CHAPTER TWO
“You what?” Pain said next to Kult as they hurried down the hall.
“We made Handy a body so we could kill him, but now we can’t.”
Pain wasn’t sure what to ask first. Why they did that or why they couldn’t kill him or why they even wanted to.
“I get you don’t share our animosity,” Kult said. “And that’s fine by me, I don’t need you to, I had enough for both of us.”
One word stood out. “Had.”
“Still have,” he corrected.
“But something’s changed.”
“Yes,” he said as he pressed the button on the elevator.
“And I guess we’re playing show don’t tell.”
“He was supposed to come out an adult but instead he managed to stop the program at twelve years old. Gave himself a British accent.” Kult eyed him and nodded. “He anticipated that smile you’re wearing, knowing full well how we feel about mini-British blokes.”
“Adorable?”
“Exactly.”
“So, he knew you wanted to kill him.”
“Clearly.”
“And that’s still not why you’re hauling me down here.”
“He set the program for sequence aging. He’ll age five years every day. Yesterday he was twelve, today he turns seventeen. My question is what happens when he turns seventeen? Then twenty-two, then twenty-seven, then thirty-two.”
“What’s your point?” Pain wondered, following him out of the elevator.
“He’s part of all of us, gaining memories as he grows. He said it’s to protect himself and now I’m wondering what the hell is coming. Is he gaining five years of all our memories or just one? Is he gaining memories from the moment he was conceived or memories prior?”
“Still not following,” Pain said. “Just fucking tell me what you’re worried about.”
He stopped abruptly. “He’s given himself self-defenses for all threats. But only those that he knows.” Kult angled his raised brows at Pain. “Are you seeing what I’m saying,” he said quietly as a gradual panic built inside him. “Before you flip your shit, let’s talk to Quantum and see if there’s any way we can alter this trajectory.”
“You think he could open the things we sealed,” he muttered as he followed him, hurrying to keep up.
“I would love to believe in rainbows and happy ass squirts, brother, but you and I both know that when it comes to hell, and our lives, the filthy realm just can’t stand not to keep on giving.”
“What’s the worst that can happen?”
Kult spun so quickly, their faces nearly touched. “We sealed shit for a fucking reason, Pain. And I do not want to throw it a happy resurrection party, nor do I want to go through another sealing ordeal if I can help it. You?”
No, he didn’t, but Pain wondered what exactly had Kult in such a panic. Yes, the sealing ordeal was its own nightmare, but something nagged him. He caught up to Kult and grabbed his arm, stopping him. “What else is going on with you. I can sense it.”
Kult eyed him for many seconds.
“You fucking hid things?”
Their gazes remained locked. “I had to,” he seethed.
“Why?”
“Because they weren’t ready to be tucked away. They still had to be worked.”
Pain realized what he was saying. Fetch, Fathom, and Fin. They weren’t done with whatever it was. “What was it?” he whispered, his stomach in burning knots. “You could have at least told me.”
Kult reached up and patted his face. “You had enough bullshit for both of us.”
“Well, now I don’t.”
He gave him a wry grin. “Like I said, brother. Hell never stops giving.”
He turned and Pain grabbed his arm, spinning him back. “What happened,” he demanded hotly, grabbing hold of both his shoulders, nodding. “I can take it from you, whatever it is.”
He eyed him for many seconds. “Let’s hope you never have to do that.”
Pain eyed Kult as he continued toward the end of the hall, wondering. Did Handy know? Would he be inheriting those memories that weren’t sealed? Was that what Kult feared? Why would he unless...
His gaze snapped up, locking on Kult at the door now watching him. Kult feared for Handy. How very interesting.
****
“MAYBE WE SHOULD JUSTlet her meet Kaphas,” Harlow suggested quietly. “Who knows, she could forget all about Handy.”
Quantum eyed him with raised brows. “And his punishment? Is everybody done with that?”
