Vindictam de Tenebris (3/8)
Apr. 30th, 2012 05:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mmorgan317Author’s Warning: This chapter contains references to “Beeware”, “Last Grimm Standing”, and the newest episode of “
Also, some of the scenes will collide with one another. Like, this chapter begins from where Nick’s POV last left off and continues from there and Renard’s POV picks up..well, you’ll see when you read. ;-)
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Part III – Unexpected Sources
The angry Reaper charged after letting out a loud howl of rage, barely giving Nick time to react. With a strength and agility he never knew he had, the Grimm grabbed Francois’ abandoned scythe and swiped it across the Wesen’s neck. It was a clean kill. The scythe did more than cut the Reaper’s throat; it cut through to his spine, effectively cutting his brain off from the rest of his body.
Within seconds of Nick’s move, the Reaper collapsed at his feet, spraying blood over the Grimm and everything else around him. The carnage was gory enough to make one think that Nick had just fought in a war and Nick’s body seemed to agree. He currently stood on shaky legs, every injury from before screaming at him to stop moving. But he couldn’t, not yet. There was still one more Reaper to deal with.
He stood, surrounded by the bodies of the two Reaper goons, staring down the ringleader. On the air he could smell something that resembled Sean but knew that it wasn’t the Sean he knew, it was something else. Movement just outside the door drew his brief notice, but he was forced to change attentions when Francois started rushing him.
Nick tried to take a fighting stance but his right ankle chose that time to buckle, sending shooting pain through his leg. Choosing to collapse against the wall to his left, rather than his right, Nick just managed to get out of the way. He waited until the Reaper’s head hit the stone before he crouched down and placed his assailant in a choke hold. His body was weakening, and quickly, but Nick refused to show Francois that.
“What are you going to do little Grimm?” the Wesen questioned gruffly. “Kill me?”
Again, indignance squirmed its way through every part of Nick’s being at being called little but he ignored it. His hold grew a bit tighter as he answered, “No, I’m not gonna kill you.”
He forcefully hauled the Reaper up, something every cell in his abused body was advising against as pain raced through him, and turned him so that they both faced the door where Nick could see murderous red eyes watching them.
The Grimm patiently waited for Sean to get the hint and open the door so that he could be visibly seen by both Nick and the Reaper. Once the Captain was in full view, Nick nodded his head in his friend’s direction, “But he might.”
No sooner had he uttered those words than the air around them seemed to spark from unseen rage, sending little shots of bright lighting around the room. It took Nick a few seconds to realize two things. One: the door way was a lot wider, causing the sturdy stone around him to crack and bring little bits down on top of his head, hence the dancing spots; and two: the most magnificent looking creature he has ever seen stood where Sean had been only moments before.
Francois was right, the Wesen did resemble something of a dragon but it was more than that, Nick could feel it. Power emanated from every molecule of the creature. It soaked into Nick’s skin, seeping to his very bones and wrapping around him so potently that he had to stifle the urge to let go of his control and bow.
The scales were indeed the most beautifully colored burnt orange Nick had ever seen but he wasn’t given long to dwell on them as they soon changed to a deep, blood red. Cold red eyes looked at him and Nick felt his own blue-grey ones widen briefly in both fear and awe.
Nick had always known that Sean was hiding something from him, how he’d managed to bite Nick so deeply the first time they had sex for one, but he had never thought it was something like this. Sure, Francois had taken great pains, mostly Nick’s, to tell him as much and even went into great detail about the creature as a whole but seeing it in person was something entirely different. Still, the Grimm stood his ground, making sure to keep as tight a hold as he could on the Reaper within his grasp.
After giving Nick a brief glance, the creature – no the Regnant – turned its calculating gaze onto the Reaper. Slight shaking began to vibrate through Nick’s body, alerting him that the man he was holding against him was doing his best not to quake from fear and was failing miserably. The vibrations caused pain to ripple through Nick as they shook his tender and now excruciating injuries. He did his best to stop tears from forming in his eyes but they came nonetheless. Thankfully Sean’s attention was focused solely on the Reaper so he didn’t see them; for some reason Nick couldn’t explain, he didn’t like the idea of showing such pain and weakness to his lover.
