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Upon entering the room she’d designated for holding her captive, V’ehxness took a moment to simply enjoy the view. Being feared and respected among her people was nothing new to her. If ever she wanted something, it was as simple as reaching out and taking it. That didn’t mean she’d lost all ability to appreciate the novelty of having a new treat. A human of her very own was a new treat indeed.
Perhaps she’d made a noise unconsciously, a low sound of contentment in her throat or something of the sort. Or maybe the human—Darumi, she thought she’d heard one of the others call her—happened to glance over at precisely the right moment to take notice of her standing there. Whatever the reason, Darumi lunged at her, reaching into her clothes for something as she went.
“If you’re looking for your infuser, you won’t find it,” V’ehxness wasted no time in telling her. She grinned under her mask. It would be even more satisfying to remove it and let Darumi see how pleased she was with her capture, but there would be no letting her guard down until she was certain that the human wasn’t going to try to fight even without hemoanima. “I had my subordinates take it. And you don’t seem like you’d have much strength to speak of barehanded, so why bother trying to fight this? Settle down and things won’t have to get ugly.”
“Wow, you’re even more of a bitch than Darumi took you for! You do realize she has to avenge her friends somehow, right? Taking everyone out and leaving only pathetic little Darumi alive?” She laughed wildly. Her hair was falling into her face, making it difficult to tell, but V’ehxness thought her makeup might have been more smeared than before. Maybe from tears. How cute. “That’s the kind of uber-depressing ending that should’ve had a killing game leading up to it! Oh, what a shame.”
“What is it you’re blathering about? If you ask me, you should be falling at my feet in gratitude for sparing you. I thought you would be far more interesting as entertainment for me than one more sucked-dry husk on the battlefield. Of course, that decision can be reversed at any time if you prove to be too much trouble, so I’d recommend you keep that in mind.”
It was intended to induce fearful compliance, but bizarrely, when Darumi sank back down on her cot and looked up at V’ehxness, her eyes were glowing with something else. Never mind the wetness at the corners, unshed tears still quavering there and waiting for their moment. V’ehxness was plenty accustomed to seeing people gazing up at her in utter despair, and none of them had quite the heat behind their stares that Darumi did.
“Oh my, are you saying you plan to murder me brutally after all? Maybe even considering whether to have your way with me first? Or second, Darumi doesn’t know what this final boss is into.” She wriggled in apparent anticipation on the cot, rumpling the sheets beneath her and leaving V’ehxness uncertain of whether she was being insulted or complimented. Huh.
“I’m leaving my options open,” she said. Then she stepped deeper into the room, just so that it didn’t seem like a completely empty threat. The mask remained on, if only because, at that point, she didn’t want Darumi to see her looking perplexed. The tense, uncomfortable feeling in her own chest was every bit as bizarre as her prisoner’s behavior, making her begin to wonder if she had erred in coming in to check on her before she’d had some more time to stew on her own.
“Be sure to let me know what you plan,” Darumi requested in a husky voice. “Or don’t, if you’d rather see my surprised face for all eternity. Either way, make sure there’s tons of top-tier gore, mmkay? I only get to die once, so it has to be a spectacle to behold. Don’t be so greedy for my sweet, sweet hemoanima that you’re afraid of a little splatter. If you agree to that much, Darumi will happily cooperate with whatever exploitation floats your boat. Or, y’know, not cooperate, if you prefer your prey screams and cries and struggles the whole way. I’ll even practice being dead for you! That way I’m the perfect, most dismally beautiful corpse.”
“You’re getting ahead of yourself. If killing you was what I wanted currently, you wouldn’t be lying there talking to me while you crumple up the sheets that someone went to the effort of making up nicely for you.” V’ehxness crossed her arms, lip curled in derision. No ordinary prisoner would get their bed made up for them. They were lucky if they got fed regularly.
But, for all her uncharacteristic mercy for this human, she was beginning to feel like more ought to be done. It wasn’t normal, the way Darumi so easily changed tacts to embrace her captivity. Maybe V’ehxness was going to have to send in her criminally soft sister to spend some time with her. Eva would be more useful being put to work like that than being put back in active combat.
“You sure do know how to send a girl mixed messages! Acting all threatening and then saying you don’t even want to kill me? That’s so boring! Unless you’re trying to break me psychologically first, is that it?”
“Not exactly. Not this time. I thought you might be of amusement as a companion. It remains to be seen whether that arrangement will be viable.” After a few more seconds of watching Darumi sprawled on her cot, looking for all the world as if she was deliberately accentuating her vulnerability, V’ehxness spoke again. “I could say the same to you about the mixed messages. Rest a while. I’ll return later.”
She needed the rest just as much. An opportunity to figure out whether she’d gotten way too far in over her head. Kidnapping a human lover wasn’t as simple as she’d thought it would be.