Ivan stood up for what felt like the first time in weeks, he could feel the blessing give way. It was as though a constricting band had been lifted from his chest. He walked over to the bars, his heart set on throwing them as far away as he could. Being cooped up had not taken a toll on his strength, but the hunger had. No matter, he could still do considerable damage. He was about to grab them when he heard the footsteps. The shorter blonde with the British drawl descended the stairs and walked up to the cell.
Ivan smirked when he noticed a red mark on the man's neck "Nice love bite, although mine are usually a bit harder. Let me guess, that Texan? I saw the way you looked at him." The Brit nodded stiffly "Yes, but what's between us is not of concern to you". Ivan laughed slightly "Of course it is, I have very little entertainment stuck here. He's cute, in a hick sort of way. Not really my type, though". Arthur's glare got colder "I know what your type is, you sick bastard. Does this sound familiar: 5'11, red eyes, white hair, porcelain skin, tastes a bit like slayer? Or do you need a name to jog your memory?" Ivan didn't really care that the mortals knew "So, you know about him? It took you long enough". Arthur snarled "That is so fucking sick! He is the brother of a slayer. I haven't told Ludwig yet".
Ivan's senses picked up and he said with a smirk "You don't need to tell him, he has been standing behind that wall the whole time we have been talking". He smelled the emotions change, it was amazing. Ludwig was behind Ivan, but he could hear the emotion in his voice "That's it then? Gilbert?" Ivan turned around and glared at Ludwig "Yes it is. He's beautiful you know". This had the effect that Ivan intended, rage washed over Ludwig's blonde framed face. He looked at Ivan with a new kind of malice and he uttered "You changed my brother?"
Ivan laughed again; this was the revenge he had wanted. Now he could deliver the blow he wanted to "You did. The moment you came into the world you didn't belong in. You brought him into my world, so I could have him. You brought him to me and I just couldn't resist". Ludwig made a sound like a dog that had just been kicked. The emotion changed again, the air was thick with guilt. Ludwig's eyes dropped defeatedly, he didn't say a word. It was the Brit who stepped in "Don't listen to a word he says, he is trying to hurt you". The German turned wrathfully to the other mortal "How can I trust you?"
He walked quickly around the cell to be face to face with the Brit. He spat "You knew and you didn't tell me. You let him-"He gestured at Ivan, who was watching joyfully "Tell me about Gilbert. My own brother". Ludwig took another step closer "I trusted you". Ivan spotted the perfect opportunity. There was a chink in the bond between the two of them. He focused his mind on Ludwig's, whispering sweetly in his mind "He betrayed you. You can't trust him. You need to hurt him". He injected some of his own hate into Ludwig's mind. The slayer growled like an animal and took the last step between them and raised his fists "You betrayed me".
Arthur took a couple hurried steps backwards "I'm sorry, just calm down". Arthur's eyes drifted over to Ivan, who had his eyes locked on to Ludwig, and he understood. Arthur took another step back to avoid Ludwig's swinging fist "Ludwig, come to your senses! Ivan is feeding you this resentment. You need to block him out!" But Ludwig's eyes had clouded over with hate; he was under Ivan's control now. Ivan was laughing; he loved watching the carnage unfold. He was going to love watching one of his enemies tear the other apart. Then he would feed on Ludwig when he was overcome with guilt over the death of his partner. After that, he would find Gilbert and fuck him harder than he had ever before, his body tingled a bit just thinking about it. He had spent most of the time he was trapped thinking about what he would do once he had Gilbert in his arms again. The only thing that was standing in the way was how long it was taking Ludwig to land a blow.
Arthur ran out of space to retreat, he looked desperate. He tried to reason again "Ludwig, wake up! You don't want to hurt me". Ivan smirked and knew he could speak out loud now "He can't hear you, his mind is mine". The statement was true; Ivan had complete control of the slayer. He need only have him deliver the killing blow. Ludwig pulled out a knife he had in his jacket pocket and lunged forward. Arthur raised his hand instinctively and suddenly the room was full of light.
