CHAPTER SONG INSPIRATION: Farewell - Clan of Xymox

WARNINGS: profanity, a reference to past slavery

A/N: I'm way more active on twitter, cthulu_priestess, and AO3, Angelic_Hellraiser.


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"Dead men working a sinner, a saint.

Mixing up a pail of paint.

Painted the house, black as night,

When the sun came up the house was white. "

- Color Me Once / Violent Femmes

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HER KILLING MOON

CHAPTER VIII: TRAITORS AND SINS

- o -

Rey glares down at the empty blood bag, then tosses it aside. "Are you going to continue to feed me like some wild animal or what?"

In the last twenty-four hours the entire underground had devolved into a feral nest of howling chaos and angry retorts. Something serious had gone down, something to do with the "human sisters," and Rey had known at once, heart shooting into her throat and body trembling. She'd nearly torn through the concrete walls in a rage demanding to be let out. She'd kicked and screamed and punched, leaving her knuckles a gory mess. That was how Finn had found her, one floor beneath the chaos, voice hoarse and eyes blazing with unchecked rage.

At least she'd been allowed a shower, even if she had to climb back into her old clothes. That was something.

"I wish it didn't have to be like this." Finn whispers from the opposite side of the room where he sits with his back against the door.

Rey suppresses the urge to launch at his neck. "Tell me if my friends are okay. You can tell me that much, can't you? Your girlfriend only told me a creature like me shouldn't care." She bites the end off harder than she probably should, especially if she wants him feeling generous, but she can't help it. Her nerves are shot.

He releases a breath, a heavy exhale from his nostrils. It drags out so long she's sure he isn't going to answer when: "Paige is alive. The last we heard she's been taken to the ER."

Rey's on her feet in a flash. "What happened? What about Rose? Is Rose okay? How bad is Paige hurt? It was Snoke wasn't it?" She steps toward him, hands shaking. "Can I see them? Tell me Rose is alive! Tell me that you son-of-a-bitch or I swear I'll—"

He's on his feet just as quickly, tone sharp with warning. "She's alive."

Momentary relief washes over Rey, but it doesn't last. "What about Rose?" she asks softly.

His expression betrays him. "We don't know."

Sound evacuates her ears, replaced by a dull rasping static and blood rushes to her head, briefly blacking out her vision. When she gains her bearings again he is speaking to her, face grave.

"—wolves were found dead. A call had gone out for an ambulance, but Rose Tico was gone when the police got there. Our unit only found traces of werewolf scent."

"But it was Snoke." Rey assumes, teeth bared.

He refrains from answering at first, a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. "His men wouldn't have let the girl live."

Another possibility creeps into Rey's mind and her stomach turns. "Kylo?"

Finn's mouth draws down in an antagonistic frown. "That's who I'd put my money on."

She picks up on his hesitation. "But you aren't sure."

He looks to the opposite wall, gaze distant. "If I'm sure about anything it's that Kylo Ren will do whatever is necessary to get what he wants."

"Then why let the girl live?"

"I'm not sure." Finn shrugs. "What I am sure of is his loyalty to that sadistic monster."

Snoke. If he's as bad as everyone keeps saying, she hopes she never meets him. Rey bites her lip, another more pertinent question perched on her tongue. "What makes you so sure?"

If the way Kylo treated her is any indication to his temperament then perhaps Rose isn't in any real immediate danger. And the call to 911 for an ambulance. If Kylo had intended to kill Paige, he'd have done it. And Finn said it himself, Snoke would have ordered Paige to be killed.

Finn laughs hollowly, though doesn't give her an immediate reply. He glances up at the ceiling, down along the floor, then back up to her eyes and the expanse of centuries reflecting back at her sends a shock of fright down her spine. "Because he killed his own father, murdered him in cold blood. Not even a half-assed vampire would do that to their own kin let alone a wolf. He's a disgrace to his kind. He is the traitor ."

Her eyes widen and an icy ball of dread coils in her stomach, burning with an alien emotion of hurt she cannot yet fully understand, but it grows, holding to her with greedy claws. Why does she feel like she's been betrayed somehow, lied to? More importantly, why does she feel the need to defend him against Finn? Ignoring the storm of emotions in her chest, she presses him. "What happened between you two? You used to be on his side?"

