The Brotherhood: Awakening Book II - 5. Chapter 5

The Brotherhood: Awakening

Chapter V

By X

 

 

It all happened so quickly. I went from laughing with Sunny under a stream of hot water to being pinned against the cold tile, my feet dangling in the air. I could feel something pressing against my vocal cords, but at least for now, I was still able to breathe. I’m unsure if I heard or felt the confusion in the room. Weirdly, I think it was both. There were voices, but I was fully concentrating on the sound of my breathing, not the words the voices created.

Out of nowhere, a fiery figure suddenly hovered before me, and those coveted breaths caught in my throat. It took a few seconds before I realized it was Sunny, acting like a barrier between my assailant and me. He was as naked as me. Steam curled off his body as fire wrapped around him and evaporated the water droplets still clinging to his slender frame. It was a sight to behold. Under different circumstances, I’m sure my gaze would have lingered on Sunny. But the figure emerging from the shadows stole my attention from both Sunny and my restraints.

“What in the hell are you doing?” Sunny demanded as the flame around his fist brightened and intensified.

“Out of my way, Sundryn, this has nothing to do with you.”

Do I even have to say who this asshole was?

“The hell it doesn’t!” Sunny fired back. “Release him immediately, or you’ll force my hand.”

Kaylec stepped out of the shadows and into Sunny’s light. He extended his hand toward me with Askyli swarming around every finger like fireflies dancing in the night. His eyes were pools of darkness, though he maintained his human form. Kaylec wasn’t alone this time. He was flanked on either side by two brothers, poised to go all in with him.

“Force your hand?” Kaylec scoffed as he looked at his companions. “As if you would dare raise your hand to a fellow….”

To everyone’s surprise, Sunny unleashed a torrent of Askyli from his hands that hurled Kaylec across the bathroom and through the opposite wall.

“Holy shit.” I heard Sunny whisper.

I don’t think he meant to go so hard against Kaylec, but I’m glad he did. Kaylec’s shackles released me the second he disappeared behind the rubble. I dropped to the ground, stumbled back against the wall, and clutched my neck to shield it. Sunny might have sent Kaylec through a fucking wall, but I knew he wasn’t down for the count, and this was far from over. I fully expected the ring to reappear at any second.

“What about you two?” Sunny asked the pair, still holding his hands in front of him. “You guys want some of this?”

Confused and unsure what to do next, the brothers just looked at each other. I reached into Sunny’s flames and placed my hand on his shoulder. The fire was warm and tingled but did not burn me.

“It’s fine, Sunny,” I assured him as I squeezed his shoulder. “I don’t want this. It shouldn’t be happening, especially not on my account. Please.”

The pair looked at me, then back at each other, contemplating their next move. A menace that wasn’t planning to fight back confused them.

Before Sunny or the brothers could decide, Kaylec crashed through the wall and barreled towards us with his wings spread like a jetfighter going in for the kill.

“Enough!”

An explosion of Askyli erupted between us, knocking everyone back on their asses. Poor Sunny slammed into me and ended up between my legs when we hit the ground. I’m sure he felt my cock pressing against his lower back, but we were so dazed that we didn’t think to move. The wave of energy expanded outwards from its center like a twister poised to consume everything in its path. Lucky for us, it was nothing so nefarious.

The Askyli enveloped the whole room, but it dissipated soon after, leaving the bathroom as pristine as it was when I first walked in. The lights flickered for a moment, then stayed on permanently. There, in the epicenter of it all, was Eolaeis, and he didn’t look happy. He stood sideways, not looking at either party, until Kaylec got up and charged toward us again. Eolaeis took a single step to face Kaylec, and that simple action was enough to stop him in his tracks, for Eolaeis’ muscular body became an impassable barricade.

There were two entrances to the showers, and several brothers had gathered to see what was going on. I saw Zac looking on, and I could tell he was genuinely concerned. He didn’t know what to make of all this craziness.

Sunny kind of wiggled against me before looking back over his shoulder. “Is that your…”

“What else could be down there, Sunny?” I whispered as I shook my head.

“Okay, I want us to get close, but you’re moving a little too fast for me.”

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?”

He snickered as he bounced back up to his feet and then turned to help me up. The humor wasn’t lost on me, but seriously, how could he make jokes at a time like this? When Sunny saw Zac, he got serious and offered him a warm smile from across the room to reassure him everything was fine. The three of us then focused on the showdown in the middle of the bathroom.

Finally, after staring each other down for several minutes, Kaylec spoke first.

“Get out of my way!” he said thru clenched teeth. He balled his fist as if ready to strike, but something told me Kaylec wasn’t prepared to take it that far. His aggressive stance was born of frustration more than anything else.

When Eolaeis didn’t respond, Kaylec only got more agitated. “Move!”

“Back away, Kaylec,” Eolaeis said calmly. His even tone appeared friendly on the surface, but there was an intensity to his posture that only a fool would ignore. He was like a snow-covered mountain that could give way to an avalanche at the slightest disturbance.

Kaylec, who was right in his face, took several steps back.

I just wanted some clothes at this point.

Kaylec was about to continue his demands when ribbons of Askyli suddenly appeared around all of us, and before he could utter his next syllable, they whisked us away. Darkness surrounded me like a blanket, and then there was nothing. It’s a strange sensation. It felt like I was standing perfectly still while everything around me moved at incalculable speeds. Rollercoasters come to mind but pale in comparison to El’odian transportation. It was an interesting contrast as well to be shrouded in darkness versus being bathed in Q’s light.

Moments later, we appeared in Raz’s office. I stood next to Sunny and Eolaeis on one side of the room, while Kaylec and his two cohorts stood on the other.

