by Quil Carter
“Elish…” Garrett’s voice dropped. He sat down on the white chair beside the couch and cupped his coffee cup with both hands. “I would never go against you or betray you… but Jack and I have been talking and… we’re all going to have a sit down soon about this and talk. We think with what happened to Sky’s O.L.S and all of his brain matter being gone, and what happened to Reaver… Elish, love, I think Silas has suffered enough. Don’t you?”
Elish’s already bitter expression became even more distinguished. “Yes. I have a grand way to end his suffering, Garrett.”
Garrett sighed, and out of the corner of his eye Elish saw him rest his face into his left hand. “Reaver is as good as dead, the clone who was mostly Sky. Kessler is missing, so is Sanguine; who knows when Nero will return with Ceph and Kiki. Timothy is dead. Silas is going to be inconsolable with grief and our little Jade kitten…” Garrett looked over to Jade. The boy was on the recliner, his eyes unfocused and his mouth slacked. He was drowning inside of the white comforter Elish had bundled him in. A hollow, pale face with eyelids a deep lavender, and underneath those lids, two slabs of gold that peeked out like ore in black soil.
As Elish looked at Jade, Garrett spoke, his tone thin but that seemed to only amplify the emotions spilling from his words. “Elish… the family needs to band together and be a family right now. We need to find ourselves again and be Dekker’s instead of players on you and Silas’s chessboard. We have all suffered grave losses and, brother, we need to put these games on hold for now.”
But, true to his nature, Elish shook his head, Garrett’s words bouncing off of him like he had been flinging crumpled up paper instead of words. “No, if anything this is the time to strike.” Elish rose at this and with his coffee cup in hand he walked to the window. “Silas is weak and I know I have the information on how to kill him on those hard drives. Sky’s O.L.S may be gone but Perish had it implanted in his head for months. It’s fully possible, no, expected, that he would put the information on there about how to kill immortals. I just need to find it and now that I’m home I will.” Elish turned around, a flood of disdain rising inside of him when he saw the intense look of sadness and pain on Garrett’s face.
Elish pushed past the expression. “From what I know… they had to have had some sort of contraption or machine to amplify their radiation. If I can find out exactly what was in the plaguelands lab… I can see if there’s another one. I can put a stop to this quickly and once I do… I will quell the white flames and find Reaver’s remains.”
Garrett stared at him, his lower lip so tight his chin held several dimples. “You’re relying on a lot on Perish’s hard drives… for all you know nothing is on them.”
“No!” Elish snapped; Garrett’s words grating his theories like sandpaper on a burn wound. Though as Garrett’s depression deepened, Elish realized with vexation that if his theories weren’t so fallible, Garrett’s words wouldn’t have had such an impact.
“There is,” Elish spat. “Perish wouldn’t let the secret die with him. He hated Silas!”
“No, he didn’t,” Garrett whispered and Elish heard a sniff. “Perish loved him with his entire heart, which is why he let the secret die with him.”
The coffee cup crushed in Elish’s grip, spilling its hot contents all over his hand. The liquid seared Elish’s skin and filled his body with pain, but there was no registration of it on his face. Garrett noticed this and his morose state held the first flicker of a deeper worry.
“The secret did not die with him.” A lethal toxin seemed to lace every word that fell from Elish’s mouth. But Garrett drank the poison with nothing more than a shake of his head.
“Look at me, Garrett,” Elish commanded. And when his brother gazed up at him with eyes that had swallowed the sadness of the dead world, Elish’s own looked back.
And those deep violet eyes held no sadness, no despair, or even doubt; they were two burning asteroids breaking the sound barriers from the speed to which they were crashing towards the earth.
“The secret did not die with him,” Elish repeated; his coffee-covered hand steaming and the skin now swelling with redness. “I will find out how to kill him and I will kill him. Then I will quell those white flames and bring back Reaver. I will give Reaver another Killian and he will rule the greywastes beside me as I rule Skyfall. The family will be content; the world will be content. This is what will happen. You can either be a part of it, or you can watch your own white flames quench like any other immortal who decides to choose Silas’s side.”