Finn laughs a second time, this one far more bitter than the first. "Ancient history."

"So you're not going to tell me?" she glares at him. "You won't let me go to my friends, you won't let me help them. The least you can do is humor me."

Silence.

"Fine." she snaps, turning to her corner of the room.

"He saved me."

She stops, head craning around slowly to peer at him.

His gaze however, is cast to the floor. "In those days vampires often bought humans from a secret syndicate of slavers they financed. You can imagine how lucrative a clandestine business like that would have become in the obscure corners of history before this modern age."

She shudders, drawing in on herself at the mere thought of all the horrifying possibilities a statement like that posed.

"Humans weren't just purchased for food. In those centuries vampires could get away with housing hundreds of slaves at a time for sport, or various other… activities."

Her stomach rolls uneasily. "What sort of activities."

"The grisly kind. I'm sure you can use your imagination." He smiles vacantly.

A flash of the man's face from Heaven's Night floats up to her, twisting her already knotted insides. The hunger she'd felt when sinking her teeth into his throat, tasting the heat of his blood had erased all evidence of humanity she still held in that one terrifying moment. Even now, it frightens the hell out of her.

That creature wasn't me. Despite her words the taste of his blood haunts her tongue nonetheless. It always will, she knows. And that is the most terrifying of all.

"I'd thought my prayers had been answers when I'd been chosen to fight in the pit, instead of dying a slow death in the dungeons. I had been wrong…" he trails off.

Rey refrains from speaking, instead, finding a tolerably comfortable spot on the concrete floor few feet from him and pulling her knees to her chest.

"I survived for three long years, but I fell eventually. All of us did, one way or another. I'd learned the value of hatred then, how being doomed to die could be so liberating." He chuckles, a colorless sound. "When it happened, though, I hadn't anticipated…"

"What?" Rey asks.

"He'd stepped into the pit. It was a hot summer night and I was fucking freezing, but that's what happens when you're bleeding out in the dirt." One of Finn's eyebrows tick up, his gaze darkening. "He had come to deal the final blow—that's what I'd thought, at least. But when he'd lifted me up and whispered in my ear, I couldn't believe his words. I'd thought it was a trick. Then he had asked again and I could only nod. That night, I became one of his pack, a Knight of Ren."

"You sound grateful to him." Rey points out, confused.

"I was. I always will be." Finn answers, looking at her intently. "We became like family, we still are, regardless of…" He purses his lips, staring at his hands. His next words are spoken in a whispers. "And I have found family here, too. The Resistance is my home, now."

"Do you hate him?"

He thinks on this for a long time until finally answering, "No."

Somehow she can understand Finn's feelings, his reluctance. She doesn't know quite what to think of Kylo Ren herself, or the strange innate thrill his presence seems to draw out of her. Rey can't say she exactly likes it, either.

"Thanks. For humoring me, I mean. You didn't have to."

Finn shrugs at his boots. "I'm the one who put you in this position. I figured I at least owe you the truth."

"What about my friends?" Rey cannot hide the tremble in her voice.

He sighs, deliberately looking as far away from her as the room will allow. "I don't know."

And all at once, they are back where they started. "That's all you'll give me? I don't know . You obviously have more information than that." she frowns.

"We're at war." he remarks uncomfortably. "None of my decisions are simple. I do what's necessary to protect those I love. The thing about war is—"

"That I'm a vampire and I can't be trusted." she cuts him off, finishing what he struggles to say.

He fixes her with a measured glare. "And we saw you with Kylo Ren."

The kiss, she realizes . Her cheeks flush red at the memory of it. The Resistance wolves must have been watching her from the moment she'd escaped Kylo's apartment.

"He's loyal to Snoke and you're…"

Rey's lips peel back in a growl. "I'm what?"

Finn shakes his head, choosing not to finish.

She launches to her feet angrily and stalks to the other side of the cell, not missing for a second the way Finn's shoulders tighten with anticipation. "What are you even doing here, then? Don't you have somewhere to be for your family and their war?" she snaps. "You're feeling sorry for getting me turned into a monster, yet you won't tell me a thing about Paige, or Rose. That's my family . "

"I—"

"Just get the fuck outta here. Leave me alone."

