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55

"Tell him, Valery! Tell him what you really want! Then you and me and Vallah, the three of us can be together forever."

She was so warm against his belly. Maybe even warmer than the glow of the waning fire. He could feel her every breath and flexing muscle, moving and wriggling, struggling against his grip. Her tears were dripping onto his arm, flowing into the cuts she had scratched there, going inside of him. Every little part of her was just screaming for them to become one.

If only he could get rid of that moving piece of meat she called 'Daddy'...

"Banno, this is crazy! For the love of all the gods, just let her go!"

"Shut up and let her speak!" Banno thundered back. "Tell him, Valery! Tell him what you really want!"

"I want Daddy!" she shrieked, her voice as shrill as the wind blowing outside. "I want my Daddy, please, please!"

So she was going to stick to her role as long as possible. That was fine. Actually, that was more than fine. It was perfect. What fun would the hunt be if the prey simply rolled over and exposed its neck for his teeth? What would be the point? Not that Valery was anything as mundane as 'prey', but the process was the same. Half the pleasure came from the struggle before the release. The greater the struggle, the greater the climax.

Vallah was the same way.

"You heard her, you crazy son of a bitch! Get your filthy hands off her! Right now!"

He still wasn't sure if Valery and Vallah were two separate entities, or one and the same.

"Hey!"

Maybe they were two halves of the same consciousness, and bringing them together would make her whole? Or maybe they were just two fragments of something even greater?

"Did you hear me, you sick bastard!?"

Maybe there were more out there, just waiting for him to come find them, each with a different flavour. What would happen if he brought them all together?

Maybe...

"Hey! Don't you ignore me! Don't you dare ignore me!"

Maybe the world wouldn't be fake anymore...

"Banno!"

"Hmm? Oh, right, you're still screaming," Banno said, annoyed to have his thoughts so rudely interrupted. "Tell you what, James. You want to talk some more? Fine. Be a lamb and throw some logs on the fire, would you? My 'filthy hands' are kind of full."

James's nostrils flared and his face got all scrunched up, like he was smelling something foul. "I have been patient, Banno. I have tried to understand you, but you have no idea what it's like to stand here and watch my daughter cry, all because of you! I took you into my home, I cared for you, I took that arrow out of your eye, I bandaged your leg, I carved you a new foot out of pine! I did everything for you! You can deny it as much as you want, but I saved your life, Banno! You said none of us would be alive if it weren't for you, but you have it the wrong way around! It's you that wouldn't be alive if it weren't for us!"

"Urgh." Banno rolled his eyes. "Just put more wood on the fire. It's getting cold in here."

"Release my daughter and go stoke your own damn fire, you demented freak!"

"Wow, rude."

"Let her go!"

"Oh all right! Throw some wood in there and I'll let her go. Honest."

"Do you take me for a fool?"

"Actually, yes, but if you want the only source of light in this room to die, then be my guest."

James looked to the fire, just a red heap of coals and some haphazard flames springing up from the very last chunks of the very last log, and then to Valery, bathed more in shadow than in light, red and pulsing.

"Drop the poker and I'll put some more wood in the blasted fire," he said.

"Oh come on, James, you know I can't do that." Banno lightly dragged the point of the poker across Valery's face, making her flinch and squeal. It was a cute little sound, like a mouse being stepped on. "Or do you want poor little Valery to be cold? I don't think either of us want that."

James started forward, a look of pure agony on his face. "Don't worry, darling," he said. "I'll get you out of this, I promise. Just sit tight and stay calm a little bit longer, okay? I love you, sweetie..."

"Daddy!"

James crept towards the fire, taking the slowest, tiniest little steps imaginable. He stooped down, grabbed some logs off the floor and tossed them into the hearth without even looking. Soon, brilliant yellow flames sprang up, illuminating the room once again, filling it with wonderful heat.

"There! Isn't that better?" Banno said, feeling the warmth wash over him. Only...

Why did he still feel cold? What was that weird sensation like an icicle slowly dragging down his back? Was there a draft in here?

Was the cold trying to get in?

He squeezed Valery against his body, shielding her from that evil nothingness, and looked around, his solitary eye darting about the room, skirting along the walls and ceiling, searching for even the tiniest opening.

There. The window at the back of the room wasn't closed all the way. There was some snow blowing in through the crack, swirling at the corners in little spiral patterns.

Banno's eye narrowed and a low growl escaped his throat. How did that happen? There was something wrong here, something very wrong. "One moment, James..." he said and started to walk backwards, looking over his shoulder to keep that suspicious window in his sights. The prosthetic lump of wood at the end of his leg made a disturbing clunking noise against the floorboards with every step. It was a noise he didn't think he'd ever fully get used to.

"What are you doing? Hey! Stop moving!"

"I'm just gonna check something!" Banno shouted, dragging Valery along with him, her feet tapping against his knees. James kept pace, maintaining the distance between them, but Banno was more focussed on that infuriating window at his back. Had it been open all this time, and he simply didn't notice until now? He found that hard to believe, but he'd be the first to admit he'd been a bit distracted tonight. So many interesting things happening all at once. Maybe the brats...? No, he would have seen them coming down the stairs. But whatever the reason, he couldn't allow any more cold to get in. He'd shut that window and trap the cold so that the fire could kill it. He knew cold wasn't real, and therefore already dead, but it was still a nice thought, imagining the nothingness dying.

"Don't do anything stupid, James," Banno said, reaching for the window with the hand holding the poker. "I can stick this in her neck much faster than you can run, so don't even think about it."

To Banno's disappointment, James didn't do anything stupid. He simply stood by the hearth, his gaze as cold as steel, his eyes filled with so much hate it was almost funny. What would it take to get that rat to come closer? Maybe he should give Valery just a little scratch on the cheek? That should be enough to get things moving.

Banno took a quick glance out the window. He could see a whole lot of snow and a whole lot of shadows, but nothing else. He grabbed the frame and pushed it down, closing off that terrible draft, instantly making the wind outside take on a lower, muffled pitch.

There. Much better. Now to test how far James would go to -

The floor was cold.

Banno looked down and saw that he was standing in an ugly wet patch. The snowflakes that had made it through the gap must have melted. It was dark, it smelled like dead stumps in the rain, and it was spreading.

But it was small. Far too small.

That window was opened only recently...