by Quil Carter
But that also meant that Silas was going to take care of business. I pitied the men he caught. No one fucked with his family.
And so badly did I want to be beside him. It was my job to fight side by side with my king, but until I was immortal, I would only be a distraction to him.
My teeth clenched. I wasn’t in control and I was fucking useless; two things I couldn’t stand being. I needed answers, and I needed them–
A pain ripped through my chest, enough for me to clench it and gasp as my breath shot from my lungs. I could feel my heart rate suddenly pick up. What the hell was going on with my body? If this was a god damn panic attack I was going to alter my own fucking brain. I wasn’t anxious; I was fucking angry!
And that anger multiplied a hundred-fold when I felt Julian’s presence behind me. I ignored the pain in my chest and turned my attention towards him, my eyes ablaze and my body tensed and coiled.
But when I saw the expression on his face, my anger turned to shock.
He was worried, taken off-guard…
This wasn’t planned?
“What the fuck is going on?” I hissed through my locked teeth. I grabbed him by his shirt collar, relying on the chaos and smoke that encompassed us, to hide my suspicious nature.
“I don’t know,” Julian said lowly back. “But it looks like they might’ve just literally saved your guyses asses…” He winced when another gunshot broke the electrified air, and glanced towards where I’d last seen Silas. “Come on… we have to follow him and see what’s happening.”
“Elish?” I heard Finn cry. I pinpointed his location and ran over to him. He had the little ones around him, everyone was covered in grey dust. “We have the kids… they’re sae” He coughed into his hand; they were all hacking and wheezing now. “We’re going to the safe house. Come on.”
A scream suddenly pierced the thick smoke, and I recognized the tone of that scream. There was only two people in the world who could drive a man to make such a noise.
Silas was using his abilities. He’d found someone.
And the gunshots had stopped.
I turned to Finn. “Take them and go,” I commanded. “I will not run from rebels, nor will my adult siblings.” There was no need to confirm my statement; Nero, Garrett, and Ellis would take it as a personal insult if they were made to leave.
Finn’s face dropped, but he knew better than to challenge my orders. My sengil nodded, his eyes, red from the dust, full of fear, then he turned and disappeared into the smoke.
Julian and I ran through the walls of dust, inhaling the sharp particles before coughing them out in throat-burning hacks, and as I broke through the world of dusty white, I saw Nero, Ellis, and Garrett several paces ahead of me, running along the building to the street the initial blast had happened in.
We followed them, a group of Skylanders easily seen standing a safe distance away, but when Julian and I turned the corner of the building, giving us a view of the street the first bomb had gone off on, all five of us stopped in our tracks.
And several yards in front of us, Silas had stopped too.
Beside Silas, was a dead man with blood dripping down his ears and his eyes open in terror, made all the more prominent with his dust-covered face. But that dead man wasn’t the reason we’d all stopped so suddenly.
No… it was the pile of five bodies stacked, one on top of each other, like sacks of flour. They were riddled with bullet holes, some with their faces nothing but shreds of skin, bone, and meat, and they were creating a pool of blood underneath their corpses.
And on top of that mound of death? A paper Skyfall flag, with the words ‘Skyfall Rebels were here’ written in black marker.
So the games have indeed begun.
“Dorsey, Kirkpatrick, Deveraux…” Garrett shook his head as he read the last of the list. “These are all greywasters, Silas, every single one of them. I think Elish’s theory is right… we were attacked, but a new rebel group must’ve found out about their plans. What else could it be?”
Silas was glaring out the window, his hands clenched tight around his wine glass. It was evening now, and after several hours of speaking with Talbot and finding out the identities of the greywasters Ivan’s rebels had killed, we were finally home.
And Silas was in quite the state, which was perfect. He was angry, stressed out, and an added bonus, his thoughts were no longer on the Sky clone. That would give me time to secure Garrett and put my little plan into action.
“I want this fucking city gutted,” Silas said, his voice harsh and scraping. “I will kill this world again before I allow these radiation-sucking insects to threaten my family.” His hand tightened against the glass.
