Hadin's question hung in the air unanswered as the others in the room shared nervous glances with each other, the bravado they previously displayed vanishing as they silently communicated with each other. "I made a request for you to explain yourselves. I will not ask again," his voice was colder than usual, eyes tracking each member of the room, noting the ones that met his gaze and the ones that had the common decency to look away.
"You have no right to demand anything," a woman's voice cut through the tension, her voice containing a magnetic pull that drew all eyes in the room to her; "Not anymore anyway," Mia's heart nearly leapt out of her chest at the sight of the woman, her cheeks blushing as she took in her full lips that glistened with blood red lipstick, her gorgeous blue eyes that she wanted to get lost in and raven black hair that made her wonder how it would feel to run her fingers through them. She suddenly felt the need to tell her dad to listen to her, to do as the woman asked, to do anything she wanted if it would make her happy.
"As much as I tolerate your presence, do remember your place Helen and keep your hands away from my child," Hadin's voice cut through the haze that had settled over Mia and elicited a pout from the woman now identified as Helen.
"You're too stiff Hadin, you should come over to the Fay Estate one of these days and allow my girls and I to relieve you of some of that tension," she purred seductively, her eyes roaming over his body as she mentally undressed him, her gaze filled with the promise of boundless pleasure.
"Tempting, but it is against my interests to share bedding with the diseased," he replied, his words causing her to bristle, her nails gouging the marble table in anger even as she maintained her smile, his attention turning to look at the person who had the gall to take his seat, "Crawl back to your master and I will overlook your transgression," his voice was cold and commanding as he waited for the figure to correct his mistake and alight from the throne.
"He won't be doing anything of the sort," came the clipped voice of a muscle-bound woman, her ill-fitting suit barely holding together as it strained against her muscles. "Nobody will be doing anything you say from now on," she gave him a smile that was more gloating than anything.
"And why is that?"
"Because from now on, you and yours are no longer part of the five families," she replied. "So you and your family better get used to the taste of my boot, cause from now on, you'll be licking it a lot," she laughed, prompting a giggle from Helen and the youth while the other two remained silent.
"Spoken like the uncouth dog we all know you to be," Hadin retorted, "So who is the mastermind between Helen, the others and the dog?" he asked, his dismissal causing the burly woman to grit her teeth in rage.
"How dare you talk to me like that!?" she raged, veins bulging and throbbing, "You think you have the right to speak to your betters like that? You should be on your knees thanking me and the others for even bothering to inform you of our choice. Now take your beast whore and half-breed and get out of our sight before I reduce you to nothing but a stain on the floor," she threatened, her bravado only heightened by the approval of those around her.
Mia watched the exchange with bated breath, unable to believe that someone was able to act this way towards her father and get away with it, her fists clenching tightly as she wanted to step forward to her father's defiance, the impulse hindered by Rozie's hand softly squeezing her shoulder and the fact that she didn't know what exactly she would do.
"Tell me Smith," Hadin's voice was as flat as ever, yet there was a hint of anger hidden underneath that Mia would have missed if she hadn't dedicated so much time to trying to emulate him. "What happens if I say no?" his eyes looked round, an invisible force pressing down on the five, the air growing heavy as he spoke. ""We all know that the moment word of this reaches the ears of the Sanctifier; and be sure it will, you and your entire families will be erased." he took a step forward, then another, each footfall bringing him closer to the table, empty eyes watching their movements, daring them to test him even further. "Unless," he paused, his eyes gleaming in understanding followed by a chuckle.
"Rozie," he called out as he adjusted his collar and sleeves, "Don't break them," he instructed, his actions enraging the muscular woman who leapt over the table, a scream on her lips as she brought down both her fists in a downward slam, only for the attack to meet Hadin's outstretched palm, the two colliding in a show of force that released a shockwave that rippled through the structure, the force of which would have sent Mia flying if she hadn't been shielded by Rozie who stepped in front of her, the winds breaking against her body. "If this is the best you can muster, then I strongly urge you to stop fighting and simply allow me to execute you," he told the woman, his words inciting her even further.
"Hilda stop wasting time and use it already," Helen screeched.
"Fine," the muscular woman; Hilda, croaked as Hadin's free hand wrapped around her neck, his fingers digging into her windpipe with a sadistic slowness as her feet and fists beat against him with as much power as she could muster, the roar of thunder filling the building as her fists ruptured the air only to do nothing to the man. Reaching into her torn suit, she pulled out a cube; the fleshy surfaces writing in hunger as slick wet tentacles raced towards Hadin's outstretched arm, the glutinous ropes of muscle wrapping around his body as the intersections of the cube opened up to reveal a yawning void illuminated by countless pairs of hungry malevolent eyes.
"How curious," the words dripped with boredom as they left Hadin's lips, the patriarch of the Arkwright family unbothered as he was pulled into the cube, consumed by the object which fell to the ground with a resounding thud and cracking the ground underneath it, a testament to its weight.
"Now that he's been taken care of," Helen purred, her heels clicking against the ruined floors as she walked towards the cube, kicking it on its side with a disgusted look on her face before turning to face Mia and Rozie who was still standing in front of her, a determined look on her face. "What should we do about you?"