30. Where’s the Respect?
Where’s the Respect?
Ryker
Istep outside of the cave and take a deep breath in and exhale.
The smell of brimstone reminds me of home.
Well, second home. I’m not too familiar with the area, though.
The only places I was really allowed to go were Mom’s house and the supervised places she allowed, like the training gym, L.A.M.B.
’s residence, and the royal hunting grounds.
This place doesn’t look like it would be allowed in her approved books at all.
Although there aren't any hard rules about where the Gauntlet can take place, we have up to a week to finish it. Technically, they wouldn’t send us anywhere that could mess with the time, so we have to be on Level One in Hell. But we’re definitely nowhere near where I grew up.
Judging by the setting sun, it’s late in the day, and we need to find some shelter, which is easier said than done, since the land is barren from what I can see.
The ground is black and red with deep-looking crevices, as if it’s never seen a drop of water in over a century, and there’s not a lot of trees around for coverage.
Hell, I can count the few here on both of my hands, which doesn’t bode well for us.
Off in the eastern sky, there looks to be some structures, but it’s hard to tell what they are from here.
“Well, this is definitely a different welcome since last time,” Lynx says, looking around with his hands on his waist, looking like a douche.
“Wow, it amazes me that she puts up with you still,” Knots retorts as he walks by.
“It’s because of my cock. It outshines all of yours. And if that wasn’t glorious enough, I’m the oldest friend, so I outrank all of you.” He presents the widest smile ever, and I roll my eyes before looking behind him to find Rez to knock him down a peg.
Instead, Reaper runs out with his leash trailing behind him, and I shift my weight as I get a bad feeling in my gut.
“Where’s Rez?” I ask, looking around JP as he comes out of the cave.
He stops short and points over his shoulder as he looks at me wide-eyed.
“She was right behind me,” he says, turning to look over his shoulder to search deeper into the tunnel.
He looks down at Reaper and his leash, and his eyebrows jump to his hairline before he turns and runs back in.
Knox grabs Reaper and focuses on him. I’m sure he’s trying to work out what happened, but I can’t wait. I take off with Zeke on my heels.
“I don’t see her, Ry,” he exclaims. I know his eyesight is definitely better than mine, so I don’t question, but I have to know for myself.
“She was just fucking here,” I growl out. I turn back and stomp up to Knox, getting into his face.
“You can feel her, right? Can you tell where she’s at? Tell me she’s okay, tell me she's still alive,” I demand, my heart’s pounding out of my chest, but I need some kind of reassurance.
Knox looks at me and nods.
“Yeah, I can still feel her and tell that she’s close, even though I don’t see her. It’s as if she’s here in Hell, but cloaked. It’s hard to describe, but wherever she’s at, she’s annoyed but not hurt,” he reassures me, even though he carries a frustrated expression.
“Is there anything else you can pick up with your link?” I probe, and Knox cocks an eyebrow at me like I’m daft. “Yeah, I know that was a stupid question too,” I admit with a sigh as Reaper breaks free of Knox’s hold.
He growls and jumps into the air a few feet away, but instead of landing on the ground as I expected, he hangs by his jowls from something unseen before his flames flare, causing a wave of effects of chaos.
A small cyclone of gray color ripples around Reaper's flames, and I catch the shimmering of the glamour as a scream rips through the setting sun.
All eyes turn to focus on our little Reaper as he growls and paws at the cloaked figure, who appears out of nothing before us.
The nails in his paws lengthen to gouge at their chest cavity as he rips through their armor and into their flesh, cutting off their screams. What seems to take a good five minutes is truly over in a few seconds, to the point I barely have time to process what happened, let alone discover who our attacker was.
“D— Did Reaper just save us?” Chester asks, pushing up his glasses.
“Wow, I didn’t even smell that guy.” Knox’s low whispered confession gives me goose bumps as Reaper lets go of his dead target, faces another direction, and growls.
Heat and a slight itch flare behind my ear, and I can’t help but touch the area where my Horseman tattoo rests.
As soon as I rub the irritated area, my actions seemingly freeze time.
A man wearing a blood-red cloak, holding a bow in his hand, and a golden crown upon his head appears next to Reaper's immobile frame. His hood hangs low, hiding his facial features, but the cocky smile and the pierced lip ring already give away who I’m looking at. Me, as Conquest.