Rey hates the bundle of thorns in her throat and the tears that stream freely down her face, but nothing she can do will stop them. She feels numb and agitated, restless with the desire to put her shaking hands to work, to tear into something—anything.

The only response she receives from Finn is the door shutting securely behind him, the locks clicking in place, followed hollowly by his departing footsteps and the empty stillness thereafter.

- o -

o - o - o

- o -

It's late when she hears movement again, a fresh set of shoes clacking toward her room at God knows what hour with the impatient cadence of one forced to do a chore. The door swings open to reveal a familiar head of golden hair and her hackles rise at once.

"You!" she hisses.

Kaydel smirks, coming into the cell and slamming the door shut behind her. She carries a shiny black shopping bag full of what Rey can only assume are clothes. She hopes they are clothes, anyway. Her heart twitters uneasily as Kaydel stops at the center of the room, head tilting thoughtfully.

"You look like shit."

Rey turns up her nose, choosing not to take the bait, but her fangs respond regardless, stinging her gums as hey extend. "What do you want?" she growls.

"To curb stomp your fangs into the back of your skull, vampire , but as things are, I'm not here for me."

"Then what are you here for?" Rey rises cautiously to her feet.

Kaydel rolls her painted eyes as if the reason should be obvious; then, throws the bag in her hand at Rey's feet. "Following orders."

"You don't strike me as the 'following orders' type." Rey says, staring apprehensively down at the bag.

"Your gift for stating the obvious is duly noted." Kaydel motions to the bag. "Pick it up."

Rey scowls dubiously at the shiny black lump.

"What, you don't trust me?"

She snorts at Kaydel's almost playful tone. Of course she doesn't trust her. Nonetheless, Rey stoops over to take the bag, eyes never leaving that elfin face.

"They costed our pack good, hard earned cash, so don't go ruining them."

Rey bulks, instantly affronted that Kaydel would insinuate she possesses no more than a child's disastrously limited concept of money. She does understand money, more than this uppity bitch knows.

By the time she looks up again, Kaydel has departed, the smooth roll of her hips disappearing beyond the door with the heavy slab of metal booming behind her. Rey wastes no time, uncaring who is watching as she strips out of the sticky attire she currently dons and hurriedly climbs into the fresh set, which happens to be an oversized white T-shirt and a mismatched pair of track pants, but she can't complain. They're clean .

A soft click at the door makes Rey suddenly freeze, every muscle in her body fusing like stone. She stands perfectly still, listening.

A second click.

The lock.

Who is at the door?

She hadn't heard them approach. Her heart gallops wildly in her chest, her blood pounding in her ears. It could be the vampires who have come for the price on her head, or a rogue wolf wanting to rip her apart for causing the loss of their comrades… or Kylo? She feels no shame at hoping for such a miracle, begging for it even.

The door creaks ajar only a few inches.

Rey waits, breath held in her lungs.

She waits for an eternity.

But nothing happens.

"If you mean to kill me, come out and do it already!" she growls lowly, but no measure of audacity can mask the fear in her voice.

Silence.

She swallows, her body shaking.

Then: "Run Rey."

The whisper makes her nearly jump out of her skin and she chokes back a gasp. "Finn?" Her jaw drops.

"Go now, before I change my mind." he orders.

She shakes her head, disbelieving what she hears. "But—"

"Rey." His tone brooks no argument. "Go. Now. Keep to the outer tunnels. You'll come to a main shaft. Remember to follow the yellow line."

Yellow line?

Rey creeps to the door, hunting for Finn's silhouette, but finds only a vacant, dimly lit corridor to greet her. And her heart skips a beat.

"Finn?"

No answer.

Rey doesn't bother waiting for another cue. She's down the hall and around the bend in seconds, following her sense of smell and avoiding wolf patrols when necessary. Finn's words echo in her mind, warning her away from the central core of the den and on through the tangled labyrinth of subterranean tunnels until at last she finds the yellow line, a guideline to be exact, painted into the ceiling of one particular junction for those seeking the exit.

