He rather slammed his head against the wall again. Who cared if he cracked his skull. He wanted everything to be done for, he wanted to be done for. But Kaz had done this to himself, everything, from the wounds to his thoughts to his actions, all had been his own doing. He could blame Mort for whatever had happened between him and the woman, but in the end it was Kaz' fault. He had let himself get kidnapped, he had let himself get tortured. He had let himself get broken.

Another scream, another slam against the wall. He felt lightheaded. Good. Just a few more and he would be out. The blood was everywhere by now and strangely, that didn't make him feel anything at all. His body, on the other hand continued to heal, making Allison's task only more difficult. Kaz didn't want to know what it looked like, but as the pincet grabbed yet another splinter, he could at least feel it. Kaz was by now just full on crying again, showing his weakness. Perhpas this was what the woman had wanted, maybe this was just another torture session. The cold floor where he had pressed his hands upon felt exactly like the cold of the basement. But his hands were free, he wasn't there. Then why was Allison hurting him? What had he done to deserve this?

This was a lie. He was still being tortured, he was sure of it. This might not be the woman who did it, but Allison was, which made her an accomplice, which meant she was conspiring against him. She had been lying all this time. And again heh ad been a fool to believe her. She let the maid inside just to toy with him, to give him a sense of hope. And now, now she had all the reasons to tear open his skin and start picking in it here and there.

Kaz wanted to say something, somewhere he wanted her to stop, he wanted to do it himself, but again the fatigue struck, making him almost paralyzed. All he could was stare, stare at her while she did the devils work. But wasn't he a demon on his own? The vampire whimpered as the pincet found another splinter. The wound tore open even further. This had to stop. This had to end. Kaz closed his eyes, momentarily back into that basement again. He wouldn't beg, he said he wouldn't. He had promised himself. ''Please..'' He spoke softly through the sobbing. ''Make it stop. I beg of you.'' So much for not begging.

He had begged for his life, for himself and hes egoist ass two times in three days now. Something he didn't want to admit, something he didn't want to think about. But it was there in his head, it was like he had no control over his thoughts anymore. Maybe you could call him brainwashed, but he had done it all to himself. The woman had only pushed him in the right direction or.. wrong one in this matter.

Opening his mouth again, he wanted to form words. But all that got out was a scream as she pulled yet another splinter out. This woman would be his death. He was sure of it. Who even knew if they were actually splinters. Maybe she was just picking at his bones now. Kruge had seen it all, its dark eyes focussed on the duo, not sure what to think. Kaz couldn't give it any commands, because he couldn't even command himself. All he could do was close his eyes, beg and hope for this to be over soon. ''Please.'' He repeated the word again, desperate. He wanted to bash his head against the wall again, but all he got out of himself was a soft bump. The energy he had gained from drinking the maid was all wasted. Again.

And just like that, it was gone. She left his leg alone and for a moment he wondered if his pleading had actually worked. Maybe he could set aside his pride and try it more often. After all, he had nothing to offer her, or anyone for that matter, he should be the one begging, not the other way around. He was nothing and he had already proven that two hourse in since he was fully awake. His eyes gazed around, there was blood everywhere. The iron stench of blood felt permant and the vampire closed his eyes again, leaning with his head against the wall. A deep sigh got out of his mouth.

For a moment it seemed he had passed out again, but not soon after he opened his eyes again. A new kind of panic seemed to settle, as if he had forgotten that the wound had been taken care of. His eyes looked at it, seeing the flesh slowly but steadily get together again as if it was the most normal thing in the world. It was then that his attention was pulled towards her. Allison. She had done this to him, she had made him suffer. But she looked like she was sorry. Could he trust her? Like he trusted her before? There was a flash of hate in his eyes, but it was soon followed by the oh so familiar feeling of defeat. He let his chin rest upon his chest. ''Please..'' He suddenly seemed to beg for something entirely different.

You could buy people with words. He had learned that by now. If you just knew what to say and said it at the right time, you were in, they would trust you and they would do anything for you. He had learned it when he was younger, he had used it for his own benefit, swindeling people left and right, sugarcoating his words and saying what people wnated to hear. It was with that ability that he had gotten so far in life. And now, now he felt the bittersweet taste of the aftermath, as he had fallen for his own tricks.