By the time Sean did look at Nick, the Grimm had managed to dry his eyes and peered into the lizard-like orbs, to see what the man wanted. The answer was as obvious as the dried blood on Nick’s skin – Sean wanted permission to kill the Reaper. Given Sean’s status in the Wesen world, Nick knew that he wasn’t asking a Grimm’s permission, but his. Francois has done Nick great wrong and he was within his right to take the Reaper’s life, but Nick didn’t want it. Without having to think, the Grimm nodded that it was alright.
Delight briefly clouded the red eyes before the Regnant cocked its head to the side in a silent question. It didn’t take Nick long to work out what the question was – why not arrest he man, Reaper though he may be, for kidnap and torture?
A stone so heavy it could have sunk to the bottom of the deepest part of the ocean descended into Nick’s stomach. He hadn’t even thought of that. Why hadn’t he thought of that? Was his Grimm heritage, the part that killed without remorse, starting to shine through? Nick thought he was different from all the other Grimms out there but, was that only a delusion? Was he meant to be something far more dangerous to all the Wesen out there?
Bile began to jump into his throat at the ideas. Though he loved her with all his heart, Nick had no desire to become like his aunt.
Nick cocked his head, debating how to answer the silent question. When spike-driven pain stabbed through his head and neck, the Grimm cringed, giving a wince as his body simply froze in discomfort. The pain in his head was nothing compared to what he felt in his side a few seconds later though. Breathtaking agony swept viciously through his right side, starting where the, now, broken ribs resided and spreading out from there. Unable to stop himself, Nick gave a long cry of pain, releasing his hold on the Reaper and falling to floor. He curled into a protective ball, gasping, cringing and gritting his teeth as he moved. The tears from before now freely spilled out of his eyes, dropping onto the stone floor in quick succession.
In the background the Grimm could hear conversation going on but the only thing his mind could truly focus on was the pain the ravaged his body. The floor wasn’t too comfortable on his injuries, the only one actually liking the position was his hurting ankle, but he didn’t have the strength to move; that was, until he heard a roar filled with nothing but pain.
Something stirred within him at the sound. It was hard to identify at first because he had never felt it before. Yes, Nick was a very protective person. He cared deeply about every friend in his life and would gladly trade his life for theirs but this was something else altogether. This was an unadulterated instinct to protect at all costs. It felt a bit military thinking about it like that but there was no other way to describe it.
Without so much as thinking about his own injuries, Nick moved so quickly that everything was over before his mind had even had a chance to discern what had happened. He grabbed the scythe that Francois had used and thrust it so deeply into the Reaper that the entire length of the blade now resided within the man.
The Reaper uttered what sounded to Nick like a surprised choking sound then fell lifelessly to the floor. Realizing that its work was done, Nick’s body began to slowly shut down. The Grimm had just enough time to see Sean change from the Regnant to human before the darkness finally claimed what was its.
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Sean sat on his back legs, guarding his injured shoulder and staring at the scene before him. The filth that was Leroux drew back to strike again, this time with murderous intent. Despite the pain pulsing in his shoulder, the Regnant moved forward so that it was easier for him to defend himself. But just when the Reaper started to swing forward, he stopped and his weapon clattered to the floor with a hollow clunk. Another scythe was sticking out of Leroux’s chest with blood freely dripping of the portion that now stuck out of it. When the Reaper collapsed onto the floor, all that was left was Nick.
The Grimm’s stance was determined and hard, looking as though there wasn’t a single injury on his body, though Sean knew it to be otherwise. Those blue-grey eyes that Sean loved to stare at were now clouded with something the Regnant had never seen from Nick; pure rage.
For a moment, Sean couldn’t see “Nick the Cop” or “Nick the abnormal Grimm”, all he saw was the legacy of Nick’s ancestors coming alive within him. All he saw was a Grimm, a Grimm who looked ready to kill anything else that gave him even the slightest bit of a reason to. Strength and power such as Sean had never felt poured off Nick, making the Regnant want to cower and hide for the briefest of seconds.
When Nick started to sway, however, Sean knew that the man had pushed himself far past his limits and his body had slowly started to give up. Quickly, the Captain morphed from Regnant to himself, leaving only his wings so that he could catch the Grimm before he hit the hard ground and caused himself further injury. The strain of the weight pulled a little on his hurting shoulder but Sean ignored it as his other wing came around to share some of the weight. He cradled Nick as though he were in a hammock then pulled out his phone to call Adalind.
“Are you ready for us?” she asked, knowing full well why he had called.
