Dark Moon - Michael Langdon

Part 19 - Decensum (pt 1)

Michael's eyes widen immediately upon seeing me, but he regains his posture and stares me down, a cold look in his eyes. I return his stare, although I am unsure of what has caused his sudden cold demeanor. His smug smile seems to falter until Ariel captures our attention.

"I need a word with my fellow warlocks," Ariel announces, undoubtedly needing to talk about how I am not a witch but that they cannot expose me.

I walk off to a side room, not wanting to be in Michael's presence longer than I have to. However, I realize that my attempt to avoid him is useless as he transmutates to me as soon as I step into the side hallway beside the bathroom. This is the hallway where Michael and I were before we went to hell together to get Madison.

I push the thoughts aside as I place my emotionless stare upon Michael's face. "What do you want?"

"To talk. You didn't give me a chance to explain at the Murder House," he says, obviously slightly off-put by my treatment of him.

"You killed my mother, what more is there to explain?" I reply coldly, a tone of resentment clear in my voice.

"She was trying to kill me!" he argues. "It was either her or me."

"You didn't have to kill her! You're the fucking Antichrist, you could've easily knocked her out or something!" I say exasperatedly, suddenly expressing the anger that I was holding back.

"I was five fucking years old! What was I supposed to do? I saw a witch trying to kill me, and instincts took in!" he shouts.

"You should know better than to trust your instincts!"

"How? I was five!"

"You still are five! And I was five when you took my fucking mother away from me! I was able to control my instincts by the age of two!"

"Two years old for you is being a six-year-old!"

"You're just making excuses," I spit. "You're weak, unable to control the desires that your father puts in your head."

He slams his palm into the wall beside my head, then grabs my neck with his other hand. "Am I really? Because right now my father is telling me to use all my strength to strangle you then slaughter your entire fucking coven." His eyes are on fire; he looks as if he could do all and more than he promised to do.

"Then do it," I challenge, not breaking eye contact.

We stare each other down for a minute, refusing to be the first to break eye contact. Our heavy breathing from our heated argument sounds over the beating of my heart.

"Fuck it," Michael finally mutters, slamming his lips into mine. I immediately pull him into me and he pushes me against the wall.

"Keep it PG!" Madison yells from the end of the hallway. We break apart and look over to see her glaring at us. "I'm really fucking tired of being reminded of how single I am," she mutters, walking away.

"We've got to get her a boyfriend," I chuckle as Michael rolls his eyes.

"Screw her," he says, pressing his lips to mine once more.

......

"Decensum," Cordelia announces from the head of the table after everyone has finished watching me and Michael complete the other six wonders. "Esmeray and Michael, you both already know how this works. Do you have any questions?"

Michael looks at her with a smug smile. "No."

He's changed a lot since I've met him, but it seems that he underwent the most change in the two days that we were separated. He walks around the coven like he knows he's better than everyone here, and he gives anyone who dares to question him a cold, murderous look. It seems to have set Mallory on edge; I'm guessing it's because that's how he acted when he caused the apocalypse.