“You never threatened me like this before,” Garrett whispered, his voice heavy with sadness. “Or the ones we love. I don’t see how you think this attitude is better than Silas’s. If anything you’re the one becoming–”
Elish whirled around and backhanded Garrett right across the face. Garrett’s own coffee dropped from his hand and splashed onto the ground, a yelp sounding from his lips.
“If you ever compare me to that monster…”
“What monster!” Garrett suddenly screamed. He shot to his feet, his face red with anger and his body trembling under his own emotion. “I don’t see a monster!” he cried. “I see a man who now has to finally accept that Sky is gone, and that Perish is now also dead. I see a heartbroken, two hundred and fifty-five year old man who has endured a hard life and now has his heir, his golden boy, plotting his death in his darkest hour! I see my best friend, my brother, threatening to kill me and my fiancé if we don’t align with him as he slithers around like a fucking snake desperately trying to manipulate his family to go against our master. I see no monster in the man who sobbed in your arms after the white flames roasted him alive. The only monster I see was the one who continues to plan his destruction after you sentenced an innocent boy to death, a born immortal to twenty years of pain, and your fucking husband to brain-dead retardation, all because SILAS REFUSED TO MARRY Y-”
Another strike, this one a direct punch to Garrett’s jaw. Garrett flew backwards and landed on the couch, a stream of blood running down his face like a turned on faucet. Behind the couch, Luca stared, his eyes wide and terrified, before the sengil turned and bolted to his bedroom.
“Don’t you dig up that carcass and display it at my feet like it’s some sort of fetid weapon to be used against me,” Elish snarled. “That was years ago and–”
“And ever since he laughed at your proposal, your heart has hardened towards him!” Garrett screamed, his hand now cupping a pool of blood, and in the center, three teeth. “Don’t take me for a fucking idiot. This isn’t because of him killing our lovers and being a tyrant at times, it never was. It’s because he humiliated you, it’s because you opened your heart to him and he pissed in it. This began as a jilted lover needing revenge, and your fucking delusional mind has done the mental gymnastics necessary for you to believe it’s to protect the family.” Garrett stood up and though Elish was staring him down with an energy that was as powerful as the opal flames, Garrett, for once, did not cower.
Instead he pointed to Jade. “You have a husband now, Elish. You have a boy so devoted to you it makes Silas seethe with jealousy, and most of the family as well. You have your partner, you need to forgive Silas for what he did and move on. The family will never turn their backs to Silas, and you must look past your own pride and put an end to this before it’s too late. End this, before you lose the respect of your brothers and sister, and you lose Jade as well.”
“Jade’s empath abilities are because of Silas. I stand to lose Jade because of Silas’s plan to control me by creating a terminally ill chimera for me,” Elish snapped. He tried to ignore the feeling that he was scrambling to find the words to match Garrett’s own. That was something unheard of to him, Garrett never won arguments… Elish always knew what to say; he always had the words to verbally massacre his brothers.
It was, it must be… it must be that he was just fatigued from the journey.
“Jade’s brain-dead because you pushed him to use those empath abili
ties,” Garrett said back. “Because you forced him to develop them before his brain matured. Valen lived to twenty-four before he passed; your fucking End Game shortened Jade’s life by six years. Do you realize that? Do you realize this is your doing? And let’s not even mention the fact that you’re too fucking stubborn to make the boy immortal because you insist on having the boy age. You readily put us all at risk, including your precious parvulus maritus, all so you can have every-fucking-single-thing you want. You put Jade in danger of dying just because every last detail must be to Elish Sebastian Dekker’s specifications. You’re a fucking idiot, Elish. A complete fucking idiot and your house of cards is falling down.”
“My reasons for delaying Jade’s immortality are my own.” Elish’s tone dropped. “You know nothing and you prove it by the shit spewing from your mouth. When Silas kills Reno, and his blood soaks your hands, you will remember this conversation and weep for your insolence.”