It's a miracle she makes it to the surface, but with the mess involving Paige and Rose it's not surprising their attentions are focused elsewhere. Her stomach sours at the thought of her friends and she pushes on, running up the last flight of stairs towards the starry night sky.

It's chilly, the heavily bruised remnants of sunset giving way to night blue as she hastens along the shadows, knowing the wolves will catch wind of her escape soon enough. She must put as much distance between them as she can before that.

The smell of pollution and salt tell her that she's near the sewage plant, southwest of the harbor, but she breathes in deeply despite the stink, grinning to herself as she runs. Freedom. Glancing up at the sky, she spots the moon, a waning gibbous against the coming stars. A part of her half expects wolves to suddenly burst out from every direction, Finn having changed this mind and hurriedly trying to remedy his mistake before she can slip away. She knows their location now, which could be critical to their opposition. Her legs pump faster until she's literally flying over the open field towards the highway, a single face coming to mind. Will he help her? Will Ruelle?

There is no one else she can turn to and going to the human authorities is completely off the table. She sighs bitterly at the thought. Human. Not like her. Not anymore.

'I'll keep you hidden.'

Will Kylo's words still ring true when she shows up at his doorstep? If she even makes it that far…

Rey's feet hit the asphalt of the highway and she glances at the city limits sign, relieved to be on a straight path for the metropolis although she knows she won't be safe, not until she reaches him. And what if he can also protect Paige, or help her find Rose? Hope blossoms in her chest, though she swiftly quells it.

He's loyal to this Snoke. Don't be foolish.

But there's nowhere else to go.

She shoves the warring voices to the back of her mind and focuses on the simple target in front of her, air cutting through her lungs in crisp huffs. Kylo's apartment rests on the east side of the city past an amphitheater. That at least, is one thing she can recall.

Time bleeds into a haze of singular purpose as she searches, cars drifting by as a mist of white and red light, and buildings no more than shadowy fixtures against her periphery. She walks the narrow alleyways and vacant streets for hours, scanning the scents for any remnant of him. The human smells drive her so close to feeding she wants to scream, so she bites the inside of her cheek instead, letting the taste of her own blood sate her for now. After the way she had carelessly bitten that human at Heaven's Night the mere thought of feeding on a human petrifies her.

Rey is sure she has searched every nightclub, every bar, every night owl social event of the city by the time she glances up at the sky again. It's 6AM, only an hour from sunrise. Dread sickens her stomach and she begins to panic, drawing the attention of the few homeless wandering the streets.

Out of nowhere, a hand rips her around and a wall of floral perfume invades her nostrils. The startled gray-gold eyes of Ruelle greet her and she could cry.

"What are you doing out here?" she hisses.

"Finn let me go. I—"

"Shut up and come on!" Ruelle yanks her arm so hard Rey is sure she's pulled it from the socket.

They hurry across the alley to the street where Ruelle hails a taxi. She shoves Rey into the back seat before she can protest and puts a finger to her lips in a bid for silence, then turns to the taxi driver. "Deadstar Drive, Finalizer Tower."

Neither of them speak for several painful minutes, Rey glancing openly at Ruelle's shadowed profile and Ruelle glaring straight ahead. The driver plays a rock radio station too loudly for comfort, but Rey is far beyond comfort at this point. With her nerves shot she opens her mouth to speak.

"Shut up." Ruelle whispers, her voice nearly drown out by the music.

Naturally, Rey ignores her command. "Finn let me go."

She rolls her eyes. "I can fucking see that, genius."

Rey swallows a nasty retort, choosing to pick her battles, and continues. "He told me Kylo made him, a long time ago. He made you too, right?"

Ruelle doesn't answer, face hard.

Rey stares at her, waiting.

A blustering sigh exits Ruelle's nose, lips pressed into an angry line. "Yeah, he did."

"Did he save you from the pit like Finn?"

She smirks, an expression far too cold for her pixie features. "He made me against my will."

Rey stares at her dumbfounded. "But I thought you—"

"Care about him?" Ruelle's lips break into a monstrous grin. "I'd kill for him. I'd murder anyone he asked me to, even Snoke, but it wasn't always that way."