by Brea Alepoú
Seth: Mazki, you’re with me if things go south. Kail, you’re to get Titos out of here.
Armest clapped his hands together. “I hope you enjoyed your lunch; all of your things are packed and ready to go.” His eyes scanned the kitchen that was a mess from the fight, and then he looked to Seth and Titos, anger flaring. Armest quickly averted his eyes.
Adom: There are edoli with guns and swords in the office.
Seth: Keep Ginger safe. Titos, what would like for us to do?
Titos stood from Seth’s lap.
Titos: No one move.
He only hoped Alfrik would obey him. They weren’t bonded, but Titos was keeping his toes crossed that Alfrik wanted to be his keeper bad enough he wouldn’t move from where he was hidden.
Titos could feel the agony it caused Seth to be ordered not to help him. He could feel all of their rage, even Liby’s. Titos walked until he stood in front of Armest. “You packed everything?”
Armest smiled. “It’s waiting for you outside. I’ve graciously offered a car for all of you to leave in. The trash you came in…” Armest shrugged. “I will just give you two cars to make sure you make it out of my territory.” He emphasized the my and territory, as if to rub it in Titos’s face.
Especially since Titos had laid claim to the territory. It was a big “fuck you.” Still, Titos smiled, acting as if it didn’t bother him.
“Thank you for that.” Titos tilted his head to the side.
The men behind Armest were shocked. Titos expected they backed Armest thinking there would be a fight. There wouldn’t be—not one he was willing to start at least.
“Your men are blocking my keeper and Ginger from coming down. If you would tell them to let them pass,” Titos said.
Armest raised an eyebrow at Titos as he snapped his fingers, and someone pulled out a phone and spoke quietly. All the while, Titos stood there, waiting.
“I don’t know what game you’re playing at, but I—”
“No game. We’re leaving,” Titos said. He walked past Armest, the men splitting to let Titos through.
Titos: Trust me.
The worry and angry were clouding his mind, the bond flooding with everyone's emotions. He hoped he was doing the right thing. They made it to the front door, and an angry looking Ginger and Adom came down the stairs with Armest’s men behind them. Titos said nothing about the gun pointed at Adom. He forced the anger down and smiled as Armest came from the kitchen.
“Armest, how da—” Ginger started as soon as she saw Armest.
“Ginger,” Titos called out, stopping her from saying anything.
Adom guided Ginger over to stand behind Titos, then he took up his post next to him. Titos had all of his men with him. His eyes flicked over to the kitchen where Alfrik still hid.
“Now that you have everyone that is willing to follow you,” Armest said, gesturing to the door for Titos to leave.
Titos eyes scanned around the house again. He was fucked sideways and still had no plan on how to fix it. He’d told his keepers to trust him, but he had nothing. He wasn’t meant to be king of anything; he couldn’t even keep a territory for more than a day. He expected them to all follow him with no plan, but his bluff could only carry him so far. If he only had a little more time…
Seth’s bond caressed against the wall Titos had placed to keep them from all knowing how much of a failure he was. He’d backed them into a corner, trying to be something he wasn’t. For a second, he saw it, the life he’d never dreamed of but now wanted. One surrounded by his loving keepers in a home they could all call their own. But now it was crumbling in front of his eyes. Fighting would only put everyone at risk, and as their master, he wanted to keep them all safe. He never wanted to lose a keeper, the thought alone gutted him.
Titos blinked away the tears that threatened to break free, and he was frustrated beyond words. Every time he thought he’d get a break in life, it had to shove a shoe up his ass without lube, giving him a big fuck you. Seth’s hand touched his shoulder, and Titos couldn’t hold the walls up any longer. He looked up into Seth’s eyes, apologizing without words. He let them all feel it, the doubt and frustration he felt. The helplessness his careless actions placed them in. If he’d listened to them and killed Armest from the beginning, they wouldn’t be getting kicked out of the one place he thought he would finally belong. He wouldn’t be putting them all in danger.