I saw movement and shifted my gaze towards the stairs. I saw Julian halfway up, and when we made eye contact, he waved me down.
I left Silas to seethe. I wouldn’t be long. I followed Julian down to my apartment and we both went to my bedroom.
Julian let out a tense breath when the door closed. The moment we’d gotten to safety I’d send him out to find Ivan and his family. I needed a full report on exactly what the fuck had happened, and I had it in my mind to exterminate the entire lot of them if they’d pre-planned this attack in anyway.
“He seemed quite proud of himself…” Julian began, and immediately his words sparked anger inside of me. Julian sensed this, and his hands rose. “It’s not what you think… this actually turned out perfectly.”
And that was the match being struck, igniting the gasoline fumes I’d been inhaling. “Turned out perfectly?” I snapped. I began to advance on him, with every intent on wringing his scarred neck until I heard a snap. “My little brothers were in danger, you fucking–”
“Calm, calm, calm!” Julian said in a voice full of protest. “Listen to me for a moment, for fuck sakes.” I stopped my advance with a growl in my throat. “Ivan has been watching Alegria and he knew about the family outing. He’s had Oniks and several others following the family around. They didn’t know the rebels had planted those bombs; he hasn’t been in Skyfall long enough to even make those connections and you know it. The moment the first bomb went off, Oniks radioed the others and they swept in. They fucking killed those rebels, and if it wasn’t for them, well who knows how bad it could’ve gotten.”
I scanned his face for deception, but I didn’t see any signs of deceit. How could this make me feel better though? It meant the rebels were becoming braver; they’d deliberately attacked the areas surrounding my family.
“But at least we have the Skyfall Rebels now, hm?” Julian said encouragingly. “This is what we want, right? Yeah, it would’ve been better to not have the little ankle biters at risk, but this is going to stress Silas out even more. It won’t happen again anyway; Silas is never going to let those kidlets out of the skyscraper without the best legion and thien guards around.” He stepped towards me and smiled, then, to my distaste, wrapped his arms around my neck. “Right, my lion?” he said sweetly.
I grunted, but for reasons unknown, I didn’t move away for him.
Julian smiled, he drew himself up on his toes so he was almost eye to eye with me. “It might’ve been scary, but it could’ve been worse,” he said, his voice a purr. “Now you can calm Silas down, and you can also use Silas’s stress levels to manipulate Garrett. Everything worked out perfectly, didn’t it?”
I grunted again. “Perhaps,” I said bitterly. “Now that I’m in control again… I can see some of the positive aspects of this situation.” I didn’t like admitting that. It was hard to leave my frayed nerves behind. That explosion was too close to the park, and though none of us were hurt, besides scratches and bruises and sore throats, the fact that those rebels had been so close to the children…
“Good.” He kissed my cheek with I did move away from. “Work your magic on Garrett before you calm Silas down. You’ll want Garrett to be exposed to the full brunt of Silas’s stress.”
“Indeed,” I said. I turned from Julian and opened up the
door to the hallway. “I have enough shit to worry about right now. I’d rather nip this Sky clone bullshit in the bud, dash Silas’s dreams and get it over with for a few more years.” And that meant crushing his dreams sooner rather than later.
Time for my second plan.
An hour later had me on the balcony with Garrett. Silas was meeting with Talbot for the forth time today, Nero and Ellis were at the Skyland military base, and the sengils were putting the young chimeras to bed.
Garrett was in his own state of anxiety. My brother had already indulged in several shots of liquor and he’d been chain-smoking opiate cigarettes on top of that. I was also smoking, and the plumes of silver smoke were falling from our lips like we were exhaling fog.
“It’s not going to work. Harry already said he needs more time. It’s going to plunge Silas back into another depression. He can’t handle Sky’s cloning on top of this rebel shit. I know he can’t,” Garrett said, his voice desperate. He looked out over the dark cityscape of Skyfall, his fingers fidgeting by pulling on the short goatee he was sporting. “But before he does… he’ll kill Kratz. He’s going to kill Harry.” Garrett turned from the carpet of twinkling lights and leaned against the railing.
