Chapter 8 Kyzen
Kyzen
My breaths are as controlled as my blade.
Nothing more than a gasp slips through the Dark God’s lips as I slide my sword free from his heart.
If there was a heart in there to begin with.
Until this point, I’ve waited for Creed to give me a nod or a shake of his head before I did anything. He may not admit it, but he doesn’t have to. I know he’s measuring these beings’ souls against ours.
If they’re darker, they die. If they aren’t, they live, and we evade them as much as possible.
We’ve only been spotted once.
That was by a teenage girl whom we caught sneaking into her backyard. I guess technically, we caught each other.
Creed fell statue still as he stared at her. He shook with the need to go to her, but he didn’t. Thayla stood beside him and put her hand on his arm as if that would hold him back.
It obviously did enough, though.
He gave the girl a nod. She gave him a small smile as her shoulders dropped. Her fear faded to relief.
In her mind, she was caught breaking a rule by a group of intimidating-looking adults.
In Creed’s…that house, that teenager, will forever be branded in his brain as the girl—the innocent soul—he left behind.
This group, who had the unfortunate luck of walking up on us down one of the last dark alleys, didn’t get the same treatment.
I heard the conversation they were having before they even turned the corner. The intentions and plans they had for a certain feeder at Seductions were vile enough that I didn’t need any confirmation from Creed.
I just acted.
The six of them were dead before they knew what was happening.
A small mercy I showed them that they wouldn’t have received had we been anywhere else and I had more time.
I can’t bring myself to look Thayla in the eyes very long after I stand and step out of the ring of bodies.
Does she see me for who I really am now?
Does she hate that? Fear that?
What if I explain to her the joy I feel in killing people as vile as this group of men?
I’m using the skill my father made me perfect to cut down beings in his army. That their deaths give me a sense of satisfaction.
Does that make me as bad as him on some level?
“Three buildings to go. Pay attention to your surroundings.”
Amick’s whispered order is directed at me and the annoying entourage we have following along with us.
It was smart of Gladian to move Jeremiah farther away from me.
If he asked one more time how much longer, I was going to cut his fucking tongue out. I’m not sure what he thought after Amick discussed the plan with all of us, but he must have assumed we’d be sprinting through the damn woods and streets the whole way here.
Fucking idiot.
My head twitches and my silent steps falter briefly as music penetrates my mind.
There are multiple different songs going at once. I can separate each, not only in my head, but where they’re playing in the building we’re approaching.
The one that’s the faintest is upbeat. Lively. It gets your heart racing and excitement strumming through your blood.
The second is louder but slower, more alluring. It makes you want to pull a warm body close to you and move with the tune.
The third…is heavy. Every beat that drops is jagged, unpredictable in the rhythm. It makes my heart pound in my chest with anticipation.
Those last two tunes are the sounds we’re seeking to follow.
One will lead us to the sex chambers.
The other to the fights.
We plaster our backs to the building directly beside Seductions. The alley gap between the two structures is about ten feet, and the voices that are lingering in the middle are loud.
“I sense the power pulsing. It’s around the whole structure. Yemi?”
She slowly drifts toward me at Amick’s command, and I hold my arm out to stop her from going any closer to the corner of the building.
“I need to get closer to see if I can do anything about what she’s put around the building. Preferably touch it,” she whispers.
“We’ve got company in the alley. She can’t get closer to the building until they’re out of the way.”
“Then get them out of the way.”
My fingers flinch at Amick’s urgent tone. He’s walking the last line of patience that he has now that we’re so close.
I peer around the corner to get a body count and whirl back toward the wall.
“Hey! Who the fuck is back there?”
Shit.
“Creed, get Thayla’s swords.”
“What?” she asks, but he does so with no questions, and I snatch her closer to me by her hand.
I tug her around the corner and then slam her back into the wall. My hand that isn’t holding my sword cradles the back of her head, and a hiss passes through my lips as my knuckles collide with the brick.
The sound silences as I plaster my mouth to hers.
My action takes her by surprise for a second before she melts into me.
For a brief, blissful moment, I’m no longer in the Abandon. I no longer smell blood. My hands stop trembling.
Until a low whistle rings through the air a few feet from me.
I break our kiss and lay a gentle peck on her lips, then turn to the eight men who’ve approached us with a smile. They were taking a break from the excitement inside or getting ready to join in.