Ivan came to his senses on his back on the other side of the cell. He reeled, he hadn't been expecting that. He looked over at Arthur, who still had his back to the wall and arm up. A mark was glowing on his wrist. Ivan laughed at the pure inconvenience of it "Well, well, it looks like there is more to you than meets the eye." Ludwig had been thrown back a couple feet by the blast, and struck his head against the concrete floor. He clutched his head as he sat up "What the hell was that?!"
Ivan answered "That was druid magic, powerful stuff too. Haven't seen anything that strong in a long time". Arthur pulled himself out of the corner and tried hurriedly to cover up the pentagram that had appeared on his wrist. Ludwig blinked for a few seconds, and then he looked at Ivan "You were in my head". Ivan laughed, mostly to disguise how disappointed he was about the failure of his plan, "A word of advice: If you're going to be a slayer, don't let people inside your head so easily. It was so easy, just like with Gilbert". Ludwig looked livid, but controlled his voice "So that's how you seduced my brother? You got inside his head?" Ivan smirked, rationalizing was so very human, and he said "Isn't that sweet? You want to believe that Gilbert was innocent. Let me break it to you, his soul was black before I touched him. The seduction was mutual".
Arthur was backing up the stairs slowly, trying to get away while Ludwig was distracted. Ivan wasn't going to let him. He raised his voice and leaned forward against the bars "You know, druid magic that powerful usually comes from human sacrifice. But then again, someone as good as you wouldn't do that". Ludwig's expression changed to utter outrage when he looked at the other blonde. Arthur looked like a deer in the headlights, then he turned and ran up the stairs, Ludwig followed at the same speed.
Alfred drove up just as Arthur burst out of the door. He immediately opened the car door and stepped out in front of the Brit. He could see that Arthur was distressed; he attributed it to Ivan at once. He caught the man in his arms "Woah, slow down, darlin'! What's goin' on?". Ludwig came rushing out of the door at that moment, and stopped as soon as he caught the sight of the other two. He skidded to a stop and growled "Step away from him, Alfred. He's been lying to us both!" Alfred looked down at Arthur, who looked utterly terrified. He felt he understood what was going on "So, he knows about his brother?"
Ludwig looked like he'd been struck again "You knew too? You both knew and neither of you told me". The American nodded "Yeah, I thought ya'd take it a bit better than this though. We wanted to make sure it was actually him first". Ludwig bowed his head for a moment to absorb the information and his rage returned when he looked up "I understand that. But that's not the lie." he raised his hand and pointed accusingly at Arthur "He is a druid!" Alfred, who along with tracking down vampires also dealt quite a lot with humans who practiced magic, understood what that label meant at once. He released Arthur as though he was something diseased.
As soon as Arthur was free, Ludwig grabbed him. There was no way that Arthur was going to be able to break free of Ludwig's grip. The German grabbed Arthur's arm and turned it over so the pentagram was visible "So, Alfred, what does this mean". Arthur cringed when Alfred ran his thumb over the mark. Alfred recognized what it meant, but he took a few seconds to put it into words "This kind of brand is created by drawing with the blood of a human sacrifice. It creates a very powerful kind of magic". Ludwig's face went stony "Who were they?" Arthur was surprisingly calm "I never knew. Some drifter". Ludwig growled "Let me guess: Society was better off without them? That's the one vampires always use. You're no better than them".
Alfred felt the need to correct "No Ludwig, there is a difference. A vampire can never regain his soul, but a druid can reform. And I'm guessing that's what Artie did or he wouldn't be here". Relief washed over Arthur's face and he said "Yes, that's it exactly. I didn't tell you because I knew what you would think of me. I've been off of it for 6 years". The German didn't seem impressed "I don't think 6 years of good behavior makes up for killing". Arthur responded "But that's why I chose to do what I do. To save lives by destroying vampires and werewolves and whatever other monsters lurk in the night". Alfred fixed his gaze on Ludwig "Let him go, we can let him explain".
