The Serpentine Butterfly

by Addison Moore

A shrill cry comes from the woods. “Let go! Don’t you ever do that again if you plan on keeping your balls!”

  My stomach tightens because I recognize that voice.

  Skyla blooms from the darkness like a rose illuminated from the inside. Despite all the insanity, her presence, her beauty, is a balm from this madness.

  “Shit.” Gage’s face bleaches white as if he were sucker-punched.

  In a moment, she’s side-by-side on the stone with us, her fierce anger directed at Gage.

  “How long were you standing there?” I really didn’t need to ask. Her fury is an answer all to itself.

  Her hand flies over his cheek, connecting with a crisp, angry slap, the sound just as lusty as the thunder still grumbling overhead.

  “I’m sorry.” His own hand rises to meet the sting. “Let me tell you everything.”

  “Shut up!” she seethes as if she were about to knock his teeth out to make sure he never uttered another word. “You don’t get to talk to me.”

  I try to pull her gently back. “There are things you don’t know.” My voice is deliberately hushed, deliberately pleading.

  Her face pinches with grief as she nails me with her piercing stare. “That’s because you bastards get off on that.”

  “Come, love.” Dudley appears at the base of the stone, his arms firmly crossed over his chest as if he’s just as pissed as she is. He’s trying to win her over by siding with her. Covenant. That’s been Dudley’s game all along.

  “Let me guess”—I scowl over at him—“you made sure she watched the show front and center,” I spit it out, trying to control the urge to destroy him for the damage he’s caused. “You betrayed Gage.”

  A hint of a smile curves on his face. “I have no allegiance to Jock Strap. My allegiance is to my spirit wife, and that dolt has made her life more difficult than it ever needs to be.”

  I glance back to where Skyla and Gage stare one another down—Skyla with fierce indignation, and Gage with remorse and sorrow.

  I look back to Dudley. “You were there when we were discussing it. You approved it.”

  “I listened to his idiotic plan, and I told him to run.”

  “I’m going to run,” Skyla says the words to Gage, slow and melodic, the wild anger still alive in her eyes. “With our boys, very far away from you.”

  “Skyla!” Gage shouts her name as if she had already bolted, the cords in his neck popping thick with frustration. “Let’s go home. There’s too much to tell you here. I’ll start from the beginning. I swear—”

  “I swear sounds like a vow, like a covenant,” she grits the words through her teeth. Her entire body shakes with anger. “You’re good at those, aren’t you? What happened to no more secrets? That—all truth, all the time bullshit?”

  He reaches for her hand, and she knocks his feet out from under him in one blind-siding move. Skyla proceeds to level him with a series of wild kicks—one swift blow after the other, and Gage grunts and takes it. He’s already beaten on the inside.

  “Stop,” I plead, pulling her away, my arms tightening around her waist like a belt. Her elbow comes at me, knocking me in the chest like a gravity hammer. If I were in working condition, she would have stopped my beating heart.

  Gage jumps to his feet and attempts to bind her flailing arms, only to have her coldcock him square in the nose.

  “You don’t touch me! You don’t look at me!” she shouts over his squinted eyes. “You piece of shit!” She gives him a hard shove until he stumbles from the stone back to the ground, right off the pedestal of her heart. He’ll never get back on, get anywhere near her playing field if she has anything to do with it.

  “Skyla.” I bind her wrists and pull her in as a wild wind pushes the fog back through the woods as if punishing it for leaving in the first place. This entire damn island is haunted. We should all run. I touch my mouth to her ear. “Once you know the truth, you will understand why he had to do this.”

  Her body writhes and flexes, her gaze pushes from mine as if what was once magnetic is now uncomfortably polarizing—and now it were impossible to connect with me on such an intimate level.

  “You never gave me a chance.” She hawks back and spits a long wet one right into my eye. “I don’t want an explanation after the fact, Logan. I’m done with this bullshit!” She hops down from the stone and turns to her husband. “You think I’m good enough to lead our people—my people—and yet I’m not good enough to let in on your schemes, your wicked, wicked dreams?” You can see the lava-hot anger rising around her. “You never believed in me.” She scowls into my eyes. “Neither of you.”