My first thought was, who in the hell brought us there? Was it Eolaeis? Or maybe Raz? I was confident it wasn’t Kaylec.

My second thought was, fuck, I’m still naked! I breathed a sigh of relief when I looked down and realized I wasn’t. I wore gray sweatpants, a white t-shirt, and sandals. No underwear again. I couldn’t help but wonder whom I had to thank for the clothes.

Razual sat in his chair, elbows on the desk with his fingers pressed together as he looked between the two groups. His hat was to the side, confirming my suspicions that he was, in fact, bald. He knitted his brows together as he looked at us. The disappointment and frustration in his eyes were evident.

After what seemed like forever, Razual’s eyes locked onto Kaylec, and to Kaylec’s credit, I couldn’t tell if he was scared in the least. I can best describe the look on his face as indifferent defiance. Like everything that happened in the showers was an everyday occurrence in The Club, and he didn’t understand why he was sent to the principal’s office.

“What, pray tell, is your malfunction, Kaylec?” Razual finally asked.

“My malfunction?” he challenged, stepping up to the desk in a huff and then pointing at me. “You are the ones who are sleepwalking around this threat. I intend to uncover his objective before it’s too late.”

“What are you talking about?” Sunny asked as he threw his hands up.

“You lied to me, Sundryn!” Kaylec shouted. “Not thirty minutes ago, when Razual asked how the link with,” he paused, looked at me, unwilling to say my name, “this one went, you confessed that he never linked, and yet you told me he had. Lies.”

Kaylec’s revelation shocked me, and I gave Sunny a look that made it clear I wasn’t happy about it. Obviously, that was my visceral reaction, but when the logical side of my brain took over, I understood his reasoning. It’s one thing to lie to Kaylec to protect me; it’s something else entirely to lie to your leader about something as important as us linking. After thinking it thru, I know I would have done the same if it was Q sitting in that chair questioning me.

“So, I lied to you,” Sunny responded; his sarcastic tone didn’t go over well with Kaylec. “Can ya blame me?”

“Yes, Sundryn! You lied to your brother!”

“I lied to protect my brother!” Sunny countered. “From the moment you saw Jacob here, you’ve had a major hardon for him.”

Looking away from Sunny, Kaylec twisted his face in disgust. “Don’t be vulgar!”

“What else would you call it?” Sunny asked. “I guess psychotic obsession works too, but regardless of the words we use, I knew you’d go off the rails if I told you the truth. Which, by the way, you proved flawlessly downstairs.” Sunny did a chef’s kiss to add flare to his commentary. “So, instead of being pissed at me for lying, I suggest you look inside yourself to figure out why I needed to lie to you in the first place.”

It was an expert take-down, and I was there for it.

Kaylec didn’t have a comeback, so he ignored Sunny’s excellent points. “He’s been in the hands of the enemy. We have no idea what they did to him or where his loyalties lie.”

“I am Skai!” I said finally. The sound of his voice began to grate on my nerves. “I’m here, aren’t I? I came out of a desire to be with my own people. Doesn’t that say something about my loyalties?”

“That means nothing,” Kaylec scoffed and rolled his eyes as he looked back at Razual.

“Have you lost your mind?” Eolaeis spoke and his voice, as gentle as it was, took me by surprise. “The words of a fellow Skai mean nothing to you? Nothing?” He sounded genuinely disheartened by Kaylec’s attitude toward me. “Do you hear yourself?”

“It means nothing when it comes from someone who shared the bed of our greatest enemy.” Slowly, Kaylec turned his head to face me; the daggers were almost visible in his eyes. “And we’re not talking about bedding some random Naverian, though that would be enough to warrant suspicion; no, we’re talking about none other than Qua’quelle himself.”

Hearing Kaylec say Q’s name with such disdain made me want to play baseball with his head. Pass me the bat, coach; I’m going for a home run!

“How can you be so dismissive of what that means?” Kaylec demanded, looking between Eolaeis and Raz. They allowed Kaylec to continue his rant without interruption. “Presumably, he was fucking Qua’quelle!”

“Fuck you!”

I wanted Raz to lay the smack down on him, but he remained silent.

Kaylec was like the matador antagonizing the bull, and I fucking lost it. I charged at him in a rage that blinded me to everything else around me. All I wanted was to get my hands around his neck, but that fantasy wouldn’t come to be. Eolaeis wrapped his arm around my chest and pulled me back into him. I struggled against Eolaeis, trying to free myself while dropping an unhealthy amount of F-bombs and other colorful words my mom didn’t like. Even Sunny struggled to figure out what I was trying to say.

“Okay, that one I got,” Sunny exclaimed and snapped his fingers, “but Kaylec doesn’t have a mother, so I’m not sure how it would work.”

The two brothers behind Kaylec chuckled.

“Calm yourself, Jacob,” Eolaeis whispered, pressing his lips to my ear. “This is not the way.”

I don’t know what it was about his melodic tone, but it was enough to douse the flames burning in the pit of my stomach. I stopped struggling and grabbed his arm while resting back against his chest for a moment.

“Are you okay now?” he asked, his words laced with brotherly love and concern. I recognized it because it was like having Arsen whisper in my ear.

I nodded, and Eolaeis slowly released me in Sunny’s direction.

“He proved my point flawlessly.” He mimicked Sunny’s chef’s kiss sarcastically, unbothered by my rant and desire to rip his head off. “He lost it when I insult his beloved Qua’quelle. A real Skai wouldn’t care. He clearly has feelings for Qua’quelle, but I’m supposed to believe he’s on our side? Really?”

He laid the trap, and I fell for it. I felt like an idiot.

Razual’s honey eyes were on me for a moment before Kaylec pulled his attention back to him.

