Warning: graphic...well, damn near everything. Language, violence, and sex, OH MY!

Sera had not seen Tutanubis or Rue for more than a week. She had found it difficult to look Dr. Blackwood in the eyes at work. Perhaps it was because he reminded her of the man she had recently killed. An emotion she had never felt before had crept into her soul which she thought no longer existed. Guilt. Remorse. Harsh and stinging, bitter and hard to swallow; it pierced her heart and clawed at her mind, tormenting her. Since she had begun her three days off, she subjected her body to hard punishment to calm her mind. She performed crunches, push ups, and lifted weights until her limbs became too weak to hold her up. Once she recovered from that bout of self-discipline, she forced herself to endure more torture by running until she vomited. She had miscalculated the distance and the exact moment when her body would completely shut down from her self-inflicted reprimand. Her body gave out on her a few yards from her back door . She was left in a sweating, panting heap in the tall green grass with the sun beating down on her as sweat flowed from her body. Within minutes, she passed out due to exhaustion and dehydration

Thankfully, Tutanubis had decided to return to her. He found her in a pitiful heap, out cold from pushing herself too far. He picked her up and carried her inside to put her in the shower without bothering to be the least bit gentle. After sitting her on the cold tile floor of the shower, she still did not regain consciousness. He was beginning to worry. Turning on the water, he watched as the frigid water beat down on her with absolutely no results. She was still unconscious and still not moving. Walking out of the bathroom to the kitchen, he opened the refrigerator door to pull out a cold bottle of water and one of her sports drinks. Her shrill scream broke the silence when he was halfway back to the bathroom.

"There's my girl," he muttered to himself, walking into the bathroom.

"Goddamn you, Tutanubis," she growled, shivering as she waited for the water to warm up.

"Too late, sweetheart. I was damned from the beginning. Here," he said, opening the glass shower door to shove the bottle of lime green liquid at her. "If I hadn't come back when I did, you would probably be dead."

"Would that be a bad thing?" Sera asked, twisting off the cap. She was too busy gulping down the drink to notice the intense glare from the Death God.

"Have you forgotten what I am and that you belong to me?" he shot back, noticing her eyes open wide. Apparently she had forgotten. He had allowed her to become too friendly, too familiar - just way too close. "I can take you any time I wish, Sera. You are mine."

"Then do it...just do it," she rejoined, her voice a coarse whisper. She leaned against the wall allowing the water that was finally hot to wash away her tears. Steam filled the shower from the boiling water yet she felt nothing. Not a single ounce of warmth.

"What have you allowed him to do to you?" Tutanubis questioned her.

"Nothing," she mumbled, turning her back to him. Squeezing citrus scented shower gel onto her body poof, she scrubbed until her skin became red and raw.

"Stop it...please stop," he begged her as she squirted more soap straight onto her skin to scour her body again.

Sera pretended to ignore him as she rinsed off the soap then proceeded to wash her hair twice with the pink grapefruit scented shampoo before working the conditioner of the same scent through her long hair. She would smell like a citrus orchard which was fine with her. Citrus had a clean, fresh smell that made her think of the clear blue skies of summer while eating a sweet juicy orange. Clean. She would never be clean again from all of the blood and hate she had tainted herself with. Everything she had tried to do to cleanse her mind, her body, her very soul, had only made it worse. Made her worse. Once she had dried off and put on her fuzzy terry cloth bathrobe, she went to the kitchen to prepare herself a chocolate peanut butter high protein smoothie. Her nausea subsided once she had finished off the shake. Grabbing another bottle of water to continue rehydrating, she felt the need for a cigarette. Her handsome and uncustomarily quiet Shinigami companion joined her on the balcony as she sat in her robe sipping the water while sitting in one of the wooden Adirondack chairs with her feet propped on the banister.

"Going hunting tonight?" Tutanubis inquired, folding his arms as he studied her curiously. He shook his head disapprovingly as he watched her light up a cigarette, enjoying the first puff like a heroin addict delights in shooting up. Why did she push herself so hard to exercise when she did counterintuitive crap like smoking and drinking too much?

