The Inferno

Chapter 40 The Incident

I glare viciously at the plastic beast before me.

My furious gaze erratically searches the extensive options upon the large, HD screen.

At the start, I was arrogant, cocky, placing my hand upon the red scanner like I’d done this countless times before. But as I tapped option after option and nothing, not even a hum hit the air, I had to stop myself from pummelling the machine.

“It’s voice activated.”

My mouth drops open at the stranger’s enlightenment. I hear a brief chuckle beside me whilst I continue to stare intently at the flashing screen.

“Cap-puc-ci-no,” I dictate, sounding out the word carefully. When the machine emits a loud swishing sound, I gasp with joy.

“There you go!” the stranger encourages.

I’m too excited by the cardboard cup dropping down and being filled by an inky liquid to pay much attention, until they lean against the coffee machine and intrude upon my joyous moment.

“Go on, how long were you stood there watching me struggle?” I ask, admiring the creamy foam now swirling with the black.

He chuckles again, an arrogant, self-assured sound.

But I knew exactly how long he’d been there.

I felt the tiny brush of power the second he’d entered the canteen. He wasn’t a threat and my coils retreated, barely cautious of his presence even now.

“I’ll admit, I indulged for a few minutes.”

The machine beeps and the stream finishes. Before I can grab the cup, the stranger holds out a small piece of cardboard between his finger, towards me, and I see him fully.

Although dressed in an enforcer uniform, I struggle to see those qualities. The chest plate seems too large, too overpowering, and his boyish face, framed by wild, ivory hair, only enhances his youthful appearance. He was handsome, filled with a charm I could see getting him into trouble, accompanied by a blinding smile.

He was also the epitome of light.

It surrounded him in soft, golden waves accompanied by golden eyes which were quick to study me, filled with a wariness that made my power flare with pride.

“For the cup,” he explains, tilting his head towards the cardboard in his hand. “Or it’ll be too hot.”

“Do you often wait by the coffee machines to offer assistance?” I ask. “I thought enforcers were very busy?”

Calling him by the title makes his entire stance alter. He stands a little taller, chest almost filling out the plate, and I have to smile in order to cover the laugh dying to bubble out.

“Helping damsels in distress is a part of the job.” And he winks.

My eyes flare open in shock, did this kid seriously just wink at me? My previous laugh escapes and results in a chuckle from young Hercules.

I pull the cardboard from his fingers and slip it onto my coffee cup all the while laughing.

“Thanks for the help, Hercules,” I add, laughter tinging my words as I turn to leave, bag of sandwiches in hand.

Thankfully, getting those had been a much easier process. One hand scan and the large fridge filled to the brim just opened. I even grabbed two muffins for Kacey and I. I just needed to ask Ezekial about how I actually paid because everything was a cashless system.

When he steps into my path, my laughter and good humour instantly dissolves. “Heard you got a special tour from the big boss this morning.”

My power begins to unfurl.

For some reason, I really disliked the way he referred to Ezekial. The lack of respect, the casual informality, the vulgarity. My jaw tightens as I continue to analyse the boy.

There’s a gasp at his words, somewhere in the background, and my coils latch out, instantly searching and finding the culprit. They’re behind the wall separating the canteen from the seating area.

“Why’s your little entourage hiding?” I plaster a fake smile on my face as I tilt my head.

“No one’s really sure what to make of you, you see.” He takes a step closer and it takes everything in my power to stop my coils from spearing into him and leaving him an unconscious, blubbering mess upon the ground. “No one knows who you are or what you are. Then you get a special tour and now we hear you’re working with the necromancer… people are bound to have questions.”

My fake expression has dissolved.

My eyes narrow as I continue to consider how I should handle this boy’s impertinence, my coils tightening around my skin like invisible snakes ready to infect.

“That’s not her name,” I state, my voice devoid of any emotions .

He frowns, but seems to shake it away, a bright grin back in place. “You must have messed up pretty badly to be put working with a necro. Especially that one.”

“I suggest you stop talking now.” I keep my voice level and maintain my restraint.

