They were keeping her in a small metal room with no light, insulated walls, and a magical field that cut off her senses. Cassius didn't need to be told about the magical barrier. When they entered the hall that was connected to the room she was being held in, he could feel it. He stopped in the middle of the hall, struck by the magic waves that dampened his senses. It was a painful feeling. It was like being held under water, fighting for your last breath.
"She's not harmed. I saw her yesterday." Mica didn't try to touch him. He stood a good foot away while the others were waiting by the observation room's door.
Cassius swallowed down the large lump in his throat as he turned his head in the vague direction she was in. He could only feel her slightly through his connection with the Third Eye. Remnants of her were left in the Veil, but they were harder to latch onto. He didn't understand what she was or if she was a threat, but it didn't matter when she was made.
"Just because she's physically fine doesn't mean she isn't harmed." Disgusted, Cassius scoffed. He roughly turned away and marched to where the others were waiting.
He heard Mica follow.
The silent moment that passed made his skin itch. He didn't look at any of them, stubborn enough to stare at the wall until someone opened the fucking door.
Kera slid her identification card through the reader and pressed her hand to the scanner on the left. The door opened and inside Cassius caught the shadows of two guards on the inside. Beyond that, he could make out another set of doors that were sealed off just as tightly. They were taking quite large measures for what seemed to be only a little girl. Cassius knew better. Whatever the girl was, she wasn't any of them. She was more like the demon, but even still, that wasn't entirely what she was.
Kera went through the door and it firmly shut right behind her. The locks clicked. He could feel the magic wards going up before anyone had the time to even think about walking through the door.
Levi and then Mattias went ahead until it was just Cassius and Mica left.
He was so aware of Mica that it was getting annoying now. Not only could he feel the press of Mica's body heat on his back, he could feel how Mica wanted his attention. Cassius ground his teeth. The collar was heavy on his neck. A reminder. For the first time, he was glad that he had it on.
"Stop staring at me," he bit out.
He couldn't get through the door. He had to be lead through and that was Mica's job.
He clenched and unclenched his hands. His knuckles were raw from training so much. Fighting had made it easier to forget where he was or to make him feel better about his situation, but it wasn't working anymore. It only made him angrier. It made him want to fight more and more until his body wasn't able to stand anymore.
Mica stood beside him. He swiped his card and pressed his hand to the scanner. The robotic movements were jerky.
Before he opened the door, he turned to Cassius.
"You can be angry all you want. You can take it out on me all you like, but don't forget where we are. There's only so much I can put up before I'm forced to metaphorically bend you over my knee," Mica hissed under his breath. His eyes seared right through Cassius.
Cassius's breath hitched. His gut clenched with the unfamiliar feeling of heat. He almost took a step back, but he forced his feet to stay rooted where they were.
Mica raised both eyebrows. The unspoken question was ignored. Cassius turned his flushed face away, horrified about his reaction. Mica could feel it. There was no doubt. The connection they had was still invasive and any strong emotion either had could be felt by the other.
Cassius made the mistake of looking at Mica's face once more. His dark brown eyes were blown. His pupils were enlarged, spilling over into his irises that made them look more like the eyes of a demon.
The moment was severed when Cassius looked away. He focused on the weight of the collar, but instead of reminding him that there was a reason why he needed to hate Mica, he found a strange comfort. Disgust boiled in his stomach. He clenched his fists as Mica opened the door.
He waved for Cassius to go ahead of him. Cassius stormed past him into the waiting room. The guards put their hands on their weapons. It was a typical reaction. He didn't blame the Remus. They were just as brainwashed as the Mekiah.
Mica was the only Remu he had to watch out for. He was a sneaky bastard who had already chosen to backstab Maxem. A traitor was the worst kind to put your trust in.
Kera was watching him with distrusting eyes. She looked at him like she was waiting for him to try and escape again. He was done with that. He doubted three times a charm applied to his predicament.
Levi was focused and stoic today which was unnerving for multiple reasons. Cassius noticed there was a gap between Levi and Kera that usually wasn't there. He wondered briefly if something had happened between them, but he wasn't too worried about it.
Marius stood even farther away. It looked as if he was trying to blend into the shadows. He would have done so if his skin wasn't so pale. That was truly the only thing that hinted that he was an Exteru.
Cassius couldn't stand any of them. They were constant reminders of how weak he was compared to the system.
Mica stood before the guards.
"General Rexton. We're here to see the Girl." Mica flashed his credentials. He also pulled out a paper. "I have written permission from the President."
The guards scrutinized the letter. One, who Cassius suspected was the higher ranking, nodded. Handed the paper back to Mica. He pulled out his own ID from under his standard black shirt. It hung from a metal chain that glowed a familiar hue of purple. He placed the ID over the handle of the door. It unlocked.
