Page 27 of The Devil's Embrace

Unless Calix wanted to be responsible for getting Aodhan killed in the merman’s place by outing them, the only thing he could do was sit there and shut up.

The main event started almost instantly, in a blink and you’ll miss it type of display that Cal’s brain struggled to process.

The man in white brought the controls over close to the saw blade, not touching it, but near enough the devices synced together. At first, there was no sound as the blade was quite literally dropped, slicing straight through the merman’s tail. From their angle, the audience in the back could only see a few inches of the blade sticking out the top as it was dragged down the merman’s body, slicing through flesh and scales with ease.

There was blood, a lot of it, though it was purple in color, gushing and spraying as the merman’s bottom half was cut in two.

Calix thought he might be sick, his stomach clenching painfully, his eyes wide as he stared in abstract horror at thescene before him, trying to convince himself it wasn’t real. That he wasn’t here, sitting in the audience like some accomplice to what was potentially a murder.

Even if it didn’t lead to murder, this was torture. This was—

Something dragged his gaze up the merman’s body, past the blood-soaked man in white. The breath caught in his throat when his eyes locked onto the red mask. Even from this distance, he was certain the man behind it was staring directly at him.

And he seemed angry.

The man in black stepped to the head of the table, all without breaking eye contact with Cal, and removed the gag from the creature’s mouth. Then he set his gloved hands at either side of the screaming merman. The second his fingers connected with the metal table, audio switched on, the screams and shrieks of pain echoing throughout the room, causing everyone to jump in their seats.

But that was all.

They jerked as though startled, some laughing at their own reactions before settling back down to continue enjoying the show.

The show where another living, sentient creature was tortured and maimed, all for their entertainment. To appease some sick curiosity.

Cal met Red Mask’s gaze again and a wave of nausea hit him hard enough to send him reeling. He scrambled out of his seat, practically knocking it over in his haste to vacate the room, racing toward the only open doorway he could find, which happened to be directly across from the scene of horror.

He just barely made it beneath the threshold, turning to vomit inside the wide basin of a potted plant. Tears burned at the corners of his eyes as he upchucked everything he’dconsumed that day and then some, one hand clawing at the wall as he shook and almost toppled forward.

An arm banded around his waist, keeping him upright as he puked his guts out, a soothing voice comforting him quietly all the while.

By the time he was done, the screams had stopped, and he squeezed his eyes shut and focused on trying to calm his breathing.

“Look, Detective,” Aodhan whispered, running a hand down his back.

Calix vehemently shook his head.

“Trust me, Cal.”

There was even less reason for Calix to trust him than there was for him to be following his orders, and yet the softness in the doctor’s tone had him straightening and turning to glance back into the room.

The faint hum of the saw could still be heard, letting Calix know the soundproofing hadn’t been reactivated. That wasn’t the cause for the sudden end to the screams. It was the merman, and not because he’d died or passed out either. His entire demeanor had shifted. He was no longer screaming or fighting, instead, he was staring up at Red Mask as though elated to see him there.

What the fuck?

“Baccus brought Antitheus in to help soothe the merman,” Aodhan told him, an arm still around his waist. He spoke the words directly against the curve of Cal’s ear.

Those must be the names of the men in white and black. Since the leaves on the white mask matched the one he’d seen on the wax seal, it wasn’t a stretch to assume he was Baccus. That meant Red Mask was known to these people as Antitheus.

He sounded important.

Helookedimportant.

“How?” Calix asked.

“That doesn’t matter.”

“It does to…me.” he frowned, watching as the mood of the whole room seemed to pivot suddenly. “What are they doing?”

People finally started looking away from the box, hands wandering, mouths seeking. Moans and soft gasps began filling the room, drowning out the saw so that Cal didn’t even notice when the device was shut off and a man dressed as a doctor stepped into the glass case and began working on the merman’s wounds.

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