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[Judas D'arc]

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Watch Judas fall. Watch Judas sleep. Watch Judas dream.

***

She gently slipped a finger inside him. Followed by another then another. The pain arrived as the fourth finger entered that small place deep within. All ten fingers and the hands that were attached. There was a sound -- a sensation -- unfamiliar that he could not place. It had never occurred to him that flesh could tear like paper.

And then there was nothing.

***

The events of the past few days were played over again in his mind. Forcefully torn apart and then stitched back together. But they returned to him different. Altered.

Isabella had approached him with a simple proposal -- her vampire lord could erase his memories of everything he had discovered about their kind. Two days later, she informed Judas that the conditions he proposed to surrender himself had been accepted. She had lied to him, of course, but this betrayal had been an assumed risk and ultimately proved to be fruitful. The most important of these objectives, the one he gambled was worth dying over, had been won. Besides, there was that final, secret promise they had discussed, and this made Judas swell with anticipation. It did not matter that he would forget that she was a vampire and her betrayal and all the rest. Because that final obligation would not be forgotten, and he planned to collect.

Jolicia was another matter entirely. Even if she had deceived him and reported everything to her master from the beginning, as suggested by Isabella, he could never stay angry. There were good reasons he had given himself up to the one and not the other. Although the Countess had theorized that Jolicia had placed Judas under a spell of some kind -- a bonding, she had called it -- this explanation did not satisfy him. There was a reason he had revealed to her that he was aware she was a vampire. A genuine feeling that existed, although one that was not easily identified. And despite what had transpired, the nature of this affection would linger, while the bad of it would simply slip away.

The face of their unnamed vampire lord and his mysterious keep in Felucca appeared before him. These barely digested thoughts would vanish before ever fully settling within his brain. Along with the knowledge and suspicions of his vampire followers that Judas had discovered. Truth be told, he was glad to be done with it. Whatever danger they might pose in the future, there were far more immediate threats to the kingdom. Despite the foolishness of his plan, he had won -- opposition to the Atalan was secure.

One final memory followed the others into the oblivion. A small wooden box and an iron key and Claudia's fate. But this was no longer important because it was no longer there.

And the memories that remained? Perhaps the stolen ones had left them with room to breathe, for they seemed to expand and become more vivid.

The one Ditto had called Asimov. The ominous glow of his eyes. The impossibly sharp edge of his mythical blade. His unspoken plans for Sosaria. These would be retained, along with the crushing sensation of his steed's hooves striking Judas' chest. Oof.

Judas had advised Ditto that he had a plan to gather allies. Although he could no longer recall the whys and wherefores, he was now confident in its success. And in the hope that Aulbrey, Cat, Raven, and all the rest who had signed the Atalan contracts would be free.

As Judas succumbed to the embrace of his long slumber -- perhaps the best he had experienced in years -- he felt oddly self-satisfied. He had made a difference.

***

She removed the final finger from his tight, dark place and surveyed her handiwork. The craftsmanship was excellent, it would definitely hold. All of the pieces back to all the right places. Even the scars were only noticeable if one knew what to look for, and Judas had never really excelled at such intimacy. Forgotten but not gone.

***

Judas falls. Judas sleeps. Judas dreams.