“I never said that,” he assured. “But we have a lot more options with the living imposter than we do with the dead on that front.” Harlow eyed Quantum’s problematic expression and let out a sigh. “Fine, you want me to say it? Yes, my inner-scientist is salivating a little with him.”
“Thank the powers that be,” he muttered. “He could be the beginning of a new breed of being. The first of his kind.”
“Or the only one of his kind,” Harlow said, happy to finally voice what he’d been denying.
“Will our brothers feel the same?” Quantum wondered, right as the lab door opened.
“Guess we’re about to find out,” Harlow mumbled, eyeing Kult and Pain, then Kult again, alarmed. “What’s wrong?”
“Do we have any idea what memories Kaphas is getting?”
“Kaphas?” Harlow smiled.
“No, the kid in there that’s turning seventeen today and possibly getting a birthday gift of our collective hells.”
“The program doesn’t detail that information,” Quantum said.
“So we have no clue if it’s the first five years of his life with us or is it the first five years of our lives,” Kult said, pissed.
“Either one would be fucked up,” Harlow realized. “He was privy to all our memories.”
“Except the ones we sealed or hid from him,” Kult reminded.
“What do you mean the ones we hid from him?” Harlow wondered, confused. “I don’t recall us hiding anything.”
“Because it was hidden from you as well,” Kult informed.
“Augustine’s stuff?”
“No.”
Harlow looked at Pain who shook his head. “Not me.”
Kult was nodding when he eyed him next. “Yes. Me. Because Fetch, Fathom, and Fin weren’t ready to seal everything. Only that one thing was done with. The other shit needed their expertise still. And if the kid somehow has this in his head from all the fiddling he’s been doing between then and now, well... that’s a lot to be coming into for five people much less one kid.”
Harlow eyed him then Pain. “Is he... worried about Kaphas?” He regarded Kult again, getting his glare. “The one you wanted to kill? What am I missing?”
“Do you still want to kill him?” Kult challenged, eyeing him. “After everything he said yesterday?”
Harlow couldn’t stop his grin. “I’m just enjoying the extremely rare occasion when you show signs of humanity.”
“I don’t hurt kids! You know this,” Kult said, then pointed at the containment wall. “And he knew that. And now that I’ve heard it from his own mouth, heard his reasons—which were just if we’re considering everything—I’ve decided nobody is touching him. Because he’s innocent. Plain and simple. He did something none of us would’ve had the balls to do and he did it while stuck between realms, while barely existing, while abandoned by all his brothers he’d been protecting. You heard it right from his twelve-year-old British mouth! We left him in the dark. We did that, Harlow. And if it makes me a pussy to do what we should’ve done all along, then I will gladly be the biggest pussy on this planet.”
Harlow lowered his head, taking his words in, trying his damnedest to digest them. “But it wasn’t you he was driving nuts.”
He eyed Kult now standing before him with those fierce eyes drilling down. “He was a hand, Harlow,” he said quietly. “That’s all he got. Maybe I’m psychotic to see him as more.” He shrugged. “Add it to my book of dysfunctions. But he’s right, he is a part of all of us. He’s made of all of us, our offspring, and dear God I know how fucked up that sounds but that’s what it is. Correct me if I’m wrong,” he said, eyeing Quantum now.
“You are indeed correct,” he said, nothing but logical.
“He’ll be in containment when it happens,” Harlow muttered, his gut burning with a mix of shame, relief, and anxiety. He wasn’t sure why he was relieved other than hating Handy took more effort than he cared to give.
Kult was pacing again. “When does this happen?”
“This afternoon at 5:15,” Quantum said.
“We need to get all his brothers here. The first thing we rectify is not letting him walk through our hells alone.”
Harlow considered all of it. Again. “I’m oddly okay with it.” Kult let out a breath that made Harlow laugh. “You seem relieved.”
“I am,” he said, surprising him with a rogue bear hug. “Can’t have you thinking I don’t love your rotten smartass.”
“Did you just throw around the L word?” Pain marveled.
