The Brotherhood: Awakening Book II - 14. Chapter 14

The Brotherhood: Awakening

Chapter XIV

By X

 

 

Those eyes, as vibrant as a field of fresh grass, held me in their trance, unable to speak. Honestly, it wouldn’t have made a difference, for my words would have been unintelligible had I spoken them aloud. The shock to my system was overwhelming, but those eyes held a familiar warmth and spoke volumes to me before he uttered a word.

“Um….so, are we just going to stare at each other, or are we going to hug this out?” he questioned mischievously.

As if launched from a springboard, I dove into his arms for a much-needed brotherly embrace, knocking us both to the ground. His laughter was all I needed to hear before losing it altogether. I held him tight, burying my face into his shoulder so he couldn’t see the tears. Luckily for me, he wore a black hoodie that made detecting the droplets it absorbed impossible.

He held me close, showing me he needed this as much as I did. Then he patted my back a few times. “I missed you too, buddy,” he whispered, slapping my ass hard. “Now get off me; you’re kneeing me in the sack!”

“Good! You Fucker!” I carefully rubbed my eyes against his hoodie to dry my tears. I didn’t want him to see me looking like a hot mess.

“Are you seriously wiping your snot on my brand-new hoodie?”

“And if I was?” I finally looked at him, feigning anger. “What are you going to do about it?”

“Oh, shut up and get off me!” He slapped my ass again and tried to push me off, but I was not budging. “Seriously, Jacob, you’re crushing my nuts!”

“You mean like this?” I purposely kneed him in his junk, but just hard enough to cause a little discomfort. I wasn’t looking to hurt the poor guy.

“Fuck, Jacob!” He shouted, throwing his head back and trying to reach between us to cup his goods. “That hurts!”

Okay, maybe I wasn’t as careful as I thought. “Serves you right for ignoring me!”

“Sorry! I’m sorry!”

As Arsen continued apologizing through his bouts of laughter, I noticed several pairs of feet encircling us. Looking up, I made eye contact with every one of them. “I hate all of you.” I declared.

A wide grin stretched across CJ’s face as he said, “Dude, you love us.”

He piled on top of me to hug it out, and the other guys quickly followed suit. Poor Arsen kept yelling about his balls, but nobody listened, and I certainly wasn’t going to break it up. I was too happy to be with my boys again. The weight of their bodies pinning me across Arsen’s chest was the security blanket I needed so badly.

Eventually, we untangled ourselves and huddled in a circle beneath the tree, where we giggled like a pack of hyenas at the sight of Arsen massaging his package through his jeans.

“Do you need some ice for that?” I joked.

“Shut your face!” Arsen elbowed me in the ribs and punched me twice in the arm. “You are so dead. I will get my revenge.”

I raised an eyebrow, “Promise?”

The group erupted in laughter at our playful antics. And I must say, everything felt right for the first time in days.

We threw a few more jabs around the circle before the hijinks died down, and all eyes fell on me.

“So….I’m thinking of getting a puppy,” Ant said sarcastically, then slapped my knee. “That’s my big news. What’s new with you, Jacob?”

Again, the group cracked up. I was laughing along with them, but my eyes bounced from one smile to the next, and I saw what I wanted most. Acceptance.

“Oh, you know me,” I replied, matching his sarcastic tone, “same ole same ole.”

“Really? That’s interesting because we recently learned some fascinating news about you.”

“Huh, you don’t say?” I cocked my head to the side and looked up at the sky as if trying to figure out what he was referring to. “I can’t imagine what that could be.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Jacob. We know you’re Skai,” Paul chimed in, incurring a wrathful glare from Ant. “What?” Paul challenged back. “He is.”

“Yeah, we know,” Arsen said, shaking his head. “That was the joke Ant was…actually, you know what? Nevermind.”

“I don’t get it,” Paul said.

“Dude, we know,” CJ assured Paul while patting him on the back.

With Ant’s joke ruined, I addressed the elephant in the room before answering the dozens of questions I was sure they had for me. “I see we’re one man short.”

They fell silent and looked at each other as if silently asking, who wants to take this one?

“Troy just needs time to process all of this,” Arsen said. “He’ll come around.”

“I see,” I said softly.

“The dude’s a clown,” CJ declared. “What’s there to process? It’s Jacob.”

“No, it’s cool,” I insisted. “I get it. It’s a lot to process, and I don’t blame Troy for not being all gung-ho about it.”

“Bullshit, dude!” CJ’s tone was one of genuine anger, an emotion he rarely showed. “It’s Jacob, and he’s one of us. Troy needs to fucking man up and get over his stupid issues.”

My eyes welled up a little at the words "he's one of us," and I prayed to god they didn’t think I was a goofy, emotional wreck.

“Come on, CJ cut the guy some slack,” Paul said. “It’s not that simple.”

“But it really is,” CJ insisted.

“I’m with CJ on this one,” Ant agreed.

“Guys, guys, it’s fine,” I asserted, raising my hands as if refereeing a boxing match. Truthfully, it hurt that Troy skipped out on our little reunion. Was he afraid of me? And why wasn’t everyone else? Or maybe they were but got over it faster than Troy did. I’d never really know, and if I’m being honest, that was probably best. It would have broken me to discover that this group – my group - was ever afraid of me. “Troy can have all the time he needs. It is what it is. Let’s not turn this into the ‘shit on Troy hour.’ I’m just happy you are all here because, if I’m being real with you guys, I never thought this would happen considering….”

