A voice spoke at the back of his mind. It spoke of the danger, but he couldn't turn back. He had made his choice. His actions were already leading him down this path. Whether it was a bad choice or not, he couldn't go back on his word.
Thee was nothing for him back there. Iza wasn't his general, everything he'd known since he was a small boy was now gone. Before he came to the base, before he was trained to be a Tracker, his whole life had been planned out before he was born. And the lies just kept coming. One moment he was on the brink of death and the next he was being punished. It was never anything but those two. It was never anything he could control.
As he ran, he felt freedom one last time. The wind upon his face and through his hair pulled him closer to the one thing he'd been dreaming of since the beginning. There was nothing that could replace this feeling of being his own person. He was here, on the very edge of this freedom that no Mekiah could ever feel.
But there was something terribly wrong. The feeling in his chest pounded inside his body. It lashed out with claws, screaming for a way out that did not exist. The fear in his very bones halted him from going any further. He fell to his knees, his eyes staring wide at the ground. His breath caught in his throat. It felt as if something was choking him.
Just as his eyes were beginning to close, he saw three figures step into the light of the street.
The one lamp glowed a purple hue upon their beautiful faces. They looked alien in this world. Cassius knew what they were. They all had that familiar air about them. Like they were above everything in this world and the next. They walked out from the shadows, their feet looking as if they never touched the ground. Dressed in black, almost identical to the uniforms the guards wore, but more casual, they drifted in front of Cassius. Their fluid movements were effortless, nothing like anything he'd seen.
Exteru. The highest of the kind.
The first one, with light blond hair and a boyish face, kicked Cassius. In his stupor, Cassius fell back slightly but regained his balance. They laughed.
"It looks like we've found our entertainment for the night!" The blond, who looked to be the leader, grabbed Cassius by his arm. He pulled him forward, attempting to drag him.
Cassius lashed out, ripping the Exteru's hand off of him.
The heat of the man's hand burned through his skin. His heart raced at an unbelievable pace that left him breathless and sore in his entire body. Their eyes were staring into him, digging deep within him to the point that it felt like they were stabbing him from the inside out.
Blades sharper than anything he'd known pushed through his body. It took everything in him to stand up on his feet and stagger away from the three Exteru. They made no attempt to move toward him. They were watching him with nothing more than amused looks upon their faces.
The leader eyed Cassius. He turned to the others.
Cassius didn't wait to hear what the Exteru would say. He ran, not paying attention to where he was going. His mind was muddled with the fear that he might die there, but he couldn't think about what his plan was. He had no plan, no idea what he was going to do. So, his fear led him away from the three Exteru, down the alley and onto the street.
He stopped in his tracks. All the hope he'd built up as he ran for his life melted away.
Standing at the end of the street was Rexton and his two guards.
There was no way he would be able to fight them. There was no way he could conjure enough energy to even try. But his freedom was once again being ripped away from him. He didn't know what to do, what he could possibly try to do in this situation. Nothing seemed like it would work.
Then, the presence of bright warmth flooded his body. His eyes drifted closed on their own and a soft voice spoke to him. It mumbled unknown words to him, pulling him into a light sleep. The outside world was still present. he heard the footfalls of Rexton's boots and the taunting from the Exteru. Something was happening, the Exterus were talking to Rexton, but Cassius could only focus on the soft voice inside his mind. The whispers became louder. They were no longer soft words but pronounced syllables hammered into him. The warmth was hot. It scolded him and he ached to tear his clothes from his body.
The Third Eye was restless. It was searching inside of him, but he didn't know why. The Third Eye couldn't do this. It couldn't make him feel this way.
Silence.
He was cold. Tired. His hands shook. The air thinned. Before, he couldn't pinpoint any magic. He couldn't tell where it was coming from, but now he could see it all like a heat sensor was plugged to his head. Rexton's burned like a hot fire, surging forward as the general walked closer to Cassius.
He turned. The Exteru were closing in. The leader radiated so much power, it was close to Rexton's, but it wasn't as strong.
And then he felt it. His own magic had grown so strong, his body was struggling to contain it. It poured out his body in waves. He could see it. It was surrounding the entire area in an unfathomable pace.
"Mica, what is this?" The blond's voice shocked Cassius more than he liked to admit.
He flexed his hands, waiting for either party to strike. But the blond was focused more on Rexton than he was on Cassius.
"It's nothing that concerns you, Lucius." Rexton's voice was dripping with malice.
Cassius was almost surprised he couldn't see steam coming out from Rexton's ears.
Cassius took in Lucius with a more careful eye. The two Exteru behind him looked similar with their light brown hair and brown eyes. All three resembled one another in one way, something about their eyes he guessed, but Lucius stood out with his yellow hair.
