Chapter 19 - Haunting slashes of crimson.
“I’ll repeat myself one last time. Yoochun,” Kit said sharply, fixing her unblinking stare upon Yoochun's solemn frame silhouetted against the moon with hooded eyes. “will lead Junsu, Yunho, Lily and Airi to remove the guard dogs. Changmin and I will wait for the all-clear signal before we enter the house. Remove any guards that come in the way. No exceptions. Do I make myself clear?” She snapped the last sentence, not expecting any objections other than a round of curt, affirmative nods. Kit swivelled her head around to rest her fiery orbs of tarnished sienna upon the glistening gardens with a soft, hazy mist of rain swirling across the dewed grass tips in a lazy spiral.
“Yunho, you are sure that he’s in there?” Kit questioned him one last time, freezing his impatient jitters with a stern clench of her jaw. Yunho nodded once, before turning back to fixate desperate orbs of tawny ochre upon the seemingly slumbering mansion.
It was all the confirmation she needed.
Changmin perched on the gritty concrete edges of the rooftop, his swirling orbs of burnished copper glinting in barely concealed anticipation as he tracked the soft footfalls of a lone guard patrolling the outer boundaries of the sprawling mansion. He could feel the familiar rush of exhilaration creep through his limbs, his body falling back into the habitual crouch that he favoured just before an attack. A soft, spring breeze whipped the last vestiges of winters lingering chill to tendril through the little band of silent, wordless and rigid frames huddled together in a pensive moment of expectancy, leeching the warmth from their breaths to mingle in a trailing cloud of crystallized mist.
With a single flick of Kit's wrist, four sinuous figures slipped away into the dark, their limbs completely swathed in midnight cotton, shadowing their surefooted prowls along the surrounding alleyways to vault lightly over the towering, bricked walls. Kit tensed her shoulders as a volley of barks erupted momentarily, prickling the fine layer of hair on her back into hackled bristles, a visible shiver crackling down her stiffened spine. Changmin bit back a snarl, his lips curling upwards in a feral bare of glistening teeth with his ears arched backwards as they flattened against his skull. A single, querulous whine seeped past his clenched teeth.
Kit laid a comforting hand on her nephews shoulder, her movements jerky and erratic with each thudding bolt of distress coursing through her heavy heart. She hoped that they would be able to make it in time. Jaejoong had always been vulnerable to matters regarding his family. She had respected his decision to pretend that his past did not exist, but she had not approved of it. And now, it had spilled over in the open after years of frozen silence and half-hearted smiles. She had worried and fretted over his curt dismissal of Hongki, but she had never imagined that Jaejoong, a man she had come to consider as her own precious son, to resort to such desperate measures. A tiny, unbidden voice, chided her flurried thoughts, stabbing a reprimanding finger at the stark truth that was already tucked into her heart. She already knew the answer- he had come to treat them as family, and did not want any of them to hurt themselves in an attempt to help him.
Kit jerked herself out of her wandering thoughts as silence suddenly reigned triumphant within the stilled night of hushed whispers. The barks had been abruptly sliced into a few discordant shrieks, before a deathly calm settled its dregs beneath their hooded gazes. The wind had thawed and slinked away in a soulful wail, waiting in the shadows with bated breaths, watching with avaricious eyes that blinked down from the starlit heavens. A long, drawn out caterwaul from a slinking cat sounded out within the quiet, signalling their joined infiltration of the hulking mansion which threw shadows to blanket the gardens with its vigilant stance, the stout walls rooting it firmly to the ground. “It’s feeding time…” Changmin whispered feverishly, a glint of madness clouding his turbulent gaze. Kit remained silent, her unspoken agreement wordlessly conveyed through a single, gripping squeeze of her fingers into Changmin's shoulder, before they both leapt down from the edge in a fluid jump.
They raced across the glossy, tarred road in a blurred flash, springing over the imposing walls with practiced efficiency, their muscles bunching and uncoiling like the well-oiled cogs of a machine. Padding lightly through the gardens, they wound their way between various potted plants and manicured shrubs to congregate beneath the damp ledge of a shuttered window. The curious sound of glass shattering into glittering shards tinkled throughout the pervading hush. One by one, streaking through the gaping window panes, the little party thudded gently into the darkened confines of a spare bedroom, their quickened breaths bounding noiselessly against the closed, wooden door.
