Page 118 of Degradation

Has he found them yet? Has he realised what this is?

If I could have risked it, I would have gotten closer, would have hidden near enough to see the expression on his face when reality kicked him the arse.

But he’s no fool. And I’m not a fucking idiot either. I know doing so would have been too much of a risk.

A snarl rings out.

The door swings open and I see that all too familiar figure come storming out.

He’s raging, fuming. Stupid bastard thought it would be easy. Stupid bastard thought he could simply dangle my freedom in front of me as if that would be enough to buy my loyalty. Like I was as easy to win over as that.

I run my hand over my face, and I swear I can still feel it, the mask, the contraption they locked me up in.

He did that. My brother.

He claimed to love me, to care for me, that the three of us would protect each other above everything else. And yet, when push came to shove, he chose himself, he chose his power, his greed.

And he sacrificed me the way my father sacrificed our mother.

Only, unlike her, I’m not so weak and crazy to take it. I’ve done my time, I’ve spent my years in purgatory, waiting, and now, it’s my time to shine. My time to make my mark on this cursed world.

Magnus tried to hide me away like I was the black sheep. He’s about to find out that some things cannot be hidden. Some things cannot be forgotten.

And some things have to be paid for, and preferably with blood.

Devin

We drag the man into the bunker. Despite the sedatives we gave him, the fucker is still putting up a damned good fight.

Danos and Soren are all ready and waiting for us, and they take the bastard from our hands and toss him into the furthest away cell.

I don’t have any plans of messing with him. As far as I’m concerned, he can sit there and rot until the time comes for him to be a nice little bargaining chip.

The door slam shuts behind him. The rest of the men fill the main room, sinking into chairs, kicking off their protective gear.

“Good night all round,” Soren says, grabbing a beer from the manky fridge in the corner.

“You got the last of them?” I ask. While a few of us played tricks on my brother, the rest were off, finalising Magnus’s shit list. Yeah, it technically does him a favour, but it also twists the blade, increases the pressure he’s under. Because Magnus can’t be announced Chapter Lord until it is absolutely safe to do so, until everyone on his precious list is eliminated. His mistake was revealing that fact to me, because I know what it also means; that once that list is done, he and Titus need to have one final ceremony. One final ritual.

And Magnus can’t do that, while Titus is here with me, can he?

My lips curl, seeing again the frustration, the fury my brother showed when he realised I’d beaten him.

Too bad, brother. Too fucking bad. You brought this on yourself the day you had me locked away like a fucking lunatic.

Lyndon walks up to me, his face twisted into a look on concern.

“What?” I ask.

“You, you sure about this?” He says quietly. “I know you want revenge, but Magnus…” He shakes his head. “Magnus is going for Chapter Lord, he has help, he has numbers behind him. If he figures out where we are, he can simply wipe us off the board.”

“That won’t happen.” I state.

“Why?”

“Because I’m his brother.” I say.

“Devin, he had you locked in a fucking nuthouse.”