Page 47 of Heathens

The pain shocks the intruder’s eyes open, and he squeals like a stuck pig, sweat making his skin slick as I continue to cut.

“You keep moving and I’m going to slit your throat.” I grip his hair and force his head back, holding it in place. “It won’t be as fun if it’s an accident.”

“Go fuck yourself,” he spits.

His voice quickly morphs into an agonized wail as I tear the rest of the brand off, letting the bloodied piece of skin fall to the floor. Just to add insult to injury, I sink my teeth into the wound, glee flooding my chest as he lets out another scream.

The man’s head slumps as I dislodge my fangs, his breathing shallow and punctuated by little more than a slight wheeze. Theo reaches down and grips his chin, wrenching his head up to face us. More pained sobs ooze from the man’s lips like honey, along with the trickle of blood that drips from his wound. This whole scene is delicious.

“Why did Rene send you?” Theo demands.

The intruder’s glassy eyes find Theo’s and he somehow manages a smile, shaking his head.

“The longer you hold out on us, the worse this is going to be,” I mutter as I pick up a bigger knife and grab his broken arm, cutting through the fabric of his suit.

My blade digs into his flesh again, this time much more pointedly piercing the joint of his elbow. It’s easy, like cutting into butter. I can hear the blade squelch as the flesh gives way, but I hold steady, slicing through muscle and tendon until his arm drops to the ground. This time he barely makes a goddamn sound, only watches in shock as I place the severed arm on his lap.

This is going to be a bitch to clean up.

“I know you’re here for the formula.”

The man looks up at me, somehow still defiant as he drips sweat and blood.

And then the shrill ring of the phone cuts through our perfect little moment. I can see our guest grin out of the corner of my eye.

“Now, what do we think that could be about?”

DOMINIC

Duncan Towers

Iflipthebladein my hand and jam it into the intruder’s gut. His agonized cry is like music as I lean over, patting him on the head.

“Hold that for me, will ya?”

Theo hands me the phone, his yellow eyes betraying some frayed nerves. I lift the receiver to my ear and exhale.

“Hello, Dominic.”

My muscles coil.

“Rene.”

The human laughs hysterically in the background, interrupted only by little groans as he struggles with his many wounds.

“It’s been a while since we had a proper discussion.Like gentlemen.”

I scoff. Rene was always dragging Theo and I in for meetings like he was the fucking vampiric Godfather. He’d sit behind an enormous desk in an ostentatious office and tell us every single step of a plan, down to the last letter. He treated us like fucking children. It’s natural to get sick of that bullshit after a while.

“What’s the matter, don’t have the guts to meet me in person? You sent one of your little bitches to do your dirty work for you? Hey, you want me to make him sing for you? He’s a real fucking talent, listen.”

I yank the knife from the human’s gut and drive it straight down into his thigh. He lets out a screech that slices through the air like the string section of a symphony. I know it won’t mean anything to Rene. It’s low-class showboating, but I don’t care. I need to take this rage out onsomething.

“Do it again,”Rene chuckles. “Actually, can you put him on the line? I want front row seats to your little show.”

I slash the human across the face with my claws. Deep cavernous cuts form and his wail digs into my bones like teeth while Rene cackles on the other end of the line.

“You know, even as predictable as you are, you’re becoming quite the thorn in my side. You’ve spent so much time trying to get to me that you can’t even see the mistakes you’re making. Every once in a while, the fallout of one of your little idiotic adventures actually causes me a bit of grief. Not sure if you deserve credit for just being a fuckup, but at least it keeps you in my thoughts.”

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