There were plenty of nights where my patience was tested at the club and I wasn’t about to lose it over this amateur.

“Unless he's put you there to keep you out of the way, like a dirty secret.”

His teeth are bared together and I note his eyebrow tweak under the pressure to keep them there. I tilt my head again and watch as his lips quiver as though urging his mouth to move.

There's something not quite right about this kid.

Sure, he's saying some awfully embarrassing things which would have earned him a permanent ban and some friendly touches from my colleagues by now, but his mannerisms, his facial expressions… they’re all wrong.

It’s like he's using muscles he rarely has before and all this halts my irritation from growing into rage.

I continue studying him carefully, feeling his emotions which seem to fluctuate and warp continuously, like he's possessed... Controlled.

“Ah. That's it, isn't it?” he snaps, white teeth gnashing together. “Shagging the boss only gets you so far.”

My eyes widen at his crash insinuation and the previous gasp comes rushing frantically round the corner. Short, golden locks whip her brown cheeks as she rushes to grab the shoulders of her friend.

"What the fuck are you doing?" she hisses, standing upon her toes to reach him.

Another man comes into view urgently, chasing after the girl. He’s tall and lean with striking amber eyes which latch onto the two young enforcers before looking at me.

He flinches.

I’m not sure what he sees, or feels, when he looks at me, but it’s enough for him to move closer to the girl whilst staring in panic at his idiot friend.

"Relax, Tes. We're just having a conversation," idiot replies, eyes narrowed upon his peer’s face.

"I'm so sorry." The girl's face is flush with panic as she speaks to me, her honey eyes are pleading. She’s consumed with confusion. "I think he hit his head during training—"

"What are you on about?" He scowls, turning to Tes. "We deserve answers, he can't just bring someone in here, put them with the necro and expect us all to be fine about it. For all we know she's one!"

"That's enough, Silas," his tall friend orders, his voice low and filled with hidden threats as he stares down at him. Then his eyes flicker to me, lowering as he speaks. “I can only apologise on his behalf. He isn’t thinking clearly, he has no idea—”

"You're protecting necros now, Aro, huh? I thought your kind hated them?" He sneers and Aro flinches as though he'd been struck, stepping back and allowing Silas to step into my space even further.

I stay still, watching his face curl with a nasty smile that doesn't suit his gentle features. "But if the big boss is giving you a shot, maybe I should take you for a ride too? See what's under that tight skirt of yours an—"

I could have let him finish but the moment his hand came close enough to skim the sleeve of my blouse, my power reacted instantly.

Thick coils of black latching out and onto his hand, blooming and covering his golden skin in an inky coat of darkness.

He splutters as he tries to formulate words which soon becomes an attempt to breathe and quickly, he loses the ability to stand.

When he falls to his knees, hands clutching his throat, his friends attempt to step in but my coils pulse outwards, knocking them back and sinking the room into deep shadows immediately.

His emotions are clear here. They pierce the dark and sink into me, my shadows grow in delight of the fear we can taste.

I lower myself beside the kneeling boy to ensure I can speak clearly into his ear.

"I'm not sure who taught you how to talk to women but asking them to ‘go for a ride' as a euphemism for your dick is certainly not the right way to go." He squirms as my darkness sinks into him, plunging him further into a faceless, colourless world which will make his bones ache.

He whimpers.

" Shh , it's OK. I'm just going to give you some advice, that’s all.” I pat him gently on the cheek and he groans in agony.

Oops. I carefully remove my hand.

“So, the next time you speak to a woman, maybe try asking her what she likes. Her favourite flower, food or even colour, girls like that stuff, they like to see you trying to get to know them. Do you understand?" He splutters again and there's an echo of his friends’ voices but he can't hear them, not here.

"Of course you do, because, really, you’re a nice guy, aren’t you? Underneath all this I mean?”

I think he’s trying to nod but he quickly realises he’s falling forwards. I don’t try to help as he lands on his chin, slamming onto the ground and tries to curl into himself.

