Inquest

by J. F. Jenkins

  "Which is?"

  "They can control time," Teague whispered.

  Denver sat back, his gaze softening some. "And you got what in return?"

  "The chance to save more lives, make things better at home again." He shrugged. You also appointed me the next heir to Hades, but that information needs to be left out. If Teague was indeed able to help everyone he'd come back for, then Denver and Cheyenne would no doubt get married and live happily ever after. They'd produce their own heirs, and there would be no need for Teague to take on the job — which was fine by him; dark magic wasn't something he wanted to be in control of. Being in tune with the land of the dead gave him a few perks to aid him on his mission. He could do things in the underworld undetected, and, more importantly, he had the ability to raise the dead.

  For a moment, Denver only peered at him. "Things must suck a lot if you agreed to help me just for those things in return."

  "It's pretty bad," Teague said. "The whole world changed to a degree. Took a lot of time to recover from the aftermath of Lucien's plans. I'm not even sure if being here is going to do much, but it was decided that we don't have much to lose. Things either change, or they don't, and it's either for the better or it's not. Maybe worse consequences could occur, but I'm having a hard time imagining anything even more bad happening."

  "And you said change has begun," Denver said.

  Nodding again, Teague finished off his water glass. Drinking helped to calm his nerves. "To me, that makes me think I'm on the right track. How much of a change this is creating, I don't know. Maybe not much of anything is going to turn out different."

  "I'm not going to let Lucien win, and I'm not going to let him hurt Chey anymore. We're going to rescue her. She isn't going to die." Denver tapped his hands on the table; a fierceness was in his green eyes. Or perhaps it was determination?

  Whatever Denver was feeling, it made Teague uneasy. Yeah, I'm going to regret telling him this stuff. How was he supposed to explain that just because he was trying to make the future better, didn't mean that it would necessarily happen? If he failed, would Denver be able to forgive it? Would anyone? Especially if Lucien was never stopped this time around. Teague had lied when he said the future couldn't be much worse. It could be. The whole world might be destroyed.

  Denver must have sensed Teague's weariness, because he smirked and leaned forward a little. "I got some of the best trackers on the planet looking for her. The fact that Lucien kidnapped her means he's scared he's gonna lose. She'll see he's scum, and that will make her harder to manipulate. Besides, I told her I was Hades, the real one, and I think I got through to Persephone the First inside of her. Maybe she doesn't believe me, maybe she does, but the truth is there for her to hear. That's gotta make a big difference, right?"

  "Yeah," Teague said. If Persephone believed that Denver was the real heir to Hades, and that he had the reincarnated spirit of the man she was in love with during her living days, then she would never cooperate with Lucien.

  "Can't say I have a definite plan. What I can tell you is the school is kicking me out at the end of next week. I can come on campus to finish off my classes this Spring and go to Summer school, then I'm on my own." He snorted. "Right now, finding Chey is my main priority, so school is going on hold. Since the only thing motivating me to stay was her and learning how to control my dark magic from Mr. Thantos, I don't have a whole lot keeping me here."

  "I'm guessing Mr. Thantos won't help you anymore," Teague mumbled.

  Denver scoffed. "Pretty sure he wants my head on a plate, especially since it's apparently my fault Johnathan Orinda, the other dark magic teacher, decided to go crazy and try to kill me. Just like it's my fault that the guy got himself killed when my bodyguard went after him. But, hey, I'm always the bad guy, right?"

  "I don't think you're a bad guy," Teague said honestly.

  "I'm not good."

  "No, you're not good." Teague ran a hand over his lower lip. "I think what it's called is chaotic neutral? You act in your best interests, good or bad, and you don't take sides. Plus, you have a little touch of crazy."

  "Glad to see you haven't lost your insight since you've gotten the brain back. I was worried about that. Sometimes, when people get a brain, they lose everything about them that's worth a whole lot more than intelligence."

  Teague offered a small smile, willing to take the compliment for what it was worth. Sometimes, Denver said things that came across as bad but were his way of being nice. "So you're going to go looking for her?"

