Put back together

39. Prison break

Let's clean up the mess that was the last chapter, shall we?
...sike...

Warning: Violence + most of the warnings of chapter 38! The violence is about the level as in Dealing with Intrusive Thoughts so please stay safe!

"New guards?" Virgil asked past the forming lump in his throat.

"No," Janus sighed. "I am totally not sorry."

"It's fine," Virgil muttered. He was a good liar but not always good enough to trick someone cursed to lie everytime he spoke. And while Virgil still felt wrong when he called Janus his brother, perhaps they knew eachother as well as actual siblings by now.

"I can just explain it to them. They'll probably understand. They've seen on my Islands what curses can do. Besides, it's not hard to guess that you have been cursed," he added before the other could call him out on the lie.

Janus' hand came up to trace the scales on his cheek on reflex and he sighed.

"How about you join us for dinner first?" he then asked. "I'm sure Persephone hasn't missed you in the least."

Something nagged Virgil that he shouldn't. That he should go down to the dungeon right now but he had no idea whether it was a hint of the thing that in a stronger form made him and others tampering with magic, whether they were mages, sorcerers or witches, spit out prophecies or just the anxiety.

He looked back at Janus, whose eyes seemed to beg him to say yes, almost desperate and really didn't have a choice.

"Alright, what's for dinner?"

--~--

Sleeping in the dungeon was awful.
Horrible.
A thing of impossibility.

The ground was hard and uneven at times. It was too cold and moist - from what Roman didn't want to know.
He heard the man in the cell next to them piss against the wall and almost gagged.
He tried to avoid touching the ground using his clothes but it was still gross.

His arm was hurting again, pulsating after the way he had struggled earlier, but he didn't dare to remove the bandages.
Not in a place this dirty.
His gloves were simply disgusting by now too and he decided to ditch them as soon as they broke out.

Next to all the physical reasons he couldn't sleep was also the emotional whirlwind in his chest.

Shock, Anger, Frustration. Because they had trusted Virgil and he had betrayed them without even thinking twice and they were now imprisoned in the place they had thought would be the safest.

Sadness, Disappointment, Hurt. Because, gods damn him, he had trusted Virgil! The mage had helped them, guided them, had even taken care of Roman's wound... only to backstab them as soon as he got the chance?

Roman tried to blink back the tears that welled up in his eyes. Pushed back the sadness and tried to turn it into anger.

The discussion they had had after he had gotten hurt came back to him.
Whether it was alright to wish someone who had hurt you pain or even hurt them yourself.
Virgil had been for yes.

Roman bit his lip.

Oh, he would pay the bastard back.

Silver was for monsters and he would make sure that Virgil got a taste of it.

They would make their escape quiet but Roman had already decided that there would also be blood.

--~--

"You're here!" Persephone cheered and hugged Virgil tightly.

He could feel the stares of the new guards in his back as he hugged the young witch back. She seemed to be buzzing with magical energy opposed to the humming he knew she felt from him.