He continued to slowly torture me, draining my strength day after day. The devices didn't always come in the same order or for the same duration as before. Slowly but surely, my ability to heal diminished. Damon watched carefully to make sure that every area began to suffer and that the damage was equally extensive.
I kept thinking in my mind that he was doing this out of love, yes, but why did he still not believe me when I said I wasn't starting a relationship with Charles? Why shouldn't I have someone in my life who would actually help me in my daily life when he wouldn't point?
It's just his excuse to tell himself he's doing this out of love. He's doing this out of rage. Out of anger, he didn't touch my skin. Then enough was enough. All I could do was move my hand or my fingers. I was breathing but shallowly and intermittently, my heart was beating lazily and I was already cold.
"Yeah, Baby, I'm starting to get the lesson down, at least in this respect, but now the fun part begins. Look Mimi I really do love you believe it or not. You know how wildly possessive I am and how satanically jealous, you've noticed how many times I've washed and rinsed you after Adam or Bran. But that Charles... the sight. That home idyll you had going on...Baby, I can't stand that. That's why I have to teach, both you and Charles. I'm the one that's gonna fix you. I'll be yours just like you're mine, my wife. Now I'm gonna show Charles who you really are. I'm going to deliver you directly to Charles so that he can try to fix you and when he can't, well I can because I know exactly what I've done, with what substances and I know how to relieve your symptoms and get you in the best condition. It would probably take me about 2-4 weeks to get you back on your feet, but Charles 8-12 weeks if you're lucky, you'll be sitting."
Damon sat on my bed and watched me. He explained it like a doctor. This wasn't the creepy Damon of the shed sessions, no this was a completely different guy. But this one didn't call me darling but I recognized him. He stroked my forehead again in a completely different style, feeling it up "Baby, you're burning up, you've already caught an infection or several, but they're now left for Charles to deal with. Look. This powder, this is jelly base, you see when I pour this water in here, how this gels, now this is just waiting for the medicine. Here's about 5 liters, quite a bit but then again better make it work. Now I'm going to put the medicine in here. You see what medicines, that's right panic medicines, and lots of them. " Damon calmly poured jar after jar of jelly.
He didn't even pull the medicine with the needle and syringe he just twisted off the rubber stopper and overturned the whole bottle. There were a lot of them. Damon showed each label and sniffed between bottles going 50-70. Then he mixed the jelly with satisfaction.
"'Now this is ready. This will make you feel medicinal panic deep and long. Again I can help as you know. I'm your security in that state, no one else. But I also know that you can somewhat fight the feeling and keep it at bay no matter how strong it is unless you are in a rage. Have you, Mimi, wondered why you haven't got your rage out at all? Because I can mentally block it out. I have that much power. I've kept your rage, which is already pretty big by the way, in the bundle for these 8 weeks, let it build up but not come out.
Next thing you know, I'll open up your stomach and spray all that jelly in a thin mist all over your stomach. It absorbs quickly and efficiently. We'll wait a day or two so I can see it's really on, then we'll go to Charles. You've got an infection I'm not gonna do anything about, let it run rampant. Fever, restlessness, etc. Then a god-awful panic of medicine and you can't keep it under control and on top of that your rage is completely unleashed. You won't know a friendly enemy from a friendly enemy and neither Charles nor anyone can calm you down. I bet pretty soon Charles will wash his hands of you and deliver you back to me where you belong."
Damon explained this quite matter-of-factly. As if this was really a lesson. He kept my vocal cords in check earlier when I was paralysed but now I didn't have the strength to talk much. He hadn't interfered at all with my senses or my mind because he seemed to have a plan. He quickly got out of bed and got the supplies. He opened my stomach and effectively sprayed jelly all over the insides of my stomach. I still had my organs, but I don't know what condition they were in.
He allowed the wound to close using his own blood, now I had a ridiculous amount of medicine inside me, and I had a fever which further enhanced the absorption. And what he could do to my rage was no good at all. But why he had never controlled it before I don't know. He put away his supplies and put me on the bed to lie in a better position and put a heating pad around my stomach again. Then he came and sat on my bed again.