“I demand that he link with me so I can get to the bottom of why he’s really here.”

“I. I. I,” Eolaeis stated. “Who do you think you are, Kaylec? Or, more importantly, who do you think we are? We don’t force our people to link against their wishes. The Sanctum has no right to Jacob’s memories or experiences. Those are his to give, not ours to take. Jacob decides when he’s ready to join his very essence with The Sanctum, as it’s been since we first received Skailer’s gift. You would sully the link’s meaning to satisfy your ego?” Eolaeis shook his head. “You disappoint me, brother. Truly.”

“Yes!” Kaylec shouted without equivocation. “I will do whatever is necessary to ensure my brothers' and The Sanctum's safety. Have you forgotten Troy and how that city fell? They opened their gates to an enemy because they accepted an offering without question. We were there, Eolaeis, or have you forgotten that too? You would doom us to the same fate.”

“The Trojan War?” Sunny bellowed, looking around exasperated. “Are you fucking serious right now? You’re bringing up that old chestnut?”

“I’ve heard enough,” Razual finally spoke; his tone was even and measured.

“No, you haven’t! I….”

“Be silent!” Raz interjected; his voice rose only slightly, but it was enough to make me, Sunny, and the two brothers with Kaylec jump a little. “You dare come into my house and attack a fellow brother under my protection, and….” He paused, shaking his head in disbelief at the words coming out of his mouth. “I don’t know what has gotten into you, Kaylec, but you seem to be under the false impression that you’re above The Sanctum’s governing laws. You’re not. In fact, you seem to be under the impression that because your brother is a Prince of The Sanctum, it somehow gives you power. You’re mistaken, Kaylec. It doesn’t. But you know what’s most troubling to me? Your misguided assumption that you rule over this Club. You don’t!”

“Razual, listen….”

“Last time we spoke, I told you if you went around me again, there would be consequences.” Sitting back in his chair, Raz extended his hands out to the side. “Yet, here we are. You should know by now that I don’t make empty threats, Kaylec.”

“Razual….”

“Until I am satisfied that you’ve regained your senses and can treat all our brothers with the respect and dignity they deserve, you are immediately banished from this club!” Kaylec was about to complain, but Raz kept going. “And consider yourself lucky I didn’t ban you from my city. The only reason I’m not is out of respect for Zenial and the fact that he lives and works out of Hartford.”

“You can’t do this, Razual. My brother will never allow it.” Kaylec looked at everyone in the room before he continued. “As you said, he is a Prince of The Sanctum, and once he learns of your foolish decision, he will overrule you.” He placed his fists on the table and leaned in toward Raz. “Such is his power.”

Raz nodded sarcastically, which annoyed Kaylec.

“You dare mock him?” Kaylec demanded.

“Of course not,” Raz laughed and pointed at Kaylec. “I mock you. But to be fair, your words are not without merit. You’re right, Kaylec, Zenial can overrule me, and I would obey his decision. He is my Prince, and I serve at his pleasure.”

I could see the smirk slowly spreading across that fucker’s face. I wanted to punch Kaylec. But more importantly, again they mentioned ‘the Prince.’ I had so many questions.

“That’s the difference between you and me,” Raz continued. “I understand we all have our roles to play within The Sanctum and that there’s a clear chain of command we all must adhere to, but you…you fancy yourself above it all because of who your brother is.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what happened to you, Kaylec, but that’s a question for another day.” Raz leaned back in his chair. “Zenial and I had a very long conversation in Ski-Tech.”

He stopped talking and allowed that little tidbit to linger in the air. I’m not a mind reader; well, that’s not exactly true; I’m not a mind-reader yet. Regardless, I had a feeling Raz did it to fuck with him. I could see the wheels turning in Kaylec’s head, wondering about this “conversation,” and his tough exterior began to crack. His two friends looked at each other. They looked like they’d been caught cheating off each other’s tests. Clearly, they weren’t as skilled at hiding their panic as Kaylec.

“What about?” Kaylec was forced to give in and ask.

“You, in fact,” Raz responded with a smile. “Believe it or not, we had a suspicious feeling you’d react this way. Zenial made it clear he had no intention of interfering with how I run my Club. So if you think Zenial will be on your side on this, you’re mistaken. Again. I decide who is welcomed within these walls, and you no longer are, Kaylec.”

After a long while of us staring at each other, Kaylec simply shrugged.

“I’m not leaving here until I get some answers.” His eyes turned as black as tar. “So, unless you plan to force me out,” Kaylec turned to look at Eolaeis briefly before returning his attention to Razual, “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Unbelievable,” Sunny whispered.

I also couldn’t believe his defiance. He was so in your face about it. Even the two guys that were with him looked stunned. Did he distrust me that much? Did he hate Q so much that he would go against the wishes of his own brothers? I couldn’t wrap my head around it. I couldn’t imagine a brother standing before Q in such a disrespectful manner. The only guy to come close was punched across a field.

Raz appeared unbothered by his proclamations. In fact, a little smile played on his lips.

“Unlike you, Kaylec, I don’t relish the idea of fighting against one of my brothers needlessly. But let us be clear.” Raz stood as his eyes went just as dark. “Under different circumstances, I would be dragging you out of here by your wings for disobeying me.” After a moment, he sat back down and his eyes returned to their chestnut hue. “But not today.”

“Then I suppose we’re at an impasse because I’m staying,” Kaylec said, his tone as defiant as ever.

“Not exactly,” Raz said. “I told you, I had a conversation.”

I heard something cracking around us. Everyone, except Raz and Eolaeis, looked around for the source. It was getting louder.

“The ceiling,” one of the brothers said and pointed up.

