Cassius couldn't believe what he was being told. He glared at Lucius—the fucking Exteru that had been moments away from killing him for fun when they first met—and tried to fight off the urge to strangle the asshole.
He bit his tongue and turned his murderous stare to Mica. Mica stared right back. He simply blinked like there wasn't anything wrong with the idea of Lucius going in the Veil with Cassius. Cassius wanted to strangle him too. Maybe even more because of all the lying bullshit he spewed just the night before. What happened to Mica being on his side?
Cassius was glad that he hadn't believed him at all.
"No," he finally said. He gritted his teeth and crossing his arms. "I'm not doing it."
Lucius gave a look of disgust. "He talks to you like this and you tolerate it?"
Mica gave no indication that he was annoyed or frustrated. Cassius could feel it though.
"How I handle him is my business." Mica turned toward Cassius. "This will be the last time. I promise that."
Cassius furrowed his brows. "Even if we don't capture the Mekiah?"
"Yes." Mica said it so firmly that Cassius really couldn't believe otherwise. The conviction in his voice wasn't the only thing that convinced him though.
He could feel it once more in their connection though it wasn't as strong as it had first been. The time between then and now had dampened the connection to more of an echo or a faint sensation.
Lucius still had a disgust look on his face. He looked between the two of them, shaking his head. "This is unreasonable, Mica."
It sounded strange hearing Mica's name on Lucius's tongue. The way he said it made it seem like they were closer than they were. Cassius wouldn't say that he didn't like it, but it made him uneasy. He still didn't trust Mica and if he was still close to Lucius—well, that made it even harder for Cassius to open up to him.
He took a good hard look at Mica and Lucius, studying them to see if there was anything given away with just then standing next to one another. Mica kept his face cool and it felt like he was reeling in his emotions so that Cassius couldn't feel a thing. That was odd.
Very odd.
At that moment, when the tension was growing so thick that it could be cut, the door opened.
Levi walked through, looking just as irritated as he had the last few times Cassius had seen him. Behind him was of course, Kera, who didn't look much different than Levi. They both wore a face of irritation and awkwardness that Cassius was sure Lucius and Mica picked up on.
Levi held the silver case that had the equipment in it. He walked to the center of the room and sat it down on the small table by the chair Cassius had been strapped to the day before.
Though he'd done it many times—many times in his small lifetime—ever since yesterday, he couldn't stop thinking about how he'd failed. Again and again because of this one Mekiah. Now, he had no magic and Mica was going to push him to chase the Mekiah down one more time.
He could be killed. Lucius would be with him, but how was that supposed to make him feel safe?
He guess it was kind of his fault though. He hadn't told Mica what had happened with the Mekiah or who the Mekiah was. Though he didn't know their identity exactly, but he knew that they were more powerful than anyone had ever guessed. They welded that scythe with such precision that there was no doubt in Cassius's mind that they had extensive training. Not military though.
And of course he hadn't said anything about the sword he'd somehow conjured. He wasn't even sure he could say it was him that had created that sword. It was his magic. It had taken over some part of him and turned itself into the weapon that was directly connected to him.
The door was about to close once more when Mattius grabbed it at the last second. He threw it open and stepped through, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his black jeans.
Everyone in the room looked at him and then at his relaxed attire. He rolled his eyes.
"I'm not going in so I thought I wouldn't have to be dressed for it."
Lucius looked like his head was going to pop off. "Mica—"
Mica waved his hand. "I'll deal with it later. Your input is not welcome."
Cassius would have laughed if he wasn't starting to feel sick. As he looked around the room, an impending doom began to settle over him. He was going to die. If he wasn't going to die, he was going to be seriously injured and what use would he be then? He'd be left to die in the cells.
His heart felt a crushing weight slam down on it. Invisible hands reached inside his chest and crushed his insides. He took one staggering breath, but it wasn't enough. His lungs twisted and in a split second, the room swirled like water going down a drain.
