what turns up in the dark; any

[weed]

she is the lamb; he is the slaughter

Weed does not expect his father to take a vested interest in his life; he was arrogant, but he liked to fancy himself intelligent. He knew that Carnage’s offspring were as frequent and common as seeds on soil or stars in the sky (how fitting). There was little reason for the dark god to pay attention to one of the many. Weed did not take it as an insult, he simply took it as fact. His mother—snake-eyed, glass-boned lover of magicians that she was—simply lusted for Carnage because the magic in him reminded her of Core. His full siblings tumbled forth, and he paid as much mind to them as Carnage did to him.

It was the way of the world.

But Carnage does not dismiss the soft offer that Weed places on the table, and he therefore does not turn away yet. Instead he takes a step forward, black skin pricked with red from where thorns had dug too deep. “I have plenty in mind,” he murmurs, coal-black eyes flicking to Tantalize, “but perhaps it would be best discussed without an…” he searches for the word, his lips pulling into a cold smile, “audience.”

The world was quiet, silent, slumbering. To Weed, it was dead. Kingdoms made alliances with one another that served no purpose other than to puff up each other’s egos. Challenges were issued, steals were made—all in the name of good fun. There was no fear in the hearts of the living—only shadows of memories from the days of old. Even kingdoms that opposed one another did so in a resentful, passive way—swatting at each other lazily without ever putting an elbow behind the swing.

Weed, frankly, was tired of it. He had tried his hand at politic and found them a bore (“Smile at the visitors, Weed.” “Play nice with the other kingdoms, Weed.” “Don’t upset the Queenie, Weed.”) but that did not mean he had stopped lusting for power—and, more so, for chaos. It was time to sink his teeth into the land in the way he had always wanted to. If he accomplished that with the help of Carnage, all the better. If he accomplished that alongside the Chamber’s Raven Queen, all the better.

But with or without them, Weed would light a match to bring it all burning down.

WEED

© oscar keys