Ruin: Revelations by Lucian Bane

that they were in danger.
    Somehow.
    He couldn’t look at her. His body spun with strange sensations, terror, shame, confusion. She’d hurt him. On purpose. He paced before the bed, struggling to know what to do, know what to feel. His emotions raced like angry ants fighting for a carcass as he rapidly sorted through each feeling, needing to get to the reason for the growing dread in his being. Angry, yes, he was angry that she would do that, and surprised that she dared, even confused with why she did, but that didn’t answer the instinct that said . . . run. They needed to run.
    “You can’t be so shocked and upset Ruin, not after you did it to me ten times.”
    “Four,” he corrected, thinking. Why would they need to run, it didn’t make sense.
    “Right, so you deserved what you got. My question is, how do you like it?”
    “We need to leave, something’s coming.”
    “What?”
    The air shook with a metallic creaking and Ruin dove for Isadore and covered her body. The power inside him seemed to freeze and he could only hold her tight as the world shook, then went to utter silence.
    “Ruin.” The sound of Caliber’s voice brought Ruin to stumble his way upright with Isadore. “Bad news,” he said, pacing while two other . . . things stood immobile to the right of him. Isadore hid behind him with her terrified whimpers filling the room as Ruin stared at what could only be considered freaks of nature. The smaller one resembling a man roasted to a crisp over a fire, stood before the other black hoofed beast standing on two legs with a head that resembled a concaved dish, his eyes bulging out of their sockets like the breasts of a woman with six seeing nipples and a hole for a nose, or maybe a mouth. 
    “What bad news?” Ruin managed, fighting to breathe around the conflicting powers around him.
    “You’ve used your power for dark judgments seven times,” Caliber said, gruffly. Though he didn’t say it, Ruin understood he’d meant for non-appointed judgments. Caliber recited the rules like he was reading him his rights. “You are defined by how you use your power. You use it righteously and under my discretion, and you’ll be directed to do good, you use it any other way, you’ll be directed to do wickedly.”
    Ruin stared at Caliber. “Why didn’t you tell me this? And how were my judgments dark?”
    Caliber gestured toward Isadore with a flop of his arm.
    Ruin looked at Isadore who clutched his hand tightly. “She’s . . . ” he couldn’t say innocent, because she wasn’t. But how was she responsible for his judgment?
    “You’re tied to her, you know this,” Caliber said, annoyed. “I was rather hoping you’d get to the end of my little assignment before this happened.” He lowered his head and peered at Ruin. “You did not.”
    “And now what?”
    “Now you will be given an assignment.” This came from the man-being with the black crispy marshmallow skin.
    Caliber walked up to Ruin. “Turn.” Ruin did as commanded, the words holding enough power to not need his willing cooperation. “And you will want to do this of your own accord.”
    At hearing the warning in Caliber’s words, panic hit Ruin and he fought the power restraining him.
    The air rocked again with that ominous metallic groaning and Ruin saw that it came from the opened mouth of the beast behind the man-being. It suddenly leapt through the air and slammed into him, cratering the floor with Ruin’s back.
    “I did warn you,” Caliber said.
    Ruin roared in agony as the beast pressed its claw into his stomach and Isadore screamed.
    “Stand him up,” the first being said softly.
    The beast yanked Ruin and held him by the neck, squeezing until it felt like his bones would snap. There was no fighting the beast, there was nothing within himself that allowed it. He realized the beast had pressed his tattoos and paralyzed his power.
    “Does your pet mule have to be so pissy?” Caliber asked.
    “Apparently.”