Cassius coughed up blood into the palm of his hand. To his shaky recollection, he could only remember the face of the demon and the lights blasting from his hands. What he hadn't been counting on was being forced to the ground by the unimaginable searing pain. It shot up from his hands and to the back of his neck. His nerves were set on fire by the pain and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
"What the fuck is that?"
Cassius opened his eyes to find Kera pointed her gun at the little girl's head.
In a spit of panic, Cassius disregarded the pain and dove in front of the girl. He shook his head while he tried to shove the gun away from him.
"Stop! She's just a kid!"
Kera kicked Cassius with the heel of her boot. Mattius came into frame. It was only then that Cassius realized that Mattius hadn't joined him in the Veil. By the look on his face, a deep frown that made him look much older than he was, it hadn't been his plan to stay behind. Whatever had held him back must have been strong enough to basically render him useless.
Cassius had to fight back the laugh that pushed at the back of his throat and rippled through his chest. He would have loved to have seen the reaction Mattius had when he found out he wouldn't be joining Cassius on what could have been the most important mission to the entire SWARM.
"Are you insane?" Kera yelled out, trying to grab the girl by the hair. "She was in the Veil! How do you know she's not the demon?"
Cassius knocked her hand back. He was almost surprised that Kera didn't put up more of a resistance. It must have been the shock.
Mattius stepped forward. That's who Cassius was more scared to go up against. But against all better judgment, he moved in front of the girl who hadn't reacted yet. He put his arm around her shoulder and shielded her as much as he could. Behind him, he could feel her pressing against him. He couldn't describe the feeling he got. It was just a strange urge to make sure she came out of this situation alive.
Mattius twisted his lips into what looked to be a hybrid between a snarl and a smirk. It looked as if he was deciding on which mask he should put on for this one. Cassius glared up at him, his hand open-palm towards him. He was ready to fight Mattius if he decided to attack, but he didn't want to deal with this. All his life he'd tried to escape from fighting. Everything he did always led him back to it.
"Get out of the way, mutt," Mattius snarled. He showed just the tips of his teeth. He was out of control, one step away from attacking Cassius.
There was something inside Cassius that made him hold his ground. It might have been the girl. It might have been his own pride that made his feet feel like cement. But he wasn't going to leave.
"No," he bit out. It even came as a surprise to himself.
Mattius looked like he was about to have an aneurysm. A vein popped out at the top of his forehead. His face was turning beet red.
Kera shoved the barrel of her gun closer to Cassius's head. He was cornered with nowhere to go. He couldn't really risk doing anything when he was being pointed at with a gun that would most definitely kill him. Magic or not, there was no sure way of dodging a bullet.
The girl wrapped her fingers into his.
He'd never been around children since he was taken from the HIVE. She felt so small behind him. Like she could shatter if he brushed against her the wrong way.
He couldn't leave her to face them. There were far worse things they could do than kill her. And if they thought she was a demon, they would make her life hell.
Mattius stepped forward. He lashed out, trying to grab Cassius by his wrist. But Cassius dodged the strike. He pushed the girl back with his spare hand. With the other, he lit up a ball of fire. It floated in the middle of his palm. Mattius narrowed his eyes, but he didn't take another step.
Kera spoke first. "Mekiah. Stand down."
Cassius glanced at her. It was a second too long. He looked back at Mattius. He was the one that he had to be careful about. Mattius was the one that was the most powerful out of all of them. He was the one that could kill Cassius without even blinking an eye.
But there was hope for Cassius. This girl, she had the ability to enhance his magic and when he thought about back at the training, he could remember how hard it was for Mattius to get a hit on him. Though he was stronger, younger, had the training against every Mekiah, Cassius could do the same damage.
It was that that made him feel confident enough to shoot the ball of flame directly towards Mattius' face.
The hit scorched the side of Mattius' cheek. He fell back with a cry of pain. His hand went up to the burned flesh. The blood trailed down from the wound, staining the white skin of his neck. The trails of blood looked like open veins. Cassius felt nothing but glee at seeing the obvious pain on the Exterus' face.