"Cassius?"
A warm sturdy hand grasped his shoulder. He jerked his head to the side, coming back from the dark place he'd been slipping to. Mica's worried gaze fell on him. He turned away again. A burning hurt spread across his face mixing with the shame he felt.
All eyes were on him now. He didn't acknowledge them. But he couldn't ignore it either. The feeling of discomfort was too strong to push away.
"Let's get this over with," he choked out. He swallowed. His dry throat fought against it.
Levi was the only one how stopped watching him like a hawk. He set to work fixing up the dosage in the needle. When he was done, he nervously nodded toward Cassius.
"If you're—"
He didn't finish as Cassius walked away from Mica's worried touch and slid onto the chair.
This time felt much different than all the times before. Usually, it was just him and one of the Shadows that would push him to the Veil. This time, he was surrounded by his entire SWARM and Lucius. He closed his eyes to hopefully mask how on edge he was feeling. Mica could probably feel it. It was why he'd put his hand on Cassius's shoulder like that was going to make him feel better.
His mouth twisted. Mica really thought he was helping. It was foul. And he'd done it in front of everyone here like he didn't care if they started to become suspicious. What about Lucius? He was Maxem's biological son. His fucking heir—successor to the Presidency.
He jolted when Levi gently grabbed his wrist. "Please, try to calm down. Your fluctuating emotions will kicked you out."
He leaned down to whisper his warning. Cassius detested that Levi too wanted to be the nice guy. He wasn't. Not when he was on their side, playing their games, and benefiting from his misery.
When everything came down to it, Cassius would kill Levi to save himself. It didn't matter if Levi was the nicest out of all of them, since the beginning too. They were enemies, putted against by the Exterus that ruled over all of them. The same went for Mica.
Cassius slowly opened his eyes. "I'll try."
Levi avoided Cassius's eyes. "I'm going to strap you down now."
Cassius didn't say anything as Levi worked on the straps. Kera came in to help and Cassius had to fight the urge to kick her in the face when she bent down to buckle his legs. He called it a win when he didn't. His legs didn't even twitch.
Once he was strapped down tightly, Levi grabbed the needle. "Ready?"
"Just do it."
Levi stabbed the needle in. Cassius felt his magic rushing to the surface—what was left of it anyway. He closed his eyes once more and searched out for the Third Eye. It was there, its ghostly hands wrapping around him like it had been waiting since the beginning. It had in a way. It was always waiting for him.
He sagged in its embrace, letting it pump him full of magic that was its own brand. It was a drug, sucking him deeper until he was numb to the rest of the world. And when he thought he was going to be consumed by the Third Eye completely, he was shoved into the Veil.
The Veil was lifeless, the opposite of the Third Eye. The coldness surrounding him clutched onto him like a leech. He gasped, his lungs feeling like they were collapsing. The Veil latched onto his magic and the magic the Third Eye was pumping into him. He tried to stand. His legs teetered left and then right as he found his balance.
He felt like a rag doll. His insides didn't feel like his own. In some way, they weren't. He was living off borrowed magic and he wasn't sure how long it was going to last.
The first minutes he just stood there, getting used to the strange feeling. When he didn't feel so off kilter, he searched out like he'd done the day before. He'd just sent out a thread of magic when the Veil opened and Lucius appeared by his side.
Lucius looked at the Tracking thread. "Impressive."
Cassius narrowed his eyes, but he kept his attention on the thread. "Somehow, I get the feeling that was sarcastic."
Lucius stared at him. He looked Cassius up and down, a certain calculating look on his face that Cassius didn't like at all. Cassius bit the inside of his cheek. He focused on remaining calm. If he let Lucius get under his skin, he would lose his control over his thread of magic. He wasn't going to fuck this mission up.
He was going to bring that fucking Mekiah back so he could be done with this.
