by Swart, Karen
He stood there looking at her. “Agreed,” he replied. Satisfied she turned around, her eyes landing on me.
“What in Heaven’s name are you wearing?” she went off. Oh freaking great here we go.
“It’s not that bad, Mother. It has a lot of positive aspects when it comes to fights,” I replied, rolling my eyes.
“Like what, flashing the demons to death?”
“No, as in charmed pretty well. There is no tearing and of course, claws glide away. Those type of aspects.”
“You will not wear that awful excuse for clothing.”
“The last time I checked I was what? Nineteen? I think I can choose my own clothes.”
“You will not.”
“I’m not getting into a fight with you over my choice of clothing. One would think that after not seeing me for two years, you would lay off the snarky comments and be happy I’m back.” We were in each other’s faces now, Chax and dad standing in the background.
“Okay you two, that’s enough. Chax take your new guests home and get some sleep,” Don said from behind me, so I turned to look at him, saved again.
“I would like to see Kali,” I said, my eyes going to Chax for his approval. Why I need approval I don’t know, but the last time I was an Apprendo he gave me hell. He stood there looking at me for a while, thinking it over I guess. Finally he nodded and turned to the rest of the gang.
“We will retire for the day and get some rest. Kasadya, you will return as quickly as possible to ensure you get enough sleep.” After he finished, he shifted out.
I looked at my mom and dad. “Okay, I will see you guys later.” I shifted to Maia’s home. Okay scrap that part of the new version mother; it’s not going to work. I found Amon and Melissa sitting in the lounge.
“How is she doing?” I asked.
“She is doing well, Kas. Her vital signs are back to normal and everything looks great. But she will need a long time to sleep it off; her body took one hell of a beating,” Melissa replied, leaning into Amon’s side.
“Yes, you need to give her time to fully heal. Such an experience drains the body of the energy it needs to move. In about two days she will be back to normal,” Maia added, walking into the room.
“I understand, I’m just glad she is okay,” I replied, knowing full well that rest is the biggest part of healing. I started to walk to her room; but stopped, turning around to look at them.
“Will you two be staying at Chax’s home?” I asked Amon.
“No, from what I hear it’s going to be something new for all of you. Melissa and I are going to stay at the compound. The humans were not allowed to enter Exsilium and I am sure they are very worried,” Amon replied.
“I will pack both yours and Kali’s stuff and have Amon take it to your new quarters,” Melissa added on.
“Can’t I stay with you guys?” I asked, dreading living with Chax.
Laughing, Amon looked at me. “I’m sorry, Kas, what Thonyn said was true. You were taken away too early in your training. Yes, you are a great warrior, but you need the extra knowledge and skills to help guide you in this war. If you were not taken, you would have identified Ballen for his true self and have known how dangerous he was. Stay with Chax and make good of this, don’t see it as a punishment, rather see it as a fresh start. It will never replace your time lost in Hell, but you will benefit from it for the years to come.” He smiled that damn smile of his. I hate it when they do that all powerful knowledge crap on me.
“Yeah, okay. But if it gets crappy, I’m moving back to the compound,” I replied, walking out to the room Kali was in. I heard Amon laugh and Melissa asking him what’s so funny, but didn’t hear the answer. I reached Kali’s door and pushed it open.
She was sleeping peacefully, and looked much better. Her grey complextion and black eye bags were gone, but she still looked real tired. I walked over and grabbed the chair to sit next to her for a while. Looking her over I couldn’t believe how far we’ve come. I once believed that we would always be trapped in Hell, but tonight we are both finally back in Exsilium. After all this time, we are back.
Chapter 4
I woke up with an Eminem tune blasting through my brain. Someone clearly wants to die. Knowing Max he was on his way to do just that. He was a sixties fan and hated any type of rap music, always fighting with Ben about the “brain kill junk” he listens to. Rolling over, the events of the morning kicked into place. I was up in a flash and looked over my newfound surroundings.
I was in a huge freaking bedroom, and it looked like it belonged to Queen Elizabeth. A golden bed, with matching comforter, was taking up the most space. Everywhere I looked there was antique furniture and ornaments. Yikes, where the hell am I? Last I remember, I was sitting next to Kali at Maia’s. Oh that’s just creepy, I hate it when something happens when I’m out cold. I walked through the room and found the bathroom. Oh my freaking soul, it was almost as big as the bedroom. A gigantic golden bath with matching everything to pull off the Queen look. Well someone likes their gold theme.
I caught a glimpse of myself in the huge freaking mirror and did a double take; “road kill” is an understatement to what I looked like. Hell, at least whoever brought me here had enough brain cells to keep my clothes on. I turned around and walked back into the bedroom, looking around for some fresh clothes. I found two bags standing at the edge of what must be the closet. I opened the first one and found my clothes and more. Yip, Melissa was here. Pulling out a pink tank top, I shook my head. Yeah, she keeps trying to turn me into this girly girl and it’s just not working. Picture that cute pink number covered in blood and stuff. The woman needs a hobby; she is killing me with this stuff.
