by Quil Carter
If all of this goes to shit because Julian was being passive aggressive right before I left to flag down the plane… he would deserve the slow death he would get curtesy of the king.
And oh, did he not look happy. “Who was it?” he growled.
“Julian,” I said. And just as Silas’s eyes widened, my own narrowed and my lips were pursed. “Julian saved me.” I made myself look as unhappy as I could about this, my eyes were small slits, glaring at an object far away from Silas’s heated gaze, and my body was tense, my shoulders knitted. I wasn’t happy with this, and I needed Silas to see that.
Well, it wasn’t like I was faking it. I really wasn’t happy about it.
“You’re kidding me?” Silas said flatly. “You’ve got to be kidding me?”
I shook my head. “That about sums up my own response,” I said bitterly. “With a lot more expletives and a few well-aimed backhands.”
Silas studied my face for a brief moment, but whatever he was looking for must’ve been confirmed because he looked away seconds later.
And his eyes deflected to the entrance to the apartment.
“Go see to Finn, love,” Silas said calmly. “Where can I find Julian?”
If I hadn’t already put a stopper on my visceral reactions, I would’ve doomed the two of us by having my heart leap into my throat. Luckily though, I had prepared myself for any possible scenario, including this one, and instead of showing Silas that the thought of him speaking to Julian alone made me anxious, I instead nodded.
And I even smirked.
Silas saw it, which was exactly what I wanted.
“Do you wish for me to do away with him, love?” Silas asked.
I pretended to contemplate this, and after a moment passed, I shook my head. “No,” I said finally. “He told me what you’d said to him… that if he made it back to Skyfall he could stay here, even that he would’ve proved himself worthy to be with me. Of course, I don’t want to be with him, that goes without saying, but I would humbly request that he is allowed to stay in Skyfall. He has travelled over a thousand miles to return to Skyfall, and he did save me. I’ll never forgive him for what he did to me… but as thanks for saving my life, and if it is your will… he can live.”
Silas nodded, but before I could read any expressions on his face, his back was to me and he was walking to the exit. “I’ll take your opinion into consideration, love,” he said. “Go see Finn, then I’ll be sending Liam to you for an examination. It’s late, you may rest after. Tomorrow will be a busy day of media appearances and seeing your brothers. They’ve been worried sick about you and Jack has been acting up. I found a mutilated squirrel under his bed.”
“Yes, Master.” I stood by the living room couch until Silas was gone, then exhaled a deep, tense breath.
Well, Julian. I’d done my part… now it was up to you. I wasn’t sure what Silas was going to do to him, or what he was going to ask, I just knew Julian was going to have to exercise every neuron of that overly intelligent brain of his in order to keep his ass out of the fire.
There was nothing I could do but trust that he would know what to do and what to say. Our stories were already synchronized, matching as best as they could. We’d done all that was in our power to make our lie believable… and now was the time to see if we’d done enough.
If anything went wrong… the moment I saw Silas’s eyes I’d know, and I’d take Finn and leave the city.
And I’d run. Oh, would I ever fucking run.
I walked down the hallway and to the stairs that would eventually lead me down to my apartment. Once you got to my apartment, there was also a door, unlike Silas’s main floor which opened up to the hallway. A few years ago, I’d got our construction workers to build walls around the stairwell to make it self-contained, so I could lock the door when needed be, and have my privacy. Silas always had the key, of course, it was more to keep bored children from pestering me.
When I got to the bottom of the stairs I opened the door and walked into my apartment. Being inside my apartment, my home since I was young, filled me with comfort and peace. I really did miss being home, the two weeks I’d been gone seemed like two months.
There was a chirp and the sound of light feet hitting the carpet. I smiled when I saw Dave, who’d just jumped off of his cat post near the windows, trotting towards me with his tail high in the air. I leaned down and picked him up, my eyes scanning the apartment for Finn, but obviously, he wasn’t in the main area.
