SM Monthly Submission - Spider
Quick, very rare RL update: Survived a scare on campus the other day--we had reports that a man w/ a rifle (later discovered to be fake) was on campus, and it seriously had me (and others) freaked out for those few hours. Lytton: I believe I now know exactly how you felt.
Title: Weave of Darkness
Author: Arabian Red
Theme: Spider
Genre: Dark
Version: AR
Rating; R
Notes: Follows “Blood Moon” but I think it could stand alone (although it still might be best to read "Blood Moon" first). Rei/Kunzite
Patience-that was what separated the amateurs from the professionals, and he was definitely a professional. His face had been plastered over every single news outlet, often right next to hers. Yet he remained unfazed, as he knew as long as he stayed hidden, the police would not catch him. He was not amateurish enough to panic, to let restlessness take hold of him. He was Malachite, as cold and solid as the stone he was known as.
For the first two weeks, he hadn’t needed to step outside his penthouse to track her movements. The press did all the work for him. She had been released from the hospital exactly a week after the shooting. He had watched as Federal Agents escorted her from the hospital into a tinted, unmarked SUV. He had noted, with pleasure, the pallid nature of her skin and the bagginess of clothes that had fit just a week ago.
The Feds had taken her to her parents’ penthouse, as he knew they would. Of all the properties her parents owned, the penthouse was the most secure location-only one way in, and that was through the front door. He knew she would not be in witness protection, as she was far too well known to be stashed away somewhere. And, she would never agree to it. She would never agree to run away and hide for the rest of her life.
So, he was content to sit back and wait, like a spider waiting for its prey to fly straight into his trap. He had spun an intricate web, and in her current fragile state, it would be far too easy. She was strong, yes, but everyone had a breaking point. Everyone had a price. A limit. And it was time to discover hers. The time had come to get his answer.
He was finally beginning to understand why he had left her alive. It wasn’t the eeriness of the blood moon, and God knows it wasn’t his generosity, for he had none. It was the challenge she posed. The pleasure he took from toying with her.
The pleasure he’d have when he finally broke her.
The bastard was still in the city, and not in Russia, like the Feds suspected. They had pulled the protective detail because of the “sighting” and they simply didn’t have the budget or manpower to maintain the detail. Besides, it had been another two weeks after the fact and according to the Feds, he was supposed to be long gone.
Hell, he had been in the city the whole time-she was sure of it. And exactly how did she know more than the Feds? Because the sadistic bastard wasn’t finished with her.
The first envelope had been slid under her door, with her name scrawled on the front, the day after they had pulled the protective detail. She had thought nothing of the envelope, until she opened it and emptied the contents. Three empty shell casings clanked on the marble countertop and slowly rolled to a stop.
One for her father. One for her mother. And one for …
Rei scrambled away from the counter, grabbing the knife the blonde agent had given to her, and immediately turned off all the lights in the penthouse. Fear coursed through her-she could practically taste it, but she’d be damned if she let it cripple her. She crept from room to room, checking for anything out of the ordinary. After twenty arduous minutes, she finally returned to the kitchen, where the three casings glinted under the cool moonlight, winking at her with the promise of something more.
Rei immediately moved for her freezer, where a bottle of Greygoose awaited her. She knocked back the first shot easily, and then two more after that. The bastard was toying with her. It wasn’t enough that he had murdered her parents, that he had brought her within an inch of death. No, that wasn’t enough. He needed to claim her sanity, too.
The alcohol finally began to warm her, and that coupled with the rage that was brewing inside her suddenly made her feverish. She slumped against the wall and continued to stare at the casings. The Feds had said they had not found any casings at the crime scene, nor had they expected to, since Malachite always policed his own brass. And now, they were sitting on her countertop.
She didn’t know how long she stayed that way, slumped against the wall with a shot glass in one hand and a knife in the other.
A whimper-that was all she could manage, as his hand closed around her neck. His eyes were as cold as steel, devoid of anything except that hard, menacing glint. She felt her lungs burn, screaming for air. And then, she was staring down the barrel of a gun. She saw a bright flash of light, and then all of a sudden her chest exploded in hot, searing pain … her hands covered in warm, sticky liquid.
