Not Your Place

Kuai Liang, second in line to The Lin Kuei, an ancient order of vampire hunters. He was sitting on the sofa opposite, hands together in his lap and head bowed slightly so he didn’t have to make eye contact with Shang Tsung. It was clear he was not happy about being here, sent into the lair of a vampire by his Grandmaster, his own brother. Conspiring with a vampire went against every code their clan stood for, but Kuai also could not deny his Grandmaster’s orders.

Oh, how wonderful this is.

“So, your brother is interested in aiding me?” Shang Tsung began, pacing back and forth in front of his guest, eyes never leaving him for a second.

“He believes we would be stronger working with you rather than against you,” Kuai explained, spitting the words with such resentment. “You have something of an army that you have sired and in exchange for access to it, you would have access to the Lin Kuei.”

“Interesting.” The Lin Kuei would be a marvellous asset in his arsenal. It may have seemed odd for a vampire to be interested in command of a clan of vampire hunters. The truth was, the vampire hierarchy was cutthroat, and having a clan of hunters at his disposal would give him the edge above his rivals. “When he says access, what exactly does he mean?”

“We would be at your command, provided you would be at ours,” Kuai explained, turning his head to look away slightly. It was cute, since he’d entered Shang Tsung’s castle he hadn’t made eye contact with him at all.

“Do you disagree with your Grandmaster’s plan, Kuai Liang?” He asked, watching the way Kuai’s breath hitched.

“It is not my place to question his wishes.” He said that a little too quickly and forcefully, like he’d been coaching himself to give that reply rather than voice his true thoughts.

Shang Tsung wouldn’t take that as an answer. He approached the other man, grabbing his chin and forcing his head to look up at him. For the first time, Kuai’s eyes met his own, widening slightly as he realised he’d made a mistake.

“I want an honest answer, dear.” Shang Tsung smirked as Kuai’s eyes began to glow red. Perfect. “Do you disagree with your Grandmaster’s plan?”

“Yes,” Kuai answered, voice slurred like he was drunk. His brow twitched slightly, he clearly knew that Shang Tsung was controlling him, but he could do nothing about it. And the poor dear had been so careful not to look me in the eye. “I think allying with you will be a mistake that will cost us dearly.”

“Thank you for telling me the truth.” He released his control of Kuai Liang, the man immediately turning away and gasping in horror. “I do appreciate an honest man.”

“You are a vile creature,” Kuai hissed between his teeth, cheeks going red as his fingers clenched and dug into the plush seat.

“Yet, you are still here.” He ran the back of his hand down Kuai’s cheek, delighting in the way it made him tremble. “Like an obedient little bitch for big brother.”

“It is not my place-“

“Yes, yes, you already said that dear.” He moved his hand to once more take hold of Kuai’s chin and force him to look at him again. This time, Kuai had the foresight to close his eyes. Shang Tsung laughed, “don’t worry, I won’t hypnotise you this time, I promise.”

“A promise is worth nothing from someone whose currency is lies.” Kuai tried to jerk his head backwards, but Shang Tsung practically dragged it towards him. “A fact my brother is a fool for ignoring.”

“Hm, but I thought it wasn’t your place to question him?” Shang Tsung teased, enjoying the way Kuai bared his teeth. He reached a second hand forwards, ghosting his thumb over one of Kuai’s closed eyes. “Open your eyes dear. I’d prefer if you were looking at me while we discuss the potential of a contract between our clans.”

Kuai’s mouth twitched, but eventually, those eyes fluttered open, beautiful even with the venom in them.

“That’s better.” He didn’t let go of the other man's face, although he kept his word on not putting the man under his control again. “Now. I presume your brother has an initial offer on the table to further tempt me in accepting his deal.” He tilted his head. “Keeping in mind, I have no need for money, so you can take any financial incentive off the table.”

“The Grandmaster thought that might be the case,” Kuai sighed. He brought a hand up to try and pry Shang Tsung’s grip off him but that wasn’t going to be happening. Kuai grunted. “As our clan has been working with Lord Liu Kang for generations, we know many of his secrets.”

“Is he offering to share them with me?” He asked in genuine surprise. The Lin Kuei had been the fire god’s lapdog for generations, even if allying themselves with Shang Tsung was betraying him, to forsake him in such a way was almost unthinkable.

But if true, oh, how it would benefit Shang Tsung.

“He believes the gods are stifling us, holding back our potential.” The misery in Kuai’s voice made it clear he personally disagreed. “He believes that with your help, we will be able to free ourselves from their shackles.”

Shang Tsung hummed, grinning to himself. This was all such a tempting offer. The problem was it was just a little too tempting. That indicated it could very well be a trap.

“And I am supposed to just take your word that is what will happen?” He questioned, and was once again shocked when Kuai actually laughed at that.

“The Grandmaster expected that as your reaction too.” Kuai reached into his pocket, pulling out a small envelope and passing it to Shang Tsung. “This contains a section of recent correspondents. We will share further information with you once we have your cooperation.”

Shang Tsung took the envelope, slipping its contents out and quickly glancing over it. It was indeed snippets of letter’s between The Lin Kuei and Liu Kang. Nothing too revealing, he supposed that made sense, if they gave him too much of the juicy stuff too soon, there would be no reason for him to agree to the deal. There were a few lines that implied Liu Kang was looking to launch some sort of attack against Shang Tsung’s brood.

That was troublesome, he needed further information.

“To further the deal,” Kuai continued, and Shang Tsung looked up at him with a raised eyebrow, “he offers you, personally, a member of the clan as a feeder.”

He was silent for a few seconds, being a feeder was a dangerous position and not one just any human would do willingly, causing him to ask “what poor sap would agree to do that?”

“I did not agree to it.” The statement was short, full of rage and betrayal that the man could never verbalise for fear of being punished for it.

“But it is not your place to question your Grandmaster,” Shang Tsung taunted, chuckling when the other man flinched at the way his own words were used against him. “Let me guess, he’s offered you in part, because you vocalised your disagreements with him?”

There was no reply, but the solemn look on Kuai’s face indicated that was exactly what happened.

“It’s an interesting proposal,” Shang Tsung moved on. His mouth was positively salivating at the thought of drinking Kuai Liang’s blood. He could imagine how it would taste, people with Kuai Liang’s temperament tended to have the sweetest flavoured blood, but he wouldn’t know for sure until he bit into the other man's flesh. However, until he’d spoken with Bi-Han and agreed to everything officially, he did not wish to be presumptuous and sink his teeth in a little too early. “I think an audience with your brother would be best to iron out all the details of this arrangement.”

Kuai nodded, pushing himself to stand up, “then I shall take you to him.”

“Excellent.” He bowed, allowing Kuai Liang to lead the way. However, just before Kuai could exit the door, Shang Tsung grabbed his wrist to stop him. “Oh, Kuai Liang?” Kuai looked over his shoulder, frowning deeply. “I very much look forward to drinking from you.”

Kuai swallowed, understanding that Shang Tsung intended to accept that particular part of the agreement as well. He jerked his arm away, a callous laugh escaping Shang Tsung’s lips. Truth was, Shang Tsung was an evil bastard, he owned that part of his personality, but even he at least sympathised with Kuai’s predicament. He’d make sure to find a way to reward the man heavily for his service.

Kuai turned to leave, and Shang Tsung couldn’t help but smirk to himself.

This was going to be a most worthwhile agreement, he was sure of it.

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