I sighed when his eyes closed and he took in a shuddering breath. I leaned up against the railing beside him, and put a supportive hand on his shoulder.
“I won’t lie to you…” I said quietly. “It doesn’t look good.” And as I said that, Garrett whimpered and his head hung low. It was difficult for me to admit, but my drive to want to help my brother wasn’t purely for my own gain. For the last several years… I’d found myself growing closer to my first gen sibling. Making a point to talk to them and council them, had started out as being purely for information gathering and manipulation… but now, I enjoyed listening and helping them. It had come to a point where I wanted to make their lives better, even if it didn’t improve my own in any way.
It was strange at first, but I accepted it and embraced it. I was their older brother after all, and I did know more than they did about most things.
I patted his shoulder. “I’ll do everything in my power to keep Kratz safe,” I said. “I promise.”
This statement brought out the usual reaction of shock. I knew that look well by now, everyone from Finn to Silas had gifted me that surprised expression. It was unlike my nature to want to help them, to be a good older brother, master, heir… but I was a new person now.
“Really?” Garrett said. “You… you mean it?”
I nodded. “I can’t perform miracles. If he gets bad, none of us will be able to stop him, but I have a plan that may be able to turn the heat on another scientist. Is there anyone that Kratz hates currently? Anyone in Kreig?”
Garrett’s grateful look turned sinister, and a smile came soon after. “Oh, you evil man,” he said playfully. “Two birds with one stone? Harry gets saved and we can throw someone under the bus while we’re at it?” The smile became a grin. “I’ve been hearing Harry rant about a few scientists. I’ll tell him the news and then I’ll deliver you a name.”
I smirked. “It’ll be done then.” I ran my hand up and down my left arm, it was beginning to feel strange, numb almost. “Let’s go back inside, Silas should be returning soon.”
Garrett looked past me. “I can see Kirrel speaking to someone; he’s standing in the living room so maybe Silas is already here.” But as he walked past me, he stopped. “Did you injure yourself earlier?”
“Must be a pinched nerve,” I said back. I shook my arm and walked to the sliding glass door. I saw Silas removing his cape, and sighed when I saw anger on his face. “I’ll calm Silas down. He looks angry.” I slid open the door and walked in, Silas’s hard green eyes flickering directly to me.
“Any news?” I asked.
Silas’s face turned into a sneer, like he was a dog bearing his teeth at the carpet he was glaring at. “I know I should be happy about it… but I’m too pissed off to be happy,” he said lowly.
“The so-called Skyfall Rebels?” I said. I put my hand on Silas’s back and led him to the living room. My arm was still numb and the tightness in my chest was returning. I didn’t understand it. My head was fine, usually when I had anxiety attacks my mind was panicking as much as my body was.
“Yes,” Silas answered. “I know how the media works. I would love a rebel group to come and start cleaning up these streets… but those greywasters put my family at risk and I cannot…” He stopped midsentence and stared at me. “What’s wrong with you?”
I was surprised that he’d caught it that easily. “Nothing,” I said with a shake of my head. There was no room for my anxiety, especially when I wasn’t even feeling any god damn anxiety. It was my body thinking my brain was feeling things it wasn’t.
And it was getting worse… I tried to hide the wince as a jolt of pain ripped through my heart. I’d go get a Xanax once this conversation was done, but I wasn’t about to let Silas see me weak.
“I believe you’re right about the rebels,” I continued, pushing through the discomfort. “I think if we have a group of Skyfallers defending Skyfall, not only would it be great for the media and city morale, but we can save thien and legion lives. Of course, we’d–”
“You’re sweating,” Silas cut me off. He stepped towards me and put a hand on my forehead. I was surprised to feel that it was damp. “Your face is flushed.” The alarm rose in his voice. “Your heart is…” He put a hand on my chest and his eyes widened. “Something’s wrong with–”
“Elish!” Garrett suddenly cried. He ran from the dining room to the living room, his tone and expression alarmed. “Your arm, you said it was bothering you… it’s numb, isn’t it? Silas, Silas… I think he’s having a heart attack.”
