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“What about you and Lorien? What are they doing to him?”
“He sneaks down when he can. They have him acting as a sort of manservant to Chauvelin.”
“How the fuck is Chauvelin still alive?”
“Cockroaches don’t die easy,” Henry said. “Nor do wolves.”
Days went by. Will healed slowly. They were fed on human flesh which helped him heal and probably helped dispose of whatever people were foolish enough to cross Gideon. Lorien did not come back. They were not taken into the light. They sat in the dark, and they ate the flesh of the living, and they felt their caged spirits rail at the bars even when they themselves were still.
They spoke little, for what could be said? Memories of the past brought pain, and the topic of the present created bitterness. Will spent most of his time trying to remember what he could of Lora Candy, trying to understand why nobody had ever told him. Had she not wanted him? Was it because she was ashamed of him and all he stood for? After all, she’d abandoned him as an infant. It made sense she wouldn’t want to know him as an adult. He’d not exactly been nice to her. He’d not suspected, not even for a second.
One day, Will did not know how long after his capture and beating, someone came to do something besides feed and taunt them. It was a tall, slim vampire with slicked-back dark hair and the kind of features that suggested a fastidious nature.
“Masters William and Henry,” he said, speaking with a slight indulgence, as one might talk to a dog that took itself too seriously. “My name is Jeeves, and you are to be washed and groomed,” the vampire said. “I am going to fit you both with gags in case you are tempted to bite. If you behave yourselves, this will go smoothly. If you do not…” He cocked his head to the side and gave a little shrug that strongly implied he did not care either way.
“I’m not wearing a gag,” Will said.
“But you are, because that is a condition of exiting that filthy cage, and if you do exit that filthy cage, and acquit yourself well enough in the ceremony tonight, you may find yourself in better accommodations.”
“What if I promise not to bite you?”
“What if you behave like a good little puppy dog and let me put this in your sweet little mouth.”
“You can’t charm me. I don’t like vampires.”
“I’m sure you don’t. I observed your behavior in the courtyard and the resulting chaos. I recommended treatment at the time, but Gideon in his wisdom decided you should suffer your wounds until the flesh healed them. I can offer you some meager comfort now. Whether you choose to accept it is up to you.”
“Let’s go,” Henry said.
“Okay, gag me, but not him. Don’t you know who that guy is? He’s the pack master.”
“I’m afraid in Gideon’s home there is only one master.”
“I don’t care about the gag,” Henry sighed. “I’ll put it on myself.”
“Very obliging. Thank you, sir.”
Henry put the gag on. Will stared aghast. “What the…”
“There’s no point holding onto the remnants of imagined dignity,” Jeeves said. “Your life as a human is over. You are now one of the Master’s beasts and will be treated accordingly. Gag on, if you please, or perhaps sir would prefer I help him don it.”
Jeeves was just so polite, and Will was just so recently horribly beaten, that he actually considered doing as he was asked. The vampire was right. There was no choice, not really. From the moment Gideon awoke, resistance had only led to pain, murder, and betrayal.
“I’m not putting a gag on. Sorry. And you’re not putting it on either.”
“I understand,” the vampire said courteously.
Moments later, Will found himself pinned to the floor, the gag slipped around his face and then into his mouth. Jeeves certainly knew how to handle a weaker creature. Though the gag itself was of course humiliating, there was a certain care taken in its application that Will did not miss.
“Now, if the pair of you will follow me, your baths have been drawn.” Jeeves made no real mention of the use of force regarding the gag.
The baths were much more pleasant than Will imagined. Given the state of the cage, he’d expected to find himself in a crude, cold chamber. But the room they emerged into was much closer to a spa than a prison shower.
In a further remnant of luxury, the bath was warm. Will was not permitted to clean himself. He was washed like an animal, with careful movements. His beard was shaved and his hair was cut. Henry was given a similar treatment.
The pair of them were then clad in matching black leather pants with harnesses to match and a collar around each of their necks. Will glanced over frequently at Henry to see how the pack master was taking this series of indignities. He seemed to be taking them in stride. And he looked good in the harness. The combination of tattoos and leather strapping made Will feel a certain type of way.
When he looked in the mirror, he saw that his hair had been cut in a modern sweeping style. Short at one side and longer on the other, a thick swath of hair just out of his eyes. It had been over two years since he’d had any kind of official grooming. Maddox had taken him as he was. Gideon was obviously not going to take him as he was. Gideon was going to make him in his desired image.