They won’t be going in.
“Damn. Got yourself a nice piece of—”
My sword plunges straight through his throat, and my dance begins.
These moves are burned into my brain, with and without my power. I know where to strike, to pivot, and to plunge. One cut kills.
They have no time to react. Physically or mentally.
My chest heaves as the last body falls, and my undivided attention stays peeled down the alley, waiting for the next wave to come.
“Kyzen,” Thayla whispers as she laces her fingers with mine.
My head jerks and I blink, giving my eyes some relief from my staring.
“Come on. I got you.”
She’s got me.
It’s only when she tugs me toward the back of Seductions that I realize the Elsher Valtrue has already started dragging the bodies behind the other building.
Creed, Amick, Sevryn, and even Yemi give me confident, understanding nods. Mara, Chasin, and Jeremiah have had fear in their eyes since the first group I killed.
Gladian continues to glance at me as if he’s making sure I’m not going to make the other side of his face match what I left behind before.
Losing Thayla’s touch has me clenching my jaw, but I don’t say or do anything since Creed only pulled her away to get her swords situated once more.
While he does that, I glare at the unprotected steel door as the others group around it.
The last time I saw it, I was peering over my shoulder with a smile on my face because I thought we’d successfully tricked everyone sitting inside.
I was so na?ve in my excitement, believing we were racing off to our freedom.
“It’s like you predicted, Amick. There’s power throughout the whole structure.”
“Very unfortunate, but not unexpected. So everyone get ready. She’s going to know the moment we pass—”
“Can I try?” Yemi cuts him off to ask.
“Try what?”
“I know I can’t block out the whole structure, but I…” she trails off, exhaling harshly as her eyes map the building. “I’d like to try to bring down the barrier embedded in the bricks surrounding the door and the door itself.”
“How can you do that?” Gladian asks, taking a step forward, but Creed, Thayla, and I stand in his way.
“Mind your business and ready your people,” I command.
He holds my stare until I subtly twirl the handle of my sword in my hand. He does a good job not showing any fear, but his ass does turn around and whisper-yells orders to the others.
“Do you believe you can do that?” Amick asks when he moves his attention back to Yemi.
“Yes. If I can’t, it doesn’t change the circumstances we’re facing already.”
“If you can, though, it changes everything.”
She glares at Amick. Well, we all do.
Talk about adding pressure to someone.
“You can do it, Yemi, but if not, you’re right. It won’t matter. We go in, swords at the ready. Go ahead. Don’t second-guess yourself,” Thayla orders, giving Yemi a gentle push.
She nods, rolling her shoulders out, and I swear we all take a collective breath as she lays one palm to the door, the other on the brick wall.
Sevryn steps up, right behind her, when a ripple blasts around the stone.
I cut my gaze over at Amick and stare as the corner of his lip twitches.
When another current flows beneath her palms, he steps closer to them.
“Don’t command your power to block it. Command it to fill the space. Her power is an empty container. You’re going to fill it with your power.”
“Shut up and give her a minute,” Sevryn growls, but Yemi shakes her head.
“Don’t. I-it’s working.”
Her stutter has all of us inching closer as her knees shake. Ever so slowly, a dullness spreads across the door and the bricks molded around it.
“You all are going to go first. As soon as I lift my hands, my block’s coming down.”
Her trembling intensifies, and Sevryn instantly grips her hips.
“I’m not leaving you out here.”
“Everyone just get the hell inside.”
Her broken shout has Amick gripping my shoulder and pulling me with him. He gives Thayla the realm’s fastest kiss on her lips, and he barely allows me to do the same.
“Our group on us. Now. Follow closely, or we will leave you behind. Let’s go.”
There’s no hesitation in him as he pulls the door open, and Yemi’s grunt pierces my ears as we pass through the threshold.
The familiar hallway greets us, and my throat constricts.
If not for Amick snatching me along, I’d be frozen in time.
Nothing has changed.
The dark blue walls feel like they’re closing in around me, and my feet sink into the ash-gray carpet.
“Snap out of it, Kyzen. He needs us.”
He needs us.
He’s restrained here somewhere.
My head thrashes from side to side, and I shake Amick’s hand off my shoulder, pushing him behind me as my pace picks up down the hallway.
“Stay behind me.”