  Dudley links his arm through hers, and they head back to the party.

  “Shit.” Gage pinches at his eyes. “Every time I try to make things right, I manage to fuck them up twice as bad.”

  “She’ll come around.” I’m not entirely convinced of this, but it felt right to say. I drape an arm over his shoulder as we begin the slow amble from the woods. “She sure kicked our asses.”

  “Sure as fuck did.” His dimples dip in, no smile. It’s his art. I’ve only seen Gage pull off that feat.

  “Come on.” I weave us through the pines, out into the clearing that leads to what’s panning out to be Demetri’s holiday rager. “Let’s apologize to her. We’ll get her to listen. In the least, you can tell her you love her—that you did it for the boys.”

  A scream comes from the pool where a mass of humanity has congregated, and we spot Skyla holding something blue in each arm.

  Killion and Moser look frazzled with their outstretched arms. They’re both shouting at the crowd as if trying to break up a fight.

  “What’s that glowing in Skyla’s arms?” I try to make heads or tails out of it and come up blank.

  “The boys.” Gage sprints over.

  “Shit.” By nature I’m a problem solver. By nature I am frustrated as hell when I can’t fix something, make something right—and looking at the bizarre sight, the inflamed excitement budding in those agents posturing by her side, whispering into her ear—I can only try to fix this for her, no matter what the cost is to me.

  Dudley nods at me from the poolside as if answering the burning question of what the fuck to do.

  Then it hits me—his lightning move. This is the very reason he’s been priming me, making me an expert at one very distinct, unique Celestra talent he was hell-bent on extrapolating from me.

  My arms rise, eye-level the way he taught me, my anger burns for justice—my passion burns for Skyla, always the perfect combination. A rush of electricity pours from my limbs, shooting a line of ragged lightning that stops shy of those precious bundles. To the naked eye it would be my tour de force causing the strange discoloration. The energy of my own hand will have to satisfy as the answer, or I would have tried in vain.

  I stop the show and jog over just as they’re trying to pry the babies from Skyla’s death grip. Her feet sway, and she shifts her weight as if she’s about to go around them and dunk the game winning slam.

  “You will never take my children!” she cries.

  Her mother, Emma, and an entire crowd of friends and family balloon around her in support.

  “Mrs. Oliver!” Killion shouts over the melee. “We need a pediatrician to inspect the children. We’ll summons a specialist come morning, but they’ll need to be detained in the interim.”

  “Did you like the show?” I pant, forcing a smile to pin itself on my face. I hold my hand out and light up the Transfer transplants on the other side of the pool a bright electric blue, the color of those butterflies Skyla and I once nestled under. It’s for her I’m doing this, for my very precious nephews. I’m giving it all up just like Gage. I’m all in.

  Moser flashes his badge at me as he and Killion turn their full attention in my direction.

  “You’re doing this?” Killion’s mouth drops as if she thought she had us pegged, and I threw her for a loop.

  “It’s me you’re after,” I pant. “I’m not of
this world. And there are more of me.” There. Sound like a threat and they’ll treat you like one—anything to get the focus off my nephews.

  “Mr. Oliver, I’m afraid we’re going to have to take you and ask a few questions.” Killion looks to her accomplice. That strange orange hair of hers glows green under the lights, and it makes me wonder. “Get command to send reinforcements. We’ll need them stat.” She pulls out a set of silver bracelets and has me turn around, binding my wrists with the cuffs, and I don’t fight her.

  Gage hands one of the boys to Emma—Skyla hands the other to Lizbeth, instructing them to take them inside.

  “I’m one, too.” Gage steps in, the color of his eyes brightens as if someone illuminated him from the inside. They pulsate in concert as if he were flicking on and off like a light switch. Gage has become his own warning signal, his own doom for the second time tonight. It’s clear Gage’s powers have been reinstated, and for his sake, it happened at the very worst time. He should’ve let me handle this.

  “Turn around.” Moser cuffs him as they quickly shuttle us out of the crowd.

