So! I was going to rate this 16+ first, but then I showed someone a bit of the most offending parts and... well... she said it should be rated 18+, so it is. So! There is bad language (including the f-word) and there is definite sexual stuff in here. Not the actual act (it's all just talk) but it is a bit raunchy at certain places, so do be forewarned.
Just FYI! In any case, the rating for this chapter is NOT 12+ like the previous chapters.
-- Snoink
~
Lomones got lost seven times before finally finding the right building. And even then, he blinked at it curiously before daring to go in. It wasn’t that it was a bad building—in fact, it was one of the better buildings that were in town. But, unlike all the other buildings that were boxy and rectangular, the rooms of this building were round and spread out so that the building looked less like a box and more like a grape cluster. He stepped in and a woman sitting at the desk, all dressed in white, stood up and bowed to him. “Lomones, I take it?” she asked, smiling.
Lomones stared at her. “Yes.”
“We’ve been expecting you. Come right in.”
Lomones wanted to say that this was impossible since he had just gotten the address an hour ago, but the woman took him by his arm and led him through a door, her shoes click-clacking on the tile floor. Everything was clean and smelled like vinegar and lemon.
Lomones looked at her and smiled. “I hope you’re not leading me to a cell, right?”
The woman seemed surprised. “No, my Lord. I have been given instructions to take you to Segius. You are here to see Lars, are you not?”
“Who told you that I was coming?”
“Segius knew and told me to expect you. He said that you would have light white hair with a black streak.”
Lomones frowned and stroked back his hair automatically. He used to have pure white hair so that he looked more like a Potential, but after Elise was destroyed, the black streak came and would not leave. It looked strange. He glanced at the doors lining the hallway, but the woman walked too fast for him to read the signs that were attached to every door.
“Do all the doors lead to people?”
“Patients,” she corrected. “We call them patients.”
“Where is Lars?”
“He is in the section for the people who are criminally insane.”
Lomones frowned. “Is he a criminal?”
“You’ll see.”
He looked around. “It’s very white in here.” Maybe too white, he thought to himself. His eyes hurt from straining. The doors, the walls, even the uniforms were white. The only thing that wasn’t white were the candles, but they were encased in a white glass so that gave everything an eerie glow. Compared to the White Swan caverns, where they hid away from the humans and healed the restored souls in hidden hot springs, everything seemed sterile and dead. But the woman seemed unconcerned.
“It helps keep everything clean. Everything here is cleaned three times a day.”
“Three times, eh?”
“Yes. Under the White Swans’ suggestion.”
“And is it under the White Swans’ suggestion that everything is white?”
She caught the tone in his voice and glared at him. “Until White Swans are dyed other colors, I see no problem with the color white. Though I realize not all White Swans are healers.”
Lomones glanced at the woman, dumbfounded, but she just continued on, not looking. She had thought he was not a healer! For a split second, he thought of telling her that he was actually the head Swan in charge of the Soul Restoration Department and Medicinal Affairs Department, however he laughed it off in a moment. If she knew the truth, she wouldn’t believe it anyway.
Smiling, he followed her, enjoying how annoyed she looked. When they finally reached the room, the woman turned to him, her lips tight, and bowed. “It is in here, Lord.”
“Thank you very much.” He nodded at her, hoping she would leave soon, and opened the door. Segius rushed up and embraced him.
“Brother! It’s been too long.” He kissed him and turned to the woman. “Thank you for bringing him to me, miss. You are too kind.”
“It is my duty.”
“Here is a reward for your duty.” Segius tossed her a silver coin. It landed on the floor.
Lomones half-expected the nurse to refuse to take it, however her eyes grew wide and the first real smile—a hideous smile—came to her face, making her eyes turn small and piggish. He watched her crawl on the floor to get the coin and then smiled at the woman. “Be sure to clean it.”
The woman looked up, shocked. Before she could say anything, Segius pulled Lomones into the room.
“You don’t have to be a beast, you know?” he grumbled. “She does her work adequately enough. She’s not the nicest lady around, but who is?”
Lomones blinked. The room was all white, like everything else was, but in the middle of the bed was a man with skinny arms and legs who was stretched out and tied to the bed with chains. He looked asleep. “Is that Lars?”
“Who else would it be?” Segius went to the bed and slapped Lars. “Lars! Wake up. We have someone here to see you.”
