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“His ear,” I murmured.
A wolf on his right side pounced and sank its incisors into Drake’s gristle. With a fierce yank, it tore Drake’s ear straight from his head.
“FUCK!” Drake bellowed, his remaining hand slapping over the hole where his ear used to be. “Sully!”
With a toss of its muzzle, the wolf shot the bleeding body part straight down its gullet and swallowed.
I laughed.
The noise in my chest sounded like asteroids colliding with mountain tops. A pummelling of rock and unmovable stone.
Drake rocked on his knees, blood drenching his clothing. “Fuck you, Sullivan. Fuck!”
I wished it was the brother I recognised and not an avatar before me, but…it wouldn’t ruin my enjoyment of his destruction.
“A hand for touching what wasn’t yours to touch. An ear for believing I’d listen to your lies. And a…” I cupped my chin, stroking the scales running down my throat. “His foot, if you’d be so kind.”
A wolf behind him nodded its giant canine head and snatched at Drake’s foot. It yanked him clean off his knees, biting down hard, the crunch of his jaw heard even over Drake’s bloodcurdling scream.
It took a few gnaws, a death shake or two, before Drake’s ankle shattered, his Achilles tendon severed, and the mangled meat of his foot was removed from his borrowed body.
The pack squabbled over it, tearing at toes, eating Drake all while he watched.
“And a foot for ever stepping onto my islands.”
He screamed again, his face glazed with agony.
How did the pain feel?
Was it just mental or had his mind taken full ownership of this form? Could he feel the throbbing wrongness of no longer having complete limbs? What did his body look like in the outside world? Did his nose bleed as his brain scrambled? Did sweat coat his nakedness?
I hope it’s the worst thing he’s ever felt.
I truly fucking hope so.
I hoped he felt every tear, felt every droplet of blood, heard every snarl from the wolves.
A spider the size of a small dog scuttled past.
“Wait.”
Its eight legs paused, its many eyes locking onto me.
“Gag him, his screams are tiresome.”
It happened faster than Drake could suck in a breath to beg. A web of silky strands shot from the spider’s funnel and slapped over his mouth with sticky, silvery strands. It covered his nose too, making his chest heave for a proper breath.
His intact hand rose to scratch it off, achieving a small tear to breathe.
“Another snack?” I smiled at the timbers. “His right hand, if you please.”
Two wolves leaped on him this time, both biting down on his forearm, tearing more than just his hand but everything below his elbow.
The pack lost its hierarchy, pouncing onto Drake as dirt flew. My brother was stampeded by starving canines, and his hand and forearm were devoured.
His screams were muffled, his eyes flowing with disbelieving tears. He shook his head, holding up the stumps he now had, blood spurting from ripped arteries.
The spiderweb still hushed him.
“Muuuuuummyyy.”
“I’m sorry, what was that?” I bowed over him, my wings cocooning us in a morbid cape where earth scattered, and wolves continued to squabble over his tissue, fighting each other in a tumbling mass of fur. “Are you saying Mummy or Sully? Because neither of those can save you.”
“Mweeeassee.”
“Please?” I stabbed a claw beneath his chin, tilting his head up until our eyes met. “You’re begging me now?”
He nodded so fiercely that he punctured his own chin on my talon. “Mweeeassse!”
I clucked my tongue, sounding like a snake hissing over its prey. “Ah, brother. When did you ever show me mercy? Do you remember me begging when it was me you hurt?” I cupped his cheek, shaking my head. “No, you can’t remember because I never begged for my own salvation. I only begged for those I tried to protect. But you don’t have any idea what that feels like, do you, Drake? No loyalty to an animal, a lover, a friend. No loyalty to a brother who was your only kin.”
“Memanor.”
“Eleanor?” I squeezed his jaw in my fist. “You dare try to say her name. Why? You think by reminding me of her that I’ll take mercy on you? That I’ll stop before I go too far?”
He nodded, his nostrils flaring over the web gagging him. “Mont.”
“Don’t?” I chuckled right in his face. “Oh, there’s no going back now, Drake. I couldn’t stop myself, even if I wanted to. Even if you showed some meagre redemption at this late hour, I wouldn’t be able to prevent myself from extracting every droplet of pain I can.” I let his face go, swooping to my feet. “Not because I need revenge for myself, but because you owe it to Serigala, to my otters, pigs, dogs, rabbits, apes, and everything in between. Your screams are for them, Drake. Your howls are for Eleanor. Your agony is theirs because it’s justified…but your death…” I grinned, once again revealing blood-stained fangs. “Your death is mine, and frankly, I’m having far too much fun to rush to that finish line, aren’t you?”