“It’s time,” Lily commented tersely. “split up into groups of two. Changmin and Kit, take the west wing. Yoochun and Yunho, take the east. Junsu and Airi, you both will follo- ” Lily snapped her head up to stare at the white, varnished door, its ornate, gilded doorknob slowly swivelling to creak the frame open. A tuneless whistle pierced the edgy silence, the pudgy hand of a guard on patrol appearing briefly beyond the frame before he was whisked into the room in a soundless jerk. He could barely manage a caw of terror before he was stuttering and choking, a pair of slim fingers encircling like constricting boas to slowly squeeze the life out of him- literally. Airi had been the one to drag him in. She bared her canines in a hiss, jerking her hand once to bang his head comically against the towering bedpost, whilst a constant stream of whitish vapour streamed into her fingers.
“Where’s Jaejoong?” Airi demanded in a growl, flexing her fingers to throttle the life out of his rotund body. His chubby cheeks were mottled in dangerous hues of ruddy red, straining wheezes being gulped through his lips that were parted like a gaping fish. He brought stumpy fingers to scrabble desperately at Airi's arms, trying in vain to pry her vice-like grip away from the many folds in his neck. “Aww… Cat’s got your tongue?” Airi grinned, but it was more like a peel of her lips to reveal blindingly white rows of perfect teeth. Changmin snorted, a wry grin quirking his lips before his fingers snapped in an abrupt twist to spark a mini flame to hover in the small of his palm. The sudden burst of light threw shadows to skew across the room, melding emotionless masks of tense calm with roiling darkness, the angles and planes of their faces thrown into sharp contrast with each flicker of light.
“Answer her.” Changmin stated lazily, his fingers rolling the little, glowing ball of flames up and down, up and down in a hypnotic spiral. The guard sputtered and heaved a wheezing breath as Airi lessened her grip, his stricken eyes flicking frenetically about the little band of stilled figures with the whites showing as panic coursed steadily through his booming heart. Thud, thud, thud, thud- an erratic, discordant symphony that formed a shrill duet along with his harsh pants. Yunho sniffed the air, tasting the man’s fear colour the atmosphere with jolts of bitterness.
“I-… I- I don’t know what you are talking about!” He shrieked, his trembling bottom lip jutting out above his double chin. Lily rolled her eyes, stalking forward to sweep her hand forward in a broad slash to slap the man in a deafening crack. Junsu narrowed his eyes at the man’s pitiful whimpers, his lips pursed together in a grim line. He had never had any particular great fondness for the mafia and past experience had taught him that appearances could be beguiling. Junsu reserved no sympathy for the man.
“Alright! Alright! But, please don’t kill me!” The man screeched, throwing his podgy forearms above his face in a vain attempt to protect himself. “he's… he's- in the spare storeroom on the ground floor. The master just ordered us to put him there. I swear I didn’t do anything!” He stuttered his last words in a scream which withered away into an ominous gurgle as crimson splashes sheeted down from his neck, staining his uniform into a large blotch of thick, sticky blood. Airi wrinkled her nose, stepping daintily away from his slumped body to whisk out of the door with Junsu in tow. Changmin and Kit surveyed the remaining vampires, taking note of the steady blush of scarlet unfurling within their swirling irises, before they slipped away to pad noiselessly into the brightly lit hallway. Yunho blinked, clearing his tightened throat with an uncomfortable hrumphf.
Yoochun remained silent and waiting, staring transfixed at the steady drip, drip, drip of blood slicking off Lily's curled fingers to pool in a glistening puddle on the polished hardwood flooring. “C’mon. Let’s go…” Yunho murmured unsteadily, before striding swiftly away to escape the blooming tang of copper hazing the air in a fine mist of carmine. Lily waved her hand in a lazy swirl, signalling for Yoochun to leave whilst her head was still bent towards the man’s lolling neck. Yoochun nodded faintly and took a final glimpse of scarlet streaking the fine weave of the bedspread, like an unfurling parasitic flower that crawled its crimson roots across an expanse of virgin snow, before he trailed in the wake of Yunho's passage.
