Chapter 39: A Heart So Kind...
Orion’s presence changes something fundamental in the room. Don Antonio visibly withers the moment he steps into the room, while Niko chuckles like the cat who’s got the cream.
It’s best not to even speak about Alexis.
His steps create a steady rhythm as he walks up to Antonio, dark eyes filled with a madness so deep, it surrounds him with an aura of malice.
"You certainly look like you’re enjoying yourself, Niko," his gaze drops to Alexis, trembling under Niko’s hands. "You even have enough time to find a meal, I see."
Alexis, overcome with fear due to the sheer malice Orion is radiating, whimpers as he pushes his head against Niko’s palm, hiding from his gaze.
’A meal?’ He wonders.
Alexis isn’t even supposed to be here. He’s one of the newbies who have yet to be trained by Antonio’s person who oversees the entertainers and the prostitutes.
He should have known that something was wrong when they specifically requested for an untrained newbie. He only went along with it because Antonio owned him and he was assured that the pay would be high.
He really shouldn’t be here. Fuck.
"Now, don’t go giving my darling the wrong idea," Niko frowns as he pats Alexis’s head lightly. "We’re not cannibals, dear. There’s just something wrong with this one’s brain."
If that was said to reassure Alexis, it doesn’t work. He’s not going to relax in the presence of two men who have cornered the man who owns him to despair.
Not when one of the men killed over sixty fucking people in fifteen minutes, and is somehow standing across from him without a scratch.
Alexis is going to be sick.
"Is he one of Antonio’s men?" Orion points lazily at Alexis.
Alexis’s heart stops beating. His brain flatlines.
"Him? One of Antonio’s men? I don’t know for sure." Niko pulls his head off his lap, tilting up his chin to face him. "Are you one of Antonio’s men, dear?"
Alexis opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out. He’s unable to make his throat work. Niko stares down at him, amber eyes gleaming with predatory focus, and Alexis wishes to any deity out there that he could just disappear.
He wishes he could close his eyes, and when he opens them, he’d be anywhere else.
Niko sighs, lips tilting downward in a frown. He turns to Orion blankly. "I guess he is then— "
"I’m not!" Alexis screams so loud, the sound of his own voice grates in his ears. "I’m not one of his men! He owns me! I-I’m a prostitute!"
Through his panic, he notices how intensely Niko is studying him. Realizing his slip-up, he waves his hands frantically and begins to explain himself.
"M-my dad took a loan from his people and couldn’t pay it back, so he took me in exchange! But, I haven’t done anything yet! I’m still a virgin, S-Sir— "
Panicking, he lowers his hands to take in the expressions of the two men who could choose to end his life in a heartbeat.
The one with the scary amber eyes is sighing while rubbing a hand down his face, while the other terrifying one looks visibly amused. Like he’s watching something entertaining.
Alexis gulps.
"You definitely don’t need to worry about being a virgin," Orion snorts, dispelling his malicious aura for a second. "In fact, you should be more worried about sleeping with Niko. He’s as run-through as they come."
"I’m merely a connoisseur of the arts, but don’t worry, it’s not like I expect you to understand that, you damn virgin." Niko scoffs, then he releases Alexis’s chin and pats his head softly.
Orion shrugs, magnanimously choosing to disregard Niko’s opinion. "Though speaking of dicks and taking people...that reminds me..."
"We’ve never met in person, have we, Don?" He purrs, leaning over the Don like a looming shadow of malice.
"No, we have not...Basilsik."
Perhaps, the old man had hoped that they would have forgotten him and focused on teasing Alexis, but alas, that is not to be. Because now that Orion’s eyes are on him, he can feel just how volatile this person is.
He should’ve killed that stupid bastard of a brother when he had the chance.
"But you do know why I’m here right?" Orion asks conversationally as he sits beside Niko. "I hope this idiot didn’t forget to tell you just because you gave him one of your whores."
Alexis flinches.