“Yeah, about that, Jacob,” Arsen quickly interrupted as he placed his arm around my shoulders. “We’re sorry if we made you feel uncomfortable or like we didn’t want you around.”

“No, it’s cool; I didn’t feel like that at all, really.”

Using the hand on my shoulder, he pushed my face to the side, forcing me to look at him. “Oh really?” Arsen’s sarcastic tone matched the ‘bullshit’ glare he gave me. “You didn’t feel like that at all?”

“Okay, maybe a little….”

“You know you can’t lie to me, so why bother?”

“Shut up,” I scoffed, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing he was right. Arsen had the annoying ability to see through my façade when something bothered me, and he wouldn't give up until I came clean. It was fucking irritating, and also why I loved him.

“Yeah, I’m sorry too, dude, for giving you the cold shoulder in class the other day,” CJ apologized. “You’re my bro, dude; the last thing I wanted was to make you feel alienated.”

I wanted to hug the shit out of him because of how sincere he sounded and how sad he looked. “Guys, you have to stop, or I’m going to break down like a little bitch,” I confessed, wiping my eyes.

“Aww….” Arsen pulled me in for a side hug and squeezed my arm. “It’s okay to cry, Jacob; we’ll only make fun of you for a little while. Ten days tops.”

“Fuck off!” I shouted and pushed him off me. “Okay, so what changed?”

“It’s going to sound stupid as hell, but we just didn’t know what we were supposed to do,” Ant said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“We learned what happened to you after Q returned to the house that night,” Ant answered. “Obviously, we were shocked and confused with a billion questions that initially went unanswered because, you know, Q.”

I gave Ant a knowing nod and shrug.

“Eventually, Shawn began to fill in the blanks, but we never thought to ask, and he never instructed us on what to do if you showed up.”

“And if we are being honest,” Paul interjected, “we didn’t expect you to show up.”

“Exactly,” Ant continued. “So when CJ saw you in class, he was dumbstruck.”

“Whoa, dude, that’s harsh,” CJ threw his hands out in protest. “Dumbstruck?”

Ant looked at CJ but kept talking to me. “He was flummoxed.”

“Better,” CJ nodded. “Wait…”

Ant turned back to me. “CJ didn’t know if he was allowed to talk to you or what the consequences might be if he did. He was afraid to even look at you for fear of starting WWIII, so he just froze.”

“Yeah, dude, I totally froze. Flummoxed.”

“I know. I was there, remember?”

“You were….” CJ nodded slowly as if it was a new revelation.

I shook my head and ignored him.

“Then we saw you in the cafeteria, and it was unbearable,” Arsen said. The sting of his words hit like a punch to the gut, and I recoiled from him reflexively. He immediately placed his hand on my thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I don’t mean it like that, Jacob. Never. It was unbearable to have you so close, just a few feet away, yet be unable to rush to your side. All I wanted to do, all we wanted to do, was make sure you were okay.”

“But again, we had to play it cool,” Ant said. “We’re Brothers now and play by a different set of rules.”

“The problem was we didn’t know the rules,” Paul added. “Hell, none of us knew the protocol for when your brother went Skai.”

I half smirked, but it was sad and more of a twitch than a smile. I didn’t know what else to do or say.

Arsen squeezed by thigh again, and Paul continued. “Regardless, it all felt wrong.”

“Hey, that’s what I said, dude,” CJ claimed.

“I know,” Paul conceited with a roll of his eyes.

“I told these guys we needed to figure this shit out,” CJ continued. “Leaving you hanging like that was a betrayal, and we knew the longer we sat there, ignoring you, the worse it was for everyone. So, we left. Not to hurt you, Jacob, but to figure out how to make it better. We went straight home and marched upstairs to Q’s room. We needed answers, so we banged on his door and busted in. It was time to have serious words with him.”

“Uh-huh,” I mused, slowly turning to look at the other guys. “Let me get this straight. You went upstairs, no wait, marched upstairs, banged Q’s door down, and had words?” I looked at each of them again and smirked for real this time. “Anyone want to rewrite this fan fiction and tell me what actually happened?”

“What?” CJ questioned, looking genuinely puzzled. “What don’t you believe?”

“Let’s start with everything,” I answered.

“Okay, dude, maybe I exaggerated a little, but what….”

“Just stop,” Ant demanded, placing his hand over CJ’s face and pushing him over. “It’s true we skipped the rest of our classes that day and went straight home, but there was no marching going on when we got there.”

“More like careful baby steps up to Q’s room,” Paul added with a snicker.

“Exactly,” Ant said. “And when we got to his room, we started arguing about who should knock. Mr. Banging-On-His-Door over here stood five feet back, too chicken shit to even get near the door.”

“Well yeah, dude, it’s Q’s room,” CJ said matter-of-factly. “I might be crazy, but I’m not nuts.”

“Now this has the ring of truth to it,” I laughed.

“The door swung open on its own before we could draft a volunteer,” Arsen said. “It was a clear invitation to come in, despite no one by the door. After sharing a few nervous glances and puckering up, we walked in just in time to watch Q fly off the balcony while Seth was walking back into the room.”

