Inquest

by J. F. Jenkins

  "What do you mean save someone in my family? Who's going to die? How do you know?" Panic filled Teague at the idea of his mother or father dying, or any of his siblings. They drove him crazy sometimes, but he couldn't imagine life without any of them there.

  Denver shook his head. "This is someone who's already gone, but he would be a huge rock for your family. It's because of him that Chey...Chey killed herself. She was just too guilt-ridden to deal with his loss. If you could save him, then she'd still be around, then I wouldn't be dying, and we'd all be happy."

  "But they're both already dead..."

  "Yes, but you have the ability to go back and stop that from happening."

  Swallowing, Teague averted his gaze. "My magic doesn't control time."

  "I know, but your brothers' does." Denver pointed to the side of a building. "Come on out, boys. I know you're following us."

  The sound of hushed voices arguing could be heard from the nearby building. Teague couldn't understand what they were saying, but he recognized who they belonged to immediately. Cory and Alain. They've been following me? Great, now I'm in serious trouble.

  Cory came out first, grinning like an idiot, while Alain reluctantly followed his twin out of their hiding spot.

  "You are s-o-o gonna get it when Mom and Dad find out who you're talking to." Cory snickered.

  Alain folded his arms in front of his chest. "Dad told us to stay away from him." He pointed to Denver.

  "Honestly, I'm surprised, because I didn't think you'd rebel against them. You're such a goodie-goodie," Cory added. "I was hoping I'd corrupt you in other ways, like with Chanel."

  Rolling his eyes, Teague gave Denver a sideward glance. "Are you sure you want their help?"

  "Do you know of any other ways to travel back in time?" Denver asked, his voice a lot more calm than Teague expected it to be. They had just been caught, and his brothers were threatening to turn them in. The whole plan would be ruined if that happened.

  Cory scowled. "What's wrong with wanting our help? We're capable, and awesome."

  "And we'll be grounded for life," Alain stated.

  "Oh come on, that's such a lie," Cory said. "Mom would get over it. Dad would be mad for a while, but eventually it'd pass. They can't kill us. That's illegal. And eventually, they'll get tired of us being grounded, because we'll be trapped in the house with them. After a couple of weeks, they'll be begging us to leave."

  But they'd never trust me again, Teague thought. And that realization hurt a lot more than any actual punishment would. Grounding, he could live with. To have his parents, specifically his father, look at him with disdain for the rest of his life would be torture. Because if he did help Denver, he wasn't sure if he'd be forgiven — not by his dad. The hatred the man felt toward his enemy was made very clear as soon as the family had found out about Denver's presence on campus. If Teague became Denver's heir, it'd be like stabbing his dad in the back.

  Yet, if I'm supposed to bring back who I think...it'd balance everything out. Dad would have to see this as a good thing.

  Taking in a deep breath, Teague nodded. "I'm in if they're willing to help."

  "I am s-o-o in," Cory said. "This is going to be fun."

  Alain groaned. "I guess I have to say yes."

  "No, you don't."

  "Yes, I do. You'll annoy me until I agree."

  ****

  "I don't mind. I've been wanting to come back for a while," Zach said. "Even with all of the strings that come along with it." His gaze settled on Teague. "I love Jewl. I'd do anything for her, even protect my competition. She'd never forgive me if I let something happen to him and she knew I could stop it. To either of them. I accepted a long time ago that she's well-matched, found her soul mate, whatever you want to call it."

  Denver shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. "You can get there in time, right?"

  "Yeah, easily."

  "And you can keep all of the demons away?"

  "I can do my best. I'm only one person, though. And while I'd take other demons with me to help, I'm not sure I would trust them all. If all else fails, I can at least get one of the guys to safety."

  Sighing, Denver nodded. "If Zes is the key, then I guess you gotta get him. As much as I hate to say it, and help the guy..."

  "No," Teague whispered.

  "No?" Both Denver and Zach asked in unison.

  Closing his eyes, Teague felt the worst pain in his gut. He did not want to be the one dictating such a huge decision, but he also needed to make sure everything was done right. "He's not as strong. I mean, D-dad is...is more in control of what he can do, but..."

  "I'm following," Zach said. "Lucien has ways to get what he wants. Either one of the twins will crack. We've seen it happen before when Anj was brought to the underworld. He almost spilled everything because of the torture he was put through. The weaker one won't get the answers quite as quickly."

  Teague's stomach continued to churn. And if Lucien takes Dad, then I might not ever exist. My entire family will be destroyed even further. And that's something I can't live with on my conscience, if I were to remain trapped here forever. It all makes sense, but I feel like a horrible, selfish person.

  Chapter Seventeen

  "We're going out for pizza, Zes, you want to come with us?" A dark-haired young man stuck his head into the dorm room, grinning.

  Zes looked up from his book, sitting up in his bed as he did so. "Tempting, but I got a lot of homework to do."

  "Man, all you do is homework. Boring. Get out and live a little. Besides, Daisy is going," Zes's roommate said. He spun in his desk chair to face Zes and winked.

  Still as shy as ever, a small blush spread across Zes's cheeks. "Oh, cool."

  "Oh, cool? That's all you can say? Come on, you're into her, and she's into you. All that studying you do together can't just be hitting the books."

  "Iggy? Shut up," Zes grumbled and opened up his massive textbook again. "We study. Don't read so much into it. Aaron, next time. You all have fun."

  "Fine, I can take a hint," the guy from the door, Aaron, said. "Iggy, don't be so hard on him. He was partying with us late into the night while you were out for your game last weekend."

  The roommate, Iggy, gasped. "So you do know how to have a little fun!"

