FicWad

Joe and Andy both turned as they heard the key turn in the cell door’s lock. Andy had only just finished explaining what fate Beckett had in store for them and it seemed likely that it was about to begin. Unlike typical humans, Andy and Joe had experience of vampires and a great deal of experience fighting them. The level of mind control and torture that it would take to make these particularly strong and prepared individuals to be reduced to the position of slaves was considerable. It would take a vampire of a number of years to summon that much power to hold them in absolute subservience.

The pair expected to see Brendon, or even Beckett, accompanied by younger vampires and slaves loaded with instruments of torture. They were determined to fight and refused to think the words ‘to the end’. Even thinking the words suggested that they already believed the vampires would win.

They were more than a little surprised when Spencer entered the cell alone, carrying the two taser batons seized from Joe and Andrea.

“It’s time for you to get out of here,” Spencer announced to their astonishment.
“What do you mean?” Joe asked, trying hard to believe that he heard what he thought he had.
“Get out. Go. Escape.” Spencer replied irritably. “You want me to write it down for you? All your equipment is under tarpaulin near the rear doors to the mansion.”

Andy and Joe exchanged brief, confused glances as they tried to take in the news.

“What are you up to, Spencer?” Andy finally asked, even more suspicious after Brendon’s earlier cruel trick, turning him against Joe.
“I’m letting you go,” he explained with a frown. “I really didn’t expect to have to convince you!”
“Yeah well, we’ve been tricked before,” Andy admitted with a rich anger to his tone.
“No tricks, but there are conditions.”
“We’re not leaving without Pete and Patrick,” Joe spoke for both of them.
“Damn straight! I want you all gone!” Spencer snapped in return. “No fighting, no fuss, no killing, just gone. Understand?”
“What are you…?” Andy began still surprised by the sudden and unexpected turn of events.
“There isn’t time!” Spencer interrupted. “Brendon’s just gone into the other cell and any minute now, your friend is breakfast. Got it? We have to speed this up.”
“What are your conditions?” Andy asked hurriedly.
“Take these,” Spencer replied, passing the taser batons to Joe and Andy. “If you’re caught, Brendon freed you, okay? Now, go left out of here, the door to their cell is a few cells down and slightly open. Brendon is just inside, he has a remote control device that operates the cell doors. I want you to knock him out with the tasers. I need him out cold for at least thirty minutes.”
Joe shook his head. “They’re not strong enough to do that.”
“They are now,” Spencer grinned slyly. “I modified them. Trust me, Brendon will be out cold. Get the other two and get the hell out of here!”
“What about Andrea?” Joe asked urgently.
“Forget her, Master William has her. There’s nothing you can do about that now,” Spencer replied coldly.
“But she…”
“Forget her!” Spencer ordered. “If I sense you even trying to find her, I’ll raise the alarm.”
“Why are you doing this, Spencer?” Joe asked, still understandably suspicious.
“I have my reasons,” he replied mysteriously. “But if you don’t go now, it’ll be too late; one of them, possibly both of them will be dead.”

Andy nodded; finally realising that Spencer appeared to be truly helping them.

“One more thing,” Spencer drew Andy’s sword from inside his jacket and extended it. “You picked this up from Brendon after you attacked him. Leave now, lock me in and get out of here.”
“What about the others? The cameras?” Joe asked quickly, determined not to go through all this only to be captured again.
“Dealt with, you’re clear to go.” Spencer replied equally fast.

Turning the sword on his abdomen and pushing hard, Spencer thrust the sword straight through himself. With a gasp, he dropped fast and hard to his knees, grimacing as he pulled the sword out once more.

“Go!” he croaked, handing the weapon back to Andy.

*

With one last firm pull, accompanied by a grunt of effort, Pete fell backwards as the belt around his wrists finally gave way, leaving strips of studded leather scattered on the floor.

Rising gracefully to his feet in one fluid movement, Pete turned his attention to the terrified young man on the far side of the adjacent cell.

Frozen to the spot, Patrick found himself only able to stare in return. Torn between reality and hope, Patrick was wishing it wasn’t real, praying it wasn’t real. Yet at the same time trying desperately to accept that it was. Sweat glistened on his brow as he watched Pete’s fangs extend. Patrick had never witnessed that before and it was both terrifying and fascinating. Pete had been entirely engulfed by his instincts and Patrick knew now that there was no stopping him.

Throughout all of this, Brendon stood in the viewing area, watching intently. It felt to Patrick as if everything was happening in slow motion. Perhaps it was, but far from being a relief, it was actually prolonging the agony.

“Pete?” Patrick began shakily. “If you’re going to do this… please… just get it over with.”
“Yeah, come on Wentz!” Brendon goaded. “Don’t play with your food.”

Stepping forward with only occasionally faltering defiance, Pete gripped Patrick tightly by his upper arms and filled his nostrils once more was the intoxicating scent of Patrick’s warm and sweet blood. It overwhelmed him and excluded all other thoughts from his mind.