“Yes,” he answered a little tiredly. He looked down at Nick and added, “Have one of your sisters pick up my car.” It would have been faster for him to morph back into his Regnant form and fly Nick back to the city but Sean was injured and not as strong as he normally was. He would not take the risk of dropping Nick. Besides, one of the Hexenbiests had been a field medic in
“Already done,” Adalind answered tonelessly. “We’re almost there as we speak.”
“Good,” Sean answered as he gently placed Nick onto the floor. The Grimm quietly whimpered in his sleep as some of his injuries were jostled but gave no other sign of consciousness. Sean softened his tone considerably as he added, “And Adalind? Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” she said and then hung up.
Though she was pretending otherwise, Sean knew his gratitude had meant a lot. He knew that she cared about him, maybe even loved him in her own way, and those feelings were returned in full. There had been a time when he had been certain that she was “the one” and he had treated her as such. Until Nick had come along that is, then things had changed.
Every time Sean had called on Adiland from then onwards, always had something to do with the Grimm. Whether it was to kill said Grimm’s aunt, to protect him when he didn’t know it, or to bring him over to their side via his friend and work partner Hank, it always included Nick to a degree. While at the art museum, Sean had heard the jealousy in her voice as they had spoken and he’d tried to appease it by giving her arm a sensual caress but it hadn’t worked. To some degree, she had known that they were losing what they had because of Nick and she hadn’t liked it one bit.
It hadn’t been until she had willingly allowed Nick to get stabbed in the shoulder that Sean had begun to realize just how much she didn’t approve.
Nick had gone to the Lowen games to rescue his friend and side partner, Eddie Monroe. Being the cop that he was, he had told Hank to bring back-up first but that had done little to help him until it actually arrived. He’d stalled for time well enough, beating Dimitri Scantos at his own game and knocking him unconscious.
Sean knew that the Blutbad had been taken and so he had sent Adalind to the game to make sure that no harm had come to Nick. He knew that all Hexenbiests knew Nick was off limits but he wanted to make sure that he had someone specifically there to keep the Grimm safe thus giving himself someone to blame if something happened to Nick.
It seemed one particular Hexenbiest had chosen to ignore his warning, however, and when the gates to the fighting cage opened, she had been the first one inside. Adalind had idly watched on the sidelines as Nick had been tackled to the ground. The Hexenbiest had quickly stuck the knife into the Grimm’s shoulder and had fled just as back-up had arrived.
Later, at the hospital, when he’d been interviewed by Hank and Sean, Nick had said that he hadn’t expected the blow and that was why he’d been taken so off guard. Hank had, of coursed teased his partner about being a softy, claiming that it was because it had been a woman that had tackled but Sean knew the truth. The Grimm had been surprised to see a Hexenbiest at the Lowen games.
Sean had left the hospital and headed home, knowing that Adalind would be there waiting for him. He hadn’t spared her as he unleashed his fury at her. She’d given him a marvelous pout more than once but it had had no effect on him. He’d managed to refrain from yelling but the venom in his voice had been thirty times what it was whenever he was mad as he had quietly told her that if she did something like that again, she would end up like Serena and Camilla only it wouldn’t be from bee venom.
Tears had flowed freely from her eyes at his threat but she had managed to hold his eye contact, evenly staring at him though there was pain in her eyes. She’d promised that she would do as he wished from now on and left, saying that he should think of how he truly felt about the Grimm because if he got this worked up over “a petty thing like a stab wound”, he obviously had more in mind than just his own ambitions.
From then on Adalind had done as she was instructed but she didn’t keep company with him unless she absolutely had to. When Sean had slowly begun a relationship with Nick, Adalind had refused to help him altogether for quite a few months. It had taken Nick getting shot while bodily protecting Sean for her to slowly come around. She had seen just how much the Grimm cared about Sean and though she had wanted it to be her the Regnant loved, she had been willing to accept that they would never have worked. She still wasn’t overly friendly with Nick, their past was constantly tripping them up, but the two had come to an understanding of commonality.
Screeches and howls brought Sean out of his reverie and back to the present. He didn’t know how much time had passed while he’d zoned out but in that time, he’d managed to take Nick upstairs, placed him on the couch, and replace Nick’s dirty and bloodstained “bandages” with some clean clothing he’d apparently found in the cottage. The hand wound was no longer bleeding but it was an open wound so he’d wrapped that and kept his hands pressing down on the barely-there-bleeding of the torso wound.