  “No!” Skyla’s voice rises over the chaos, her panic just as viral as her anger. “You don’t get to do this!” she rails at the two of us as we’re led out to the clearing. She lands her body in front of Killion, creating a barricade as if she were blocking a pass. “I will not let you do this.” She’s still hopped up on rage. Her sanity fled an hour ago when Dudley dragged her to the field.

  Moser growls at her, his lips drip with saliva as if he were rabid. “Out of the way, or we’ll have you arrested as well.”

  “Never mind,” Killion seethes, irate as she snatches Skyla by the wrist. “You’re coming with me. The evidence on you is rich. You were our only suspect. These two are an unexpected bonus.”

  “No.” She takes a step back, her hand pressed to her chest. “My babies need me. I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Yes, well”—a greasy smile floats on Killion’s lips—“we would never dream of separating you from the babies. We have a vested interest in them, too.”

  Skyla turns toward the woods and bolts.

  Killion and Moser shove Gage and me toward the forest.

  “You stay here with them.” Moser pushes me to Gage as he cuffs us together.

  “The hell I am.” Killion cuffs my leg to a lifted root, struggling to get it to lock for a moment. “Stay put, gentlemen. If you run, we can’t make any promises regarding what will happen to your little lady friend.”

  The two of them take off, shouting for Skyla—for Mrs. Oliver.

  Gage and I look at one another and share a depleted grin.

  I summons my Celestra strength and pop my leg free from the root, snapping the metal like a candy cane.

  Gage closes his eyes as he pulls his cuffs apart like chewing gum. I break loose from my own stronghold with one solid snap.

  “Fucking morons,” I say as we head into the woods.

  “Skyla!” Gage calls out as we split up. Gage and I never objected to the idea of going with them. We weren’t enthused, but we weren’t about to fight it. But they can’t take Skyla. They simply can’t have her.

  “Skyla!” My voice comes back to me as an echo. The woods behind Edinger’s estate are wide and vast. This is a search that can span days. “Skyla!” Her name cuts through my lungs with the power of a jet engine.

  A horrific scream comes from the left where a thicket of birch trees intertwines with the evergreens.

  A horrific moan, inhuman in nature, shakes the forest floor.

  “What the—” before I can get the question out, I spot a man’s leg lying prone as if he were passed out.

  Skyla must have kicked the shit out of him. She’s getting good at it, too, because he’s not moving.

  “Hey? You okay?” I give his shoe a slight kick, and it glides over a few inches. I bend over to rattle him, and his leg rolls over unnaturally. My heart jumps up into my throat. My head pounds with adrenaline. “Moser?” I pull out my cell phone and shine the light over him, blood at the knee—no fucking knee. I give his leg another kick, and it goes flying solo into the trunk of a pine. “Shit.” I glance around. The screaming of a woman shrills into the night.

  “Skyla!” I roar it out over the expanse.

  Gage comes upon me and retches at the sight.

  A series of screams go off, wild, nonstop, and we run trying to find the source.

  “Logan!” Skyla wails, her voice layered against the ceaseless howls.

  Gage and I hurdle through the twisted roots that snake throughout the backwoods, and I shine a light onto a tangle of flesh.

  A creature looks up, wild eyes, dead as a December sky, its flesh partially decayed, blood rinsed over what’s left of its face.

  “Skyla.” Gage tries to pull her from the carnage, but she’s clamped on to a set of arms. Killion holds on to Skyla with a death grip, her nails tearing into Skyla’s flesh, leaving deep crimson welts at the wrists.

  “Help me!” Killion pleads to the three of us, her hip embedded in the creature’s mouth.

  “I’m not letting go!” Skyla wails, trying to pry her loose.

  Gage gives a swift power kick to the moaning beast, but he only pisses it off. Its jaw unhinges, slicing up Killion’s back until it has her vertebrae between its teeth like a bony tail.

  Killion’s mouth opens wider, no scream—her eyes avert to heaven never to move again.

  The beast lets out the animalistic roar of a cat on fire and lunges on top of Skyla.

  Gage and I throw our bodies over it. My fingers dig into its eyes, culling out its brain before it devours the woman I love. Gage plucks out its heart and tosses it across the forest like he was gunning for a touchdown.

