Chapter 3
REGULUS
It had been no less than thirty minutes since Regulus left James’ apartment and made it back to his own home. He looked down at his hand and saw the doctor's dried blood still there, coating his fingers and under his nails. Something about it was so addictive. Sure, all blood tastes the same to ordinary people, but not James’. It was metallic but also sweet. Regulus wanted to taste it again and again.
He exhaled a sigh before his eyes scanned the room. He was sitting on the couch in his mansion, even though he’d rather be near James. He had been watching the doctor for months after figuring out how much interest James showed in his work. He definitely didn’t make it hard to find him, either.
Regulus pushed himself off the couch and made his way toward the kitchen. Everything was excellent and spotless, just as he liked it. Approaching the sink, he began to wash the remaining blood from his fingers. As much as he wanted to savor it, it wouldn’t look good had one of the others come home, too.
His eyes watched the red-tinted water swirl down the drain, and a lightbulb appeared in his head. Yes… If he wanted James’ attention. Killing again would be a sure way to get it, and that’s precisely what he was planning to do. Of course, on his own. Everyone else would slow him down. It took all three of those idiots he lived with to perfect even one crime scene Regulus could do all alone.
“Hey, Reg-” A voice rang through the kitchen, prompting Regulus to see who it was. “Barty. Can I help you?” He remained calm, though slightly annoyed, as he dried his hands off. “Yeah, we just got back, and I think Dorcas needs to talk to you about something. She said the cops were talking about having some leads on us.” This made Regulus chuckle. It was void of any humor, cold.
Walking across the kitchen, he returned to the living room, assuming that was where everyone else had gathered, and he was right. Upon entering, he saw Evan, Dorcas, and Peter on one of the three couches. He proceeded toward the armchair to avoid being next to any of them and sat down.
“What is it?” Regulus asked as he looked at Dorcas. Barty joined them a few seconds later. “The cops are trying to say they have a lead on who the Black Serpent may be.” He nodded as she spoke. “Yes, Barty just told me that. Do they have names? Descriptions? Anything?” Regulus watched closely as Dorcas shook her head. “No. It might be just to calm the public so they don’t freak out that they’re still on the loose.” She stopped, laughing for a moment. “Or I guess we’re still on the loose.”
It was a bit funny. Dorcas was their watchful eye, ensuring no one disturbed them during a killing. She kept tabs on who was handling their cases and if they had any evidence- of course, they never did. The girl was fully capable of killing; Regulus knew that much. She just chose not to.
“Thank you, Dorcas. I will give them something else to talk about.” Regulus stood up from his chair as he began to leave the room. “Wait-” Evan shot up from his spot on the couch and walked up beside Regulus. “Are we all going?" He cut himself off when Regulus’ hand shot up to silence him. “No. This one is for me. You guys may go out and kill your target, but don’t be stupid.” Regulus glared at the four of them- Mainly the boys. He could trust Dorcas not to do anything stupid. Seeing the boys nod, he returned a nod and left the room.
After getting his things together, Regulus headed out. It was late and dark, and the air smelled of rain. He stood under the cover of a nearby tree, peering through the darkness at the unsuspecting victim's house. He had been watching the house for weeks to ensure he knew his victim's every move. His plan was foolproof. He took a deep breath, stepped out of the shadows, and walked towards the front door.
As he approached, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a lock-picking set. It didn't take long for him to work his magic, and the door clicked open. He stepped inside, closing the door behind him and taking a moment to listen for any signs of life. The only sound was the steady drip of the rain outside.
Regulus made his way through the darkened house, his eyes adjusted to the dim light. He could hear the soft snores of the victim coming from the bedroom. He smiled to himself, knowing that this would be easy.
Quietly, he made his way closer to the bed as he reached into his pocket. His gloved hand brought out a syringe. Slowly, he inserted the needle into her arm, watching her eyes shoot open, and pushed the plunger down. The liquid traveled through her veins, and the girl’s body limped within seconds. This is how he ensured they wouldn't fight back. It helped keep things clean. Regulus liked things being clean.