Lars snored.
“He’s only pretending,” Segius said quickly. “The drugs wore off half an hour ago. He’s sulking right now.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. He’s the most sulky man in existence.” He slapped him again. “Come on Lars, wake up! Somebody very nice wants to see you.”
Lars snored louder.
Segius rolled his eyes and shoved his hand under the blankets. Suddenly, Lars’s eyes popped open and he howled, straining against his chains.
“Going to pretend to be awake now?”
“Stop it, you bastard! Stop it!” he screamed. “If you don’t stop, I will kill you! Did you hear that? By Diamea, I will kill you!”
“What are you doing?” Lomones cried.
“Tickling him.” Segius smiled at Lars. “Are you going to talk with your new guest or not?”
“Damn him! Damn them all!”
“Not the right answer.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll talk to him. Just get your damned hands off me, you White Chicken!”
Segius smiled and pointed to Lars. “He’s all yours.”
Lars shuddered and choked back sobs, but he glared at Lomones through his tears. “So what are you here for, you beast?” he spat. “Would you like my blood? Or maybe you would prefer to torture me in some other creative way. Or are you here for more information that I can’t give you?”
“I had hoped to be friends,” Lomones said.
Lars laughed. “Well, I’ll be damned. Aren’t I popular?” He turned to Segius. “Isn’t that the line you gave me, you Chicken?”
“Something similar,” Segius agreed.
“Well, I would shake your hand in friendship, however I seem to be inconvenienced at the moment,” he said, nodding his head toward the chains. “However, if it pleases you, we can skip the formalities and you can fuck me in the ass. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”
Lomones pursed his lips. “Wouldn’t you rather have some foreplay first?”
Lars laughed until he cried. “A funny White Chicken! Who would have thought! And here I thought that they were killed out with the Conquerors.”
Lomones automatically flinched. “I wanted to ask you some questions.”
“So that’s your type of foreplay, isn’t it?”
“I wanted to know how you met Uclepidies.”
Lars grinned. “Sorry to disappoint you, sweetie, but I’m just not feeling the moment. Maybe you should try to buy me dinner first next time.”
“He can’t answer any questions relating to Uclepidies,” Segius explained. “We’ve tried every sort of question and it doesn’t work, even if we give him a truth-saying drug.”
Lomones looked at Lars, frustrated. “So you can’t answer any question relating to Uclepidies?”
“Nope! An awful pity, isn’t it?” he said, smiling widely. “Now, my turn. You didn’t like when I mentioned the Conquerors. Why is that? Are you a Conqueror?”
“Don’t answer that,” Segius warned.
“What?” Lars asked, his voice innocent. “I thought he wanted to be friends. I’m just being friendly. After all, if he wants to dig into my secrets, then I should at least be able dig into his. A sort of reciprocity, if you will.”
“Except that you are not on equal terms.”
“No, it’s all right,” Lomones said. “I don’t mind.”
“But Lomones—” Segius started.
“Stop worrying. It’ll be okay.” He turned to Lars. “I am related to the Conquerors, but I am not a Conqueror.”
“That’s the sweetest story I’ve ever heard,” Lars said sarcastically. “Next thing you’ll know, you’ll be telling me about how you helped kill them.”
Lomones bristled. “That was your friend, Eurodities.”
“What a woman! I always knew I had a reason to like to her.” He shifted, his chains rattling. “Now fair’s fair. It’s your turn to ask questions now.”
Lomones bit his lip. “How would you describe your relationship with Lin?”
He smiled. “Best. Sex. Ever.”
Lomones flinched. “What?”
“You heard me,” Lars said cheerfully. “She wasn’t cheap, because I had to pay her for her service as a store designer, but I’m not complaining. She’s probably not complaining either. She was howling the entire night long. Didn’t even draw away when I came into her. Docile as a lamb, she was. Now, my turn. When was the last time you had sex?”
“You didn’t answer my question,” Lomones said, gritting his teeth. “I didn’t ask you about your sex life, I asked you about your relationship with her.”
He smiled. “I already told you. Best sex ever.”
“So that was the extent of your relationship?”
“Nope. Not answering your question until you answer mine.”
Lomones sighed. “I had sex a couple of years ago.”