  "Among other things. Going to head to the underworld to reorganize and clean house. I think I got all the traitors locked up in the dungeon. Haven't decided if I'm going to punish them further or let them sit in there and stew uncomfortably for a while then put them to use later. I tell you, running a kingdom is a lot of work." He smirked. "As soon as I get more information, I'll hook you up with it and we'll get this show on the road. Might take some time, but as long as he's unable to be found, that means he's not doing anything yet."

  "Yet," Teague echoed.

  The smirk on Denver's face grew. "Yeah, and I just have one more question for you."

  "Okay."

  "What is he trying to do? I mean, I get that he's trying to combine the underworld with that of the living. I know he needs to be Divine to do this, because it gives him authority over humans and the Earth instead of just demons. He tried to take Jewl's divinity and failed. He tried to con his way into taking my divinity and failed, and something he saw when he captured Anj offered him a new way into the Divine circle. Do you know what that is?"

  Teague sighed, and the waitress brought their food to the table. He stared at the plate of deep fried mushrooms before him, his appetite still gone. Knowing he needed to eat, he took a couple of the mushrooms and chewed them slowly. "There's rumors of a magic pool. It's heavily guarded and far away from here. The story goes, anyone who takes a dip into the pool will become a member of the Divine and given dominion over some new unclaimed territory. It could be something as simple as a god of sugar, or whatever, but it still counts as Divine all the same. Supposedly, it's where the original Divine got their magic gifts to help them govern the creatures they were put in charge of."

  "Interesting, and Anj knows where this is?"

  "Yeah, because it's something all Fates have knowledge over. The more Fates that gather together, the more vivid the location becomes in their visions. Anj supposedly has the power of one hundred Fates inside of him. Capturing him alone will offer a lot of insight on the location, since Fates are so hard to find in general."

  Even though Teague didn't want to eat, Denver practically inhaled his burger and fries while he listened. "Wow, you sure know a lot."

  "My dad told me all of this once upon a time. There was something else he told me relating to all of this, but right now, it's coming up blank." And that bothered him — a lot. Teague had been hoping all of the holes in his memories were fixed.

  It's there. It'll surface again. I just need to stop pushing myself. There's a whole lifetime inside of my brain I need to reorganize and sift through. So long as it doesn't come back to me too late, everything will be fine, right?

  Denver narrowed his gaze at him for a moment. "Get on that, and I'll check in with you one more time before I head out. I'll give you my cell phone number, too. Can't say I get awesome service in the underworld, but I'll be popping in and out of there daily. If all else fails, you can summon a demon. They'll deliver the message if they know what's good for them."

  Summoning a demon didn't appeal to him much, even if they were technically just as much his minions as they were Denver's. Whatever he said, they had to obey so long as it didn't contradict the orders of the currently ruling Hades. Minions or not, demons scared Teague. They were gross, for one, and the way they enjoyed tormenting regular humans didn't gel with him. If he didn't need the dark magic that came along with being Hades' heir, he would have declined the offer when it was presented to him.

&
nbsp; Somehow, Teague managed a weak smile as he ate some more mushrooms. "I'll figure something out." I have to.

  Chapter Five

  "Prom is exactly two weeks from now, and I'm running out of ways to get us guaranteed as king and queen of the whole thing. I will not lose again," Anj was saying just as Teague joined the lunch table.

  Zes took a bite from his apple. "You don't need to worry. Everyone loves you."

  "But not me," Jewl said. "Trust me, girls and guys alike hate my guts."

  "They just don't understand how charming you are underneath your icy exterior," Anj stated. "I like to think of it as an acquired taste. Like sushi. You know, I hated sushi for a long time."

  "You're comparing me to raw fish?"

  "It's a foreign delicacy, darling."

  "It's...raw fish..." Jewl arched an eyebrow, even if Anj couldn't see it.

  He scoffed. "You have no appreciation for culture."

  "Eat," Zes said and pushed Anj's tray of food closer to him. "Just...shut up and eat."

  Jewl shook her head. "Honey, while I appreciate what you're failing at saying, it doesn't matter what you think of me anyway. You're not the student body, so you don't get to vote. Besides, even if you are all that and a bag of chips, you won't win against the Divine students."

