by Lola StVil
“That is not what I need from you. I have earned my revenge. We have earned our revenge. We had two things, Kane: a brotherhood and a vow. Are you still my brother?”
“Yes.”
“When we became demons we vowed to help put an end to this sick, diseased thing called humanity. We made that vow. Do you remember that?”
“Yes.”
“Then what the fuck, man? Why did you give up being Keysu? Why did you throw this chance away?”
“Talon—”
“Look, I get it, okay? We’ve all been there, man. That Atlas chick, I’ll give it to you, she’s hot. But you can’t break up our brotherhood; you can’t break your vow just because you got some good puss—”
Before he can finish his statement, my hands are wrapped around his neck.
“Okay, okay. Kane, if you say this chick is more than just a good lay, then fine, I believe you.” He holds out the palm of his hand to show he surrenders. I reluctantly back off. He walks over to me with pain, hurt, and anger in his eyes.
“Kane, talk to me, man. You’re all I have. Years after the Market and you are still all I have. We are family. What we have is deeper than blood! You telling me you’re gonna walk away from our brotherhood? Walk away from our vow? Kane…after everything we survived in this house, in this room…are you going to betray me? Are going to betray us?”
“Talon, this isn’t a betrayal.”
“Then why is my fucking heart breaking?”
I look at him from across the room. His blue eyes are cold and intense. His lips are snarled in bitterness and rage—and not just at me. There was a kid once under all that wrath and grit. I wish like hell I could help him find what the Market took from him, but shit, I can’t find it my damn self.
Most of the time I feel like I’m out at sea surrounded by darkness. I’m going deeper and deeper into the middle of the ocean and have no idea what’s ahead of me. Guess that’s why we wanted to burn the world: help light our way. But now I have my own personal flashlight. And now Talon thinks I’m leaving him out at sea alone.
Aren’t you?
“You know I tried like hell to find you when I got out,” I mumble.
“I know.”
“Look, if I never said thank you…”
“You never need to say thank you. That’s what family does. I took the hit. I took the beatings and the biting. I took it for my brother.”
“You called me here because you wanted to tell me something. Talon, talk to me.”
“Arken spoke to me.”
“He came down here?”
“No, he spoke though the demon I was playing pool with. It was creepy as hell.”
“How do you know it was him?” I ask.
“The whole bar froze. Stars started falling from the damn sky. You’re a demon; you know when you are around the biggest evil that ever lived, okay?”
“Yeah. What did he say? Wait, I got it. Why didn’t I see that coming? He wants you to be the new Keysu,” I reason.
“That’s what I thought too, but no. For some reason it’s important to him that you be the one to stop this quest crap.”
“So he sent you here to threaten me?”
“No.”
“Then what is it? What are we doing here, Talon? Why are we inside this room? What the hell is going on?”
“Do you remember what I said to you right before I left to go live with the Dentist?” he asks. I can never forget the last words Talon spoke as he was dragged into the deepest depths of hell in my place: “I only die if you forget me. Don’t forget me.”
“Yeah, I remember. You know I remember,” I reply.
“Did you forget me? Am I dead to you?” he asks.
“No, of course not. What do you need?” I ask.
“It’s not me, it’s Arken. He has a message for you.”
“Yeah, fine. Let’s have it,” I spit bitterly. He unfolds his hand and reveals a gold medallion with the Keysu symbol in the center.
“Kane, if you don’t take this marking and become the Keysu again, I’ll be dead by sunrise.”
I am standing on the shore as the sun sets, wrapped in Liam’s arms. I think this has to be what heaven feels like. There’s just no way anything could feel better than this. When we pull apart from kissing, he looks at his phone and then back at me. This can’t be good. I ask him what’s going on and Liam tells me Talon needs to see him.
I’m not sure how I feel about Talon. On one hand, he suffered so much as a kid—it breaks my heart to hear all the stuff he had to go through. But on the other hand, he could pull Kane back into full “demon mode.” I don’t voice my concerns out loud because I know it could start an argument between us and I don’t want that.