"Don't judge me god of porn, pizza, and beer," she mumbled, blowing the smoke out through her nose. "But I guess it doesn't matter what you do because you're dead."

"You look like a dragon when you do that," he told her, watching a seductive smile stretch her soft pink lips across her face. "I'm not dead," he corrected her.

"But you're not alive either," she retorted, standing up with the cigarette held prissily in her hand. She moved toward him, petting the fur on his neck and allowing her fingers to drift across his chest. "What's it like being caught somewhere in between?"

"Probably the same as it is for you. You pretend to be a good person, but you're a wolf in sheep's clothing. You're a shameless killer, but at least you kill those who deserve it. You're not really good," he said, putting his hands on her waist. He moved a lock of her rich chestnut colored hair out of her face to look at her. "But you're not really evil either. You just are what you are and it's always been that way so you don't know anything different," he explained, plucking the cigarette from her fingers to throw it over the banister to the ground below.

"Hey!" she yelled in protest. Crossing her arms over her chest, she pouted unapologetically when he would not allow her to move to get another one from the pack sitting on the table beside her chair.

"Stop that. It's a disgusting habit," he admonished her. He put his finger to her lips when she opened her mouth to argue. "We're not talking about my vices, we're talking about yours."

"I'll die someday. The sooner the better right because then I'll be yours forever," she said, putting her arms around his neck. "As you just reminded me."

"Are you afraid to die?" he asked her, stroking her hair. He was petting her but she did not seem to mind. Maybe she found it comforting as he meant it to be.

"Not really," she said, pressing her cheek against the soft fur that curled onto his chest. "I'm tired. I've grown weary...of it all...of myself."

"If you're interested, I found the perfect candidate for your brand of warped justice while I was trolling around in the world of the living to amuse myself," he informed her to change the subject. "A man accused of three separate charges of rape. Beat the charges on all three. Want to hear the best part?"

"I'm breathless with anticipation," she replied, moving out of his arms. Her excitement increased as a wicked gleam entered his golden eyes.

"He's a defense attorney specializing in helping his clients beat sexual offense raps of all kinds. Of course, he can't bill that in his advertising but word does get around the prisons and the criminal underground."

"Just where the hell have you been playing for over a week?" she muttered, lighting another cigarette. "Never mind. I don't want to know." She turned her back to him before he could chastise her again for smoking. "Well, isn't that lovely. Just fabulous in fact. I'll be killing two kinds of sick animals in one. Did you bring a picture of him so I know who to look for?" She studied the picture he handed her that had been printed off of the lawyer's website. He was a beautiful man with hair the color of caramel pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of his slender, elegant neck. Her fingertips drifted over his womanly pretty, heart-shaped face. His barely blue eyes held a distinct hardness, a cruelty that betrayed his delicate, harmless appearance.

"Calix Rubo the third...oh, dear god," she muttered after reading his name aloud. "Two others have been cursed with this name? It's like a cruel family joke."

"Don't forget the esquire." With a throaty laugh, Tutanubis pointed out the pretentious title behind the man's haughty and ridiculous name.

"Esquire," she sneered, wadding up the piece of paper. "What an asshole."

Sera sucked on her cigarette, holding the crumpled paper to the glowing red end. A flame erupted and she carefully held the paper at the corner between her thumb and forefinger. She watched it burn. When the flames grew too hot on her hand to hold it anymore, she dropped the ball of fire over the edge of the balcony. Watching it drift downward, the flame burnt out before it before touched the ground. All that remained was a few ashes that were scattered on the breeze. The life of Calix Rubo would swiftly become as meaningless as the paper she had just destroyed.