Lars smirked. “I take it you’re not very good.”
Lomones ignored him. “Answer my question now.”
Lars grinned. “No, it was not the extent of our relationship. But if she hadn’t allowed me to fuck her, I can safely say that our relationship would be very different than what it is. Now, my turn. Does your lady friend like it when you fuck her as a Swan or as a human?”
“She likes it as a Swan.”
“Interesting. So I take it that she is a Swan then? Otherwise, things wouldn’t fit right, I imagine.”
Lomones smiled “My turn,” he said. “Have you ever fucked a man?”
Lars snorted. “Women are good enough for me.”
“Yes or no answer, please.”
Lars rolled his eyes. “No, I have not fucked a man. Now, for my turn—”
Lomones grinned. “You already used up your turn. You asked me if she was a Swan or a human. She’s a Swan.”
Lars frowned. “That wasn’t going to be my next question.”
“Then next time wait your turn and don’t waste it. Now, have you ever been fucked by a man?”
Lars raised his eyebrow. “No, I haven’t. Which brings me to my next question. Why are you so interested in whether I like male lovers?”
Lomones smirked. “Because I read an interesting rumor that you like kissing men on beds.”
Lars looked confused. “Where?”
“No asking questions. It’s my turn, remember? Before Lin came about, when was the last time that you had sex?”
For a long time it was quiet. Then Lars said, “Before Lin, I hadn’t had sex in almost ten years.”
“I take it you’re not very good then.”
Lars glared at him. “Don’t push your luck.”
“So this means that Solea wasn’t your daughter, and you knew she wasn’t your daughter. So, you are fathering a bastard child.”
Lars’s face turned red. “I am as much as her father as any other father is!” he cried out, straining against his chains. “I raised her as my own, I loved her as my own, and I took care of her as my own when nobody else gave a damn. I am her father.” He glared at Lomones desperately. “You’re a White Swan. You’ve had a Fledgling, haven’t you? Is your Fledgling less of your child than your real flesh and blood?”
Lomones shifted uncomfortably. “Here, this is where I found out that you had been kissing men on beds,” he said, taking out the diary.
“I don’t care about where you found out that stupid rumor!” Lars cried. “I don’t want to be here anymore! I want to go home. And I know I don’t have any home to go to. I know that everything’s gone. But I’m tired of being drugged up and tied up bled and slapped around. I just want to go home.” And then he started to cry, his entire body still hopelessly stretched out.
Lomones put the diary back into his pocket and watched Lars for a couple of minutes. Then he turned to Segius. “Do you have the keys to his chains?”
Segius raised his eyebrows. “Yes, but I am not unlocking them.”
“Then give them to me. I will.”
Segius looked doubtful. “He’s a sneaky one.”
“I can handle him.”
Segius reluctantly gave him the keys and Lomones unlocked his arms. His wrists were bruised and cut through by the chains and his muscles didn’t seem to move properly at first, but finally he curled his arms by his sides and rolled up as much as he could with his legs still tied fast. Next, Lomones unlocked his ankles, which were just as cut up and scratched as his wrists. Lars curled up into a fetal position and continued crying.
“Shh,” Lomones said, stroking Lars’s back. “I know that it seems to be a nightmare sometimes, but it’ll get better soon.” For a response, Lars buried his face into the blankets and hiccupped.
It sounded like he was kissing someone.
Lomones felt like someone punched him in the gut. He looked at Lars, curled up pathetically in the blankets, and then fingered the diary, still in his pocket, feeling furious. “A question for you, Lars. The last one. Did you ever cry in front of your daughter? When you were with her after Granid’s arrest?”
Lars turned to him angrily. “How should I remember? Everything after Granid’s arrest is fuzzy. I can’t even remember why I’m here.”
“You got sick, remember?”
“When did I get sick?”
“You got sick when the Black Swan left.”
“What Black Swan?”
“The Black Swan that saved your daughter.”
“Eurodities?” When Lomones stared at him, he bit his lip. “Either her or Archondid. They’ve been very kind to me.”
Lomones frowned. “You really don’t remember, don’t you?”
“No, I don’t,” he said, tears still in his eyes. “How many times do I have to repeat myself before anybody will believe me?”
“Hush.” Lomones stroked Lars’s hair and sang.
~
He is dead! He is dead!
