Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 10

see, what was it you used to say about your favorite toy? Hmmm? Ah yes—I remember now. 'One day you'll beg me for the paddle, boy!' Isn't that what you would say as you beat the shit out of me Anzel?? That I'd come to love it…beg for it?? Well, let's see if that works for you as well, shall we?? Maybe if I beat you enough you'll begin to cry and plead and fucking whine until I take it to your back and beat you senseless. What do you say, Anzel—should we try that?? No? Ah, are you afraid? The high and mighty Lord Anzel scared of a common bastard?? Isn't that what you used to call me Anzel?? A common bastard?? Well, you should be afraid, Anzel, very afraid."
    Anzel glared at Ren, a sneer crossing his face, then he pursed his lips and spat at the boy. Dropping the board, Ren lunged at the man, grabbing him around the throat, his hands squeezing tight. Con watched as rage overwhelmed his boy, contorting his face into one that Con had never seen before, the face of a stranger. This is what six months of torture and degradation had done to Ren; it had caused the birth of this animal that now pushed its way to the surface, taking Ren over so completely that the boy Con loved was barely discernible.
    Con stood and waited, willing Ren to regain his self-control. He didn't want to intervene yet. Con had hoped that by confronting Anzel, Ren could somehow excise the demons that haunted him and begin the long process of healing. He was no longer sure that allowing Ren to do this was the wisest decision he had made.
    As Con watched, his boy's stance changed. Ren seemed to stumble. Then Anzel was standing, pushing Ren backwards. Anzel was free. Somehow while he and Ren had been struggling together, Anzel had grabbed Ren's dagger. Con noticed the cut ropes hanging from Anzel's wrists and the dagger glinting evilly in his hand.
    "ANZEL!" Con shouted out the name, hoping that it would startle Anzel and stop his hand even for a brief moment. Anzel ignored the shout and fell to one knee crouching over Ren who appeared stunned and lay unmoving. The boy must have hit his head when he had fallen.
    "Why don't you leave the boy and come play with somebody your own age? Or am I a bit too much for you to handle, Anzie ?" The look of pure hate that Anzel shot at Con would have stopped a lesser man in his tracks. But not Con. He started walking slowly, almost casually, steadily closing the distance between himself and Ren. Every thought in his body focused on getting between Ren and the dagger.
    "You'd like that wouldn't you Con, to distract me from the boy here?? No I don't think so…I don't think I want to play with you today. I have a broken little sparrow to take care of right now. I think I might just wring its neck and put it out of its misery."
    Then Anzel smiled and the look made Con's blood run cold. As Con watched in horror, Anzel raised the dagger and then quickly plunged it downward aiming straight for Ren's heart. Ren' body spasmed upward with the impact of the blade and then collapsed to the floor and lay deathly still.
    "NOOOOOOO!" Con threw himself the few remaining feet right at Anzel's head. Grabbing hold of Anzel, he pulled the man away from Ren, the dagger coming free, still clutched in Anzel's fist and now dripping Ren's blood. Con knocked the dagger from Anzel's hand and then fell on him, beating Anzel across his head and chest. The two men grappled, first Anzel gaining the top position, then Con, cuffing Anzel on the head and twisting his body forcing Anzel to roll beneath him. The back and forth motion continued for several minutes, each man landing blow after blow on the other's head and torso. Finally Con was able to thrust Anzel away and roll, pushing himself up to his knees.
    The roll placed him directly next to Ren and the dagger that had been knocked from Anzel's grasp when Con had first tackled him. He could see the blood that coated the blade of the dagger and the sight of it filled Con with unspeakable rage. With a murderous cry, Con snatched up the dagger and turned to plunge it into Anzel's thigh just as the man was about to leap on Con once more. Howling with pain, Anzel dropped to his knees. Con pushed him down and moved up to straddle Anzel's hips, holding him down with one hand while gripping the dagger in the other.
    Con snarled, "If it were possible I would make your death so slow and painful that you would be begging me for release in the end. But even that would be too good for the likes of you,