Seth’s arms wrapped around him so tightly, pressing his face into his hard chest. Titos closed his eyes, letting all of it out, and his keepers were there, pushing all of their love into him. Although he’d made a mistake, one that would cost them their new home, they still gave him love.
Seth: We are your keepers. It warms my heart that you love us so much and want to protect us, but that is our job. We are here for you and you alone.
Mazki: Any of us will gladly give our lives so that you may live. It would be the most honorable gift.
Adom: We are here to serve you in anyway. No one is perfect.
Kail: There’s only a few of them. We could easily take them.
Titos sighed.
Titos: But aft—
Seth’s arms tightened around him.
Seth: We will handle anything that comes our way. You doubt your strength too much. The power you grant us is steadily growing, have faith in your keepers.
Titos smiled, his face still against Seth’s chest.
“I can tell you’re having a moment, but it is time for you to leave my territory,” Armest said smugly.
Mazki: I can burn him now?
Titos: No.
The shock and confusion through the bond came clearly, but unlike before, Titos let his thoughts flow and his reasoning clear any doubts. He wanted Armest alive; they needed information.
Seth: Adom, protect Ginger. Mazki, try not to burn down the house. Kail, go get Alfrik to join on this. Liby, next to Titos. I'm going after Armest. It’s fine if he’s missing an arm or leg?
Titos nodded.
Titos: I may have failed to lead, but I won’t let all of you fight without me. Hand me a blade.
Seth: You haven’t failed anything.
Mazki: Don’t be afraid to lean on us. We are all here for you. You don’t have to shoulder it all on your own.
Titos heard them and felt the acceptance from all of his keepers. He wasn’t sure if he deserved it, but he would take it. He’d messed up, but as long as he was willing to learn from his mistakes, then all was right.
Blade in hand behind his back, he once more glared at Armest, the leader of a revolution that hadn’t given him a chance. “Is everyone here sure they are okay with kicking a king out of his rightful territory?”
A few of the men turned to look at each other, some of them looking concerned and even lowering their weapons.
“‘Rightful’ is a strong word. Your father stole this territory many years ago and has left it unattended for many more. If it wasn’t for me, the territory would’ve been taken over, or worse, all the edoli living here in peace would have been killed,” Armest announced.
They seemed to feed off what Armest said as they all cheered and raised their weapons once more.
Mazki: Good, then no one gets spared.
Titos: Except Armest if we can help it.
Adom: The guns will be the hard part.
Kail: So, bullets can still hurt us?
Mazki: Of course, they can.
Seth: Kail, can you feel where people are when you blackout an area?
Kail: Yeah.
Seth: Change of plans. Mazki, you go get Alfrik. Kail, blackout this whole area
Mazki: Great, I’m in charge of the big bad bear.
Adom: Isn’t it supposed to be wolf?
Titos listened to his keepers strategize, and he knew from the way Armest’s eyebrows squinted down he suspected something was up. It wasn't a known fact that his keepers could communicate amongst each other mentally. It took too much power and concentration, but because of Titos, it wa
s like second nature for them.
“I never met my father, but if he left you in charge, I applaud you for what you have accomplished thus far. But how is that possible? Has anyone questioned how exactly you maintain this territory?” Titos asked for the edoli blindly following Armest.
It was all a mess, and his master was right on the frontlines. Seth worried but knew his worry wouldn’t solve anything. He had a plan. They only waited on Titos’s okay to execute it. Seth glanced over to Mazki who rolled his shoulders, his stance subtly changing, gearing up for a fight. He knew Mazki would go get Alfrik, and he might take out a few of their adversaries on the way.
Mazki: Set them all ablaze is the best option.
Mazki touched only Seth with the mental thought. Seth agreed, but it would burn the house down, and Titos seemed to like the house. Anything his master wanted, he would get.
Adom: Who’s Alfrik?
Seth: A potential keeper.
Although Alfrik wasn’t a keeper—the decision was still with Titos—but they would need as much help as possible.