~...~

Sera walked into the upscale bar wearing a simple off the shoulder dress in a deep royal blue color. The skirt fluttered around her thighs; short enough to be sexy, long enough to be tasteful. Her hair had been pulled up on top of her head in a loose bun with a few curls left free to frame her face and trail down her neck. She found her target sitting at a table for two alone in the corner scouting the bar and assessing his possibilities for his next victim. She recognized that predatory look in his eyes. At the moment his prospects were few and pathetic. There was an aging socialite sitting near the piano flirting with the twentysomething piano player who was in between songs. A black-haired gold digger wearing a designer dress and knock off brand shoes was sitting at the bar ogling the gorgeous lawyer. The tags were probably tucked inside the dress so she could return it to the store tomorrow. There were a few other random women already talking to men in expensive business suits in the fancy bar for elites colored in ivory and white with chandeliers of pearl and shiny gold in contrast to the black lacquered tables scattered around the floor. Choosing a table in the middle of the room, she sat down and with a flourish placed her blue suede clutch on the table. She was hoping she could draw his attention without having to be too obvious like the wannabe at the bar. The handbag matched her shoes; yes, blue suede shoes. She gave the waiter wearing a tuxedo a mesmerizing grin before she ordered a cosmopolitan. It was one of the stereotypical drinks chosen by the woman who was on the prowl for a man with money to entice him to spend it on her. Taking small sips of the drink, she pretended to glance with bored disinterest at the men spread throughout the bar. When her eyes slid to Calix, she was not surprised to see he had already taken notice of her. She gave him a demure smile, lowering her eyes as she touched her neck with the fingertips of one hand. Coquettishly twisting a curl around her finger, she raised her eyes back to meet his. That was all it took. The lecherous lawyer was on his feet and walking toward her table. Damn. He was almost too easy.

"Calix Rubo the third...esquire," he added with an arrogant grin, extending his hand toward her.

Shit! Is this guy for real?, she asked herself silently. Somehow Sera withheld her laughter. Giving his hand a disdainful glance, her eyes moved back up to his. "Angel."

Sera steeled her nerves for the onslaught of worn out, tiresome pick up lines that usually followed when she gave her name. Astoundingly, none came. She gave him a sincere smile when he sat down in the chair next to hers without a single word.

"Nice to meet you, Angel," he returned, glimpsing her empty glass. "What are you having?"

"Anything you want to give me," she replied, arching her eyebrow slightly in a salacious manner.

"After this drink would you like to go somewhere...somewhere that we can be alone?"

"I know just the place."

~...~

Sera walked ahead of him, opening the door from the garage. She bypassed the downstairs kitchen, walking down the hall to the staircase that led to the second floor. To her amazement, he had been polite and a great conversationalist. He had kept his hands to himself during the ride and had not indulged in lobbing any obvious double entendres at her. She kicked off her shoes as she paused at the second floor kitchen, the fully stocked kitchen she always used.

"Would like a drink?" she inquired, going to the double door refrigerator that looked just like her cabinets.

"Water would be nice," he returned, sitting down on one of the bar stools.

Once again taken by surprise by the man, Sera reached in to grab two cold bottles of water. If she had not run into this sort of deceitful creature before, she would want to believe he was a nice guy who had somehow mistakenly received a bad reputation. However, she knew a real monster lurked beneath the charm and benign good looks. She was about to come face to face with the devil within. Her fingers brushed his when she handed him the bottle. After he took a long sip, a single glistening drop of water remained on his full lower lip. Leaning forward, she licked the droplet from his lip. Her lips hovered over his waiting for him to make the next move. The first contact was brief, practically virginal, and a little bit shy. This guy was a fascinating game player. She moved between his legs, sliding her arms around his neck. Her lips met his again. This time the kiss was urgent and ravenous, his hands clamping onto her hips as he claimed her mouth. She thrust her tongue into his mouth as his fingers drew down the zipper of her dress. Her lips broke from his when he pushed down the material that had been holding the dress up on her one shoulder. The cloth easily fell to the floor, gathering around her ankles. She was wearing nothing but a pair of blue panties.

"Let's go," she murmured, taking him by the hand to lead her to her special play room.

The beast arrived in full force once they entered that room. Calix shoved her against the wall with such strength her head actually bounced off of it, and she would swear she heard the drywall crack under the impact of her skull. He pinned her wrists by her head against the wall, pressing his lips to her throat. What began with a sensuous nibble ended with an excruciating bite that brought a scream from her lips.