Kera shot one round at Cassius. He'd been expecting it. He pulled the girl down with him, shielding her from the impact. The next wave of energy that swept through him was the familiar feeling of being tased.
She wasn't going to kill him.
There was some relief in that, but he wasn't going to let them take the girl from him. He sent out another blast of fire, this one directed towards Kera. She shot another round from her gun, moving out of the way just as the ball of fire went sailing beside her face.
"Fucker!" She yelled. She landed on her side, but the gun was still in her hands. Her grip was death tight and the look in her eyes told Cassius that she was no longer thinking about keeping him alive.
The situation had turned for the worst.
"Levi! Get the box!"
Levi dived out from behind her. He was holding his gun, but he didn't look like the type to shoot first. What he was heading towards was the silver box that sent them into the Veil.
It hit him then what Kera was planning on doing. They were going to trap him in the Veil and take him out that way.
Cassius didn't have the time to think over his options. Kera shot at him again and he barely dodged it. It hit the wall opposite of him. The wall crumbled on impact. This house wasn't sturdy enough to keep up with their fight. He would have to get the girl out soon or she'd been squashed under all the rumble.
He wrapped his arms around her waist. Before any of the others could fire another round on him, he sent two more waves of fireballs at them. Mattius combated them with the swipe of his hands. The burst of magic sizzled out the flames in midair.
Levi had just arrived towards the box.
Cassius was ready to send out a surge of magic that would knock Levi back.
But the girl put her hand over his.
His magic was blocked. It hit a dead wall.
He looked down at where her hand was and then to her face. Time seemed to slow. She raised her tiny hand and touched his cheek.
A zap went through him and before he could even think about pushing her away, the room disappeared around them. There was a flash of darkness. Then a bright light that scorched his skin like he was heading towards the sun. The warmth wasn't like it though. It was different. It almost didn't feel real. He closed his eyes. His body was numb.
It was all but a split second. The light and then the darkness lifted.
He could feel her in his arms and the hand on his cheek. His brows furrowed as he focused on the touch. It was ice cold upon his skin, but then there was an underlying current of fire in his veins that traveled from the small hand down through his body.
There was no need for any words he realized. He could feel her thoughts inside his head. No, it wasn't thoughts. It was her feelings that were transferring from her hand to his mind. His chaotic mind settled until there was true silence inside him. The flourish of feelings he could pick out weren't his own. He didn't try to go against them though it was tempting to refuse them. But there was something about them that he didn't feel threatened by. He let the feelings wash over him and for once in his long and dreadful life, he didn't feel so lost.
The peaceful moment didn't last long after the realization. He'd found purpose in a second, but he didn't have the time to think why he wanted to protect the young girl before he was jolted awake by the yells of people above him.
Cassius snapped his eyes open. Mattius and Kera stood over him with their guns pointed at his face. Levi stood off to the side with his almost comical short arms wrapped around the silver case. His wide eyes looked frantic.
Kera jerked the tip of her gun to her left. "On your knees, Mekiah. With your hands behind your head."
Cassius tightened his arms around the girl. He looked down to find that she was unconscious. Her dark hair fanned over her small shoulders. She was too tiny and fragile to cause any threat. He just couldn't see it no matter how hard he tried to step into their shoes. They were fools.
He narrowed his eyes at the point of Kera's gun. He shifted his gaze up to her. "I'm not going to leave her to you."
Kera curled her lip. "You fucking piece of—"
Mattius lowered his gun. "Kera, stand down."
She sputtered. "Excuse me?"
"Stand down," Mattius repeated, but he wasn't looking at her. His gaze was locked onto Cassius.
Kera shook her head. "I can't fucking believe this."
She shoved her gun into her holster and folded her arms over her chest. She was shooting daggers at Cassius in the place of the bullets she would have been happy to shoot into his head.
"Get Rexton on the phone."
If Kera was any closer to trigger happy, she would have killed them both. She made a disgust look at Mattius like she could vomit any second and then reached for her issued cell. Her latex battlesuit didn't offer much room for storing anything, but she'd somehow managed to keep the cell strapped to her side along with her gun.