Ludwig looked as though that was the last thing he wanted to do "Alfred, you aren't just saying this because you fucked him, right?" Alfred nodded "I will trust him enough for an explanation. If he wanted to, he could have killed us both by now". He added in his own mind Or he could have made me his thrall last night. Reluctantly, Ludwig released Arthur "Alright, we will hear this back at the apartment, this isn't the right place".
Once all 3 of them were in the car, Arthur looked back at the door for a moment, puzzled "Just a moment, was it my imagination, or was that vamp leaning on the bars?" These words hung in the air for a moment, and then the meaning behind them hit everyone: The cell was no longer blessed. It was Alfred who came out of this shock quick enough to hit the gas hard.
The sounds of the scuffle outside were amusing to Ivan, it wasn't the fight he had planned, but it worked the same way. No one had remembered to bless the cell again, and now all of the original blessing had worn off. Ivan took hold of the bars and threw them clear across the room. It felt so good to be free again, now he could take out his vengeance. He heard the car speed out of the parking lot, it was mildly disappointing. He had hoped to be able to kill all three of them tonight. But he would get his chance eventually; he had other things he wanted to do at the moment.
He closed his eyes and focused his mind on finding Gilbert. His head spun a bit from thirst, but all the same he was able to send a signal to his mate. He had a place in mind to meet, hopefully it worked. The night was short already and they only had so much time.
Gilbert looked out the window into the night; his head was full of Ivan's thoughts. He knew his mate was free, that he was to go to him and where they were to meet. But he had one problem, one brunette problem that was asleep on the bed in the basement. He could kill Roderich, it would be easy. He had thought about it, ever since Roderich had shown up. He needed to do it now or else he would never be able to just be with Ivan. He knew there was some small part of him that was still human enough to love Roderich. It was irritating to know it was there, like a grain of sand against sensitive skin. He wanted it gone. Human love was a weakness; it was different to need Ivan. There was only one way to effectively purge the part, and that was to kill the person it was connected to.
He turned and walked down the stairs. The scene had not changed, there were bodies of several different boys scattered across the floor. It had taken a lot of blood to get Gilbert back to operating capacity, since he had pretty much cried himself dry. Looking back on it, he was ashamed of how irrational he had been. Ivan would be livid, after he had sacrificed himself.
Not to mention making Roderich a vampire, that was his biggest mistake. The afore mentioned vampire was asleep on the bed. His attempt to get Gilbert blood drunk had failed, but just only. Thankfully, newborns weren't awake for as much of the night as older vamps. Roderich was pretty much a sitting duck now; he wouldn't wake for anything save fire. Gilbert grabbed a wooden chair and broke off the arm. The jarring force created a point that would be sharp enough. He walked over to the bed and positioned the stake directly over the brunette's heart. One hard shove would turn him to dust, it was simple.
But it wasn't, he couldn't help but look at Roderich's face. The human part of him wouldn't let him watch Roderich die again. His dream kept flashing in front of him, the phantom guilt lingered over him. He thought this was gone, these human emotions. He tried to drive the stake down one more time, but his body didn't seem to be reacting how his mind wanted it to. He couldn't do it. Instead, he put the stake down and grabbed a pair of handcuffs. He fastened them around the other's wrist and then around the bed post. They wouldn't hold him for long, but it would be long enough. If he couldn't kill Roderich directly, he would do it indirectly.
He went back up the stairs, taking with him the box of matches he had used before. He dropped a couple of matches on the sheets covering the furniture as he walked out. Once he was out of the front door, the house had begun to blaze. It wasn't guaranteed to kill Roderich, but it would make it damn clear that he couldn't follow Gilbert. Gilbert hoped that this would make him free to be with Ivan and only Ivan. With that thought, he headed out into the night to meet his mate
A/N: Wow it's taken me a long time to get a chapter of this done. Sorry about that. With the school year starting, it is going to be hard to update as quickly as I did during the summer. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review ^-^
