Bound in Blood

Chapter 6

Orion awoke suddenly, bringing his hand to his head and reminded himself it was only a nightmare. He lifted up his shirt and felt the scarred ridges up and down his chest that still remained. It had been quite some time since he had such a clear and vivid nightmare and he was sure his new connection with Mon was the cause. His phone began to buzz on the nightstand - it was Knox.

"Hey," he answered groggily.

"I'm downstairs, we should get going."

"I'll be right down, I just need to get changed."

There was a pause. "Orion? Are you sure you're ok? Because I can have Fallon come with me instead."

"No, Knox, I'm fine. Trust me when I say that you don't want to piss him off. Let's just do what he asked and get this over with."

He hung up the phone before she could say anything else. The less Knox knew about his past with Mon, the better. It was his own idea to go to him in the first place. He wanted to do this to help, for all that Knox had done for him. From the start he knew this was a possibility, he had just hoped it wouldn't happen.

Orion put on a nice pair of black slacks and a red button-up shirt. He laced up his boots, threw on his coat and scarf, grabbed a spare pair of gloves before heading out the door.

Knox stood just outside under the awning, cigarette in hand.

"Nervous?" He asked with a small smile.

"I hate princes," was all she replied before taking one last pull from the cigarette and throwing it to the ground. They walked silently through the city, an eerie wind blowing between the tall buildings.

As they approached the mansion, Orion paused at the gate, remembering the nightmare and the scars still on his chest. He took a breath to center himself and followed Knox to the front door.

"Don't knock," Orion said.

"How will they know when...?"

The door suddenly opened and there stood George.

"George! My pal!" This was Orion's best attempt at being light hearted. "Did you notice that I remembered what you said about the door?" He smiled widely as they walked into the large house.

George rolled his eyes - "May I take your coats?"

Knox unbuttoned her coat and handed it to the butler. Orion followed and they waited for George as he hung them in the closet.

"What's his problem?" Knox whispered.

"Don't take it personally, he hates everyone." Orion whispered back.

"This way please," George gestured for them to follow and they walked down the hall. The main room was strangely quiet. One small group sat around a table playing cards, a large stack of chips and a few soul vials thrown in the middle. Orion noticed a man sitting at a woman's feet, a metal collar around his neck just like the one on the woman with Athan. He hoped he would not have to face Athan again, especially tonight.

George opened the door to the office and they walked in to find Mon sitting at his desk, a glass of bourbon in his hands, of course.

"Please, come in!" He said with a smile. It was always interesting to see this side of Mon. This was the act he put on for everyone; how he got away with so much. Someone naive to his ways could have easily been fooled.

Mon gestured at them to sit in front of the desk. When they sat there was a moment of silence and Mon just stared at them with a smile. "Where are my manners?" He finally exclaimed with a small laugh. "Would anyone like a drink?"