Patrick’s head swam as he was suddenly overcome by a heady daze and he found himself almost smiling as he realised that Pete, the real Pete, was still somewhere deep inside, trying his best to at least make it easier for him. When the three female vampires had attacked him, Patrick had suffered excruciating pain as they each tore into his flesh. He knew this time it would be different. In this simple act of kindness Patrick knew that Pete’s human side was still very much there, just deeply suppressed by his vampire instincts. Was it worth pleading? Or would it hurt Pete more to hear it, knowing there was nothing he could do to stop what was happening.

The pair stared at each other briefly, eyes locking in unspoken understanding. Pete was helpless to his instincts. Those same instincts would break him.

“What are you waiting for?” Brendon demanded. “Get on with it!”

Succumbing further to the light-headed daze that Pete had created within him, Patrick put up no resistance. Slowly, gently, Pete lowered his head, sinking his fangs into his friend’s neck. The pain of the moment barely registered as his blood spilled into Pete’s eager mouth. Pete moaned with the pleasure of sating his deep thirst; the sweet, warm blood, like fine wine on his lips. It was all he could do to force himself not to bite down harder to drink faster. Two things prevented him. His human side knew it would hurt Patrick and his vampire side wanted to savour the flavour, the feel of warm, human blood flowing easily into his mouth. It was surreal, it was sensual and he wanted it to last forever.

By now Pete was holding Patrick upright. Patrick’s glazed mind was uncertain whether his weakness was solely due to blood loss, the hypnotic stupor he found himself in or a combination of both. But one thing he knew for certain as he felt himself slump in Pete’s grip; it would be over soon.

Pete pulled back in surprise as he heard the commotion behind him. Turning, he saw Joe and Andy, their tasers fired up and buzzing. At their feet Brendon lay unconscious. Both men stared open mouthed at Pete, his fangs still extended, and the limp form of Patrick in his grip.

“You… you killed him?” Andy stammered with disbelief.
“No,” Pete glanced back at the figure in his hands, hanging limply. His craving satisfied, it was as if Pete had suddenly woken with no memory of what he had done, but he couldn’t deny the evidence of his own eyes. “I…”

Pete laid Patrick gently down on the floor and turned to face his friends. Joe had stepped forward, his expression revealed his anger but not the ferocity of that anger. Lifting the remote control taken from Brendon, Joe opened the door to the cell, never once lowering his gaze.

“It wasn’t… I mean… I couldn’t…” Pete continued to struggle with his own confusion.

Furious, Joe pushed the modified taser into Pete’s chest to Andy’s horror. Watching him drop to the floor Joe lowered the taser with a look of righteous indignance.

“No!” Andy cried as Joe’s anger got the better of him. “We don’t know that he’s dead.”

Frantically searching for a pulse, Andy sighed with relief as he found one. It was weak and faint, but it was there.

“We have to go,” he ducked down to pull Patrick’s now unconscious form over his shoulder.
“I need to find Andrea,” Joe insisted.
“You can’t, you heard what Spencer said! He’ll raise the alarm,” Andy reasoned.
“You don’t understand! I brought her here, I can’t leave her, she saved my life!” Joe insisted before turning for the door.
“I can’t carry them both!” Andy pleaded.

Joe turned; the turmoil on his face said it all. He was being forced to betray someone, but he had to decide who that would be.

“We’ll come back,” Andy promised. “We’ll get her out, but we can’t help anyone if we don’t go now.”

Andy’s words made sense and Joe was forced to admit that his own temper had reduced their numbers. If he had listened to Pete instead of attacking him with the now modified taser, they might have been able to help Andrea too, but the decision was effectively made for them. They were forced to leave her with Beckett. Pulling Pete over his shoulder, Joe followed Andy out of the cell.

*

Within a few minutes, Spencer, still kneeling on the floor of what had been Andy and Joe’s cell, sensed their absence from the mansion. Mentally, he sent a message to his slave to restore the security cameras to their normal operation, instead of the fixed scenes that suggested that all was well. It was time to put his plan into operation.

‘Master William!’ he called telepathically. ‘Master William! Please help me!’

It was only a few minutes later that the door to the cell burst open. Beckett stood in the doorway, his face frozen in a mask of anger as he saw Andy and Joe gone. Now lying on the floor clutching the partially healed wound to his abdomen, Spencer looked up.

“Master…”
“You were overpowered by humans?” Beckett snapped unkindly.
“No, Master, it was Brendon. He’s…”

Beckett waved for Spencer to be silent as he dismissed his entourage of junior coven members and slaves. Now alone, he kneeled at Spencer’s side, helping him to sit up.

“Brendon did this to you?” he asked quietly with a thoughtful pout.

Brendon had attacked other vampires before, it wasn’t unknown, it wasn’t even uncommon, but somehow this felt different. Spencer was still alive.

“Why did he attack you? And where are the prisoners?” Beckett finally asked.

