Chapter 3 #2
"Right, right. I was getting there, man.
So, like I was saying, this little bitch was hiding, and was about to toot on the ol' horn.
Send out the alarm. I can't really fault him there.
It is his job. Even I understand that sometimes we don't like the jobs we're given in life, but by the stars, you gotta forge your own—"
"Talon," Misha growled in warning, clearly tired of the babbling. He normally would've entertained Talon and all of his quirks, but this wasn't a normal situation.
As though he hadn't heard the warning, Talon tucked some rogue red strands of hair behind his ear—with his middle finger.
"I gave the guy a choice. I said you can pretend like you didn't see a thing, or you can try to toot toot on that nark flute.
But I warned him, if he reached for it, I was going to give him a unicorn send-off. "
Felix began laughing and shaking his head. "No, brother. Tell me you didn't..."
Talon held his hands out dramatically. "What was I supposed to do? I gave him a choice, and I was quite clear on the consequences."
"For fuck's sake," Ashland said as he marched over to the body. "How is it we've been together this long, and I have no bloody clue what a unicorn send off—" He looked down at the man, "Ohhhh." Ash's eyes darted to Talon's as he chuckled. "Oh, Talon. Your creativity is a gift."
He bent over and lifted the dead man up as though he weighed nothing. I had to admit, my curiosity was piqued, but I wasn't prepared. Neither was our little fan girl, who was sitting in the same spot she'd been dropped minutes before.
"Can't say I've ever seen that before," Felix said, admiration in his tone. "I think I may need to tattoo that on your ass cheek, brother."
My head tilted involuntarily as I took in the gruesome sight.
Laughter broke through the contemplative silence, and we glanced at the girl who was wiping tears from her cheeks. When she realized we were all watching her as she laughed at Talon's unique murder methods, her face fell.
"P-please, don't kill me," she begged, eyes wild.
"You're a member of The Exiled," Felix stated. "Though you've never been properly inducted, and I'm dying to know how it is you know of our oath, you still cited the pledge in the face of deadly enemies."
Talon crossed his arms, looking a little pissed off. "But why were you laughing at me?"
She shook her head quickly. "No, no, I wasn't. It's just that Romyn—" She paused to point her finger at the guard who was now slumped against the wall "—he's always been a real ass, and I've always called him jackass in my head, and when I saw what you did to him.
.. turning him into a fancy jackass..." She trailed off as we all stared at her.
Misha lifted a brow and glanced at the dead guard. "A fancy jackass."
I blamed adrenaline for the deep laugh that came out of my mouth. There was no stopping it. The situation we were in was high stakes. Life or death, and yet, here we were, having stupid fucking conversations, and turning grown demon males into unicorns. Soon, we were all laughing uncontrollably.
"I can't believe you shoved that horn through his entire skull," Ashland said as he rested his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.
Talon grinned wickedly. "When I tell someone I'm going to do something, I do it. It's not my fault if they're not used to being around an honest individual!"
"That's what I've been saying for years," Felix boasted, holding his tattooed arms out wide. "If you let everyone know where you stand, there won't be any fuckin' surprises."
"Unless you're standing on a wall..." Ashland added and pointed at the dead guard.
Misha cleared his throat, reminding all of us that we were here for a purpose. A mission. One we'd been waiting a very long time to complete.
"Right," I said, shrugging off the out-of-character for me merriment. "Let's get back to business."
Misha nodded in agreement before turning to the girl. "What's your name?"
"Elara," she said, her voice steady.
"Well, Elara, it seems as though you found yourself in quite the predicament with those guards," Ashland said calmly.
Elara rolled her deep brown eyes. "I was trying to sneak some supplies to Prince Bram. The resistance is alive and well within the walls of this castle..."
"How have you managed to avoid Asrael's mind control?
" I knew Asrael. He was cunning and cruel.
He didn't reach this point, the throne within his grasp, leaving possibilities for error.
Although he was as egotistical as he was ancient.
Perhaps the fucker made a grave mistake and ignored the 'small people' in the castle, not thinking them a serious threat.
"He's so full of himself. He planned this coup by using fear and cruelty.