“Where’s your caretaker?” I asked Dave. I scratched beneath his chin and was rewarded with a guttural purr. “Perhaps he’s in my bedroom with his new master? It doesn’t seem like he missed me at all…”
With a smirk, I turned to walk to my bedroom, but I only ended up making it two steps before the door flew open… and my sengil burst out.
The look on his face was so much different than Silas’s, but at the same time, held the exact same intensity. But though Silas’s was frozen in anguish and awash with a unique mixture of both crushing relief and despair, Finn’s expression was that of dumbstruck shock.
But only for a brief moment… because rapidly my sengil’s shock dissolved, and as if his body was dissolving with it, Finn fell to his knees with a wail that could’ve made Satan himself shed a tear, and he began to sob hysterically.
“Oh, Finny,” I murmured. I walked to him as he sobbed where his legs had spilled him, tears rolling down his cheeks and his body shaking and bowing under the weight of his emotion, then I put my arms around him, a shushing noise on my lips, and I took him into my arms.
Finn collapsed in my hold. It was difficult to keep myself upright from the position I was in. I was kneeling in front of him and he was literally leaning his entire weight into me, but I braced myself as well as I could, and patted his back as he soaked my shirt in tears and continued to sob.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. This time the guilt wasn’t just flickers here and there that I immediately justified. I was a monster for putting someone who loved me this much through such grief. I only hoped I would make it worth the agony I forced him to experience, by the fact that I now had my mind back. Finn had hated seeing Silas treat me so badly; he’d even spoken out about it more than a few times. On many occasions, I had told him that I didn’t want my mind back, that I’d been miserable and unhappy with who I’d been previous, and now I could show him how wrong I had been.
But for now, I just needed to get the poor boy to stop crying. I swear he was going to give himself some sort of health crisis if he continued at this rate.
“Are you okay?” Finn said, his voice breaking up through the sobs and hiccup. “You’re hurt… your head…”
“I’m fine,” I said reassuringly. “I got hit in the head a few times but I’m okay. I was rescued by… someone in Irontowers… over a week ago, I was just too sick to return home and there were no planes to flag down until tonight. But I’m fine, you need not worry about me.”
Somehow Finn only cried harder at this news. I believe it was from relief but I wasn’t sure, I sighed anyway and patted his back. “You must calm down, little love… we have a lot to talk–”
I was cut off when my sengil released a gut-wrenching wail.
“Finn… calm down,” I said again, adding more force into my tone. I rubbed his warm back and attempted to rock him the best I could with the position I was in. “You’re going to give yourself a stroke.”
But he wouldn’t stop, nor would be calm down. Only after five minutes of crying did I manage to get him to stand. I then walked him to the bedroom and when I told him to lie down on the bed, fresh tears came upon the realization that I was going to go back to holding him there.
I remained sitting, my back against the headboard of my sleigh bed, and Finn crawled into my awaiting arms. He leaned his head on my shoulder and stared miserably forward as I adjusted him into a comfortable position. It was only when I began stroking his cheek, did his expression soften.
“You had a
pretty bad couple weeks, haven’t you?” I said sympathetically. I reached over to my desk and grabbed a box of tissues, and handed him one. “It sounds like you’ve had a worse time than I.”
Finn blew his nose, but as he wiped his eyes more tears came. “I’m a horrible sengil!” he cried. “Here I am making it all about me, and you were the one kidnapped. I’m sorry, Master. I’ll get you some tea–” He attempted to get off of my lap, but I chuckled and pulled him back to me.
“Not so fast, I wish to hold you some more,” I said playfully. “I missed my sengil; I need to absorb your presence before I release you from my talons.”
Finn’s flushed and miserable face suddenly paused. Actually, his entire body froze solid.
Then, slowly, his head turned to me, and his eyes gave me a startled stare that would’ve had me believing that I’d grown a third eye.
And then he said something that, if it wasn’t for the fatigue I was carrying from my ordeal, would’ve had me chuckling at him.