"Baby, you have functioning organs but they are definitely not functioning at full capacity or will for much longer, your liver is just about to shut down, your kidneys are maybe 10% left over, and your spleen well not really, your pancreas is pretty much gone, your intestines, almost necrotic, your stomach, well it's not really producing stomach acid. Your nervous system is mostly destroyed, the motor nerves at least, pain and sensation are pretty well in the left, your muscles are maybe 10% in the left, and your bones are so brittle they're breaking, did you see how easily your wrist broke, your joints and ligaments brittle and weak. Your immune system tries but fails, your fever goes up. But Mimi then when the infection wins, then there is no more fever as you well know. Charles has his work cut out for him. Also, you will be scared, running, panicking, unpredictable, and difficult to treat, no medicine may work... Sorry Mimi you will have a really rough time ahead but then I will put you right. Now rest and save your strength, you need it. "
Damon got up and started to take his bags to the car or somewhere. The medical condition was getting worse by the minute and it didn't help that this was an abandoned hospital and Damon had made it look more like a hospital or an institution as he passed by. I tried to get out of bed several times. It was only when I was so confused that I didn't even recognize Damon right away that he was satisfied.
"Now Baby now we are getting on the road I will get you ready and let your rage start to creep in then closer to Charles. I know Mimi, you want to hide, don't you? Hide and hide and hide in the dark, I'll help you. " He lifted me onto the other bed and laid me on my side in the fetal position then he lifted the sides of the bag and zipped it up. He put me in one of his tube bags.
But I was hidden in the bundle for safekeeping. I didn't even care as he lifted and moved me to different places I didn't care. I was shivering in my cold as I was freezing and I was so tired I couldn't fight the drug panic and it just rolled on me more and more. Every place ached and hurt and squeezed. I felt awful. I couldn't fall asleep because the panic of the drug kept me awake, even though the drug was very sedating.
Damon finally said "Now Baby, now I'm going to let go of your rage. Feel it. Turn it on. "I felt my rage explode and suddenly I didn't feel so bad, I didn't care about anything, I just took my time waiting for whoever was coming at me because I wanted to get away, to run away, to hide.
Charles had just come back from two months on the road, where his father had sent him again. He'd been annoyed when he'd wanted to go and see Mimi's Australian ranch. And not always work first. Charles knew his reputation and he knew his father liked to exploit that reputation.
Take this particular gig in Argentina as an example. Bran claimed that the North American wolves were enough and he had no need to expand his territory, but cooperation is power. In Argentina, there are many wolves who think like Bran and then there are those who think differently. Bran wanted a pack or a task force or some kind of committee to be set up that would work if there was a problem, it would be American wolves and Argentine wolves. That's all right, but when you had to pick the wolves. Bran himself had chosen who he wanted and it was up to Charles to carry it out. At any cost.
Bran had spoken to the Argentine alpha the other day and they had a list of wolves that were not needed. These were the wolves the opponents were trying to get on the committee. Charles was to kill all of them and in the process strengthen his father's power and his word. Charles was getting tired of doing the same kind of semi-political assassinations all the time. He was and was in the fleas and they were a whole different thing. They made sense, but this, this didn't make sense.
Charles had once been happy, with Anna, but then well he didn't have the heart to go reminiscing about the old ones as he carried his bag upstairs to his room and went downstairs to report to Bran. He didn't always like to call him Da. Bran was enough when he was so fed up.
He'd been to many jobs since then but when there wasn't a better one. Charles knew that once upon a time Bran could stop him in his tracks no more. He hadn't advertised it to Bran, but he himself knew how much stronger he was now. if Mimi was free now he could go to Australia for six months. Mimi Mimi was a fascinating case. He had saved Mimi on more than one occasion, whenever she was in any condition.