He was right. Cracks appeared in the ceiling like fissures from an earthquake. But this was no earthquake. A thick black mist poured out from the webbed surface until a dark pool was formed and covered the entire ceiling. I expected black droplets to rain down on us, but instead, the mist waves calmed like a tranquil pond.

“No,” Kaylec whispered and took a step back.

A black chain shot out from the mist and wrapped around Kaylec’s wrist.

“No!” This time he shouted as a second and third chain coiled around his waist and leg. “Don’t do this! Zenial, no!”

Zenial?

Sunny and I looked at each other briefly. We were both intrigued and terrified, for this played out like a scene from a horror movie. Three more chains took hold of Kaylec as he yelled, NOOOO, and was pulled into the darkness.

The silence was immediate, as if sound itself was pulled into the void. The dark mist churned and twisted like water after a cannonball, but eventually, the tranquility returned.

“Fucking epic….” I don’t think Sunny realized he spoke out loud.

Sunny and I slowly turned our heads to the two brothers standing there, who were probably wondering the same thing. Were they next? They would’ve been shitting their pants by now if it was possible. They looked absolutely horrified.

“Is he….is he….” One of the brothers tried to speak, but his mouth failed him.

“He’s not dead.” Sunny proclaimed as if he was the authority on what we had just witnessed. “At least I don’t think so….” He looked between Raz and Eolaeis. “Is he?”

“Of course not,” Raz answered, and rolled his eyes. “Zenial wanted words.”

“I guess that’s one way to get rid of an unwanted houseguest.” Pursing his lips, Sunny nodded his approval.

“Well,” Eolaeis turned his attention to the pair, “Liam, Elijah, do you chuckleheads have anything to say for yourselves?

“And make it good,” Sunny whispered while pointing at the ceiling, “someone is listening.”

“Sunny, you’re not helping,” Raz chastised, giving him the ‘settle down’ look.

“True,” he confessed, “but am I wrong?”

Immediately, Liam and Elijah started talking over each other, trying to explain themselves.

“One at a time,” Eolaeis said, folding his arms over his broad chest.

After looking at each other, Elijah, the taller of the two, spoke first.

“We didn’t think this would go as far as it did,” he said, his bright blue eyes conveying his sincerity. “We would never have gone along with it. I swear.”

“Why did you follow Kaylec?” Raz’s desire to understand quickly replaced his anger. His voice softened a bit. “You received the Gift less than two months ago, and you’re already getting caught up in nonsense.”

Elijah glanced at Liam before continuing. “Kaylec told us there was a potential spy in The Club. A possible traitor that.…that….”

“That what?” Raz asked.

“That was in bed with Qua’quelle,” Liam added, shyly looking at me. “Like….literally.”

I was instantly annoyed.

“Yeah, so, if true, we wanted answers,” Elijah continued. “I thought Kaylec was planning to talk to Akuzio. Just ask him some questions.”

“Me too.”

“Why would you even consider going on this witch hunt?” Raz asked. “If you thought there was a problem, you need to bring that to me or someone like Eolaeis. Especially for something as serious as a spy amongst us, which has never happened by the way. You never attack one of our own, guns blazing without evidence.”

“Guns were not meant to be blazing!” Liam insisted. “And he’s Kaylec. Of course, we wanted to help him. He’s been around The Club forever and has helped us a ton. Not to mention his brother is Zenial, so that instantly makes him a big deal, right or wrong, especially to us newer Skai.”

“To be fair to these chucklefucks,” Sunny chimed in, “when….”

“Sunny, that’s uncalled for,” Eolaeis scolded.

“What? You called them chucklefucks.”

“He called them chuckleheads,” Raz corrected him with a raised brow.

“Oh,” he mused, “sorry, I heard chucklefucks for some reason. Anyway, my point is that they didn't do anything when Kaylec went nuts downstairs. They looked more like deer in the headlights.”

“Look, we’re sorry,” Elijah offered. “We never wanted this to happen.”

Gesturing between himself and Raz, Eolaeis said, “we’re not the ones owed an apology.”

“You’re right,” they conceded.

Elijah kept his head down for a moment before looking at me. “Akuzio, I’m sorry for everything. I never wanted you to get hurt. I know you’re new here and just woke up, so I’m sorry if I made you feel unwelcome.”

“Me too,” Liam added. “Kaylec went too far, and I wish I was never involved. I stand by all my brothers, and that includes you too. Please, forgive me…us.”

The moment they apologized, the dark mist was sucked back into the fissures, and the cracks sealed themselves, making it appear as if nothing had happened.

“It’s okay, guys; there’s nothing to forgive. You didn’t do anything to me. This was all on Kaylec, so don’t beat yourselves up over it.”

“Thank you,” they said in unison.

“Okay, you guys can head out,” Eolaeis said. “We need to speak with Jacob, but I’ll be following up with you two later tonight. You hear me?”

“Yes, sir,” again they spoke in one voice.

The two were about to walk out the door when Elijah stopped and walked over to me. He offered me his hand, and when I went to take it, he grabbed my forearm and pulled me close so he could press his forehead against mine.

“I’m sorry. Truly.”

“It’s okay,” I whispered.

“Welcome home, brother,” Elijah smiled.

Liam did the same thing before they left.

Eolaeis glanced at Sunny before looking at me. “We can leave and give you and Razual some privacy if you like.”

Scrunching his face, Sunny gave Eolaeis a look that said, why would I want to leave?

“It’s fine; I don’t mind if you both stay,” I snickered at Sunny.

Without invitation, Sunny was quick to take a seat. He folded his arms and legs as he awaited the details that were sure to follow.

“Please, have a seat, Jacob,” Raz offered, then shook his head at Sunny.

Eolaeis remained standing between the two chairs, his arms folded like a sentry standing guard.