Kult snagged Pain with his arm, pulling him into the hug. “I’ll throw you around.”
“I think I’m jealous,” Quantum marveled as Kult pulled all of them over to their half-breed sibling.
“Get in here, robocock.”
The laughs erupted as Harlow embraced his brothers, astonished with how fucking amazing it felt.
“Did we just have a bromance?” Quantum asked when the party broke up.
“I think we did,” Pain said, astonished.
“Oh shit, Lucy’s calling for Celeste,” Harlow said, glancing at his phone. “What do I tell her?”
“About what?” Kult wondered.
“She’s been searching high and low for Handy.”
“Oh shit,” Pain said.
Pain said, “Tell her you gave him a body, that’s what she’s been waiting for.”
“He seems to not remember her,” Quantum said.
“Ouch,” Kult realized.
“I was thinking we’d just introduce them,” Harlow said. “Maybe she’d...fall for him and when he comes into her memory, then he can tell her.”
“It’s only four days,” Quantum reminded.
“Maybe less,” Kult shrugged. “Sounds reasonable.”
“Should we tell Kaphas?” Pain wondered. “About her?”
“Maybe play that one by ear,” Quantum muttered. “I know,” he agreed at their shocked expressions. “I’m practicing being human and reckless.”
“Celeste has been asking for access to every nook and cranny,” Harlow told them.
“Then we’ll give her access to Kaphas,” Quantum decided. “We have cameras. If he misbehaves, we’ll shut it down.”
“But...” Pain hesitated. “She’ll likely not fall for a twelve-year-old?”
“Fuck, right,” Harlow realized. “After his growth spurt?”
“Would have to be,” Kult said.
“He might not be good company,” Pain considered. “Then again, it might be just the thing he needs.”
“Like our super brother suggested,” Kult nodded toward him. “We’ll have to play it by ear.”
“So, possibly this evening?” Harlow asked, looking at all of them and getting their nods. “I’m calling it in,” he warned, dialing Lucy and putting the phone to his ear. “Last chance.” He turned when she answered. “Miss Gibbons.” Fuck, he forgot how much he loved calling her that.
“Harlow,” she answered, unable to hide her fluster.
“Are you alone?” he asked.
“I’m with my sisters.”
“Ah. Are you off today?”
“Off?”
“Work,” he said, distancing himself from the judgy eyes and ears behind him.
“Oh...no, I don’t think so.”
“So, you’re still under my employment,” he said.
“Yes, of course. Do you need something?”
“I do need something. I need to discuss Celeste with you.”
“Oh, good,” she whispered. “When?”
“Now.”
“Perfect,” she gasped. “And...where?”
“The library. In two minutes.”
“Oh,” she worried. “I’m in the media room, I don’t think I’ll—”
“Miss Gibbons,” he cut in. “Do I need to remind you of our agreement?”
His cock jerked with a blast of eager lust. “No, of course not.”
“No, of course not,” he sighed, shaking his head.
“Change of plans, Miss Gibbons.”
“O..okay.”
“Meet me at my apartment. We clearly need to re-establish rules. Do I need to tell you what will happen if you’re late?”
“No,” she stammered, her exasperation edging in.
“No, of course I don’t. But I will tell you. It’ll get added to all your disciplines that have piled up in the span of a two-minute phone conversation, won’t it?”
“Yes,” she barely said.
“Yes, what? Miss Gibbons?”
“Yes...Master Harlow.”
He bit his smile at her tight-jawed mumble. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you.”
She repeated it louder and he smiled. “That’s better. Was that so hard?”
“No. Master Harlow.”
“I can only assume you’ve forgotten all about my punishments, Miss Gibbons. In which case I will see to you never forgetting them again. Understood?”
Fuck, he was aroused out of his mind as she fought with her rebellion. “Yes, Mr. Harlow.”
Oh fuck, he loved this woman. “That one will cost you. Right on your cunt,” he barely said. “Two minutes.” He hung up and took five seconds to catch his breath before turning his grinning self around and heading for the door.
