Chereads / Exterminate / Chapter 6 - A Story to Tell

Chapter 6 - A Story to Tell

He couldn't ignore them forever. He could feel their eyes burning holes into his back. His magic was only a slight distraction. 

Fingers snapped.

"Come here."

Iza's voice was a razor cutting through Cassius's thin walls. Down came his isolated kingdom and everything he'd built crumbled around him. 

He felt annoyance and hatred.

He settled his magic until it was a soft hum beneath his skin. Once it had settled, he felt the full affects of Rexton's magic. It consumed him, thumping at the back of his head. The closer he walked, the heavier the magic sat in his mind. His legs and arms felt sluggish. He felt like he was walking through fog and mud.

When he looked up and met Rexton's brown eyes, he felt the magic pierce through him. Every nerve in his body screamed in pain and pleasure. It was all still after that. Silent. 

For a moment, he could breathe again.

But he ran into a bigger problem. Once his magic was dampened, he could focus on Rexton. The images the Third Eye had shown him were only captions of the past. They couldn't capture the feeling of the true presence of meeting someone. There was more power behind Rexton than Cassius had assumed.

He had to be something else. To be a Remu with so much power was dangerous. Not just to himself but to everyone around him. Remu could store magic. They were walking vaults of it, but they couldn't use it.

Cassius stood at attention. His legs and feet came together at the heels. His arms pressed straight along his thighs, palms pressed flat against his pants. He looked forward with a relaxed gaze, but he was alert. The blank expression on his face hid the many emotions rolling inside him. 

He was getting better at it.

"At ease."

Iza stepped around him. Iza's eyes burned into him, leaving itchy patches across his sweaty skin.

Cassius slid his right leg outward, forming his at ease position. His eyes flickered to Rexton's face and back. 

"This is General Rexton from Keshtin." Iza stopped in front of him. He looked at Cassius's face. Just staring. "He will also be conducting your evaluation."

Cassius could have broken. He kept it buried inside, every single thought.

Iza knew what Cassius was doing. He knew Cassius was trying so hard to keep his mouth shut and not get himself in trouble. Rexton was higher than Iza, higher ranked than anyone Cassius had met at this base in the last twelve years. 

The fucking vulture was going to pull it out of him. He was going to try and make him look like a fool, like a Mekiah that didn't have any manners. 

I can do it on my own, you pig.

A smile pulled at the corner of Iza's lips. "You may speak."

Cassius's fingers twitched.

"Yes, sir."

He caught Rexton's eyes once more. A fire rippled in his gaze. Cassius saw hunger for power and an addiction to the fight. 

Cassius glared.

You fucking cunt.

Iza hit him up side his head. 

Pain blossomed. The hand came down against across his face. Blood pooled in his mouth and ran down his chin. Hit after hit. He fell to one knee, eyes fighting to stay open. His mouth went slack. Blood and saliva trailed to the dirt.

He looked up and was taken back.

The hits had stopped and Iza's hand was inches away from his face.

"That's enough, General."

Rexton held Iza's hand in a firm grip. 

"I'll take it from here."

The tension in the air was thick. Cassius gasped for breath and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Spit trailed across his skin and lips. He saw the anger on Iza's face, as always, painted like a portrait. He'd seen that look so many times before, it didn't surprise him in the slightest. 

Glee filled him at Iza's anger. 

"Can you walk?"

Cassius didn't like Rexton's voice. Or that he was asking Cassius like he cared.

"Yes, sir." He rose to his feet, shaky, but he managed to not fall.

Rexton had saved him this time, but as soon as he was back in Iza's hands, there would be no one to save him. 

Iza locked him back into his chains and handed the leash too Rexton. 

Dried blood was caked on Cassius's face. It itched and the place where Iza's hand had connected with his face ached. He tried to ignore it, but Rexton's stare made it impossible to do.

Rexton's eyes gazed at Cassius's face, the leash held loosely in his hand. 

A shiver ran down Cassius's spine. That look made it seem like Rexton wanted to pick up where Iza had been stopped.

He could if he wanted. But Cassius believed that Rexton had mastered that part of himself. The monster beneath that calm facade was waiting. Cassius just knew.

Felix gave his signature look of disgust as Cassius was pulled out of the training yard. Rexton stopped in front of him. Felix stared back.

Slowly, as if mocking, Felix saluted. Rexton was not impressed.

He backed away from Felix, leaving him with no returned salute, and tugged Cassius along. 

Curious, Cassius had to resist turning around to see the look on Felix's face. He could not, however, stop the quirk of his mouth. He could find little enjoyment at the base, but when it did arise, he couldn't help relishing it. 

Rexton held Cassius's leash like he'd done this many times before. He was at ease with the position. Almost fit for the responsibility. Cassius kept his eyes on his back, watching Rexton's uniform bend and move with his body. He was graceful and powerful, interesting to look at. 

He reminded Cassius of someone. He couldn't quite place who exactly.

Through the halls and across the base, Rexton led Cassius back to Iza's office. When they entered the office, Rexton tossed the leash over the side of the closest chair.

"Sit down. I don't want to waste time beating around the bush, so answer the questions and don't feed me bullshit." Cassius sat down, Rexton's eyes watching him do so. "I'll know if you're lying."

The statement seemed oddly pointed. 

Cassius rested his hands on his knees. "Yes, sir."

