by G. Bailey
“What the fuck did you just do to me?” I cry, scrambling away from him. “What was that?”
“It will heal,” he replies, his voice condescendingly patient, as if he were an adult talking to a petulant child.
“But now you can’t escape your family,” Xur continues, looking like he just won something as he licks the blood - my blood - off his lips. I glance down at my arm, which is still bleeding a little, but the cut isn’t that deep, and I can already see the flesh beginning to stitch together. I can ignore it for now.
“You are feckin’ crazy!” I shout, struggling to get my feet back under me so that I can stand up. “Storm told me you were, but he was seriously right about you lot!” My voice cracks, although whether from the anger or the stress of the situation, I can’t say. Xur just continues to smile down at me, but he’s not the next one who speaks next.
“There’s a reason Storm has spent four hundred years trapped in that hole,” says one of the twins, the one with snow white hair. Her voice makes her sound like an angel, and her appearance makes her look like one; the only thing that gives it away is her creepy, blind-looking eyes. “Storm knew us when we were but children,” she continues, her voice like silk. I don’t trust anyone with a voice that sweet. “It’s true that we made many mistakes,” she continues. “We will certainly be the first to admit that. But I do hope you can decide to judge us for who we are now, and not who we were then.” A small, knowing smile spreads on her face, and I don’t like the way she’s looking at me. “After all,” she adds, “Storm was no angel himself, and yet it seems you’ve taken to him quite well.”
I swallow hard, ignoring the comment about my relationship with Storm. How the fuck would she know that, anyway? As if you even need to ask, I tell myself. They know everything about you. “And who the hell are you supposed to be?” I demand, glaring defiantly up at her. “Some escaped circus performer, by the looks of it.”
She laughs a cold laugh. “You certainly have a tongue on you, girl. Not to worry; we’ll deal with that in time.” She places a pale hand to her chest. “My name is Eenta Cyncus. I am glad to meet you.”
My curiosity finally gets the better of me. “How do you know who I like, anyway?” I retort. “You don’t know me at all.”
“Perhaps,” Xur replies, “but we know Storm. He has never shown emotion the way he did when I took you.” I swallow hard, wondering if he’s telling the truth. “It was interesting, to say the least,” he continues, looking thoughtful. “I tell my sisters every little secret I learn. What I know, they know. If you join us, it would be the same for you.” He grins down at me, as if he’s a salesman doing a marketing pitch instead of a freaky elder god who’s trying to threaten me into surrendering. “Although,” he adds, “perhaps it was simply because Storm knows you are immortal like him, and that there is a true chance of the two of you having a future together.”
“Storm didn’t know about me,” I exclaim. He would have told me the truth if he had, wouldn’t he? Hell, I don’t even believe it yet. Some part of me stubbornly resolves not to until my mum says it. I want to hear it directly from her; if she tells me it’s true, then I will have to face it. But now isn’t the time for that.
“Are you sure?” Eenta enquires, and her voice is so overly saccharine and gentle that I want to look around for the child that spoke and not the woman who actually said it. It’s weird, and it’s unsettling. “He’s been in that prison for centuries, seen countless women born and die there. Isn’t it strange that he got so close to the first woman he would actually be able to spend his life with? Except for us, of course.” I instantly bristle at her suggestion, and I know it’s out of jealousy. Part of me feels petty to even be getting territorial over Storm, especially when at this rate I’m probably never going to see him again, but I can’t help it. Storm wouldn’t be interested in those two for so many reasons, but that doesn’t make the taunt any less effective. I want to stab the bitch because she even suggested it.
“He sees you three as his brother and sisters, even though you aren’t actually blood related at all,” I tell them, shaking my head in disbelief. “In fact, you don’t act like family one bit,” I sneer, letting out a laugh without much humour to it.
“Is that so?” askes Xur. “Do enlighten us, Karma.”