I remain stood, speaking down. “And believe it or not, I’m a really nice person. So is that necromancer you keep mentioning. Her name is Kacey, by the way. Ka-cey ,” I repeat slowly. “Which is why this is just a warning, a very painful, terrifying warning which I don’t think you’ll forget."

I take a few steps back, surveying the crumpled boy as my voice screams for me to consume him completely, have his eyes rolling, mouth erupting with bloody foam and... but I know it would be unjust, it isn’t deserved.

My coils slither and tighten around him, forcing his head up to meet my gaze. His eyes are filled with fear and pain as they stare into mine. Genuine emotions. Then I pull back completely.

He gasps when we return to the coloured world, on all fours he coughs and chokes as he inhales the pure air whilst I hardly feel an ache.

There’s blood trickling from his chin and I watch as it pools onto the ground.

The girl kneels beside him, searching his face, trying to stop the blood with her sleeve whilst the other stands close, staring at me with a mixture of curiosity and fear.

“He’ll be fine,” I say, noting how the shadows of the room seem to be taller, wider, as though—

“What happened?”

His deep voice is a palette cleanser after that boy and my body shivers without restraint at the pleasing sensation.

Then he appears, emerging from the shadows and standing between me and the young enforcers.

“Holy fuck,” the girl whispers, urgently straightening her uniform, stained with blood, as she stands and her tall friend copies.

“Lord Ezekial.” She bows.

“Lord Ezekial,” the tall one repeats, bowing quickly.

Ezekial casts an unamused glance at each, before staring down at the boy who is desperately trying to repeat the greeting but is only able to produce a gargled rasp.Then Ezekial turns and looks at me. My lips form into a thin frown as he waits for my response.

“Am I supposed to bow too?”

“Just answer the question, Jasmine.”

I now see a glimpse of the terrifying Lord the others must see. I peer at Silas, his terror amplifying his friends before answering.

“It’s fine, just a misunderstanding.”

Ezekial’s irises flare with metallic flickers, his neck and jaw tighten with tension, tendons taut. “It wasn’t a request.”

I quirk a brow at his immediate rage. I already know this isn’t going to end well but, with a sigh, I begin playing the memory for him .

As the moment replays, I watch Ezekial’s entire demeanour change. I study his calculated steps as he turns towards the boy, his aura darkening, the shadows lashing wildly in the space and any previous humour drops from my face.

The young enforcers all watch him, terrified.

“Ezekial.” I step towards him, eager to touch him but worried of the reaction it would cause. “You’re not seeing the memory clearly; your rage is blurring—”

“My office,” he commands, his eyes drilling into Silas who still hasn’t regained any movement in his legs and is still bleeding onto the floor.

“Yes, Lord.” The two standing enforcers reply.

They rush to grab Silas,, hooking their arms beneath his as his head lolls between his shoulders, they strain at first but fear is a powerful emotion and soon they’re able to drag him away and fully out of sight.

Ezekial doesn’t even look at me as he holds out his hand. I take it immediately. I’m still holding his hand when we flit into his office where I’m greeted by ice and fire simultaneously.

Julien and Kane are stood beside Ezekial’s large desk and their gazes immediately jump to Ezekial with concern.

“What did you do?” Kane’s venomous voice injects the air, his black stare full of accusation as it bores into me.

“Knock it off, Kane,” Ezekial replies, his hand slipping from my grasp as he moves towards his brother. “It’s fine. I’m fine.”

“The fact we’re both here indicates you are the very opposite, my friend,” Julien muses, his gaze slowly moving to greet mine. “What happened, Little Bird?”

The urge to answer him is innate, my blood simmers at the need and the tension in my shoulders drops just from his soft voice.

But before I can respond, Ezekial interrupts, “ This .”

He plays my memory back but it’s messy, altered, jagged, his rage has infected it.

I step towards them as their gazes’ change, irises blackening, light dissolving. “Wait, wait, let me show you, you’re missing the—”

Someone’s phone vibrates, cutting me off, then Julien is placing it onto the desk and a new voice joins the darkening room.

