Cassius was sure he was going to die. As many times as he'd come to his end before, he believed this was the very moment he would stop existing completely.
The blade pressed tightly to his neck. It cut through his skin, the pain shooting through him, yet, it didn't hurt like he thought it would. It was faint—like it was beneath the surface or far away. Numb wasn't the right word, but it was close.
Time slowed down to where seconds felt like minutes. He wanted to close his eyes. He couldn't. Something he couldn't explain kept him frozen as he stared into the Mekiah's eyes. The hatred seared right through him, twisting with the pain, and it almost felt like they were the same thing.
The Mekiah hesitated. A look of uncertainty crossed his face, but it didn't last. The hatred came back once more, burning ten times as hotter.
And as the blade threatened to cut right through Cassius's neck—
A black hand shot out and grabbed the blade.
The sharp metal cut through the palm of the Demon's hand. Blood coated the silver and fell to the ground.
Cassius stared in shock as the Demon shoved the scythe back. The Mekiah was just as shocked. His blue eyes widened and he stumbled back. He clutched tightly to the handle of the scythe. He looked down at where the Demon's blood stained it.
And then, the metal that was coated in the blood, began to disintegrate. The Mekiah gaped at the damage.
The Demon took the opening and lashed out at the Mekiah with his bare hands. The Mekiah jumped back. He held his scythe out to block the next strike. When the Demon's hand hit it this time, the scythe burst into a colorful array of dust.
The Mekiah jerked back, holding his right hand. There was a large cut in the palm of his hand. Blood dripped from it and the blue of his magic flickered.
A look of horror crossed his face.
The Demon kept coming after him, attacking like he was wired to do only that. The Mekiah stopped trying to counterattack. He dodged and defended, but moved quickly away as much as he could. With his other hand, he shot out a blast of magic that opened a part of the Veil.
At the last second before he jumped through, his eyes locked onto Cassius.
"I'll be back for you. I promise."
He was gone. The void sealed up where he disappeared. The Demon stood where the Mekiah had once been. He turned, his red eyes glowing bright in the otherwise darkness. His bleeding hand healed in an instant. His eyes locked onto Cassius and just like that, Cassius went from being attacked by his own to having to worry about being killed by a Demon.
The Demon crossed the distance between them in a moment. Cassius still couldn't move. His body locked up as the Demon leaned down. And as his face got closer to Cassius's, he opened his mouth, baring his sharp teeth that had sunk deep into Cassius's neck.
Cassius's heart stopped. He saw his meaningless life flash before his eyes—but it was images of a past he didn't remember. The images was of a Mekiah woman crying over him, her face blemished by bruises so horrific that she was left disfigured. The dark images made him wish he'd never been born. There were others like him surrounding the woman, but he couldn't see their faces. They were young like him, too small to know the torture their mother went through everyday.
The Demon didn't attack. He hovered, his mouth open, as if he were about to speak. No words came from him.
"What the fuck are you doing?!"
Lucius grabbed Cassius by the back of his collar and yanked him back. The Veil opened up. It swallowed them and then Cassius was tumbling through it to the other side.
Cassius gasped. He lurched forward. The straps held him down, keeping him anchored to the chair. Levi removed the needle and checked Cassius's vitals.
"He's steady."
Cassius blinked. The room came into focus. A foul taste burst over his tongue.
Before he could understand what had just happened, Lucius jumped off his own chair and grabbed Cassius by the neck.
"Tell me what you know!"
Cassius choked. He clawed at Lucius's hand. He kicked his legs out, but Lucius didn't so much as flinch.
Levi, Mica, and Kera jumped on Lucius and pulled him off.
"Calm yourself!" Mica yelled. He shoved Lucius back, slamming his fists into Lucius's chest until Lucius finally got the message.
He pointed his finger at Cassius. "I saw him! The demon jumped in to save him from the Mekiah."
Everyone went still. Slowly, everyone's eyes turned toward Cassius.
His chest was heavy. He took ragged breaths as he looked back at all of them.
"Unstrap me."
Levi undid the straps. When he was done, Cassius sat up and turned to the side. His head was spinning and his stomach flipped. He took a long breath, hoping that he didn't throw up. He was just as confused as Lucius. He didn't know what the hell was going on with the demon. The last time he'd been around it, he was sure that it was out to kill him, but now, he didn't know.
A hand landed on his shoulder. He jumped.
"Levi, take him to my room."
"Yes, sir."
The hand lifted and the weight on Cassius's chest lifted as well. His stomach still rattled.
He barely noticed anything as he was taken to Mica's rooms. Levi looked like he wanted to say something as Cassius walked through the door of the room without a struggle. But Levi closed the door after him. Kera had looked like she wanted to spit in his face, but he didn't know if it was because of what Lucius said or because she was just being her regular self.
He fell face first into the bed. It felt good to not be chained though he kinda wished he was. Now, it felt like he wasn't even trying anymore. As if they'd finally broken his spirits and he was giving in.