***
A cool pinprick of cold pierced through his numbed consciousness. Jaejoong jerked awake, prying his heavy lids apart to peer blearily at yellowed, cracked plaster. The bitter bite of cold washed over his pale naked limbs to prickle goose bumps over his skin. Dust caked the chilly concrete flooring in a fine layer of grey, swirling upwards in furious puffs with each aching shuffle of Jaejoong's bare feet. He drew his legs together, hooking his arms forwards to huddle in a forlorn, miserable hunch as he craned his head around the small room. It looked to be a dank, unused storeroom with only a few ratty cardboard boxes heaped in a gritty corner, a single swaying light bulb washing the confines of the suffocating room in drab, stark electric light.
Water dripped steadily down a stained pipe that twisted convolutedly above his head, splattering droplets into a puddle, causing ripples to mar the otherwise smooth surface. Within the eerie silence that bombarded his straining senses, Jaejoong felt around on the inside for cracked ribs, wincing slightly as he fingered the livid welts on his waist, vivid stripes that outlined Leeteuk's gripping fingers when he had- Jaejoong shied away from the thought, burrowing ever deeper in a state of hovering existence, shoving away any stray thought or emotion and pummelling them into a chasm of nothingness. He felt nothing. He thought of nothing. He simply sat on the floor, counting the constant pluck, pluck, pluck of water dripping into the murky pool.
A guttural shout jerked him back to reality, before he crouched in terror as a heavy boom resounded within the stuffy confines of the dank storeroom, the cheap, plastic door shuddering on its hinges before being wrenched woefully apart. Jaejoong threw his hands above his face, keening whimpers whispering past his lips as he scrabbled away from whatever it was that stood at the door. He clenched his lids tightly shut, a quiver wracking his frail body as soft footfalls travelled to his heightened senses. “Jaejoong, Jaejoong, Jaejoong!” His name was whispered in a rush of relief, before warmth enveloped him in a sudden swamp. “God jae, what the hell happened?” Junsu croaked hoarsely as he pulled back slightly to survey the whirling, twisting weal’s standing out all over Jaejoong's body.
Like a mangled snake, blushing streaks were whipped across the whole of his back with fading bruises in mottled hues of purple and clotted pink spotting his wrists and feet. Junsu traced the contours of Jaejoong's body with horrified awe, the depth of the mafia’s cruelty shuddering its familiar fingers to wrangle into his throbbing heart. Airi muttered a low curse, before whisking away in search of blankets, anything to still the spasming shivers shaking through Jaejoong's curled shoulders. Jaejoong remained mute and stared back at Junsu with helpless, unseeing orbs of dulled wine. Junsu did not need an answer to know what had happened. He recognised the familiar slackened jaw and blank stare.
Junsu felt a crystal tear slide free from his lashes to trail down a cheek. “No,” Junsu whispered, shaking his head to clear his blurred vision. “you are stronger than this, Jae. You are whole and precious and so much stronger than this. I’m telling this to you, nobody can take away your soul, only yourself. I had to learn it the hard way, but you, you can do so much better than me.” Junsu murmured shakily, pulling Jaejoong's slender arms to fold around his sturdy frame, breathing in a tremulous breath as he felt Jaejoong tighten his hold around Junsu's waist. Junsu buried his face in Jaejoong's dishevelled locks, a whimpering sniffle breaking free with the steady spread of chilling damp on his chest as Jaejoong finally allowed his tears to freefall. Even so, Jaejoong cried silently. Such strength, Junsu marvelled inwardly.
“Jaejoong!” Yunho cried out in a strained whisper, before leaping over the sprawled body of a fallen guard to allow Jaejoong to burrow into the enclosing embrace of Yunho's long arms. Junsu let him go and watched with a small smile etched upon his forlorn features. Yunho hugged Jaejoong's frail frame tightly, his body drawn in rigid strokes of a painters brush to paint tense lines that coursed the breadth of his shoulders. Jaejoong gripped the soft, black cotton with crazed fingers, as if he was holding on for dear life, the first keening wail rolling past his parted lips in a rasp, twin rivers of salty tears streaming down his ashen cheeks. Yunho rocked the both of them in a hapless sway, stroking Jaejoong's bowed head with jerking movements, his own silent tears brimming over within glossed orbs of roiling whisky.