It is right at this moment that he realizes that he was being teased by these monsters before, because now that Orion is getting serious, he can feel the difference.
"You’re not a whore to me, don’t worry." Niko pats his head, eyes glinting with a sadistic light.
Alexis just wants to go home. Back to his gambler of a father, and his pathetic existence at the bottom rung of society. At least he was safe there.
"He didn’t forget to tell me," Antonio sighs. "You’re here for my idiot brother, aren’t you?"
"No," Orion responds, shaking his head slightly. "I’m here for a pedophile whose hands I want to relieve him of."
"If that’s what you wanted, then why did you not just simply go after him, Basilisk. Why attack me and kill my men?" Antonio asks, laying out his grievances plainly.
"Tell me Antonio, if I had told you that I would kill your brother, would you let me do it without trying to stop me, even if you knew the reason?"
Antonio knows he wouldn’t. As an old-timer in his line of work, it is both a sign of strength and a point of pride for his family to be safe throughout his lifetime.
Even if he knew the reason why Orion would want to kill his brother, he would never let him do it, even if it led to his own death and that of his men.
"You see that it would’ve ended the same either way." Orion’s lips curve in a knowing smile.
Then, he looks over at the top of Alexis’s head and snatches off a strand. Then another. Then two more.
Alexis winces in pain the first time, then grits his teeth and endures the rest. He doesn’t understand why his hair is being plucked out of his scalp, but every bone in his body is telling him to stay still and let it happen.
It’s the same instinct that warned him to drop his confident act with the yellow-eyed man and stick to obeying his demands.
Niko side-eyes Orion resignedly, then decides to face the matter at hand. "You’ll die here today, Don. I would’ve tried to help you because of this wonderful gift you’ve given me, but I hate bastards who touch kids."
"You can call it a pet peeve of mine."
’That is not what a pet peeve is,’ Alexis wants to scream. That is a literal crime. Instead of doing something as stupid as speaking in this situation, he chooses to shut his mouth and grit his teeth while the lunatic keeps plucking out his hair.
It fucking hurts.
"I have never looked at kids with sexual intent, Wildcat. Why don’t you just kill my brother and let me go?" Antonio questions, desperation bleeding into his tone.
He looks to Niko, eyes pleading for understanding.
"Because you knew about it." Orion answers instead, playing with a strand of Alexis’s hair. "And because I don’t want any male in your bloodline to exist anymore."
Antonio’s heart begins to pound. "T-There are many males in my bloodline, Basilisk. Surely, you don’t mean to say that you— "
"Oh no! A strange disease that only affects the males of Don Antonio’s bloodline has come into existence! And apart from the Don and his brother, all the other males died in one day." Orion announces into the air with a laugh.
A chill spreads in the Don’s body, from his scalp to his toes. His heart skips a beat. Then another. And another. Until it feels like his heart has forgotten how to beat.
"No..." he groans brokenly, slumping down in his seat. "How could you...? How could you do this to me...? My nephews? My grandsons? How could you...?"
"How...?"
The Don is broken, even Alexis can tell, and he knows that if he doesn’t want to be the next one to break, he’ll keep his mouth shut and keep letting these men treat him like a pet.
"You’re asking how I did it?" Orion smiles. "Well, I just put bounties on all their heads before I started clearing out your men over here."
He lets out a light laugh. "And if you’re wondering why I did it, let’s just say it’s because I’m a wealthy, young man who’s in the mood for a bit of fun."
Like a switch being flipped, the light aura surrounding him changes to one of dark maliciousness.
"But instead of touching what belongs to others and taking from them, I just decided to take from you instead."
Subconsciously, Alexis’s hands curl into the hem of Niko’s pants. His proximity to Orion has his body trembling from the weight of a fear so primal, his mind goes numb.
"Besides, who knows which one of your descendants would get a taste for kids too? I did what I had to do as a kind, law-abiding citizen who cares about the future of our youngsters...unlike you."
*****
Let me see those comments and reviews!
— TheLovePoet
