Chapter 14
ZACH
“Alright, see to it that he gets a taxi home. Put the bill on your invoice.” My brother hangs up the phone abruptly and throws it down on the settee next to him. I focus my energy and try to see through those impressive mental barriers of his, but it’s no use.
“How long do we have to stay here in this god forsaken place?” I mutter, leaning back in the chair and bringing the glass of whiskey up to my lips.
Ben leans back, allowing his head to hit the back of the sofa opposite me with a small thud. “Until she is safe.” He doesn’t look at me. He can’t. My brother feels the sting of Oscar's betrayal and blames me for him going rogue.
I note the bags beneath his eyes, circling the silver ticking time bombs.
He’s getting worse. The longer she is away from him, the closer the love sick fools edges towards his demise.
My eyes travel further over his dishevelled appearance, which has already been noticed by the undesirable vultures that follow him around everywhere.
“Who was that on the phone?” I ask, turning my attention to the view outside the hotel window.
“Why should I tell you anything? After all, this is entirely your fault, brother.” He sneers, a strand of his white-blond hair falling over his forehead.
I suck my teeth at the jab, but I don’t take the bait.
While I’m well known for my unpredictability, Benji is far easier to rile up than me.
For a man who has dedicated his immortal existence to controlling everything and everyone around him, my brother has a penchant for losing his temper in an instant if needled just the right way by one specific person. Me.
Is it my fault our deal ran awry with Oscar?
Yes. But in my defence, the little rat was never supposed to show up on university grounds.
The entire point of him was that he was supposed to be an invisible puppet of ours that we could pull and play with at will.
Catching my brother and her off guard that day was a mistake, and Ben’s idea of punishment will never come close to my preferred form.
Oscar needed a lesson in respect, so I gave it. And because of that, here we fucking are. Stuck together in a dingy hotel room miles away from home, with a missing keeper, hunting Oscar to the ends of the earth to stop Ben from meeting his end prematurely.
“You and I both know that your energy is failing because you dipped your wick in her far too early.”
A ghost of a smile appears on his lips. “It was worth it. She is glorious.”
I roll my eyes and take another swig as I try to push the rising jealousy away. An irritating side effect of the soul bond. If I had done it myself, then I would be in a state just like him. I remind myself. I try to force my way into my brother's mind once more, but I’m met with darkness.
“What I mean to say is, thanks to your impatience, you won't be able to keep your secrets for long. One way or another, I’ll get into that thick skull of yours.”
Ben lurches forward slowly, as if he’s in pain.
“Can we argue another time? I have a funeral to arrange.” He gets to his feet and sways on the spot.
“I’ll kill him when I get my hands on him.
” He mutters as he begins to walk towards the tray of food that room service left an hour ago on the other side of the room.
“Yes yes yes. Trusting Oscar wasn’t our brightest idea, but you’re as much to blame as I am for it.” I take a big swig of my drink to quell the bile rising as the depraved images of my keeper’s torture play in my mind.
“She will never forgive us for this.” He says, leaning against the table.
“She never has to know, brother.”
He whirls around on the spot. “You are not seriously suggesting that we keep this from her!?” Ben yells.
“No, I’m simply saying that we wait for the right time to tell her. Preferably, once I get my soul back.” A look passes over his eyes, the kind I don’t like. “Sorry, I mean we.”
“We?! There is no we, Zach. I don’t want it, she can keep it.” I scoff.
“And be at her mercy for the rest of your life? Don’t be ridiculous.” He reaches me in two strides, silver eyes burning with rage as his fist collides with my cheek.
I hear my jaw break more than feel it.
I don’t remove my eyes from my brother as I snake my hand up to my chin and push the bone back into place.
“You will not speak of our keeper that way.”
I throw my drink. Glass smashes on something, I don’t know what nor do I care.
With all my strength I push my brother out of the way, sending him falling to the floor. “I do not want a keeper. You are the one who broke our original deal because you couldn’t keep your bloody dick in your trousers!”
“Don’t you dare give me that. You feel the allure of her too, you’re just in denial!”
I feign ignorance.
I do feel it. With every single fibre of my being, I feel it. It’s tortuous. A burning ache in my chest that threatens to cave in on itself unless I worship her. Before I can tell him to shove his poetic nonsense up his arse, Ben begins to writhe in agony on the floor.
These bursts of pain are becoming more frequent.
I rush to his side because, after all, despite all that he has done to me, I am still his big brother. That primal urge to protect him has and never will leave me, even if he allowed me to be locked up for decades. “Let me help.” I say. But he doesn’t respond.
“Open your mind to me, let me ease it, brother.” He pushes my hand away.
“On one condition.” Ben says through gritted teeth. His fists ball into the carpet as he lets out a scream.
“I’m not sure you’re in a position to make bargains with me right now.”
“Listen to me.” His eyes are almost white now. I kneel beside him, as if what he’s about to speak are his final prayers before the big bright white light. “I want you to try. For my sake. Just… try with her.” He pleads.
It’s not that I don’t want to. My life would be a hell of a lot easier if I did.
But I don’t want to be owned.
“Fine.” I’ll worry about the lie later. “Now open your bloody mind.” I’ll get our souls back, and I don’t care what tales I have to spin to get my own way. My revenge will be mine if it’s the last thing I do.