"Mmmm, that's what I like to hear," he murmured against her skin. His lips drifted lower, kissing and nipping on the way down to her breast.

Sera's breathing became shallow and labored as his hot, wet tongue lapped over her taut nipple. She groaned when his lips enclosed the peak of stimulated flesh. Her knees separated willingly when he wedged his leg between them. She pushed her hips into him when he pressed his body to hers while he sucked harder on her nipple which dragged another groan from her lips. The pleasure instantly morphed into pain when his teeth sank into the sensitive flesh. Another scream erupted from her throat.

"Oh, my sweet Angel," he whispered into her ear, his breath scorching hot on her neck. "I'm about to take you to heaven."

There it is. He did not refrain from using the hackneyed phrases after all. Sera glared at him as if challenging him to continue. A flash of movement behind the aggressive man caught her eye. Black hair, white skin, and a loose white shirt. He was here. A malicious smirk touched her lips. The abrupt change in her from fearful victim to dangerous predator gave her attacker reason to pause. She enjoyed the way he studied her face with a mixture of puzzlement and uncertainty on his face. He seemed to be suddenly questioning exactly what he had gotten himself into.

"You're going to die," she threatened him with a self-assured grin.

"What?" he chuckled in arrogant disbelief.

A hand seized his ponytail pulling him backwards. The fear that flooded Calix's eyes made her shiver with excitement. Rue snatched the man away from her, punching him in the face. The single hit was so powerful it exploded the capillaries in his eyeball which made the white sclera fill with blood.

"You heard the lady, asshole," Rue growled, smiling like a madman as the blood trickled from the stunned and terrified man's eye. His eyes lingered on the morbid tear that left a crimson trail down the lawyer's golden skinned, perfectly structured cheek. "You're going to die."

"Wow," Sera gasped, shocked at the strength of the man who appeared to be on the verge of starvation. She went to the dresser to grab several lengths of rope to assist with tying up Calix who wiggled and screamed like a frightened woman. Her eyes met Rue's over the body of the man they had just restrained. Her breath halted when Rue grabbed her by the back of her head to pull her forward to kiss her like a lover reuniting with the woman he had longed for.

"Shall we begin?" he asked, glancing down at the man tied to the bed.

"You first," she offered, walking around the bed to the dresser. She opened another drawer to reveal a selection of knives, scalpels, hooks, and other instruments that were usually reserved for surgery and saving a life. Here they were used for cutting, stabbing, and taking a life.

"I knew there was a very special reason I choose you," Rue said, reaching for a razor blade. "I think I'll do something about that pretty face of his first. You're welcome to watch."

"I'd rather not. I'm more interested in the finale. The end is all I care about, not the suffering." Her eyes gazed into his inky black ones once more.

"I'll save his end for you then. You can put him out of his misery." He watched her leave, disappointed that she would not stay to watch him have his fun.

Sera went back to the kitchen for her bottle of water. Taking refuge on the balcony to avoid having to listen to the screams of the tormented Calix, she sat down to relax with a cigarette while drinking her water.

"What are you doing?" Tutanubis questioned her, materializing out of the dark next to her.

"Smoking and looking at the stars," she answered, raising her face to the night sky.

"I mean with him. The abomination?" He was upset and she could tell by his voice. He was speaking with a snappy, clipped tone.

"Which one?" She lit another cigarette from the stub between her lips.

"You know which one I mean!" he exclaimed angrily.

"Jealous?"

"Quit accusing me of that shit."

"Are you?"

"No. Worried."

"I'll be all right."

"I know you will. I will make sure of it."

Silence engulfed them. The only sounds to be heard were crickets and the puffs of air when she blew out smoke. Sera patiently waited for Rue to come for her. It seemed like it was hours before he emerged from the torture chamber of his making.

"Here he comes," Tutanubis announced at last, disappearing without a trace.