Almost like he'd finally been domesticated.
He slammed his fist into the mattress. He screamed into the pillow until he felt stupid for doing so. His body went limp, but his fist wouldn't unclench. He was ready to explode. And he just knew that if Mica walked through the door right now, Cassius would kill him.
***
Cassius was sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for Mica to return when the door opened. Mica slipped through with an exhausted look on his face. His hair was slightly disheveled as if he'd been running his hand through it. But it was only those small things that gave away how Mica was feeling. Cassius studied the man as he walked in and paused when he saw Cassius sitting on the bed as still as a statue.
"He's going to find out," Cassius said monotonously.
Mica studied Cassius. His eyes roamed Cassius's tensed body until they settled on Cassius's clenched fists. He took a step forward, not a fiber of his being afraid of Cassius. That was more of a blow to Cassius's ego than anything.
Not even when Mica knew that Cassius also had a connection to the Third Eye, not when Cassius had his power back, and not when he just found out that the demon was seemingly was protecting him, he wasn't afraid. He was so confident and assured of his own power that it pissed Cassius off so much. Was there anything he could do to bring Mica down a peg?
Was there anything he could do to stop being a tier below Mica in the man's eyes?
Mica placed his hand on Cassius's neck—right where the demon had bitten him.
Cassius hit the hand away. "Don't fucking touch me."
Mica held his hand in the air. There wasn't anger reflected in his eyes. There was nothing now. A void that Cassius could see himself falling into him. He was equal parts disgusted at himself and not surprised. He swore he wouldn't be broken down, but Mica was doing just that.
The promise of something more, freedom on the tip of his fingers, made him more fragile. He kept letting his guard down when he needed it the most and Mica was taking advantage of that. He'd wormed his way in with the help of the Third Eye. Cassius was going to break. It was only a matter of time now.
Mica's hand lowered. "Lucius won't do anything."
"Really?" Cassius curled his upper lip. "How do you know?"
Mica's eyes hardened. "I won't let him."
Cassius didn't know if he believed him. All that Mica said sounded sweet—were things he'd longed to hear for years—but the bitterness was starting to settle in. Mica talked big, but there were always consequences to his promises.
He turned his head away. A feeling of doubt settled in his stomach. He didn't want to voice his concern, though he didn't think he needed to. Mica already knew how Cassius felt about the situation. Speaking it aloud would only be beating a dead horse.
"I'll prove it to you," Mica said. His voice hardened.
Cassius went rigid. That tone was the same Mica used when he was General Rexton. While Mica wrote it off as a character he played when needed, Cassius didn't fully believe that General Rexton wasn't part of Mica's personality. The slip in his voice was evidence of that.
"I don't know how, but I will." Mica grabbed Cassius's thighs. He leaned forward, looking up in a poor pose of begging forgiveness.
Cassius clenched his jaw as he slowly turned his gaze down at Mica. He took a long look at the man. His face and eyes were hard—almost unreadable, but Cassius was getting better at reading the man that had been such a puzzle when they first met. There was still a level of mystery surrounding Mica. An air about him that said that it would be impossible to predict anything about him.
It was Cassius's own stubbornness that made him want to disprove that notion. He wanted to dig deep into Mica, rip him apart so that he could know every inch about him, so that he would not be a mystery any longer.
And there was a dark need along with that to break Mica down. He want to destroy him until he was a puddle of goo, living solely for Cassius.
No one had ever made Cassius feel that way before.
It made him sick.
Cassius grabbed Mica's hands and shoved them into Mica's chest. Mica went sprawling to the ground. To Cassius's frustration, Mica still sported that hard expression. Cassius wanted so badly to make the man crumble, to make him feel anything but this stoic-ness that pissed Cassius off so much.
"Do it then. But I want to sleep."
He stepped over Mica's legs to the side of the bed. He turned his back to him and stripped from the stupid uniform. It was making him itch.
He heard Mica get up from the floor, but he wasn't scared that Mica would do something. If he wanted to hurt Cassius, he could have done it before. And he had. Cassius still remembered the whipping—his back still remembered the lashes.
He closed his eyes and forced the memories to fade into black.
As he threw his jacket onto the floor, he heard the door open and close.
***
Mica entered Maxem's office just as a glass cup shattered against the wall.
"I want him dead!" Lucius slammed his hands onto Maxem's desk and leaned over it. "I swear, father, if he brings more vermin from the Veil, it'll be you to be blamed."
Maxem sighed. "Oh, son, you were always so melodramatic."
Lucius reared back. "This isn't a joke! The Mekiah is working with a demon. A demon!"
Mica cleared his throat. "The Mekiah is not working with a demon. He was attacked."
Maxem gave a tight smile. "Mica. I wasn't expecting you."
Lucius scoffed in disgust. "Speaking of vermin, the rat of Keshtin has come to do some spying of his own."
The door closed behind Mica. He walked into the room, ignoring the chairs in front of Maxem's desk as Lucius had done.