Lucius held up his left hand. A crackle of white electric swirled above his palm as if it was suspended there. With a slow gesture, the electric magic shot out from him and circled around Cassius's Tracking thread.
Cassius jumped as Lucius's magic zapped him. The pain was light. He could barely feel it, but it was irritating like when he got shocked by static.
"What the fuck are you doing?"
"Watch your tone," Lucius drawled. He flicked his hand and his magic tightened up on the thread.
Cassius hissed. "You're not my General."
He'd put up with so much shit in his time being here. First Iza, then Rexton, and everyone else in between. He wasn't going to take shit from Lucius when he was doing the job he'd been enslaved to do. He didn't even care if Lucius tried to kill him. Though he highly doubted the Exteru had the guts to do so.
Cassius sent a pulse through his thread to push Lucius's magic off of it. Lucius only tightened his hold on it.
"I'm helping," Lucius said.
Cassius curled his upper lip. He had to fight the urge to turn and snarl at the asshole. "No, you're not."
He could do this own even if he didn't have the full extent of his magic. He had the Third Eye. Lucius would shit himself if he knew.
But Cassius had to play it cool. He couldn't let Lucius know about the help he was getting from the other side. Why Mica thought this was a good idea was beyond him. Was this another political move? Or did he actually think they could make progress by insisting Lucius's help?
Lucius's magic was wrapping around him like a noose. Deep down in his gut, all he felt was disgust. He wanted to recoil from the electric shocks being sent through his body. It was like he'd stuck his figure into a socket—except it was worse. It was more like he'd taken his nervous system and plugged it into a generator.
A bead of sweat trailed down his temple.
"Having trouble?" Lucius stood like nothing was happening. He almost looked bored by the situation.
However, even when he was preoccupied, Cassius could read the Exteru like a pamphlet. He was enjoying the stress Cassius was under. He was getting off on it like this was the sole reason he was here in the first place.
Oh. Oh, fuck.
Then it dawned on him that Mica hadn't implored for Lucius's help. The weasel might have done what he did best and worked himself in for his own benefit.
Though Cassius didn't know what Lucius would gain from coming onto the mission with him.
Cassius was sidetracked for a split second thinking about what Lucius could possibly up to when he felt a tug back on the string. Lucius felt it too. He stood up straighter and took the situation more seriously. Cassius took steady breaths as he waited for the Mekiah to show up. He could feel him on the other side of the line. The Mekiah magic was surging through the line just as it had before. This time however, Cassius was ready for it.
Just as the blue streak of magic started curling around his, he yanked back, dragging the Mekiah with it.
The Mekiah surged forward with a startling cry. He appeared seemingly out of nowhere, but though he was caught off guard, he was still prepared with his scythe already out. His bright blue hair glared at Cassius.
"You just can't stay out of this, can you?" He spat the words out as if they were a curse. Then, he turned his glare to Lucius.
His eyes widened. "What the fuck?"
Lucius smiled. "Hello."
The Mekiah growled, his gaze turning murderous. He tightened his hold on his scythe and got into fighting stance. "I've killed Exterus before. You won't be a problem."
Lucius tsked. "Hm. We'll see about that."
Cassius rolled his eyes at the two of them. He made work reeling in his Tracking string while they fluffed their feathers at each other. He thought about conjuring the sword like before, but he didn't know if he could. He also didn't know if it was a wise decision with Lucius there. He didn't look surprised to see the glowing blue scythe in the Mekiah's hand. Or if he was, he was hiding it well.
The Mekiah took a step toward Lucius, raising his scythe over his head. As he was about to bring it down, a black figure appeared behind the Mekiah.
Cassius went still. Lucius balked, almost tripping over his feet. The Mekiah swiped his blade down, almost striking Lucius, but he'd blocked the attack with a blast of his magic. He stared past the Mekiah, his eyes wide as he looked at the dark figure moving toward them.
"What the hell is that?" He yelled over the sound of his magic and the Mekiah's colliding.