"Fucking pieces of shits." She punched a number and then held it up to her ear. Cassius could barely hear the click of the other line picking up.
Kera's expression dropped. "General Lucius?"
Cassius gripped the girl tighter at the mention of the name. He didn't what Lucius was doing with Rexton. It could only mean trouble.
"Yes sir," Kera said. The look on her face revealed nothing. She'd wiped any trace of fear or confusion.
She hung up the phone. The room was dead silent.
"Pack them up," Kera finally said.
Mattius grimaced. Levi shivered with fear. The box shook in his hands.
Cassius knew then that he'd fucked up.
***
Mica wasn't alone in the motel room. He sensed the other presence the moment he parked outside the door. When he stepped into the doorway, it hit him just who was waiting for him.
Lucius sat in the corner, his legs splayed open and his arms draped over the armrests.
Mica gave him a dull stare. "I haven't got the time."
He tossed the metal suitcase onto the bed. For a second, he thought about turning his back, but he thought better of it. It wasn't unlike Lucius to try to stab him in the back.
Lucius laughed. It was a small, throaty laugh that bordered on a snicker. "Father sent me."
"So?"
"Do you want my help or not?" Lucius sat up. His bright blue eyes rolled up to meet Mica's. "It doesn't make a difference to me."
Mica held the gaze as he reached for the suitcase. He unlocked the latch and flipped it up.
"I thought you would have something better to do."
Lucius' face was blank. He stood up from the chair. As he grew closer, Mica felt their magic coil together. Though they shared no blood relation, it was evident that they shared a similar wavelength. Magic was strange in that way. It divided amongst beings, sometimes connecting them.
Mica didn't like it. Lucius didn't like it. They tolerated it because there wasn't anything they could do to stop the connection.
But because they made of the same energy, it made working together much easier. If only they didn't hate each other, they could have been a powerful team.
Mica scoffed in his head.
Lucius reached around Mica and grabbed the connector inside the suitcase. He slipped the needle into his wrist without a flinch. When he was done, he handed the other connector to Mica. Their hands brushed in the exchange, but Mica ignored it. He was aware of Lucius' eyes burning into the side of his face. He was watching for a change in pulse or the clench of a jaw. Mica wouldn't give him anything. He'd gotten over the feelings years ago.
He jammed the needle into his arm, harder than necessary. The pain made it easier to deflect the look Lucius was giving him.
"Ready?" He asked, not expecting an answer.
He flipped the switch before their conversation could go anywhere else.
The pull in was like that of jabbing a thin needle into the back of his head. A cold and hot sensation ran through his body. It only lasted a second, but it was a second that made him feel ill. The sensation didn't faze him as much as it had when he was younger. After ten years of going through it on an almost daily basis, it was hard to not get used to it.
Entering the Veil was easy. Staying inside it was the hard part.
The magic pressed against his head. It was like a headache that was outside of his body. Or like something was pressing against the sides of his head so hard that he could feel it in the center of his brain. If he stayed in here for too long—obviously without contacting the Third Eye—he would die.
Lucius appeared beside him. He pulled a face which told Mica how much he liked being in here.
"I hate this place," he said.
Mica rolled his eyes. It was almost annoying how predictable Lucius was.
"Do you feel him?" Mica sent out a wave of magic. He wasn't a Tracker, but he had the training to stand in as one.
Lucius sent out a blast to follow Mica's. "It's on the run."
The wave came back to Mica. There was a fragment of the Mekiah's magic on it.
"He's close."
Lucius reigned in his wave of magic and began to follow the trail. Mica followed him.
He scanned the area around them, but there wasn't much to see. It was dark, so dark that it looked like they were walking around in space. Their steps didn't echo but did at the same time. It was the kind of tapping that happened only in the back of his head. Almost as if something was drumming its fingers tips at the base of his skull.
There were things he shouldn't be thinking about. Lucius and their muddy past was one of them. As hard as he might, he kept reeling over the fact that Lucius just couldn't leave him alone. Chalk it all up to wanting revenge or trying to mess up Mica's success. He wished it was as simple as that.