“Where’s the little fucker?” Sai’s anger somehow seeps into the air and amplifies the storm of fury. He sounds breathless, like he’d been sprinting and suddenly stopped .

“Outside my office,” Ezekial replies, rage rumbling his words.

“I’ll start. Death,” Sai announces.

“Agreed,” Julien adds.

“Agreed,” Ezekial repeats.

I watch each of them, my gaze falling upon Kane’s as his meets mine. “Agreed, I—”

“Wait a fucking second!” I shout, causing all eyes to flash towards me. “Are you seriously voting to kill him? Over this? He’s just a kid—”

“He disrespected Ezekial and you—”

“So what?” I interrupt Julien, shaking my head in exasperation. “Everyone says shit about their boss, you should have heard the things people used to say to me in…” I quickly realise that sentence didn’t need to be ended, especially when I see Kane’s fingers curl inwards. “A disciplinary? Yes. But death ? Seriously? I disagree. No, no way are you killing that boy over this.”

No one’s expression changes. Rage still engulfs the room and I frantically search the men’s expressions for some semblance of hope.

“At least let me show you the full memory,” I urge, already flickering pieces mentally. “Then we can re-vote.”

No one replies.

The silence is horrifically eerie when paired with these three terrifying men.

My heart races at the realisation I could be the cause of a needless death.

Without waiting, I play the encounter again, ensuring there are no gaps. I physically cringe when it repeats the ‘shagging’ part but manage to keep going.

I even slow the final section, the part where I plunge him into darkness, and my heat pounds at my own delayed reaction to where I’d taken him.

“You entered the Dark Realm,” Kane states, his soulless eyes flickering with something I can’t quite name.

I barely nod, too shocked to form a full response. How? How was I able to even stand?

“How do you feel?” Ezekial asks, his voice notably calmer with silver flickering to life in his eyes.

“Good,” I reply, allowing myself to move towards them and finally place my poor, bashed bag of sandwiches upon the desk. “It just… happened. I didn’t even realise what I’d done until just now.”

“Full of surprises,” Julien murmurs, a ghost of his knuckles secretly tracing my spine as his darkened gaze appraises me .

“Can we re-vote now, please?” I ask, moving to stand before them. I don’t wait for a response as I continue, “A verbal warning and further investigation into who may have compelled him. Agree?”

I look between the men hopefully but quickly realise the predominant emotion in the room is still a heavy mixture of wrath, a need for revenge; retribution and my suggestion doesn’t quite hit the spot.

“It’s not enough,” Ezekial asserts, eyes blackening once more as he leans against his desk.

“Can’t you see someone was controlling him?” I ask, exasperated by their stubbornness to acknowledge something so clear.

“Only weak-minded beings are manipulated like that, it’s unacceptable for an enforcer in training to succumb to it,” Kane declares, his disgust clear with the smallest narrowing of his eyes as he stands beside his brother.

The two of them are incorrigible . Their expressions stern as their dark gazes see past me and into the door behind where the boy is.

I desperately seek out Julien, his eyes already focused upon mine. “He doesn’t deserve to die over this.”

“Others have died for less,” he replies, his smooth voice almost an attempt to soothe me.

There’s a faraway sound of thudding and a loud groan before Sai’s voice blares from the phone once more. “It’s unanimous, Red.”

I bite my lip in frustration and shake my head before narrowing my eyes on all three men, including the phone. I feed from their misplaced anger, forming the emotion around me, into me, and use it to darken own my gaze.

“I won’t let you,” I declare, taking a step backwards as I calculate how many more I’d need to take before I’m at the door.

My proclamation is met by three black stares and one distant chuckle.

“You think you can stop us, Little Empath?” Julien's voice is deadly when he stares at me with that small smile, and when he takes a step towards me, prowling like a predator, I have to remind myself I’m not the prey.

“This isn’t justice, this is murder,” I state, warily watching the others.

I see Ezekial and Kane slowly move in my peripheral but Julien is much closer so I focus upon him, my coils forming around me in vicious spikes.

