Deadly Games
Shaad's eyebrow rose at the developments as he tried to suppress his reaction. That this man, whoever he was, was to play the role of the pirate captain in these sinister games was but a trifling matter. Even the threat implicit in this prepared lineup was but a mere reiteration of Valentino's earlier warning. No, what rankled Shaad was something the rather colorful enigma had glossed over.
While Shaad struggled to not out himself in any way, though, Raine simply asked the question. "I've heard of him," she voiced, an unsure tilt to her head. "But, the bounty was far lower, I thought."
"Aah, a lady after my own heart; keeping aware of even the little things." Now, instead of surprise, Shaad had to suppress his flaring temper at Valentino's condescending tone and the furtive glance cast his way. "No point quibbling over minutiae, but I guess the Marines confirmed some things, got word he broke out of prison, and suspect him in some recent incidences as well. . . I may have said too much," Valentino smiled with an eye towards the grey haired Vice Admiral. "Oh well, that bit wasn't included in the number, but he's here now anyway. Right?"
Most of the room smiled save for Shaad and the two Marine guards. "Hah," the more boisterous Tenryuubito laughed, moving from his seat. "Worthless Marines couldn't collect one lousy piece of trash. Your group better not fuck up like that."
"Anyway, what's this game we're gonna be playing," the other Tenryuubito interjected, ignoring her brother as well as the scowling, spittle covered face of the captive.
"Of course. We're gonna have a competition. One to see which of you carries the most interesting poison."
Shaad would've been taken aback at Valentino's announcement, but he'd been too busy trying not to shrink under the lone stranger's unwavering gaze. He'd gotten used to all eyes being on Raine, but his skill lay in not being noticed.
"And what role do they play?" For Shaad it was like watching a statue move. The nervousness, the focus that made seconds stretch out indeterminately, crumbled from the youth, alerting him to the moment in time to hear -
"Why, they each brought a special strain themselves, of course. I said they would be participating in our game; heavens forbid, a game for you most esteemed guests lack intrigue. . . Now, if I could have you all bring out your poisons, we can begin. For fairness, we'll have Marie here be the arbiter if there are no objections."
Valentino sat back down, the raven-haired guest grumbling something to him in privacy as the floor was ceded to the ship's captain. Marie confidently strode over to an empty section of wall beneath a mounted monitor. Activating a hidden mechanism, metal hoops extended from the wall at waist and ankle height.
While the accompanying guard secured the captives, the room bustled with a subdued energy. The male Tenryuubito smiled giddily while pulling a vial from his sleeve and unfolding a leather booklet to retrieve a syringe as well. His sister looked comparatively unmoved, a look of intrigue playing in her eyes, while Valentino and the third guest concluded their words.
Shaad felt powerless. Looking to Raine for clarification, strength and guidance, her calm expression and the gentle smirk she wore somehow both unnerved and comforted him. In her hands, she carried a sheathed knife in her hand, the glass design at its hilt sloshing an ocean blue liquid through the infinity styled shape. Everyone else had apparently readied their poisons while he was distracted. Reluctantly, Shaad reached into his collar pulling the medallion he wore into the open air.
Shedding the chain, Shaad eyed the pendant - an angel and devil intertwined on a Yin-Yang background - fond memories of home, his mother, and even his father coming to him. Fingering a latch on the side, Shaad pulled a pill-like object the size of a rice grain from within. Mulling it over, he reached back in and grabbed two more before closing the medallion. An annoyed scowl tugged at his features as he shoved the necklace into his pocket.
"Do we have a volunteer to go first," Valentino wondered aloud, and the rotund frame of the younger Tenryuubito practically bounced from his chair.
"This beauty here," he smiled, a fat finger teasing the pusher of the filled syringe, "will completely paralyze a person while making them hyper aware at the same time so they feel everything to an agonizing degree including the suffocating feeling every time they breathe in. . . Just look at his eyes," the sadistic Tenryuubito squealed with glee after roughly injecting the imprisoned 'pirate captain', hands roving closely to the man's agonized visage. The wide eyed captive looked to be in unbearable pain with no way to stop it or scream out. "He must be feeling the air pricking at his stupid meat sack. I wonder what it's like; like falling on a bed of nails, I bet. And, this is just the poison. I haven't even brought out the real toys."
"That's enough," Valentino said affirmatively. "We're comparing only the poisons, remember?"