Rexton eyed him. It was a slow, calculating look that made Cassius clench his knees.

"When you entered the Veil, did you sense anything off?"

"No. There was no unknown energy." A beat passed. "Sir."

Rexton continued to look at him. Cassius wiggled under the scrutiny. 

"And when the demon conjured, was there any sign of its presence?"

He didn't understand why that was important. "Yes. I felt a bit of a shift. It was clear there was something in there with me, sir."

He thought back to his encounter. The demon had appeared so quickly he had no time to prepare for its attack. And when it struck…

His neck throbbed where the demon's teeth had ripped through the flesh. It hadn't hesitated. It felt planned, yet it struck blindly.

Rexton leaned down, placing his hands on the arms of the chair. His arms caged Cassius in. Their eyes met. Cassius held the gaze.

"This can go one of two ways. I can protect you from Iza or I can make your miserable life worse. I know many Exterus that would love to get alone with a Mekiah," Rexton said. "Tell me the truth."

"Frankly, sir, you're mistaken." Rexton's eye twitched. "I've already told General Iza everything. It's in the report."

He was dancing on a fine line. Every move he made, made him feel like he was a step closer to revealing the mad man behind Rexton's exterior. Funny how he could feel this way about a man he'd known for all but twenty minutes. 

"I'm not like General Iza. I won't indulge in this game you play."

Cassius had to bite his cheek to stop his surprise from showing. 

"There's no game, sir."

Rexton stood back. Cassius clenched tighter on his knees. 

"When the demon attacked, it threw out a wave of energy. You were the only one to survive. That seems to be highly improbable, doesn't it?"

Cassius stared. A long beat of silence dragged on. He wasn't sure what to say. What he wanted to say was different than what he should say. They were play opposites.

"Fine then. You're being transferred to Keshtin tomorrow morning. General Iza—"

Cassius froze. His body went cold and his heart dropped. He clenched his knees so hard it caused pain.

Capital Keshtin. He couldn't go there. 

Before him, all that he'd been working up to began to crumble. 

Rexton was destroying him without even knowing it. 

He couldn't speak. His hands trembled and a spark of magic lit inside him. The anger pooled. His eyes narrowed at Rexton, wishing he would keel over. 

Everything he'd worked for was falling apart and if it wasn't for this fucking jackass he could have been free. 

No. It was because of that demon and that bite. That fucking bite. 

Cassius wasn't dumb. He knew escaping while in Rexton's hands he would be setting himself up for immediate death.

He was out of his chair before he knew it. Rexton became nothing but a target. With his arms outstretched, Cassius released all his pent up anger. He grabbed Rexton by the neck and yanked him down but as he went to kick Rexton's legs out from under him, Rexton flipped him around.

The Dissipater strapped to his leg sent out a shock to control his magic. It wasn't enough to stop him. Cassius yelled out and pushed the magic through his hands. Smoke rose from his palms and seared through Rexton's jacket. The smell of burnt flesh filled the room as they struggled against each other.

"Fuck!"

Rexton let go of Cassius. The smell was stronger now and it made his stomach flip. Before he could turn, Rexton came after him again. His seared skin touched Cassius's arm and he felt vomit push up the back of his throat. 

The skin peeled back and left trails of blood down his arm. He jerked his arms back and slipped out of Rexton's grip. He gagged as he looked down at his arms. The smell wouldn't go away and the feeling of the leftover flesh clinging to his own was the most disgusting thing he'd ever felt.

He looked over at Rexton. His hands were bleeding and where the skin was missing there were scabs already growing.

Cassius was dumbfounded. The power he'd felt wasn't just a facade. The wounds on Rexton's hands weren't the worst Cassius could do, but it should have lasted more than a couple of seconds.

He broke out of the stupor. He charged toward the door, ready to face the worst out there than what was in this room. But as he reached the door, he felt a stabbing pain in his leg. 

He fell to the floor, yelling out as he reached behind him. His knees hit the ground hard. He held himself up with one hand as the other searched for the cause of the pain.

He looked down at his leg and cried out once more.

A pen was sticking out of his calf, embedded at least two inches deep. He couldn't stop to think about what to do. He grabbed the end of the pen and ripped it out. He struggled to get back to his feet.

Rexton wrapped his arms around his neck and squeezed.

Cassius clawed at Rexton's arms, gasping, and squirming to get free. When it didn't work, he wiggled to get his mouth open. Then, he sunk his teeth in. 

Rexton whirled them around and twisted Cassius's neck. But his hold loosened and Cassius slipped away.

Rexton jutted out his elbow. It hit Cassius square in the jaw. He fell back against the desk, sagging low, panting, and groaning as pain overwhelmed his body. He flung out a shot of fire. It hit Rexton's arm. 

The sleeve of Rexton's jacket caught fire. As he tried to put the fire out that was now spreading up his arm, Cassius took the open shot. He ran head first into Rexton's chest. They both flew across the room, Rexton landing on his back and Cassius sprawled along him. 

Rexton opened his mouth, the wind knocked out of him. With a new found spurt of energy, Cassius punched Rexton once in the face and sprung up for the door. 

He ran out of the room and looked around the hallway. There was no one. He stuttered to a stop to think, but his thoughts were a jumbled mess.

This was his chance. He had to take it now.

The only thing he could do was run and he had to choose the direction quick.

He picked the opposite direction of the training yard and ran as fast as he could.