“Your brother refused to join me—and you’re the one who knocked out my beloved Naretha, subjecting her to months of imprisonment,” he added to Calder. Naretha didn’t remember Danny caring nearly this much about that fact, but perhaps Ashna’s disappearance heightened his level of peevishness.
“And you—” He stepped into the threshold to see Angor clearly. “You were a thorn in my father’s side for decades. I won’t let you ruin my organization with your blasphemy. I won’t be as tolerant as my father was.”
Naretha had anticipated what happened next, but she had thought the conversation would draw out longer, that she would have an adequate amount of time to formulate some plan as to how she could convince Danny to leave these Affinities unscathed. She hadn’t thought he would erupt the very building they stood in.
The explosion detonated the ceiling, caving the concrete inward. Chunks of rock and rubble rained down, but Naretha sprinted to the exit swiftly, avoiding anything more serious than a few scratches. Once out on the street, she saw the back half of the building had collapsed, burning as brilliantly as the front gate had.
Danny walked through the still-standing front door as if he’d just signed a business deal. There was no hint of remorse, no trace of what he’d done in his expression. It was as if those three people had never existed at all.
Naretha didn’t give a damn about Calder; that cocky kid could rot beneath the wreckage, and she was pleased Angor Periculy had finally met his end. His existence had been detrimental to Affinities for Freedom for many years, and she was glad to know it wouldn’t continue on with the Wackos.
Adara was the issue. Naretha didn’t know the girl personally, but she did know Avner, and she knew how ardently he cared for his sister. He wasn’t really Naretha’s problem anymore, but to think he was out in the world somewhere, soon to discover the death of his sister, reminded her too much of her own brother’s death, the pain, despair, and wrath that had followed.
As a result, she’d served Ephraim with a new thirst for violence, vowing to eradicate the type of Reggs who’d been heartless enough to murder an innocent boy. Although Avner had been inclined toward passivity for now, this would unlock a vicious section of his personality, one that would prompt him to seek out and annihilate those who had stolen his sister’s life.
For once, Naretha didn’t look forward to the slaughter.
36
Unnecessary Deaths
“Hold on,” Seth coughed before pivoting to the left and vomiting at the doorstep of a shop. When he slowly raised his head, he was met with the sight of the dry cleaner’s he’d worked at for the past few weeks. His boss would not be happy—if he survived the bedlam scourging Periculand, that was.
“All right,” he said, his lips and tongue contorting as he gagged. The puke was mostly liquid, but it still left a putrid tang lingering in his mouth. Recomposing himself, he spun back toward Naira, who stood at the center of the semi-circle alleyway, arms crossed. “I’m good.”
“You keep saying that and then you keep barfing ten seconds later.” She scrunched her nose. “It’s taken us nearly ten minutes just to walk halfway around this bend.”
“That’s because…the ground is moving,” he insisted as he stumbled across the cobblestone toward her. “Like a treadmill.”
Normally, she would have laughed, but now her expression was humorless as she grabbed his shoulders to steady him. “I’m gonna find somewhere for you to hide while I go deal with the invasion, ’kay?”
“No-no—I wanna come,” he said, unable to keep the whine out of his voice. “I just can’t run—the headaches, the stomachaches—”
She puffed out a sigh before glancing at the night sky. “If you were sober, I’d let you join me, but you’re a liability at this point.”
Seth never thought he would live to see a day where he regretted getting drunk, but that day had come, and he was really, really pissed at himself. The urgency of the Wacko attack had sobered him a bit, but the physiological effects that resulted from his over-consumption of alcohol were inescapable. If he accompanied Naira now, he would be a liability. She’d have to worry more about keeping him safe than saving others. As much as he wanted to join the action—to finally engage in a fight that would draw out his super strength—his twin’s voice barked at him in his head, telling him it would be irrational.
Rummaging through his pocket, Seth extracted the key to the cleaner’s. “I’ll go sit in there and ride this out… The moment I’m better, though, I’m gonna super strength my way to campus and help you—but…only if you kiss me.”
A laugh escaped her mouth as she planted her hands on her hips. “Really? Now or later, Stark?”
