Rabid For Her Revenge
TWELVE

My fingers were covered in thin scratches, silver blood beading up on some of the deeper cuts. Behind me lay a trail of crushed roses.

The soft velvety feel of the white petal in between my fingers became grainy and sticky as I slowly squished it, the pearl white color becoming a grayish color under my thumb.

Once I mangled the entire flower, I tossed it over my shoulder and moved to pluck the next one.

Every time the rose in my hand was slowly crushed, the thorns digging into my palms in punishment for brutalizing the delicate flower, I imagined it was Ramiel’s head that I was slowly compressing.

“Fucking males and their fucking politics.” I hissed under my breath, snatching the next flower off of its stem. “What the hell do you want?” I demanded much louder this time, talking to the male who was behind me and had been watching me throw my tantrum for some time now.

The Two shuffled his feet, having thought I hadn’t noticed his presence.

As if.

If his presence casting a shadow over me hadn’t alerted me, his scent certainly would have. There was only one person who smelled like cedarwood and it was none other than Sarakiel’s Two.

Kiro Ursa, didn’t move from his spot several paces behind me, a smart move on his part because invading my personal space would not bode well for him with the mood that I was currently in. “Sarakiel sent me to cool you down,” he told me directly, not making up a half-assed excuse.

“Did he? How kind of him considering he was the one who pissed me off in the first place.” Turning on my heel I spun around, the rose placed against my mouth. Lifting a brow, I tapped the flower against my lips. “So, he sent you as his replacement punching bag, did he?”

“I don’t know his intentions, he only told me to follow your request.” His expression remained steadfast though I did catch the slightest feathering of his jaw as it clenched in annoyance.

Ah, so he did know that he was being used simply to pacify me then. He probably also knew that his superior had made a deal using him as the bargaining chip. I could only imagine how much that hurt his pride.

Still, his feelings were none of my concern, although it would be fun to provoke him a little bit. “I don’t like liars, Wolfie. I’m sure I had already warned you about that some time ago. Perhaps some new scars will help you remember that.”

Kiro kept his expression stoic, his back ramrod straight and his eyes staring past me like he was a guard meant to be invisible during all other times than combat. “If that is what you wish, then I am willing to comply.”

A tittering laugh fell from my lips. “Oh my, so brave.” With a flick of my wrist, the rose went flying out of my hand as I tossed it aside in favor of biting my knuckle. Fluttering my lashes, I flat out mocked the male. “How admirable.”

I watched him stiffen uncomfortably from being looked down upon so openly. He was still a male of ranking after all, and he was used to receiving absolute respect from anyone who was not a One.

Now here was a deranged female so blatantly making fun of him. Surely it was a situation he had never before encountered. Our exchanges before had always been teetering on the premise of me snapping and snapping his neck consequently. Now that the imminent threat of danger was gone from our run in, there wasn’t a reason for him to be wary of me.

Well, except apparently there was. After all, he had been commanded by Sarakiel to appease me and follow my requests, at least for a time, so he was still obligated to put up with my antics.

With my hands clasped behind my back I strolled over to him. Walking around him in a circle, I casually assessed his body type and the strengths and weaknesses he would have because of it.

“Hmmm, not as strong as Myrin, but probably not as arrogant because of it. Longer legs, and longer arms means you have a wider reach.”

I jabbed him in the ribs with a finger and watched him jump away, staring down at me in shock.

I grinned up at him wagging my finger. “Did I surprise you, Wolfie? My bad. I didn’t realize you were so sensitive.”

The teasing tone in my voice finally got to him. Glaring at me through narrowed eyes the Two gritted out through his teeth, “would it trouble you greatly to stop with the satire?”