Rei shot straight up, drenched in cold sweat. Her skin was clammy, with her hair matted against her, and her heart raced from the adrenaline. Her scar burned furiously, as if it had suddenly inflamed. Just when she thought the night terrors were getting better, he had to invade her privacy again. She slowly leaned back on her hands, in an attempt to calm down, and that’s when she brushed against the envelope. A large manila envelope was resting on the pillow next to her. Her heart screeched to a halt, as she stared at the name scrawled on the envelope.
Rei.
In the same scribble that had been on the other envelope-the one that had contained the shell casings. She felt chilled to the bone, as if an arctic blizzard had ensnared her in its icy tendrils.
“Aren’t you going to open it?”
Rei shrieked-she couldn’t help it, as she instinctively threw herself to the side. She fell off her bed, landing on the wooden floor in an unceremonious thud. She was as familiar with that voice as she was the face that went with it. Her poor heart throbbed against her chest, as it had gone from 0 to 60 in a split second. She immediately reached for the knife on her dresser and peeked at him from her spot below the bed.
He was sitting next to the window, partly illuminated by moonlight and partly cloaked by shadows. His silver hair glinted in the moonlight, striking a distinct contrast against the darkness that enveloped him. If she didn’t know him to be the devil that he was, she would have thought he looked almost … ethereal.
There was no telling how long he had been there, watching her while she slept. There was no telling how many times over he could have killed her … how many ways he could have killed her. She instinctively gripped the knife tighter, which elicited a low chuckle from him.
“What, you think you can stab me faster than I can shoot you?” That’s when she noticed the gun, resting casually on his thigh and trained in her direction. While he wasn’t holding it, he could reach it, aim, and shoot her even before she took two steps towards him. And she knew he wouldn’t hesitate to put another bullet in her. That instantly killed any rash desire she had to unleash her rage and attack the bastard.
“What do you want?” Rei hissed, as she mustered the best glare she possibly could under the circumstances. Fear still coursed through her, but the adrenaline was starting to kick in-that and the rage that had amassed over the past month.
“Open the envelope.”
“Like hell I will,” Rei snarled, as she felt the anger taking a strong hold of her. He had taken so much from her-she’d be damned if she willingly took part in his sadistic game.
Malachite’s lips curled into a cocky smirk, as he saw the fire flash in her eyes. Good, she still had fight left in her. It wouldn’t be any fun otherwise, if there was nothing left to break. The games the past week were all intended to toy with her, to see how much more he could handle. He had waited a week to break into her penthouse, because he had wanted her to spend it agonizing over if and when he would make his next move.
He wanted her to agonize over all the ‘what ifs’ that had raced through her head. He wanted her to relive every second of her attack. He wanted to haunt her not only during every waking moment, but also during every subconscious moment. He wanted her to live in fear, every single second of every single day.
He would not stop until she broke, and he suspected that after tonight, she would be forever ensnared in his web.
“Aren’t you curious about who hired me? Don’t tell me you expect those incompetent Feds to figure it out.” Uncertainty flashed across her eyes, and he immediately knew he had her, hook, line and sinker-even if she did not know it yet herself.
“Don’t you want to know who wanted your father … your mother … you dead? Don’t you want to know who told me you’d be home? Where you would be staying? Don’t you want to know-“
“STOP!” She shrieked. Malachite could barely suppress his anticipation, as he relished in the wild, frenzied air surrounding her. She was close … so close. He practically sucked in the rawness of her emotions, greedily drinking it in like a starved vampire feasting on blood.
“Open the envelope,” he commanded. He eagerly watched as she reached for it. She pulled out the photographs, and the knife clattered to the floor, just missing her toes. She didn’t even notice, as her eyes were glued on the incriminating pictures.
“I don’t believe it,” she whispered in denial, as she flipped through the photographs. “This could be anything.”
“That,” Malachite described, “is the person who hired me … actually, acting on behalf of her husband. I’m sure you know to whom I refer.” She continued to shake her head, but he knew she was his. He recognized the signs-the slumped shoulders, the hurt and betrayal in her eyes, and the quivering lips.
“You’re a killer! You lie as often as you kill-“
“Don’t believe me? Listen to the recording.” That sealed the deal. It knocked all the air out of her, until she barely remained standing, looking like a deflated balloon.
Malachite was long gone. Rei wasn’t sure when or how-hell, he probably waltzed out the front door. She had stared at the photographs, unwilling to believe what her eyes told her was true, what she knew the recording would only confirm. It wasn’t until the next morning that she noticed the address of the cabin they would be staying in, as well as the dates they would be there. With it came a detailed map of the surrounding area, including a highlighted path through the forest to and from the cabin.