When he takes off, I head back into the villa, where I can make out Quinn waiting to talk to me. ARGH! I don’t have anything to say to her or her mother. I brought this team here to Anguilla so they could get some down time, not so Quinn and I could hash things out. Thankfully, I get a call from my favorite classmate and jam lover.
“Hi, Pest!” I shout happily into the phone. “Yes, yes, yes. I promise I will get to the book today. Okay, bye!”
Pest has been bugging me for days to read the fairy tale and tell him what I think. I’m not sure why it’s important to him that I read it, but it is. And since I would do anything to avoid running into Quinn, now is as good a time as any to wander off and keep my vow to Pest—read the damn book. I sneak off and find a quiet little out of the way spot surrounded by trees. I’m far enough away that Quinn won’t spot me but close enough to the team in case there’s trouble.
Ha! Listen to me, I sound so official. Mason would be proud. I sit down and settle in at the base of the tallest tree I can find and start to read.
“Once upon a time, on the edge of the world, there stood a powerful kingdom called the Kingdom of Anor. The inhabitants were ruled by a merciful wizard, who sadly passed in the night. The kingdom was left to the king’s two sons: Marrow and Mercy. Marrow wanted the kingdom to bow to his every whim and become his slave. Mercy wanted his subjects to have free will and to prosper. The two brothers argued endlessly about what should be done with the kingdom.
Normally, the oldest child would be the rightful ruler, but Marrow and Mercy were twins and their parents died, never having told them which one of them came first. The two sides were headed for a terrible civil war. They sought the council of the most powerful lady that ever lived. She was tasked with creating a spell that would replicate the day of the twins’ birth so that the brothers could find out who came first.
Over the next several weeks, the brothers would check in on the lady’s progress. She was very close to recreating that fateful night for the brothers. One evening Mercy went to the lady to see if she had completed the spell. She was not done yet; however, Mercy enjoyed her company and so the two of them talked through the night. They became fast friends and over time, they became much more than that. In fact, the lady fell madly in love with Mercy. The two of them had a secret child together.
When the spell was finally ready, it was revealed that Mercy was in fact the oldest and therefore the rightful king. Unfortunately, Marrow found out about the couple and their child and accused the lady of interfering with the spell and creating a false history.
Marrow imprisoned the would-be king and forced the lady to destroy any evidence of Mercy having been the eldest.
Knowing that their child was the rightful king, the lady hid the offspring away, in the world of flesh and sun. Many in the kingdom helped her smuggle the child to safety, thus angering Marrow. He decided, as a punishment, he would cripple the kingdom with brutal, never-ending winters.
It is prophesied that if the child is found, and still has light within them, that light will overpower the darkness brought on by Marrow. It will reverse the curse on the kingdom and bring about the last winter: the end of all suffering. However, if that child is found and has completely surrendered to the darkness, in addition to the end
of the kingdom, his parents will fall as well. This would give Marrow dominion over everything the eye can see.”
“Wow, whatever happened to ‘happily ever after?’” I ask out loud.
“That comes at the end; if at all,” someone says nearby. I quickly look up, on high alert. A figure appears before my eyes. He’s older, large, and imposing. Dark eyes. Strong features. Distinguished. Gorgeous.
“Who the hell are you?” I ask as I stand up, ready to attack.
“I am Nyten.”
“You mean that Nyten…?”
“Yes, dear. I am the son of Orah.”
What the…?
“Ah…okay. Son of Orah. Got it,” I reply awkwardly. “Should I bow or something? I haven’t taken any courses on the proper way to greet a god before…” I admit. He laughs. The sky shakes. Damn.
“She said you were funny,” he replies.
“Who?”
“Sadie.”
“You know her?” I ask.
“Yes, we collaborated on something a few years back,” he says reflectively.
“Oh, I didn’t know that. But then again, I don’t know anything when it comes to Sadie,” I mumble.
“Yes, she can be rather cryptic and closed. She sent me here to talk with you and to get to know you,” he says.
“Why—oh, right. Because I’m the Seeker.”
“No, I’ve never met Seekers face-to-face before.”
“Why did you make the exception for me?” I wonder.
“Because of how he feels about you,” he says.
“Who?”
“Our son. Kane.”
***********************************
END OF BOOK 1.
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