Humming, I made a show of contemplating it before turning on the amber-eyed male with a beaming smile. “Yes, I do think it would. How else am I supposed to get these delicious reactions out of you?” Taking an exaggerated step, I closed the distance between us and placed my hands on his sturdy shoulders. “Sarakiel is always such a bore,” I said into his ear, “nothing I do or say ever ruffles him.” Resting my chin on his left shoulder I drummed my fingers across his opposite one. “And since you have been officially designated as his replacement for the day, I’m afraid you will have to put up with it. If it irks you so, I suggest you bore me out of it.”

Kiro turned his head slightly in order to look down at me, the movement had our cheeks brushing. I felt the uncomfortable prickles tingle across my skin from the contact initiated on his part. “Do you usually engage in so much skinship? I recall the last time I touched you, it seemed to particularly revolt you.”

With a heavy sigh I pulled away from him, twirling my hand in the air. “That’s because you touched me. I don’t mind when I’m the one doing the touching.”

“Double standards are no good for anyone,” he quipped.

“And yet our society is riddled with them. I think males should just shut up and look pretty but alas, such a criterion is only applied to females,” I retorted, lacing my fingers together and stretching my arms out, feeling the satisfying pop in my fingers. “Pretty boy, what do you say to a friendly spar?”

In response the male sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck. “Should I be worried about kill shots?”

Smirking, I crouched low, getting into my ready stance. “You should always be worried about kill shots, Wolfie, no matter the circumstance.”

“I suppose that was a rather stupid question.” He muttered while taking a more defensive stance.

“As long as you are aware of it.” I chirped and goaded him with the beckoning of my fingers.

My mood had lightened considerably with the arrival of Kiro Ursa, so I had to hand it to him for successfully carrying out his orders. My carefree attitude carried over to our spar, I kept it friendly, dancing around him while jabbing him in whatever opening I spotted. He blocked me more than half of the time but had yet to attack me.

Cocking my head, I lowered my arms to my sides and looked at the male questioningly.

Kiro didn’t drop his guard, instead he brought his forearms up further to shield his face. “I suggest you really take a few good punches at me because, when we are done here, Sarakiel wants me to bring you to dinner with Ramiel so that we can all discuss our plans for the coming weeks.”

That little piece of information was more than enough to sour my mood. I certainly hoped Sarakiel didn’t expect me to play nice now that I’d had my shot at Ramiel but I knew that my hope was misplaced because Sarakiel would most definitely expect just that. “I’m more than happy to give you a nose job to match the one I gave Ramiel earlier.”

At least I would get the gratification of seeing Ramiel’s broken nose before it would be mostly healed by morning.

I delivered a solid kick to Kiro’s hip, the blow softened by the elbow he brought down to partially block my attack.

Once again, I found myself being the only one on offense. Clicking my tongue, I stepped back from the male. “I don’t like freebies, so you’d better at least try to hit me back.”

Kiro said nothing, only keeping his amber eyes trained on me.

The next time I threw a punch, I was content to see him return one.

We traded blows for the better part of an hour until the both of us were battered and bruised and struggling for breath.

It had been a very methodical and paced spar, not like the fights I was used to where it was shredding and tearing until my opponent stopped breathing or I did.

“Are you cooled down?” Kiro panted, swiping at the sweat that had rolled down to the underside of his chin.

It was ironic considering I was much sweatier and heated than when Sarakiel had sent him to me to ‘help me cool down’. Wiping at the sweat on my own face I answered, “Can’t promise you I won’t get fired up again.”

The male exhaled a breath and returned to a fighting stance. “Then we’ll go for another few rounds.”

It wasn’t a request. He was telling me that neither of us were leaving until I was too exhausted to cause a commotion at dinner or until I was bored enough with this that I was willing to be civilized at dinner.

Pulling my hair out of its tie, I shook out my white locks. “What are you more scared of, failing to carry out your orders if I lash out, or me injuring your superior if I lash out?”

“I am concerned that either could happen.” Kiro replied honestly while stressing the word ‘concerned’ he had used in place of the word ‘scared’ that I had used.

I snorted, marveling at his loyalty to my consort. Really, for someone who had humiliated him once before, this male certainly revered his One. It was rather silly in my opinion. “Let me hit you once more and then we can go.”