“Both? All? Always?” Another giggle from her. “Oh, and you also need to explain to me why you had to kiss me outside of Adara’s jail cell but didn’t…and probably the whole ‘you’re a Wacko’ situation.”
Any enthusiasm in Naira’s demeanor deflated as she shuffled in place. “It’s…a long story, Seth—one that I will tell you eventually, but we don’t have time now. All I can really say is…I was instructed to kiss you by Ashna, but I didn’t because…because I did want it to be real—I still do, actually. She had this plan—well, she’s had a lot of plans, but they’ve all fallen through now… Basically, I was supposed to lure you into the alley and kiss you outside of Adara’s cell to make her jealous—to get her angry—to provoke her fire Affinity. Adara’s the only one in this town who could even start to stand a chance against Danny. Even Ashna, with all the Affinities she’s harnessed, can’t thwart him. With Danny, you have to fight fire with fire, and Adara’s the only one who can.”
“Danny has…a fire Affinity?” was all Seth could think to ask. His mind reeled—mostly because she’d said Adara would be jealous to see him making out with someone else. Why would Adara be jealous? Unless…unless…
“Mm, more like a…nuclear Affinity,” Naira corrected through a wince. The word nuclear was enough to snap him out of his ridiculous thoughts.
“Nuclear? Are we all being exposed to radiation?”
“Probably not…” Naira said, though it didn’t sound very reassuring. “He could expose everyone to radiation, but even he’s not that cruel. As far as I know, he’s learned to contain the nuclear part pretty well, so he just explodes things. Sometimes for fun. Sometimes to make his sister come out of hiding and surrender, like now.”
Seth’s rapid blinking increased his headache to the point that he was convinced he’d heard Naira say sister. Before he could question it, though, a figure materialized from around the bend of the alleyway. Eyes widening, Naira hastily shoved Seth into the small crevice between the cleaner’s and the adjacent building.
With their backs both pressed against the brick wall, he opened his mouth to speak, but she instantly clapped her hand over it, silencing him as footsteps approached. They both held their breaths as a man passed their dark alley, his greedy eyes scanning the street for signs of life. His hair was a creamy white, like the exterior of Periculand’s shops, but he appeared not much older than them, maybe twenty at most.
Once he was safely past, Naira sighed quietly and scrubbed her forehead. “That was a Wacko—Jez. He’s insane.”
“Aren’t all Wackos insane?” Seth whispered, earning a wry glance.
“Not like Jez. If he finds us, he’ll hang us.”
“Hang us? Like—with a rope?”
“That’s his Affinity,” she informed him ruefully. “Ropes. And he’s sadistic with them, that’s for sure. I always avoided him, but Ashna got into a fight with him once and he nearly choked her to death.” Seth gaped as he attempted to process her words, but a new wave of dread had already consumed her face. “He’s headed for the police station—dammit. I’m gonna have to stop him. I can’t let him get to Ashna—or Adara. I didn’t want to involve you, but…can you back me up if it goes poorly?”
“Of course.” He attempted an awkward stretch in the crammed space. “What shoul
d the code word be?”
“Code word?”
“Like—if you’re dying and you need help, you’ll say a code word and I’ll know to jump out and save you.”
Naira’s peachy eyebrows creased. “You won’t be able to tell if I’m dying? How will I be able to speak if he’s choking me with ropes? You know, never mind. Don’t save me. But if I become incapacitated, I need you to sneak around the opposite side of this semi-circle and go to the police station and—”
A white rope snapped through the mouth of the alley, wrapping around her wrist and yanking her into the street with enough force to throw her to the ground. The Wacko named Jez sauntered toward her, his hands walking along the rope to keep it taut.
“Oh, hello, Naira,” he said roughly, tugging on the rope and pulling her arm in a way that made her yelp. “I thought I smelled a traitor.”
“Jez,” she greeted through gritted teeth. “Was hoping I’d never have to see you again.”
“Oh, I know. That’s why, when I heard you and the little runt ran to Periculand, I knew I needed to pay you a visit.”