“He will pay for every lash on your body,” Yunho murmured fervently. “I’ll find him and fucking kill him.” Yunho finished the last sentence in a maddened growl, his bloodshot irises narrowing to glare at the ruffled sweeps of dust lining the cracks on the concrete flooring. Jaejoong shifted slightly, tucking his trembling limbs into Yunho's shadowing embrace, shaking his head in minute twitches as he brought a hand up to clutch at the front of Yunho's shirt. “No,” he mumbled unsteadily, all the while shaking his head agitatedly at Yunho. “you might lose control…” Jaejoong trailed away faintly, his heavy lids sliding shut unwillingly, a wave of dizziness traipsing a merry stamp around the confines of his mind.
“No,” Yunho said firmly, bringing his hands up to clasp Jaejoong in a warm grip. “I can- need to do this. I’ve come to accept who I am, you’ve taught me that. I need to do this.” He repeated needlessly, gently prying Jaejoong's hooked fingers away from his shirt, exchanging a subtle nod with Junsu to watch over him in his absence. Jaejoong whimpered at the sudden loss of warmth, prying his fatigued lids open to stare desperately over Junsu's shoulder at the blurred outline of Yunho's back fading into the encroaching darkness that seeped insidiously across his darkened vision. Insidious tendrils of unconsciousness yanked at his adrift body that floated curiously above everything. Jaejoong hovered above the gaping chasm once again, a tired smile crinkling his lips as he welcomed it back with open arms.
Darkness reigned supreme- a great smothering hand that blanketed everything.
***
Boom. Boom. Boom.
A thundering crescendo of his heartbeats echoed hauntingly across his ruby irises, sinister spider lilies bloomed within his sharpened vision, their insidious petals curling outwards in a flare of rage and roaring fury. Yunho strode along the panelled hallways of dark cherrywood, eating up the distance with each swing of his long, lean legs, his narrowed gaze trailing the swipe of glowing lights flashing past his periphery. The heavenly scent of blood blazed its enthralling fingers with each shift of the air, tickling delightedly against Yunho's straining senses, threatening to blind him to the elusive trace of stale musk drifting in erratic currents within the air. He wrinkled his nose, curling his lips backwards as the sour tang of terror and madness crested forth from a dim shed of light, the doors gaping open to allow a skittering scrabble of feet struggling against the floor to travel to Yunho's heightened sense of hearing.
Yunho pinned himself to the wall, swiftly treading lightly within the layered shadows to creep behind the unsuspecting guard that towered above Yunho's head. The breadth of the solemn guard’s shoulders spanned and stretched the plain black tux into crinkled creases, his imposing demeanour unnerving the most composed of folk. But then again, Yunho was not most people or even human for the matter. The man seemed competent enough and infinitesimally more disciplined than the poor guard that lay in a pool of his own blood a few hallways down, but no matter how practiced his punches nor strangleholds, he had never been taught to fight a creature of the night. With a silent hook of his arms and a simple twist, a horrifying snap slithered down the carpeted flooring, a finalised thud concluding the last chapter of the man’s life.
A shrieking clang jangled the repressing quiet like the sound of tearing tin. Splintered shards of the doorframe lay in ruins near his feet in a loose smattering of debris, sawdust riding invisible currents in the air to contour around his hooded gaze, a single piece of varnished wood hanging awkwardly from a crooked hinge. Yunho brushed away slivers of bone-white pine from his fingers, stepping over the immense frame of the fallen guard to come upon the crouched form of a bare-chested man, his fingers entwining harshly with a woman’s long, silken locks. The man’s head snapped up to bore his feverish gaze at Yunho's stiffened frame, an ugly sneer still painted upon his thinned lips, one side of his cheek washed in light from the reflection glinting from a wickedly curved dagger still pressed against the woman’s bared neck.
“Who the fuck are you?” Leeteuk bellowed at Yunho's frozen silhouette, struck in an eclipse of time beneath the arched doorframe. Sweat misted across his back, the pungent scent of sex and musk rolling off him in waves. His cotton pants hung loosely off his hips, the engraved buckles of his belt still dangling slackly, giving Yunho all the recognition he needed. This was the man that violated Jaejoong. That dared to lay a hand on his Jaejoong. His. How such a simple word changed everything, pivoting his soul to careen over the edge and caress saccharine, molten, drops of purest honey upon the parched expanse of his heart. Yunho was completely and utterly Jaejoong's.