“All that hemming and hawing, and we didn’t even end up dealing with Q,” Paul said, flustered by the whole experience. “We got Seth instead. Sure, he’s got some fear factor to him, but Q stands on his own level of terrifying.”

I could sympathize with Paul’s sentiment, for I remembered all too well the anxiousness I felt in the pit of my stomach whenever I had to meet with Q. Now I’m able to look back on it and laugh. Hopefully, being Brothers would allow them to get to know Q on a deeper level. And they’d know he wasn’t someone to fear….much.

“To make a long story short, we blew it,” Arsen said.

“Totally blew it, dude.”

I looked at them, waiting for more, but they just stared back at me as if expecting me to understand what the hell that meant. “I don’t know what that means.” The depths of my regret at sounding like Soullen were immeasurable. “Oh god, it’s spreading like a virus.” I leaned forward and rubbed my temples.

“What?” Arsen asked.

“Nothing. What does ‘blew it’ mean?”

“They didn’t tell us the protocol because there wasn’t one. It was always up to us,” Arsen said, then elaborated when I just blinked at him. “According to Seth, The Brotherhood isn’t in the business of policing conversations; they have more important priorities.”

“That didn’t stop Seth from being disappointed in us, though,” Ant confessed in a hushed voice.

“Disappointed? Why?”

“We’re Brothers now, with all the privilege, authority, and power that title commands….”

“A force to be reckoned with on campus and beyond,” Arsen finished Ant’s sentence. “But when we ran into you, we acted like a bunch of scared, confused pledges. Not a good look or representation of The Brotherhood. Hence, his disappointment.”

“Yeah, I guess,” I shrugged. “But it’s not like anyone else knew what was going on, you know?”

“It’s enough that they knew,” Arsen admitted somberly.

“They knew” hit home for me. I remembered how much I didn't want to disappoint the Brothers, so when it happened, I also felt like shit.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” Arsen snapped at me, but I could tell it was out of guilt, not anger. “We’re the sorry ones. Not only did we disappoint our Brothers, but we also made you feel like crap. And it went on for days, for no legitimate reason.”

“It’s water under the bridge,” I insisted just as firmly. “I just hope you guys didn’t get into trouble over some stupid misunderstanding.”

“No, we didn’t, but, dude, this is way worse,” CJ said. “It’s like when you do something wrong and expect a punishment, but your parents just say they’re disappointed in you and leave it at that.” He made a stabbing motion to the chest. “Right through the heart, dude.”

“Tell me about it,” Paul agreed. “I’d pick crazy punishment over the disappointment speech every time.”

“I feel you,” I said, slapping Paul’s knee.

“He did give us a warning, though,” Arsen said, his tone suddenly dark and ominous.

My eyes met his, and our gaze lingered. Just as he was about to speak, I cut him off. “He told you that if you decide to continue with our friendship, eventually, it would lead to ruin. Lines will be drawn, and we’ll find ourselves on opposite sides of that line, and choices will have to be made.”

“How did you know?” Arsen inquired, the concern in his voice undeniable as I’m sure he envisioned a future neither of us wanted to come to pass.

“I was told the same thing not too long ago.”

“Well, you guys are certainly a cheery bunch,” Ant joked, trying to lighten the mood. But even as he joked and laughed at all the ‘doom and gloom’ talk, when our eyes met, I could tell he knew.

An uncomfortable silence took hold. Pain distorted each of their faces as the horror of that inevitable moment took hold. No matter how hard I tried to fight it, I could see myself clad in armor and bathed in blood. With weapon in hand, I stood face-to-face with my enemy on a field littered with El’odian bodies. The only question was who would be staring back at me from behind an ivory helmet. Ant? CJ? Arsen?

CJ grabbed my hand, snapping me back to the here and now. He turned it over to feel my palm and then back again to gently caress it with his thumb. I looked between Arsen and Ant to see if they knew what he was doing, but they both looked just as confused.

“It’s a hand,” I finally said.

“Does it hurt?” CJ asked anxiously, squeezing my hand as if offering me moral support. “I mean, are you in any pain right now?”

I snatched my hand back and whacked him upside the head. “I’m Skai, not terminal, you nit! What’s wrong with you?”

“Dude, I don’t know!” CJ protested as he rubbed his head. “We thought they might torture you.”

“Torture?!” I exclaimed loud enough to draw the attention of a few students studying nearby. I lowered my voice, but not the shock I felt. “Why in the world would I be tortured?”

“To be fair, it was Troy who put the idea in that ghost-town CJ calls a head,” Ant said.

“Thank you, dude!”

“That still doesn’t explain why anyone would think I was being tortured.”

Arsen rolled his eyes and tried to explain the buffoonery. “Troy thought that because you spent so much time with The Brotherhood, the Skai might have difficulty getting you to fall in line. And maybe they’d need to use torture to break your mind and, you know, brainwash you.”

“Seriously?” I didn’t know if I should be insulted or amused by their stupidity. “And you guys believed this?”

“No…not really,” Arsen admitted.

“Not really? But maybe? How could anyone think that?”

“They’re Skai, Jacob.”

“I’m Skai, Paul! What in the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“Okay, Sparky, slow your roll.” Arsen gently massaged the back of my neck, but I quickly slapped his hand away.

“Fuck that! You guys think my people are monsters, don’t you?”