“Family doesn’t lock each other up and throw away the key!” I snap. “Family doesn’t betray one another! And family sure as hell doesn’t kidnap family!” I gesture at my chest, my mouth twisting in a sneer. “What would any of you know about family?”
“As I said before, we made small mistakes,” Eenta replies, tilting her head to one side and giving me a long look. “You will come to see us as family soon. I’m positive of it,” she continues, a broad smile appearing on her face. She’s acting like locking Storm and everyone who ever did anything to piss them off is a minor mistake. How many innocent people have died because of them? It’s sickening to see her grinning like that... although at least she doesn’t have sharp creepy teeth like her sister, who I realize hasn’t spoken at all. If she is anything like her other two siblings, though, I’m going to guess we wouldn’t get along.
“I highly feckin’ doubt it,” I reply, finally getting to my feet. I take another step back, knowing I’m pushing my luck but unable to do anything else. It’s becoming clear that I’m going to have to figure something out soon. They aren’t going to be this chatty forever.
Before I can decide if I’m going to run or not, though, the oddest thing happens. A few feet away from me, a mass of black energy begins to form in the middle of the air. The sisters exchange a look, and Xur frowns, but none of them seem to know what it is. This all happens in the blink of an eye, just before I see the back and butt of Kit floating in the middle of it. I’m relieved to see Kit…but not like this.
“Kit?” I whisper, completely confused why I’m looking at Kit’s butt floating in a black energy which is getting bigger, stretching. Suddenly a dresser flies out of the black energy, and my clothes from inside the prison are thrown all across the dirt in front of us. I look between the higher gods, who look just as confused, and back to the black energy which I’m guessing is some sort of portal. Not like any portal I’ve seen before though. Nor did I have a clue Kit could do magic like this. I assumed he was just a greedy little fecker.
“Did you miss me, little one?” Storm’s grumble makes me shiver as he steps out of the black energy, and his eyes lock onto mine. My heart feels nothing but relief and happiness as I see him, and until now, I didn’t realise how much I like having Storm near me. I feel incomplete without him. I grin at him as I run my eyes over his long hair, which is down, falling around his face, and his purple eyes look much darker than when we last saw each other. He still looks like he has the galaxy in his eyes, though this time I feel like he wants revenge now, and it has made his world a little darker. His very presence makes me shiver, let alone his voice. The higher gods make me nervous and afraid because their energy is wrong. It’s horrid. Storm…well, his energy makes me want to bow my head and serve him forever. Not that he should ever know that. He already has a big head.
“Very much,” is all I can find to say with a cracked voice, and it’s not enough to explain how happy I am to see him. We both don’t need to say anything. The way we left things was complicated to say the least. I know he is mourning Neritous or, at least, the child version of him that he loved. Despite everything, I don’t think it will matter to him now. I can see that. When you just want to be around someone, it’s crazy the things you simply forget for love. Not that I love him. I don’t think anyway. A few moments later, Killian steps out of the black energy, with Seth close behind him, and my heart beats that much harder.
“You’re alive,” I whisper, knowing they can’t hear me as I take a step closer to them. They look tired, wearing white shirts and joggers that ride low on their hips because they don’t fit well. Neither of them has shaved in a while, making them almost look like a wild pair of hot
twin guys. Not that you find those in the wild, because I’m damn sure women would be out hunting all day if you did. The blond twins never have looked at me like they are right now. I meet Killian’s gold eyes first, and the usual light I find in them isn’t all there. He looks just as lost as Storm. When I turn to see Seth, I watch how his hands are tightened into fists and how tense his whole body is as he looks into my eyes. Seth’s eyes have always been dark, lost and cold…but this time, I see a little bit of light in them. It’s not much, and it doesn’t one bit help me understand Seth any more than I do—or don’t. That guy is an enigma to me, one I’m attracted to and want to find out more about. I’m not admitting that out loud though. It’s good to at least think about all the things I’ve been avoiding before, well, whatever is going to happen. I really hope Storm is here to help me escape and stop his family. I don’t know if he could kill them though. I know somewhere deep down he loves them.
