34. Kalix
Chapter 34
Kalix
L ight rain collects and slides in long rivulets over the external side of the glass that makes up the window overlooking the ocean in the near distance out of the North Tower. I stand by it, watching one drop slip away from the others to disappear between the crevices of the stone alongside it.
Vexing.
The low continuous hum of voices echo behind me as people hover over the man still sprawled, unconscious, on one of the lounges in our main room. I turn ever so slightly and peer back, a scowl overtaking my face.
Why did I allow this again?
Almost as soon as the question slips through my mind—along with images of slaughtering both the unconscious, nearly dead man and the red-haired annoyance still working him over with the low thrum of her pathetic excuse for a Divine power—the answer walks out of the bedroom belonging to my brother, Theos.
A room once devoid of anything worthy of being in it becomes a museum of all the things she enjoys and desires. The darker emotions of anger, frustration, and boredom amongst others that have been a battering ram against the closed doors of the inside of my head die down.
It isn’t until she completely ignores my presence in favor of going to the lounge where that man lies that it returns in full force.
“How is he?” Kiera asks.
My eyes narrow on the sallow face of the human that Ruen had pulled from the gloom the night before and brought back on behalf of her. I quickly calculate the chances of killing him so that she may turn her attention back to me. Ultimately, though, it’s the way she places the back of her hand on his forehead, as if looking for a change in the human’s temperature that reminds me that she cares for him. To kill him would upset her.
It’s odd. I’ve never cared before about upsetting anyone other than Theos and Ruen, but my brothers are of my blood. They are part of me. In essence, they are me. To upset them would be to upset myself.
She is different.
She is separate.
She is mine.
“He’s breathing more evenly,” Maeryn murmurs, her tone full of exhaustion. Though she’d slept sometime in the night, she’d been back at checking over her charge by the time I’d woken at dawn. “But he’s still yet to wake.”
“Do you know how long that will take?” Kiera asks, her hand leaving the man’s face as she turns towards Maeryn. Her brows are creased with what I recognize as worry. There are the slightest tracks, too, that rain down from her eyes. She’s scrubbed them away, of course, but I see them—the evidence in the streaks of silver lining her face barely perceptible to most.
A door creaks open and Ruen appears in the doorframe of his bedroom, hair tousled uncharacteristically as he enters the main room.
Sssssssss. I bat away the serpent’s thought that threatens to intrude in a silent request.
“How is he?” Ruen’s question has me turning away from the room once more to stare out the window.
Everything is once again … vexing.
Ssssssss. That request returns. A growl threatens to spill from my throat as my lips curl back in agitation.
What? I snap, demanding an answer from the creature that should know by now when I wish to be interrupted and when I do not.
There is silence and then…
Ssssssss. I straighten away from the side of the wall and frown.
You’re sure? The creature sends through an image of them nodding their little scaled head. I’m not sure how Kiera’s spiders work, but serpents are intelligent creatures with a language all their own. I’ve never questioned how I can translate their hissing noises into actual understanding, but right now, I’m pleased by the power.
Turning from the window to face the room, I relay the information that the serpents have passed along. “The God Council called another meeting,” I say.
Three heads turn and three pairs of eyes land on me. Kiera’s face twists in confusion. Maeryn’s is impassable, as if merely looking my way is akin to smelling rancid meat. I bare my teeth at her, letting my fangs lengthen to fine points. Her eyes move down in instinctive submission. Irksome female.
Ignoring her once more, I lift my eyes to meet those of my brother’s. “They’ve decided to conduct a ceremony for Kiera’s ancestry.”
The door behind Kiera opens and Theos steps out, his face looking far more serious than I’ve ever noticed before. I tilt my head to the side, curious. His upper lip curls back and he flashes me his teeth before he stomps past Kiera towards the front door.
“Theos,” Ruen calls after him. “You need to hear this.”