“You.” Yunho hissed in a snarl, striding forth to swoop his hand up, clinching the startled man securely within his tightening fingers. The man thrashed convulsively, flailing his arms uselessly about to do something, anything, to make Yunho release his choking hold upon the man’s neck. “You hurt my Jaejoong…” Yunho growled deathly low, jerking his arm in a swift slash to slam the man upon the pool table where Jaejoong had lain, hapless and chained just moments before. A river of Yunho's raging wrath bubbled forth and spewed over, splashing up rivulets of hot-white fury to prick against his rapid heart, pummelling immeasurable strength into his corded muscles.
Yunho smiled- a foul grin of bared rows of glistening teeth, pearly white and straight, two distinct canines lengthening and tugging from Yunho's gums to curve into wicked fangs. Leeteuk's eyes widened in panic, immobilising terror coursing through his veins to thrill jolts of dread down his spine. He screamed in agony, writhing about upon a backdrop of mossy green, feeling a warm splatter of his own blood spew forth from broken skin. He was splayed out upon the tabletop, his hands punching futilely at Yunho's bent back, the lean figure above him so, so very close, almost like a lover’s gentle embrace. This wasn’t happening, this can’t possibly be happening. He was dying. The moment the knowledge glimmered and wedged itself within the back of his whirling thoughts, Leeteuk stopped screaming. He let his hands fall limply to the sides, squeezing his eyes tightly shut for the inevitable, listening with quivering lips at the noisy slurps and painful tugs at his neck.
And just as abruptly, it stopped. Yunho pulled back, his teeth and lips stained with burgundy, surveying Leeteuk's pale form with mild disgust, a trace of pity outlining his drawn lips. The man’s body was shivering uncontrollably, as if with an ague, tiny snivelling sobs intermitting each wracking tremble. “You’re disgusting. You don’t deserve a quick death.” Yunho spat acidly, leaning down to brush his lips lightly against Leeteuk's ear. The man flinched away with a soundless cry. “You thought I would end it here?” Yunho murmured softly, trailing a fingertip to swirl gently down Leeteuk's bloodied forearm, tapping absentmindedly against his embossed ring.
Snap! Leeteuk shrieked out incoherently, his mouth wide agape, his eyes rolling upwards in their sockets, his back arching off the pool table to flop back unceremoniously with a distinct whump. His fingers hung off the edge, useless and wrenched, sticking out at deranged angles, a single peek of white bone between torn skin with his tendons still woefully intact. Leeteuk laid silent, drawing whispering breaths to thread wispy curls of air through his lungs, his lids shut closed with his eyes roving about maniacally beneath the thin skin. “That’s for touching Jaejoong with your filthy hands,” Yunho snarled, before flinging Leeteuk's body like a ragdoll to crash into a towering bookcase and flop down lifelessly onto the floor. Dusty books tumbled down around the crumpled man, billowing forth grey puffs to swirl a hazy mist within the room.
Yunho panted heavily, taking small, sure steps to hover over the man. “That was for beating him… and now,” Yunho crouched down, fixating Leeteuk's petrified gaze with roiling pits of auburn saffron. He reached out a hand to tug Leeteuk's stiffened features into the light. “you die. Cover your eyes girl.” Yunho said monotonously, his features smoothed into a blank mask of calm observation, as a deafening rip screeched through the room, the sickening click and grinding groan of bones popping out of their joints sounding a haunting melody beneath the overwhelming splick, splick, splick, of blood spraying on the blank walls. So much blood, Yunho mused, horrendous amounts that could spew forth from such a small vessel of life that flickered out of existence like a sputtering candle caught amidst a windstorm.
