Greys III - Revelations

Chapter 27 - Power & Control

Abby watched me with sad eyes. He looked older. He had always been old, as long as I had known him, but he looked even older now. I suppose running your own world does that to a person. Saving your entire kind. Secretly pulling the strings of that world to try to save everyone else in it too.

By the time I had woken from my latest bout of unconsciousness, it was just the cute soul eater with the scruffy beard, Abby, and me. But my hands weren't shattered anymore, which I appreciated. They had been complex breaks, bad ones, and I so hated broken bones, especially in my hands. I flexed my fingers a few times. Good as new. The cute one had many talents apparently.

"Thanks. Ally, is it?" I looked up at the healer coyly through my lashes with a grin, he rolled his eyes and quickly turned away.

"So, Abby, what's your plan for me now that I'm here? Re-education? Torture? Therapy? Anything but that last one, if you have any soul in you at all you'll spare me from that at least."

"Kai, what happened?" Abby's voice was quiet, sorrowful, and his old nickname burned my ears. The one he had only used when we were alone, when none of the Darke House had been there to hear the familiarity.

"What happened was you left a child with a fucking monster and a goddamn letter saying 'hang in there, champ'. You clearly gave up on me, so I did the same. But I guess it didn't matter once you found out I wasn't the prophesied one, right? Bet you felt like you really fucked that one up, huh? Gave me all that attention when I wasn't even the one that mattered. Well, I'm glad Gabriel is doing so well at least. Sorry I didn't turn out the same, tough having all of my master's attention these last fourteen years. None of his other little pets survived, just me."

I realized I couldn't move my feet, which was lucky for Abby, as I wanted to tear him apart and bathe in his traitorous blood. Drink it down until I was sick with it. I felt my Shift dig into me, twisting its spines into my flesh, demanding release.

"I didn't care for you because of the prophecy, I cared because I saw something in you, something good, something I had never seen in a Half before."

Abby's voice sounded sincere, he looked it too, but he was a mage, which meant words were his craft. And I had learned many times over to never trust a magic-wielder's pretty words.

"Well, sorry to disappoint, but whatever you saw is long gone now, stripped away by a hundred thousand little cuts." I let my Shift tear from me, relishing the clarity the pain brought.

"This is all that's left now." I leaned forward, the closest I could get to him and snapped my teeth, knowing my Shift was a frightening sight for most, darker, purer, deeper than that of others.

Ailech's eyes widened slightly, his hand twitching as if he wanted to use his ability on me, but he stood down. Abby just shook his head sadly, as if I wanted his fucking pity.

"You will have three rules. And though I wish I could trust you to follow them on your word, you've already broken two since you've been before me. First, you will not Shift unless in the company of another Darkling, Ailech, in training, or alone. Second, you will not hurt anyone without their consent, meaning again, only in training and only to the degree they consent to. And third, you will have no verbal or physical contact with any but a select few in the Vault; Ailech, myself, the Darke Clan, some tutors, and a few others. These rules will be bound into you, and you will be unable to break them. I am truly sorry I have to control you like this. It was never my wish to force anything on you, not after the life you've lived, not after so many choices have been stripped from you. But the safety of my charges is my first priority."

"That's funny, you didn't give a shit about my safety when I was your charge. So tell me, what will happen when I break one of your precious rules and turn your safe haven into my murder games?"