By My Side - Sam/Aomaris Fanfiction

64) End It All (Sam)

Down the hallway I ran, no longer held back by having to check every single cell. My footsteps echoed through the empty building, reverberating off the stone but I had no care for the noise. I must have passed hundreds of cells by the time I had to turn right. My feet only carried me faster as I glimpsed an unmistakable glow of ice-blue light, spurred on by desperation to have Phoenix back and safe in my arms. The light faded by the time I got to their cell, but I was too frantic to question why. I wrenched the door open, tearing it off its hinges, and collapsed on my knees next to the one I was so deeply in love with. 
"Nix! Nix, it's me. I'm here. You're safe." I pulled them into a hug, breathing heavily, but after a moment I realised that they weren't hugging me back. I sat back, confused. Phoenix looked up at me, dark eyes glimmering in the light of the fire, but they held no recognition. No pain, no love, not even any fear. "Phoenix?" I pressed a gentle kiss to their lips. "Do you know who I am?"
"I'm worthless..." They muttered. Pain and anger rose in me, but not at Nix. At the devil that had put them in this situation. Nix didn't even sound upset. They said it as a statement, as if it was a fact that everyone knew.
"What? Nix, you're not worthless. Come on." I  stood and pulled them up with me. They followed my movements almost like clockwork, seeming stiff and robotic, but when I tried to lead them towards the cell door, they resisted. "Nix, I need to get you out of here."

"They won't be going anywhere with you." A voice growled. I turned and stood in front of Nix, glaring at the devil in front of me.
"What the fuck have you done to them?"
"Made them a hell of a lot easier to work with," Malix replied. "They were a feisty-ass bitch. No idea how you ever put up with them." I took hold of Nix's hand, but Malix only cackled.
"There's no point, Sam. There's nothing you can do. They belong to me now. Phoenix! Come here, darling." Immediately, Nix headed over to Malix and stood next to him. Malix continued to laugh and kissed them roughly. Nix didn't move. The devil wiped saliva from his chin. "That's the one drawback. They won't respond to anything I do to them. Not that I really want to, but ya know."
"What did you do." I snarled at him.
"I broke them." Malix sneered. "They obey me without even thinking. Wanna know why?" Malix's eyes flashed scarlet, and Nix dropped to the floor, letting out a scream that pierced my heart and made my own eyes flash. The red cuff on their wrist glowed scarlet and I glared daggers at Malix.
"PHOENIX!!" I yelled. Before I could dive for them, Malix's eyes faded back to their usual yellow and Nix got up, displaying no sign that they'd ever been in pain. They stared at nothing, eyes dull and lifeless.

"Well, it's been nice seeing you, Sam~" The devil sang. "But we've got somewhere to be." He gripped Phoenix's wrist and raised his hand to snap his fingers, but I reacted quicker than he expected. As he did, I took hold of their other wrist and, in a bright flash of ruby light, the cell around us vanished to be replaced with a large, grand but evilly decorated courtyard. Wicked-looking gargoyles sneered down at us from all directions, all of them with fire in their mouths. Dotted around were standalone iron cages, some broken beyond repair, some closed and empty, and one or two even had skeletons in them. In the centre of the courtyard sat an enormous deep crimson crystal. It floated ominously, rotating slowly. Running through it were veins of jet black, and the longer I looked at it the more I noticed them swirling around as if it were mist made of death itself. The instant we were in the new place, Phoenix walked forwards, heedless of me still holding them, towards the crystal. At the sight of me, Malix groaned.
"Oh, for fuck's sake. You really can't just let them go, can you?"
"Stupid question." I fired. "I know it's impossible for you to feel love, but you're so fucking dense." The devil laughed slightly, his eyes glittering in the light of the fire around us.
"And where's your proof that they love you?"
"I don't need proof." I declared. "I get enough of it from the fact they choose to stay with me."
"Come here, sweetheart," Malix called out to Nix suddenly, and they turned away from the crystal to face Malix. A blade made of polished black onyx formed in his hand and he passed it to Phoenix. When he looked back at me, there was a vicious grin playing around his lips. "You fight too well against me. How will you do against the one you apparently love?" He eyed Nix and pointed at me.
"Nix..." I said nervously. Malix smirked.
"Kill him."