Even in the dark, it had a radiance to it that made him look younger than he could have been. Cassius guessed Lucius was younger than him by about two years or so, though his looks made it hard to pinpoint anything. The smirk on his face was dampened by his child-like looks. It was sinister but in a way that made it seem like he was doing you a favor.
The vibe he got from the three was that of a wolf pack hunting. They were out here for the fun of it and if he was correct, they'd been searching for something to fire their boredom for some while now.
Lucius stepped out from the group and toward Cassius. His footsteps were light, graceful in a way that made it seem like he was walking on water. Cassius kept his eyes trained on him but tried to measure Rexton's moves as well. Each passing moment spiked his heart rate and made his head feel light.
The magic had built up, aching to be released from its prison. He wanted to give it what it wanted. He was dying for the familiar rush that came after. He had to be careful about what he did in the next coming minutes. If he chose wrong, he would end up dead.
"I'm surprised you're this reckless." Lucius stopped a few feet in front of Cassius. "Aren't you the general now?"
The bite in his voice was like that of a snake sinking its fangs into the very core of Rexton's masculinity. Cassius watched the spectacle, like two snakes circling one another in a ring, with an odd fascination. He was disgusted in his own pleasure, but he continued to watch. In his head, he was working out a plan, hoping that what he was about to do wouldn't end with him under Lucius's boot. Or Rexton's for that matter.
Rexton stood his place. He was scowling now. "I have it under control."
"Do you?" Lucius laughed. His slender arms crossed over his chest.
"Leave it, Lucius. This isn't a matter of yours."
The space between Cassius and them was dwindling. He remembered just wisps of the voice's words in his head. Though he didn't know what it was saying, he could follow the beat of the syllables. The rhythm echoed in his head and the light hum carried him into his next actions. He braced the magic pressing against his skin.
Rexton and Lucius stared each other down, their attention no longer on Cassius. Their anger fueled the air with sparks of high powered energy. Seconds slowed, time lost its bearing, and Cassius felt the last of his cage break.
Power and magic like a scorching fire burst from his skin. He cried out as he felt the pain shoot down his back and down his arms. It couldn't be contained by his own will nor could it be brought down by his terrified thoughts. He was lost to the power that took over his body and made him create a mayhem of unchained power around him. He was beyond able to see what was going on, whether Rexton and Lucius were trapped inside his circle of fire, but he could still feel their presence through their power.
The pain shot to his fingertips. He felt the pinpricks of something stronger than himself crawling to the front of his head, whispering words he didn't understand in that soft voice he'd heard before. It guided him through a trance, casting spells he hadn't known and pushing power through him that did not exist before.
The voice screamed in his ear. The last of its words died off as a blast shot from Cassius. It knocked him back, his eyes wide, but the damage had already been done. The magic created a ring of blue fire around him and the others. Rexton looked up at the spectacle, the ring of fire rising higher and higher. Lucius backed away, his friends following his lead.
The voice was silent now, a void where he'd heard his questions answered. Without it there to guide him, he was lost to find an ounce of knowledge as to how this could have happened. He didn't have this kind of power inside of him. He knew that, but he couldn't deny the sight that was before him.
The flames grew higher, swirling faster in a whirlwind Cassius couldn't keep his eyes on. It burned too bright for him to bear, but he forced himself to look around at the scene. Rexton and his men stood their ground even as the fire loomed right above them. Lucius and his crew had already backed out to the edge of the ring, but it caged them in. Cassius was at the center of it all, sweating with the rest of them, but he held all the power to stop all of this.
This was not only a way for him to escape, but this was also a way for him to burn the bridge between him and his old slave life. If he killed Rexton and everyone here tonight, he wouldn't have to worry about them coming after him. The life he'd lived before could be just a bad nightmare, something that could only haunt him in his dreams, and his life after all this could be focused entirely on finding a safe place to live.
He didn't have to worry about coming back here if there was no one wanting him as bad as Rexton. These were going to be the last people to see him.
All he had to do was kill them.
The power was entirely in his hands. All he had to do was push this power to the point of no return, to the brink where his magic was no longer magic but a physical form in this world. It was the simplest thing to him. Wielding magic was breathing to him, something he was born how to do, but in that moment, where he saw Rexton's face and knew if he got back in his hands Cassius wouldn't have a chance, he froze.
The magic was at his fucking fingertips and he couldn't do a damn thing because he just saw Rexton's eyes. He's killed before, done it time and time again, but for some fucking reason, he couldn't get his mind to focus on anything but those eyes drilling into his head.
His chest cramped. His entire body froze, held still by an invisible force clutching at his throat. He gasped for breath, but it did nothing to stop the pain. The fire stopped growing and it was like it was connected to him in the second. The air cut off from his lungs was the only thing that had been feeding the flames.