…

I entered the dining room with Kiro Ursa on my heels. He had attempted to get me to shower and dress myself more formally, but I had dismissed that without a second thought. I had never dressed up for any male before and I wasn’t about to start, especially not for someone I had a hard time restraining myself from throttling.

In my sweat soaked loose t-shirt and lounge pants, I took my seat to the left of Sarakiel who was seated at the head. My bare feet were covered in grass stains and smears of dirt but that hadn’t stopped me from trekking through the spotless mansion.

Claude, the butler, had given me a scowl before pulling open the door to the dining room. Luckily for him I had learned to ignore him in order to keep myself from permanently rearranging his face.

Picking up my fork and knife I immediately started in on the plate of food before me.

For a moment there was only the sound of my utensils hitting the plate but Sarakiel broke the awkward silence, not one to waste time. “I invited Ramiel to talk about the coup d’état.”

I made a disinterested humming sound. “How long exactly have you been in cahoots with Ramiel?”

Sarakiel eyed me calculatingly as if he was thinking of how to carefully pick his next words. However, he decided being delicate with me was unnecessary and took a blunter approach. “A little over a year before Myrin took you.”

I speared a piece of broccoli on the point of my knife. “Not very long in the grand scheme of things. But I suppose it’s useful to know that he picked you over Myrin when he was still alive and had a choice.”

“Just because Myrin is dead doesn’t mean there isn’t an alternative choice to Sarakiel,” Ramiel pointed out.

Turning the point of my knife on the One from the Western Province I waved the piece of broccoli in a circle. “From what I recall of that meeting, there wasn’t anyone of value besides Sarakiel if not Myrin.”

“That’s because there was Myrin.” Ramiel drawled.

“Yes, was.” I purred back in kind.

“It doesn’t matter that he’s dead,” Phineas Aquila, Sarakiel’s other Two said. “Even if Errol Falkor isn’t nearly as suitable as Myrin, in the eyes of many he is still more acceptable than Sarakiel.”

Placing the knife tip between my teeth I pulled the green vegetable off from the utensil. “Sarakiel and Myrin were obviously the two front runners, why would they settle for a runner up?”

“It’s a matter of pride,” Sarakiel explained. “There will be a lot of territories in the Western Province that will side with Falkor because of the fact that I took Myrin’s murderer as my consort alone.”

Our eyes locked. There was a heaviness that came with that truth. Sarakiel had made a lot of enemies by taking my hand that day.

Ramiel gave me another reason in addition to the one Sarakiel had provided me. “That was enough to piss them off without taking into account all of the other insults they have borne at the hand of your plain-spoken consort.”

I smiled a little at the irritation in his tone. Sarakiel was certainly curt and straightforward. He was stingy with his words and made practical calculations before speaking. It didn’t surprise me that his taciturn ways had gotten him on the bad side of others.

I used the knife to pick at the piece of broccoli stuck between my teeth. Phineas was giving me a sidelong look that showed his disapproval for my mannerless actions. I chomped down on the metal knife, then dragged it from my teeth, the grinding noise making Kiro turn his attention upon me.

Giving the knife one last chomp, I then released it from my teeth and held it up, twisting it this way and that to see it catch the light at different angles. “I really don’t understand the politics of males. Why ally with someone weak and destined to lose just because of a petty grudge? If they aren’t willing to kill Sarakiel over the grievances, then do they really have the option to oppose him? Obviously, they are too afraid to go against him on their own, so their solution is to gang up and hope strength in numbers will make up for the lack of their individual abilities?”

“Yes, that appears to be the situation.” Ramiel mused, a glint of mirth twinkling in his caramel eyes.

I rocked back on my chair so that it was balancing on two legs. “Well, that’s wonderful news to me. I was never planning on cooperating with any of those western bastards.”

