this swarm of flies

GIDEON

pulled out all your stitches

He was not expecting to be called on so quickly, but Gideon would not hesitate in his work. Cian was not who he considered to be his leader, but their goals aligned in this endeavour and he was happy to be the man's tool for now. Going to the table, he picked up a matte black bowl filled with small marbles, and a knife.

Kneeling before Mabel, he looked her in the eyes once then busied himself with her hands. No hesitation in the way the knife slid up her fingertips, slicing and revealing the clear fluid and flesh the Voice created out of once-living people. The sight disgusted him far more than his own actions might have and without remorse, he went to lift the marbles out of the bowl. They shone like the sun; painless in his own hand, simply warm and reminiscent of a Longheat day. In Mabel's hand, though....

He pressed one hard against an exposed fingertip, then another. Another, and another, until she would speak. Each marble would hiss and sizzle as it made contact, burning the connections and flesh within her hands as fluid dripped to the floor.

Hubris is a bitch