He had left her a blueprint for murder.
Title: Weave of Darkness
Author: Arabian Red
Theme: Spider
Genre: Dark
Version: AR
Rating; R
Notes: Follows “Blood Moon” but I think it could stand alone (although it still might be best to read "Blood Moon" first). Rei/Kunzite
Patience-that was what separated the amateurs from the professionals, and he was definitely a professional. His face had been plastered over every single news outlet, often right next to hers. Yet he remained unfazed, as he knew as long as he stayed hidden, the police would not catch him. He was not amateurish enough to panic, to let restlessness take hold of him. He was Malachite, as cold and solid as the stone he was known as.
For the first two weeks, he hadn’t needed to step outside his penthouse to track her movements. The press did all the work for him. She had been released from the hospital exactly a week after the shooting. He had watched as Federal Agents escorted her from the hospital into a tinted, unmarked SUV. He had noted, with pleasure, the pallid nature of her skin and the bagginess of clothes that had fit just a week ago.
The Feds had taken her to her parents’ penthouse, as he knew they would. Of all the properties her parents owned, the penthouse was the most secure location-only one way in, and that was through the front door. He knew she would not be in witness protection, as she was far too well known to be stashed away somewhere. And, she would never agree to it. She would never agree to run away and hide for the rest of her life.
So, he was content to sit back and wait, like a spider waiting for its prey to fly straight into his trap. He had spun an intricate web, and in her current fragile state, it would be far too easy. She was strong, yes, but everyone had a breaking point. Everyone had a price. A limit. And it was time to discover hers. The time had come to get his answer.
He was finally beginning to understand why he had left her alive. It wasn’t the eeriness of the blood moon, and God knows it wasn’t his generosity, for he had none. It was the challenge she posed. The pleasure he took from toying with her.
The pleasure he’d have when he finally broke her.
The bastard was still in the city, and not in Russia, like the Feds suspected. They had pulled the protective detail because of the “sighting” and they simply didn’t have the budget or manpower to maintain the detail. Besides, it had been another two weeks after the fact and according to the Feds, he was supposed to be long gone.
Hell, he had been in the city the whole time-she was sure of it. And exactly how did she know more than the Feds? Because the sadistic bastard wasn’t finished with her.
The first envelope had been slid under her door, with her name scrawled on the front, the day after they had pulled the protective detail. She had thought nothing of the envelope, until she opened it and emptied the contents. Three empty shell casings clanked on the marble countertop and slowly rolled to a stop.
One for her father. One for her mother. And one for …
Rei scrambled away from the counter, grabbing the knife the blonde agent had given to her, and immediately turned off all the lights in the penthouse. Fear coursed through her-she could practically taste it, but she’d be damned if she let it cripple her. She crept from room to room, checking for anything out of the ordinary. After twenty arduous minutes, she finally returned to the kitchen, where the three casings glinted under the cool moonlight, winking at her with the promise of something more.
Rei immediately moved for her freezer, where a bottle of Greygoose awaited her. She knocked back the first shot easily, and then two more after that. The bastard was toying with her. It wasn’t enough that he had murdered her parents, that he had brought her within an inch of death. No, that wasn’t enough. He needed to claim her sanity, too.
The alcohol finally began to warm her, and that coupled with the rage that was brewing inside her suddenly made her feverish. She slumped against the wall and continued to stare at the casings. The Feds had said they had not found any casings at the crime scene, nor had they expected to, since Malachite always policed his own brass. And now, they were sitting on her countertop.
She didn’t know how long she stayed that way, slumped against the wall with a shot glass in one hand and a knife in the other.
A whimper-that was all she could manage, as his hand closed around her neck. His eyes were as cold as steel, devoid of anything except that hard, menacing glint. She felt her lungs burn, screaming for air. And then, she was staring down the barrel of a gun. She saw a bright flash of light, and then all of a sudden her chest exploded in hot, searing pain … her hands covered in warm, sticky liquid.
Rei shot straight up, drenched in cold sweat. Her skin was clammy, with her hair matted against her, and her heart raced from the adrenaline. Her scar burned furiously, as if it had suddenly inflamed. Just when she thought the night terrors were getting better, he had to invade her privacy again. She slowly leaned back on her hands, in an attempt to calm down, and that’s when she brushed against the envelope. A large manila envelope was resting on the pillow next to her. Her heart screeched to a halt, as she stared at the name scrawled on the envelope.
