A bark of laughter leaves Toreon, so loud that the giant demon tenses immediately. Vudu looks over his shoulder at the door, as if he expects another guard to come busting through any moment. After several seconds of nothing happening, he turns his head back. “Toreon, you must be quiet,” he grunts.
Toreon claps a hand over his mouth, shaking his head with a chuckle that ebbs away. “Sorry. It’s just...Vudu, you can’t honestly believe you can get me out of here.”
A scowl crosses over the giant’s face. “I can and I will.”
“No, friend. You can’t,” Toreon says quietly, and desperate sadness sneaks through his voice, showing me a crack in Toreon’s facade.
I suddenly feel like I’m stealing into a moment that doesn’t belong to me at all, only I can’t help but watch the two of them interact with rapt attention, soaking up every word.
They stare at each other for a long moment until Vudu slowly gets to his feet. His eyes travel to the wall of torture tools hanging up. “I’d slip you one of those, but they’re all warded,” he says before his hand slips into his pocket. He pulls out something that looks like a nail file, except it’s made of obsidian stone. “That’s all I could bring you without raising suspicion,” he says, sounding guilty.
“I don’t want you getting yourself caught,” Toreon replies as he comes forward to take it.
Vudu’s eyes skim over all the chains wrapped around Toreon, and his lips press together in a hard line. “That bastard,” he growls.
“Easy,” Toreon says with a smirk, like he’s trying to keep the big guy calm. “It’s not as bad as it seems.”
“Don’t fucking lie, Toreon,” Vudu snaps, his shoulders bunching with tension. “He took you. Used you to make a fucking portal. Nearly got you killed when it was destroyed. I thought you were dead.”
“Not me. Just the others,” Toreon mumbles, his eyes downcast as he turns the small stone file around in his hands. “I should have died.”
“Don’t say that shit,” Vudu growls, his large hands coming up to wrap around the bars. “You survived that because you’re strong.”
The black hair hanging around Toreon’s face shifts as he shakes his head. “Look at me, V. I’m not strong. Not anymore. I’m barely holding on here.”
“Well, hold on some more,” Vudu orders, his voice brooking no argument. “I need a bit longer. The Ophidian is gone. Got called away to strike up more unrest in the Outer Rings, with his followers. I just need more time.”
Toreon slips the weapon into his tattered pants pocket. “V, he’s only biding his time with me. Waiting until I get back to full strength. As soon as he deems I’m ready, he’s going to force me to use my power again.”
A crease forms between my eyebrows as I frown, barely understanding anything of what they’re saying.
Vudu blanches, his gray knuckles nearly going opaque as he grips the bars tight. “Already? He’ll fucking kill you if he does it again so soon.”
Toreon shrugs, like it’s a done deal, and I suddenly feel bad for him. He’s been here for months. I think I’ve only been here for days, maybe weeks. I can only imagine what Morax has done to him. No wonder he told us there’s no use hoping to escape or survive. “Like I said, I should have died.”
“I will get you out before he tries to use you again.”
Toreon tips his chin up, his eyes flashing with a new determination that wasn’t there before. “If you don’t—”
“I will,” Vudu cuts him off.
Toreon looks at him blandly. “If you can’t, then I want you to kill me.”
The giant’s wings flare behind him almost involuntarily, and the big guy takes a staggering step back, like Toreon’s words singed the air between them. “Toreon…”
“I mean it, V,” Toreon replies, his voice vehement. “Don’t let Morax use me. If he gets his chance, I don’t think Lucifer will be able to stop him this time. Don’t let me be the reason for our downfall.”
I watch the two of them stare at each other, both as determined as the other, but on completely different sides. I don’t even know these two, and I can feel the tension, the distress between them.
“I have to go,” Vudu finally says, either to escape Toreon and his plea, or because he really does need to go. “Work on your chains,” he finishes with a gravelly remark