Bound by Love

37. I Will Show Mercy

"You won't do it." The doctor sneers with a glint in his eye.

Wren shakes her head and presses the blade closer, nicking his skin. "I think you underestimate me."

"I know you. Inside and out." He huffs a laugh. "I know you love that boy. And that's why you won't do it. Do you really want him to know what a monster you are? Do you really want him to see you kill? Do you want him to grow to hate you?"

She clenches her jaw, hands tighten, one on the hilt of her dagger, the other holding the doctor's shirt and keeping him down.

Wren - 'Where's Stan? Can he see?'

Ian - 'Don't worry Little Bird. Your parents took him and have him far enough away that he won't be able to see or hear what happens.'

Wren - 'Good.' They can feel the hesitation in her mind. Her inner voice tremulous. 'But... will this make me a monster? Is he right? Will Stan come to hate me if I do this?'

Gray - 'No. Look into your heart, my love. Everything you've ever done has been for the good of that boy. You love Stan so much and I know that he knows this. He will always know that you love him. And he will always love you.'

Van - 'He's right Angel. He wouldn't have told you what has happened otherwise.'

Ian - 'It's true Little Bird. But you don't have to take our word for it. Look into the future, see what would happen if you still your hand. See what will happen if you let your blade loose.'

Gray - 'But also know, if this is too much for you. We would be honored to take on this burden. It doesn't have to be your hand. If you're kind and compassionate heart cannot take it, we will do it for you.'

Wren - 'Thank you. I love you all.'

The world freezes and Wren looks forward.

With a gasp of breath movement returns to the surrounding woods. Wren relaxes a fraction as she opens her eyes with a decision made and resolve running freely through her veins.

She tilts her head to the side and stares at the doctor. "Stan loves me. He will never hate me."

"You can't know that! Of course he will hate you. If you kill his father, he will despise you for all his life!"

She shakes her head with a incredulous laugh. "So, you underestimate him as well? Do you think he's stupid?"

"W-what?"

"He heard you. He listened to your deal with that devil and his son." She tosses her head in the direction of Reynolds and Blake. And with that motion a strong gust of wind follows, blowing her hair back and pushing the two forward into the golden bars holding them captive. Their screams of pain as the flesh burns just a background murmur to those listening to Wren and the doctor.

"I... I don't... He's just a boy. He doesn't know what was really happening." The doctor's face changes, certain he's found the right track to save his life. "He didn't know that I was playing them. That I was going to save him from them... and you."

"Tut, tut, tut. Doctor Williams, you keep putting your foot in it. You continuously think that you are somehow smarter and better than those around you. Again, as always, you don't understand exactly who it is in front of you."

Wren digs her claws into his shoulder and leans closer to his face. Her voice is a soft whisper, more menacing due to the gentle sound of her voice.

"I have seen it. I know what you would have truly done. I know."

His eyes widen with fear, his face as pale as death. The smell of sweat and urine stains the air as he trembles and cries. His voice comes out a weak blubber as he begs for mercy, as he begs for forgiveness.

"I will show mercy." She states calmly.

The doctor grows hopeful, his face giving a tentative smile that freezes on his face. His shaking hand reaches up, touching the blade sticking out from his chest and plunged deep where his heart should reside.

With the last beat of that empty vessel, his ears take in the last sound they will hear in this life. "I have shown mercy to all those that would have died if I let you live."

And with that last word heard in this life, the doctor falls limp and passes to the next. The cool air of the forest turns burning hot. The grass and dirt he lays on turns to burning sulfur that melts into his skin to be an ever present torture. The last sight of sun shining through trees turns to a deep inky black of nothingness. The last echo of Wren's too kind voice turns to the screams of pain from all the damned souls that surround him. This is his new eternity.