“Don’t patronize me.”
“I’m not patronizing you, but I already have one fucking brother stuck here. I can’t lose you too. With me in front, I can slow down anyone coming toward us.”
I don’t look back at him, nor do I slow my steps to discuss this with him. There is no discussion.
He will stay behind me whether he likes that or not.
At the end of the hall, my eyes cut to the right for a fleeting second. That’s the way Thayla and Creed will take. There’s no one hanging around the hallway, and I swallow my saliva.
That means everyone is in the Chamber or another private room.
Fuck.
The rumbling of cheers and the beat of the music intensify with every step we take closer to the stairwell at the end of the hall.
The vibrations from the excitement below us pulse through my boots, and I grip the handle of my sword more tightly.
Moans and groans travel through the doors we pass, and I grimace.
These rooms are for the victors of the fights.
The pitch-black stairwell welcomes us in, and my entire body trembles as the adrenaline wafting toward us is heavy. The energy seeping through the walls is contagious.
“Stay close to the wall and stick to the shadows. We need to get a good view and see if we can see Riven first before moving through the bodies of people,” Amick says.
Gladian and the others following us all make acknowledging sounds, but I can’t force a nod.
The layout is the same as it’s always been.
There are smaller rings all over the massive room with crowds gathered by their ropes. You have to win your way through these little squares to earn your chance at the big one.
My eyes roam over the beings jumping up and down, cheering on the brutal fights. Unlike in Hellveilious, these fights aren’t to the death. Although that sometimes happens.
The main goal here is to keep the energy flowing. Not continue to kill it off.
There are Dark Gods standing on top of the bar, pouring bottles of alcohol down their throats. One finishes his first and throttles it toward the ground. The glass shattering makes my wrist twitch.
“We need to get closer to the center ring.”
I move with Amick’s words.
The familiar smell slams into me—hot and clinging—thick enough to chew. Sweat and a metallic tang slide down my throat. Beneath it, there’s another scent. One that doesn’t belong yet fuels the emotions flowing through here all the same.
It’s sweet and smoky, like toasted cinnamon.
That aroma digs through my skull like fingernails, coaxing and whispering to the other half of me that continues to fight for control.
The biggest difference between the feeders in Seductions is that one half of them pumps purely seductive, sensual energy.
The others, the ones floating around this room, feed what’s supposed to be the non-sensual side of the Domain.
They feed the desire for adrenaline, victory, ego. Emotions. Their domain wraps around you, making you crave power. That thrill is found in the heat of a battle. Through breaking bones and slicing flesh.
I hold my sword down by my side, hidden from any who may still be sober enough to catch on that we don’t belong here. The massive crowd that surrounds the center ring, though, is far too entertained to pay any attention to us.
My feet fall still as a break in the cluster gives me a perfect view of the fighting ring that has them so excited. The Dark God in the center is swinging his sword around chaotically. He can’t help it.
He can’t see where his opponents are coming from since he’s blindfolded.
My lungs become heavy in my chest as my mind grows fuzzy.
“I don’t see him in any of the rings or on the platform.”
The muscles in my cheek flinch as Amick’s voice attempts to distract me.
“Kyzen.”
Sweat drips down the back of my neck.
“Look at me, Kyzen.”
My hand puts a death grip on my sword as my vision doubles.
“Look at me, Kyzen.”
My eyes roam everywhere but at my father. The growing crowd chants louder and louder. Heat sears its way across my skin as they all look at me with disgusting excitement.
A slap across my face jerks my head painfully to the side, and I slowly roll it back to stare blankly at my father.
“Do not ignore me again, son.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You are not to kill but take down. There better not be a single scratch on you when you step out of this ring.”
“How do you suppose I stop that if I won’t be able to see?”
I brace myself for his backhand this time. I already knew it was coming and knew I’d be better off not stopping it.
He snatches my jaw toward him and slips the blindfold over my eyes. The roaring in my ears becomes deafening, but not enough to block out the elation in his voice.
“This is what you all have been begging for! I give you my son, the Killer of Time!”
Footsteps pound the cushioned mat.
I clench my sword. Breath. Slow down time. Then scream as it slices the first fool to approach me.
A body falls against my feet, knocking me off balance and into Amick. He grips me, holding me back by my biceps, but there’s no stopping me.
They die this time.