Cassius lost his breath for a second. He watched as the dark figure walked toward them. He could feel them before he could see their face. The throbbing in his neck was another clue, but he didn't need it. The magic he felt flowing through the air from the figure was enough.
The Demon. It was here.
A look of shock and fear crossed the Mekiah's face. He jolted back from Lucius like he'd been burned. He turned to the side, raising his scythe in front of him in defense as he looked toward the demon.
The demon came toward the three of them in a leisurely pace. It looked like it was gliding across the ground. Almost as if the Veil was moving it toward them. Cassius stared in amazement—partly fear but mostly in aw. He was shocked by his own urge to get closer. He clenched his hand, still paying attention to the Mekiah and Lucius from the corner of his eyes, but most of his attention was taken by the demon.
Though he'd seen it before, it had always been alone. This time he didn't feel threatened. He thought he should be since it was a fucking demon, but he just couldn't. As it came closer he saw it's deep dark skin and its humanoid body.
He couldn't keep calling the demon an it. It was a man. There was no way around it. He was dressed only in smooth leather that was wrapped around his waist in a makeshift skirt. His glowing lavender eyes looked right past Cassius and locked onto Lucius.
The next seconds flew by so fast that Cassius didn't even have the time to blink.
The demon was in front of him one moment and then, in a flash of light, he was on the other side of him and Lucius. He grabbed Lucius by his neck and flung him to the ground like he was nothing more than a rag doll.
Lucius slammed to the ground. His hands clawed at the demon's strong arm. The demon didn't so much as flinch. His magic swelled around him, creating a sort of bubble that was almost pungent like smoke. It burned Cassius's throat all the same.
Cassius was frozen, forced to watch Lucius struggle to get out of the demon's hold. He shook off the hesitation and ran toward the two of them, not knowing what the fuck he was going to do against a demon.
He went to sent a message back to Levi, Kera, and Mica when the Mekiah wrapped his electrifying magic around Cassius's waist.
"Shit!"
He was yanked back. He flew through the air and crashed to the ground at the Mekiah's feet.
"You wanted to fight. So let's fight!"
Cassius was struck with shock for a moment as he gazed up at the Mekiah. His bright blue eyes were like ice slicing right through Cassius's chest. There was only a split second between the Mekiah swinging his blade to the side and him bringing it down where Cassius was sprawled.
There was no time for him to think. Cassius rolled to the side as the scythe came swinging down. He let out a weak wheeze that felt like his body was being crushed under a large boulder.
He sprung to his feet. He felt the scythe barely graze by his leg. If he hadn't been fast enough he would have been missing a limb. But it seemed luck was on his side for just this day. He faced the Mekiah. He pinned his gaze on him, not daring to take his eyes off of him at all.
He'd let the Mekiah get away so many times before. He wasn't going to let them go now.
He didn't know why the Mekiah had wounded his ego so much. He also didn't know why he wanted to pin him under his foot so bad either. It wasn't like he was looking for a reward when he brought the Mekiah in like a dog bringing in a squirrel for its master.
He didn't get the chance to think about his next move before a rope of magic wrapped around his throat. It tightened to the point he thought it was going to cut straight through his neck. He grabbed it, lessening its hold, but he didn't have enough strength to completely rip it off. He was tugged toward the Mekiah and he could do nothing but fall forward.
When he looked up, he saw the Mekiah's eyes burning with rage. He didn't understand how someone he didn't know could hate him so much. Even out of all the people that had been cruel to him—Iza, Felix, Lucius, any Exteru—hadn't looked upon him with such hatred. It was the kind of hate that had meaning. Everyone else before the Mekiah had only hated him because he was Mekiah. This time, when those blue eyes glared at him, there was history and he couldn't even begin to understood why.
The only thing he did understand in that moment was that there was nothing he could do to reverse it.
His fate was sealed and no amount of pleading would save him.