Walking around in the Veil was bringing back darker thoughts. There was a time when he and Lucius had something more to their relationship. They actually tolerated each other. May have even liked one another. It all seemed so far away now. The last time they actually spent time together was before they entered the military. If he remembered correctly, they'd argued before they were split up. There wasn't much talking or seeing each other after that. Running the military and the government didn't permit much of anything outside of it.
Lucius stopped. "Do you feel that?"
Mica felt the air. The Third Eye was pulling him, but that was all he could feel. He pushed the Third Eye's magic away, anchoring himself to the Veil.
He shook his head. "We don't have much time."
Just as he said it, he felt a zap on his arm. They would have to work fast if they wanted to get done and not wait to enter again. It was annoying when they didn't have a Mekiah around to do this part. They had more stamina when it came to fighting against the Veil's push. It didn't really like things inside of it.
"Maybe we should—" He didn't get to finish before Lucius grabbed his hand.
He jerked his arm away.
Lucius rolled his eyes. It seemed to be his trademark at this point. "We work betting when we're sharing currents."
Mica gave Lucius a wary look.
"I'm not going to do anything," Lucius said. By the look on his face, he was a little upset that Mica would even think he would do anything.
"Only this once." Mica let Lucius take his hand then. It felt strange. He knew Lucius was right about them working together. It would be easier to find the Mekiah.
Though he tried to reason with himself, he still didn't like how calm Lucius was about this. He shouldn't be the one scared about holding hands with someone who just might be his enemy. It made him feel childish and small.
Feelings he really didn't like.
Their magic twisted together. It was an odd sensation that felt like a needle was pulling a strand through his veins. He only grimaced as the magic flowed up his body, through his neck, and down his spine. It was everywhere inside of him. They hadn't done this in years as well. Being together was too intimate when they were supposed to hate each other.
He could Lucius. It wasn't a strong connection. Only strong enough for them to feed off the shared magic.
Then, there was a tug. At first, he thought it might be just their connection. After years of not doing this, it was going to feel strange for the first few minutes. But this was different. This was beyond strange. It was foreign like something new had entered the space between them. He pulled Lucius's hand. He didn't like this feeling. It was creeping up his arm and into his bloodstream. They didn't have long before they would have to go back, but with this thing, he wanted to go back now.
Lucius tightened his grip.
"What are you doing?" Mica tugged once more, but he was met with resistance.
"It's fine. It's him."
Mica knew when a Mekiah was near. He'd been in the service for long enough. This wasn't a Mekiah. This was something entirely different.
He wanted to hiss this at Lucius, but the feeling made him stop. It was growing.
The darkness before them rippled. From the center of the Veil, a figure emerged. Their hands were spread before them, palms up with blue fire emitting from them. Or at least it looked like blue fire to Mica. From the wavelengths of magic being distorted by the Veil, it was hard to tell what kind of magic they were using.
He thought it was the Mekiah. It felt like them, but there was something off about him.
Lucius flung out his hand. A long sword rippled with electric. A burst of lightning lit up the dark.
Mica threw out his left hand. From it, a chain enhanced by his own magic fell. He swung it around his wrist.
They were ready. He was ready to capture this Mekiah and get this job over with. He was done chasing.
The Mekiah said something. Mica couldn't hear him.
"Stand down, Mekiah," Lucius yelled. "Come willing or we'll take you by force."
The Mekiah repeated the same thing. This time Mica heard him, but he didn't understand any of it. It was a language that he hadn't been taught. It didn't sound like anything remotely of this world.
Lucius squeezed Mica's hand, taking a burst of their shared magic. Once he let go, there was a slicing effect that shocked Mica's chest. He used the extra magic to strengthen the chain. By the look of the Mekiah, he would need all of it to keep him down.
A tiny shock hit his wrist. They had five minutes to get this Mekiah out of the Veil. Either they died inside or they left defeated. He really didn't want to hunt this fucking Mekiah down again.
