Slay My Soul
Chapter 50 Eve

“Did I ever tell you how my uncle owned a butcher shop?” Darius asks Garret. As he shakes his head, the dragon’s eyes shine at the hint of what’s coming. “Yeah, I used to work there after school, got an apprenticeship with him. I was pretty good at it. I know you like to hunt. Would you like me to teach you how to butcher your kills correctly?”

“I do like to hunt wild boar. I hear pigs are similar to humans meat-wise,” Garret muses. Darius nods excitedly.

“Sirus, is there a butcher shop here somewhere?”

“There’s a really nice one on Trivot road,” Sirus says helpfully. Mikyda opens a portal immediately and the men drag Belestine through. The rest of us follow their lead, and Hardyn comes racing out to join the show. When we step through they have already wrestled him onto the large stainless steel trundler table in the back boning room.

“Eve darling, can you make him wriggle less, I need to make sure my cuts are smooth,” Darius requests.

“Be still,” I order the warlock. “Keep breathing, but be quiet and still so you don’t distract them.” I see a tear track down Belestine’s face. He took my Reece and tried to take me from my men, he will not be shown mercy.

“Great!” Darius says. He hands Garret a knife. "The first thing we want to do is skin our meat. No one wants to eat hairy hide.” He starts to cut his unwilling victim’s clothes away. “Right this is a skinning knife. It has a wide, curved back blade and a blunt tip so you don’t puncture anything while you cut.” He hands one to Garret and grabs another. “I’ll start on this shoulder here and work my way down. Once you think you have the idea start working on the opposite side.” Garret nods and watches as Darius gets to work. After a few minutes of observing Garret joins in on the other side. They work systematically with Darius giving pointers as they go. The two of them skin him from top to toe while Hardyn stands beside me taking notes in a scungy notebook with a chewed-to-death pencil. He makes little manic giggles on occasion which in turn sets me off, and I have to keep ducking out to the main shop to compose myself.

“This should be in our torture class,” he tells me when I return again, “It’s a much more effective method than what most of us are taught, almost like art.” I nod in agreement excitedly, it absolutely should be in there. It’s certainly amazing to watch, especially when they lift the skin off in huge sheets. I’m caught between watching the guy’s work and the look of agony on Belestines face. It truly is a thing of beauty. Once they have completed the front they turn him and repeat it all again on the back. The grand finale is when they turn him again and peel his face off including his hair, nose, and ears.

“This is a cimeter knife. Ideal for steaks and schnitzels, and this is a boning knife for removing meat from the bone. We will start with the legs, then move onto the arms.” Between the two of them, they use ropes to create tourniquets and cut off the blood flow above where they plan to cut and make a start. Darius is an excellent teacher. I watch them cut roasts and steaks, they even scrape down the bones for scrap meat so Darius can show us how to make mince and sausages later. At one point I think Darius has forgotten he's torturing a man and has slipped into the memory of early days working on a cattle beast. But then I'll see him flick the broken man in the eye and grin, and realize that he's all too aware there is a living man under his knives.

We watch them take him down to nothing but a torso. I can’t tell what his pain level is now. Is he a raw mass of exposed nerves, or numb to it by now? His eyes are glazed, I don’t think he’s present anymore, which would make it less fun but the guys are like kids in a candy store. They chop his cock off and then throw it at each other while laughing before it is thrown into the scrap meat pile. I roll my eyes. The maturity of these boys knows no bounds.

They start harvesting the less essential organs. The kidneys are removed with the skill of a surgeon. Darius is a man of many talents. I blow him a kiss as I carry the first kidney to the display chiller at the front of the shop. I have been carefully placing all the different cuts of meat in the same chiller. Mikyda thinks I have an excellent eye for displays and even suggests we invest in some businesses in the future. The ribs come after the second kidney and the liver, then Darius shows us how to use the meat grinder for mince, and the sausage machine. The sausages are great entertainment, shooting off all over the show and we keep tying them off at the wrong lengths, leaving Darius shaking his head at us in mocking disappointment.

Finally, we gather around the wreckage that was once upon a time - Belestine. Darius has pinched off all the major arteries as we dissected (and played) and to see the enemy reduced to such an insignificantly small mass, is absolute magic. It is the closest to death I have ever seen someone while they are still alive. A very fitting punishment after the wars he has waged against our people, not to mention what he tried to do to me. This is divine justice and I will treasure this moment forever.

I poke his raw jaw. "You still with us?" His dull eyes flick slightly in my direction and I grin. He has made it through his entire punishment wholly aware, although unable to scream or move. Part of me thinks he deserves to go free, he's paid for his crime in full and I'm impressed to a degree by his willpower to stay alive. But the reality is, he won't survive much longer anyway, not in this state. And even if he could miraculously survive this, he wouldn't be able to go anywhere. I suddenly envision him crawling away like some demented inchworm, using his chin to pull himself along and I start laughing so hard I cry. The guys shoot me looks, but I can't get any words out, so I project the image to them through the link. It sets them all off, and it takes a while for us to gather our wits.

“Does anyone want to do the honors?” Darius asks, finally able to talk.

“He wanted to give you his heart, so you should take it,” Asmodeus says nudging me with a chuckle.

“And that is why I won’t touch it with a ten-foot barge pole. Maybe you should do it, he did enslave your people for his own selfish gain,” I suggest. A hand plunges into what remains of the chest and the heart is ripped out. The lungs inflate once more and then cease.

“That’s not how you remove it,” Darius groans. Sirus tosses the heart between his hands and shrugs.

“Gets the same results." He tosses it to Mikyda, who shoves a toothpick in it, adds it to the chilled display, and wheels the warlock's remains to the incinerator.

"It's perfect!" Carino exclaims. "Belestine displayed wonderfully in all his glory."

"You mean in all his gory," I snort, poking him in the ribs.

"That too," he grins.

“So it’s over,” Ly says relieved. "No more bad guys, plus we got the girl and we get the 'happy ever after'.”

“Yip that’s the one. Still gotta get the new kingdom set up, but that can wait till tomorrow,” Dev says. Darius removes his apron and washes his hands, whistling happily.

“I reckon it’s beer-o-clock, and wrap ourselves around Eve time,” my Alpha says, throwing an arm over my shoulders once he's cleaned himself up.

"I reckon that's a fantastic idea," I say kissing his cheek." I wave a portal into existence and motion them to go through.

I glance over to Max, expecting to see him looking satisfied that the man who nearly destroyed his life is finally dead after paying for his sins. I’m surprised to replace him in deep conversation with Asmodeus. At his nod, the Demon clasps his shoulder in support and beckons Carino over.

“We’ve been talking and we think we have an idea," I hear the Demon say. I wonder if they have found a better way to secure his soul. I smile at them as they walk through, and Darius and I walk through last. As the portal closes and the scent of booze hits our nostrils, a cheer goes up through the pack's bar.

"Long live the Queen!" Oh yes, I had almost forgotten.

"Meh, let's deal with that tomorrow, someone give me a beer," I holler most unqueen-like. They clap and whistle, and someone gets me a beer. I only get two mouthfuls though before Acassus steals it on his way past.

Little shit! No blowie for him tonight. I see Sirus give him a nod of approval, then he averts his eyes when he sees me watching him.

Hmmm Daddy-o, what are you up to now I wonder?