Not to be deterred, Arsen slapped my hand away and went back to massaging the back of my neck. “I said, slow your roll!” I didn’t rebuke the gesture this time. “Try to see it from our point of view. We know very little about your people. They’re the enemy of The Brotherhood – and we’re the Brotherhood,” Arson spun his finger around the group. “So, of course, we’ll see them as evil in this play we call life. Plus, the whole light vs. dark comparison has been a thing for ages, and the dark side has never been portrayed positively.”

I turned toward Arsen, ready to unleash a torrent of reasons why they were wrong and that we were not the “dark side,” but he muzzled me with his hand.

“Before you go off,” Arsen continued, “riddle me this. How did you view the Skai before you were one of them? Especially after all the shit that Kaylec fuck dished out.”

The one thing I didn’t miss about Arsen was his tendency to always be right. It was truly annoying. He removed his hand from my mouth and stared at me, waiting for an answer I refused to give. Again, he wasn’t wrong; I was just being petty as shit.

“Well?” he pushed.

I had no comeback. Until recent events had proven otherwise, my view of the Skai was completely in line with theirs. The Skai were bad.

When I didn’t answer, he jabbed me in the side. “You know I’m not going to let up, Jacob, so just answer the question.”

I mumbled my response as I looked away from him. Being the smart ass that he is, he cupped his ear and leaned into me.“What was that? I couldn’t hear you.”

“I thought they evil too!” I snapped, pushing his face away. “Happy now?”

“Very.”

“You think you’re so smart,” I mocked.

“I don’t think I’m smart, Jacob,” he insisted. “I know I am.”

All I could do was roll my eyes.

“I admit,” Arsen continued, “we have preconceived notions about the Skai that probably aren’t fair or accurate….”

“Probably?” I interrupted, only to be ignored.

“Instead of getting bucky, why don’t you take this opportunity to educate us by sharing your experiences with the Skai? It might help us better understand who they are as a people.”

“God, you’re smug,”

“It comes with always being right,” he countered, displaying his pearly whites happily.

I could’ve slapped him.

But instead, I did as he asked. I detailed my experiences with my people. I covered all the highlights, from when they found me hovering over the Atlantic to my meeting with Zenial. They were a captive audience hanging on my every word. They sprinkled questions in here and there, but for the most part, they allowed me to tell my story. Of course, I didn’t divulge any confidential information like Zenial’s past. Instead, I gave them more of an overview of their personalities, funny quirks, and the things I loved about them.

And Sunny? Forget about it. I gushed about how awesome he’d been to me and how much he reminded me of CJ. That didn’t sit well with CJ, who insisted that he was the ‘only CJ’ allowed in my life. I reassured him that he was unique and no one could ever take his place.

Arsen was very curious about Kaylec and how that situation played out. I tried to downplay our animosity, but Arsen saw right through me and demanded the truth. I had no choice but to come clean and tell them everything. They weren't happy about it but trusted me when I said good people like Zenial were looking out for me.

Arsen wasn’t 100% convinced, but he seemed to let the issue go.

At the end of all my storytelling, they seemed relieved that I had a strong support system, but I could tell they were sad too. They’d been my support system in The Brotherhood, and now someone else filled that role.

“Who do you think would win in a fight?” CJ asked abruptly.

“Who are you talking about?” I inquired.

“Between Q and this Z guy.”

“Okay, first, his name is Zenial. We’re not doing the one-letter thing again. And second, how would I know? I’m not their fighting coach.”

“Oh, come on!” Paul jumped in to spur on the conversation. “You’ve spent time with both of them; you must have an idea.”

“Not on a battlefield, you moron! Going on a dinner date with Q or sitting in Zenial’s office for a few hours doesn’t give me insight into their battle prowess.”

“I bet Q can take him,” CJ said confidently.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” I declared.

“Interesting,” Arsen ruminated, “what caused you to lose confidence in Q’s abilities?”

“Oh, you too now?”

He laughed and pushed me over. “I’m just giving you shit!”

I laughed as I pulled myself back to a sitting position. “Y’all a bunch of idiots! Maybe this reunion was a bad idea after all.”

Out of nowhere, Ant punched me hard. I was stunned because it was entirely out of character for him. And then he did it again! Being Skai was the only reason I didn’t have a bruise forming already.

“Don’t even joke like that, Jacob!” Ant snapped aggressively. “We thought we lost you that night, and you have no idea how horrible it felt! So don’t even….”

“I’m sorry!” Seeing the tears well up in his eyes, I pulled him in for a hug before he could finish his sentence.

“We thought they killed you,” he whimpered into my shoulder.

I didn’t realize my stupid joke would resurface the aftermath of my awakening and the painful memories that went with it. Sure, I was curious about what happened in the house after I left and even played out a few possibilities in my head. But it never occurred to me that they might think I was dead. Or worse yet, mourn me.

“I’m sorry,” I repeated softly, kissing his head. “I had no idea.”

Arsen placed his arm around my shoulders while I held Ant. We sat frozen like that for several minutes as if posing for an invisible painter nearby.

Ant slowly pulled himself free from my embrace but kept his eyes fixed on the ground. Maybe his mind was lingering on that night, or he felt embarrassed after his outburst. I couldn’t tell. I just knew he never had to feel self-conscious around me about anything.