“There is nothing else for us to talk about. None of you are willing to see reason,” Titos said.
There was no reason to wait not when it was clear as day that Armest was an enemy. The stupid edoli sided with Armest, a man Seth wanted so badly to kill, but his master had asked for him to stay alive, so he would try his hardest to make sure of it. Titos brushed mentally against Seth, giving him the okay. Titos turned away from the crowd. He moved past Seth as if he was heading for the door, Liby moving to be next to him. Once Liby was close to Titos, Seth signaled for the battle to begin.
Kail blanketed the whole area in darkness. They were all in the front of the house. It was spacious but not big enough for all of them to shift. The shouts and gunfire echoed in the darkness. Seth saw and felt nothing. Even his sense of smell was muted in the darkness. Only touch and hearing seemed to work.
“Calm down before you kill me!” Armest’s voice carried in the void of darkness.
The men with him still whispered and moved around, but the gun shots stopped.
Seth: Kail, who’s closest?
There was no response for a minute. He could feel Kail trying to figure out how to share what he knew.
Mazki: Kail, open your mind to us. It may hurt, but we need to see what you’re seeing.
Seth focused on Kail. Before where there was a tangible person, there was nothing but a void.
Titos: Hold on.
His master’s words brought him back as if coaxing him from falling prey to the void. He blinked, and it was as if he could see in the darkness. He saw figures standing with weapons, grey blurs in a circle and moving closer to each other, as if waiting for an attack.
“Stop this and leave now. You may just survive.” Armest’s haughty tone rose through the darkness.
“I could say the same for you, Armest. You chose this,” Titos replied.
The whispers grew as some of the edoli started to realize they were at a disadvantage. One moved, and before he could step too far from the group, another blur that was red instead of grey with a small sheen of green surrounding it passed by quickly. A gurgling sound filled the darkness before the body dropped to the ground.
Seth: Mazki.
Mazki: I’ll go get the Pooh Bear. Be right back.
Adom: If this Alfrik joins us, you think ‘Pooh Bear’ will be an insult?
Seth laughed, even under the circumstances his fellow keepers found a way to make light of it. He could tell it was for their master’s benefit. Titos snickered behind them, his somber mood lifting with Mazki’s joke.
Seth: Adom, keep Ginger safe, but take anyone out that moves toward you. Kail, can you tell which one is Armest? As far as I can tell, they are all grey blobs.
Seth shifted to look behind him, and he had to shield his eyes from the brightness from where he knew Titos stood.
Adom: It's like staring at the sun.
Seth turned around before his eyesight disappeared.
Seth: Liby, can you see anything?
Liby had yet to communicate back to them through the link with Titos; it was like a faint whisper.
Titos: She can’t see what we see. I’ve tried to give her some of my power, but the link won’t allow it without me damaging her. We are looking through Kail’s link with my added power. But she has informed me that not being able to see will not hinder her from doing her job.
Seth sighed. He would have to trust it to be true. The way Liby held her blade let him know she was more than capable, but it bothered him that he wasn’t next to his master personally. He crept closer to the circle of edoli, and a gun fired, the bullet hitting the wall and men shouting. Another gun went off. Seth growled. The idiots may hit Titos with a stray bullet because of their stupidity. Moving swiftly, Seth sliced through the first two men on the outer circle.
They fell to the ground, hot sticky blood splattered on his arms. The other men shouted and pointed their weapons at him. One man swung a sword haphazardly, nearly cutting Seth before he dodged the blade and moved behind the man, quickly wrapping his hands under the man’s chin and the top of his head and broke his neck. An audible crunch resonated in the room.
As if set off by a school bell and all of them needed to rush to get to class, the neat circle turned into a mob of movement. Men moved toward Titos and Adom, and others moved back toward the kitchen and stairs. Some even moved toward Seth. They were lost without their sight, running around in circles like little ants.