“They aren’t very interested in cooperating with you either, Miss Farringhow.” Ramiel was amused by my comment when he shouldn’t have been. Just because we were in a temporary truce did not mean he was exempted from those that I lumped under the label of ‘western bastards’ and had stamped with their expiration date.

I narrowed my eyes, thinking back on the meeting between the Ones of the Western Province. Ramiel was the only to speak out against Myrin then, and now he was the only one sitting at this table planning a takeover with Sarakiel. “Why you?” I asked.

“Why me what?”

“Why are you the only one to ally with Sarakiel.” I demanded, bringing my chair thumping back onto four legs as I now leaned forward.

The dark-skinned male shot me a charming smile. “Well obviously, darling, that’s because I plan on being on the winning side.”

So, it really was that he was simply sensible when all of the others turned out to be fools. Well, I wasn’t sure how sensible he could be to provoke me with such nauseating flirting. “Call me darling again and you’ll replace yourself without an eyeball.”

“Daylin.” Sarakiel called my name in a warning.

Flipping the knife in my hand and catching it by the blade, I held out the handle towards my consort, leaning forward with all of my weight resting on my elbow propped up on the table. “You are the one who chose a dinner setting.”

Sarakiel calmly sawed away at his meat, cutting it into perfect cubes. “I’m starting to rethink such a decision,” he murmured.

Flicking up the knife I tossed it and caught it by the handle this time. Bringing up my fork in my other hand, I mirrored my consort in his precise and neat slicing. “No, no, putting me with a knife and a fork for backup was the optimal setting for this friendly chat with my dear friend Ramiel.”

“Daylin.” Sarakiel didn’t even bother to look up from his plate this time.

Sneering at his lack of response to my goading, I finally gave up. “Fine. Tell me your plans for the Wight Council.”

“It has to be done in one fell swoop,” Kiro filled me in. “We have planned a trial that will require the jurisdiction of the Wight Council. All nine of them will be present and they cannot be allowed to leave the chamber alive. We’ve already established our infiltrators within the Zeta ranks so we will have reliable information to iron out the details.”

“There is no need to have it planned out till the end.” I interjected, “All you need to do is start it and hit the council with a big enough blow to weaken them enough for the other Ones to join in. Taking down the council was never what mattered. It’s the fight that comes after that you need to focus on.”

“It’s not the council we are cautious of but Zeta,” Ramiel defended. “They don’t have allegiance to anyone except for the Wight Council. Once they fall, we are concerned with who they ally with.”

It was a legitimate concern to have but it was misplaced. “There is no point in trying to pull them over to your side. They will be divided and follow their own commanding officers. The ones who wish to defect to Sarakiel’s or Ramiel’s territory will come on their own once the Wight Council falls. It’s not worth the energy and time needed to convince the other Zeta agents to ally with you. If they do not voluntarily come to you, they aren’t trustworthy anyway.”

Trying to win over the entirety of Zeta was impossible. While it would have been optimal if it could have been done, there were too many flaws with such a plan.

“Taking a gamble with them would be ill-advised considering the future gambles that will be necessary,” I explained further. “You will already have to be watching your other allies closely, you don’t need to be also constantly looking over your shoulder to see if Zeta is going to plant a knife in your back.”

“If we can’t win them over then we have to kill them. We can’t have them lending their support to a different One. The alliances that will be formed between the other Ones will be enough of a headache without also throwing Zeta into the mix. Besides, while it’s possible to kill the Wight Council, exterminating every agent of Zeta isn’t so plausible since they won’t all be there at the trial. Winning them over is our best option.” Phineas stated what the other males were all thinking.

“It’s not the best option though,” I argued. “It doesn’t matter what we choose to do since we can’t have a complete victory. We will need to let some of them go so we might as well make use of it.”

“Letting ten or so slip through the cracks is not really a problem,” Kiro agreed, “but I don’t see how we can spin that to our advantage.”

“I’m not talking about one or two, I’m talking about a couple hundred or so,” I clarified.

