A/N: WARNINGS FOR GRAPHIC VIOLENCE AND DEPICTIONS OF TORTURE! PLEASE READ WITH CAUTION!
Sorry that it's been like a year since I updated lol I've been otherwise inspired by other things but I will finish this story eventually one day damnit! I hope you loves enjoy this chapter even if it's dark as hell! XOXOX
Chapter 23
Bloom's first act as Queen of the Succubi was to personally interrogate (torture) the prisoners.
None of the other succubi - not even the council members - had a problem with this. In fact, they supported their new queen's zest and enthusiasm for punishment. That, and they wanted to see the slayer of their beloved Abaddon torn limb from limb as much as Bloom did. And Bloom vowed to give her people what they all desired.
Bloom descended the Spiral of Solemnity into the catacombs beneath, trailed only by Azazel who remained a comforting shadow. The spiral staircase carved into the obsidian walls was named so aptly as there was never a good reason why someone descended those stairs, the clacking echo of talons signaling bad omens to the criminals who resided at the bottom.
Neither Bloom nor Azazel spoke as they made their journey down below. Bloom had a sneaking suspicion that Azazel was slightly fearful of her in this moment. Bloom could not blame him. She, too, was fearful of herself. For the first time, it felt like the Beast had more control than she did. More so, it felt like Bloom was willingly giving the Beast control. The raw strength of the Beast fueled by the power of the Dragon Flame was stronger than any aphrodisiac than Bloom had ever experienced. Bloom knew in her heart that she was not a violent person, that she did not wish pain or death on anyone. Yet, self-defense of not, she still roasted a whole army of Eraklyan soldiers where they stood, razing them to ash.
Perhaps she was the monster everyone thought. Perhaps there was no escaping the violence of her nature.
Perhaps it was time to embrace it.
At the bottom of the stairs, Bloom was greeted by a sentry who bowed deeply at the waist. He passed Azazel a torch and said nothing, maintaining the ever-present silence. The shadows the torch cast illuminated cells of pathetic-looking succubi: some waif-thin, some blinded by cataracts, some with matted fur and claws so long they had gone feral, snarling and gnashing their broken fangs onto the thick iron bars. There was nothing that could kill a succubus save complete and total destruction, but there were many things that could hold one through a long and miserable life.
Bloom passed many rows of cells filled with the remaining Eraklyan guards. They flinched when they saw her, holding their charred limbs and spitting curses at her in their minds. Bloom felt a thrill of joy knowing that they would soon be wiped from this world, and Eros would be free of their oppression.
The last cell at the end of the catacombs held a very special prisoner. Bloom held her hand to the handle, pausing to collect herself. She would have to be on her A-game to get through this interrogation. One snap and she could end things before they even started.
"Stay here," Bloom commanded Azazel, the words echoing louder than she had intended for a whisper. Not that it mattered. Let the whole world know that she was visiting a prisoner alone. Let the other prisoners feel that fear in their bones. Let them feel it and then respect their new queen.
Azazel did as he was told and remained behind when Bloom opened the heavy door and shut it behind her, leaving her alone in the dark with the prisoner.
The bitch of a prisoner strained against her bonds, her dark skin dirty from all the flailing she had done along the clay floor. She'd been fighting for so long that her wrists had begun to chafe and bleed under the friction. Those were just the start of her wounds, Bloom would make sure.
The catacombs beneath the city were frigid due to their distance from the surface. Only the fiery nature of a succubus could keep one warm enough survive long periods of time down below. Already, the bitch's breath misted in the cold air. Her teeth chattered and her body shivered. She could feel the cold from the stone slab beneath her bare body, all protection stripped from her. Slowly, the cold was sapping all the heat from her body.
Perfect.
"Oh my, you must be so cold. Would you like me to change that?" Bloom asked with a false tenderness, feeling nothing but repulsion for the woman who killed her mother. She leaned her face right next to the bitch's, vertical slitted pupils boring into deep brown with such a hatred that the bitch couldn't help but fear.
Still, the bitch refused give in. Instead, she spat in Blooms face.
