Suburban’s engine hummed back to life, and he pulled onto the road. Once again, we were on our way to the Tenth Circle where we were to meet the others. I had not put much thought into Deimos’ likely reaction to my abduction until that conversation and didn’t want Kidn and I wto put any more thought into him at all that evening. He was an ambush waiting to happen. An unavoidable fixture in my life.
Drew had vowed that he and the others would keep me safe and hidden from Ares until they knew better how to proceed, but I would not let them die in the process, only to see them again in the Underworld under the most unfortunate of circumstances. Surely they would go there upon their deaths when so many had fallen because of them. I could prevent that fate.
My eternal torment for theirs seemed a small price to pay.
6
“What took you guys so long?” Kierson shouted over the infernal music that blared around me, shaking my insides.
“Car problems,” Drew replied, eyeing me tightly. His look was a warning, though one I did not understand. If he perceived Deimos as an imminent threat, I could not fathom why he did not see fit to brief the others on all he had learned during the course of our drive. Before I could add to his explanation, he ushered me to the far corner of the upper deck that my brothers seemed to claim as their own whenever there. “Not now,” he warned. “This is not something to discuss in public. Names like that of the one who will come for you have power around certain beings. We do not need to unleash that so early on.” I nodded in agreement. “You wanted to see what we did tonight, and you will. But you will also see why we do it and who we do it to.”
“Meaning . . . ?”
“Meaning there is evil crawling all over this city, Khara. It’s overrun with it. I’m amazed the humans can even survive under such a cloak of darkness, but they do. Perhaps they’re more resilient than we give them credit for,” he informed me. “But more specifically, my point is that, because this evil is everywhere, you must use discretion when discussing matters of interest outside of our home or vehicle. Those have been protected . . . by magic. Pierson dabbles in it, though it is not his primary gift. Normally, you may speak freely if he is present. His paranoia, or what he prefers to call diligence, fuels his need to keep prying ears deaf to all conversations he is a party to. But in an effort not to tempt fate, we will not speak about the one who seeks you here, even though Pierson is present, understood?”
“Understood,” I replied, ruminating on what he had told me. “You said that magic is not his primary gift. What would his primary gift be, precisely?”
“It would be a matter to discuss in the aforementioned safe places,” Drew countered, a hint of his more jovial nature breaking through his armor.
Kierson bounded up behind us, throwing his arms around both Drew’s and my shoulders.
“Seriously, Drew. You’ve been hogging Khara all night. When do we get to show her our stuff?”
“Must you constantly be reminded that she’s your sister?” Casey lamented as he approached. “Your ‘stuff’ shouldn’t be making any appearances in her presence.”
“Don’t be such a dick. You know what I meant!”
“See. You can’t even go two seconds without referencing your anatomy—”
“I’m going to fucking whale on you,” Kierson shouted, lunging for Casey, who stood there smiling as though he’d gotten exactly the response he’d wanted.
“Is this what I’ve come to witness, Drew? This is what you do to maintain the balance?” I asked, feigning complete confusion.
“No. It isn’t,” he ground out through gritted teeth. “But it seems to be how I spend the majority of my time lately.” He flashed an intimidating gaze at the others. “You two, enough. Go back over to Pierson. Khara and I will be there in a minute.”
Kierson looked like a scolded child while
Drew had vowed that he and the others would keep me safe and hidden from Ares until they knew better how to proceed, but I would not let them die in the process, only to see them again in the Underworld under the most unfortunate of circumstances. Surely they would go there upon their deaths when so many had fallen because of them. I could prevent that fate.
My eternal torment for theirs seemed a small price to pay.
6
“What took you guys so long?” Kierson shouted over the infernal music that blared around me, shaking my insides.
“Car problems,” Drew replied, eyeing me tightly. His look was a warning, though one I did not understand. If he perceived Deimos as an imminent threat, I could not fathom why he did not see fit to brief the others on all he had learned during the course of our drive. Before I could add to his explanation, he ushered me to the far corner of the upper deck that my brothers seemed to claim as their own whenever there. “Not now,” he warned. “This is not something to discuss in public. Names like that of the one who will come for you have power around certain beings. We do not need to unleash that so early on.” I nodded in agreement. “You wanted to see what we did tonight, and you will. But you will also see why we do it and who we do it to.”
“Meaning . . . ?”
“Meaning there is evil crawling all over this city, Khara. It’s overrun with it. I’m amazed the humans can even survive under such a cloak of darkness, but they do. Perhaps they’re more resilient than we give them credit for,” he informed me. “But more specifically, my point is that, because this evil is everywhere, you must use discretion when discussing matters of interest outside of our home or vehicle. Those have been protected . . . by magic. Pierson dabbles in it, though it is not his primary gift. Normally, you may speak freely if he is present. His paranoia, or what he prefers to call diligence, fuels his need to keep prying ears deaf to all conversations he is a party to. But in an effort not to tempt fate, we will not speak about the one who seeks you here, even though Pierson is present, understood?”
“Understood,” I replied, ruminating on what he had told me. “You said that magic is not his primary gift. What would his primary gift be, precisely?”
“It would be a matter to discuss in the aforementioned safe places,” Drew countered, a hint of his more jovial nature breaking through his armor.
Kierson bounded up behind us, throwing his arms around both Drew’s and my shoulders.
“Seriously, Drew. You’ve been hogging Khara all night. When do we get to show her our stuff?”
“Must you constantly be reminded that she’s your sister?” Casey lamented as he approached. “Your ‘stuff’ shouldn’t be making any appearances in her presence.”
“Don’t be such a dick. You know what I meant!”
“See. You can’t even go two seconds without referencing your anatomy—”
“I’m going to fucking whale on you,” Kierson shouted, lunging for Casey, who stood there smiling as though he’d gotten exactly the response he’d wanted.
“Is this what I’ve come to witness, Drew? This is what you do to maintain the balance?” I asked, feigning complete confusion.
“No. It isn’t,” he ground out through gritted teeth. “But it seems to be how I spend the majority of my time lately.” He flashed an intimidating gaze at the others. “You two, enough. Go back over to Pierson. Khara and I will be there in a minute.”
Kierson looked like a scolded child while
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