The spear stopped an inch from Vell's chest, not because Cain hesitated, but because a sound started to fill the chamber. It was laughter.
It began as a low chuckle that rumbled in his chest, then it grew into a full, manic laugh that echoed off the fractured marble. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, but he could not seem to stop.
"What is so funny?" Cain pressed his foot down harder, and the sound of more ribs cracking was heard.
"You really think," he coughed, a spray of red misting the air, but his eyes gleamed with a dangerous light, "that I did not notice?"
His hand shot up with impossible speed, grabbing the shaft of the shadow spear. The solid darkness hissed and sizzled, turning into wisps of dark energy that flowed directly into his palm, absorbed completely.
[Master, what are you—]
'Just shut up for a second,' he thought, a grin spreading across his blood-stained teeth. 'I am trying to eat here.'