Another pain tore through my chest; it stole my breath and I found myself having to lean against the back of the couch. “It’s a damn anxiety attack, just shut up about it and bring me some Xanax,” I snapped, but as I said this, my knees became weak, and to my humiliation, I sunk down on them. “I just need…”
Panic exploded around me, but I couldn’t describe just what they were doing. My vision had become distorted, and soon the pain in my chest trumped all of my senses but my hearing.
And what I heard… it was Silas. He was holding my face up, shouting things at Garrett, Kirrel. When he talked to them, he was yelling, desperate snarls, but then his tone dropped, and when he spoke to me, it was soft and full of fear.
“Don’t leave, little love,” he whispered. “Why must you always try and leave me?”
I was in and out of consciousness for quite some time. I remember hearing the worried voices of my family, and my hand being shaken and squeezed. I also can recall clearly hearing Finn cry, and soon after, his angry voice as he shouted at, who I suspected, was Julian.
You did this to Elish! I told you both the stress of making him like Silas would kill him!
The shrillness and the anger in his voice would be enough to wake the dead, but I still couldn’t snap myself out of this unconsciousness I was trapped inside.
When I finally was able to open my eyes, I looked around the room in a groggy fog and squinted my eyes in an attempt to focus them.
“There he is…” I heard Julian whispered voice and a rough hand stroke my cheek. “There’s my lion. I knew you wouldn’t be able to sleep for long.”
I squinted my eyes, and when they finally focused, I saw a dishevelled Julian looking back at me with an expression on his face of both profound relief and worry. He forced a smile on his lips though, and continued stroking my prickly cheek.
What happened to me?
“I know you must want to know everything that happened,” Julian said. He always seemed to know what I was thinking just by looking at my face. “You had a heart attack, a stress cardiomyopathy.”
It was a heart attack? I didn’t know how to take this information, or what it meant for my future. I had studied some medicine but my major was in science. It was so
mething I eventually wanted to do, but hadn’t found the time.
“It was caused by stress, as the name suggests,” Julian said quietly. He sniffed and wiped his eyes, then absentmindedly rubbed the scar that cut through his eyebrow. “Your family is beside themselves with worry.” His voice cracked, but right away he tried to clear his throat to hide it. “Finn says I did it. Silas thinks he did it.”
I looked around the room and tried to make my mouth work. I wanted to know where Finn and Silas were. It wasn’t like them to not be here when I woke up.
“Finn?” I managed to croak.
Julian’s lips pulled in a frown, but it was fleeting. “He’s asleep…” Julian said, his tone reflecting the brief glimpse of displeasure.
“Silas?”
This made Julian sigh. He ran a rough hand down his face and shook his head. “Silas isn’t doing too good actually,” he said. “He hasn’t left his bedroom for days. He was down here to see you once the surgery was done.” I had surgery performed on me? “But afterwards… he just went into his bedroom and he hasn’t come out since.”
So, Silas had fallen into another depression? This time because of me? I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, or what it meant for the plans I had been carefully crafting. The sky clone, saving Kratz for Garrett, the Skyfall Rebels…
Julian seemed to read my mind. “I know, I know that look,” he said, his voice still low and gentle. “You want to know everything that happened since you’ve been out, and I gotta tell you, baby lion.” He smiled. “I did good.”
I stared at him suspiciously and he laughed at my expression.
“Tell me,” I rasped, the scratch in my voice making him pick up a glass of water with a straw sticking out of it. As I drank, I was relieved to feel my mind coming back to me swiftly, the fog was clearing away and my brain was climbing the steps to lucidity.
“Take a breath first, baby,” he chastised lightly.
I glared at him for that. “Baby?” I said, my voice still weak. “You’re taking advantage of my weakness I see.” Even though Julian tried to stop me, I shifted up on the bed until I was sitting. It was painful, I could feel a dulled pain in my chest. There was no denying I had surgery on my heart. That was an unwelcome wrench in my plans.