“First, I need to apologize to you.” Raz’s opening remark took me by surprise. “Your awakening, something joyous and worthy of celebration, has been marred thanks to the actions of one individual.”

“He means Kaylec,” Sunny added, leaning toward me as if I didn’t know who Raz meant.

“Yes, thank you, Sunny,” he said; the sarcasm was unmistakable.

Sunny gave Raz a salute and a nod.

“I should have been here to ensure a smooth transition from your old life to your new life. That’s on me, and for that, I’m truly sorry. But please know that my absence was not due to a lack of interest in your well-being. Regrettably, my duties forced me to be away during your awakening; otherwise, I would have been there to greet you with Eolaeis.”

“I went in his place,” Sunny said with pride, leaning toward me again.

“After he begged Razual to let him go,” Eolaeis added with a smirk.

“Hey, I wouldn’t say I begged,” Sunny protested. “More like...aggressively volunteered.”

“The point is I should’ve been here, Jacob, so again, I’m sorry.”

“I understand,” I nodded. I felt weird having a leader of the Skai, this powerful being, sitting there apologizing to me. “You don’t need to apologize. None of this is your fault. It’s not anyone’s fault.”

“Well…” That was all Sunny said.

“Nevertheless,” Raz continued, “if there’s anything I can do to make it up to you or make your stay here more comfortable, please, don’t hesitate to ask. Deal?”

“Deal.”

“In the interest of full transparency, I want you to know that once I got back from Ski-Tech, I called Sunny into my office so he could give me a preliminary report on how you’re adjusting to this new reality. It’s standard procedure and has nothing to do with you specifically.”

Eolaeis nodded as if confirming his statement in case I had any doubts. I didn’t, but I appreciated his affirmation nonetheless.

“Kaylec insisted on being present for Sunny’s report,” Raz continued. “Had I known he would become unhinged, I would never have allowed it.”

“He means lose his fucking mind,” Sunny amended.

“I asked Sunny how the link with you went, and that’s when he confessed that at your request, he never linked.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry, Jacob,” Sunny said, sitting up to face me. “It’s one thing to lie to Kaylec, which already felt wrong because he’s my brother, but I could never lie to Raz.”

“I totally get it, Sunny,” I said as I reached over and patted his arm. “I appreciate you covering for me with Kaylec, but I would never expect you to lie to someone like Raz or Eolaeis.”

A sense of relief washed over Sunny’s face. He smiled and leaned back against his chair.

“Sunny also gave me a brief overview of your past, which we will discuss shortly. But first, how are you doing?”

“Um….what do you mean?”

Raz laughed. “I want to know how you’re doing, Jacob. This isn’t a trick question.”

“I’m fine….” I shrugged. “It’s only been a few hours, and I admit it takes some getting used to, but aside from minor hiccups, I have no complaints.”

“Minor hiccups, he says,” Sunny snickered.

“Everyone has been great,” I ignored Sunny and continued. “As you said, I just got here, so I haven’t had a chance to meet with many of my fellow brothers. I’m sure that will happen naturally over the coming days. Sunny is….okay, I guess.”

“Seriously?!”

“I’m kidding!” I laughed. “Sunny is amazing, and I couldn’t have asked for a better brother to help me out.” I looked at Sunny reassuringly. “Really, you’ve been great.”

“You hear that, Raz?” Sunny proudly held up three fingers. “Three weeks in, and I’m amazing.”

“I never doubted you, Sundryn,” Raz assured him.

“Well….” Eolaeis teased.

“Hey now, you’re the one who gave me your Umbra, so you saw something in me too. Don’t deny it now. Besides, it’s too late to take it back.”

Eolaeis’ smile said everything.

“I’m glad to hear your experience hasn’t all been negative,” Raz said.

“Not at all,” I reassured him.

“Good,” Raz smiled. “Now, tell me about yourself.”

Like his first question, this also took me by surprise. “I don’t understand.”

“The questions only get harder from here, Jacob,” Raz laughed as he sat back. “Just tell me about yourself. According to Sunny, you actually came out of the ground ten years ago. Why don’t you start there? Tell me about that experience and the family who found you. I want to hear it all if you don't mind.”

I took a deep breath and a moment to collect my thoughts before going into the details of my life. I shared how I woke up naked and alone in the woods. How the sound of the van speeding away haunted my dreams for many years. How my fathers gave their lives to preserve mine. How my mother’s loving embrace that first night made me feel safe. Everything. There was no point in holding anything back at this point.

Raz got into the weeds of my life. He wanted to know about my middle and high school experiences. The part-time jobs I worked. He was even curious about Aaron, my best friend from back home, and my relationship with Alexandria. Nothing was off the table. And even though he asked his questions, he allowed me to tell my story at my own pace and without making me feel uncomfortable. That made it easier to open up about my past.

I talked for over an hour about growing up in Maine with my adopted family. I stopped before getting into my college life, but I knew those questions would come.

“Interesting,” Raz mused. He got up and paced behind his desk several times before turning to me. “And in all that time, you had no idea what you were?”

“Not a clue.”

“Speaking of clues, your powers never manifested in any way that might have suggested you were different?”

“Nope.”

“But surely you were injured as a child?” Eolaeis inquired.

“More times than I’d like to admit.” I stopped to think about my childhood for a moment. “Okay, now that I look back at things thru an El’odian lens, I remember my mom being amazed at how quickly I recovered when I got sick or hurt. I remember a nasty flu strain was going around once, and we all got it. It knocked my parents on their asses for more than a week, while I only had a running nose for like twenty-four hours. Things like that happened, but I was a kid; what in the hell did I know?”

