Page 413 of Light Leech

“So you’re implant, it–”

“Look, I’m not as altruistic as you hope, but I don’t keep the implant just because I like teeth. You know that the best bite isn’t with the withdrawal. If you’re looking for a way to remove the implant and continue living a normal life, I can’t help you.” She removed her robe, draped it over the railing atop the small staircase leading to the feeding floor. She continued to remove her clothes until she wore nothing but a black sports bra and briefs. “I would do the same if I were you. It might be a while until anyone offers you a change of clothes, regardless of the blood. I’ll give you some wet wipes to touch up after this, but that’s the extent of my mercy.”

I did as she told me, not knowing if it was my choice or if I had been forced to obey a suggestion.

“Feed,” she said as if it were a simple, meaningless word, despite the brutality it entailed.

I sprinted across the room, not looking at her or anyone else as I tackled a tall, skinny man with bags under his eyes that made him look as exhausted as I felt.

His teeth were a quick fix for fatigue.

A few people fought back or stepped in to save their fellow victims, but their efforts were worthless compared to my increasing strength.

“Stop,” Diama said as I finished my third set of teeth.

“I want more,” I said. I had the autonomy to turn and face her, but not to reach for another victim.

Her eyes flashed in her neurospace. “Too bad, Dear Leader Kim wants you.”

“Already?”

“I know, and we were just getting to know each other. Dokkaebi’s fusion is proceeding ‘faster than we anticipated,’ according to him. Wipes are near the bottom of the stairs. Clean up as best you can, get dressed, then run upstairs. An escort will be waiting for you up there.”

I obeyed, not expressing any gratitude.

I was once again caught in that familiar limbo of savoring my feast while hating myself for the cost I had paid. I didn’t want to think about my victims. Selfish though it was, there was no point in dwelling upon what I had done without my free will.

It was easy to find another sobering thought.

I thought of Ralia. She who would have fed with me but could not because of what they had stolen from her.

Ralia.

I miss you. Your absence is a hole I can never fill.

I couldn’t fathom the agony we would face when I returned home and revealed her fate. It had to be in person. We needed to feel it together.

I miss you, Ralia.

Chapter thirty-one

Crucible

“See, I told you he would make it!” Don slapped me on the back as I followed the escort to take my seat at the ring table. The room looked like the previous council room, only larger. It reminded me of the research room I had just been in with the pyramid, though this one had a circular table like the first one. The ring table was much wider and looked down onto a pit with a prism twice as large as the other.

“Sit,” Kim commanded, not acknowledging Don’s comment.

I sat and looked at the equipment inside the room. Multiple metal cubes and rectangular prisms with light lines and screens all over their faces bordered the room. Light lines connected them to the central prism. Dokkaebi drifted inside, watching me as I sat. His image was much clearer, no longer looking like a projection, but an actual creature inside of the glass prism. I knew it was still incorporeal, but wondered what difference Kim’s final touch would make.

“Is that everyone?” a woman asked as she stood.

Everyone looked around, nodded, then focused on Kim as he spoke. “Thank you for your cooperation. Everything has been uncannily smooth thus far and I can only hope that it will conclude in a similar manner.”

“Transfer it over already,” Dokkaebi said.

Kim cleared his throat and smiled, though it was not as confident a look as he usually had. “Y-yes. Of course. As I was saying, this final addition to Dokkaebi should push everything back into order here and connect us to all the intelligence we need to proceed with the next step in pushing the tide for Gong’s rebirth.”

“I fail to see what this creature can do for us,” a man complained.