The only movement Naira made was the clenching and unclenching of her hand, probably because the rope seemed to be cutting off her circulation. “I assume by runt you’re not referring to Cath.”
Jez stiffened, his white-irised eyes scanning the area for her monstrous ally. Seth was her only backup, and while he’d initially been shocked, he now slowly formulated a plan. This Wacko seemed as well trained as Naira, Cath, and Ashna, so Seth would have to catch him off guard.
“Neither of them are here,” Naira said, likely to divert Jez’s attention from where Seth prepped himself in the hidden gap. “I’m alone.”
“Well, that’s unfortunate.” Jez’s smirk returned. “Danny will be disappointed I didn’t acquire his little sister for him. Though, I suppose it also means no one’s around to hear you scream—or choke—or die.”
Seth was tempted to say something super cool and witty like, “You’re the one that’s gonna die,” but stealth was of the utmost importance. So, shaking out his limbs one last time, he withheld his courageous proclamation and launched out from between the buildings.
To his surprise, Jez was actually surprised. The Wacko didn’t even have a moment to react before he’d been tackled to the ground.
“Seth! I didn’t say the code word!”
“We didn’t agree on a code word!” he shouted back at Naira as he grappled with Jez. Super strength or not, Seth was definitely stronger than this guy. Pinning him to the ground was laughably easy. Keeping him there was the hard part, because even though Jez’s squirming was futile, he still had the ability to utilize his ropes, which literally grew out of his skin.
The white chord projected from his flesh like a rapidly sprouting and grossly oversized hair, extending from his forearm and snaking toward Seth’s neck. Knowing what fate awaited him if this guy managed to tie a noose around him, Seth scrambled off and retreated toward Naira. By now she’d disentangled the rope from her wrist, which was rubbed raw from the friction, but her hand continued opening and closing.
“I told you not to help me. You shouldn’t be out here.”
Seth wobbled, feeling suddenly dizzy, but he still flashed her a cocky grin. “I was helpful, though, wasn’t I?”
“Yes, but—”
A prickly substance suddenly looped around Seth’s wrists, drawing his hands together and immobilizing them. He shouldn’t have been startled when Jez used the lasso to jerk him forward, but he still did yelp when he plummeted face-first onto the cobblestone.
Luckily, his extended arms lessened the impact to his chin, but his whole body felt the ache of the collision. The intensity of his headache magnified, and he was so disoriented that it took him a moment to register what was happening when Jez’s rope hauled him to his feet, his arms now suspended above his head.
“You.” A sadistic shimmer entered the guy’s eyes. “You’re on Danny’s wanted list.”
“Why?” Seth asked as he kneed him in the gut. Howling, the Wacko hunched over, seething and clutching his stomach. The rope holding Seth’s hands in the air slackened, and he shucked it off before grabbing Jez’s white hair and yanking his head up. “Why?”
The Wacko smiled through his grimace. “Danny’s a fan of family reunions.”
Seth blinked. Then he released Jez’s hair, staggering back and nearly tripping over the fallen rope. His parents—
Another rope flew from Jez’s arm. There was no time to react—no time to duck or dodge or even grab it before it secured itself around Seth’s neck.
“Jez—don’t!” Naira pleaded, but her voice sounded distant in Seth’s ears. Everything was hazy—similar to the way in which the world had appeared through his drunken eyes. Perhaps all the movement had brought back the negative effects of his alcohol consumption—or maybe the rope tightening around his throat prohibited blood from properly flowing to his brain. He felt the pain—the pressure of the rope, the lack of oxygen in his lungs, the pounding beneath his skull—but he also felt disconnected from it, his consciousness evading him.
Naira stepped behind him. He sensed her rather than saw her. The world was a blob of white, Jez’s crazed eyes the only distinguishable feature amidst the cloudiness.
“I told you not to come out, Seth,” Naira said, her voice like a fading song in his ears. He swore he saw Jez swaying, his menacing eyes drooping, though it could have been his imagination projecting his own motions onto those around him.
Naira, now standing at his side, remained steady, her expression as apologetic as her tone. With her next words, his awareness finally fled, bringing with it the pain, the nausea, and the sensation of the rope ringing his neck. “I’m sorry.”
