by Kai Leakes
Every male in the room except for Marco bellowed out, “Whoa! Whoa!”
Calvin spoke up. “Time out, and hold up, shawty.”
Lenox held both of his hands on top of his head, his elbows poking out as he began to pace. “Do we know what that is? Are we sure this shit isn’t a trap by Winter? She’s good for playing fucking games. Or am I wrong?” He glanced at Marco and Khamun, who both stayed silent, a sudden mask of coldness filling their faces.
Winter was a thorn in both his and his cousin’s sides. They had history with the Witch and wasn’t keen in rehashing that dark past, so he kept quiet before answering his second hand.
“Baby, what do you feel from the book and disc? Does this feel like a setup or threat?” Khamun’s eyes held Lenox’s, who glanced off in understanding.
“Everything in me says do this. I feel no threat, but just in case, can we make some protection around us?” Sanna’s face lit up with knowledge and concern. She looked around, and Calvin and Kali both nodded, standing to link hands together, fingertip to fingertip. White light flashing turquoise, yellow, then white again ebbed between their palms and fingers.
Both chanted in the old language, and Takeshi and Kyo followed suit. Their eyes flashed and glowed with an inner fire as they stood, walked, and sat on either side of Sanna, their palms flat against the middle of her back.
Khamun kept his stance as Darren moved to sit opposite his sister, and Marco shifted to let him sit.
Power grew, coating the room when Darren linked a hand with his sister. That current grew stronger and attached to Kyo and Take.
Khamun slid his own hands over Sanna’s shoulders, and she gasped, her wings breaking free, as did his own, and they both locked as one.
This was what he had wanted to do in the office but knew he couldn’t yet, and now he could. His touch fused with her, her brother, and their Gargoyles, as it threatened to spill out. The intensity of it made him let go as his breathing quickened.
His fangs crested, and he ran his hands down his face. Static power sizzled through his locks, making them rise. “Too much, too soon. Amit, sit near Sanna. Marco, Lenox, you both know what to do.”
He watched his team gather around his fiancée, and he kept his stance as the power cloaked them all.
Sanna briefly glanced at him as she turned and held the disk, which seemed to glow even brighter and spin even faster as she slid it in place and twisted, a locking sound letting her know it was secure. As she let go, cranking from the book filled the room as everyone leaned back in their circle of protection.
Buzzing and a Ding, Ding, Ding sounded as the book snapped open on its own, shooting blank pages in the air. They rained in the room, freezing mid-air to hover over the book. Nothing but the book cover was left, with many slots and a hinge.
“Okay, so this means what now?” Amit muttered as the pages shifted then locked together. Multiple blank pages linked to five spaced-out illustrations, creating one synched page.
Slowly reaching out, the page settled into Sanna’s hand as the whizzing sound stopped.
“Fuck! All of that and we got what, one huge-ass page with nothing on it but spaced-out pictures. Come the hell on,” Khamun bellowed, as their protection ring dropped and everyone shook their heads.
Calvin sat back in a slump in his chair, legs spread as he cursed in every language he knew.
Marco pulled out another trinity, tossing one to Khamun. They both lit up and took a similar stance, arms crossed, brooding.
Lenox was the only calm voice who broke up the disappointment in the mix. “Okay, everyone, now look. I know this crap didn’t happen without reason so . . . ”
“No faith can lead to destruction,” Sanna calmly stated as she turned the pages in her hand. She studied each page as if it were a precious fabric before she slid the book cover to Marco, who picked it up and quietly watched her.
Sanna said, “Baby, look at this. What do you recognize?”
Khamun rounded her chair, dropped into a crouch, wisps of smoke escaping his closed mouth before discarding his cigarillo.
Glancing at the ancient pages and random illustrations of patterns that had no sense, he looked closer and saw faint swirls. Each swirl rose then fell like a wave, before moving in circles. Braille-like indentations popped up in the shape of a crest. He frowned, reaching out.
“That’s the crest of my family,” he muttered. Energy hit him, and the ink from the paper rose up and around his hands, becoming hard and slicing into his hands.
“Shit! Get that crap off of him!” Lenox roared.