Theos halts where he stands. Though he doesn’t turn back to face the rest of us, neither does he make a move to leave. His shoulders shift up and down in the slightest indication that he’s still breathing, but otherwise, he’s as still as a statue. My gaze flicks to Kiera who seems to be intent on not looking his way.
Interesting.
“Kalix.” Ruen’s commanding voice spears through me, interrupting my wayward thoughts. “What else?”
I sigh and reach back out to the serpent’s mind, seeking the information once more.
Ssssssssss.
“They’ve sent someone to get Kiera to prepare for the ceremony.”
“It’s not the Spring Equinox yet,” Kiera protests. “They said?—”
“I’m only saying what my familiars have told me,” I interrupt her with a shrug. “Spring Equinox or not, they appear to be impatient.”
How very God-like of them. The thought is snide in my head but no less true. Then again, perhaps Azai is where I get my lack of patience. If that were the case, though, then why aren’t my brothers more like me?
“Is it for today?” Ruen asks.
I nod my answer. “Yes, a Terra will likely be here soon.”
Maeryn stands abruptly, her eyes wide with fear. “They’re coming here?” she asks. “Now?” Without waiting for a response, she whirls away. “I can’t be here,” she directs her words to Ruen. “They can’t find out I’ve been helping you if?—”
He waves off her words. “I understand,” he says, cutting her off as he gestures for the door. “Go ahead. We thank you for your assistance.”
“Wait!” Kiera reaches out for the red-haired Second Tier. “What about Regis?”
Maeryn pauses and glances back at the man still sprawled on the lounge. “He’s unconscious but not due to any more injury,” she says, her words shooting out quickly as the sound of her anxiety trembles in her voice. So dramatic, I think with an eye roll. As if she can’t handle a little bit of torture or death that may be punishment for aiding a mortal from outside the walls.
“Can we move him?” Kiera asks.
“Yes, yes of course. He’ll wake up when his mind is ready.”
“I’ll see Maeryn back to her quarters,” Theos says in a tight voice as the other girl nods once more to Kiera and then lifts her skirts as if preparing to run. Theos and the annoying girl are gone in the next instant and Kiera is hovering over the human male.
“How long until whoever the Gods have sent get here, Kalix?” Ruen demands as he strides across the room to stand alongside Kiera.
I scowl before reaching for my familiar yet again. A moment later, I know. “It’ll be within the next hour,” I say. “It appears that they’re searching for Caedmon first and he is not in his chambers.”
“Good.” Ruen jerks his chin in an indication for Kiera to move. She does and Ruen bends, lifting the fragile male into his arms. “Then we hide him.”
“Where?” Kiera asks, eyes scanning the room as if she can divine up some secret place for the human. A snort draws her attention to me and I offer her a smile in response to her dark look.
“You may set him in my chambers,” I say. “The snakes would certainly keep him company.”
She blanches but Ruen seems to consider the idea. “That might not be a poor plan,” he says. “You can keep an eye on him in case he rouses.”
My smile drops back into a scowl. “It was a joke,” I snap, not at all pleased by the idea of some human vermin being allowed access to my chambers.
“Too bad.” Ruen strides past me towards the stairs. “We have little time.”
“We have an hour,” I state. “That is more than enough time.”
He ignores my comment though to take the stairs two at a time. My scowl deepens, but I don’t stop him as Kiera rushes past me to assist Ruen in getting the human male into my chambers. An assertive mental push, and I send several of my familiars to the room to keep watch over the annoying pest Kiera seems intent on nursing like a wounded bird.
Life would be far less complicated if I were permitted to simply kill all these little irritants that distract my brothers and Kiera from the important things. Me. Sex. Pleasure. Pain.
With a grumble, I stalk towards the door as a knock sounds against the wood. I open it and blink down at the sharp faced woman with shit brown eyes and a rather breakable looking fist half raised to perform another knock. I blink at the intrusion. It appears my serpents were wrong—we do not have an hour.