DAR
Somehow I get the feeling that - if Zedd doesn't get his boy under control - this isn't going to end well. A quick glance at Zedd shows me that he's trying to feel his mate out through the bond and is confused by what he's getting from it. I have no doubt that Tommy is going through a lot of emotions right now. I know I am and Zedd's not even my mate.
"Thomas, love, it's not that big of a deal," Zedd tries to reason, not actively stopping the human but definitely doing his best to keep pace with him. "I mean as far as things go, I wasn't exactly shocked when he said it."
"Uh huh." Not seeming to be really listening, Tommy is definitely on a mission.
"It's sort of a common practice with more easily controlled and desirable prisoners really. Lots of evil ranking creatures do it. Right?" Looking to us for help, Zedd scowls when Pina and I only frown and give half-hearted mutters of agreement, neither of us having ever really gone that route before, as neither of us have ever bothered to let any prisoners live that long before.
"Don't worry, we're going to fix that." This could be interesting. Once in the dungeon, he grabs the keys with shaking hands, manages to unlock the door and flings it open, leaving the keys in the lock. Between one heartbeat and the next, he's across the room and has sunk his fist deep in the gut of the man hanging there. He does it a second time and then a third before he addresses the gasping for air male. "How dare you? How egotistical are you to think that you could ever make Zedd - the great Lord Zedd - into a pet?"
I glance at Zedd and see a ghost of a smile on his face. Tommy moves away and over to a nearby table that we've stocked with various tools for this. He snatches up a small blade and returns. Zedd starts to move forward, but I stop him. In a low voice I tell him, "He's not going to kill him, I don't think. Let him work - for now."
"Zedd." Looking to his former mate for help, Annwyl is at least careful enough not to demand he call Tommy off, I think realizing the danger he'd be in if Zedd refused.
"I might have let it slip what you said earlier." Shrugging slightly, Zedd gives a half-assed apology. "Sorry, but you know how I get. You always said I liked to talk too much."
"Oh he did, did he?" Turning heated eyes on his prisoner, Tommy I'm certain sees the scowl Annwyl sends Zedd's way at his added comment. "Well we'll just have to have a little talk about that won't we now. But first, it's time for our morning inspection." I've watched Tommy do this once or twice in the last couple of days and I have to say, for someone who hasn't actually trained in this, he's pretty good at it. I'm not entirely sure how often he's made Annwyl lose control of one bodily function or another, but I do know that Tommy's made him wet himself at least once and burst into tears another. My attention is returned to the former Ranger when he speaks my name from behind the dangling man.
"Oh, looks like Goldar missed a spot this morning." He tsks. "Shame on him." Suddenly, he grabs a handful of Annwyl's hair and jerks back. His voice slides into the sensual purr I've heard him use before. "At least something won't be all marked up on your corpse." It sends a shiver down my spine whenever he does it, simply because that tone is so - out of place with what he's doing. More than once I've seen Annwyl give me a look that questions Tommy's sanity. Hell, the only thing that keeps me from questioning it is how quickly he drops the act once we're out of this room.
From the corners of my eyes, I see our other companions shiver as well. At least it isn't just me. Annwyl speaks, foolishly. "Tommy, don't. Zedd, please-"
In a flash, Tommy has the blade in his hand pressed against his prisoner's jugular. "I didn't give you permission to speak."
"I'm sorry!" I can feel my eyes narrow. He's not broken, not by a long shot if the death glares I've seen him give Tommy behind his back these past few days mean anything, but he wants Tommy to think that he is now. He's up to something. Tommy glances at me over his shoulder seeming confused himself as it's the first time he's ever gotten those words from his captive. I give a tiny shake of my head.
"No, you're not sorry. Not at all. But you will be." He removes the blade from the Eltarian's throat and slowly draws it down his back. He might be cutting him or he might just be scaring him - hard to say as he's done both. Annwyl whimpers slightly. "Maybe I should turn you into a pet. I bet it'd be a lot easier to turn you than you realize. You'd probably be worth a small fortune once you were - properly trained."
Under my breath, I remark to the others, "If we'd had this Tommy when Rita recruited him, evil would have never lost." Not surprisingly, Zedd doesn't seem happy at this observation. Well, thoughtful mostly.
I return my attention to the former human as he speaks again. "One nice thing about you advanced species - you heal quickly. Means I can play with you as long as I want. Maybe even keep you for my own pet." He wanders back over to the table and drops the blade on it.