“A couple hundred?” Phineas burst out, his fork clattering against the plate beneath it. “Were you even listening–”

“You have to understand that this coup will not only create a race for the new Paramount but for a new council as well.” I cut him off, looking around the table and meeting each set of eyes but only seeing confusion reflected back at me. I sighed in annoyance that they weren’t understanding the point I was getting to. “There are those who know they could never alone obtain the power needed to be the Paramount. They will instead hope to ally with others who are like-minded and rebuild a council with eight others.”

“So how do we dissuade them from that?” Sarakiel inquired, pushing his plate aside and removing the napkin from his lap to drop it on the table.

“We don’t,” I told him honestly, “they will attract the Zeta agents more than any One alone will. Zeta is used to having supreme enforcement power, if they defect to a One then they lose that authority. A new council will seem more attractive to them, so they won’t be as likely to ally with a One. Instead, they will hold their ground and band together.”

“And when they hear about the group interested in restoring the council we plan to destroy, they will rush to support them.” Kiro connected the dots I had clearly drawn for them.

“Exactly. We cut our losses by leaving them hope of a new council being instilled. We can then carry out a second massacre and kill the rest of Zeta with the Ones playing at council members standing in our way. Carrying out a second fast and efficient slaughter will only boost Sarakiel as candidate for Paramount.”

“Your plan is brilliant.” Ramiel murmured in admiration, sounding convinced of my logic. “Wicked, but brilliant.”

“So,” Sarakiel finally cut in, drumming his fingers across the table, “you are suggesting we eradicate the current council, and the Zeta agents present, but let the dust settle and give them time to regroup and create a new council, then wipe them out for a second time?”

“Brutally. It has to be a spectacular show to convince anyone with similar ambitions that it’s not a good idea.”

My consort’s electric blue eyes were glinting brightly with excitement, but he had yet to be fully convinced. “How is the second time we do this going to help us get the rest of Zeta? Won’t they be spread out just like the first time?”

“To some extent,” I conceded. “They will be expecting a second massacre to happen so they will have more people guarding the new council. We won’t be allowed such a good opportunity like a public trial a second time. In fact, they will probably be after us for betraying the original Wight Council. Our executions will be their first act of authority. They are going to be coming for us one wave at a time. Easy pickings.”

Sarakiel hummed, bringing his folded hands to press against his lips as he pondered my proposal. “I don’t know about ‘easy pickings’ but I can see the potential.” I thought I saw a hint of a smile under those laced fingers. “We can explore this more in detail tomorrow. For now, have a goodnight Daylin. Ursa, escort my consort to her room for me. I’ll see you both in the morning.”

Everyone stood from their chairs at the One’s dismissal and went their separate ways.

Kiro Ursa trailed after me, following rather than escorting. I let it go on for a while, listening to the sounds of our footsteps echo in the halls.

When we had nearly reached my room, I decided I couldn’t let him get off easy. “Kiro,” I called without turning to look at him over my shoulder, “you’re no fun when you keep at a distance. How am I supposed to ask you about your thoughts on my plan?”

“You seem to be able to do so just fine as we are now.” His voice was hushed as if he had consideration for the others that could be in the rooms we walked past, unlike mine that rang through the corridor.

I smirked to myself. “Oh? Very well then. Tell me your honest opinion.”

“It’s efficient,” he admitted, “and more practical,” he conceded after a pause, “but it could get us all killed if we make a single misstep or miscalculation.”

I slowed my steps little by little, closing the distance between us. “No matter what you do, there’s always the chance of death. When you walk down the stairs you risk slipping and bashing your head open. When you ride in a car you risk an accident. I’ve heard people were blown to bits because of the force from the high-speed collisions. When you take a walk through a garden you could trip over a rock and impale yourself on a rake or a sharp stick.”

“I don’t believe instances such as those occur all that often.” The Two commented dryly from behind me.

Halting before my door I turned to face the male. “Exactly my point, Wolfie. I don’t think Sarakiel’s plans going awry happens all that frequently either. Risk is an element but then, as I’ve just proved, isn’t it always?”