“Are you okay?” I asked as I ruffled his hair.

He wiped his eyes and nodded. I felt terrible, but I also didn’t want to push the subject if he didn’t want to “go there.”

“Okay, dudes, enough sad shit,” CJ said, clearing his throat to hide that he had also choked up. “Show us what you can do.”

“Who me?” I asked.

“Is there anyone else sitting here with god-like powers?”

“Well, don’t look at me. I can’t do anything.”

“Why not?” Paul asked.

“I’m not allowed to use my powers on campus.” I didn’t want to get into how I struggled to develop and control my powers. And as close as I felt to these guys, I wasn’t willing to end up naked, holding an umbrella, or wearing a bow tie in front of them. Luckily, the ‘no powers on campus rule’ gave me the perfect out. “And before you ask, it’s part of the agreement both sides made that allowed me to come back to KU. I had zero say in the matter.”

Arsen gave me his psychic side eye as if he could see through my story, and it wasn’t adding up. I wasn’t lying, but he could tell I was leaving something out. Fortunately, he didn’t press for details. I don’t know how he does it, but one thing was sure, I could never play poker against him.

“Well, that fucking blows!” CJ declared.

I shrugged. “It allows me to hang out with you guys, so I don’t mind.”

“Oh, come on! What about something small? Like….” CJ looked around for a moment, then removed his cap and offered it to me. “Pull a rabbit out of my hat.”

“Are you iron deficient?” I mocked, slapping his hand away. “I’m not a fucking magician, CJ.” I did my best to ignore him as he continued to push his cap into my hand. “Can I ask you guys something a little more serious?”

“Go for it,” Arsen nodded.

“What happened to Q after I left? Did he get into trouble or anything?”

They glanced awkwardly at each other, obviously contemplating how to avoid my question.

“What? Was it bad?”

“No, no, nothing like that,” Arsen assured me. “It’s just…um…you know.”

“What?” I watched Arsen struggle to find the words, and it finally clicked. “Right. That’s Brotherhood business.”

“I hope you understand,” Arsen said apologetically. “It’s just….”

“Don’t sweat it, guys. I get it. I should never have asked. I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault. It’s not anyone’s fault. It’s just a weird situation, right?”

I nodded. “Can you at least tell me if he’s doing okay? Like in general?”

“Well, since that night,” Arsen began, “Q’s been distant, cold, closed off, and short with people. But if you remember, before all that happened, he was always distant, cold, closed off, and short with people. So basically, Q’s operating at his default setting.”

Everyone got a good laugh from that, and honestly, he wasn’t wrong.

“Fair enough,” I conceded.

“I got one for you,” Ant spoke up as he picked at the grass. “What about Soullen?”

“Soullen?” I stammered. The question caught me off guard.

“Yeah, dude, what about that little shit bag traitor?”

Oh, god! They don’t know…

“Yeah, have you seen him at all?” Ant asked.

“Have I seen him at all?” I repeated nervously.

“What’s wrong with you?” Arsen questioned suspiciously, eyeing me up again. “Why are you acting weird?”

“Please tell me the Skai killed that little fucker,” Paul demanded.

“Death would be a mercy,” Arsen boldly stated. “He deserves far worse for his betrayal of The Brotherhood, and I hope we get to mete out the justice Soullen deserves.”

Their hatred for Soullen was through the roof. That was just a tiny glimpse of what they said about him, never mind the terrible things they wished upon him. They had no idea Soullen was on a sanctioned mission, as he was still in Skai custody. And it was difficult to listen to them heap abuse on the guy. But I wasn't about to divulge high-level, top-secret knowledge to them as it would’ve betrayed my people and the Nave. All I could do was sit there and pretend I didn’t know what was happening.

Worse, I knew how I felt when I learned the truth, and I had no doubt they would feel the same once all the facts came out. They would feel like shit, for Soullen was their prince who risked his life for his people.

“Guys, calm down,” I finally said. “Who knows why Soullen did what he did? He’s a dumb kid who did dumb things. Maybe you should cut the boy some slack.”

“Uh-huh,” Arsen mumbled.

“Dumb kid?” Paul scoffed. “That little fucker killed Steve!”

“I get it, Paul. Believe me.”

“Do you, Jacob? He’s not your brother anymore, is he?”

Yanking a fist full of grass out of the ground, Ant tossed it at Paul’s face. “Stop it. Did you forget Jacob was there when it happened?”

Paul let out a deep sigh. “I know. It’s just…I’m sorry, Jacob.”

“It’s cool. I don’t want you to...OH MY GOD! What is happening right now?” I jumped to my feet as three guys stepped off the sidewalk and onto the grass just fifty feet away. I stumbled past our little circle, tripping on CJ’s knee and almost face-planting.

“Jacob?” Arsen called out. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing!” I assured them, turning to face the group and gesturing for them to stay seated. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

They jumped up and followed closely behind me, which was expected given my frantic tone and fumbling demeanor.

I tripped again when I spun around to meet the approaching group.

“Whoa there, Sparky, are you okay?”

“Sparky?” I heard Arsen inquire behind me; his quizzical pitch was laced with annoyance.

“What are you doing here, Sunny?” I demanded, then acknowledged the Twins walking behind him on either side with a simple nod that they graciously returned.

“That’s Sunny?” CJ question. “Dude, we look nothing alike.”