Lucius stepped toward him, no longer afraid of the blue flames biting at his heels. He loomed over Cassius, his eyes shining silver in the flame's glow.
"Cut the flames," he said. He kicked Cassius back with the tip of his boot. "Or I'll do it for you."
Cassius saw it then, the magic swirling in Lucius's eyes. He wasn't all talk and no bite. He was the one choking the life out of Cassius, using magic to do his bidding. Cassius glared up at him and if he could speak he would have cursed his name, but he was slipping. The black crept at the corner of his eyes and the power of the flames was dwindling. Lucius wouldn't stop here, he would push until Cassius was lying dead at his feet.
It was only fitting for him to go out this way. An Exteru was born to kill Mekiah and Mekiah were born to be ruled by Exteru. Cassius had fought his entire life to get away from this very moment and even with the help of the voice and its magic he couldn't do it. He'd failed once again to gain the freedom he so longed for.
Spots danced in the blue flames and he wondered if they were part of the fire or if it was just the last of his sight going. He didn't care at that point because when he looked into Lucius's eyes, he saw pure anger from a kid who wasn't getting his way. He smiled a large grin that stretched from ear to ear and made his eyes crinkle. It was a genuine smile he hadn't worn in what felt like forever. He was going to die tonight and that was fine. At least he had this moment.
"Lucius, take your hands off him." Rexton pushed back from the flames that had grown close to him and his men. With a slight wave of his hand, the fire was deterred but not stopped. It followed him as he made his way toward Lucius and Cassius.
"I'm not touching him," Lucius said through his teeth.
"Then release your magical hold or whatever the fuck you want to call it."
The pressure around Cassius's neck grew harder. It was at the point where it might snap him in two if he wasn't careful, but it was all out of his control. Lucius glared down at him, the blue fire dwindling in his eyes. Cassius saw his own distorted reflection, eyes wide and mouth gaping for air. He looked pitiful, but it didn't take away from his own satisfaction. Lucius was losing the control he once had and though Cassius didn't know anything about this kid, he knew he wasn't anyone he would have liked anyway.
None of this was supposed to mean anything to them. He was nothing but a slave, that was all he ever was going to be in this world. Maybe it was time for him to start realizing that.
The joy, the slight pleasure he got from the look on their faces, faded into a black hole of doubt and sadness. It boiled inside of him, becoming the seed for rage and the blue flames encasing them all. His anger and sorrow fed the fire. It was burning him from the inside out, but it felt good. It felt better than anything he'd felt before and though it seemed like nothing at first, the more it enclosed them, trapped him inside the center circle of his rage and turmoil, he was untouched by the blue flames. The pain was no longer the kind he'd felt at the hands of the government and the people holding his leash. This pain was laced with pleasure and the discovery of his own true power.
Rexton grabbed Lucius's arm. "Drop your hold or you're going to kill us all!"
Lucius held his ground, but he didn't pull away from Rexton. "That dirty Mekiah is the one going to kill us all."
"It's not your place."
"You don't tell me when it's my place or not! Your recklessness has forced my hand and you know it!"
The fight faded from Cassius's head. He was a weightless being in a sea of rage from his own anger and from those fighting over whether he was to live or not. He couldn't understand why Rexton was fighting so hard for Lucius to drop his magic. He couldn't understand why he couldn't fight back against Lucius's hold. The magic he used went undetected, a vapor inside the swarming fire that was drawing in to consume them all.
"I said drop it!"
Cassius was knocked back as a rush of cold air filled his lungs. The hold on his body dropped and in came a seizing fit of coughing. He hunched over, on his hands and knees, and fought to keep his eyes open. When the fit subsided, he looked up.
Rexton had Lucius by the nape of his neck. Lucius, with his blond hair a tangled mess and his eyes blazing, turned his eyes from Cassius to Rexton.
"Let me go."
Rexton held him still. He returned the deadly stare until Lucius began to squirm. "Do not go against my orders again."
He pushed Lucius away from him. Lucius backed up to where his friends were staring. The fire had died and what was left was a pile of ash and smoke. The smoke traveled like silk in the air, following the paths of everyone as they moved. Cassius breathed heavily but was immobile.
The fire, the voice, it had happened so fast for him to even start to analyze.
Rexton hauled Cassius to his knees by the back of his neck just as he did to Lucius. Their eyes locked like a million times before. Rage, fury, a drop of need in each look that Cassius hated. Rexton was more than an enemy. He was something he couldn't describe.
"I see I've been too lenient with you."
If Cassius wasn't so exhausted, he would have spat in Rexton's face.
Rexton jerked him forward, until their faces were an inch away.
"I won't be making that mistake this time."