"I don't know," the bitch said with a smirk. "The cold feels so relaxing."
Bloom paused to wipe the spittle from her face, her claws raking down her flushed cheeks. Her smile was waning, plush lips parting to expose razor-edged fangs
"Such a cold attitude," Bloom chided gently as she placed a hand on the bitch's torso, channeling her power into the bitch. "You really do need some warmth."
It was a slow burn that took root in the bitch's side, like someone had lit a match under her and began to push that match into her skin. At first it was bearable, but as the bitch resisted, Bloom's power revved up and she emptied more fire into the bitch's body. It was only a taste of the fire running through Bloom's veins, an infinitesimally minuscule silver of the inferno she released onto all those Eraklyan soldiers. But there was time to build up to that. The flames grew hotter as the match turned into a bonfire, a bonfire that threatened to eat the bitch alive.
The bitch couldn't take it anymore.
She screamed.
"Oh, what's wrong? You don't like the heat?" The concern in Bloom's voice was smothering, but it wasn't true. Bloom got off on this; it fed her incessant need to destroy, and fairies were slowly becoming her favorite things to tear down.
"I…I know why you're torturing me," the bitch gasped. The effort to produce those few words was immense; Bloom could see her chest heaving between sobbed breaths. It wasn't very smart on the bitch's part, trying to torment the creature holding her at its mercy. But no one ever claimed that she was smart for bringing an army to Bloom's doorstep in the first place. "You're mad I can hurt you. That I was able to see right through you, me and everyone you thought you could trust at that little school. They were too weak to do what I did. They had the balls to run you off but not to finish the job. I sent your mother rotting in hell, and you'll soon be with her."
Bloom snarled as she shoved more fire into the the bitch's body. "My mother was harming no one! She did nothing to you! And you murdered her!"
"And I'd do it again," the bitch said once the fire relented. She smiled through bloody teeth, deranged. "I would do it again and take as many of you soulless bastards down with me."
The bitch continued to scream. Bloom knew how the bitch was feeling: her body was on fire, her blood boiling under her skin, blistering her entire being until even breathing seemed impossible. She felt like her skin was melting off of her bones. Her back arched off of the slab that was once so cold, now as painful as millions of little knives. The pain was immense, unbelievable, indescribable. It was all she knew.
Bloom leaned in close to the shivering mess of a prisoner, lips brushing the shell of her dark ear as she asked, "Would you like me to make it stop?"
Bloom had no desire to stop no matter what this bitch said. Bloom wouldn't stop until this bitch begged for death or died in the process. This bitch could do nothing but scream in agony. She refused to ask for mercy. Never in a million years, not even in this death, would she beg the devil for release. Bloom respected that...a little. If she allowed herself to feel anything for this reviling creature other than hatred.
"I can make it stop. I can end all your suffering," Bloom promised, her voice syrupy and full of poison. "Just tell me how you found me. Tell me what the Trix promised you. Tell me who else is looking for me, and I will make it all go away."
The bitch canted her head up, eyes bloodshot and defiant as ever. "Fuck you!"
"Fine. Have it your way."
The torture went on this way for what felt like eons. Most mortals would have cracked under the duress at the very start. Not this one. Bloom had to be stuck wit the most stubborn, steadfast crazy bitch in the history of crazy bitches. As much as she was loathe to admit it, the power of the Dragon Flame would not be enough. It was evident she would have to come up with another way to approach the situation.
In light of the revelation, Bloom removed her hands and the bitch's entire body collapsed only to writhe in pain as open sores met the harsh and stinging stone. Bloom's hands were covered in blood from the force in which she had been directing her power. The bitch's skin was shattering and flaking off, practically bleeding out on the slab.
"Oh, well we can't have that now can we?" Bloom chided, wiping her bloody hand on the slab.
The fire was back, this time searing skin back together and patching talon holes. Bloom's stomach roiled at the smell of burning flesh. If there was anything in her stomach to expel, she would have thrown up ten times over by now. Instead, Bloom shoved the smell aside as she remembered all the reasons she needed the bitch alive. Bloom would just as soon leave the bitch here to rot, but not until she gave up all the secrets inside that annoyingly bigoted head.