While Khamun kept a calm demeanor, ink softened and mixed with his dripping blood onto the crumbling yellow paper. “The fuck is this,” Khamun mouthed, his eyes wide as he tilted his head, watching closely.
The paper absorbed his blood and the ink as it glowed. What was once old decomposing paper was now brand-new as if it came straight from the paper mills of old. His blood and ink swirled on the paper, forming words, numbers, and images as a current hit Khamun, making him hold onto the paper before it disappeared with an exhale from him and a flicker of fire illuminated his eyes.
Everyone hovered around him, and he held up his hand. That power felt as if it came from the Ancients. Something so strong, it had his muscles taut, his dick on edge. He glanced at his fiancée. Her eyes glowed in familiar power as she cupped his face. He felt their power pass to each other and settle back into each other.
“Khamun, man, you good?” Marco asked.
Khamun stiffly nodded, trying to work his mouth. Knowledge hit him, and he bowed his head for a second before Calvin sat up, anger blazing in his eyes.
“It’s a map. It’ll take us to one of the scrolls, and that cover, we use to bind them all together once we collect them. Calvin, man, what’s up?”
Hands clenched, his arms almost shaking, Calvin glanced at Sanna before looking back at the team. “We have a situation. We need to roll out and hunt ASAP. A member has been taken.”
Khamun knew what was being said within the lines as he quickly stood, the Reaper taking over. “Grab the rides, and we roll out. Do you know where we are going?” he icily asked.
Calvin shook his head. Lenox, Kali, and Marco headed to the second level to grab weapons and a ride, their running feet echoing through the compound.
“Winter’s massive was broken up, which means she was rushing, and she couldn’t connect all the way. We have to track her.”
Sanna stood looking around. “Who was taken? Let me help.”
The Reaper looked at what was his, and he growled. Was no damn way he was going to risk her life and have her out there, ass out, not sure of her power. Fuck that shit. “No. You stay here with Kyo, Take, and Darren. I’ll hit up Dr. Toure. You all need to stay out of this. Amit—”
“Hell, no. I’m not staying. I passed the class tests and was supposed to be a part of the Chicago team before I got snatched. I may be new, but I know some things. I’m going.”
“You’re not a Slayer, man, and you still healing. It’s best that you—”
Pissed, Amit narrowed his eyes, his fist thumping against his chest. “I can hold my own. I’m a Disciple and a fucking Broken Wrath Angel! I got some white magic in me. Let me help. The Oracle healed me fully.”
The Reaper kept his eyes on his fiancée, who kept pacing, throwing angry stares his way. She was who he was worried about. He nodded at Amit. Reaching out to cup Sanna’s angry face, he bent down to kiss her, but she stepped back, and he closed his eyes before dropping his hand. “All right. Let’s roll out.”
“Calvin, I want to”—Sanna reached out to clutched Calvin’s arm hard, pain ripping through her as she fell to her knees. Tears spilled down her face, and Calvin cursed as he was locked into the same power.
“Momma!” Sanna screamed and let go, cradling her face.
The Reaper quickly grabbed her, his eyes flashing at Calvin.
“Fuck! Those bitches! They have Momma Tamar? Huh, Calvin?” Khamun roared.<
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Calvin dropped his head and nodded as he stepped back. “We need to go, my man,” he quietly stated.
The Reaper looked down at Sanna’s rocking form, and Kyo held her shoulders as he held Sanna against him.
“I’m going. We are going,” Sanna croaked.
The Reaper opened his mouth to fight, but Kyo hissed, her mismatched jade eyes blazing at him, and he stared her down. “We go into this, eyes open! You protect her with your life because that’s what the fuck I will be doing. Got that?” He glared, speaking between his teeth.
Kyo nodded. “I’ve had her back all my life. I will lay my life down for her,” was all she said, simmering with anger.
The Reaper looked up to get Darren and Takeshi in check, only to notice that they were not there. “Where the hell did they”—The Reaper stopped, homing in on the pair, and he smirked, shaking his head. “My brothas.”
“They are strapped and ready to go. Baby, I need you. Be safe out there. You don’t understand what will go down if I lose you or anyone here. You got it.”
He watched his soulmate stare him in the eyes, the Oracle in her blending as one, and he knew without an answer from her what her choice was. All the Cursed had officially declared war, and his baby was ready to administer her wrath.