“Understandable,” Razual said and sat back down. “And you are certain your fathers used their Askyli to keep you alive over the countless millennia we slept?”

“Yes, that’s the impression I got when I first awoke,” I answered, wondering why he was looking at me the way he was. “They sacrificed themselves for me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here, right?”

Raz and Eolaeis shared a look.

“I know,” Eolaeis said softly.

“What?” I asked.

“Yes, what?” Sunny added and sat up so his butt was on the edge of his seat. “What do we know?”

“It’s unusual to save a child in such a way,” Eolaeis answered, rubbing his chin with his hand.

“I don’t understand,” I confessed. “What are you saying?”

“As an El’odian, you were born a mortal, as we all were, such is our biology,” Raz said. “Obviously, you would have died eons ago had your parents not intervened. In fact, many fathers had to go to ground after the Great Calamity with their mortal sons to keep them alive, which they did. But it did not cost them their lives.” He paused to look at Eolaeis again. “The way your parents went about it is puzzling to us.”

“I don’t understand. Why?”

Raz looked around the room for something, then snapped his fingers with an ‘oh yeah’ expression on his face. He pulled a red apple from his top drawer. Holding up the apple in the air until it had my attention, he released it and made it hover in place.

“Let’s say this is an El’odian child,” he began.

“Sweet, can I have your child when you’re done with it?” Sunny interrupted.

Ignoring Sunny, Raz waved his hand around the apple, and a dark sphere appeared, encircling it. “Inside that field, I could stop time, almost entirely if I wanted to. A hundred thousand years to us would be about a second to the apple. As long as I’m alive and conscious of my creation, I can maintain the time barrier around the apple indefinitely and with little effort. That’s how fathers kept their sons alive during the Great Slumber.”

“They froze them in time, essentially,” I offered.

“Exactly,” Raz nodded. “The most significant drain on them would be using their Askyli to keep themselves alive thru the eons. This is why we usually wake in a weakened condition. But your fathers did not freeze you in time for some reason.” The field collapsed, and the apple dropped into Raz’s hand. He tossed it to Sunny. “That’s what I have difficulty understanding.”

“Hold on,” Sunny interjected, looking between Raz and Eolaeis. “Are you telling me we can control time? How do I not know about this?”

“The knowledge is still unfolding in your mind, Sunny,” Raz explained. “Besides, using such power is forbidden to all El’odians. It was only in desperation to save our children that it was allowed to be used. Small-scale use, like creating a field around a newborn, is manageable. Anything more significant can have disastrous consequences—something we found out the hard way during a battle. We are still dealing with the effects today, which is why the practice of manipulating time was banned by both sides eons ago.”

“What did you guys do?” Sunny asked as he munched on the apple.

“The Bermuda Triangle,” Raz said. “That was us.”

“What your parents did makes no sense.” Eolaeis’ comment brought the attention back to me. “The answer could lie in your fathers’ memories. Those memories should’ve slowly come to you when you first awoke. Do they tell nothing of their reasoning?”

“Holy shit!” Sunny shouted and nearly jumped out of his chair. “The Bremuda Triangle? You’re talking about The Rift! That was us?”

“Both sides bear responsibility,” Raz corrected. “Hence the agreed ban, but enough about that. Jacob, please continue.”

Slowly Sunny sank back into his chair, his thoughts caught up with whatever him and Raz were talking about.

“I don’t have my parent’s memories,” I confessed hesitantly.

“What?” Eolaeis exclaimed and looked at Raz briefly before looking back at me. “That’s not possible. That’s a natural part of our awakening.”

“I….I don’t know,” I stammered and shrugged. “I can feel them there like they’re stuck behind a wall, but they’re not trying to come through slowly….more like a Tsunami.”

“It causes him pain,” Sunny said gravely, looking at the two for answers.

“You’re in pain?” Raz asked earnestly.

“No. No, nothing like that,” I assured them both. “I’m fine. Sometimes when trying to use my powers or just hearing someone speak El’odian brings it on, but I swear, it’s not constant, and I’m perfectly fine right now.”

“What does it feel like?” Raz asked.

“Honestly? Like a hot poker is going through my eye socket.”

“That’s troubling,” Raz said as he looked at Sunny. He’s probably mentally yelling at him for not telling them sooner.

“I agree,” Eolaeis said. “That has never happened before in the history of our people.”

“So, you guys don’t know what’s wrong with him?” Sunny asked.

“No, but there is someone who might,” Eolaeis considered while rubbing his chin again. “We’ll have to go see The Great Mother.”

“Yes!” Sunny damn near shouted again as he reached over to slap my arm. “I hear her cookies….amazing!”

“I’ve had them,” I snickered.

“So, you know exactly what I’m talking about?” Sunny was getting way too excited for these fucking cookies. I mean, they were deliciously good, but still.

“That’s going to have to wait a day or two.” Raz was quick to burst Sunny’s bubble. “As long as you’re telling me you’re truly okay, Akuz…Jacob?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“In the meantime, I’ll ask around to see if anyone in The Sanctum has encountered this before.”

“Why wait?” Sunny asked. “I can take him there myself if you want. It will give me the chance to meet The Great Mother.”

“Pretty sure you just want the cookies,” I said under my breath.

“I never claimed otherwise,” he whispered back.

“The Great Mother is occupied at the moment,” Raz answered.

“Really? How do you know that?” Sunny asked.

Raz shifted his eyes to Sunny, and with that single look, he retracted his question with a “never mind.” I’ve seen that look many times in the TBH house, and the message was clear. You don’t question Raz.

“With that said, Jacob, if something changes and things get bad for you the next day or so, you must tell me immediately. Agreed?”

I nodded.

“May I ask you something personal, Jacob?”