"Of coos," the Tenyruubito breathed, biting back a sharp, excited inhale. I'm just. . . excited." He said the last word with his eyes locked on Raine, and it took all Shaad could muster to not jump at him.
Raine kept her cool far better. Stepping forward, with erect posture. "I guess it's my turn," she said. I'll be using a little drug commonly known as Karma's Balancing." With a gentle, boldly conniving smile she unscrewed the glass container from the hilt of her knife, turning it up under the nose of the female captive. "Just relax and breathe in," Raine coaxed smoothly, pushing aside the woman's hair to whisper breathily in her ear. "I'm not going to hurt you."
The woman face fell into a strangely euphoric state even as Raine's nails dug into her neck. "Karma's Balancing is a lovely little hallucinogen," Raine explained. "It twists the brain's synapses and the body's pain receptors such that pain and pleasure are amplified, but reversed. Right now, my nails in her throat probably feels like the most wonderful massage, but if I turn it around. . ." Raine released her grip and the woman immediately looked like she'd lost something precious.
". . . No! Please, no more. . . Get them off!" Loss turned to fear as, with a smile, Raine walked her fingers gently up the woman's lithe body, drawing panic and shrieking.
"Spiders are such distasteful creatures. How about this?" Suddenly, Raine had grabbed a handful of the woman's pert, petite breasts eliciting a pained scream as if she'd been bitten by an alligator. With Raine's other hand running sensually through her hair, the woman tried kicking her restrained legs in an attempt to escape that which swarmed her.
"Such a pliable thing you are," Raine cooed, though the woman was too lost in her own delusions to hear the soft spoken words. "You deserve a reward."
Suddenly, Raine's grip on the woman's breast tightened, nails digging in to the point of drawing blood. But, the captive was in a state of pure bliss, legs going weak and breath coming in heavy pants as Raine dragged the blade of her knife across the woman's inner thigh, staining alabaster skin with free-flowing crimson.
"Just a little more. I'm almost there. Y-yes. Yes!" Then the pleasure stopped. No teasing. No comedown. Just gone, leaving the woman whimpering, almost begging.
"As you can see, she'd thank me and die with the biggest smile if I killed her right now."
"Very interesting indeed," Valentino whistled while the sadistic Tenryuubito stared at the bound woman with a gluttonous gaze, licking his lips all the while.
Straightening himself, Shaad shuffled the three poison pills in his hand. Wordlessly, he stepped towards the man presented as him. Still a prisoner in his own body, it was a pitiful sight; no matter who he really was, few people deserved that. Whether out of sympathy or selfishness, Shaad decided it would be the man flaunted before the room as "The Little Hellion" that would be granted death at his hands.
However, with one hand opening the man's mouth, he was interrupted before being able to drop the pills down the prisoners throat. "Hold on," the more even keeled of the two Tenryuubito, the sister, called. "That trash is still afflicted from my brother's presentation. You should let the leftover get a turn," she smiled cruelly, a subtle twinkle showing in her predatory gaze as it landed on Shaad.
Shaad swallowed a retort and buried his emotions, catching her haughty smirk as he cast an unamused gaze over his shoulder.
"Aah, great point, Lilianne," Valentino complimented. "We want this to be totally fair. Though it highlights a fault of mine." Lilianne's brother scoffed at the admission though Valentino calmly continued. "Three subjects, four participants. We will allow Sir Braddock use of the remaining subject if it's no problem with Hei."
"Makes no difference."
"Perfect, then please continue, Sir Braddock."
Sighing heavily, Shaad turned towards the bound man, his cold gaze surveying the fear etched into the prisoner's wide eyes. "No, please. . . Don't kill me. Please! Hey, Marines, whatever I did, I'm sorry. I'll - I'll go to jail, any jail," the prisoner bawled, tears broaching the corners of his eyes. "Just stop them; don't let them kill me!" Shaad's right arm snapped out, choking the crying man's voice away. He spared a glance to the Marines, though he knew they would do nothing, before focusing solely on the prisoner in his grasp.
"Shut up," Shaad spoke coldly, loosening his grip enough to not preemptively kill the lean captive. "You will die today. It will not be painless. But, I've upped the dosage to make it happen a little faster. Now, open wide."
A minute passed with no greater reaction than the man looking like his stomach had become a contortionist and the feeling in the room was one of impatience, from some more than others.
"What this supposed to be; ya give 'im a laxative?"
"No," Shaad answered calmly. "It's called Sparrow Root."
