They had her swinging from the fucking rafters, Dora.
Yes, they—because walking in, Sieg counted about twelve more people altogether. They stood so still and so much like the others outside, Sieg almost thought they were human, but they weren't. They were reapers under control...and not any Westen reapers either.
No, there were only two Westen in the shop and he made numerous dos. Aye, amid All of the broken tools, overturned chairs, and splattered ink sat the one Sieg and all of West End knew as Eigen the constrictor.
Caramel-colored fella, skinny, very nice hair. The halo of red they curled into made him look like a lion, yet Eigen defied his terrifying title still. Oh he was handsome alright, devastatingly so...it was almost unbelievable, unnatural. Going just by looks, you'd never think the word insane was first written for him. No really.
And standing that twelve feet facing him, Sieg could feel the danger he was in just breathing the same air. Not that he was going to show it though—Sieg absolutely refused to acknowledge his beating heart's warning because fuck that. He'd been bathing in supernovas since before Eigen was a thought, he'd die before he started fearing him. Now if only he could tell his heart.
He was human now and the human body reacted to reapers like fire alarms, it was annoying. Especially while he himself was trying to look scary.
Eigen saw this, saw how his body shook with his every step, saw the goosebumps, saw how his eyes shifted up to the hanging whore every second or so and that gave him the biggest jolt of pleasure he'd felt in aeons. He licked his lips for that and thus revealed his canine-like pearls. Eigen was cunning, he knew how to play and making the first move never won the game.
Sieg didn't care, Dora was up there all chained to the ceiling and the female reaper beside her kept nudging her like a swing. Then she happened to look at him, saw the look in his grey eyes, and stopped. Sieg turned them on Eigen then. "I'll take her place, so release her. She's got nothing to do with this."
To his surprise, Eigen didn't fight it. He waved a hand at the reaper beside his chair and the others shook into movement. But while two others went to lower the woozy Dora to the ground, two others came to Sieg.
"Elsbeth?" He said recognizing the female, but she ignored him and same when he recognized the male. "Matonna. To what do I owe this pleasure then?"
They forced him to walk forward and once they were in front of Eigen's makeshift throne, pushed him to the ground so brutally, he fell hands to knees.
Eigen sat up. "You know I never expected this from you. My big brother, the old man's favorite, West End's very, very best...now a powerless hedonist. How unfortunate. Makes us look bad to the uppers, you know?"
"The uppers didn't teach everything you know, Eiegen, i did." Sieg heaved back up to his feet and they let him. As he did though, he stepped in something wet and looking down found the shop owner's dead body. "Every fucking thing. So don't make me teach you something worst. Strike one."
"Oh that game again, huh?"
"You've got me now, so let the explorer go!"
"You know? you're right, I did learn it all from you. And student to master, I have to show you what I've learned, no? Aye." Eigen snapped a finger and Dora was brought to him all tied. They sat the poor, crying lass upon his lap and Sieg almost lunged forward.
Elsbeth and Matonna held him back, twisting his arms so far up his back and so hard, he could practically feel the fascia snapping over his muscles. "Eigen don't! Eigen please!"
But if he knew his brother, and Sieg did...he knew that pleading wouldn't shake his sadistic little mind. But what else was there to do? Sure, psychopath hadn't been written for him, but damned if he hadn't been a close runner up. Here's one thing Sieg could say for him though, Eigen was very mission-oriented.
"You know what to do. You know why I'm here, so give me what I want and I'm gone. I am after all cleaning up your mess, brother—cómo se dice doing what you couldn't do in español?"
"Fuck you!"
"Yes, yes. Great job learning your lines."
Eigen sunk a long fingernail into Dora's skin; it went through like knife to cheese and watching the blood bead up along the trail he was leaving was nothing compared to the screams that tore out of that poor woman's throat.
"You will tell me where you're hiding the master soul."
And for every attempt Sieg made to fight back, every bit of snark he spat, every insult, Eigen cut another wound into the sobbing Dora. Continually deeper each time until the girl was completely drenched.
"Eigen Stop! Hurting her is as useless as killing the master soul. It'll solve nothing!"
Cut. Scream.
"See, now you're just speaking nonsense. Killing the master soul will restore order. You know, the one you left in shambles when you left like a coward?"
"You're wrong!"
"Wrong? The old man's right, you're as cracked as he says, but listen to me brother." Eigen stood so violently, Dora fell to the hard ground in a wet heap. Eigen had no cares to give, he stomped up to Sieg and took him by the throat.
Fingers pressing down 'til Sieg was left to struggle just to inhale. "You may think that you've fallen in love and that it entitles you to say fuck your duty, but don't forget what you were born as, pal. Reaping keeps the world turning. Keeps the balance in check— The way a master soul lives or dies has the power to create chain reactions around the world. New people are born because of them, new lives that will change the world. So swallow your pride, brother and do your duty, for the good of the world."
"You're wrong."
"Stop." Eigen growled. "Saying that!"
He tossed Sieg aside and the poor sod flew into a cluster of chair. Stars blew before his eyes as his pain receptors swelled from the hit. He was even starting to smell burnt toast, but Sieg bit through it until it'd subsided to a manageable level. To a dull stabbing all over his body.
"Dad lied, Eigen—Master souls aren't what you think they are, don't just do what they say it do."
That put a stopper to Eigen's parade and thus he turned to look at the emerging Sieg.
"Oh I just can't wait to hear this. What the fuck are you going on about then?"
"I'm talking danger for us all, Eigen—this reaping case is bigger than me and you fighting over bullshit. The master soul isn't salvation, little brother, it's a weapon."