“Karma, are you okay?” Killian asks, his eyes drifting to my arm that I’m holding and the blood dripping down it. Before I answer, I see Seth hand Storm his axe out of the corner of my eye.
“I thought you guys were dead, and it nearly broke me,” I explain, my voice cracking. “You guys gave me a friggin’ heart attack.”
“We're not yet,” Seth coldly replies, and I look to him, nodding a few times.
“Come here. We aren’t going anywhere without you, Karma,” Killian firmly tells me as he holds a hand out for me to take. The moment I try to step towards them, two hands slam onto my shoulders, stopping me as they dig their nails into my bare skin. The twin sisters stand on either side of me, making it clear I can’t go anywhere, as Xur moves to stand slightly in front of us all.
“Let her go. Now.” Storm’s statement is cold, emotionless and downright scary as it makes me shiver. I can’t see him, but I can guess he doesn’t look one bit impressed at seeing his family again. “You only get one warning.” The sky instantly starts to get dark as it feels like the air gets tenser, making it hard to breath. It’s like that feeling you get right before a storm, except this time Storm really is here and far more deadly than anyone else in the world.
“Make me,” Xur replies like it is some big joke, which is a little bit of a surprise because, if anyone, he should fear Storm. I mean, he locked him away because he was scared he would kill him and his sisters. In a blur, Storm is in front of Xur and tightly grabbing him by the throat. He lifts him high in the air as the sky goes even darker than it was a second ago. Rain pours down on us a moment later, and lightning flashes across the sky. I cry out as it feels like my throat is being closed and crushed. I fall to my knees, the world going blurry as I gasp and claw at my throat to stop it. I gasp for air, a cry leaving my lips as nothing else comes out. I’m dying, and I don’t even know why or how. There is nothing there. As the real panic begins to settle in, I hear Storm’s voice.
“What have you done?” Storm roars, and the feeling soon stops. Moments later, Storm picks me up, holding me to his chest with his axe pressed to my back. His other hand goes to my cheek, his thumb wiping a tear away as he examines me. I try to speak, but my voice is cracked and doesn’t sound right. My throat burns from the pain that is still there, even as it is fading.
“I’ve made sure my niece is safe for good. We have a blood bond, an unbreakable one that means if you hurt me, you hurt your precious ‘little one’. You wouldn’t want to do that, now would you?” Xur comments with a raspy voice, but he is still laughing. He linked us, so whatever happens to him, it happens to me too. That means he can’t be killed unless I’m dead too. The thought just makes me want to panic. I turn my head to meet Xur’s eyes, and see the smile there on his stupid lips. How the heck am I meant to get revenge without killing myself in the process now?
“You feckin’ eegit! This is why you are bat shit crazy!” I say, though my voice is strained and raspy, but it still gets my point across.
“I will find a way to break it,” Storm promises me, looking furious. The justice twins come to each side of us as Storm lets me go but takes my hand to keep me close. Storm points the axe at Xur and the girls.
“I will have my revenge for everything. Nothing has changed,” Storm growls loudly, and Xur for a second shows some fear. Eenta just smiles like we are discussing having a family barbeque and not murdering each other. I don’t even bother looking her sister’s way, knowing she likely is enjoying this.
“Everything has changed, though,” Xur smugly replies, and his eyes go to me as he makes that point. I’ve made Storm weak, and now he isn’t a threat to them. That’s what he is saying without actually saying it. Storm has wanted nothing more than to escape that prison, and the second he does, I’ve stopped him from actually being able to do anything. Not without losing me, which he thankfully doesn’t want to do. I look up at him, how strong he appears to be, and I know I need to be strong too.
“I want the bond broken. Now,” Storm demands, and the very weather around us gets worse. The rain falls harder, the skies get darker, and it is becoming more difficult to breathe from the pressure. I look to Seth, who is watching everything and everyone so closely. The higher gods haven’t even acknowledged their existence yet, but I doubt they see them as a threat. After all, they executed the justice twins’ father without a second thought or a struggle at all.