“And when Jade dies… what will you weep for?”
Elish slowly turned around and faced his brother; he stared at him before, with a narrowing of his eyes, he smirked.
“I will weep for you,” Elish said coldly, “and all who oppose me. For when my husband awakens from his first resurrection… there will be nothing stopping me from culling those who do not deserve to live in my new world.”
Garrett wiped his mouth, blood streaking his face, and slowly he shook his head. “You really are his heir,” he said in a tone heavy with sadness. “I see no king promising us our lovers and a life of peace. I see King Silas in all his glory before Sky died and his soul slowly succumbed to madness. I see how our master was in his prime. Do you want to know my predictions, brother?”
“No. I believe it is time for you to leave,” Elish responded.
“I think Jade is going to die,” Garrett said, “and I think you’ll finally understand Silas when he does. I think you have never known true pain, brother… and… and I’m scared that you’re about to. Because there is no one in the world less prepared to deal with the gut-wrenching, life destroying agony and guilt of losing someone you love, and having their blood be on your hands.”
Elish fell to silence, before in a voice that seemed woven by Satan himself, he replied back: “We can’t all have the practise that you’ve had dealing with such things, brother.”
Elish expected another outburst, he expected objects flung and shrill, pain-filled voices, but what he didn’t expect was what happened next.
“I love you,” Garrett’s small voice could be heard, followed by a sniff. “And… I’m so scared for you. Please… please stop this campaign against Silas, and make Jade immortal now, before you lose everything.”
“Goodbye, Garrett.”
Elish heard a sniff and a hand pat his shoulder. “Goodbye, Elish.” And a few moments later, the door gently shut.
Chapter 11
Jack
Jack walked down the hallway of King Silas’s office apartment and eyed the blood splatter on the bottom half of the wall. Then his eyes travelled down and he observed several large pools of dried blood; their dark stain camouflaged almost perfectly with the colours of the carpet runner.
“The blood soaked through it…” Jack observed in a subdued tone. He heard Ares and Siris snicker behind him, but they had instructions to stay in front of the elevator and they had obeyed. “You went into the storage room and threw a new carpet runner over it, didn’t you? Why did you not just clean it?”
Juni, who had his hands behind his back and a tight expression on his dark features, seemed to wince at Jack’s words. “I… I was in a hurry, Master Jack. I wanted to find you immediately.”
“Indeed…” Jack mumbled, and the two of them walked over the dark stain and into Silas’s office. After closing the door behind him, Jack carefully went over every inch of the open concept space, and when no signs of Sanguine could be seen, he felt a twinge of worry inside of his heart. “And you left Sanguine here to die?”
“I left Crow here to die,” the sengil replied simply. “The same Crow who was lunging at Luca with intent to kill him. I didn’t have a choice. I–” Jack silenced him with a cold glare and Juni became quiet. His heartbeat, however, was racing, and he kept swallowing nervously.
“You had a choice, Juni,” Jack replied darkly. “You tampered with a chimera and now he is a mad man missing from our family. You might’ve been adopted by this family but you are very much a greywaster made into an immortal by Silas’s pity and my begging. What were you thinking using Sanguine’s remote against him? Do you know what Silas will do to you if he finds out?”
“He was refusing to tell me where you were,” Juni replied, his voice defensive but his posture slouched. “You’d been gone for over a week. What was I to do? What am I supposed to do when I know a chimera is actively betraying his brothers; one of those brothers is my master whom I love? What was I supposed to do, Master Jack? Let Sanguine keep the family, including the king, stranded in the greywastes?”
“Yes.”
Juni stared at him, looking taken aback by the answer. Jack walked over to Silas’s office desk and quickly looked for any signs that Sanguine could be around. “When you get caught up in our family’s politics you better have the strength and authority to endure the repercussions, and you, Juni Dekker, do not. You did a dangerous thing, and now I’ll have to pay the price for it.”