“Please, demonstrate how you plan to stop us,” Julien purrs, a soft smile lining his face as I sense Ezekial and Kane on either side of me now.

“I brought you all to your knees once, I’ll do it again,” I snarl, stepping back again and again until my fingers touch the door.

“ Fuck, I wish I was there.” Sai’s voice is an unwarranted distraction as I continue staring the others down. “Can someone tap me out? Please ? Guys?”

“You barely have control,” Kane says, his tone matter of fact, not of disapproval or disgust, yet his words still create a sting of embarrassment as my gaze flashes to his.

He’s to my right, studying me as I make the shadows of the room grow.

“You caught us by surprise then, it won’t work again,” he adds.

“Who knows what will happen then?” I snark, throwing my eyes over all three men, noting Ezekial to my left, before I swing my gaze back to Kane. “Maybe I’ll enter the realm and allow one of Ezekial’s pets to help me? Maybe I’ll knock you all unconscious and flee with the boy?”

That final suggestion seems to hit a nerve.

“I can promise you, that will not be happening.” Kane’s gaze is intense and severe as his words echo.

I feel the air suddenly thicken and the temperature drop but I’m emboldened by it, I feed from the vicious emotions and see the tips of my fingers begin to darken.

“Your plan has some flaws,” Ezekial says, his voice so similar to Kane’s yet softer, holding an edge of concern as I feel him move closer. “Let’s discuss alternatives.”

But my sight remains firm on Kane and my fury is amplified by theirs as I stare angrily at his stoic expression.

“You’re losing control.” Kane steps closer and I step back, heels touching the door.

“Maybe that’s exactly what I want. Will you put me down too? Agree to kill me in a matter of seconds?” I feel the darkness curling around my fingers as Kane’s twitch.

“Pull it back,” Kane orders, just like yesterday. And just like yesterday, I can’t .

“Maybe, if you weren’t such a fucking coward and trained me, we wouldn’t be in this situation,” I snarl, ensuring I place emphasis upon the insulting word.

His blank expression cracks then, his jaw clenches like he’s biting his tongue as he glowers at me.

“Maybe, if you weren’t such a stubborn brat—”

“Stubborn!” I screech, and the ground shudders as I swallow the distance between us in three quick steps.

He doesn’t move, his head only lowers to ensure our narrowed gazes stay locked.

“ Stubborn! ” I repeat, watching the spikes return to coils which eagerly wrap around him.

My anger allows me to burn through the cooling sensation it normally brings as they tighten.

“Because I won’t just stand back and let you kill an innocent boy? Because I don’t bend to your every whim? Because I’m not afraid of you?”

My skin prickles with unease the moment he plunges us into the Dark Realm, the cool air brushing over me but doing nothing to stop the rage deep in my bones.

“This.” I gesture to the realm around us. “Does nothing to me now, so if you’re trying to—”

“I—”

“No, this is my time to talk and your turn to listen,” I snarl, stepping further into his space.

He remains an immovable force and my shadows swarm around him like the tide during a storm. Their combined rage has infected every molecule of my being and my words become flames.

“You dragged me to this district, forced me through the barrier and enforced my detainment. I’ve had all my choices stripped away. I’ve done everything you’ve asked, all of you, but I can’t, won’t , allow you this.”

I shake my head in emphasis, feeling the rage filling the space as we stand toe-toe, my chin defiantly tilted upwards.

“You think I’m a brat? Oh, I’ll be a brat.”

In a moment of pure madness, I jab my finger into Kane’s chest. The darkness around us blooms.

“You’re not going to murder that boy.”

Prod.

“You’re going to continue training me.”

Prod.

“You’re going to help me with the dragon.”

Prod.

“And you’re going to take us out of this realm, right now. ”

Silence.

My rageful panting is the only sound in our shadowy abyss.

My finger is still pushed against his armoured chest as we stare into each other, my expression is venomous and his is illegible.

“I didn’t do this,” Kane says.

I’m still catching my breath, struggling to hear his words fully as I take a moment to process them.

“Huh?”