this swarm of flies

GIDEON

pulled out all your stitches

Mabel's screams reached Gideon's ears but not his heart; had she been anyone else, anything else, he would have felt sympathy, but all he heard now was the failings of a machine made to replicate what could never be recreated. Taking the stones away as his next instruction came from Cian, he nodded and stood to find the right blade from the few he had laid out on the table.

For a moment, he glanced back and wondered if it would be prudent to collect the fluid, but she would have plenty after she was deactivated. They could let some go to waste. He just hoped the spirits wouldn't be offended by the drips her ankles would make. He'd have to mop up afterwards.

Idle thoughts of cleaning aside, he took the knife and once again, without looking at Mabel's face, knelt to do his work diligently. He cut where the major vein in the ankle was, where he assumed the Voice pushed her fluid through her children. "That will flow nicely." Gideon commented, once he had made both cuts, and stood up to go and wipe his hands clean of the mess.

Hubris is a bitch