They with tears exclaimed,
And in royal clothes of mourning
They hid their heads in shame.
But lo! See the flowers,
How they bloom and grow,
Not wilting as the dead may do
But in their glory show:
Their colors shine like diamond hues
All across once-barren fields,
And though cruel winter takes their lives
They return with higher yields.
So too he has succumbed to death,
And we tremble in the cold,
But when he is restored to life
The land shall bloom like old.
And thus in death his ever-glory
Will come to pass as might,
And Mistress Time will heal all
As has been destined right.
So take heart, take heed,
And let not despair consume your soul
For what has passed as wicked once
Will for all be all restored.
The tears that fall over death's cruel grasp
Shall transform into tears of joy,
For where he has trodden, we will pass
And never be destroyed.
The sick will heal, the lame will walk
And dance from street to street
The blind will see, the dumb shall talk
In glad reveries.
The wicked one shall die for once --
And her death shall be no sorrow.
For where there was pain, now joy revels
And Mistress Time brings on tomorrow.
So let us quit with mourning
And let our souls fly free.
He is love! He is lord!
Our eternal majesty!
~
Lars eyes were closed and his breathing was slow. “He’s asleep,” Lomones said.
“Don’t count on it,” Segius said cheerfully. “More likely than not, he’s thinking of some other way to be a nuisance. That’s who he is. I went to see his son once, since he was a Potential. Needless to say, it turned out to be a complete disaster. With that said, I can safely say that Lars is one of the crudest, most blasphemous people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.”
“Even in front of his daughter?”
“Oh yes. Definitely in front of his daughter. When I was there, she kept asking me what certain, rather inappropriate, words meant.”
Lomones bit his lip. “So if I told you that I heard that she practically worshipped her father, what would you say to me?”
“I would say that you are correct,” he said. “She adored her father. The rest of the town hated her, but he made sure she was always safe, and when she was bullied, he always took care of it in his own, admittedly controversial, way. What’s not to love?”
“Indeed.” Then, in their language, Lomones asked, “Does he know this language?”
“No.”
“Then can I ask you a question?”
“If you want.”
“Do you think that Solea is a—“ Suddenly a thin arm came and circled around his neck and choked him.
“So! My dear Chickens, it’s time for me to go!” Lars cried out. “And if anyone of you tries to stop me, I will bleed you. Do you understand?”
Lomones tried to push Lars off, but Lars clung to him tighter. “Get off me, you fool!” Lomones said, gritting his teeth.
“Better a fool than dead! Now, be a nice Chicken and tell the lovely nurse that you and I are going to leave this place. Otherwise, you’ll find that your pretty white feathers will turn a lovely black instead.”
Segius smiled and crossed his arms. “Good luck with that. He insulted the nurse when he came in. She’ll do nothing for him now. It’s me that you have to threaten, not Lomones.”
“Then I’ll use him as ransom!” Lars said, tightening his grip. “Release me and your brother won’t get bled. He is your brother, isn’t he?”
Segius raised an eyebrow. “Who said I liked him? Besides, if you leave here, where will you go? Lin can’t see you and you don’t even know where Solea is.”
“Damnation!” Lars cried.
Lomones gritted his teeth and focused on turning into a Swan. At first was blinding pain and then he felt himself. He blinked his eyes and swiveled his neck to see Lars. Lars was clinging to his neck, his fingers trying to dig into the mass of feathers. Lomones swung his neck back and flung Lars to the opposite wall. Then Lomones raised his wing threateningly. The single wing spanned the entire room.
“Don’t kill me!” Lars cried. “Please don’t kill me.” He spread his full length on the floor. “I have to do some things, please! That’s why I want to get out. I wasn’t going to bleed you, honest. I just wanted to do some things. There are people counting on me. Please! Lin, she’s pregnant, see? Things went too far and—well, you know how those things go. And I love her, but things came up and I had to deal with them and, besides, the costs for the trial for Granid were too much anyway and we didn’t want to wipe out her life savings as well as mine, so we decided to wait for a little while, till things settled down. We were supposed to get married and then I don’t remember what happened and then I found myself here and nobody is telling me anything and I’ve lost my daughter and I don’t even know if she’s even alive.”
“Then why didn’t you tell us this before?”