“Jacob never said you looked like him, dummy,” Ant jeered.

I could actually hear him slap CJ’s head. All I could do was roll my eyes as I focused on Sunny.

“I’m here as an Envoy,” Sunny declared smugly, probably because this was the first time he held that title.

“An Envoy?” I asked. “What does that even mean?”

“Seriously? It’s when a person is assigned as rep….”

I slapped his arm to shut him up. “I know what the word means, Sunny!”

“Okay, I see it now,” Ant chuckled softly.

“What are you doing here as an Envoy with the Twins?”

“The Great Mother got me special permission to enter KU so I could bring you to her immediately. As for these two mannequins, they’re my escort while I’m in Nave territory. I think they’re afraid my sheer awesomeness might sway some of their little members to switch sides.”

“Yeah, I’m sure that was it.” I glanced at the Twins to see if they took any offense to Sunny’s comment. They remained unphased, eerily stoic like a pair of, well, mannequins, if I’m being honest. “Why does she need to see me right now? Aren’t they doing the thing tonight?”

“The time got moved up, and from what I understand, they should finish soon. The Great Mother wants to see you because she’s concerned about your,” he paused, looking passed me at my group of friends, “issues.”

“Jacob, is everything okay?” Arsen asked as he walked next to me.

“Everything is fine, pretty boy,” Sunny replied.

“Pretty boy?” A confused Arsen looked back at the group, probably wondering what Sunny’s problem was. “Jacob, what the hell is going on? Is there something wrong with you?”

“This doesn’t concern you, pretty boy.”

“That’s enough, Sunny!”

“Dude, what’s your malfunction?” CJ demanded.

“I don’t have one, dude.” His condescending tone was getting out of control and pissing me off. “The only malfunction I see here is you not understanding that this is a Skai matter and none of your concern.”

“Fuck you, dude! Jacob is our business!”

“CJ!” I snapped.

“CJ, chill!” Arsen ordered as he placed his hand on CJ’s shoulder. “Sunny, is it?”

“Sundryn to you.”

“Fine, Sundryn, whatever. CJ is right. If something is going on with Jacob, we have a right to know.”

“You really don’t, though,” Sunny mocked, scrunching his face and cocking his head to the side.

“Jacob, what’s going on?” Arsen stepped in front of me, his tall frame blocking Sunny from my view.

“Look, Arsen, it’s a long story. I promise to fill you in later, but I need to go now.”

“Why didn’t you share this earlier?” Arsen demanded. He was obviously angry, but it was born out of concern more than anything else.

“I didn’t want to worry you guys just as we got the band back together.”

“Still….”

“Tick-tock,” Sunny interrupted.

“Tick-tock, my ass,” Paul cried out. “You can wait until we sort this out.”

Poking his head out from behind Arsen, Sunny said, “It’s not me you’re making wait, it’s The Great Mother.”

“Well, she can wait too!”

Every head turned to look at Paul simultaneously. Even the trees seemed to freeze in shock. Believe me, the error of his foolish words was not lost on him, as evident by his bright red face. Scratching his head, Paul shyly looked down at the ground to avoid all eye contact.

“Look,” Arsen said, turning to face Sunny, “if Jacob needs to visit The Great Mother, we can take him there ourselves.”

“That’s cute, pretty boy, but we can get there much faster since, unlike you guys, we have something called wings. If they wanted him to get there by trolley, they would’ve asked for you guys. Now, we really should get going, Jacob.”

“Why are you such a little….”

“Enough!” the Twins said in unison and then continued speaking in turn, impressively finishing each other’s sentences. “The Envoy is correct. This is a Skai matter and of no concern to The Brotherhood. Stand down.”

“Well, would you look at that? They do speak.”

The Twins walked up and stood on either side of Sunny. “The Great Mother is not to be kept waiting. Please, take your charge and go.”

“With pleasure,” Sunny beamed as he pushed past Arsen, draped his arm around my shoulders, and led me away.

“This isn’t over,” Arsen declared.

“Well, for you, it certainly is,” Sunny mocked.

I punched Sunny in the side as we walked. “What the fuck is your problem?”

“Hey, that actually hurt!”

“Good!” I looked over my shoulder and waved at the guys. “I’ll be back. Promise!”

We walked off campus, and I followed Sunny as he led me into the surrounding woods. He never spoke a word and rushed along with me on his tail. When we finally arrived at a small clearing, he summoned his wings and rocketed into the air with a single, mighty flap. It caused an audible sonic boom to emanate from him, and I admit, I jumped.

“Sunny, wait!” I shouted, then summoned my wings and took off after him, shredding my shirt and hoodie into a million pieces again.

The Village wasn’t far from campus, and considering how fast we flew, we arrived within seconds. But Sunny titled his wings instead of landing, opening them vertically like a sail. He slowed to a near-stop, and I damn near crashed into him. But he caught me in his arms and teleported us to an alley below. I understood why he did it. We couldn’t exactly touch down gracefully in the middle of The Village without raising a few eyebrows. I just wish he would’ve given me a heads-up.

From the alleyway, I had a clear view of The Great Mother’s shop, but instead of heading in that direction, Sunny started nervously pacing back and forth while biting his nails.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

He stopped, looked me over, and asked, “What happened to your shirt?” Then he proceeded to pace again, not really waiting for my answer.

