"You can kill yourself now, because you're dead in my mind..."
"Peel off all those
eyes, crawl into the dark
You've poisoned all your children to camouflage your scars
Pray unto the splinters, pray unto your fears
Pray your life was just a dream, the cut that never heals"
(Marilyn Manson)
The dueling voices of conflicting loyalties struggled fiercely in her mind, tugging at the edges of her consciousness, threatening to tear it apart at the seams.
"...I have heard complaints about you, Arlene. Juan worries your loyalties may be shifting. You were not born to them, you know... your sire was one of us..." Her superior, to whom she had a great deal of respect... until he stabbed her in the back...
"...He won't be around forever, and who do you think is going to replace him? You? You couldn't lead a herd to water if your existence depended on it. Join with me, ma petite... Be my voice in the throne... you will be invincible..." Her lover, whose ambitions got the best of him... and her...
"...What gives you the right to think you have any say in what we do? Your title is worthless. Sergio's title is worthless. You have no power over me..." Her supposed "subordinate," whose insurrection almost cost Arlene her existence...
"...the Circle is aware of your movements. It's a matter of time before they send someone. It is in your best interests to lay low for a while..." The platonic love she was forced to leave behind in their scramble to leave the city; in the middle of a sect battle and with a possible boon still pending...
After hours of all the scenes replaying in her mind at the same time, all the voices repeating their refrain in chaotic concert, she was reduced to pacing back and forth in a small room. She was startled when Sam and his cohorts returned.
They didn't even enter. Sam knew better. He opened the door, quickly tossed in a bound and gagged "sacrifice to the gods of the Hunger," and shut the door before Arlene could get to it.
Oddly enough, she hesitated... she circled the poor sap, like a buzzard inspecting a carcass. In the pubs all around, the music grew just a tad louder. They were giving her the cue... she untied the man, and removed his gag.
Her victim responded by backhanding her across the face... she lost her balance, staggered back a few paces, smiled... then slapped him back, sending him reeling clear across the room.
Obviously not expecting this, the man scrambled to his feet and lunged forward, pinning her against the wall and punching her stomach. The irony of this wasn't lost to her: the man was trying to knock the air out of her. She had to laugh after pushing him back.
"Please tell me that's not the best you can do... that would be so disappointing..."
At this point, the mortal must have realized something was up, because he started making bargains instead. "Come on, baby, we don't have to fight like this... I can get you anything you want... You want to fly? I can arrange that... you want to come down? I can fix that too... anything you want..."
Ah, but of course... Sam had brought her a dealer...
"Hahaha... gotta hand it to Sam, always the idealist, always looking for a way to make this world a better place... did you say, 'anything'?"
"Sure, anything; what are you hungry for?"
Arlene smiled her best "**** me" smile... but her fangs were showing...
No one outside could hear the screams over the music...
She kept smashing his head against the floor over and over, oblivious to the blood splattering on her clothes. The sound of crunching bone made her curious enough to stop and lift the corpse's head: several teeth were on the small pool of blood that had formed on the floor.
The last terrified thoughts of the victim still resounded in her head, intermingling with all the voices... "No, for the love of God, I have a wife and child!!"
Arlene licked her lips in anticipation. "I'll be sure to send your regards..."