Sera stood up, turning at the moment Rue pushed open the glass sliding door that led out onto the balcony. She stared him as he hauled in noisy gulps of the cool night air. He was sweating and panting, his eyes dark and blank. Large splatters of blood covered his shirt while smaller droplets dotted his face. Blood dripped from his fingers onto the wood floor of the balcony. She was horrified.

"You're too messy," she muttered, moving past him. She was too upset to say anything else to him. He had totally negated the purpose of her careful preparation of the room. The point was to have no traces, no remnants, no evidence what so ever of the horrors that happened in there. She did not want anyone to find out nor did she want to be reminded of her actions. Her irritation with him turned to fearful shock at the sight she beheld after walking into the room.

Calix lay on the bed, his breathing shallow and labored. The skin had been cut and removed from his face in small, defined squares. Strips of skin had been taken from other random parts of his body as if Rue had been testing where it would hurt the most. Shaking her head, she cleared her mind of the shock caused by viewing Rue's macabre handiwork.

"Please, please kill me," Calix begged in a raspy voice.

"Did you rape those women?" she queried, opening the drawer to retrieve the hunting knife she favored for making her kills.

"Y-yes," he stammered, his voice hitching from the incomprehensible pain. "Please..."

"Were there others? Who was your first victim?" She stood beside the bed, glaring down at the pathetic wretch and sad excuse of what was left of a human being.

"Wh-why?"

"Answer the questions." She blanched to see that the skin had been peeled from his lips. Her stomach flipped and threatened to rebel on her. Killing was one thing. Torturing, maiming, and exacting this kind of sick cruelty was quite another. She could not say that the man did not deserve it, but the results were no less revolting.

"There are many others. The first was the best. It's her fault I became addicted to it. I raped a fourteen year old girl when I was freshman in college. She thought I was so cool. She wanted it. I gave her what she wanted," he insisted, his bloody lips peeling back from his teeth leaving red streaks across their pearly white surface.

"Wrong answer," she snarled, thrusting the knife downward at his belly button. The spurt of warm blood covered her naked chest as his plaintive cry filled her ears.

"The power...the control, I had over those bitches...the fear in their eyes," he wheezed between noisy breaths.

Sera had heard enough. Jerking the knife out of his body with both hands, she brought it down again. Repeating the up and down movement over and over, she made a disturbingly straight line of wounds from his belly button to his throat. Her biceps were beginning to burn, but she continued to thrust and pull. He was dead, but this did not stop her.

Rue put his arms around her, halting her spastic movements when he saw the tears sliding down her face. He put his lips next to her ear, whispering, "Enough. Let it go."

Sera felt her body being pulled from the bed to a standing position. Her arms were being held out straight at her sides by two very strong hands grasping her sore upper arms. Her fingers uncurled from the thick handle of the knife, allowing it drop onto the plastic covered floor. The plastic crackled and the knife made a muffled plopping sound. She crumpled to her knees, covering her face with her hands despite the fact they were soaked with blood. Her body was shaking uncontrollably as she cried. She had not cried like this even after killing her father. Her breakdown had nothing to do with killing the lawyer. It had everything to do with realizing that she was becoming even more of a hideous creature due to being a partner of the man in the horrible maiming of their victim. She felt Rue's arms enclosing her, holding her to his body. He was warm, so warm. She could not remember the last time she had taken comfort in the warmth of another human being particularly a man. Despite herself, she wanted him.

"Call me BB," he told her, kissing her cheek.

"BB?" She turned her head to look at him, her teary eyes unable to focus on his face. Her eyes closed when his lips pressed to hers. She willingly accepted the tender kiss that consoled her, alleviating the overwhelming emotions. He wanted her. He loved her even if she was a monster.

"Did he hurt you?" His voice was laced with real concern.

"Not much." She sighed when his fingers stroked across her nipple. Her lips sought his as he massaged her breast. Unbridled lust and the desire for him pushed out all other thoughts and emotions. Her hands slid under his shirt, pulling it over his head. The blood on their hands streaked each others body as they explored chests, bellies, and backs. She was astonished to find that lean, smooth muscles lay beneath the skin that was covered by all of those baggy clothes.