"Go ahead."
Mica tilted his head in acknowledgment and stepped through. Kera grabbed me by the arm.
"Should've kept a leash on you," she muttered.
Cassius sneered. "Should've put a muzzle on you."
She seethed and stepped up to him like she was going to hit him. Levi stepped beside her before she did. She halted, giving Levi a just as burning glare. Levi took it in stride. He didn't bat a lash.
Cassius was hauled through the door. He heard it close. He could feel Mattias creeping behind him. He wanted to crane his neck to keep an eye on him, but he settled for just keeping an eye on his feelable movements.
The inside of the observation room looked quite similar to the room they'd just walked in from. There were cameras in every corner, a medium sized metal desk, one metal chair, and a large glass window that peered into the holding cell.
Cassius couldn't help it when his body locked up. He was expecting the ward to be bad. He could feel it a room away, strangling his magic, but this was suffocating. He was fighting against the heavy magic. It was like he was under water. His lungs aches, his hands ached, and he struggled to keep a clear mind. There was panic that started in the center of his chest. He had to fight against that as well.
Tears swelled in his eyes as he looked through the one-way window. They did not fall. He made damn sure of that.
The Girl was curled in a fetal position in the center of the cell. The walls were white metal and glowed a vivid purple. The magic wafting off the ward was heavy, falling on her small body in crashing waves.
There were many magic signatures over it. All were Exteru. Cassius winced. The pain must be unbearable. It was unbelievable that she was still alive.
He had to hold himself back. He had to fight with the side of him that wanted to rush toward the glass. There was no logic in the need to save the little Girl, to get her out of that horrible place and to safety. The feeling was so foreign that he didn't know how to process it. The need wasn't like anything he'd felt before.
There was no one in this world that he cared for. His mother had once been someone he loved, but as he looked back on the circumstances, he found that it was a child's love of a caretaker. Sadly, she didn't mean much to him now.
But when he looked at the Girl, his body swelled in agony when she was in pain. When she was hurting, he hurt as well. He didn't view her as a sibling or take pity on her. It was as if she was a part of him and he would do anything to protect her.
He didn't think when he looked at Mica. All thinking was out the window. It was surprising that he could think with the damn ward melting into his brain.
Mica was looking at him as well. They seemed to be doing this a lot. The sensing thing was getting out of hand. Sooner or later one of them was going to break, get fed up with the current events, and just take it out on the other. For now, they were caught in this cycle where they would catch each other looking. The innocent looks should have disturbed Cassius. They did to some extent. Yet, he was growing accustomed to it. He was starting to like it even.
There was a strange freedom in the way that he could look upon Mica in any way he liked. The same might go for Mica, but Cassius would sure set the record straight if Mica tried anything or got a little too carried away with his looking.
"Go to her." Mica's voice was lower than a whisper. Cassius was sure that none of the others could hear. It was their connection that helped Cassius read Mica's lips.
Hesitantly, Cassius took a step toward the glass.
As if she'd heard him, the Girl stiffened. Her small hands clenched and unclenched, almost like she was deciding on whether to fight or to lay still as the pain continued to wash over her. Cassius's heart was further breaking as he came closer and saw the damage the heavy magic was having to her body. Along her thin limbs were ugly dark bruises. Some of them were days old, yellowing in a pukish color. Dark circles had formed under her large brown eyes. Her dark hair was matted, the once shiny strands, now dull.
So much had changed in the small time that had passed between the last time they'd seen each other.
He was right in front of the glass. Her eyes peered at him. She shouldn't have been able to see him. Someone might argue that she couldn't, but Cassius knew that she could. The was something else. Not Mekiah and not demon. She was akin to the Veil and the Third Eye. No one could explain their existence and they all had seemingly impossible power.
"Hello," he said, unsure of what to say to her. He thought about apologizing for leaving here. He wanted her forgiveness, yet it felt wrong to almost demand something of her.
She slowly sat up. His teeth clenched as her thin body was further revealed. She was suffering in this place. At this rate, she would be dead in the next couple of days.
Her eyes were dark than his. There was a hint of honey in there, giving her more of a child-like look. She didn't need the help. Cassius drifting even closer if that was possible. He hadn't looked anywhere else besides the window. He had to force his eyes to look down. There was an intercom button and a microphone. He almost didn't want to use it because he didn't know how sensitive she was. She was continuing to squint. The lights must be too bright.
It was a slip up to talk to her. The others might figure out something. He couldn't worry too much about Mica. The man could find out anything with his connection to the Third Eye. But the others, especially Kera and Mattias, were the ones that he had to watch out for.
He pressed the button. "Do you remember me?"