I grabbed some underwear and black yoga pants and walked over to the bathroom. I was about to close the door when I heard Max roar; oh yeah he’s up and going for the kill. Poor Ben, but he knows better. Just when the bathroom door was almost closed I heard another roar and this guy was even more pissed. Oh yeah, forgot we ended up in Hell two. Must be Chax storming down to join in. Ignoring the commotion, I closed the door and started to undress.
I opened the shower and turned on the water, watching as six different showerheads came to life. Oh man Chax goes all the way. Not that I was complaining, I could do with a little luxury. I got into the shower and dipped my head under the jets, sighing I leaned into the water and enjoyed the stream flowing down my back. I looked down to see red water running down the drain. I’m getting used to that, I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t showering off blood or something gross. I turned to look over the bottles available for washing. Peach shampoo, peach conditioner, and peach shower gel. Hell no, I am not doing the freaking peach thing again. I had trouble sleeping for two days the last time. I opened the shower door and grabbed a towel. I remember seeing my own products in the bag and decided to go and fetch it.
Leaving the water mess until after I’d cleaned up, I walked over to the bags and grabbed the one I knew held my things. Keeping hold of the little vanity bag, I dropped the big one and turned around, only to find the bedroom’s door opening up and a pissed off Chax and Max storming inside. Frozen on the spot I reached for my small towel and wished that turning invisible was a fallen gift. When their eyes finally caught me standing there with a teeny weeny little towel around me, shock replaced the pissed off look on their faces.
“Hello, guys, don’t you know how to freaking knock?!” I blasted them, fury kicking into overdrive.
“Um … we did. You didn’t answer, so we took the next step,” Max answered and tried to divert his face, but being a male it was apparently very difficult.
“Well can you get the hell out? As you can see doing something now is so not a freaking option!” I went on, looking at both of them. Chax immediately came back to Exsilium and turned around, storming out. However, I didn’t miss the look on his face.
“Yes of course, we’ll deal with Nanini when you are finished,” Max said and turned for the door. Closing it, Max even had the guts to
take a final look before shutting it completely. For the love of …
Okay, Kas, another little tip in life: you so don’t go running around naked in someone’s house. Shaking off the whole thing I went back to the shower and started the clean-up. Half an hour later I was walking down the stairs right into the middle of a huge freaking fight.
As I reached the end of the stairs I found Caim, dressed in his boxers with a towel around his neck and a toothbrush still stuck in his mouth. Ben, Lotan, and Lada were leaning into a door and peeking around it. Finally the young harpy sitting on a small ball looking like the worst demon had just had a go at her. Confused, I walked over to them, and as I reached them the last blur of Enimen was cut off followed by a huge sonic blast. Turning my head towards the doorway everyone was leaning into, I had the beautiful sight of Max flying through the air … with a huge pink light bomb disintegrating around him. Ouch that looked like real fun.
At that Lotan, Ben, and Lada made like cheetahs, pushing me out of the way and making a run for it. “Oh this is going to be interesting,” Caim muttered next to me.
“Nanini!” Chax yelled from inside the room so I finally peeked inside to see what was wrong. Standing at what looked like an iPod station was a really pissed off Nanini still looking at Max. When I looked in the other direction he ended up in some sort of ornament showcase, which was now totally wrecked.
“He was totally begging for it, I told you guys not to touch the king,” she answered with a completely innocent look, taking over her pissed off look’s place.
“Inside that case were priceless artifacts,” Chax strung out, slowly walking across the room to assess the damage. Ooh this doesn’t look good at all.
“No sweat, I’ll get you new ones,” she replied, turning around and grabbing her iPod from the station.
“What … What part of priceless didn’t you get?” Chax almost squealed out trying to stay as calm as ever. “How many times have I told you all that the house is off limits?” he continued, lifting a totally dazed Max from the showcase and gently placing him on the nearest couch. Then he started to pick up one small piece at a time.
“It was not my fault! Godzilla started it all. And then you two tried to gang up on me, and you know I don’t like that. And then Godzilla had the guts to actually try and touch the king. I mean really, touch my king? He had it coming.” She walked over to him and bent down to help pick up what was left. Chax raised his hand, dismissing her attempt, so she got back up and turned to look at us. “Morning, guys. Great day, isn’t it?”
“Caim, can you help the half breed to his room and … and keep them occupied long enough?” Chax asked Caim without stopping to pick up the broken stuff. I looked over to Caim to find him completely red in the face, trying to suppress his laughter. Almost choking up myself, I placed my hand on my mouth and watched as he picked up Max and walked out of the room.
“I need breakfast, I’ll fire it up and meet you in the kitchen,” Nanini said, walking past me.
Holy hell what a wakeup call, no wonder he got green in the face last night. Pitying him, I walked over to him and took a spot beside him. I started to pick up the broken porcelain or glass and he just continued on as if I wasn’t even there. “I am really sorry, Chax. Is there something I can do to help?” I finally asked. Looking at him, I saw him close his eyes and take a deep breath.
“No thank you, Kasadya. I have this,” he answered, not looking at me. Oh my, someone took this whole priceless artifacts thing way too serious. But still I feel sorry for him.
