— Somewhere between Book Five (The Butcher’s Stone) and Six (Twin Medicine) —
Couldn’t get to the fucking house fast enough. Need to thank that old Nord for that little ace he gave us.
“Do you honestly think now is the time to think about pleasantries and thanks?”
Like his voice wasn’t enough of a deadpan weight dragging my last nerves down regularly. Now he decided to rip through my thoughts, the one thing that keeps my shit at bay in times of unknown bullshitery.
I tore our shirt off, our skin covered in old blood, a few fresh wounds and skulls burning lines through each one of our tattoos as the skin split from base to surface.
“Right. My apologies.”
“That’s a new one.”
Our skin continued to split from the nape of our back around our abdomen and over our chest into our throat. My other half squirmed inside, as if he’d felt the pain internally just as much as I was dealing with it on the outside.
Another scalding skull wrapped itself around our neck, searing its way into it where the otherworldly surgical incision had taken place. Our jaw bit down and clenched so hard from the string of skulls making their way up our body our mandible cracked along the seam, teeth pulling from deep between the grooves and through the mutilated marrow. Jesus Fuck…
“I don’t mean to pry, but is there a chance we could either speed this up or end it?”
“Nah, I think I …. I want to prolong… Shit!”
And there it was again. The familiar sound of my organs catching fire, sloshing around and reconstructing themselves as those teeth erupted out of that fractured jaw and into my mouth. Tried to steady myself on the wall. Wasn’t the greatest wall, I guess. Fucking thing collapsed under the pressure. Tried again against the bed frame of the room I took a headfirst crash into, and it gave out. Metal ran through my shoulder and directly through the new screaming skull engulfing our windpipe.
“Sh-Shit…”
Crimson liquid poured from the corners of our mouth as our eyes started to redden under the strain of staying open and hydrated with a surely nutritious mix of blood, shavings and salt. Another bout of blood gurgled deep in my chest and through the hole as we stood slowly.
“Ew…”
Ew… the nerve of this fucker… Something inside of me snapped. While he was busy wincing and giving his opinion about the filth of the house, a small … something… in my head broke into the nothing. At least what I thought was nothing. Within seconds, my hands were covered in darkness. I felt an urge to destroy, my mortal soul wrenching around before… before nothing.
“Randall…”
“Randall… that’s my name.”
“Oh, this seems delightful…”
“Now. That’s … my name now.”
“Great… Yes, that’s—”
“I didn’t ask for confirmation.”
He couldn’t speak. I wouldn’t let him. But there was something else I felt for him. Malice? I thought I’d gotten rid of that. The fuck am I talking like this? What’s that smell?
I looked around the room, but there was nothing but stone and cold metal around me. Around us. He looked at his stone hands and gauntlets. I looked at mine covered in darkness and a stone-like metal. His eyes were a burning red enslaved by a sinister purple… And his was something of endless darkness and deepened crimson thirst.
“Ny.”
“… Ny… “
He took several steps around me, watching me carefully. I only followed with my eyes. Death harboring more desire than I could fathom. He needed to die. At least that was the ill-guided thought process trying to … Fuck, no.
“Is that what this is? Some past life bullshit?”
Peklenc stepped a bit closer, as if examining me fully. I watched him closely.
“You truly don’t remember? If this is some sort of trick, Ny…”
“First of all, it’s fucking Randall. Second of all, I remember this feeling.”
“What feeling?”
He took another step toward me. I felt a snarl curl up on my lips as his scent hit my chest like a good knock from Jimmy. My body wanted to lurch, but I held it still.
“Like I need to end your fucking life…”
He took a step back.
What’s his deal… wait… is he… scared? Of me? I stepped a bit closer. He took another step back.
“What’s wrong, buddy? Scared of little ol’ non-mortal me?”
“You and I have a history in this form.”
In this form… I took a second to breathe, my hands returning to normal, skin to a cold pale, the skulls now relaxed and settled into my skin, but I felt my eyes slowly start to churn and change like that of a violent river. But my vision stayed the same…
“Better?”
“Not particularly, no.”
“Whatever… Mind letting us the fuck out of here?”
“I didn’t bring us here.”
I caught the familiar whiff of a deep seeded Indica blend. The voice behind it was deep and smooth like a good dark roast. I didn’t think it was possible to get us high the way he did, but there he was, eyes slit down the center and glowing a dense red.
“I did. You’re not the only one who gets the S.O.S when you’re about to shit the bed.”
“You sure it’s a good idea for you to be in here with us? I mean if we are where I think we are…”
“You think I came in here alone, kid?”
He smirked and chuckled, a dense steam slipping through his lips as the breeze picked up slowly. Another set of red eyes popping out of the darkness attached to a rather large mutt-smelling man. Wearing the same face as the steaming lizard.
“Hiya, kiddo.”
“Ah, the serpent and the hound…”
“Sure.”
Uncle Drew snapped his fingers, the four of us now sat at a table, bloodied drinks before us all.
“Let’s talk…”
“Yeh. Before y’wreck th’rest o’y’house”
Peklenc and I both relaxed, and I’m guessing it was both simultaneous and obvious judging by the mischievous smirks on my twin uncles’ faces… Still… Felt good to see they’re still watching out for us…
-Hehehe. End. Kinda.-