“Enjoyed yourself, I see,” Adalind commented dryly as she entered the cottage. When Sean didn’t answer she gave a long-suffering sigh and asked, “What’s wrong with him?”
“Send Aubrey in with her kit,” Sean answered, knowing that the ex-military Hexenbiest always carried supplies with her at times like this. She’d been the one to semi-patch Sean’s shoulder up before he continued looking for Nick, though it needed work once again.
Retreating footsteps told Sean that Adalind was doing what she’d been told but the woman herself hadn’t said a word as she left. Sean continued to stare down at his sleeping Grimm. It should have been a crime how serene the man looked in his sleep though he was badly hurt. When Sean began to caress Nick’s face, blue-grey eyes fluttered open.
“You okay?” Nick asked, his voice strained and full of pain.
Sean gave a slight nod and said, “Thanks to you.”
“Guess I’m not the only one who needs protecting huh?” Nick joked then slowly fell back to sleep. The conversation had been brief but it had been enough to sap what little energy the Grimm had gained from passing out.
“I hear I have a patient,” Aubrey’s gentle alto voice commented, thus announcing her presence.
Sean turned around to stare at the brunette. Her words may have been teasing but there was nothing but concern in her honey eyes as she slowly walked over to where Nick was lying.
Though she too was a Hexenbiest, Aubrey Clark was one of the sweetest people Sean knew. She wasn’t like Adalind who was catty, vindictive and conniving. She had a heart and she cared about those in pain. It was true she’d gone to war for her country but it wasn’t the human side of her that had commanded her to, it was the Hexenbiest. The Wesen within had reveled in the carnage and pain it had caused but Aubrey’s true nature couldn’t be denied and soon she had become a field medic instead. When she had been discharged from the military, she had completed her medical training and had become a doctor. Now, at the age of forty, she was the most sought after concierge doctor in west coast.
Aubrey knelt by Nick, gently pushing Sean aside, and began to examine the unconscious man. Once she’d finished her cursory exam, she sighed, “Well he should be taken to a hospital as soon as possible,” she paused to pointedly look at Sean. Upon seeing that he was not about to do any such thing she continued, “but I’ll get him stabilized for the drive to your place where I will perform a complete examination.”
She went back to her work, carefully inserting needles where they needed to be and performing basic first aid for most of Nick’s injuries. Nick groaned every so often but Aubrey was able to soothe him with a few words in some language or another. It was a technique Sean knew well; when trying to calm a person in pain, English (or German or any other coarse language) rarely helped. Often times, she ended up speaking Latin (or any other latin-based language) because of its almost musical quality.
When she was finished she looked back up at Sean. “You’ll have to come up with a reason for his medical leave,” she warned. “He won’t be up and moving for at least a couple of weeks.”
“It doesn’t look that bad to me,” Adalind pouted from somewhere behind him.
Sean didn’t need to fix the lawyer with a glare as her friend did it for her. “Well when you get sliced from hip bone to collar bone with a scythe, I’ll be sure to remind you of that.”
“How deep?” Sean asked, breaking up a potentially violent argument before it began.
“The weapon sliced through several layers of dermis and muscle but with a lot of stitching and even more rest, he’ll be fine. I’ve already started him on antibiotics to fight infection and, as you can see,” she waved a hand to a bag filled with red liquid, “have started a transfusion but that’s all I can do for now.” She looked around for a moment, seemingly to find something then addressed Adalind, “Go into Renard’s car and grab the backboard in the trunk.” When Adalind crossed her arms in defiance, demanding an apology, Aubrey’s Hexenbiest came out and snarled; she wasn’t in the mood for the blonde’s adolescent games.
Being the younger, and less practiced, of the two, Adalind did as she was told, giving an exasperated eye roll before she did so.
“I thought she’d gotten over her desire for revenge,” Aubrey commented as Adalind left. Indicating what she meant, she gave a quick look down at her patient then back up at Sean.
“She has,” Sean replied gruffly. The Regnant and protective personality within him was getting more and more anxious to get Nick back to his place and in safety. Adalind’s constant meandering was adding to a headache that was slowly screaming its presence and was beginning to wear down his patience. It was a combination that would not bode well for her if she continued the act. He raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose and winced when he realized he had done it with his injured arm.
Aubrey stared at him thoughtfully, “Let me look at your shoulder while we wait.”