Smiling, his spirit clicked with a lethal eagerness, and he stood to walk with her. Kyo and Calvin followed as they strapped up, sworded up, and prepped. He talked them through the many protocols they had, he knew it was a lot for them to try to remember, but he was hoping they remembered some of it.
His crew slid into the Escalade and motorbikes, as he got in his new all-black sports car. He reached over to open the passenger door and looked at Sanna as she smoothly walked with constrained anger and hopped in.
“We communicate in missions with mind-locking, baby. So open that mind and link with me. You can communicate with everyone, until you learn how to link with others who are not me or Kyo.”
“Okay, can we just hurry, please.” Her eyes stayed on the road.
He whipped out with a nod. “Yeah, baby. We have to track from the half-ass cords Winter was able to get. We know they are somewhere on the Northside. Hiding in plain sight.”
He watched her nod. Her nails were digging into her thighs, and he saw her slowly breathe in and out.
Syncing into a mind-link, he felt Sanna’s sensual smooth energy meld with his own and in doing so invited the energetic playful flow of Kyo, because she was linked to her brother and Sanna at the same time. Both hit his mind with a rush. Then Darren’s protective feel amplified his link with Sanna. He considered this something as important to store away for further investigation.
“T’em House. We all here?” Khamun stated, going into a roll call as every mind linked instantly.
The edgy, gritty, loyal feel of Amit had the Reaper ascertaining him as well while he synced with the newest member and he spoke on. “All right, tracking in progress, break up in—”
“Go right,” Amit interrupted as his link became antsy.
“Yo, my man, relax with that. ¿Comprendes? We know what we doing. We break up in teams and cover the area, a’ight.”
“Right, right. But, really, go right!” Amit demanded again and the link became thick with anxiety as everyone became jittery.
“Listen to him.” Sanna’s link thickened, spreading a sense of calmness to everyone as the team mentally paused then followed suit.
Lenox restrained voice let everyone know what they couldn’t see. “He seems to sense where they are. His eyes darkened and you know where he got bit? The visible veins are moving.”
“Ahhhh! Yeah, go down that street. It’s a lot of them. I can smell them! Shit, I can taste them and feel them.”
“A’ight. From this moment on, Amit is our physical tracker in the field. You listen to him and follow suit. The Oracle gave him a new ability that will work in our favor. All right?”
The teamed chimed in unison as Sanna’s low voice interrupted, fear and worry making her hide her tears.
The Reaper became pissed. Their blood would be on his hands.
“Yes. His bite will let him know anytime there’s Cursed by us,” Sanna simply stated.
“Straight ahead! Umm, I’m calling back up,” Kali chimed in.
Calvin’s chuckle seemed to amp everyone. “A’ight, homies. Let’s get in they asses like a doctor giving a prostate exam. Ya heard meh?”
“A www, hell no, Calvin,” Lenox griped then laughed.
Marco gloated. “We got this shit. Nothing we never handled before.”
The team stepped out of their rides, weapons blazing. They were surrounded by mobs of Cursed, demons, and Dark Gargoyles who growled, the occasional flash of lighting hitting their stone-like features. They all stood on the roof of an abandoned building covered in blood, the chill of the night air whipping around them, the thick, sweet smell of demon miasma filling the air.
“Hello, cousin. Took you long enough, don’t you think?” The Dark Lady, who the Reaper knew was Reina, Marco’s twin, stood dressed in all white, jewels adorning her body. She stood with her hands on her wide hips, her legs spread, her hair up in a braided bun, twin blades in her hand.
The Reaper chuckled. This bitch didn’t know him as she thought she did. The wonders of being distant cousins.
“Let us end this as mutually as we can, cousin. Give us the civie and you can walk away.”
Reina’s bell-like laugh made him narrow his eyes. “Give me my toy.”
“That would be who?”
Reina’s eyes flowed over the team and stopped on Amit, who stood, fists clenched, his gun hand ready. She flashed a brilliant smile.
A gust of cold anger blasted past the team as gunshots rang.
The Reaper sighed. “Amit,” he inwardly cursed, dropping to get into position.