“I’ll take–”
There was a beeping coming from Jack’s watch. He looked down at it before motioning towards the door. “The king is breathing on his own. Continue searching with Ares and Siris, I must be by his side when he wakes.” Jack sprinted ahead of Juni and past the twins who were observing Jack’s sudden switch in demeanour with cocked eyebrows.
“Keep looking for him,” Jack replied as he pressed the button for the twenty-seventh floor rapidly. “He has to be near here. Especially if he’s still Crow. That mad man will not stray far.”
“Yes, Master,” Juni replied in a small voice, before shooting a concerned glance at Ares and Siris; both twins were gazing at the boy like he was a fresh slab of meat. As the elevator rose to Silas’s floor, Jack almost wished for the twins to jump Juni’s bones, if only to punish him for the trouble Jack could very well be in.
The king is going to have a lot of things to react to when he wakes…
Jack took in several deep breaths as his feet carried him to Silas’s apartment, but when he entered all air got sucked out of his lungs.
Silas was standing in his bedroom doorway, his green eyes staring into nothing like the steady flow of time had forgotten about his existence. There was nothing on his face; it was the most dead and lifeless thing to be seen on this immortal being. How could such a powerful person look so vacant?
“My king,” Jack said and walked to him. “I’m sorry for not being here when you woke… I was looking for someone.”
Not a single shift in expression could be seen on Silas’s face, not one flinch. The king continued his oddly fixed look, and at this, Jack felt a low tremor of apprehension inside.
What barriers Elish had tried to put up in front of Jack and the king dissolved as Jack stood in front of Silas. The unease he was feeling igniting an intense well of devotion – but riding the same wave was also empathy and an urge to help.
“Silas…?” Jack dropped his voice. He gently laid a hand on the side of Silas’s face and tilted the king’s head towards him. He opened his mouth to speak more, but when Silas’s eyes locked with his own, his gaze stole the words on his lips.
The depth of agony that Jack saw inside of Silas’s eyes physically stung his heart. How could a single look hold so much pain inside of it? Jack found himself transfixed in this heartbreaking gaze, and soon the corners of his eyes burned.
Their relationship had never been as such, to treat Silas as a partner was something Sanguine did, or Elish, but in that moment Jack felt such a pull to comfort Silas he couldn’t stop himself. He gently stroked Silas’s cheek, his eye
s blurring.
“Lovely?” Jack’s voice broke. “S-Silas… are you okay? Speak to me.”
Silas’s lower lip tightened before quivering. “Elish…” he managed to say, his voice thick with agony. “I need Elish.”
Elish…? Jack shook his head and gently stroked Silas’s cheek. No, Silas… you don’t want him. Silas, he’s trying to de-throne you. Don’t you see? You can’t show weakness in front of him.
Jack felt a tear roll down his cheek. “Love. Elish… Elish can’t be the one to help you. I can get Garrett? Want to see–”
“I NEED ELISH!” Silas cried, and he collapsed onto his knees before Jack could catch him.
There was no part of Jack that wanted to get Elish for him, but what could he do? Jack took in a shuddering breath and picked up the remote phone that was resting on his coffee table. He dialed Elish’s number and shut his eyes as he heard Silas start to hyperventilate behind him.
“Silas…?” Elish’s voice sounded on the other end.
“No, it’s Jack but he needs you, now,” Jack said, making no attempts to hide the disdain in his voice.
There was a pause. “I’ll be there in five minutes. If there is a mortal with you, tell them to evacuate.” And Elish hung up. Jack put the phone down and turned back to Silas.
The king was on the floor with his hands clasped behind his neck; his eyes were wide and his heartbeat sounded like it was single-handedly massacring his chest. He reminded Jack of Sanguine in that moment, when he’d first come to Skyfall, and Jack wondered then if the king he had once known was gone for good.
Jack kneeled in front of Silas and put a hand on his shoulder. Then, sensing someone else in the room, he looked around and spotted Drake looming in the doorway of his room.
“Go into your room and close the door, Drake. Don’t come out,” Jack told him. “Put on your headphones and listen to some loud music. That’s an order.”