“Leon... You know you deserve every second of this, don’t you?” Sincir whispers near the boy’s ear, “All of those women you hurt... Should we call some of them here, and have you experience what it was like from their perspective?”

  Leon doesn't answer... He hasn’t said anything ever since they started going through some of his memories of the women he raped.

  “And poor mom... She didn’t deserve to die so a piece a thrash like you could be born... You know I’m right. You know she’ll never be able to rest, for as long as you still draw breath.”

  “Just... Just kill me... I... I’m begging you,” Leon murmurs hoarsely, swallowing.

  Sincir sighs, softly brushing the man’s hair away from his sweaty forehead as he meets his gaze and smiles sadly.

  “No, Leon, I don’t want to kill you... I told you, didn’t I? I’m not here to judge your sins, or punish you for them... But you’ll have to do something for me, if you want the pain to stop.”

  His cheeks wet by tears, Leon stares at him hauntedly for a long moment, before finally shaking his head slightly. “I... I can’t...”

  “Shh; Yes, you can. You want to feel better, don’t you? You want it to stop? The pain? The guilt? I can make it go away...”

  “N-no...”

  “Your friends aren’t coming, Leon... There is no light at the end of the tunnel, not for somebody like you. There is only death... If not by my hand, then by somebody else’s, sooner or ter. Wouldn’t you like to start over? To be offered a clean ste?”

  Leon gulps.

  “It’ll all feel so much easier if you let it go... I promise.”

  Slowly, Leon nods. “What... What do you want from me?”

  Sincir smiles. “The nice vampire over there is going to walk over. He’ll drink your blood, and you’ll drink his. He’ll ask you if you want to become his servant... Do you wish for a new life, Leon? For something different from what you were given?”

  Leon swallows. “I-I...”

  “If you do, then you’ll answer to his question positively. You’ll want to become his servant, do you understand me?”

  Leon licks his dried lips. “Yes, I understand... I... I’ll do it.”

  “Good... Collin,” Sincir calls, stepping away from Leon.

  Blessed be his Soul, the vampire moves forward immediately, taking his pce in front of Leon and hiding the fact Sincir nearly falls over after a single step.

  Truth to be told, Sincir isn’t doing much better than the boy he spent these past couple of hours torturing. Mind spells might not be nearly as mana intensive as other schools of magic, but they more than make up for it in the strain they put over the mind of the mage casting them.

  Leon if lucky Sincir is as skilled as he is, or he might’ve become catatonic by now.

  Sitting over the bed’s edge, Sincir forces himself to breath slow and carefully as he watches Collin pcing his forearm over the young noble’s mouth, and then his own against his neck...

  Mercifully, Leon doesn’t seem to reject him, shuddering as he obediently drinks from the vampire’s open wrist... Then Collin whispers something next to his ear, too softly for Sincir to hear, and Leon murmurs a yes...

  Fuck, his vision is swimming.

  “It’s working... He accepted me,” Collin says, “I feel my blood running through him...”

  Sincir sighs. Realizing Leon has passed out in the vampire’s arms, he finally allows his facade to slip away, groaning as he clutches at his temples over his splitting headache.

  “How long were we at it for? Is the party still going?”

  “About three hours, I’d say,” Gracelyn says, “I think most guests have left, by now... But I’m not sure if Leon’s friends are still around.”

  Three hours... Lords, it felt like centuries.

  “Go down...” Realizing his voice is failing, Sincir clears his throat, then tries again. “Go down to check up on Adrienne and Leon’s friends... If they are still around, tell them Leon said they should head home on their own for today, since he’ll be visiting your pce, then bring me something to drink... I don’t care if you have to kill somebody to make it happen.”

  Having said as much, Sincir tosses her the room’s key.

  “Got it,” Gracelyn retorts as she catches the keys.

  “...By the way, I was joking about the killing part.”

  Gracelyn grimaces. “How stupid does he think I am...?” she murmurs as she heads for the door.

  Sincir chuckles. “Apologize to Adrienne for me. And if she is not down there... Track her down. It wouldn’t do to have one of Leon’s cronies kill her when she still hasn’t let me py with her- When she has done so much for us.”

  Once Gracelyn nods and closes the door behind her, Sincir releases a sigh of relief. Realizing Collin is staring at him, still holding Leon is his arms, he waves his hand exasperatedly. “What are you waiting for? I know you’re newly married, but you can’t hug forever... At least put him over the bed or something.”

  Collin grimaces. “I don’t know... I’m not sure how to handle this whole thing,” he confesses.

  Sincir rolls his eyes. “Well, whether you like it or not, he is your responsibility now... Might as well make something out of it. By looking through so many of his memories, I know Leon is at least capable of love, and a competent, if misguided young man... With time, he could become a valuable right-hand man.”

  Collin sighs. “By now, it must’ve become obvious I don’t have what it takes to guide him there.”