“It’ll be fine,” Sean argued, only wanting her attention on Nick. He nodded his head over to where Leroux lay sprawled and lifeless, “The vermin reopened the wound in hopes of getting away,” a brief, satisfied smile came onto his face as he remembered, “but he hadn’t counted on the Grimm behind him.”
The medic raised an eyebrow then smiled, “You’ll have to fill me when while I work.” She sighed and looked down at Nick, “This may take awhile.”
“Will you need help?” Adalind’s voice asked, surprising Sean as he hadn’t noticed her arrival. He must be beginning to wear down as well if she was able to sneak up on him.
Hearing the sincerity within the question, Aubrey smiled at her friend as she took the board from her, “No,” she said before glancing at Sean who nodded his consent and approval, “I think we’ve got it covered.”
Knowing what was expected of them, Sean and Adalind helped Aubrey get Nick onto the board where it was easier to stabilize his injuries. The Grimm groaned deep in his throat, breaking Sean and Aubrey’s hearts and Aubrey bent down to whisper in his ear.
As soon as Nick was quiet, Adalind and Aubrey changed into their Hexenbiest forms and grabbed the handles for the board. Stronger in their Wesen forms, the two women carried Nick out to Sean’s waiting SUV like they were carrying Styrofoam and gently placed him in the back seat. Cradling his hurting arm against his chest, Sean followed, managing to look regal and powerful as he moved.
Aubrey remained standing outside the back doors of the vehicle, silently waiting for him to approach. When he came face to face with her, she nodded her head to the open spot by Nick’s head and said, “Get in. You are not driving in your condition.”
Sean’s spine straightened at his apparent weakness. The doctor, who had changed back to her human form, continued to stare at him defiantly. “I have told you, I am fine.”
“Yes you did, and I don’t believe you. Besides, it won’t be easy for you to drive with your shoulder the way it is. I know you heal fast Renard but you don’t heal that fast.” She pointed to the spot once again and commanded, “Now get in before I bodily force you in.”
To say that Sean wasn’t used to someone standing up to him in such a way would be an understatement. He knew that Aubrey knew who he was, their years of knowing one another ensured that, and yet she still dared to challenge and command him?
Oh he knew that the woman wouldn’t be able to actually force him in by herself, even in Wesen form he was much stronger and heavier than her, but with her surrounded by several other Hexenbiests, he wasn’t exactly sure. He saw Adalind’s eyes grow bright with laughter and anticipation at the suggestion; he knew she would be only too glad to manhandle him after the way he’s treated her in the past. But it wasn’t that which forced him to comply. It was that he wanted to be by Nick, to protect, guard and soothe him until they were home.
“Fine, but do not think I will let you get away with your insolent behavior,” he warned.
“Insolent?” she scoffed as he slowly climbed into the SUV. “You haven’t met many doctors have you my king?”
Sean’s head snapped to face her. The use of his title wasn’t unwelcome but the sarcastic and almost casual tone in which it was said was.
Aubrey held up her hands in a calming and surrendering manner, “I meant no disrespect by the tone,” she cooed softly but her eyes grew hard. “You are my king and I accept that. But you must accept that when it comes to matters of health, I am the royalty, not you. You may be the Protector of Portland but I am the one that keeps you healthy and it is on my word when Mr. Burkhardt is able to return to his duties.” Her eyes slid back to their usual chiding look, “or when he is able to perform physical activity of any kind.”
Again, Sean was dumfounded but he hid it behind a calm and calculating façade. He knew that she was right of course but he wasn’t about to show defeat in public.
“We will speak when we get to my house,” he stated in warning.
It seemed to be good enough for Aubrey. She nodded her head before closing the door.
He rolled the window down and looked over at Adalind who stood off to the side, waiting for his instructions.
“Clean everything. I don’t want any of this getting back to Nick or me.”
Adalind nodded just as the vehicle hummed to life. She opened her mouth as though to say something then shut it again but Sean knew that she was concerned about him and therefore what she was trying to say.
“I’ll call you if I need anything,” he promised soothingly.
“Very well,” she answered then strode away.
Taking that as his cue, Sean rolled the window back up and looked to the driver’s seat where Aubrey was half turned and watching him.
“Go,” he commanded and just like that the vehicle started moving. Sean didn’t even turn around to watch as the cottage, and the nightmare it represented, faded into the distance.
TBC
Part IV