He always remembers that one flight, though. Mimi is in a silver madness. All the time asking if he was the president of America and if they were going to make a scene... Charles was still laughing, although he wasn't really laughing at the time. He'd almost broken Mimi's neck several times during that flight. He wondered what she was up to at the time. Charles knew what it was to be an old creature, a strong creature. What had been tortured and what had had women?
Charles often reminisced about the early days with Anna before their half-fae adopted child had come along. It had been the child of Samuel and Ariana, an old and strong fae princess. The trouble with fae children is that they often become more powerful than their parents. Well, especially the half-fae. The child had been immensely strong, and power-hungry from the start, so old Fae blood in her veins has consequences. Fae power doesn't look at age.
A lap baby can be as dangerous or more dangerous than an adult fae. Because an adult fae has morals, a code, customs, and rules. Call them what you will but. A baby doesn't. The baby just knew what it needed and took it. At first, the baby had Anna completely enchanted. Completely Charles was nothing, just the baby was everything and its needs.
The baby liked to drink blood because blood gives you strength. The best blood was Bran's but Charles was a very good runner-up. Anna insisted Charles give blood to the baby. Charles had given it. The demands became more frantic. Now they had to have the blood of the given fae. Or a designated crystal to give the baby more strength and growth. Fast. At 3 years old, it was the size of a 12-year-old, strong as an ox. It had turned Anna completely against Charles on its side and even got Anna to have sex with Bran when it would calm Bran's rage.
Once upon a time, Charles had vowed that when Anna died he would follow. But no. Charles had finally found a powerful enchanted sword and killed the child. And tore it apart. Anna never forgave him and never got rid of the enchantment because she didn't want to. Anna had always wanted the child and it hadn't bothered her if the child was a bit of a monster.
Anna took a silver knife and slit her throat in front of Charles. And Charles made no move to stop her, even though Anna talked for half an hour about how she was going to kill herself. Charles sighed. The past is the past, you can't live in it.
Charles went downstairs to the living room and poured himself a bourbon and went to sit down. Alcohol wouldn't affect him, at least not to this extent, even though it was super strong and made for werewolves. Bran sat in the living room with Adam. They were discussing something and Adam was clearly irritated again.
Charles listened for half an hour while Bran instructed Adam to go on another job. Adam would be leaving in an hour and there was no stopping him. This job was important. Adam was just leaving and Charles was enjoying another bourbon when Damon walked in.
He looked at Bran for a moment, coldly emotionless then lowered the tube bag he was carrying to Charles' feet " Take care. Try to learn your lesson cornick. I don't share. But if you want Mimi. The contents of that bag will help. " Then Damon walked out. Charles leaned over to the bag and pulled the zipper. skin? He opened the bag.
Inside the bag was Mimi. Mimi appeared to be unconscious. skinnier than a skeleton. Shaking and smelling of infection, medicine, and sickness. Charles closed the bag for a moment when Mimi seemed cold.
Bran said in a weary voice " See what happens now if you piss off Damon? Well, you'll have to try and help Mimi then, because Damon just walked out and drove off. Samuel is in Bangladesh, there's an epidemic. I've got my hands full with the alpha heat problem and Adam's got to go deal with that looming war in the midwest. "
Bran looked at the bag for a moment, Charles saw a flicker of regret in his father's expression, but only for a moment. Bran continued " Take Mimi somewhere and see if you can help, I know you have talents. If you're in a tight spot, why don't you take your time, beg and get Damon to help." Charles decided at that moment that he would not ask for Salvatore. He knew directly who he was asking. Charles carefully closed the bag and carried it to his car.
"Mimi I'm going to put you in the car now and strap you in so you stay in your seat, we have a short drive ahead but hang in there. I'll get you to safety and help you. "Whoever that speaker was, I thought, I'll get away, as long as someone lets me go. I tried to make a move but I didn't have that much muscle so I decided to bide my time.
That guy's going to meet his fate. I no longer cared about the fever, the pain, the ache. I had already broken my arm in two places and one of them had a bone through the skin, but I didn't care. To safety, to hide. Get away. Panic. Cold. Rage.