“Bye Master Harlow,” Kult said with gleeful sadistic approval.
****
VEX STARED OUT OF THEtwo-story bedroom window, his gaze moving over the endless forest while his mind taunted him in an endless loop. Call her. Finish what you started. No, what she started.
He was no stranger to an undisciplined mind, but he surely wasn’t accustomed to one. Not since he was a young boy. He was above it, a master over his emotions and mind.
Finish what you started, his mind whispered. What she started.
He closed his eyes, allowing himself to skirt that razor’s edge, letting it bite into his mind and body till every part of him pulsed with... the power of it. He couldn’t deny the allure of what it promised. Not less. But more. More power. If he would just embrace it. Allow it to become entangled with all that he was. It wanted him to possess what he desired. To conquer all that resisted him. It wanted to see her on her knees before him, obeying every manner of command he gave.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he quickly fished out the lifeline as the flames consumed him. He froze at seeing her name then opened his pandora’s box, his cock lurching eagerly as he read her text.
So...I’ve been thinking...
Really. Have you. And now you’re baiting me.
He slid the phone back in his pocket. “I’m not your toy, Miss Skelton,” he mumbled, making his way out of his room and knocking on Lore’s door.
“Come in.”
He opened it, finding his brother sitting at the table for two near the window much like his. He spotted a notebook before him as he made his way over.
“Bored out of your mind, brother?” Lore asked, his voice like silk over his nerves.
He didn’t like it. Rigid and unforgiving was his new preferred mood. He pulled a chair out and sat as Lore continued staring out the window.
“I cannot get her out of my mind,” Lore mused quietly.
The surprising words had Vex’s immediate and full attention.
“I sometimes wonder if I imagined all of it.” He finally looked at him. “I met her last night. She and her sister were at the top of this castle, whispering like an errant wind. Searching for Handy.”
“Handy.”
Lore nodded. “Seems so. The one was sad, and the other...was comforting her. She was a vision. Her hair...silky...and fiery. White gown down to her little bare feet. Eyes so full of...passion that I cannot even recall their color.” His gaze burned on him as he relived the moment. “I did things to her,” he whispered. “Things that caused her heart to race and breaths to run and hide from me. I touched her,” he added, his mouth barely tugging at the corner. “Held her tiny hand in mine as she and her sister prayed for Zodak. Only she didn’t pray, she stared right into my eyes. Unable to speak, barely able to breathe. Then...the strangest urge took me, possessed me.” His gaze sharpened on him again. “To taste.”
Vex listened, aware of the spell he obliviously weaved with his voice.
“I lifted her hand and pressed my lips to her silky skin.” A heat filled his dazed eyes. “Then...like a frightened butterfly, she took flight and fluttered away. And now...all I want...all I can think about... is seeing her again. Touching her again. Tasting her again. Only this time I don’t want to stop.” His blue eyes again sharpened on him. “I want to touch every inch of her, inside and out.”
He finally stood and parked himself before the window. “Don’t worry, I’ve determined not to leave my room.”
He held his tongue, realizing his response was outrageous. “What is her name?”
Vex eyed his brother’s back for many seconds. “Natasha,” he finally breathed, his tone washed in awe.
Vex considered what he’d just been told then stood when his agitation grew. “So, is this what we’ve been reduced to? Kings quarantining themselves because they can’t control their passions? What you should do is go and find her. Talk to her. Remember who you are, who we are. We’re the prophetic Creole Kings, born to protect and nurture the gifted. Is she gifted? I wager you have no idea if you can’t even recall her eye color. You have an obligation, a job, you do not have the privilege of problems, especially ones you deem uncontrollable.”
His phone buzzed and he pulled it from his pocket, determination stiffening his spine. Can I call you?
His cock jerked so hard, he turned for the door. “Think about what I said,” he muttered, hurrying to his room as he texted. You may.