“Okay, I’ll go help Caim and try and keep to them in line.” Yeah, like that is going to happen. One thing about Max is he doesn’t take orders well from anyone except Amon. But hell I can try. Taking a last look at Chax I walked out to go and look for Nanini in the kitchen. Following the smell of breakfast, I found the room easily. Sitting at the counter were Ryan, Ben, Lotan, and the two girls chatting away, and bad girl Nanini going crazy at the stove. Shaking my head I joined them at the table, thinking of a way to approach this without starting a new fight.
“Man, I thought Chax was going to pop a vein back there,” Lotan pitched in.
“Yes, it was interesting to see the little girl sending Max across the room like that. Had no idea a light bomb had so much power,” Ben continued, smiling at Nanini, who was grinning like a cat.
“It’s all about fury, dude. All about fury,” she replied, continuing on with the food.
“Yeah, but guys we have to behave or it won’t be long before Chax kicks us out or something,” Lada replied, looking concerned.
“Oh come on, Lada, like he can live without us,” Nanini fired back at her. Clearly this whole thing has happened before because the only one stressing like me is Lada.
“Nanini, Lada’s got a point. We are guests in his home, there is no need to break it down,” I stated, trying to talk some sense into her.
“Na, don’t fret. Chax needs to lighten up over this whole “worship my stuff” thing he has going on. You’ll see in about half an hour he will be back to the normal “do as I command” attitude. Don’t sweat it,” she replied, totally confident in her words. It didn’t look like it when I left him; in fact it looked like he was going out for the kill. Shaking my head I turned to find the young harpy sitting at the edge, jiggling something in her hands. She looked too young and innocent; I wonder if she just became an Apprendo?
“Oh, that’s right, you two haven’t met. Or let’s just say, haven’t met properly. Kas, this is Abby, she is Chax’s new Apprendo. Abby, this is Kas, um Chax’s old new Apprendo,” Lada introduced us to each other. Sticking out my hand to shake hers, I found her looking wide-eyed at me and not knowing what to do.
“It’s okay, I don’t bite. Much anyway,” I said, encouraging her to take it. Wow, she is going to need to get a grip if she is going to be a fallen. That scared to death attitude will be her death.
“Hi,” she greeted quickly, almost not shaking my hand, and continued on with what she was doing. Looking at Lada I gave her the “What the hell?” look. Smiling, she shook her head and got up to get some coffee.
“Want some coffee guys?” she asked, reaching for the cupboard.
“Oh yes,” we all replied together, making Nanini laugh.
“So guys, what’s new in the fallen world, well except for us?” I asked, trying to steer the damaging wakeup call to something else.
“Well, I suppose that depends on what you want to know,” Caim replied, walking into the kitchen followed by a very pissed off Max. Great, round two here we go. Nanini turned to look at him, and yip she sticks her tongue out at him. Jumping up, I grab his hand and drag him down to sit next to me.
“Oh no, we’ve had enough,” I said, after receiving his death glare. “Well apparently we missed a lot, so start from scratch and fill us in,” I reply to Caim’s smile.
“Well, did you hear about the attacks?” Lotan asked, taking his cup of coffee from Lada.
“Yeah, Maia explained it to me in quick detail. The demons attacked our families outside Exsilium and we lost a lot of fallen during it,” I answered, taking my cup and ending off with a large swallow of it.
“Yip, and because of that all families were called back to Exsilium, and the access was blocked off. That’s where Corra comes in,” Lotan continued.
“Corra, who’s that?” I asked.
“Corra is the central intelligence unit for Exsilium and all fallen, you and all the other new Apprendos will meet her after we have completed Nanini’s meal,” Chax said, walking into the kitchen to get some coffee. Okay, what the hell did he just say? Confused, I looked at Lotan and Lada asking for some assistance.
“Abby here is quite the genius, she created a living sphere that helps connect all fallen, but most of all helps you gain access into and out of Exsilium. If you are not synchronized with her, you won’t get near Exsilium,” Lotan explained.
I looked over at the shy girl at the end of the table, so engrossed with the thing in
her hand that she had no idea that we had just mentioned her name and intelligence. So, if I’ve got this right, this little girl created some sort of plug-in computer or something. Yeah, um I think I’ll wait and see this whole thing out. I turned my head back to Lotan and Lada and found them smiling at me.
“Yeah, we know. Unbelievable, right? Wait until you see, but most of all feel, it. That will have you stunned for a day or two,” Lotan finished, giving Lada a peck on the cheek that had her blushing.
“Kasadya, you and the rest need to finish up. As explained, we still have to stop at Corra for your synchronizing before we can go to the arena for the daily training session. From there we serve in Perth tonight. I suggest you all get moving or we will be late.” When Chax finished speaking he walked out of the kitchen, leaving his empty cup on the counter. Okay, apparently some things still haven’t changed, back to “Move it, Kasadya.” Sighing, I finished my cup of coffee just as Nanini planted a plate of food in front of me. We ate quickly to ensure we did as we were told. Taking a bite, I saw that Max had his eyes on Nanini. Well at least I am not the only one with a Custos problem.