On the top of the circle was the head of a snarling wolf. “This is the crest of my house,” Black Heart replied, and his lips twisted with some kind of dark humor. “You will wear it. And soon, two more like it.” He touched the back of your neck and you froze, barely breathing. This felt as uncomfortably intimate as it had to see him between your legs. There was a brief, sharp pain and the odd, burrowing sense before you felt, rather than heard the tiny click of something sliding into place, anchoring the platinum orb flush with your skin. He allowed you to reach back and touch it lightly.
“Why am I wearing the crest of your house on my skin?”
He was dressing now, and he looked over his shoulder. “The piercing marks you as mine. It protects you.” He gave you a kiss on the forehead before putting on his hat and leaving before you could ask the next question.
“Protects me from what?"
A few days later...
You were reading in your little corner, eyes squinting a bit in the fluttering light of your candle when the door slammed open, the draft nearly extinguishing your light. Leaping from your rocking chair, you pressed yourself into the farthest corner.
The man who came storming through was not Black Heart. Definitely, one of the Night Brethren as well - freakishly tall, blonde, and with a full, cruel mouth. But not your captor - and your protector - who was nowhere to be seen.
“There you are…” he hissed almost rapturously, leaning from his great height to sniff at you.
“Where’s Blac- where’s John?” Stumbling around the chair, you tried to put it between you and the invader.
“Oh, my sweet darling, you don’t need my useless brother when you can have me,” he practically purred with a malicious glee. “I’m Stephen. I am one of the Brethren but far more powerful than John. I’ve been looking for you, far and wide. I thought I had you at the harbor, but-” A scowl twisted his handsome face and made it monstrous. “And here you are, all tucked away, safe and sound!”
Still hiding behind your flimsy barrier, you shook your head. “I don’t know you. John will be angry. You sh- should leave now.”
A hand shot out, grasping your neck and lifting you and shoving you un-gently against the wall. “Such a disrespectful, bad girl.” This Stephen creature had the nerve to shake his head sorrowfully, as if deeply disappointed by your behavior. There was a steady thumping noise and you realized it was your feet, kicking against the plaster as you struggled to get loose. “Not yet, my sweet darling. Your master wants a taste of-”
Then you were flying across the room, hitting the door and sliding bonelessly to the floor, one hand over your neck where he’d tried to bite you. This Stephen-thing was howling, like a dog, or a wolf, baying mindlessly in rage as his mouth bubbled and smoked, arms flailing. There was a blur and Black Heart had his hands on the other monster’s neck, squeezing viciously before smashing him into the wall and leaving a massive dent in the wood and plaster.
Airborne again, you realized he’d picked you up. Putting you carefully on the bed, John pressed you back against your pillows. “Did he hurt you?”
“He was g- going to I think but when he tried to bite me his mouth started smoking like it was on fire.” There was a smell in the room that reminded you of roast pork and you gagged.
A brief press of his metal hand on your cheek and he was across the room and hitting the blond monster in his ruined mouth. Taking a fistful of Stephen’s hair, he pulled him over to you as easily as lifting a stack of your books.
“She’s mine, you pathetic fool.” John pushed the other monster’s face closer to you, but you shuddered and held still as he stroked your piercing. “The stamp of my house. She is claimed. If you ever attempt to touch her again, I’ll tear you in half.”
Stephen chuckled wetly, black blood spraying from his blistered lips. “The Brethren have been searching for her for years. They’re going to be very disappointed to hear that you knew where she was, all this time.” His eyes bled gold like you’d seen Black Heart’s do before. He was still staring at you greedily, searching your face as if committing it to memory.
“Enjoy your last look,” John snarled before bodily hauling him down the stairs, leaving you alone again in The Birdcage.
Chapter 3: In Utero Sacris
In which you are deflowered by Black Heart.
The silence in the Birdcage meant you could hear your own, panicked breaths. Who was that monster? What did he mean, he was better than Black He- than John? It seems he was telling you the truth at least, about the piercing on the back of your neck. It saved you from being bitten by the blond invader. Wiping your shaky hands over your face, you pushed further against the pillows on your little bed, holding one close to your chest.
The clear sound of Black Heart’s boots heading up the stairs alerted you just before the door opened. He looked … disheveled, his shirt collar was torn and there was a bloody claw mark on his face that was healing as you stared at it.
“Are you all right?” you blurted.
“Why, my sweet Little Bird,” he crooned, “were you worried?”
“Yes,” you said instantly. “You’re all I have.” The words were a surprise - even to you - and you pressed your lips together as Black Heart burst into laughter.
“Very practical, and you are quite correct.” He stood in front of the mirror, taking off his hat to smooth his thick hair back into place before putting it back on. Turning to you, he looked you over with a practiced eye. “Did he hurt you, fledgling?”
Shrugging awkwardly, you looked down at your pitiful, feather-filled defense, still clutched against your chest. “No. I don’t think so.” His cold hands were on you, running over your arms and legs, gently circling an abrasion or two from hitting the wall. “John?”
“Hmm?” he said, still focused on you.
“Will you tell me who that was? What did he mean, he’s been searching for me?” Suddenly remembering Black Heart’s traditional punishment for asking questions, you gulped, shaking your head rapidly. “No, never mind. I’m sorry, please don’t-”