Again, I nodded, thinking, oh boy…

“Why do you not want to link?” He held out his open palm toward me. “The choice, of course, is yours, and I would never dream of suggesting otherwise. I’m just trying to understand.”

I was silent for a long while, staring at them. I’m sure it looked like I was planning my escape. And maybe I was, just a little, but in the end, I knew there was no way out.

“Can I ask you something first?”

“Sure.”

“Has every Skai that lived throughout our millions of years of history always linked?”

“That’s a fair question,” Raz conceded. “Honestly, no. It’s exceedingly rare, but there have been those who wanted to keep their thoughts private. They merge their Askyli with others but keep themselves closed off, so no information gets exchanged.”

“Then why bother merging if they’re not sharing anything.”

“Merging our Askyli is more than just sharing experiences, memories, or emotions,” Eolaeis said as he pressed his hand to his chest. “We link to feel connected to one another in a way speech or touch could never convey. Mortals speak of love and think they feel it for one another, but they don’t, not really, not the way we experience it when we become one. The love, the friendship, the sense of belonging all become real….it becomes tangible.”

Raz slowly nodded his agreement before he spoke again. “When someone doesn’t want to link, we seek to understand why.”

“I’m not going to lie; that does sound amazing,” I confessed before falling silent again. I could see Sunny looking at me from the corner of my eye. “Look at Sunny.” I gestured toward him with a smile. “He’s what? Nineteen or twenty years old? It’s not a long life by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s his life. He knows exactly who he is and where he came from. The person sitting here craving The Great Mother’s cookies is the culmination of twenty years of experiences, memories, and interactions with family and friends, good or bad. He knows who he is. He knew who he was when he accepted the Dark Gift.”

“You don’t have that,” Raz said softly.

“No,” I confirmed. “I woke up that night in the woods without any idea of who or what I was. Not even my name. I had to fight through that trauma to build the person I am today, and I did it in less than ten years. From my understanding, accepting the memories, experiences, and the whole history of our culture can completely change someone. Am I right?”

“To varying degrees, but yes, people can and do change after linking.”

“I’m not ready to give up who I am after fighting like hell to get there. I know I’m Akuzio. I can’t give up Jacob.”

The room fell silent. Sunny could not take his eyes off me; he looked like he was desperately holding himself back from running over and hugging me.

“Well said,” Eolaeis finally broke the silence between us.

“Yes,” Raz smiled. “Just know that we are here for you always. If you ever change your mind or just want to experience that connection without losing yourself, we’re here.”

“Thank you.”

“Now, if you don’t mind, tell me about Kingsland and how you ended up a pledge of The Brotherhood.”

“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “There’s not much to tell. I applied, got accepted, drove there, met my roommate, and got an envelope with an invitation to pledge The Brotherhood…I got in, made it to the end, and became a Brother…I awoke, fire and black wings, and here I am.” It all came out in one breath.

“You actually became a Brother?” Sunny asked, stunned.

“Yep.”

“Jacob….” Raz began to speak, but I interrupted him.

“Look, I get it. The fact I came from The Brotherhood has everyone freaking out, and maybe you’re hoping I was privy to some top secret Naverian information, but I’m sorry to tell you, I wasn’t. Remember, guys, I’m just a guy who came to Kingsland University as a freshman looking to pledge a fraternity. I had no idea I was Skai, and they certainly didn’t. Otherwise, I don’t think I would’ve received the envelope. I was a pledge in that house. They put us all thru the meatgrinder, and I came out a Brother in the end. There was nothing special about me.”

“Forgive us, Jacob, but you caught the eye of Qua’quelle,” Eolaeis said. “That in itself is special. I’ve known him since before The Great Calamity. Our blades crossed paths on more than one occasion. He’s fierce, unrelenting, and utterly devoted to his people, which is why he’s never had a love interest in the past. At least not to my knowledge. A warrior like Qua’quelle would see it as a distraction, a weakness that could be exploited, and yet he picked you.”

“He didn’t pick me, Eolaeis,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I wasn’t some fruit he grabbed from a basket while shopping for groceries.”

“Apologies, I meant no offense.” The sincerity in his voice made me feel stupid. “I was merely trying to point out that you are special.”

That made me feel worse.

“I’m sorry, Eolaeis, I didn’t mean to snap at you. I’m trying to say that, as unusual as our pairing was, there was nothing more special between us than any two guys dating each other. We were boyfriends. I was the plain-Jane human boyfriend, and he was this otherworldly god-like being. Typical college stuff. End of story.”

“Fair enough,” Raz laughed, “but can you at least tell us the circumstance of your awakening?”

This one was tricky. I had no desire to lie to Raz or Eolaeis, but I couldn’t tell them I awoke after I took in Q’s Anavi because that should have killed me. I don’t know what the implications of that were or what it all means, but I sure as hell wasn’t ready to jump into it with them.

Let’s just say I choose to remember things differently.

“Sure,” I shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. “I was with Q talking about my classes when I dropped a glass of water. I was picking up the pieces against his wishes and cut my hand.” I slid my finger across my palm to illustrate. “He came over with his glowy hand to heal me, and the second his light touched my wound, it burned. The pain triggered something inside me because suddenly flames were shooting out of my back, and I had wings. When Q got close, I blasted him across the room, flew out of the room, and met up with you guys.”

“Holy shit!” Sunny exclaimed with a laugh. “You blasted Qua’quelle?”

“Sure did,” I replied, trying hard to hide how sick that made me feel.

“You’re lucky you got out of there when you did,” Raz said seriously.

“Right?” Sunny agreed. “He probably would have killed you!”

Okay, slow your roll, Sunny…

“Or worse,” he continued, “he could’ve captured you as a spy and tortured you for information.”