“My shirt? What do you think happened? You took off like a bat out of hell, and I followed your stupid ass. It never occurred to me to take off my hoodie first.”

He stopped again to look at me. “Sorry about that.”

Sunny was about to start pacing when I grabbed him like he was a lunatic who had escaped from an asylum. “What is wrong with you?”

“Oh my god, Jacob, I fucked up. I fucked up big time!”

“What did you fuck up?” I started to panic along with him. “What’s going on? Talk to me!”

“Being an Envoy,” Sunny finally answered. “I totally fucked it up!”

“How? Why?”

“Didn’t you see me back there? I was so rude and unprofessional!”

Releasing him from my grasp, I stepped back and glared at Sunny. “Ya think?”

“There are rules and protocols you’re supposed to follow, a certain level of decorum you’re supposed to maintain as a representative of The Sanctum. I didn’t do any of that.”

“You don’t say?”

“Oh my god, I can’t believe I called them mannequins.” Gripping two fists full of his hair, Sunny slowly stepped back until he was up against the wall. “Raz is going to kill me. Straight murder.” His voice softened and trailed off as he slid down the wall until his knees reached his chest.

“Okay, no need to be a drama queen,” I said, kneeling in front of him to place my hands on his knees. “But if you knew the job called for you to be on your best behavior, what the hell got into you?”

He looked me in the eye for a hot second before darting his eyes away to avoid my stare. I slapped his knees when he refused to answer and repeated my question.

“I don’t know,” he answered with a shrug. “Raz is going to kill me, or worse, never trust me with an assignment like this again.”

“Let’s worry about Raz later.”

“That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one he’s going to kill.”

“Fair point,” I conceded but insisted he answer my question.

“I don’t know,” he repeated. “I was fine when I met the Twins by the entrance, but when I saw you with your friends it….”

His sentence hung in the air unfinished.

“You saw me with my friends, and what, Sunny?”

“This is so embarrassing,” he said softly, burying his face in his knees.

“What’s so emb….”

“It bothered me, okay?” he snapped.

“But why, Sunny?”

“I thought we were connecting, forming a bond of some kind, so when I saw you with your friends, I thought…well…you wouldn’t need me like that anymore. I would be your guardian until you were good enough to be on your own, but then our friendship would fizzle out.”

“So, you were jealous of my friends and decided to pee on me to mark your territory?”

“Jealous is a strong word. And I’ve never been one for golden showers, but, um, yeah….kind of.”

“You are an incredible idiot,” I said, flicking his head.

“Wow. Kick me some more, why don’t you?”

“We aren’t forming a bond; we already have a bond. Sunny, you’ve done so much for me that I don’t even have the words to express my gratitude. We’ve known each other for all of three minutes, but because of what we are, because you’re my brother, I feel like you’ve been in my life for ages, you moron! That alone connects us in a way that can’t be diminished by anyone or anything. But I also have a bond with my friends that’s special and meaningful to me in other ways. Both can coexist without one taking anything away from the other.”

Resting his chin between his knees, he finally broke a smile. “You mean that?”

“God, you’re an idiot!” I flicked him on the forehead again, stood up, and offered him my hand.

“Your friends are kind of douchey, though,” he said as I helped him stand.

“You were the douchey one today!”

“Um, agree to disagree.”

“Shut up, make me a new hoodie, and let’s get out of here.”

A black hoodie formed over my chest as we walked out of the alley and crossed the street to the shop. I stopped Sunny just as he went for the door. “How much trouble are you in with Raz?”

“Once he hears about this, you might never find my body.”

“Good!”

“That doesn’t help, Jacob.”

“It wasn’t meant to.”

We entered the shop expecting the idyllic, comfortable space we were accustomed to in The Great Mother’s home. That was not what we got. The tranquility was shattered that evening. Shouting could be heard from the back where The Great Mother did her readings. It was so out of place that Sunny and I looked at each other, confused, thinking perhaps we had entered the wrong building.

But the shouting was in El’odian.

The ethereal language of my people was easily recognizable to me now despite not being able to understand a single word. Sunny sprang to action and rushed to the back, tripping over one of the couches and slamming into the wall. Still, he remained undeterred. I followed behind, but as I approached the door, the voices got louder…angrier…and I felt it. At first, it was a tingle like a feather tickling the base of my skull. But when Sunny threw open the door, and I was hit with the orchestra of shouting, the feather turned to daggers and pierced every corner of my mind.

I staggered into the room behind Sunny, clutching my head. The Great Mother was the first to see me. She was sitting in the corner, crocheting, unfazed by the heated argument in front of her.

But when she noticed me, she immediately stood up and let the yarn fall from her lap. “Jacob?”

Then I saw him.

His eyes were ablaze with white fire as he verbally sparred with the Skai delegation across from him. Everything appeared to stop for a moment when our graze met. The fierceness in his eyes cooled, allowing his silvery orbs to shine through. He called for me, but I only saw the shape of my name on his lips. I couldn’t hear him. I couldn’t hear anything anymore, for the pain was so great that most of my senses seemed to short-circuit.

“Please, make it stop,” I begged softly while squeezing my head harder than before. I then followed it with a scream that silenced the room. “MAKE IT STOP!”