‘You should have seen that enemy before the pet did,’ the condescending voice mocks me.
‘Thanks for pointing that out. Anything else you would like to berate me for while you're here?’ I find it mildly entertaining that this spirit has decided to take on my form to appear before me.
‘Smart of you to ask. I’m here to guide you, because apparently you need it,’ he starts, and before I can shoot a snarky comeback, he continues. ‘Tell me, what do you see?’ He turns and indicates the barren scene behind him.
I glance at the wasteland as I did before when I first came out and huff in frustration. I see a few trees and deep crevices that sorely need warning signs; otherwise, someone is gonna get hurt falling into them.
Zap!
I feel a burning sensation behind my ear, and I yowl out in pain.
‘That’s what you get, you fool. I swear by the Fates, I got stuck with the dumbest brother.
’ Conquest sighs as his hand disappears in his hood.
Probably rubbing that area between his eyes.
‘For someone that has the natural ability to see through glamour and manipulate lust, you really don’t use it to your full ability.
” He drops his hand. “Let me show you, so maybe you won’t get everyone killed in this life. ”
He turns to look at a frozen Reaper and backs up to me. Taking a long look at me from head to foot, he slowly shakes his head. ‘First lesson: you should always be scouting for glamours. It’s in your blood, and you should stop being scared of it.
I recoil as if he’s slapped me. How—how does he know?
Yes, I’m what I like to call myself a mutt, but I’ve always been closer to my demon side.
I admit that’s because Lilith did take more interest in me than the Fae side did.
But it’s because Dad was kicked out, and I didn’t want to learn anything about a race that didn’t want anything to do with my father and his family in the first place.
I know the basics, like everyone else, but I didn’t go searching into my line or what that might mean for me.
‘As I once did, you need to embrace both sides and believe that your brothers won’t let you fail.
You are a unit, and to work as one, you need to be whole, which means you need to use your Fae side as much as your Demon, maybe even more so.
Try it now, tap into your Fae magic and scan the area, and then tell me what you see.
” His lips curl into a mocking smile. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll wait. I have all the time in the world.’
Asshole. But I do as he says and scan the area before us, and my jaw drops at the horror in front of us.
About five students from Bailiwick and five students from Cyanide Conservatory, armed to the teeth, are standing frozen about fifty feet in front of us.
Behind them, rooted to the ground as they crawl out of the crevices I just complained about, are about two dozen of Seven Seductive Sins students.
Turning to look back at Conquest, I quirk an eyebrow at him and point back at the small army at his back.
“Okay, smartass, how do you expect us to beat that fuckery?” Anger tinges my voice, causing it to waver.
‘Oh, that?’ Conquest points to the horde behind him causally. ‘That’s a walk in the park,’ he gloats, turning to face the statues before us. ‘Best way to learn is by doing!’
As soon as the words leave his mouth, time unfreezes, and Reaper starts barking at the closest enemy.
“What is Reaper barking at now?” Moni asks, pulling at her tail and flying closer to him.
Without thinking, I pull one of my daggers and throw it straight at the student’s neck, hitting the bullseye and causing him to fall out of the facade.
“Oh, baby butters!” Moni shrieks in surprise, turning a bright magenta.
I can see through the glamour, but I have no idea how to make it so everyone else can.
‘That’s easy,’ Conquest says as time seems to freeze once again.
“Does time stop every time you talk?” I ask nervously, glancing at all the students who have pulled themselves out of the crevices.
‘Of course, how else would I be able to teach?’ His tone mocks me as he moves closer and points to the glamour cloaking everyone.
‘To allow everyone to see through the glamour, simply remove it. Pull it like you would the lust that you need, but let it go like you’re pulling back the curtain on a stage. ’
Intrigued by the idea, I grab the corner of the glamour and yank, pulling it away, and I hear multiple gasps as time unfreezes once again.
“Shit,” Chester growls.
“Ambush!” Knots yells, pulling his sword and taking a defensive stance.
“Claws on,” Lynx yells as he shifts into his lion.
Did he just do a Johnny Storm reference from the Fantastic Four?
“And here I thought no one would challenge us,” JP says as he walks up to me, staring at the closet group. “In Hell, of all places.”
Realizing their cover is gone, the students of Bailiwick stop their sneak advancement, and two students, decked out in impressive green fae armor, step forward to speak. One of them I've met.