Spencer composed himself, he had to get this just right.

“I saw him collecting the hunters’ equipment. I wondered why, so I followed him, he came down here and told the humans he was releasing them, all of them…”
“All!” Beckett growled angrily as he turned and spun to his feet.

Leaving Spencer still sitting on the floor of the cell, Beckett ran to the cell that had previously housed Pete. The door was closed but unlocked and Beckett’s fury raged through him as he found the cell empty. Well, almost empty. On the floor at his feet, Brendon still lay unconscious. His mind was already filling in the gaps: In a fit of jealousy over Peter and Beckett’s intentions for him, Brendon had released all four prisoners but had been double-crossed and overpowered by them as they made their escape. The only thing that troubled him was, if it were true, why Brendon had left a witness. Spencer could only have been incapacitated by his attack, not killed. Why did he not finish the job? Lifting Brendon, Beckett deposited his limp body in the cell previously occupied by Pete before closing and locking the door. Returning to the other cell, Beckett had more questions for Spencer.

“How did he attack you?” he asked bluntly.
“I saw him leave some of the equipment outside the cell.”
“Some?” Beckett interrupted. “So we still have the rest?”
“I don’t know Master William, there was none left in the room, I don’t know what he did with the rest.”
“Go on.”
“I confronted him as he was returning Andy’s sword to him. I was taken by surprise, with his back to me, I couldn’t see what he was holding until it was too late. He ran it through me and I was on the floor in seconds. He told me he’d be back to finish the job. I don’t remember much else.”
“The blade has been blessed, that’s why it’s so effective. It must have been very painful for you.”

Spencer nodded, he hadn’t been aware of the blessing on the sword and had truly been almost too incapacitated to see the plan through, but his determination drove him on.

“Brendon hasn’t returned yet. Is Wentz still our prisoner?” Spencer asked in the full knowledge that the four had escaped.
“No,” Beckett growled angrily. “It would seem they used the equipment he provided them with to overpower him and made their escape.”
“Why? Why would he do that?”
Beckett rose to his feet and stared thoughtfully. “I underestimated him. But,” he continued, “he has grossly underestimated me! Can you stand?”
“Yes, Master William, I think so, it is beginning to heal.”
“Spencer,” Beckett paused for a moment before continuing. “You may call me William. You will take Brendon’s place at my side.”
“Master! I…I’m honoured!”
“Let’s bring our new prisoner up to speed shall we?”

It was impossible to determine Beckett’s tone. If he had been able to feel remorse or loss, it was truly possible that these would be the overriding emotions, but as a vampire, they emerged only as anger – and Beckett was very angry.

Standing in the cell, Beckett invaded Brendon’s mind forcing him to wake. The electrical patterns imposed by the modified tasers made it impossible for Beckett to read anything. Pushing harder against the effects of the taser, Beckett forced Brendon to wake, disorientated and confused, he reeled as he tried to take in the surroundings.

“W… where… what?” Brendon stammered as he realised that both Pete and Patrick were gone and he was actually locked inside one of the cells with both Beckett and Spencer staring at him. Pushing himself to his feet, Brendon staggered slightly, before regaining his balance.

“The Coven Leaders were right about you, Brendon. I was a fool to protect you from their wrath. When you didn’t force Peter to take his first drink, I defended you to them. I was mocked repeatedly for doing so. I believed that if I could bring Peter under control then hand him over to them for their amusement, they would forgive your transgression as I had. I took a lot from them over you, and this is how you repay me? Freeing them! What was it, Brendon? Jealousy? I told you you could trust me! That you had nothing to fear!”
“William!” Brendon gripped the bars. “I did everything that you asked me to! I don’t know how they escaped. I was attacked from behind!” Now seeing the gloating smirk that Spencer was desperate to suppress, Brendon realised that all Spencer’s apparent concern had been merely a trick to take his place. “It was Spencer!”
“Really? And then he stabbed himself with a blessed sword and locked himself in a cell with the key on the outside?”
“William, please, I don’t know how he did it, but…”
“Enough!” Beckett snapped. “Welcome to your new home, Brendon. You will starve here.”
“No! William, please! I did…”
“Master!” Beckett corrected.
“Master William…” Brendon began again.
“No,” Beckett shook his head, “just Master. Your rank is now lower than that of slave. I keep my promises, Brendon, you should know that.”

Brendon’s eyes widened at the words. Spencer had tricked him. Couldn’t he see that?

“No, Master, please!” Brendon begged as Beckett turned and walked briskly from the cell.

Spencer turned to him with an evil smirk plastered on his face.

“No one ever got you by trying to kill you, you’re too strong. But disgrace you? Well, that was just too easy!”
“Spencer!” Beckett called from outside the cell.
“Coming, William.”

Brendon sank to his knees and leaned against the bars. He had overcome his own paranoia to do everything that Beckett had asked and still lost it all. Spencer would pay for this. Somehow, he’d make him pay!