  The beast writhes and bucks in waves of spastic fervor as it bounces to its feet.

  A swift wind moves before us.

  The creature smacks into the trunk of an evergreen with an arrow piercing through its skull, nailing it to the tree. I glance back to find Dudley gearing up for another shot.

  And sure enough, an arrow lands swift in my leg, effectively pinning me to the ground. One hits Gage right through the foot.

  “That was for Skyla,” he growls at the bloody mess around us as if it were our doing. “Clean this place up. These woods will be crawling with authorities in minutes.” He helps Skyla to her feet and wipes the splatter of blood from the edge of her lips. “Come, love. Your children need you. Let’s get you home.”

  Gage and I watch as their silhouettes shrink in the distance.

  “Spectators,” Gage growls as he plucks the arrow from his foot.

  “Demetri opened the tunnels tonight.” I yank the razor sharp stick from my leg and grunt through the pain. “We are in for a shit ride, my friend.”

  “As always.” Gage helps steady me just as Coop and Brody show up.

  “Welcome to the cleanup committee,” Gage muses as we stare at the monster lying limp against the tree—at the limbs strewn around the forest as if poor Killion stepped on a landmine. “Let’s get this shit done.”

  “Let’s,” I say, landing a hand on Gage’s back. I offer the idea of a smile that says my brother—we are in a fine mess. How did we ever get here?

  Nobody ever said it would be easy.

  Nobody ever does.

  * * *

  Coop and Brody insist on disposing the bodies, so Gage and I head back toward the estate.

  Skyla stands at the base of the fountain as the party swirls around her. Emma and Lizbeth are both there, each with a baby nestled in their arms. Barron waves us over. The distressed look on his face lets us know he’s aware there is trouble.

  “Shit. What should I do?” Gage moves with apprehension as we speed in that direction.

  “Do what you always do—love her.” I offer a pat to my nephew who has his work cut out for him if he wants anything with his wife ever again.

  “Well, here’s the man of the hour!” Lizbeth reels Gage in. “Skyla was just about
to leave. Something has her very upset.” She leans in toward us. “Not to worry—it’s those darn hormones rearing their ugly heads again.” She gives a hard wink to her son-in-law, and I cringe because I know for a fact Skyla heard.

  Skyla tips her back with an incredulous growl working from her throat. “I can assure you my ripe anger has nothing to do with hormones.”

  Dudley comes our way. Candace and Nathan close in on our circle, back from paradise just in time to experience the hell Skyla is about to dole out.

  “I’m glad everyone is here,” she pants through her visceral emotions. “The more witnesses, the better.”

  Shit. A part of me wants to whisk her away, to remove her from this madness before any more of Demetri’s disease can eat away at her life. No matter what she believes, she does not want to have it out with Gage in public.

  Skyla huffs in my direction as if she heard me.

  “Gage Oliver.” A whisper of baby blue fog plumes from her lips.

  Gage steps in close to her. “I know it was dangerous—”

  “You don’t know dangerous. You are dangerous.” Skyla’s words are effective as a slap, stilling both Emma and Barron in their tracks. Even Lizbeth’s eyes round out with surprise. Candace looks to me with a smile tugging at her lips, and for a moment, I contemplate begging Nathan to drag her out of here. This isn’t going to end well, and Candace is only fuel for the fire.

  Skyla sets her face to the wind, her steely eyes on the man she loves. “We’ve been through a lot, you and I. You might even say we’ve grown up together.” There is no sweetness in her tone. She’s gearing up to gut Gage right here in front of friends and family, and knowing my nephew, he believes he deserves it. “You knew me when I was weak—when I was a little girl, when I behaved like one—foolish and irrational. But no more. I’m putting my childish ways behind me. I’m going to tear a hole in any dominion you or your father procures. I will not tolerate the exploitation, abuse, or injury of my sons or my people. The days of my confusion, of my weakness—of needing the slightest bit of rescue are over. I am here now, in all of my fullness, and you shall witness my momentum. You will know my power, and you will have to deal with me. This new war between the Fems and all of creation, between the Steel Barricade and its malevolence—it starts here—it starts with you.”