Her large eyes watched him closely. She didn't look scared. She also didn't look to be in too much pain. Maybe that was why they were going so heavy on her. That didn't excuse what they were doing to her. His chest was aching. There wasn't anything he could do to help her and that was the worst pain he could feel.
"Cassius."
He was taken aback. Her voice didn't sound like a child's, but at the same time, it did. The soft tremble was melodic, the sound of an angel, and it was music to his ears. Her words and the way she spoke them, however, were strange. They were off-putting only in the fact that they sounded like they were coming from someone far older than him. She'd only spoken his name and that was enough to tell him that what she looked like was deceiving.
It didn't change the great want to protect her whether that ended up with him dying.
He swallowed thickly. He had to remember that he wasn't here to check up on her. The others were watching him closely, their gazes burning into his back. He pushed aside all his wants, all the needs that were telling him to break her out of that disgusting cage. Even so, it left him were an aching body that almost didn't want to function if it wasn't aiding her every need.
"You were asking for me." He could form a question. It was stuck in the back of his throat.
She kept looking at him, eyes as dark as the bottom of the ocean. Then, she moved toward the glass. She couldn't fully raise up to her legs. They were so thin and frail looking that he was glad that she hadn't. They looked as if one strong gust of wind could cripple them and send her sprawling to the floor.
The white walls and floor made her tan skin look much darker. The shade was warm, hints of honey underneath. It matched her honey tinted eyes.
When she was right before him, it truly stuck him how small she was. She was a child. He'd felt and heard her in his head, but it took just this for him to truly see the reality. Though she might talk like an old and wise creature, she was a child in heart and soul. She didn't understand things like adults did. She didn't see the evil treatment toward her as abuse, but as a sign that she'd done something wrong when she hadn't.
She placed her small hand on the glass.
Cassius could feel the ward's magic before he saw it. His eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat. The ward zapped the Girl so hard that she stumbled back. Cassius slammed his hands on the table, afraid that she was going to fall over.
As his heart raced, the Girl looked down at her hand. There was a large red mark on her tan skin. She was burnt. Badly. Already the skin was starting to flake.
She looked from her hand and to him. She couldn't see him, he had to remind himself. It was just unnerving that she could sense him.
"He's coming, Cassius. You need to find him." Her voice was soft as ever, but where there use to be calm, there was pleading and worry.
Her emotions traveled through the air—the Veil. He could feel her through it.
Then he understood what she was silently telling him. She would find him through the Veil. She wouldn't be able to use it as an escape when she was trapped like this, but she could send her thoughts.
She was stronger than anyone Cassius had ever met. Not even the demon's power could come close.
Cassius was just about to ask her exactly who she was talking about. He needed to be prepared for a fight. He also had a demon and a deranged Mekiah to worry about.
But the conversation was cut short when the door opened.
Cassius turned around. Lucius stood in the doorway.
The door locked behind him.
"Mica. I'm not surprised you're breaking protocol again."
Mica raised a brow. "It's General Rexton. Have you forgot I outrank you?"
Lucius narrowed his eyes. "And as an Exteru I outrank you outside this base. How did you get in here?"
Cassius stood in front of where the Girl was standing on the other side of the glass. The unconscious move caught Lucius's attention. He curled his upper lip.
"What the fuck is he doing here?"
Mica shook his head. "Can you go without cursing for one day?"
"Mica—"
"It's Rexton, Lucius. Would you prefer I call you by father's favorite nickname?"
Lucius's cheeks turned a light shade of pink.
"Get out."
The smile that stretched across Mica's lips was cruel. "We were just leaving."
Mica tilted his head while looking across the room toward the others. Cassius watched the silent exchange but didn't move. He wasn't waiting for anything. All he was thinking about was protecting the Girl. And even if he really couldn't do that with the ward and with her being in a prison, he did as much as he could do.
Lucius shoved Mica out of the way with his shoulder as he walked by. Mica took most of it in stride, but Cassius didn't miss the glare that followed Lucius as he made his way to the observation window. A growl surprised all three of them. Lucius paused, halting midstep. His hand raised briefly. When Cassius didn't attack him, he lowered it, glaring at Cassius so strongly that it was a wonder that Cassius still had his head.
"Cassius."
The first time Mica called, Cassius couldn't respond. His eyes were locked with Lucius. The Girl was pleading for him to stay though they both knew that he needed to leave. She would explain all that he needed to know when it was right. She was the one telling him those things through the Veil. They were faint whispers, but they were loud enough and clear enough for him to understand.
"Cassius," Mica stressed once more.
Finally, Cassius pulled his eyes away from Lucius's ice blue ones. As if a spell had been broken, he stepped away from the glass. Each step was like ripping out a tooth. When Mica lead him out of the observation room, he was left with a bloody mouth and the taste of copper in the back of his throat.
He glanced over his shoulder. She was watching him. And so was Lucius.