Chapter Eleven

Ghost

"Why do you keep staring at me?!"

After what had felt like hours of listening to her captor gnaw away at the carcass of some poor, dead bat, the Vampyrum Spectrum finally tossed aside the remains and roosted a few wingbeats away from her. He cast his dark eyes over her almost unblinkingly, and after growing sick of the unending observation, Stella found herself trembling with annoyance rather than fear.

"Why?" the cannibal echoed, giving his head a small tilt. "To watch the rise an fall of your chest, of course. To see your ears twitch and bend at the noise of my hunger being sated, and your eyes widen every time I make a move. I like seeing your expressions when I come and go- I like the sound your heart makes as I speak to you. I like everything about you, little northerner"

The Brightwing clenched her teeth together tightly. "I hate you" she hissed, jerking her head to the side to hide how her face crumpled.

A low hum of laughter echoed through the cave, filling Stella's ears intrusively. She pinned them to her skull as tightly as she could manage, wishing the male would disappear. Her wish would not be granted, and beyond her folded ears Stella could hear his jagged wings cut through the air. He settled beside her pinned figure, bringing with him the smell of blood and death.

No! The Brightwing pleaded silently. Go away!

A claw hooked under her jaw and Stella felt her head snap straight, her snout suddenly inches from the leave-like nose of her captor. Letting out a fearful squeak, she tried to curl against herself despite the rocks holding her wings down flat.

"Why do you hate me?"

She froze, surprised. The curious tone in the cannibal's voice was unexpected, but the obvious answer to his inquiry had Stella bearing her teeth at him.

"Because you're evil!" she shrilled, anger dashing away her earlier fears. "You killed my brother! You eat bats! You're a monster!"

Her string of cries made the southerner smile.

"Isn't it strange?" he wondered, observing the span of his wing as if it weren't his own. "Those reasons you give for hating me…they are the very things that Ghost and I have in common"

"Wha…" for a short moment, Stella was stricken. Then she shook her head, ridding her mind of his words. "Ghost isn't like you!"

The Vampyrum Spectrum scoffed at her denial. "You know nothing about him. You know nothing of who he is or what he has done…what makes you think your perception of him is correct?"

"It is!" the female spat stubbornly. "Ghost is kind and brave, and wouldn't even think of doing the things you do!"

"Ghost is pathetic" the other bat growled. "Do you know what goes through his head, female? No! I'll tell you. I'll enlighten you about my despicable little half-brother!"

Stella gasped as he slammed his wing into the rocks atop her, sending them flying. They clamored loudly against the cave floor, and before she could even think of taking flight the Vampyrum had her wrapped in a leathery cage, squeezing her tight against his body. Escape was impossible. With her ear thrust against his chest, the Brightwing had no choice but to listen.

"He's killed bats before, make no mistake! Certainly, this was all done in self-defense- a few arrogant youths looking to take out Bane's youngest, not seeing why such a misfit should be allowed to live- but surely Ghost felt some enjoyment in killing them!"

Stella cringed as the cannibal's voice invaded her head, filling her ears to the brim with vehement notions.

"To get rid of those who are cruel to you…wouldn't that make you happy?" he whispered. "When those bats had their life torn away from them…Ghost must have felt good. Powerful. A fleeting moment of triumph in a place where he was the failure…!"

Unable to listen anymore, Stella jerked her head back before plunging her tiny set of teeth into the other bat's fur. She was sure she felt them puncture his skin, but her captor didn't even flinch at her attempt to hurt him.

"We were all surprised that he worked up the guts to leave home like he did" the male drawled on. "But from the sound Zorn's little story, it seems to me that he was just running away instead of looking for someplace better. Nothing impressive about that, is there?"

The Brightwing felt the wing wrapped around her jerk a little, as though he were prompting her to give a reply. She kept her mouth shut tight, and after a moment of listening to the unsynchronized heartbeats of the cannibal and herself, Stella's captor continued on.

"Being as pathetic as he is, I'm starting to understand why Ghost would let himself be in your company. You're a female, for one. On top of that you're tiny and frail. It's natural for him to feel dominant over you. With dominance comes confidence-"

"Ghost doesn't think like that!" Stella cut in, and then immediately felt disappointed in herself for giving a response.

"You disagree?" the dark furred bat inquired, a faint rasp to his voice that made the female quiver. "Well, you're welcome to your opinion. Just remember that there isn't anything stopping me from killing you"

"Yes there is!" the Brightwing blurted, the ache of a displaced bone in her left wing keeping her from trying to thrash at him. "Ghost is coming to save me, for sure! And if you kill me, he'll make you regret it!"

Suddenly the wing holding her in place unfurled and Stella found herself tumbling head over tail like a clumsy newborn. Rolling onto her injured wing, she hissed in pain, trying to steady herself with her forearms. A shadow fell across her teetering form and the female froze, terrified.

The Vampyrum Spectrum had lifted himself to his full height, and with the great crest of fur atop his head, he was unfathomably large. Wings outstretched, the jagged sheets of flesh and bone spanned over three feet, swallowing the light in Stella's pearly black eyes.

"Of course he would!" the towering figure growled. "He'd kill me over it! His own brother! Do you know why?"

Struggling against the fear wringing her neck, Stella gave her head a shake.

Looking dark and demonic amongst the endless shadows that the cave provided, the predator lowered his head to meet her gaze.

"Because I'm a monster," he rasped. "And so is Ghost"

And then without warning he lunged at her. Stella flung herself backwards, her heart beating so fast she was sure it would burst. She pounded her wings hard, her mind spinning in all directions as she blindly took flight. Her head slammed into something hard, and as the female thudded softly on the cave floor, she felt a peculiar wetness seeping through the fur near the back of her ear.

Things went black, and from the misty depths of sound, Stella could hear her attacker laughing insatiably. He'd scared her into her own defeat. Fleetingly, the Brightwing felt relieved in knowing that his threats had all been a ploy in tricking her.

Then the last sentence the Vampyrum had spoken replayed in the female's throbbing head, bringing back the fear that had driven it into a rock moments earlier.

Because I'm a monster…

And so is Ghost…

The promising words haunted Stella like a nightmare as she slipped into unconsciousness.


Omg wow! Chapter eleven! It sure took me a while, didn't it?! I've been on such an awesome updating spree lately, so I thought to myself, it would be such a shame if I ended up updating every story except Whitewing! So I sat down after arriving home for the weekend, and just let my fingers move.

By now you all realize Plague is a sadist who loves to terrorize others. But what you don't know is he doesn't need to lie to be successful with this. Now you all just remember this chapter really well. It's important for the sequel.

That's about all I have to say! I hope you all enjoyed the update! Next chapter is titled…to everyone's assumed thrill and delight…Shade Silverwing.