  “You underestimate yourself... Like when you thought you wouldn’t be able to control your urges if you drunk human blood again. Look, why do you think Leon surrounded himself with many of his so called friends...? He was trying to fill a void he didn’t know existed. I won’t say he was looking for a master vampire, exactly, but I think you’ll be able to crack his cold little heart, eventually.”

  Collin doesn’t seem to fully believe him, but he does rise with Leon, carrying him toward the bed. “Where should I start?” he asks, carefully pcing the young noble down with his head against a pillow.

  “You could start by saying you’ve had a rough start, and that he’ll have to work to earn your trust... But that you’re not his enemy, or at least, that you don’t need to be. I’d give him simple tasks at first, like mingling with the other servants to gauge their feelings about you, or fixing his attitude toward women... If you want, you could forbid him from interacting with them entirely, until he has proven himself to you.”

  “I probably should, considering his track record so far.”

  Sincir nods. “It’s your call. In any case, being so young, I doubt Leon will be the same after what I put him through, but you’ll have to probe him over time for how much, and in what direction, he has changed... Since you can force him to tell the truth, it shouldn’t be too hard.”

  Collin nods. “And what if he has changed for the worse...?”

  “You know the answer to that question... Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Tell him to stop seeing his current friends... All of them. Also, find a way for him to vent his feelings which doesn’t involve hurting others... You could try fencing or something. You both could improve at it together, and it’d give you an excuse to meet with him regurly, if not daily.”

  “...Fencing?” Collin asks drily.

  Sincir chuckles. “It was just an example... You try to think with a splitting headache.”

  “I’m sorry... I could tell you did not have an easy time of it.”

  “No, you don’t have to apologize... I’d much rather have you ask me, then attempt to do it yourself, and fail because you didn’t... And besides, you had Leon forced on you because of Victoria’s mistake, but I’m the one who is benefiting from the situation the most.”

  Meeting Collin’s gray eyes, Sincir smiles tiredly.

  “...Did I remember to mention how good that mask looks on you?”

  “...Are you hitting on me?”

  “Naw, it was just an honest complement.”

  Collin sighs. “What am I supposed to do if he disobeys my orders? I can force him to do my bidding at night, but during the day...”

  “You should try to force him as little as possible, other than when you’re probing him for answers... But if he does misbehave, you’ll have to think for yourself if you’re going to punish him or not; More importantly, you should ask for the reason why he did it. That should tell you all you need to know about how to proceed from there.”

  Colin frowns. “I’ll have trouble remembering all of this...”

  Sincir smiles at him. “Then ask me again if and when you’re in doubt; My answers won’t change.”

  Seeming to finally rex a little, Collin nods. “Thank you... This... This might not be as hard as I had feared.”

  The door opens at this moment, attracting both of their gazes as Gracelyn strides back in with a cup in her hands and a frown on her face.

  Adrienne isn’t far behind (now wearing the clothes she arrived with, rather than her “uniform” for tonight), and closes the door behind the two of them.

  Sincir accepts the cup gdly. “Thank you... Fuck! You brought me water?!”

  “Bar was closed for the night,” Gracelyn expins, “They wouldn’t give me anything else.”

  Sincir sighs. “No good action goes unpunished... I’m gd to know certain things never change.”

  “How were things downstairs?” Collin asks, “Adrienne?”

  “I lost my job, but I did what I had to...” Adrienne murmurs with a shrugh, her face showcasing nothing.

  “She went through a train in front of the whole tavern,” Gracelyn adds, her voice dark.

  Sincir curses, grimacing. “Sorry... I guess you probably need that drink more than I do.”

  “I’ll survive,” Adrienne says, “And I can’t become pregnant as a servant... We all had to make sacrifices tonight.”

  Sincir sighs. “You’re an awesome girl, Enne... Better than we deserve. Let me know if you ever need some help, okay? I’ll do my best to get it done.”

  Adrienne seems surprised by his offer, but she nods. “I’ll keep it in mind.”

  “You two should head out now... I’m supposed to be spending the night with Leon, so I’ll stay with Collin until he wakes up, and then leave with him... Best case scenario, nobody should know something happened tonight,” Gracelyn says, showcasing a rare dispy of intelligent thinking.

  Sighing, Sincir rises. “Right... I’ll just erase those runes... There will be some damage left on the walls; Sorry, Enne, but I can’t repair wood.”

  “I don’t work here anymore,” Adrienne reminds.

  “You look like you’re about to fall over,” Collin comments.

  “I’ll be fine... After some rest.”

  A proficient earth mage could’ve repaired the walls without leaving any traces, but the best Sincir can do is scratch the runes off with the same spell he used to carve them in the first pce... Somebody will probably get really mad when they come to clean in the morning, but that’s not something he can afford to think about right now.