"Azazel!" Bloom shouted, her loyal sex slave appearing in the doorway immediately.
"Yes, My Queen?"
"Take this fairy slut to a proper cell in the citadel. I can't have her dying before she cracks."
"Yes, My Queen."
Satisfied with her work, Bloom turned and exited the room.
There were dozens more Eraklyan soldiers to dismember.
And then, a vile, perfect thought struck her.
There were dozens more Eraklyan soldiers to dismember.
...
Bloom lounged on her mother's throne - her throne, she had to remind herself. It was her throne now - waiting eagerly for her guest to arrive.
Guest was not the right word for her prisoner.
The bitch's limpid body was dragged by the arms and thrown at the foot of her throne. A body that once could have been described as beautiful was now marred with burns and scars. In the luminescence of the candelabras, Bloom's work shone even more glorious. The primal part of her brain preened with pride.
"Wake up," Bloom said, nudging the bitch's body with the talons on her foot.
The bitch winced, but lifted her head, nothing but pure exhausted hatred in those dark brown eyes.
Perfect.
"I wanted to play a little game," Bloom told her, getting up from her throne. She sauntered over to the line of Eraklyan guards she had dragged from the catacombs, a handful of the most innocent-looking, rag tag men. Huddled and bound by succubus warriors, some of them still looked like little boys. Such a shame all this life, all this energy, had to be wasted. She cast a look to the bitch over her shoulder. "I am going to ask you a question, and for every lie you tell me, I will take the life of one guard."
The bitch remained silent, though her posture became straighter, steeling herself for what was to come, ever the consummate warrior. Bloom silently admired the bitch's resolve. Too bad it would all be for naught.
Bloom circled round the first guard, raking her talons over tattered armor. The guard trembled beneath her grasp, and though he did not dare show his fear, Bloom could smell it on him, more potent than any aphrodisiac.
"Tell me what you know about the Trix," Bloom said, her gaze ever-focused on the guard, on his trembling frame and jumping pulse. Bloom had the highest compulsion to lick it, to bite down into his neck and taste the meat of him. But this was not about her pleasure...not yet. Her slitted gaze returned to the bitch. "Tell me what they're planning."
Bloom waited one moment, two moments, three. The bitch remained annoyingly silent, her lips pursed into a thin, paling line.
"Pity," Bloom tutted.
Then she sunk her teeth into the guard's neck, breaking through flesh and sinew, and ripped out his throat.
Blood splattered across the hall, the floor, the faces of the other guards. The dead man dropped to the ground, face frozen in shock. Bloom licked her lips. The taste was even better than she had anticipated, her tongue running over the bloodied razor-sharp edges of her fangs.
The bitch looked like she was going to be sick, but she remained stoic and upright, her gaze never wavering from Bloom's, refusing to look at the cooling corpse mere paces away. Her eyes tracked Bloom as she moved to the next guard in the line. This one's fear was more evident, fear pouring off of him in unrelenting waves.
"Let's try this again," Bloom said, her grin bordering on feral. "What are. The Trix. Planning?"
Still, the bitch said nothing, not even flinching when this man lost his life in an equally gruesome fashion. Two dead men lied at the bitch's feet, and while her expression was drawn and grim, she did not waver. She did not look down at the bodies; she kept her gaze leveled at Bloom, hateful.
Perhaps Bloom needed to rethink her strategy, While disturbed, it was clear that the bitch would keep her resolve no matter how many guards Bloom felled, and as much as Bloom found the process of disfiguring her mother's killers cathartic, impatience began to creep in. The bitch's refusal to comply also did not look good on Bloom's budding reputation as a fearsome queen. Already, the courtiers who had gathered to watch the carnage were whispering, spreading their own doubts and commentary on Bloom's methodology.
Anger grew like a hateful pit in Bloom's gut. Her urge to slice the bitch's throat was strong, no matter how much her rational brain said that the bitch was more valuable left alive, that Bloom needed the information stuck inside that infuriatingly silent brain.