Trust was hard to earn, and even harder to earn with Kaz. Allison had made it that far, he had let her in, he had fallen for her. And now, now he was reconsidering that decision as doubt split his mind in two. She didn't understand what he meant and he couldn't get it over his lips either. The poison was coarsing through his body again, whispering things in his ears, saying the things he wanted yet didn't want to hear. The vampire shook his head, a way to tell her that she had to forget it. His eyes wandere to the wound, which still wasn't closed yet but somehow had made progress. ''Just get it over with.'' He spoke all of the sudden, even surprising himself. But now that those words were over his lips, who could stop him? ''Just end it. Just be honest and tell me..'' The vampire seemed to take a deep breath, seemed to struggle with the last words. But the poison pushed him over the edge. ''.. That you don't love me.''

Maybe he was cursed, maybe he had this all coming and he just had been blind to see it. Perhpas he had stolen from or swindled somebody that turned out to be an all powerful being that now punished him for what he had done. You could say it and Kaz would believe it. He would believe anything to this point. Except for her, for Allison. She couldn't be speaking the truth. After all, she had been the one to make him a Duke, to get him in a position he didn't want to be in, she had used him countless of times just for her own benefit. So what made this situation different from the rest?

Simply because she said she loved him didn't improve the situation in the slighest. On the contrary, Kaz looked at her with a face of suspicion, repeating the words in his head, trying to find where the lie was. She was crying now which made it even more difficult to tell if se was lying or actually being honest. It took him a moment before he realised that they were holding hands. Slowly, he let go, the touch making his stomach turn. Even now she couldn't even respect his boundaries. A shiver went through his body, feeling how goosebumps took a hold of him. ''You're lying.'' He whispered to himself, though it sounded way less convinced than it had been the night before. Maybe she was, maybe she wasn't. What did it matter? After all, he would be dead within days. Or gone for that matter.

The vampire pushed his hand against the wall, leaving a bloody mark while he tried to get up. He easily slumped back. He couldn't do anything on his own. The wound still wasn't closed, but it was well on its way. His eyes found the splinters Allison had pulled out. Was he hallucinating or had she actually picked splinters from his bone? The last thing Kaz wanted, was to starting to see things that weren't there. But they were already way past that.

His brother. Mort. His fucking brother had caused all of this. And Allison dared to talk about him like he had done something good. Kaz averted his eyes, away from his wife, away from the person he was supposed to be with until death did them part. Well, wasn’t he dead already? I mean, he felt pretty dead inside and he probably looked the part and aside from that, he was missing his ring. Didn’t that unbound whatever was going on between them? Didn’t that mean he was free to roam? She couldn’t keep him here. He could go out and find his brother and ask him what the hell was going on.

But he probably wouldn’t get very far as even after Allison took care of his leg, it was still a hell to stand on. He didn’t even want to try. The vampire let himself slide back against the wall, defeated once again. He couldn’t even take care of himself. It truly was pathetic. Meanwhile, Allison was still talking and still trying to convince him he was worth it and that she actually loved him. Kaz wasn’t sure if he could believe her. He turned his head towards her, confused, still suspicious. After everything he had been fed by that woman, his whole head was a mess. It told him not to trust her, but it also told him to not even trust Allison. It told him not to trust anyone. Not even himself. He stared at his hands, covered in blood and noticed how they were shaking. This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all.

A part of him wanted to believe her desperately, a part of him was still there that told him that she was telling the truth and that he had to act on it. The other part which largely overshadowed the good part in him, told him this was all a lie and that he was better of dead. And he was well on his way to get there. The part that was still him wanted to tell her he loved her too, but the poison held him back, almost strangling him. Instead, he looked away, biting his lip while he tried to keep his shaking hands under control. Eventually, he shook his head, not knowing what to say. It was probably better for him to say nothing at all.

Instead, he ignored the warning signs of his own mind. His eyes darkened as he thought back to what she was saying again. Someone had to pay. And if he couldn't get to the woman, he would get to the one who had caused all of this, even if it was indrectly. Kaz maanged to get himself up against the wall. Hate was boiling inside of him. ''Where's Mortimer?''