That small announcement seemed to get Hei's attention as, for the first time, he actually looked at Shaad instead of just through him. "Who are you?" Long Hei's deep, rich voice rumbled in a way that called attention to each word.
"Arturio Bra -" Shaad began, allowing his nerves to show through as haughty indignation. But, he was cut off.
Hei stood from his seat, annoyance etched on his features while only a tenuous balance kept him from snapping the table in two. "Sparrow Roots are exclusive to the New World, and, even there, there are only a few dozen with the capabilities of growing as much as you have and maybe a handful who know how to crystallize it into a pill. So, again, Who. Are. You?"
This time, real frustration boiled over within the upstart pirate. Shaad could feel how strong Hei was in his bones, but he wasn't the threat. Hei wouldn't kill him; the Marines would. . . if they knew who he was. "I'm in this room because of who my family is, the influence my family has. You wanna know who I am? You wanna know how I got that poison? Well, the answer's the same. But, you already know that."
Hei simply smirked. So caught up in their exchange, some in the room had forgotten about Shaad's victim until he coughed up a load of blood - copious amounts already spilling from every other orifice - along with what looked like a piece of his lungs. . . or maybe his stomach.
The full effects of Shaad's Sparrow Root drug now readily apparent (both visually and olfactorily), intrigue and disgust populated the room in equal measures. Insides rapidly being eaten away, the captive victim was helpless as bodily fluids and guts erupted in spurts from every orifice.
Hei eyed the prisoner critically, his the only face that remained impassive at the scene, before pouring a bubbly concoction into his mouth. Instead of swallowing, though, the enigma spewed forth blackened smoke smelling of ash, burning, and decay, engulfing the three drugged captives.
Shaad pulled back from the stream, a subtle heat licking at the hairs on his arms. What put Shaad wholly on guard, however, was the strange feeling the shadowy tendrils sparked: something sinister and soul crushing like a never ending darkness. The pirate didn't know what to make of it. But, before he broke down or lashed out, the thick miasma thankfully ceased, leaving Shaad, Raine, and the ship's captain, Marie, in cold sweats.
Marie recovered first, though Raine maintained a stoic visage even as the bodies blistered and crackled, seeping puss in smoking droplets. "Well. . . that. . . was quite. . . the showing," Marie voiced, swallowing her disgust.
"Now, you'll announce the winner that I may leave," Hei said. "Some of us don't have this time to waste."
"Of course," Marie responded, having looked to Valentino for support. "This was, quite surprisingly, a neck and neck competition. Celestial Dragon Audron, I must say, undoubtedly had the most fear inducing entrant." While the portly Audron smiled broadly, Marie soon burst his bubble. "But, using a holistic judgment approach, I simply must give credit to the 'Black Dragon' Hei Long's jaw dropping display. On the other hand, while undeniably strong contenders, Sir Braddock's offering was marginally underwhelming and Lady DeWynter's poison - an imaginative and spine-tingling conundrum - falls short in terms of being psychologically debilitating solely as a threat. Therefore, after much deliberation the winners are Lord Tenryuubito Audron and Sir Hei Long in a tie."
Hei Long was nonplussed by the pronouncement, quietly rising from his seat and moving towards the door with only a few quick words. Contrarily, Audron looked seconds away from a full-blown tirade before Valentino calmed him, explaining that they'd agreed to defer to Marie's judgment and offering additional service perks to the World Noble children. But, as Valentino directed all other guests from the room, Raine was stopped by a yell indicating her.
While Liliane was satisfied with a few extra pieces of exceptional personal jewelry and a promise or two, Audron wanted a little more. Namely, Audron demanded Raine as his, ordering she be relinquished to his control immediately. Shaad's shoulders tensed and, with a deadly glare in his eyes, his head snapped on a swivel. Only a soft swipe at his wrist by Raine kept him from attacking with another of those elongated, sharpened toothpicks from his sleeve.
Both Marine Vice Admirals caught the wave of killing intent and zeroed in on Shaad, but Raine practically shoved the young man out the door while Valentino, the magnet for attention he'd already shown himself to be, immediately provided distraction.
As the grandiose, solid door to the Captain's Table closed, Raine was left alone in a room with a deranged psychopath who wanted her as his personal property and a roomful of people who could hardly care less about letting it happen. Shaad meanwhile was pulled forward long enough that he understood the unspoken command to follow when the ship's captain, Marie, finally released his collar.