An explosion of Askyli ripped through my body like a shockwave. Sunny, who was a few feet in front of me, was hurled forward into Razual, knocking them both into the air. Kaylec and Soullen went flying, striking the walls so hard I’m shocked they didn’t end up on the other side. A golden hue appeared around The Great Mother, leaving her unphased as the dark Askyli wave passed through her. Q and Zenial stood their ground, like two immovable titans, as the table between them was overturned and splintered into dozens of pieces.

I don’t know what happened to the others in the room, for everything began to spin. “Make it stop….” I was falling. The last thing I remember was Q melting away into pure Anavi, splitting into several ribbons of radiant light that came at me from all directions, and then I felt arms catch me as everything went dark.

The dark.

It was ever-present and all-encompassing, like drowning in an endless sea of shadows. There were whispers in the distance, hands that caressed my body but pulled away or vanished entirely when I tried to reach for them. I couldn’t stop myself from falling deeper and deeper and deeper into the abyss. I would have given anything for a spark of his radiance to guide me out of the shadow.

“Akuzio….”

That voice again. The same one that called out to me in Zenial’s office. It was with me in this place. Just as I was about to call out to it and ask who it was, everything suddenly stopped spinning. My feet touched the ground, and the dark was gone as if blown away by a gust of wind.

I was standing on a field of emerald green grass and rolling hills. The sun’s warmth was on my back, the sky was clear, and the air smelled sweet. Where was I? Was this a memory from my fathers? Were they the voice calling out to me? Or maybe I was in a dream? According to Sunny, we are transported to another world when we dream, almost like living a second life. Is that what this was?

“Akuzio….”

The voice came from behind me, and when I spun around, I saw it again. A shadowy figure standing on a hill.

“Who are you?” I yelled out.

The figure remained silent. Do shadows even speak? I needed answers. Something had called my name, and I needed to know why. As I approached the entity, I couldn’t discern any specific features other than it appeared to be darkness molded into a man. I was twenty feet away from it when the ground started to shake as if we were about to get hit by an earthquake. At least that would have been easier to wrap my head around. Instead, the ground stretched like a rubber band, leaving an even greater distance between us.

Determined to get some answer from whatever it was, I walked my ass up to it again, only to have the same thing happen again.

“Oh, come on!”

“It’s not time yet, Akuzio, but soon.”

“Are you my father?”

“It’s time for you to go, Akuzio.”

“Go where?” I demanded. “I can’t exactly call an Uber to take me back.”

A shadow exploded from him, crumbling the ground beneath me and darkening the sky. I was thrown back into the dark abyss in a blink of an eye.

“He’ll be fine, Qua’quelle.” The Great Mother’s voice was all around me. “It looks like he’s coming around. It’s time for you to take the others and leave for now. He will have questions, and I don’t want him distracted. You can see him later when the time is right.”

I felt a hand squeeze mine.

“Take care of him for me.” Q’s gentle voice was like surround sound in my mind.

“Of course I will. Now go.”

A pair of soft lips pressed against my forehead.

“Q….” I groaned, slowly rolling my eyes open. I felt like I was coming out of anesthesia.

“I’ll find you,” he whispered into my ear.

My vision, blurry as it was, picked up a very familiar figure walking away from me.

“Guys, let’s go,” Q said.

“What about Jacob?” I heard Arsen ask.

“Good riddance!” Sunny barked.

“Screw you, dude!” CJ fired back.

“Now!” Q ordered.

As things came into focus, I saw my friends gathered around Q.

“Wait,” I called out, lifting my head as I stretched my hand to them….to him.

Q tilted his head slightly, catching a glimpse of me as ribbons of Anavi surrounded the group, and they vanished in a flash of light.

Feeling too weak to fight, I gave that round to gravity and allowed my head and arm to fall back onto the bed or table or whatever I was on. I closed my eyes briefly and gently shook my head to clear the fog. I was startled when I opened them again and saw The Great Mother’s face hovering over me.

“You look about as good as my reading room,” she smiled warmly.

“Oh god, that was real?” My mouth was dry, and I think my words were slurred.

“As real as the invoice I’m sending The Sanctum.”

“I’m sorr….”

She was about to say something more when we heard a loud crash of what sounded like pots and pans. Letting out a long, drawn-out sigh, The Great Mother said, “Sunny! I told you those cookies would be done when they’re done. Stop terrorizing my kitchen!” Lowering her voice, she placed her hand on my forehead. “I know you have questions and are hoping for some answers, but all I’ll be able to offer you is a choice.” There was another loud crash. “Excuse me, dear, while I clear out my kitchen before your brothers destroy another room.” She fixed my hair while maintaining her warm smile before turning to leave. “Sunny!”

I rolled my head to the side as The Great Mother walked into the hall, and I swear I saw wings. Not El’odian wings, but small, plastic wings you’d buy at a costume shop. She was also wearing a big fluffy dress, which seemed unlike her.

I heard glass shatter just before Sunny stumbled into the room with a cookie in his mouth.

“Sorry!” he called out. “I’ll get you a new one, promise.”

“It was three thousand years old!”

“Some super glue then?” He quickly closed the door and turned to me. “Hey, you’re finally awake!”

Sunny strutted toward me while chomping down on his cookie. As I looked him over from top to bottom, I only had one question on my mind—a question for the ages, one might say.

“Why do you look like a gay pirate?”