Page 10 of Map of Pain
No, that could make it worse. Patience, beastie.Luka told it.
Changing tactics, Luka sat cross-legged on the floor, deliberately making himself smaller, less imposing. His beast quieted, understanding the need for patience despite its rage at whoever had created this broken creature.
Minutes passed in silence. Nick’s breathing gradually slowed, some immediate terror in the air receding as no punishment came for his momentary confusion.
“I don’t know what you want me to do,”Nick finally whispered. The words carried desperate confusion, his voice so impossibly small compared to the snarling fighter he had seen just 7 hours before. Despite speaking, he maintained his submissive position, eyes fixed on Luka for cues.
Luka tapped his own palm softly, then extended it toward Nick, requesting his hand. The gesture was clear, simple—at least he hoped.
Nick’s compliance came with visible trembling, his hand pulled from beneath his knee and extending shakily toward Luka. His head bowed with the movement, as though he were too frightened to see what Luka would do with it.
Luka accepted the offered hand with exquisite care, cool fingers closing around Nick’s fevered ones with no sudden movements or excessive pressure. The human’s palm wascalloused but surprisingly delicate—long fingers that might once have been elegant before hardship ravaged them.
Turning Nick’s arm carefully, Luka examined his wrist, finding what he’d suspected—multiple bite scars. The marks weren’t random attacks; they showed systematic feeding over time with very little care for how the flesh healed. Skin around the wrist bore weathered rope burns, evidence of chronic restraint.
Moving slowly, he pushed Nick’s sleeve up slightly, revealing more forearm. Intricate letter-like scarring became visible, a deliberate carving rather than accidental marking. Words, permanently etched into flesh.
Nick flinched violently, jerking backward.“Don’t —”Immediate terror flooded his face at his own objection.“I’m sorry, please just tell me what you want,”he begged, desperation replacing defiance.
Luka could feel rage, hot and insistent in normally cool veins, bubbling up in him. Both he and the beast were in agreement. Whoever did this needed to be destroyed. He fought to keep his expression neutral, not wanting Nick to misinterpret his rage as directed at him.
Seeking a different approach, Luka guided Nick’s hand to the hunter’s own throat, letting his fingers trace the rough, uneven scarring there. Nick’s eyes widened slightly in confusion, not understanding the purpose.
After giving Nick a moment to feel his own scar, Luka moved the human’s fingers toward his bearded throat. He guided Nick’s hand through thick facial hair, allowing him to discover what lay beneath—extensive scar tissue concealed for decades. Damage that mirrored Nick’s own.
Nick’s fingers moved hesitantly through coarse hair, finding ridged tissue hidden beneath. His touch was light, exploring the extent of throat damage withgrowing comprehension.Careful,his beast warned, hackles raised.Broken hunter,still hunter.
I don’t think he’s going to hurt us, Luka insisted, though he offered the beast no evidence.
Something shifted in Nick’s expression. The vacant submission receded slightly, replaced by genuine curiosity. His fingers traced the hidden scar with careful attention, mapping its boundaries. Consciousness flickered, beyond the fear and disgust Luka had seen on display before. A light turned on behind his eyes.
There he is.
Nick’s fingers stilled against Luka’s throat, resting lightly over damaged tissue. His eyes, now fully present, searched Luka’s face with newfound awareness. The emptiness receded, replaced by something fragile but unmistakably human.
Speaking would hurt, but this moment needed his voice. Luka pushed through the sensation of steel wool scraping his throat, forcing air passed damaged vocal cords.
“Hard to speak,”he rasped, each syllable feeling like razor wire dragging through his larynx. The pain flared bright and immediate, then faded as quickly as it came.“Let me help. Please.”
“Why?”Nick whispered, the question barely audible but genuine. His submissive position had relaxed, rigid compliance giving way to authentic curiosity.
Luka felt the familiar a calm settle over him, the rightness of this moment. Sometimes questions didn’t need analysis. Sometimes the answer was simply what it was.
I don’t know.He shrugged.
Chapter five
Just another monster wearing a human face...
Nick
Reality seeped back into Nick’s awareness in thin trickles. Cold floor beneath his knees. Antiseptic smell burning his sinuses. A pleasant, melancholy tune being whistled nearby that somehow made his chest ache.
Nick blinked, his vision clearing as he emerged from the dissociative fog. He still kneeled on the floor, though the submissive posture felt foreign now, like clothing that didn’t quite fit. His arm throbbed as the pain crept back into his awareness. Whatever the vampire had done to take away his pain was wearing off.
Get up.Move.Escape.
His muscles refused to cooperate. The internal command bounced off walls of exhaustion and lingering conditioning.