Once more, the captive speaks. "You're just jealous." And unwisely, if the look on Tommy's face is anything to go by. I'm not certain but I think his eye just twitched unconsciously. That's never a good sign. "That's why you're torturing me like this - threatening to make me a pet. And I'll tell you this, if you try and make me a pet, I'll kill you in your sleep."
Taking a very long and controlled breath, the human grits his teeth hand not yet snatching his knife again as mine would have had I been in his position. "You kill me and you kill Zedd. Are you too stupid to realize that? Or were you just lying when you said you didn't want him dead?"
"He might not die. If not, he'd certainly still be– serviceable" Annwyl snarls back. I'm stunned at the implication. That breaks a taboo that goes back thousands of years, one even the worst on our side wouldn't suggest doing. "Then I win all the way around. You're dead and I still get Zedd back." He pauses and there's a glint in his eye that I don't like. "After all, I had him first. I learned him until I could please him in minutes or drag his enjoyment out for hours if we so chose. As you said yourself, we heal fast, and recover even faster, unlike your species."
"Annwyl, stop." Zedd's tone is quiet but suddenly laced with a tone I've not heard from him since Tommy's fall down the stairs that resulted from one of his last episodes. He's worried and I know why as I watch his mate's eye twitch again as he tries to ignore his prisoner's now mocking tone.
"Come now, love, it's not as if he doesn't know. As you said yourself that's what this is about, right? Me and you. It has nothing to do with him when you really get down to it."
"I'm warning you." Tone definitely one of warning, Tommy is still showing far more restraint than I think I'd ever manage, even though I know he's baiting him.
"You're warning me. What are you going do, kill me? Or just tease me some more? And just so you know, what you've done to me so far, the restraints, the light caresses with the blades, the whipping, the scratches, the bruises, we used to call that foreplay, little boy." Oh hell this is not going to end well at all. "Tell me, has he even restrained you yet? Left even the faintest of bruises because he's gripping you so tightly as you mate that you'd think your life depended on it? Forget whipping, have you even gotten him aggravated enough to stop what he's working on and bend you over his desk to give you a good spanking? Even a smack on the ass? You know, you talk about how horrible I am, how I could have hurt him, but guess what precious, he's not a female and neither am I, and while a break from the rough and tumble is nice on occasion, I can't deny that, so is a good, hard, bruise giving, pain inducing, furious…what's the word you humans have – oh yeah, fuck."
Uh oh. Fully enraged now, Tommy snatches up an iron bar, spins around and steps into his swing, catching the bound man hard enough across the kidney area I'm surprised that his shoulders aren't dislocated from the force. "You'll be pissing blood for a week" he hisses.
"Wouldn't be the first time, pet" Annwyl grunts out, clearly in pain, but clearly working to achieve whatever goal that he's got in mind. "Remember our trip to Triforia?" Looking up at Zedd now, he manages a slight smile. "The first time we ever drank, you insisted we could get into the bars there by using a loophole due to our species. We ended up fighting the bouncer, the bartender and five patrons before the rest cleared out." Turning back to Tommy now his smile turns into a smirk. "Despite three broken bones and a punctured kidney we fucked for an hour on the pool table afterwards."
And that does it. Having enough to finally snap completely Tommy strikes out rapidly a few more times only pausing when Annwyl falls unconscious, body weight hanging from his wrists. Tommy speaks once more. "Wake him up."
Pina hesitates. "Tommy-"
"Wake him up!"
Finally, Zedd speaks quietly. "Thomas, enough."
"I won't let him hurt you, Zedd. I promise" he responds quickly.
"I'm not afraid of him hurting me, love. Thomas, let him be for a while. Your beating will be more effective at breaking his spirit when he isn't suicidal - and slightly more healed." I can hear the slight waver in Zedd's voice telling me he isn't quite as calm as he'd like Tommy to believe.
The young man studies his victim for a minute. "Suicidal, huh? So he was trying to goad me into killing him?" He shakes his head. "Little does he realize that all he did was waste his time."
"He'll be much more aware of it when he wakes up, considering that wasn't his goal in the first place. Come on, Thomas, please."
He looks at Annwyl once again before he tosses the bar back on the table. He crosses over and heads out the door. Quickly we all follow him and he closes and locks the door behind us before replacing the key in its place. He heads for the kitchen, not making a sound until he's around the corner and up one floor. "I wasn't going to kill him yet." Could have fooled me. "He still has a few lessons to learn."
"I'd still rather you didn't kill him" Zedd says, setting his hand on Tommy's shoulder.
"I heard you the first time, Zedd. We just can't count on any other solution."
Zedd remains thoughtful as we make our way to the kitchen. Finally he says, "Then I'll kill him myself."