  "You're Divine," Anj pointed out. "And it should matter what I think. My opinion is the most important of anyone else here."

  "Nobody knows I'm Divine," Jewl said. "Just accept the fact that it isn't going to happen. Besides, those crowns they have are disgusting."

  "True, they're ancient and gaudy," Anj agreed.

  "Let's enjoy the moment?"

  He sighed. "Fine. I'll campaign for Zes instead."

  His identical twin started to choke on his food then. He coughed a few times, his entire face turning red. "Excuse me?" he managed to squeak out. "Why do you have to drag me into everything you do? Can't you leave me alone for a change? What in your right mind makes you think I want to be prom king?"

  "How else am I going to get you a new girlfriend?" Anj asked.

  "I don't need a girlfriend! I've told you this a million times before, and I especially don't need a new girlfriend now." Zes pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're trying to kill me. I made you mad, and now you want to get rid of me."

  Anj gave his brother a firm smack on the back of the head. "You seem pretty alive to me."

  "Well, I'm about to have a heart attack! Do the words 'spotlight dance' mean anything to you?"

  "Yes, they mean a whole lot of fun!"

  "And to me it's a nightmare! No, don't campaign for me. I'm not even going." Zes then went back to doing what he did best — eating. It was typical lunchroom behavior for him to shovel his food into his mouth and not talk. That was the first lunch Teague had witnessed where Zes said more than three words and a couple of grunts.

  Anj's jaw dropped, a face that would have been more effective if his eyes had more than a dead expression behind them. He tended not to show much emotion, and when he did, it came across as more awkward than anything else. For some reason, he enjoyed being overdramatic.

  After waiting for a moment, no doubt to make sure his gesture wasn't being ignored, Anj gasped. "What do you mean you're not going to prom? How can you not go? It's our last major school function that we get to attend and you would miss it? What is wrong with you?"

  "I just don't want to go," Zes mumbled. "It's so...couple-oriented, and I don't like dressing up, and I've got other stuff to do. Like get ready for college."

  "That's like...four months away! It doesn't take four months to pack up your things. Stop making excuses. Besides, we can get you a date. Noel wants to go with you."

  Zes let out a heavy sigh. "I know she does."

  "Don't you like her?"

  "She's nice."

  "So what's the problem?"

  "I..." Zes shook his head and went back to eating.

  Teague knew the answer to his father's question. The problem was, Noel wasn't Cheyenne, and Zes was still hopelessly trapped under a spell. He was still in love with Cheyenne. It was so obvious with how he carried so much anguish in his gaze at just the mention of her name.

  For being identical, Anj and Zes were nothing alike. Teague noticed this fact seemed to surprise a lot of students at the Vala High School and Seminary. Since he had grown up with it in his own brothers, it didn't shock him in the slightest. He enjoyed watching Anj and Zes interact, because it gave him a small touch of home. Both of the twins were facially identical with dark eyes and thin faces, though Zes had a slightly stronger jaw line. Hairstyle was the easiest way to differentiate between them. Anj liked to keep his hair shaggy and over his face. In the future, he would retain a similar style as well. He did it to avoid making eye contact with people. Zes, on the other hand, preferred his hair shorter and in playful tufts that covered two, small, satyr horns on his head.

  Beyond that, both were the same height. Zes was slightly stronger in his lean frame than Anj, but he was also more physically active. They were both fascinating for Teague to watch. It showed a whole new side of his family's personality that he'd never seen before. His father was so much more quiet and reserved in the future, more humble, and clearly not whole without his brother being around. What made being around the twins even more amusing was that Teague found so much of his own appearance in them — yet no one seemed to notice. Like his father, he too had dark hair, only he got his mother's blue eyes. He was the only brunette of his siblings; his brothers and sister all had their mother's platinum blond hair.

  "Well?" Anj pressed, tapping his hands on the table. "What's the problem?"

  "Why do I have to go?" Zes snapped. "It's just a stupid dance."

  Sighing, Anj took another bite from his lunch. "Because it's something for us to do together before you leave. If you don't want a date, we can share Jewl. She won't mind."