He swung the chain until he was holding it between both of his hands. He tightened it, rattling the metal as a burst of magic rippled out from him. The Mekiah watched them without moving. Lucius held the lightning sword above his head.
Before Mica could yell out an order, Lucius ran towards the Mekiah.
Mica expected much from Lucius. He was always jumping into the action without thinking about a strategy. That was usually why he lost.
But Mica knew how Lucius fought. They grew up training together. They'd once been a team.
So he whipped around the other side, thinking fast so that once Lucius brought down his sword, he could swoop in and loop the chain around the Mekiah. It should have been that simple.
Of course, it wasn't.
The Mekiah held up his hand with a strange wave. It was the flick of his wrist, the curling of his fingers, and then it was as if time had stopped. Though Lucius was still hurling through the hair and the chain in Mica's hand hadn't stopped sailing through the air, it felt as if something had been plucked from the space. He couldn't say what it was for it wasn't something that could be named. The word didn't exist for what he was feeling.
He hated that. He hated when he didn't understand what was happening around him. And he hated when he lost.
It was one of those times in which he was beyond pissed. His blood boiled and his hands shook with a rage that couldn't be tamed. It was a rolling storm that took over his entire body until the only thing he could do was give in to the anger.
So, he did.
The chain whipped around the torso of the Mekiah. He yelled out in a loud voice that didn't match him. It was booming like thunder rolling above a forest. It echoed around them, rattling Mica's chest. Lucius was unfazed by the noise. He slashed down at the Mekiah's arm.
The blue fire or whatever it was floating in his hands, went flying through the darkness. He fell to his knees.
That was where Mica thought it would end. He'd been expecting a challenge, yet he was met with one of the easiest takedowns in his career. He had to wonder why Cassius had such a difficult time finding him.
Lucius pulled back his sword. The Mekiah's arm fell bloody to the ground.
Lucius grinned. "This was the trouble you had, Mica?"
Mica grimaced. He didn't like how his name sounded in Lucius' voice.
He manipulated the chain until it circled around the Mekiah's remaining arm and his other wrist. It tightened up until it restricted his movements. The other end of the chain looped around his neck.
"On your feet Mekiah." He pulled at the chain.
He was met with restriction.
"You'll pay," the Mekiah said. He was using that voice again. "You'll pay for all of this! Every one of you disgusting Exterus!"
Lucius pressed the tip of his blade to the Mekiah's throat. The Mekiah spat at him.
Another zap.
Mica stepped forward. He blocked Lucius from coming any closer. "Let's just take him back. There's no need to fight him."
He was going to eat his words.
Just as he pushed Lucius back, the blue light came soaring towards them. It was the blue fire the Mekiah had been holding. Only this time, it wasn't fire.
It was large shards that could rip through both of them and probably a whole lot more.
"Shit!"
Mica pushed Lucius back hard. The blue shard nearly took off Mica's arm. He dropped the chain and the Mekiah threw them off in one swoop.
The Mekiah was up in the air. He conjured another set of shards and sent them sailing towards Lucius. Lucius blocked them with his blades, slashing them before they could hit him.
Mica could feel the seconds going by. He pushed as much as the shared magic as he could into the chain. He swung it around above his head, counting in his head for the right moment. This was it. He had to get this right or it would be the end of the road for them.
The Mekiah sensed him. He turned around, blades of shards forming up from his palms. His eyes were glowing.
"Mica."
Mica balked at hearing the voice. He almost didn't believe it until he saw the Mekiah's lips moving.
He stumbled over his feet. The chain flew through the air, but it was off target. He knew it before it landed that it was a miss. They were going to be going back without the Mekiah and they would be back at square one.
Lucius slammed into the Mekiah. His sword sliced across the Mekiah's throat. The Mekiah gagged, grabbing a hold of the blade. The shards fell into the sea of darkness. The voice screamed out from the Mekiah's lips, but it felt so far away.
Mica stared in shock. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. The Mekiah was supposed to be returned.
But there was no time for him to think about it. Their time was up and they had to go back before the Veil killed them.
Lucius grabbed Mica's arm and they went back to the dingy motel room.