. She was his bride, yet you are still alive. You must be special to him if he gives you this option. Don’t waste it—leave the country while you still can.”
Slater’s eyes refused to blink as the realization dawned upon him, coating him in chilling sweat.
Master will kill Slater?The thought ricocheted in his skull, never absorbing into his mind. It felt foreign as if it didn’t belong in his head, therefore he didn’t believe it. “No, Master won’t.”
If Master wanted to kill Slater, Master would have done it in the mosque…
“Anyway,” Miraç got up, his hands wrapping the fresh bandage around Slater’s chest. “I gotta go. Please, don’t kill anyone. Drink in small portions. The bathroom is behind that door. No showering. If you need assistance, press this button.”
The doctor exited, leaving behind the gagging smell of hand sanitizer. Floundering in the ocean of his disturbed thoughts, Slater stared ahead with unseeing eyes.
“Master wants to get rid of Slater…” He whispered, still unable to process the thought. It felt like a joke, because no matter what Slater had done, Master always forgave him, always took care of him. “Master won’t kill Slater, or he wouldn’t be kissing Slater. Miraç is wrong. Slater will wait for Master and ask.”
With that resolve, he slipped down on the linens until he sprawled on his back. His breathing short and shallow as jolts of pain surged beneath his ribs. The bedsheets absorbed his sweat in minutes and stuck to his skin, but he didn’t care.
“Slater will wait for an hour. Slater can wait. It’s okay. If Master doesn’t come, Slater will leave. Just one hour.”
Hours passed by, but Master didn’t come. His anger morphed into distress then despair. Sinking his nails into his stomach, below the bandage, Slater scratched his skin. Red lines darkened with effort, turning bloody and raw.
“Slater should leave. Master must have forgotten. Master is busy. Slater will come to Master. It’s okay.”
His fingers traveled up his neck and pressed to his mouth, where the elusive memory of a painful, bloody kiss still lingered. To reinforce it, he sank his canine tooth into his bottom lip. The skin broke, and blood flooded his mouth. Sucking on it, he tormented the cut more, to feel the pain. The one Master gave him.
“No.” He gulped down the coppery taste. “Slater should be good. Master didn’t abandon Slater. Master will come. Master left a message. Master kissed Slater. Master must be busy. Slater made him really busy…”
But with time, his resolution shattered. The first star crawled up into the dimming sky. Neighboring with the brightening moon, it reinforced his restlessness. The night called for him like it called a wolf. It stirred a growl at the back of his throat, making him want to howl his distress.
“Slater wants to see Master. Why isn’t Master coming? Slater needs to see Master. Does Master hate Slater now?”
Hugging his middle, Slater slumped to his side. His mind emptied as his eyes focused on the golden line of light, streaming from under the door. Every time a shadow cast over it, he held his breath, but shadows kept passing by, filling his soul with cold loneliness.
Talha didn’t come the next day. Like a caged animal, Slater paced his way up and down, until pain and fever forced him back to his bed. The broth, he was allowed to drink, didn’t fill his stomach, and there were no sweets to calm his nerves. Thrown to the lions of his memory, Slater wallowed in feverish delirium, remembering every small detail about Master. His smell, his touch, the small sounds he produced while sleeping. Those memories shredded his soul, making him want to break the order and go see Master.
Twice, while using the bathroom, Slater almost collapsed. Repulsed by his own weakness, he started understanding why Master wouldn’t come. No one needed a weak assassin. No one needed someone like Slater now. Miraç had said that Master would come when he healed. It made sense. Talha wouldn’t waste his time on someone weak and helpless.If Slater can’t heal, Master will move on.
The thought stabbed his brain with a vivid memory of Savas’ smiling face.
“Did Master close the deal with Savas?” The thought opened a vent of hatred. Black and sticky, it flooded his core, instilling the need to crush everything and everyone on his path, until he found Master. Still, the invisible wall stopped him from crossing the white line whenever he approached.
Succumbing to his agitation, he jumped Miraç, aiming to kill, but didn’t, fearing that Master would never come if he did.
With every day spent in the small room, he was losing his hopes and patience. Many times, he was ready to leave. Many times, he got angry and tossed things around, got dressed, determined to go and see Talha, but every time his foot touched the line, the handwritten words shackled him better than any leash.
What if Master doesn’t want Slater after all?
A WEEK PASSED SINCETalha returned home. His nausea varied. At times it abated, leaving him energetic and clear-minded for hours, but it eventually slammed back into his guts with a violent coughing spasm when he least expected it.