Kiro Ursa clasped his hands behind his back. “I don’t mind risk, I just do not like uncertainty.”

Twirling a finger in the air I hummed. “So, you mean to say that as long as you trust the person making the plan, the risk is worth taking because you are assured the plan will succeed, but if you do not trust the person,” I locked eyes with the male, “then there’s no guarantee of success and therefore the outcome is too uncertain for the risk to be taken?” Cocking my head and crossing my arms I leaned against the door, my arm pressed up against it and my temple resting on the smooth wood.

Kiro broke my gaze, his eyes flicking over to the left. “Something like that.”

There was something cute him. It was the way he couldn’t hide how uncomfortable he was around me and yet sometimes bravely faced me head on, I decided. Like a little bunny that cowered away from the savage dog on the other side of the fence but was willing to hop through the fence sometimes anyway.

I had to wonder, how brave was the bunny today? He had already hopped through the fence once today, albeit it on Sarakiel’s command, but could I get him to do it without Sarakiel ordering him to do so?

Well, I certainly had to try.

“If you trust a person so much to overlook the risk entirely,” I said, “you aren’t really taking a risk at all because in your mind there is no probability of failure. So Kiro,” I challenged, pushing off from the door, “do you really take risks?”

“When its necessary but as I said before, I do not like uncertainty.”

“Well then,” I said taking one step forward, “let me ask you,” I took another step, “am I a risk or an uncertainty? Hmm?” Getting right up in his face I rose up on my tiptoes, balancing on the balls of my feet. Grinning at him dangerously, I flashed my sharp teeth. “Do you trust me?”

His whole body was tensed because of my close proximity and he had to look down at his nose in order to meet my silver eyes. “No. You are an uncertainty.”

I fell back on my heels, rocking back with a sigh. “I cannot fault you for that. I have a hard time trusting myself sometimes,” Leaning forward I placed one finger to my lips and pointed another at my head. In a scratchy whisper I breathed, “It’s a secret so don’t tell anyone, but I’m a little crazy up here I’m afraid.”

Pulling away I winked at him.

With a skip in my step, I went back over to my door, pushing it open but not yet stepping inside. “You always seem to put me in a playful mood, little bunny. But you shouldn’t entice a rabid dog so much or it might eat you up.”

“I’m a bunny now?” His dull tone told me he was less than thrilled with his new label.

“You are what you are,” I sang. “A wolf to others but a fluffy cotton tailed little bunny to me. Everyone shows many faces, Kiro Ursa, and you are no exception.

Much to my delight the male took a step forward, not seeming to easily accept my explanation. “So, I am weak because I do not take risks?”

My hand that was wrapped around the edge of the door tightened in eager anticipation. My prey was slowly hopping towards me even though he was aware of the danger. Looking him from top to bottom I halfheartedly continued on with this conversation, my mind focusing on what was to come. “On the contrary, I know you take risks. You hop through the fence time and time again but as the stakes get higher will you continue to do so? When the dog stops watching with curiosity and begins to salivate, will you continue to wiggle past the barrier keeping you safe?”

My pupils dilated when I watched him take another sure step forward.

“I think I have a vague idea of what you are inferring,” he spoke, surrendering another step as he did so, “but if you would clarify just so that I can be fully aware of the consequences of my next choice, I would appreciate it.”

With a predatory smile I pushed the door open further, gesturing with a flourish of my hand, my claws out on full display.“Come on in, cotton tail,” I purred, “hop through my fence and let me have a taste of you.”

The male stood before me for one second and then two as he came to a decision. His amber eyes that had been flickering with hesitation and contemplation hardened.

My heart pounded in my chest.

He took the last step needed to cross over the threshold.

Stepping into the dark room behind him, I slowly eased the door shut, grinning from ear to ear with excitement at the broad back in front of me.

Maybe not a rabbit after all, but a cat. And a curious one at that.