“Who are you?” Finn said in a harsh whisper, the man beholding me with a look of stunned terror.
I smirked and brushed a stray corkscrew curl from his face. “The man who should’ve been your master eleven years ago,” I said with my bemused look. “Before he was taken from you and replaced with Silas’s obedient dog.”
Finn continued to stare at me, his pupils the fine tip of a pencil surrounded by tropical blue. “What…?” he whispered. He glanced at the injuries on my head, and both hands cupped his mouth. “What are you saying?”
I smiled and picked up Finn’s hand, then rested it upon one of the incisions on my head. “I’m saying the surgery that Silas had forced onto me has been reversed… your master is back, Finn. The real Elish is back.”
Finn’s pupils dilated and fixed themselves on my head, before travelling down to my eyes. He stared at me for several more moments, the news having difficulty soaking into his brain, and I waited for him to burst into tears again.
“It’s… really you?” Finn whispered. There were no more tears which was surprising, but his expression was weighted all the same. He looked at me as the emotion contained in his face started leaking out, but still he didn’t cry. “Elish? Elish, it’s you?”
I nodded with a small smile. “It’s me, Finn. And Silas knows, and he’s going to let me remain myself. So… I’m not going any-” Finn threw his arms around me, and then I heard the sniffs and shudders as he cried softly into my shoulder.
“I missed you,” he squeaked. And even though he was a full-grown man, he seemed like a child in my arms. I held him to me like I would one, for I was his master and protector, and I always would be. “Oh fuck… Elish… I missed you.”
“You know, Finn…” I chuckled, my heart full. Even though I had a lot to worry about, I found myself forgetting about it for this brief period. This was a special moment was between me and Finn. My loyal sengil, my dear friend, and the man I shared my bed with. “… I actually missed myself too. Who would’ve thought…”
“What happened? How did this happen?” Finn pulled away and framed my face with his hands. “Who kidnapped you?”
I filled my lungs as I inhaled a deep breath. I decided to tell him the story I’d told Silas. Even though I wanted to tell Finn everything, and I trusted him with everything, the less people that knew the truth the better. If Silas ever became suspicious, he could focus on Finn, and if Silas was torturing my sengil I’d want him to tell Silas everything to spare him the pain and potential death. The best way to protect my sengil, was to give him as little information possible.
So I would him the same story, and mentally prepared myself for the moment when I’d have to tell him about Julian.
I’d managed to convince Silas that I was better off, and he was better off, with my mind intact. I’d succeeded with that by knowing Silas inside and out, and thus had the knowledge of his inner workings. Like Silas, I knew Finn, and this was just another test for me to pass, in order to get everything that I wanted.
When it came time, once the story was told and Finn knew about the kidnappers and me being held prisoner, I took his hand and looked into his eyes.
“There’s something you need to know about the man who rescued me,” I said. I made my tone firm, the tenderness I’d given Finn when he was in his inconsolable state now gone. I had to be the master for this part; I couldn’t have him thinking that any inappropriate outburst would be forgiven. When it came down to it… I was his master, I ruled all parts of his life, but I also now ruled my own life. My consideration for how Finn would react to the news that Julian was back, was only due to my love and respect for my sengil. In all respects, I didn’t have to tell him anything. I could do whatever I wanted, but I cared for him and wished to make this easy on him.
However, if his outburst was inappropriate, he would have to be reminded of those facts.
“What is it?” Finn said, his heart jumping and his face turning suspicious.
I looked into Finn’s eyes, then said with the authoritative tone still in my voice, “The man who rescued me… was Julian.”
Finn’s mouth dropped open before it was covered by his hand. “He’s alive?” he stammered. “Julian’s alive?”