“How about a game?” Eenta suggests, clapping her hands. “I do love a game to keep us all entertained.”
“You are not bonded to her. I think I should play a game of killing you and your sister, Gestune. Then Xur, because he needs to watch you two die first,” Storm replies like he has it all planned out, and lightning flashes across the sky as he speaks. The rain is now settling into my dress and every bit of my skin it can find, making me shiver. It’s seriously cold. My arm aches as much as my throat does, but I have to stay strong. Even when I’m in pain and scared, being here with Storm and the twins makes things a little better. Killian’s or Seth’s hand moves to rest on the middle of my back like they could sense I need comfort, that this has been all too much for me, for anyone, to cope with. I’m not even sure what is real and what isn’t.
“One move to harm my sisters, and I will stab myself. Repeatedly. Now, I will heal, but Karma has only half of the strength I have. She would die from that,” he replies. “And there is nothing on this earth that could hold me down or stop my friends from helping me kill myself. If I go down, or my sisters do, I’m taking Karma with me.”
“What game?” I interrupt, placing my hand on Storm’s hand holding the axe and lowering it. I don’t fancy being stabbed a few times right in this moment, and threatening them isn’t working. I’ve always heard rumours about how the higher gods like games and challenges. Every year, they invite people onto the island for a challenge, which no one ever comes back from.
“I’m suggesting five games to celebrate there now being five higher gods on earth! If you win them all, then Xur will break the bond,” Eenta says, placing her hand on her brother’s arm after he glares down at her. They share some understanding, because when he looks to me, he is smiling.
“I promise, if you win, I will break the bond,” Xur claims.
“No, don—” Seth tries to stop me, but before Killian and Storm can protest with him, I speak.
“Then let’s play,” I say, interrupting Seth before he could finish that sentence. I doubt we are going to get another chance to break the bond, and fighting our way out isn’t going to work. The guys look at me like I’ve betrayed them somehow, but I just know there isn’t another way. I don’t want to be bonded to that lunatic anymore.
“Perfect. While the games commence, you are welcome here at our home, and we would prefer it that way. Your family and your friend are already here, Karma. They do love the castle and the island,” Xur says, and I tighten my fists. If they have hurt one hair on their heads, I will lose it. My hands flicker green, and I have to take a deep breath to make it stop.
“Where are they?” I tightly as
k through gritted teeth.
“In the guest quarters, and I have treated them like they are my own family, which in a distant way they are. I’m sure Storm remembers where the guest quarters are,” Xur says, but I won’t believe him until I see them for myself, especially given how he’s treated his own family. “It has been updated for a more modern appearance now.”
“I do remember, considering I helped my parents build the castle,” Storm tightly replies.
“Brilliant. We have many things to prepare. Do excuse us,” Xur happily replies, bowing his head to us with a big smile I just want to knock off his feckin’ mouth. What an utter gobshite.
“This isn’t over between us, Xur. Death will find you by my hand,” Storm vows. Xur locks eyes with Storm before walking away with the sisters.
“What now?” Killian asks into the silence that is between us all. I wipe some tears off my face and straighten my back as I look between my gods.
“I need to talk to my mum. I need to know the truth.” I might need to know it, but I sure as heck don’t want to know. The truth usually isn’t all pretty and nice. My mum must have hidden the truth for a long time for a reason, and now I just need to know it.
I want to know who I am.
3
Storm watches Xur and his two sisters disappear into the distance, looking like he’s on the verge of going after him. If it weren’t for the blood bond, I have no doubt that he would, but I’m relieved that he doesn’t make a move. He’s a powerful god, no doubt on par with his family, but that doesn’t change the odds; even if my fate weren’t linked to Xur’s, it would be three against one, and I don’t want to see him get hurt.