A hand on her shoulder grounded the Beast. Bloom looked to the side to see Wrathis by her side, his support silent but steady. Her father's presence was calming, refocusing Bloom's mind to the task at hand: making the bitch - and by extension the Trix - pay.
Bloom sat back down in her throne, surveying the bitch. She was breathing heavily, a greenish pallor tinting her dark skin. The stench of death was growing the longer the dead bodies laid out in the unforgiving Eros heat. The bitch fanned herself, swatted at the air around her head. At first Bloom thought she might be trying to cool herself. Then, Bloom recognized that something integral about the bitch was missing.
"I don't think it's these soldiers' lives you value. It's something else..." Bloom trailed off, remembering a trivial detail lost to the battle. "There was something you arrived with, something small and annoying buzzing about your head."
The bitch's eyes widened minutely, a momentary lapse in her stone cold facade.
Gotcha.
Bloom's grin turned feral. "Father, dear, would you be so kind as to fetch it for me?"
Wrathis nodded and left the hall, only to return a few moments later with a gilded onyx cage. He extended it to Bloom, the hook of the cage hanging from his claws. The creature inside thrashed against the thick bars, flying furiously around the tight space as if it could faze through to the other side. Bloom smothered a laugh as she saw panic climb in the bitch's eyes.
"A pixie! How cute," Bloom said with mock-sweetness, jabbing a finger at the buzzing creature in the cage. It hurled angry, infantile gibberish her way. If it wasn't so pathetic Bloom might think the display adorable. "I think I'll burn it."
Fire danced at Bloom's fingers as two sharp claws pinched down on the pixie's wings and pulled. The pixie shrieked as the claw tore through the sensitive flesh of wing.
"No! Please, don't!" the bitch begged, rushing the throne and falling on hands and knees. Bloom was shocked to see such a show of compassion from someone made of steel, tears welling in her eyes. "She's just a baby. Please."
"Tell me what I want to know and I'll spare your pet."
Bloom held the pixie a little tighter to prove her point, the creature issuing a tiny, high-pitched yelp.
"Okay! Alright! I will tell you!" the bitch screamed, hands outstretched. Bloom was certain that if she were strong enough to access her powers, the bitch would be shielding her pet from harm. "The Trix, t-they lead me to you in exchange for information to take down Alfea."
"Oh?" Bloom quirked a brow, amused. "You were playing double agent, were you?" The bitch did not reply, her tortured expression answer enough. "I assume the Trix were successful?"
The bitch nodded once. "They have taken complete control of Magix."
"And now there is nothing stopping them from expanding their influence across the entire Magical Dimension," Bloom surmised, connecting the dots.
No, no, no, that would not do at all. The Beast inside Bloom rose its hackles at the idea of being controlled. She had just gained her newfound independence, coming into this incredible power. There was no way Bloom would bow to a group of witches back her into another corner. That was the old Bloom. The new Bloom was faster, smarter, stronger.
Besides, ruling the Magical Dimension? That was far from what those witches deserved. They only deserved to suffer.
"I told you what you wanted!" the bitch cried, her gaze still focused on the pixie in the onyx cage. "Now, let her go."
In her musing, Bloom and nearly forgotten the tiny creature in her grasp. It was small and pathetic and annoying. And completely useless.
Bloom let go of her fire. In one quick flash, the pixie erupted into flames, dissolving into a pile of ash and pixie dust.
The bitch let out a mighty wail, thrashing against the guards that held her.
"You took what I most loved from me. Now, we are even." Bloom felt no regret at hearing the bitch wail like a wounded animal, her sobs a sweet symphony to Bloom's ears. "Guards! Lock her back in her cell!"
The guards dragged the bitch out the hall, the doors slamming shut behind them, cutting off her cries and profanities. Murmurs from the crowd changed from skeptical to approving. A few even eyed her with reverence. Soon enough, they would all look at her like that. It was only a matter of time.
"And what shall we do with our newfound information?" Wrathis asked, pleased with Bloom's display of cruelty.
"Now, we take the battle to Magix," Bloom said, reveling in her victory. "Now, we make those witches pay."