  "Only because it's you, Zes," Jewl said. "Anyone else, I'd be offended. You can't just offer me around like that, Anj. Maybe I'll just not go with you at all, and Zes and I can have a good time."

  "You wouldn't do that," Anj stated.

  "Don't tempt me by being an idiot." She faced Zes and put a hand on his forearm. "If you absolutely don't want to go, then don't. He can get over it. I think it would be fun. Like he said, it's our last get together at the school. I promise you won't be abandoned at a side table, and you won't have any single, eligible ladies thrown your way."

  Anj huffed. "You're no fun, honestly."

  "We're only eighteen. We don't need to have everything figured out, especially our love lives," Jewl said firmly.

  A slight wince came across Anj's face. Teague noticed it, but he wasn't sure if anyone else did. Wonder what his problem is...

  For a moment, Zes was quiet, and then he nodded, returning his eating pace to something more casual. "Right, I don't have to figure it all out now. I mean, if you're lucky enough to know, cool, but...I'm not. Lucky, I mean. Maybe I'll take Noel. She's nice. There's just something about her that isn't meshing right. I can't put my finger on it."

  "She really likes you," Anj mumbled. "You told me that was important. That she liked you."

  "I know she does. It's pretty obvious she isn't just using me to get to you, and that's awesome. Maybe I'm just not ready yet to open myself up to the possibility, or maybe..."

  "If you say, maybe Chey will come back and you'll live happily ever after, I might punch you."

  Zes laughed. "No, it has nothing to do with her. I was going to say: maybe I want to try dating a normal girl."

  Jewl bit down on her lower lip and then took a long drink from her glass. "Good luck."

  A normal girl wouldn't have been viewed as a big deal by most people. In fact, the average person might think Zes sweet and romantic for wanting a good, sweet, everyday sort of girlfriend. When Zes said normal, however, they all knew he meant a non-magical girlfriend. Those types of relationships were difficult to maintain, depending on the type of magic one had. Re
gardless, it required a degree of secrecy unless someone trusted enough to tell a "normal" person about the magical world. Secrets could kill a relationship, but so could the truth.

  Chanel is normal. We make it work, and it's been about a year. If Teague ever decided to marry her, he'd have to tell her everything about his magic. He did not have the type of magic that could easily be hidden forever. He couldn't say he loved her enough to take such a big step. But I'm only sixteen, so I don't need to know right now.

  Zes's heart visibly sank. He slumped in his chair and gazed down at his food, his jaw tight as he tossed a French fry onto his tray.

  "It doesn't matter who you love. If they love you, too, it will work," Teague said, refusing just to sit and watch his uncle be miserable.

  "Yes," Anj said. "That's true." He reached for Jewl's hand. When he found it with his own, he gave it a squeeze.

  Zes took a small bite of what remained of his meal. "Right, anyway, either way, I don't want to get attached to a girlfriend right now. The only reason I thought a normal girl would be nice is because there would be a lot less drama."

  "Girls are always drama!" Anj chuckled.

  "At least it wouldn’t be related to ancient prophesies, demons, or dark magic spells trying to ruin my life," Zes said darkly. "Insecurity and 'does this dress make me look fat' sounds pretty appealing to me at the moment."

  "True."

  Jewl rolled her pale blue eyes and mumbled, "Boys are stupid."

  "Just because you say it quietly doesn't mean we can't hear you," Anj chided.

  "You were supposed to hear it." Jewl stood, giving Anj's cheek a kiss. "I'm going to class. Be nice."

  "I'm always nice."

  "If you say so." She picked up her tray before leaving the table.

  Anj's eyes began to glow blue, and for a moment he watched her go. A small smile formed on his lips. He and Jewl were so obviously smitten with one another. They had a love Teague always envied. His goal in life was to find someone who made him feel what he imagined his parents felt whenever they were around each other. While they weren't in the puppy love, honeymoon state in Teague's time, his parents were still openly affectionate and didn't hide the investments they put into their marriage. Date nights were frequent, as were compliments and physical affection.