A lot of the demons here are terrified of him, and rightfully so, especially after the public whipping he personally delivered to one of the future Queen's mates.
" She winced in pain as though the recollection of this man's suffering was still fresh in her mind—no doubt those memories would linger forever with her and the other witnesses.
The sound of voices reached us, and I quickly held a finger over my mouth, silently telling everyone to hush.
Talon rushed over to Elara, causing her to flinch away at his sudden approach.
He held out a hand to the girl, and she eyed it momentarily before accepting the help he offered.
She was on her feet in an instant. He kept his voice low as he asked, "Do you have a way into the castle? We need to find Balor."
She nodded. "This way."
Talon grinned back at us in yet another victory. Fucker was always keeping score of his wins, and we'd no doubt hear about each and every one of them for the next century.
I lifted my shoulders and exhaled a long sigh as we tiptoed behind Elara, our footsteps softly echoing off the stone walls.
I trailed my fingertips along the smooth, gray stones that made up the castle walls.
They were still as solid and formidable as ever.
However, some were now fully covered with soft green moss from the lack of sun on this side of the castle.
We walked carefully, our steps quiet in case the guards had ears close enough to catch us.
But they must have been too busy with their other duties because we reached the entrance without incident.
I knew the path we were taking. I'd taken it many, many times before.
Around the next corner, there would be a massive wooden door that was as thick as Misha was tall.
An old servant door that guards and castle staff utilized to sneak in and out of the castle.
It was the perfect location if you wanted to leave or return without being seen, as it was built in a blind spot.
No windows were directly overhead, and since it was built into the corner of the castle, it provided excellent coverage if you walked straight out to the small garden of bushes and trees before making a sprint to the wall.
With each step I took closer to that door, it got a little bit harder to take even the smallest of breaths. I mentally punched myself right in the face because now was not the time to uncork the buried bottle of memories I held deep within my soul.
Was I really going to lose my shit over a stupid fucking door?
Not. Today. Rhodes.
"You okay, brother?" Ashland's voice snapped me out of my internal battle with myself.
I cracked my knuckles and glanced at him as he kept pace beside me. His white-blond hair blew lazily in the equally lazy wind that filtered past us. "I'm more than okay," I lied.
His eyes narrowed as he studied my face. "Your face says otherwise..."
A growl slipped from my lips at his comment. "Don't pretend like you can read anything about what I'm thinking based on my face."
"I'd lie to you, but that seems to be something you've got covered," he fired back, keeping his voice low. Before I could respond to that, we came to a stop.
Elara fumbled around in her pocket, and I sank a little deeper into my thoughts. Thoughts that, for some fucking reason, would not leave me alone. I was losing my grip if Ashland could gauge my mood based on my face.
For the first time since I left this realm all those years ago, it felt like my mask was slipping.
I couldn't allow that.
Finally, Elara produced a silver skeleton key and smiled as she held it up for us to see. Talon and Felix were both bouncing on the balls of their feet as though waiting just one more second to enter the castle would send them over the edge.
She slipped the key into the lock and twisted it until we heard the satisfying click of the door unlocking. It felt more like a bomb going off in my head. One by one, my brothers slipped through the threshold like harbingers of death.
I stared at the door, noting the wood was no longer brown but black. Distressed as if it had weathered all the seasons and somehow still remained standing.
Despite my better judgment, I still found myself crouching down on the ground, feeling for the indentations I had made years earlier with my fingertips. I smiled sadly to myself when I found carved-out letters, once jagged and harsh, now faded and smooth from time.
I traced the 'R' and moved on to the 'J'. I realized a second too late that this wasn't just a door; it was a gateway. A portal to my subconscious, and the moment it swung open, there was no holding back any of the memories I'd forced into submission.
Tracing the letters was my personal key, and I sucked in a deep breath as everything unlocked. My stomach flipped, and my chest seized as the door seemed to melt away, only to be replaced by one lighter in color.
"Rhodes," he whispered, laughing under his breath.
I laughed, too. "What?"
"You look like you're in pain."
I shrugged and stared into his deep green eyes. "It's been a long time since we did that run."