The strange serpentine tattoos withdrew themselves into Billy's body, becoming mere tattoos again.  He turned away from Esther, the whole of his attention focused on the other three.  It was obvious that she was no longer important to him - he had what he wanted from her.<br/><br/>One by one he met the eyes of Jason, Olivia, and finally Mike.  "Well.  One down and three to go.  Who's our next volunteer?  How about it, Mike, can you keep a leash on your temper long enough to get what you want?"  Despite his words, Billy's tone was bereft of its usual mocking quality; he seemed to sense that he couldn't safely push Mike much farther than he already had.