The team spread out, and he watched Sanna duck and move with a fluidity that took his breath away. He acted in unison as his swung his blade and decapitated an approaching Snatcher.
“Get her!” Reina yelled, running after Sanna.
The Reaper followed suit, staying in sync with his lover, shadowing her, connecting, and gutting demons left and right.
Khamun eyed Marco and watched his cousin nod as he jumped and landed in front of a panting Sanna, who threw energy-dripping daggers that hit demons in the throats, blowing their bodies apart like confetti.
Marco slid, the dark miasma from the demons cloaking his appearance, and stood erect as the mist cleared. He had waited a lifetime for this. He knew her madness twisted her love for him into a sick game that resulted in where he stood now. So it pleased him to see the shock on her face as he stared Reina straight in the eyes and she froze in her pursuit of attack.
“Hola, mi querida hermana . . . hello my dear sister,” he muttered, his hand reaching to his chest and pulling out a gye nyame silver necklace that shone in the midnight sky.
Reina’s eyes widened as she shook her head.
The sound of a passing car blasting Kanye’s “All of the Lights” remix broke the silence.
“The Gray Prince? No, no, noooooo. You died! Tú moriste!” Her screech filled the air as she stomped and suddenly pulled at her hair. “Nooooo!”
Marco smirked, leaned forward, cupping her face with both hands as he kissed her forehead and sent her flying with a swift kick to her stomach.
As she flew through the air, the Reaper stepped in with a grin, making contact, and dropped his forearm down on her chest, making her drop at his feet. “You ready to give up?”
Reina rolled and blinked, coughing hard, her hand over her chest as her eyes focused, flashed silver then eclipsed with pure darkness. A dark magic emitted from her, and she moved her body in a spin, pushing up and slashing at him. Her movements were controlled yet chaotic.
The Reaper had to step back, blocking each blow that went his way. Blades swung at him as a clicking noise sounded behind him, and he knew what was coming.
“Aw shit,�
� he muttered, ducking under from the blades Reina sliced over his head while the Medusa’s bladed hair and nails swung from behind.
Dropping low, the Reaper pivoted to his left, panting as Calvin covered him and Lenox became his shadow.
Shooting off rounds, Lenox drop back on his knee as he punched up in a clean uppercut, making contact with a Snatcher that quickly covered Reina and the Medusa. Everything was in chaos as the Reaper saw Momma Tamar. She was held by a Snatcher, her eyes closed and unconscious, with another gagged person.
“She was an easy snatch. Unguarded as she shopped downtown. Very sloppy of you all. You think we didn’t know who she was? Ha!” Reina flashed a malicious half-smile.
“She is always watched. Do not fucking play me,” the Reaper icily stated. He paced back and forth blood accessing the roof. If she was caught, that meant a fucking Phantom had a hand in it, and he had a clue who it was.
Sanna’s quick movement caught his attention out the corner of his eye, as she took a demon down in a move so fast, he had to replay it in his mind.
She ran low, twin blades of power in her hands, as she propelled herself up to jab both bladed hands into the approaching demon’s chest. Cleanly slicing through, splitting him from within, she turned and grabbed half of the remaining demon torso and bit down, her incisors ripping deep. Blood and sins poured into her, making her body taut as she fed. Glowing tears spilled down her face, and she threw the demon, its flinging body misting.
Darren, shadowing his sister, grabbed a screaming female Snatcher, lighting her up with just a touch. Her body imploded in fire as her dark sins flew in the air and fell like glowing rain.
“Damn right! That was cold.” Darren fist-bumped Takeshi as he sped off. Takeshi jumped in the air, reaching for a flying Dark Gargoyle with a swiftness that knocked the entity off guard. His fangs connected to the hard skin of the demon while his nail ripped the monster apart with slight effort.
“Be careful, sis. I’m watching you,” Darren muttered in Sanna’s mind as she panted and gained her bearings.
The Reaper could sense her worry, shock and pain as he bit down and drank from an overzealous Snatcher who approached him, ripping its throat apart with ease as he flung the molting body. The dark, rich taste of the Snatcher’s sins fueled him while he spat then moved like lightning. His body diffused the sins out in electric static that burned demons and Dark Gargoyles into cinders whenever they came in contact with the jolt.