“Because you never asked! All you did was send mind seers to me so that they could break into my mind. And then, when that didn’t work, like I told you it wouldn’t, you drugged me up with things to force me to speak the truth. And when that didn’t work, like I told you it wouldn’t, you drugged me up so that I would be asleep and not be a nuisance, as you call me. You never were nice to me, ever. I accepted you once in my home as my guest, Segius, but now you seem to enjoy torturing me.” He looked up at Lomones, tears glistening in his eyes and tried to smile. “You’re the kindest one so far, but even now I am afraid that you’re going to kill me.”
Segius looked annoyed. “If we wanted to kill you, you would be dead.”
Lars sneered. “So were you singing me a funeral hymn just for fun?”
Lomones clicked his beak and looked at Segius. “Tell him to supplicate himself to me as his lord and master and then I can help him.”
Segius pointed to Lomones and said to Lars, “He wants you to supplicate yourself to him as lord and master and then he can help you.”
“I can’t.”
Segius sighed. “You are starting to get on my nerves, Lars. If I were you, I would just supplicate myself and save myself the misery. Lomones is a very fair Swan. After all, most Swans would kill you once you threatened to bleed them, and they would never be so patient with the sorts of questions that you dared to ask Lomones. Call him foolish or whatever other names you want, but he is kind and sympathetic toward your needs, even though he doesn’t need to be. Besides, you and he have very similar stories anyway. Lomones is the father of the Conqueror Mother. You, on the other hand, are the father of the Conqueror, Solea.”
Lars’s face turned white. “What?”
“You said that you didn’t know whether your daughter is dead. Well, she isn’t. Not yet. But she will be executed in a couple of days, if Lomones can’t prove that she isn’t a Conqueror. And, unless you cooperate with him, I can assure you that she will be dead.”
“But she’s not a Conqueror!”
“Then prove it.”
“I can’t. I—” He stopped, looking frustrated. “If this is just another lie to make me say anything, it’s not going to work. I can’t talk about certain things! You’ve drugged me, raped my mind, tortured me—if those won’t work, how do you expect this blackmail to work now?”
“No. It’s not another lie. It’s the truth. Why do you think we’ve been so eager to find out what’s in your mind?” Segius grimaced. “I’ve heard stories where the Conquerors forbid humans to tell other people certain things. I suppose this is what’s happening now. That’s why you can’t tell us now.”
Lars looked desperate. “You know I can’t confirm that.”
“But you just did.”
“Tell him to supplicate himself to me,” Lomones said again.
“Lomones still wants you to supplicate yourself to him.”
“I can’t.”
“Then get on the bed. I’m locking you up again.”
Lars cast a suspicious look at Lomones before going to the bed and stretching out his hands and feet. Lomones waited until Segius snapped the bonds shut before changing back into his human form, still with the shabby clothes on, though the clothes he had worn before were much cleaner. He winced and stepped forward hesitantly. He almost fell on his face.
“I hate changing forms.”
“Quit complaining.” Segius helped Lomones steady himself. “Where’s your next stop?”
“I’m going to see Lin.”
“A word of advice then,” Segius said cheerfully. “If you think Lars is bad, Lin is even worse. They’re two of a kind, they are. Perfect for each other. She also doesn’t take too kindly to questions, so good luck with finding anything out from her.”
Lomones grimaced. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He turned to Lars. “Do you want me to say anything to her for you?”
Lars looked upset. “Tell her that I’m sorry and I didn’t mean for this to happen. Tell her I’ll marry her as soon as I can and she won’t have a bastard child by me.” He turned to Segius hopefully. “You will let me out soon, right?”
Segius pursed his lips. “We’ll see.”
Lomones took out the diary from his pocket and held it up. “Do you recognize this, Lars?”
Lars squinted at it. “What is it?”
“It’s supposedly Solea’s diary. The diary that Lin gave her when she was still with you.”
Lars shook his head. “It’s not hers. Lin did give her a diary, but it had a blue cover on it, not a red one.”
Lomones’s stomach sank. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. She wanted a diary that looked like a baby ledger. And all my ledgers were blue.” He suddenly looked hopeful. “That diary had entries in it that made her seem like a Conqueror, didn’t it? And now that it’s not hers, she’ll be acquitted, right?”
“Perhaps,” Lomones said. “Thank you for your help,” he said. And then he left the room.