“Yeah, I get it, Sunny!” I said.

“Or maybe he would’ve….”

“That’s enough, Sundryn,” Raz interjected on my behalf, and I wondered if he could see how uncomfortable I was. “In fact, that’s enough questions for now.”

“That’s it?” I asked skeptically, looking at him sideways.

“That’s it,” he repeated. “I’m sure more questions will come, especially when you meet with Zenial tomorrow.”

“Wait, that’s still happening?” I questioned and pointed at the ceiling. “I thought with Kaylec being sucked into the abyss, it wasn’t going to happen anymore.”

“Oh, it’s happening,” Raz assured me with a laugh. “Trust me, no one in this room is foolish enough to cancel on Ms. Cynthia.”

Eolaeis laughed and slapped my shoulder before saying his goodbyes and being the first to leave.

“Thanks for sitting down with us, Jacob,” Raz smiled and offered me a handshake. “We’ll talk again soon.”

“Tomorrow, apparently,” I joked.

“True,” he laughed. “If there’s anything you need, please let me know.”

I nodded and headed out with Sunny following close behind, which was unfortunate as I stopped by the door, causing him to crash into me.

“What gives?” he asked, giving me a gentle push to move me along.

Turning around, I pushed past Sunny and walked back to Razual’s desk. He looked at me curiously as he stood and placed his hand on his hip.

“Is there something else, Jacob?”

“Yes….” I stood there looking at him, unsure how he would take what I was about to say.

“Yes?”

Taking a deep breath, I blurted it out as I wrung my hands. “I plan on going back to school tomorrow.”

Raz and Sunny looked at each other and then started laughing.

“Good one, buddy,” Sunny said, slapping me in the back. “Come on, let’s get out of Raz’s hair.” He looked at his bald head. “Oh wait.…”

The problem was I wasn’t laughing.

Raz looked into my eyes. “You’re serious?”

“Very.”

“You’re nuts is more like it,” Sunny said and slapped my back again, a little harder this time. “You can’t go back there. KU is Nave central.”

“He’s right, Jacob; I can’t allow you to go back there. You’re not one of them anymore. It would be too dangerous.”

“It’s not about being one of them; it’s about my life. The life I fought for.”

“A life with an expiration date if you walk back in there,” Sunny added his usual flare. “Why do you want to go back to school anyway? You don’t need a human education anymore. It’s not like you’re going to be an accountant somewhere.”

Flustered, I looked at Sunny. “It’s my life.” I’m sure Raz was going to object again, but I continued. “You said if there was anything I needed to feel more comfortable, to come to you. Well, I’m coming to you and asking you to let me have this. I’ll be fine.”

Raz looked at Sunny and then me. “Fine,” he conceded, “but you get out of there at the first sign of trouble. I don’t care if you have to fly thru the cafeteria ceiling. You get out, you hear me?”

I nodded and smiled.

“I can go with him to keep an eye on things,” Sunny offered.

“No! You said it yourself, it’s Nave central, and they don’t know you. That will for sure cause issues. I’ll be fine.”

Sunny looked at Raz in protest, but he dismissed his concerns with a wave. “Give him the names of some of our brothers that attend Kingsland in case something pops off,” Sunny demanded.

“We have brothers that go to Kingsland?” I was taken aback by this revelation, looking between the two for answers.

“Human brothers, Jacob,” Raz said. “I doubt the Nave know who they are, and even if they did, we have an agreement not to go after the humans in our ranks. As long as they keep their heads down and mind their business, they can attend KU unmolested.”

“And that works?” I asked, still shocked.

“It has for centuries,” Raz assured me. “There are places we control where human brothers of the Nave are allowed to enter so long as they follow the same rules. Our human brothers are off limits until they receive the Gift or take up arms against the other side. At that point, they forfeit their protection and become free game. This is why we have strict laws that prevent our human brothers from fighting the Nave in any capacity. I’m sure the Nave have similar restrictions on their brothers.”

“In that case, I don’t want to know who they are.”

“But….”

“Sunny, I don’t want to, one, expose them, and two, put them in harm’s way. For the tenth time, I’ll be fine.”

Sunny looked pissed. His lips parted as if to say something, but he turned and stormed off, stopping at the door to look at Raz. “This is a mistake, Razual!” He yelled, then disappeared down the hall.

I felt bad. This was not what I wanted. I know Sunny was only looking out for me, but this was something I needed to do.

“Thank you,” I said.

“Remember what we talked about. If a Nave even blinks at you twice, you’re out of there.”

“I got it.”

I left Raz’s office and headed up to my room. I wanted nothing more than to be alone now. Despite trying to keep my head down to go unnoticed, several brothers still stopped to welcome me home. When I finally got to my room, I looked at Sunny’s door and debated if I should knock to see if he was in there, but I decided against it and turned off the light before crashing on my bed.

Save for the faint blue light from the alarm clock, the room was pitch black. I was staring at the ceiling, wondering if I was doing the right thing, when I started thinking about Q. I could see his warm, silvery eyes looking back at me with all the love and affection that made me feel safe. I was adjusting to my new reality and wondering how he was doing. Did he still think of me?

As more of my thoughts were consumed with the man I loved, pearls of white light appeared just over my chest. They swirled and danced around each other like fireflies until they finally combined to form his brilliant feather. Its radiance illuminated the dark room and pushed away the shadows, and its warmth covered me like a blanket.

I smiled, for Q was still with me.

Within the light, I saw their faces. Arsen, Anthony, CJ, Pual – my crew. I wondered what they knew. How would they look at me? Is it possible they would still see me as a friend? Their family? Or were we doomed to be bitter enemies?

The inevitability of tomorrow was daunting, yet I was determined to face it head-on.