  He’d say that he hopes the others haven’t noticed how much his hands are shaking, or how drenched in sweat his clothes have become... But considering that two of them are vampires, he is certain they haven’t missed it.

  “Collin, just one more thing.”

  The vampire stops staring at Leon’s sleeping form to meet his gaze. “Yes?”

  “When he does something good, remember to tell him he did a good job... It’s important.”

  The vampire nods. “I’ll remember it.”

  “Collin?”

  “...Yes?”

  “Good job tonight. You two as well, Adrienne and Gracelyn.”

  Collin snorts, while the girls both roll their eyes...

  Once he is done with the runes, promising to meet with Adrienne downstairs, Sincir leaves through the window (in spite of Collin’s protests), taking a deep breath as the night’s cold air hits his wet skin, then shuddering.

  Fuck, it’s gotten cold again...

  By the time he reaches the ground, Adrienne is already waiting for him.

  “I was half expecting you to fall and break your neck,” she murmurs.

  “Well, I’m sorry to disappoint...”

  Sincir wobbles, missing a step, and Adrienne catches his arm.

  “...Shit. Don’t tell anybody about this, okay? I have a reputation to maintain.”

  Adrienne smiles, upturning her lips slightly. “With how pale Gracelyn looked when she came to fetch me, I don’t think you have to worry about your reputation.”

  “Oh... I felt something was off about her, but I guess she did watch me torture Leon for hours on end. I bet Collin has seen worse, but it might’ve been her first time...”

  “I’ll walk you home,” Adrienne says, “You can barely stand.”

  Sincir considers it. “...Only if you promise to spend the night in one of our spare rooms. I can’t send you home on your own at this time of the night when there are cultist about, abducting people.”

  Adrienne sighs. “Do you have a bath?”

  Sincir smiles. “Sure do.”

  During their walk home, Sincir finds his thoughts consumed by Leon’s memories, both good and bad, and he has to make a conscious effort to remain focused on the present... Not to say to stop himself from simply falling over.

  “How are you feeling?” he asks Adrienne, after several minutes of walking next to her in silence.

  “Dirty... Humiliated... But it wasn’t my first ride.”

  “...You know, you’re not any less attractive because of what happened. Not to me, anyway.”

  “You didn’t see it.”

  “I’ve seen worse, and I’ve been through worse... Not that I’m trying to downpy what happened to you.”

  Adrienne throws him a look. “You’re looking worse off than me. You have this haunted look in your eyes... I’m not sure I’d trade pces with you, even if I could.”

  Sincir chuckles. “Magic is a wonderful thing... I could’ve cut Leon’s fingers off one by one, and probably achieved a simir result, but you know what? I wanted to give the young man a chance to go about things a different way, going forward...”

  “No good action goes unpunished,” Adrienne repeats, having heard what he said earlier, “...It’s a good saying. It teaches us to not expect a reward for doing the right thing.”

  Sincir snorts. “I’d like a reward right about now, though... Oh, I don’t mean from you. We both could use something nice happening, don’t you think?”

  “Maybe a magical portal to a different dimension will appear in one of these alleys, and catch our eye...”

  “And it’ll have a nice, warm bed in it...”

  “Just one?”

  “I don’t mind it if you don’t.”

  Adrienne snorts, and then sighs. “The... The worst part about it is that I want to hate them for what happened, but I can’t; I was the one who offered myself. Technically, they were sticking to the rules of the party, before I seduced them...”

  “You gave them a night to remember, when they did nothing to deserve it; I think it’d fair for you to hate them in return.”

  Adrienne stares at him for a moment, then blinks. “That... That makes me feel a lot better, actually.”

  “I understand... No matter the reason, having sex with someone you don’t feel attracted to seldom feels pleasant; Worse yet if they think of you as something to pleasure themselves with, rather than a person... You’re entitled to your feelings, Adrienne, even if you technically weren’t raped.”

  Something fshes through Adrienne’s expression, too fast for his tired brain to identify, and then she sighs. “Am I a bad person for wanting to punch each of them one time in the balls?”

  Sincir snorts. “If that’s all you want after what happened, then you’re at least a better person than me... How did you get them to leave, instead of coming up after they were done with you, anyway?”

  “I told them I saw Leon leaving with Gracelyn... They were disappointed, but drunk enough to believe me.”

  Sincir chuckles. “Good thinking...”

  The house is a familiar and welcoming sight. Unfortunately, Sincir is tired enough to have trouble deactivating the runes at the door, which causes Adrienne to look at him weird...

  “Ah, I should probably tell you this now, but my girlfriends live with me... Sorry, I was going to tell you eventually, but the Leon problem took precedent...”

  Adrienne stares at him. “Girlfriends...? As in, multiple of them? And they are not your female friends?”

  Sincir sighs. “They knew what they were signing up for... But I’ll understand if you feel like canceling our date now.”

