Beneath the Vail

Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

We made it to his office seemingly undetected, the walk was an agonizingly quiet one. He hadn't said a word to me, not even so much as a thank you, such is the way of Vulkan Payne. The sun had taken absence, the moon in full control bright in its waxing gibbous phase; it would be full within the week.

I latched the door behind me as we entered ensuring that each lock was bolted. Vulkan leaned on to his desk his gaze resting upon my figure. "First-aid kit?" He motioned towards the bookshelf across the room. I could feel his eyes on me as I made my way over, scanning the shelves until I saw it up at the top.

I sighed in frustration after a few moments trying to reach it, these bookshelves may as well be ten feet tall; I'm not Alice, no magic cookie to make me grow. I settled for finding a stool but as I stepped down my back hit something warm and firm. Shocked I spun around, Vulkan reached up easily grabbing the black case. As he handed it over to me our fingertips brushed against one another, and even then, I felt it, the warm buzzing of my skin.

You could feel the tension between us oppressing the room, "I'll need to suture both your shoulder and chest— "he was completely exposed, the tattered shirt he wore was useless. Dark curls lightly covered his chest, leading a trail down his sculpted abdomen. I cleared my throat, meeting his eyes, "—um, your Lycan healing does not appear to be helping..."

Still, he made no move to back away, but I needed him to, his presence washing over me as another silence passed. "Probably due to the poison that was in your system."

Finally, he spoke, "Or more likely the slayer blood working its way through me." Indignation.

"It was the only way to help you Vulkan. Should I have let you die?"

"Yes!" He's irrational.

"Why!" Every conversation seemed to delve into madness, anger, and resentment clutching onto every word we spoke.

He grabbed both of my arms, "Don't you get it Saana! You fed me your blood, slayer blood. I'm tainted!"

I shoved past him, "Oh step off your high horse Vulkan! 'Tainted', really? It's temporary."

His laugh was menacing, "Temporary. Nothing about this—" he violently gestured between us, "is temporary. In fact, it's never-ending! Do not ever, feed me your blood again."

I threw my hands in the air, "Do you hate me that much!"

"Look!" He turned away, ripping the remainder of his shirt off and as the tattered material fell to the floor my jaw followed suit. A massive sigil, scar tissue still pink from healing, though it never really would, not until it breaks, the curse. I traced my fingers over the jagged edges, I'd never seen one so large or so brutally done. He flinched at my initial touch, before letting me continue, "Why didn't you say anything?"

"The witch who did this anointed her blade with slayer blood. It is an inhibitor to my healing, it makes me weaker."

A softness expressed in his eyes unlike what I had ever seen from him, but for a brief moment, I knew exactly who he was. Vulnerable, lonely, he let me see, he lifted the veil and showed me the man he hides so well. He brushed by me as I reached out to him, "For the last time, I don't hate you. I could never hate you."

"Why are you saying it like that? Like you already know me?" I couldn't hide my pathetic desperation. At that moment I would've done anything for him to tell me the truth.