I nodded. “I couldn’t believe it either, but he is. He’s been in the greywastes for the past eleven years, walking over a thousand miles to return home.” Finn looked dizzy. I patted his shoulder then said firmly, “There are some things I will be discussing with you, but not tonight.” I held up a hand when this garnered me a look of absolute horror. “Don’t fret, it isn’t bad things, I promise. But you must promise me, Finn, that you’ll trust your master to handle this in the best way possible.”
Finn didn’t answer, his hand was kept cupping his mouth. It looked as if he’d taken ill.
I reached and took his hand, then drew it away from his pursed lips. “Finn, I’m not the man I was three weeks ago, nor am I the boy I was eleven years ago. You need to tell me right now that you trust me to handle this.”
Finn, at first, deflected his gaze, but then slowly his eyes rose and met mine. “But I… I don’t know you as an adult, Master Elish,” he said, his voice wobbling. I frowned at this, not knowing if I appreciated this honesty or not. “Julian… Julian is…”
“Just as different as me,” I said to him. “More will become clear but not tonight. I’m tired and I still need to see Liam about my injuries.” I may not be planning on telling him about the truth behind my kidnapping, but I would tell him about the reason I’d be keeping Julian near me. I wouldn’t hurt him by keeping him in the dark, it would destroy my sensitive sengil and it would make me a bad master. Yes, Finn will know about that, and he would understand my need to train myself to handle Silas.
It would mean a better life for the both of us.
“But… but, Elish…”
I shook my head and Finn said nothing more. “Finneus… trust me. A lot of things are about to change, for the better, and through this change, you’re going to need to have faith in me that I know what I’m doing. Tell me now, you trust me.”
Without missing a beat, Finn said, “Of course I trust you.” He looked past me towards the door, as if expecting Julian to be lurking in my hallway. “It’s him I don’t trust. Please, Master Elish, just be careful. A cheetah might grow up, but his spots are the same.”
“I’ll be the one calling the shots now,” I said, and behind me I heard the door to my apartment open. That would be Liam. “You don’t have to be concerned about me trusting Julian. It is only for my own personal advancement that I am letting that man still breathe.” Truer words had never been spoken. I’ll never trust Julian again, there was just nothing more to be said on the subject, but as I’d deduced before, there was benefit in keeping him around.
And once I was done with him, he would be tossed aside.
CHAPTER 52
“It’s good to be back,” I said with a smile. In front of me were over a dozen men and women from the media.
They were all holding voice recorders towards the platform I was standing on, and scattered around those people were camera men with video cameras on their shoulders pointed at my face. All of these people were dressed to the nines, as if this was some important dinner, and they kept exchanging excited looks at being personally invited to record this event for their designated news columns or programs that they’d been allotted by SNN and the daily newspaper.
It wasn’t just the media invited to this event either, behind the media personnel, roped off and surrounded by thiens to keep the peace, were another couple hundred Skyfallers who’d come from all over the city to personally see me safe and sound. This, even though I wouldn’t admit it out loud, flattered me. I wasn’t used to being missed, let alone missed by the entire city and not just my immediate family.
“It has been a tough two weeks,” I continued. I was speaking into a bouquet of microphones that were affixed on the podium I was standing behind. Silas was to my right, and Nero, Garrett, Ellis, Ceph, and Apollo and Artemis were to my left. It was the first time Ceph and the twins had been allowed to come to one of these media events, they’d been deemed old enough to be able to stand still and look professional, so it was a special time for them. “But nothing in the Fallocaust is guaranteed, not even safety. We all have our trials and tribulations to overcome, for that is life. What matters is how we handle these times, and who we come out as at the end of them. I feel reborn.” Do I ever. “And am thankful to be back in Skyfall safe, and am happy to be reunited with my family. The men who kidnapped me are dead, and there is an ongoing investigation to determine if it was immigrant greywasters who kidnapped me, or greywasters who snuck into Skyfall. Either way, if there is anyone still alive who has ties to this incident, they will be brought to justice.” I saw movement to my right, Silas was making a motion to speak, so I stepped away from the podium and took my place beside my brothers.