Gory splashes of dripping blood painted the walls in scarlet streaks, drops of crimson splattered across Yunho's cheek, filling him with the metallic tang of copper that settled at the base of his tongue. Yunho let Leeteuk's head drop to the floor with a finalised thud. He closed his eyes, breathing in a tremulous sigh, weary fatigue settling suddenly to drape over his drooping shoulders. Weeping sobs travelled faintly to his ears. The girl. Yunho snapped his eyes open to fall upon the hunched shoulders of the fair skinned woman, blubbering cries seeping past her spread fingers as she had brought her palms up to cover her face ineffectually against the sight before her. “Hey,” Yunho said softly, approaching her fragile form with cautious shuffles of his feet. “Shhh… It’s ok, I'm here to help you…” Yunho trailed away with an unsure twist of his lips, a perplexed frown contorting his brows. He had never been good around crying girls, much less around distraught, shell-shocked grown woman.
“Whoa,” Changmin muttered breathily, coming to a standstill at the lip of the demolished doorway, skimming his gaze along a strewn trail of chaos and jumbled debris. There was too much blood. Frankly, he was amazed Yunho was still on his feet and not gambolling about like a crazed, senseless vampire. Maybe Jaejoong really did manage to tame the beast within. Changmin felt like snorting at his own little revelation, but thought better of it as he surveyed Yunho's lean body reduced to an awkward, ungainly sway that kept making a move to touch the woman’s shoulder but then snapping back at the last moment. “Useless…” Changmin muttered, stepping over the dead guard with less than a glance to crouch in front of the distressed woman, rubbing an open palm comfortingly across her back in soothing circles.
Yunho simply shot him a grateful grimace over her bowed shoulders. Changmin rolled his eyes. “Shhh… Shhh… It’s gonna be alright… Yunho saved you,” Changmin murmured gently, not entirely sure she was paying him any attention. Warmth radiated waves of contentment from his open palm to seep into her curved back. She lessened her agitated, choking sobs into occasional snivels. Changmin felt a glimmer of pride rush through his heart. “He’s going to bring you back to safety. To Hongki, alright?” At the mention of Hongki’s name, she lifted her head slightly to peer glazed orbs of dulled mulberry at Changmin's burnished copper irises with desperation. Yup, she was definitely Jaejoong's sister- they had the same depthless pools of inky burgundy.
She glanced fearfully to his side, her eyes widening in recognition, finally meeting the curious owner of her brother’s workplace and home that she had only glimpsed through the glossy lens of a camera. Kit tiptoed gracefully and managed to gain her footing on the slippery floor, stained slick with glistening blood, to rest a steady hand upon Yunho's shoulder. Yunho nodded in understanding, before placing his hands carefully upon her small shoulders and hoisting her up easily to stand on shaky feet. She felt cool fingers encircle her wrists, and for a terrorizing moment, she imagined her husband trapping and dragging her back into his twisted machinations. With a jolt, she forced her harsh pants to even out into deep breaths, allowing Changmin to unravel the crude knot of ropes bound around her wrists.
“C’mon now,” Yunho uttered softly, urging her out of the room with hurried, impatient steps. She stumbled slightly, leaning heavily into his side as they both staggered out of the room that reeked of blood and harkened after them with a whiff of something darker. Yunho shifted edgily, longing to simply lift her into his arms and whisk the both of them away, anything to shield her away from the room. It was neither the sight nor smell of blood that bothered him anymore. If anything, he had long been desensitised to its thrilling potency. It was her that he was worried about.
Too late, Yunho acknowledge with dread, listening with perked ears at the crackle of ribcage bones shattering into small shards, and the telltale slimy shrieeck of a heart being extracted from a torn chest. She froze in her tracks, a whimper quivering her bottom lip as she stared unseeingly at the ground in horror. She should not have heard that. Yunho glanced over his shoulder to meet the piercing gaze of Changmin that stood beneath the arched doorframe, his masked features shrouded in shadow, before Yunho tore his stricken gaze away from the sight of the guards booted feet being slowly dragged beyond the lip into oblivion.
Tucking his chin determinedly, Yunho grasped a tighter hold upon her frail shoulders and pulled her resolutely along. He feared what she thought of them now.
{okay, kitsune can choose to either suck a persons life essence or eat their heart. the latter gives them more power, like much more power. and jae's sister hired a private detective to spy on jae so that why she only saw kit in pictures but never in real life. i apologise for the errr gore... but i hope you guys are satisfied with leeteuks horrible death. leeteuk fans please dont kill me *bows* anyways, i hope you guys like this chapter!! AND HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR *hands out oranges*(^_^)}