  Adrienne sighs. “Nothing about you can surprise me at this point... Am I going to be lynched for accepting a date with you?”

  “Naw, if anything, I’m the one who might be in trouble... They’re good girls, if a little rough around the edges. You’ll see.”

  Having finally gotten through the rune, Sincir opens the door and steps inside, gesturing for Adrienne to follow him. Thankfully, the rune is supposed to reactive by itself once he closes the door again, so doesn’t have to go through the trouble of...

  Suddenly finding himself faced with six pair of eyes as he reaches his leaving room, all turned toward him, Sincir abruptly stops.

  Seeing Adrienne standing by his side with a look of bewilderment on her face, he facepalms. “Just so we’re clear, only two of these idiots are my girlfriends... From left to right, Esme, No, Eleanor, Ena, Rez... And of course, you already know Victoria. Girls, this is Adrienne; She brought me home, so she’ll be spending the night in one of our spare rooms... Don’t give me that look, she’ll go home tomorrow.”

  “Is one of them... Green? Hello, Victoria,” Adrienne murmurs.

  “Sin, are you... Are you okay?” Esme asks, “You look pale...”

  Before he can answer, Victoria rises from where she was kneeling, apparently having been painting Rez’s nails (a brief look across the room revels that the others have already had their done). “What about that Leon? Is he...?”

  Sincir waves his hand. “He is paired to Collin, yes, and all of us had to pay a steep price to make it happen...”

  Seeing Victoria breathing a sigh of relief, Sincir suddenly feels like punching her, though he contains his desire, turning toward the others instead. “One of you; Adrienne needs a bath, and she is probably starving... Speaking of which, so am I.”

  “I’ll make something,” Ena murmurs, already heading for the kitchen as she does so.

  “I’ll show you the bath, Adrienne,” Esme says, and then, while giving him a brief hug, she whispers, “Sin, am I supposed to join her?”

  “I think she needs some time alone... But offer her a change of clothes and some towels, okay? Some of Eleanor’s should fit.”

  Esme nods. “Tell me what happened ter, okay? I can tell you’re hurting.”

  After a short kiss, Esme gestures for Adrienne to follow her.

  “I’m assuming she is one of the two...?”

  Sincir smiles tiredly. “I’d appreciated if you kept everything you saw here a secret... If Gracelyn ends up finding things out from you, tell her to keep tight lips as well.”

  “...Of course.”

  “No, I’m sorry, but we’ll have to talk tomorrow, and Rez, I’m too tired to help you sleep today... Ask Ena or Esme for pets, okay? Eleanor and Victoria, you two follow me.”

  Having said as much, Sincir heads for the stairs, forcing one foot ahead of the other and doing his best to stop his vision from swimming until he finds himself standing in front of the room he shares with Esme.

  Entering, he heads for the bed and sits, massaging his left temple as he does so.

  Victoria is saying something and grinning at him, but the words are lost to Sincir... How many times is he going to see that damn dead dog before it finally leaves his mind...? He doesn’t even care about dogs...

  “...I don’t think he is really listening,” Eleanor murmurs eventually, mercifully interrupting the vampire’s rant.

  Victoria grimaces. “I can see that. Forget it... Why did you call me here? I can tell you want to be left alone.”

  Sincir clears his throat. “I want you to forget your past with Leon from now on. I don’t want you to stir things up with him... If you can’t at least be civil, then stay away from him.”

  Victoria rolls her eyes. “As if I’d willing go anywhere near that fucking psycho... Is that all?”

  “Don’t forget your part of the deal.”

  She raises an eyebrow. “Should I kneel?”

  Sincir sighs. “I’d love to see it, but ter. Go home for now... Tell your boyfriends they’re saved from their mistress’ stupidity, for the time being. I’ll look for you when I need something.”

  Victoria bows mockingly, then blows Eleanor a kiss, before heading for the exit... Her happiness and relief are obvious, but Sincir supposes he can’t bme her too much for them, considering the things Leon put her through.

  Once Victoria is gone, having closed the door behind her, he rises and groans.

  “Help me...” he says to Eleanor, “Help me take these off, please...? I feel disgusting, and I can barely stand...”

  Eleanor approaches him. “What happened?” she asks as she begins to gently undress his sweaty clothes, “This isn’t just mana exhaustion, is it?”

  “I feel like I hit my head against a stone several times, and the stone won... If I ever get to teach you mind magic one day, you’ll understand it.”

  Freed from his shirt, Sincir groans as he shoots his stupid shoes away and then pulls down his pants, removing them completely.

  “Take these and ask if Adrienne needs them back, will you? If she doesn’t, then just throw them away... I never want to see them again,” he finishes in a murmurs while falling back against the bed and covering his eyes with his forearm, “On your way back, if you could, bring me a bucket... I feel I’ll need it before the night is over... Or soon.”