"We should take a shower first," Sera suggested, unbuttoning his loose jeans. Her body quivered as he inhaled a shaky breath, sucking in his stomach until it was concave.

"Okay." He took her hand, leading her to the shower. He knew the layout of her house so well he could maneuver around it in the dark. However, he was never truly in the dark because his eyes were like that of a cat and enabled him to see through the darkness.

The shower became part of their foreplay. Gentle hands created mounds of bubbles to wash off the remnants of the blood. Lips touched, tongues entwined, and hands roamed while the water washed over their bodies. Without bothering to dry off, they somehow made it to the bed while keeping their insatiable mouths together and their arms tightly locked around each other.

Sera giggled when they fell onto the bed together in a knot of writhing arms and legs. Her demeanor immediately became very serious when his black eyes stared deeply into hers. She bit her lower lip to hold in the whimper as his fingers traced her cheek while his manhood throbbed and rubbed against her hungry body. Her body shuddered again, and she bit her lower lip harder as he prepared to push into her.

"Do you want this? Do you want me?" BB asked, keeping his eyes locked on hers. Somehow she had maintained a purity about her. Possibly since she had more admirable reasons to murder people than he did. She killed for vengeance against those who would be deemed guilty of heinous crimes. He killed because he liked it. He picked his victims indiscriminately, murdering guilty and innocent alike. His motives were completely selfish. Morbid experiments to sate his own curiosity and feed his sick desires. However, she seemed sad and filled with guilt about the things she had done. There was also a bit of fear deep in her eyes. Of him? Of what she was becoming? This made him want her even more; to rid her of remorse and fully corrupt her by stealing what remained of her soul, her humanity.

"Yes, I do," she answered breathlessly, holding his gaze as he lowered himself into her. Her body was resistant at first, not having accepted a man since she was sixteen and never by choice.

"I won't hurt you. I'd never hurt you," he whispered, moving with extreme caution.

Sera did not believe that he would never hurt her but at the moment she did not care. She twisted her arms around his neck, spreading her legs wider to accommodate him into her tight, defiant body. Slowly, he sank into her, kissing away the tears that leaked from her eyes. Once he was contained completely inside of her, she wrapped her legs around his waist while he held still. They shared a kiss, a beseeching kiss that was an unspoken question, asking her to give herself up to him - not just her body, but every part of her. She pressed her face into his neck, urging him to move. He showed her a tenderness that she would have thought him incapable of expressing. She moaned as he rocked his hips gently. It actually felt good...and right. She had no idea it could be this way. Clinging to him, she concentrated on every movement, every ripple of his muscles, every vocal expression of his pleasure. Her arousal increased with each moan or grunt from him. Her fingers glided over his back, paying close attention to each muscle as it contracted and released with his movements. She moved her hand around to his chest, pressing her hand to his heart. Her eyes latched onto his face when his expression changed to one that seemed to be of pain. The movements of his hips increased while his breathing became louder and heavier.

"Sera," BB gasped, his body convulsing.

Sera closed her eyes. She knew what was happening; he had reached an orgasm. Her hands pressed against his slim hips feeling the muscles working beneath his skin as he continued to move. Unexpectedly, every muscle in her body tightened as a heat deep inside of her exploded to send a surge of pleasure across every nerve fiber in her body. She cried out his name, her body moving beneath his in a fitful spasm she could not control. Just when she thought it was over, he would move his hips and another wave of bliss would wash over her body. She stared wide-eyed at the ceiling when he rolled off of her to lie next to her. Her hand covered her heart, feeling it beating wildly as she breathed like she was hyperventilating.

"Are you mine?" BB asked, kissing her neck. He smiled as goosebumps rose over her entire body.

"What?" she asked, turning her head to look at him. She sighed when he kissed her, sweetly and innocently. Her whole body felt tingly when his lips hovered above hers.

"Are you mine?" he repeated, his lips moving lightly across hers.

"Yes," she answered breathlessly.

"I knew you would be."

Why did that sound so damn sinister?