Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 50954 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 255(@200wpm)___ 204(@250wpm)___ 170(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50954 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 255(@200wpm)___ 204(@250wpm)___ 170(@300wpm)
“You love to cast me in the mold of monster,” he said. “But you are the real monster, Madis. Sometimes I think your darkness is greater than my own, though I know that cannot be true. It was your pain that drew me to you across those dying sands, but it was your fury, your refusal to die that made me want you for my own. You had been suffering for days upon days. Your torturers were feeding you out of curiosity, pushing you past the bounds of any they had killed before. Your continued existence was beginning to quietly terrify the town. They’d wanted to punish you for your sins. But in punishing you, they created something they themselves feared. You, languishing, horribly wounded, mortally destroyed, and yet still breathing. You were their nightmare long before you slew them. You haunted their consciences. You became the thing whispered in the night. You are capable of great things, Madis. Or terrible things. The choice will always be yours.”
“Except the choice to love? Let me have my pet,” Maddox said. “Let me enjoy him while he is still mine to enjoy, while the world keeps him vital and young, and let me watch him grow old. Let me tend to his aching bones. Let me be there for his last breath. Let me have all that I wanted to have once upon a time. Do not be the one who takes it from me, or the vengeance you fear will come to pass. I promise it.”
Gideon’s eyes darkened. “You have grown bold, Madis. You were always strong, but now you are arrogant.”
“Not arrogant. Tired, perhaps. Old, maybe. I will protect Will with everything I am and all that I have. You remember, Gideon. I died for love once. I will do it again without hesitation. If you hurt William, you will be forced to kill me. I promise you that.”
Gideon smiled gently, perhaps even indulgently as Maddox spoke, letting him get every last self-damning word out. When Maddox’s lips finally stilled there was a pause in which Gideon let his fledgling hang.
“I hope the feeling of making threats was worth what I will do to you for making them.”
“It’s not a threat, Gideon. They are promises. Or rather, predictions. You claim to know me. You seem to feel the depth of my connection to this boy. Then you must also know what I will do if anything happens to him.”
“He’s not a boy. He is a dog. Tell me, Madis. Should I whip you now, or later?”
“It makes no difference. It will change nothing.”
“Perfectly insolent,” Gideon laughed. “Nobody has whipped you in centuries, have they? You’ve forgotten what it is to be disciplined. It is time you were reminded.”
Maddox bristled. “I have no intention of allowing you to strike me, Gideon. You saw what I did to the last people who hit me. That might have been thousands of years ago; however, I assure you my rage has not cooled.”
“It hasn’t, has it.” Gideon cocked his head. “You have held onto that pain for thousands of years. You have allowed it to burn you from the inside out. I am surprised you ever allowed yourself to love again. Actually, I am shocked you still had the capacity for it. What a creature this wolf must be.”
It was almost a compliment.
“Is that what this is about? You made me, Gideon. You gave me your dark life. You made me yours. You loved me. I have loved you in return. Is that not enough?”
“It is not your love I question. It is the inevitable aftermath of that love. He has, at best, seventy years left. Does that mean at the turn of a new century the world will be struck down with the fury of your grief, given your increasing involvement in human affairs, your police and military connections, and how much deeper they will grow in that time? I am not worried whether you love me or not, Maddox. I am afraid that when Will dies, you will end the world for everyone.”
Maddox laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
Gideon grabbed Mad by the hair and hauled him close. The genteel act had now been dropped. Two pairs of fangs flashed before Maddox’s nose, and claws rended at his clothing, ripping it from him in harsh tatters. His maker was not trying to hurt him. Gideon was trying to strip him of his disguise.
“This house. These suits. These are trappings of modernity you use to hide yourself. I am sure all these modern people are very impressed with you. You always knew how to play the gentleman. But I was there in the beginning, when you turned your village red with rage. I still see what nobody else can see. You are my progeny. You are the blood of my blood. You fear my destruction because it is the same destruction you carry. You are dangerous. To yourself and to all mankind.”