Rei.
In the same scribble that had been on the other envelope-the one that had contained the shell casings. She felt chilled to the bone, as if an arctic blizzard had ensnared her in its icy tendrils.
“Aren’t you going to open it?”
Rei shrieked-she couldn’t help it, as she instinctively threw herself to the side. She fell off her bed, landing on the wooden floor in an unceremonious thud. She was as familiar with that voice as she was the face that went with it. Her poor heart throbbed against her chest, as it had gone from 0 to 60 in a split second. She immediately reached for the knife on her dresser and peeked at him from her spot below the bed.
He was sitting next to the window, partly illuminated by moonlight and partly cloaked by shadows. His silver hair glinted in the moonlight, striking a distinct contrast against the darkness that enveloped him. If she didn’t know him to be the devil that he was, she would have thought he looked almost … ethereal.
There was no telling how long he had been there, watching her while she slept. There was no telling how many times over he could have killed her … how many ways he could have killed her. She instinctively gripped the knife tighter, which elicited a low chuckle from him.
“What, you think you can stab me faster than I can shoot you?” That’s when she noticed the gun, resting casually on his thigh and trained in her direction. While he wasn’t holding it, he could reach it, aim, and shoot her even before she took two steps towards him. And she knew he wouldn’t hesitate to put another bullet in her. That instantly killed any rash desire she had to unleash her rage and attack the bastard.
“What do you want?” Rei hissed, as she mustered the best glare she possibly could under the circumstances. Fear still coursed through her, but the adrenaline was starting to kick in-that and the rage that had amassed over the past month.
“Open the envelope.”
“Like hell I will,” Rei snarled, as she felt the anger taking a strong hold of her. He had taken so much from her-she’d be damned if she willingly took part in his sadistic game.
Malachite’s lips curled into a cocky smirk, as he saw the fire flash in her eyes. Good, she still had fight left in her. It wouldn’t be any fun otherwise, if there was nothing left to break. The games the past week were all intended to toy with her, to see how much more he could handle. He had waited a week to break into her penthouse, because he had wanted her to spend it agonizing over if and when he would make his next move.
He wanted her to agonize over all the ‘what ifs’ that had raced through her head. He wanted her to relive every second of her attack. He wanted to haunt her not only during every waking moment, but also during every subconscious moment. He wanted her to live in fear, every single second of every single day.
He would not stop until she broke, and he suspected that after tonight, she would be forever ensnared in his web.
“Aren’t you curious about who hired me? Don’t tell me you expect those incompetent Feds to figure it out.” Uncertainty flashed across her eyes, and he immediately knew he had her, hook, line and sinker-even if she did not know it yet herself.
“Don’t you want to know who wanted your father … your mother … you dead? Don’t you want to know who told me you’d be home? Where you would be staying? Don’t you want to know-“
“STOP!” She shrieked. Malachite could barely suppress his anticipation, as he relished in the wild, frenzied air surrounding her. She was close … so close. He practically sucked in the rawness of her emotions, greedily drinking it in like a starved vampire feasting on blood.
“Open the envelope,” he commanded. He eagerly watched as she reached for it. She pulled out the photographs, and the knife clattered to the floor, just missing her toes. She didn’t even notice, as her eyes were glued on the incriminating pictures.
“I don’t believe it,” she whispered in denial, as she flipped through the photographs. “This could be anything.”
“That,” Malachite described, “is the person who hired me … actually, acting on behalf of her husband. I’m sure you know to whom I refer.” She continued to shake her head, but he knew she was his. He recognized the signs-the slumped shoulders, the hurt and betrayal in her eyes, and the quivering lips.
“You’re a killer! You lie as often as you kill-“
“Don’t believe me? Listen to the recording.” That sealed the deal. It knocked all the air out of her, until she barely remained standing, looking like a deflated balloon.
Malachite was long gone. Rei wasn’t sure when or how-hell, he probably waltzed out the front door. She had stared at the photographs, unwilling to believe what her eyes told her was true, what she knew the recording would only confirm. It wasn’t until the next morning that she noticed the address of the cabin they would be staying in, as well as the dates they would be there. With it came a detailed map of the surrounding area, including a highlighted path through the forest to and from the cabin.
He had left her a blueprint for murder.