Nero would have gladly admitted he looked like a Greek god as he ran down Periculand’s main street, black sweatshirt abandoned and bare muscles swelling to an unnatural girth. He’d made the mistake of idling in a cage once, but he’d vowed never to sit behind bars again. Especially not when Reggs had put him there, as if they had any real influence over him. Especially not when he had the opportunity to prove his power, to win his leadership through might. Especially not when his girlfriend had betrayed him by overthrowing his authority and claiming his minions as her own.
What agitated him the most was that Nixie could easily rally his forces behind her. All of Nero’s allies respected and feared her as much as they did him. If she ordered them to turn their backs on him and follow her when he wasn’t around, they would scamper after her like lost sheep.
That was why Nero had to ensure he was there. No one would question his rule over Nixie’s if he was physically present. At least, that was his belief, and he would guarantee that his beliefs became reality.
Challenging her might have proven less difficult if her brother had decided to follow him out of the police station. Nero could beat her to bits if he wanted to, but…he didn’t really want to. She’d been his girlfriend for the past year, and despite his antipathy for most people, he didn’t hate Nixie; he almost actually loved her. The concept was so foreign to him that he didn’t like to consider it, but her betrayal fractured more than his pride.
That was why he would have preferred to threaten Calder in order to win her back. Nero didn’t want to physically harm Nixie, but he wouldn’t have minded giving Calder a few bruises, especially now that the kid had essentially betrayed him as well.
Nero shouldn’t have been surprised that Mardurus stuck behind with Stromer. Over the past few weeks, their little connection had become increasingly conspicuous. His plans for that connection… Well, he would brood on that later.
The Wackos must have blown their way into town in the same instant Nero smashed his way out of jail, because the school’s campus was bathed in flames but he hadn’t heard the initial explosion. He did hear the booms that followed, though. None were dramatic enough to stop his strides toward the school—until the Physicals Building erupted, dragging the sounds of scream
s and cries with it.
At that, his pace faltered. Nero wasn’t one to balk at destruction, but to see a building that had seemed so permanent crumble with such ease… He definitely didn’t want to find out what these explosions could do to him.
Scanning the crowd of young Periculand Affinities, pathetically attempting to ward off the Wackos, Nero was pleased to see Tray Stark running away from the battle like a scared little girl. The urge to gloat immediately changed his trajectory; instead of joining the struggling students at the front lines, he hurried after Stark, weaving through the smoking holes in the earth and the battling Affinities until he caught up.
As he grabbed Stark by the back of the neck, it became apparent to Nero that the kid hadn’t been running away from the battle but toward the Physicals Building. The heat of the burning building was nearly unbearable, even at a distance of at least thirty feet. Nero ignored the discomfort—and the fact that Stark had probably planned to dart bravely into the fire and save any trapped survivors—as he spun the little prick around and tightened his grip on his throat.
“H-hi,” Stark choked out, eyes twitching from the pain of Nero’s grasp. Still, the brown was visible, confirming this wasn’t the normie Stark twin. Good. Nero longed to pulverize Tray Stark in a fight that could result in death.
Punching him in the gut, he released Stark and chuckled as the kid doubled over, coughing and groaning.
“Stand,” Nero barked, yanking him up by the hair. Stark’s face twisted, and with the flickering of the flames, his irises looked gray. Disregarding the strange lighting, he thrust his fist into the kid’s cheek, forcing out a grunt.
“Fight me, Stark.” Nero circled him as the boy rubbed his bruised jaw. “Let’s see who’s really the strongest in Periculand.”
“This—doesn’t really seem like a good time. You know we’re being invaded, right?”
“Obviously.” Nero swung for his head, but then the head wasn’t there. It had lowered a few inches, just enough to evade his fist. For a moment, he thought Stark had merely ducked, but when his eyes settled on the person standing before him, it wasn’t Tray Stark. “Little Dispus?” Surveying her hay-like hair, Nero wondered how she’d switched places with Stark so rapidly. He whipped around, searching for Stark, but he was nowhere in sight, which meant—
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