Jaxon sat heavily on the soft chair but instantly regretted it. He grunted and clasped his chest, he held his breath for a while and closed his eyes, and after a while, the seemingly endless torment stopped.
"You've seen better days," said Jessica, sitting beside him.
"It's not as bad as it looks," he said with a forced laugh.
He grunted again, every action he took that forced him to make instantaneous moves caused immense pain, his ribs were cracked, his sternum busted and a hole in his chest had just closed.
"Don't push yourself," a voice manly spoke from across the room.
Joshua pushed the door fully open and quietly walked in. His eyes fixed on the pages of a book as he walked to the chair opposite to him and sat, he then closed the book and looked at Jaxon.
Jaxon's right hand was strapped, bandages ran across his chest and he had dark circles under his eyes. He felt grateful that the injury was only minor, his heart had been speared.
"So, would you mind explaining to me what the hell is happening?"
His tone was serious which was solemn. Most often Joshua was the calm, rational, and calculative type. It was to be expected as he was the eldest (the first Son) as well as the Grandmaster of the Twelve Sons.
"It has something to do with Jericho killing Cain's Lover, about a thousand years ago."
"Cain's lover?" asked Jessica a bit surprised.
"Yeah, a Japanese girl I think. By the time I got there, the field was soaked with blood and body parts. Cain was laying on the ground, and both Jericho and Cain had visible injuries. It was a scene from the war."
"It was also around then when Jericho disappeared without a trace." said Joshua thoughtfully, "well this is tricky. So, to get to the bottom of things we need to find both Jericho and Cain."
"Easier said than done," said Jessica, " due to Cain's sudden declaration, the others are stuck handling International negotiations with the Order."
"In that case, I think it is safe to say we need to settle this matter quickly," Joshua said rising.
"Where are you going?" asked Jaxon.
"I have a lead I need to look into, we may need to be wary of Cain since he may be far stronger than before."
"I can't be sure, I wasn't fighting at my best, rather I wasn't serious."
"Let's hope so," he said opening the door, "brief Jessicah on every detail about that time. I will be back."
* * *
"So, Jericho killed Cain's lover and Cain wants revenge. . . how petty." thought Joshua, "Oh well, he has always been the emotional type."
Outside, there was a ruckus. A woman shouting, trying to get someone's attention. That was unorthodox, he was wondering who was trying to create commotion in his estate. He walked in the direction of the commotion and came across a jacked Afro-American man walking slowly in his direction.
A petite woman holding a tablet close to her chest struggled in vain to halt his movements. She had a black blazer and a short pencil skirt with stiletto heels. She looked like an office worker with her pair of glasses.
"Joshua Reuben Pendragon," the black man called him.
He spoke in the famous Afro-American accent. He had dreadlocks, was fairly tall six feet three, and wore black jeans and boots, a grey t-shirt, and a bomber jacket. From his physic, he was a man that practiced calisthenics with a combination of body weight training.
He looked down at Joshua patronizingly.
"Sir Joshua, I am afraid he wouldn't listen . . . " the young lady probably his secretary desperately tried to explain.
"It's ok, you can leave now," ordered Joshua.
He turned to the man and one thought crossed his mind. The man before him was currently regarded as the strongest human. Like him, he was a representative of the Order, that only meant their actions were being monitored.
"What brings you here, Mr. Luckas,"
"One of your bros is causing trouble in my world, you know I won't stand for it."
"We are working on it," he said with obvious shortness of temper.
"You better kill the noise, cause you to need to keep in mind your staying here is a privilege, not a luxury. If this escalates further, the Oder will take action. "
"Fear not, I will have this matter settled, but don't tell me that is all you came here to tell me?"
A smile flashed across his face as if he had been waiting for that particular moment.
"How about you let my Faction handle this?"
"No!" replied Joshua.
Joshua folded his hands and glared at the man. Luckas however did not back off, he glared back, and the atmosphere was changing rapidly. Tension griped.
"You know Cain is not the problem, right, if your little brother manages to piss off the big bad Jericho all of us will pay for it. Keep that in mind as you clean your shit,"
He walked passed Joshua bumping his shoulder. Joshua looked ahead folding a fist tightly, he relaxed thinking against it. He did not want to cause further trouble with the Human faction.
"Oh! and Josh," he called turning to him.
"Word of advice, the other factions are thinking of acting up, I can only keep them at bay for long enough, consider that a favor for old times' sake,"
"I appreciate that," he said and walked on.
As he did, his mind began racing as he considered the gravity of the situation. All he could think about was that Cain's little theatrics was causing him a shit load of trouble. The arrival of Luckas was an omen, that things would get bigger if he didn't act immediately.
"Call Jessie," he spoke to the young lady who had joined him, "and tell him to meet me in Japan."
"Consider it done Sir Joshua."
* * *
His eyes slowly opened to the darkness around him. He rubbed them and rapidly blinked feeling the moisture around the edges. He wondered whether he had been crying. And wondered why.
"Where am I?" he thought.
His eyes darted around, a sense of nostalgia ensuing him. He then looked at his hands, his small frail hands, they were unnatural like he had never used them, or if he did he forgot. He rose his lanky body and looked around. It was pitch black, for some reason it felt very familiar.
"Cain, are you up yet?" a voice spoke.
The scenery started changing. A gash of warm wind, then calmness. Birds chirping and a peaceful atmosphere. He was resting under a tree. The sun was shining brightly but the shade was to die for. Summer. He looked up at a twelve-year-old girl staring at him, he couldn't see her face.
"Yeah, I guess so," he said. "What am I doing here?"
The girl looked at him mischievously.
"Don't you remember?" she asked, her voice was cute.
He struggled to look at the girl's face but couldn't. Then a drop of blood landed on his wrist. Then another and another. He panicked. There was a huge hole in the girl's chest and blood in her mouth.
"Cain? Why did you let me die."
Just then, he woke up sweating buckets. He looked around, he was alone on his bed. He exhaled deeply and dropped onto the bed looking up. It was only a dream, but the blood was so vivid. But what was the dream about? Like the other times he had forgotten.
"Lord Cain? You seem to be having dreams again. You seemed uncomfortable. " Gabriel spoke from a seat beside his bed.
There was throbbing on his chest. He couldn't move. The cuts from the fight were still visible, not healing. Such was the effect of being cut with a Holy spear. From time to time it sent pulses of pain across his body. Maybe it was the pain giving him nightmares.
"Lord Cain I will. . . "
"Am fine, Gabriel, it was just a dream. The residue from the spear will soon wear off and I will begin healing. No need to worry yourself."
Cain fell on the bed again. Gabriel stood up, curtsied, and walked away. The sound of the heavy doors was heard as she walked out.