“Don’t worry,” Regulus spoke, falsely reassuring the poor girl who was once sleeping peacefully. “It’ll be over soon.” He tilted his head, admiring the fear in her eyes.
Sure, he was sick in the head for liking to see the fear in her eyes, but he loved watching someone's eyes turn lifeless even more.
With ease, Regulus lifted the girl from her bed and walked toward the bathroom. He laid her in the bathroom and, in one swift movement, slit her throat. The sight of blood spilling from the wound and her choking on her blood almost made him smile. Almost.
Regulus looked at his gloved hand before taking the girl's hand into his own. He was going to do something new. He wanted some sort of reaction to this. That is why he was here, after all.
As he let her bleed out, he turned the girl's hand over so her wrist would be exposed to him. He felt around for the bone and began cutting her hand off. Regulus put extra care and attention into this, picking up the limb as soon as it was disconnected from her arm.
After a moment, he shifted his gaze back to the girl. “You really are a fighter, but giving up is in your best interest.” There was something cold and dark in his tone as he held the severed hand in his hand. The sound of her choking soon dissolved into silence. “Good.” Regulus praised as he watched the light fade from her eyes.
With a sigh, Regulus walked out of the room and decided to place the hand on the table beside the door, but not before cutting a very neat ‘R.A.B’ into its palm.
Once the hand was placed perfectly how he wanted it, Regulus returned to the bathroom. He used a nearby towel to clean all the blood off his hands before he kneeled beside the tub once again. He reached into his pocket and removed two of his signature pins, stabbing them into the girl's eyes with such precision as he did every time.
One final touch, he dipped his fingers into the remaining blood pooled in the tub and wiped five tally marks across the wall. There was no significance to this. It wasn’t a usual thing, but he thought this clue might be helpful to the pitiful detectives. Maybe they would finally come to the realization that there are five of them.
JAMES
The annoying ringing of his cell phone pulled James from his much-needed sleep. He groaned in annoyance as he reached for the device and answered whoever may have been calling him. “Hello?” He spoke into the phone. There was a long stretch of silence before a voice came through, “Doctor, I left you a gift. I hope you enjoy it.” That was all he said before the line fell dead.
James sat up and ran a hand through his hair as he stared at his phone screen. The number was blocked, so there was no possibility of him being able to call back, but he recently learned that the voice was Regulus. He barely noticed the goosebumps that now covered his skin.
Tearing the blanket off his body, James frantically got out of bed and started searching his apartment. If Regulus got in here once, he could definitely do it again.
But there was no one. James seemed to sigh in relief at this.
Well, until he heard something at his door. It was a soft knock that sounded three times. With hesitation, he approached the door, his hand hovering over the doorknob for a moment until he quickly ripped it open.
There wasn’t anyone there. God, James feels stupid right now.
He peered down each end of the hallway, going to take a step out the door so he could look over the railing, but something hit his foot and stopped him. As James’ eyes shot down, he spotted a box. It was pretty, neatly wrapped, a present.
“What the hell…” He said aloud to no one but himself as he picked up the box and retreated back into his apartment. As he walked into the kitchen, James set the box on the counter and carefully removed the ribbon that held it closed. He then carefully removed the lid to a blood-stained note.
Je mangerais ton cœur en entier. <3
James doesn’t know what it says; he knew Sirius could speak french, but it would be too suspicious to ask him. He looked back into the box, and a heart sat on some silk cloth, still bleeding.
Maybe James is the one who needs to be evaluated because he smiled a bit at the sight. Sure, he found it disgusting that there was some stranger's heart in this box, but the act was a bit endearing- in a crazy sort of way. There was no way he’d be keeping the heart, but he would keep the note.
Turning on his heels, James put the note on his fridge with a magnet. Seeing it will remind him to figure out what Regulus had written on it and remind him that he didn’t just imagine the pretty boy with dark curls and grey eyes. Then James placed the lid back on the box and slid it into his fridge. He would get rid of it tomorrow before meeting up with everyone, but in the meantime, it needed to stay cold so his apartment wouldn’t smell bad.
Acting as though nothing had happened, James returned to his bed to sleep for the night. Despite the mild unease he felt, adoration seemed to overpower it.