He knew right away that he wasn't welcomed. Not even Maxem could fully hide that he wished to be left alone. But Mica couldn't trust Lucius to be left alone with Maxem when Cassius's life was on the line. Maxem might be interested in Cassius, but he wasn't going to risk a rebellion, especially one that included a demon.
"I'm not here to spy. I want to clear the name of my Tracker."
Maxem leaned back in his chair. He was a short ways from kicking his feet up and getting a glass of liquor to sip on. That was saying something. Maxem didn't drink and he appalled the idea of feet on furniture.
"From what Lucius has told me, your Tracker is in quite the entanglement. I think he's beyond clearing."
Lucius grinned evilly. He looked simply manic. Mica furrowed his brows at his adoptive brother. The look on his face was unsettling. It was unlike anything Mica had seen before. Even when Lucius was at his foulest he never looked this level of deranged. He was almost foaming at the mouth and was twitching like he couldn't keep still.
"That's right, Mica. Try to talk yourself out of this one."
Mica's confusion was replaced with annoyance. He'd been dealing with Lucius's antics for years now, but they still got on his nerves. Ever since he became the high General of Keshtin, it had gotten worse. Lucius could just not let it go that Maxem had given the position to Mica.
It was a combination of sibling envy and possibly racism. A Remu in one of the highest positions in the country was surely going to piss any Exteru off. Lucius more so since he was the blood son of the most powerful man in the world. In his eyes, and everyone else's, he should have been in a higher rank that Mica.
"Lucius." Maxem sent his blood son a warning look. "Be quiet."
There were few times that Maxem was harsh with either of them. Lucius got away with a lot of things, but when he started to push his father's buttons, he was treated just the same as everyone else.
Lucius frowned at being scolded. He crossed his arms and glared at Mica. The little attitude was no longer amusing to Mica. He'd seen enough and heard enough. He wanted this night to be over with. He wanted to relax before he had to deal with the shit-storm that would be tomorrow. Just thinking about how his SWARM would be reacting was giving him a headache.
He ignored Lucius's glare and focused entirely on Maxem. "This is a misunderstanding. Cassius has been under my supervision since he got to Keshtin. It would be impossible for him to be in touch with a demon."
"What about before he came to Keshtin? He and another Mekiah were attacked in Parlera. He could have been in contact with the demon then."
Mica knew that would be brought up. "It would have been their first meeting. I looked through the logs for the past year. Cassius was exclusively used for escaped inmates and Mekiah for six months. Before then, he's only Tracked two other demons. Each of them were Exterminated by the Exteru on base."
Maxem leaned forward. He rested his arm on his desk, fist pressed to his chin as he thought. "And you're not withholding information?"
Mica kept his expression neutral. "No, sir."
Maxem stared at him for a prolonged moment. He seemed to be satisfied with what he saw because he sat back with a nod.
Lucius gaped. "That's it? You're going to believe him? That Mekiah—"
"Get out of my office, Lucius." Maxem narrowed his eyes at Lucius.
Lucius blinked. "But—"
Maxem waved his hand in a shooing motion. "Out."
Lucius clenched his fists at his sides. There was a spark that ran from his fist and up his arm. It fizzled out after a second. Lucius sent Mica one last glare before he stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. The frame shook with the force of the slam.
"This isn't the end, Mica."
Maxem's hardened voice drew Mica's attention back. He watched his pseudo father stand from his desk. He didn't look happy or in the calm state that he usually was in. That was the type of face he liked to keep on. It made people lower their defenses. But Mica knew the truth behind the facade. Maxem was nothing but a cold-hearted man that would do anything to get what he wanted.
That was how he became the ruler of Xtavia. It was how he'd been its ruler for the past two hundred years and would continue to be its ruler until someone knocked him off the throne.
"My cabinet," Maxem said with repulsion, "has conveyed some concerns about me appointing you."
He tapped his finger on his desk as he turned to look out the large window behind him. "They have requested a hearing."
All the color drained from Mica's face. "What?"
Maxem didn't look at him. He continued to stared out the window at something Mica couldn't give a shit about.
"I was going to tell you later. But seeing that your Tracker has caused more trouble with Lucius, I'm afraid delaying would only cause more tension to brew."
Mica clenched his jaw. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. It wouldn't be wise to get angry right now. He needed to stay calm and figure out what the Hell was going on.
"When?"
He didn't care that Maxem basically just admitted that some of the cabinet members were making alliances with Lucius. He was well aware that all members of the government were dirty. They all had their own agendas to push. What he was interested in was Maxem's reaction. Something told Mica that Maxem was worried his cabinet members were planning a way to push him out of power.
The cabinet members were just as old as Maxem. They had fought in the first war against the Mekiah and had solidified themselves into positions of power. It seemed they were bored with their leader and wanted someone new in. Someone that might be more malleable to their demands.
"Tomorrow."
Well, fuck.