Only three men stood in the middle where the circle had started, but Seth had no time to focus on them. A man aimed a gun at him and shot off round after round. Seth ducked, the first bullet hitting his arm, and the burn fueling his anger. The figure got closer, and Seth sprang up, grabbing the hand that held the gun and squeezing with all his strength. A scream erupted for the man as his legs gave out from under him as Seth crushed his hand.
Before mercy could be asked, Seth took his blade and slid it against the man’s throat, the screams turning into a gurgling mess until there was nothing left. Tossing the body to the side, he moved for his next target. He went to slice the man’s throat only for the sword the figure held to stop him. Seth changed it up and started an assault, his blade against a longsword. The figure had a good defensive stand and blocked every blow Seth delivered.
The bullet in his arm burned, making his arm ache from all the movement he was putting it through. The pain made the grey blob blur as he fought to keep his connection and concentration strong. Even without his sight, his adversary was keeping up with him. Seth moved a little to the right, and the figure moved with him, as if anticipating his movement. Seth started his attack again with his short blade, the clang of metal hitting metal resonated throughout Seth as he fought.
In the back of his mind, he could feel Titos’s worry, and Seth growled angerly. Worrying his master was the last thing he wanted to do. As the keepers' alpha, he needed to end it soon.
The sound of the others fighting surrounded them, but Seth focused on bringing down the guy in front of him. He left Titos’s safety to Liby.
Ever since Titos had taken him as a keeper and his power had grown, so had Seth’s. He’d noticed something was different about himself the night before. This time when he aimed with his blade, he angled his arm so the steady stream of blood would slide down and drip onto the blade.
He connected with the piece of power, not sure it would work, but he trusted in it, in the power his master had given him. Just as the blood and blade were connecting, Seth pushed the power forward, freezing the blood that ran down his arm over his blade, lengthening it. Seth drove the blade through the guy in front of him, but instead of the feeling of cutting through flesh, there was a clattering sound as the figure dropped to the ground followed by the shattering of something similar to glass.
Seth had no time to contemplate what had happened. He moved to take on the next figure when a grey blob came forward, swinging his fists around wi
dely, but he wasn’t moving toward Seth. He was fighting the other figures.
Seth watched him for a second longer, realizing the red glow standing next to the grey figure, fighting alongside him, was Mazki. They took out a few more of their enemies. Seth closed in on the three that still stood in the middle. Two of them had guns, and he guessed the one who stood behind them was Armest.
He moved fast, before one of the gun holders could react. He didn’t use his new power though. Instead, he used raw strength, punching the figure in the face. The man fell to the ground, the crunch of his nose like music to Seth’s ears. It alerted the other two figures, and they moved quickly. One of the grey figures shot at Seth, but he dropped down and rolled out of the way. The floor was sticky and smelled of blood. He bet Liby was happy she got promoted. He’d hate to be the person to clean up all the blood spilled on the floor.
He looked up in time to see the figures running toward Titos and Liby. Liby was occupied with two other figures, her purple light dim but there. Seth stood, seeing everything happen in slow motion as the figure with a gun aimed it directly at Titos, who was busy fighting his own enemy. Seth was too far away. Hopelessness gripped his heart, but he fought through it as he began to move, his body shifting into his manticore wolf. He needed to defend his master. Nothing else mattered.
He shifted fast, clothing tearing as he became his beast. The gunshot sounded just as he pounced on the gunman, his jaw opening as he tore the assailant’s head off. Blood gushed and ran down his teeth, flesh tore like wet paper. He spat the head out and turned.
Master was shot. All the keepers they could feel it, the searing pain Titos was in. Seth growled.
Seth: Kail, remove the darkness.
The darkness receded, and in the same breath, Seth shifted back into his human form, moving toward Titos in quick steps. He went to his knees next to his master. He was covered in blood. Seth didn’t know where to look, his mind a whirlwind of confusion. A part of him knew that the majority of the blood that decorated Titos wasn’t his own, but it didn’t calm his beast. He needed to make sure Titos was okay.
Scalding heat was next to him in seconds, and Seth growled a warning. His master was down, and he wouldn’t tolerate anyone getting too close.