  "I have a lot of fun," Zes deadpanned.

  "Yeah, he's the one who figured out how to put the refrigerator in the girl's bathroom." With a wave, Aaron disappeared from sight.

  The room was quiet for a moment. Iggy spun in his desk chair a few times before getting up. "Dude, how did you get the refrigerator in there?"

  "That's my secret, and I'll take it with me to the grave." Zes smirked. "I'll try not to do anything else that's amazing while you're out playing football. Then again, if you knew how cool I actually was..."

  This was not the uncle Teague had come to know at his time at Vala. And yet, despite how drastically different Zes was, Teague enjoyed seeing him come out of his shell quite a bit. The confidence was refreshing.

  Iggy put on his shoes. "Spoken like a future frat boy. I so would not have pegged you as the type to pledge at a fraternity, by the way."

  "I didn't think I'd be interested in it either," he said. "But I like it, the whole sense of family and trust. It's cool."

  "Yeah, sure," Iggy said. "This the first time you've said no to food in favor of studying. And the first time you've said no to hanging out with Daisy."

  "My brother is coming over tonight," Zes said quietly.

  "Why didn't you just say so earlier?"

  "Because we have a lot of stuff to talk about, and I know that if everyone knew he was around, they'd insist we both come, and Anj never passes up on an invitation to socialize. Just not how he is." He shook his head. "He's going to be around all weekend. So we'll catch up with you guys later."

  Teague could sense the words Zes wasn't saying: the twins needed time together, alone, and it wasn't just because of the family drama surrounding them. One thing he'd not
iced with his older brothers was that, if they were ever apart for more than a few days, they started to get ornery. Connecting with one another was part of their well-being.

  Shrugging, Iggy grabbed his wallet. "See you guys when I get back then."

  Zes acknowledged him with a small nod. As soon as his roommate was out the door, he closed his book again. Slowly, he raised a small, black-glass pendant he wore around his neck up in front of his face. Then he frowned and dropped it. "No, I said I wouldn't use my magic here..."

  Everything around Teague began to blur together until he was looking at nothing but a mess of colors and shapes. Those shapes began to swirl around him, the colors blending together to create a black tornado. He closed his eyes and held himself, waiting for the darkness to pass, hoping it would disappear as he counted the seconds to keep himself distracted from the sensation. One-Mississippi...

  Five seconds felt a lot like five minutes, but as suddenly as the tornado appeared, it dissipated, leaving Teague outside on one of the pathways near Zes' school.

  The local university was three times as large as the Vala campus. It technically was considered its own town and had some of the best programs in the country — especially in the medical field, which was what Zes was studying for. Despite being so large, there was a small, cozy feeling to the freshman dormitories where he lived. Each had a well maintained exterior with classic, square-cut shrubs in front and tall, black, old fashioned light posts outside. The street itself was quiet. Few cars came by, and only a handful of students could be found mingling about.

  On the sidewalk, Zes and Anj walked away from the dorms and toward the college town.

  "Mom still calling you every day?" Anj asked. His hands were in his pockets as he stared blankly ahead of him.

  Zes let out a heavy breath. "Yes, she still calls. Every night. At nine on the dot."

  "It's almost nine now."

  "She doesn't freak out if I'm not there to pick up. Most of the time, I'm not. She'll leave me a message, and I'll get back to her later that night or first thing in the morning." He shrugged.

  Anj frowned. "She's loosening up? How late do you two talk?"

  "All night sometimes." Zes fidgeted with his hands as he spoke. "We've had a lot to catch up on. We talk about how school is going, mostly. I told her about what happened with Chey. She kept asking about her, so I figured I owed her an explanation. That was an awkward conversation, but it turned out pretty good. Sometimes we talk about you. I mean, I hope you don't mind that I tell her what you're up to."

  "It's fine." The terseness in Anj's tone suggested otherwise.

  His brother winced. "Anyway, I told her I'm happy to keep in touch, but she needs to remember to respect my life. She's not as controlling, because I don't let her get away with it. If you'd talk to her like she's a rationally-thinking adult, you'd realize she understands more than she lets on."

  A huff left Anj's lips. "That approach has never worked for me."

  "It might now..."

  "I'm not ready to talk to her. I'm still furious over what she said about Jewl." He clenched his fists.

  "She –"

  "Accused her of only wanting me for my inheritance and popularity. Then when I explained that Jewl was Divine, she called her a...I won't even repeat it."

  Zes's gaze lowered to the ground. "Oh. I thought she wanted you to marry a Divine. She was all over the idea of you and Cheyenne hooking up."

  "Because Cheyenne is the right kind of Divine. She's not the future goddess of prostitution. That's a direct quote, by the way. Mom believes I've been bewitched by Jewl's temptress magical abilities."

  "At least she didn't say you got married because you knocked her up?" Zes offered a weak smile, even if his brother wouldn't be able to see it.

  Anj shook his head. "No, she just thinks I've been whipped into Jewl's 'yes man'."

  "I didn't know she thought all of these things. You should have told me," Zes said, his voice growing quiet.

  Anj's face returned to its normal expressionless form. "Mom makes your life hard enough. It doesn't need to be worse because of my drama that doesn't even involve you."

  "You don't always have to protect me! Can't I be there for you for a change?"

  "Just because you're older than me doesn't mean you have to look out for me all the time. I need to take care of you more. Does your almost dying in the underworld ring any bells?"

  "Please, I'm an adult and we both know I'm the more responsible one. I took care of myself then, and I can do it again now." Zes rolled his eyes then muttered under his breath, "Not like you tell me anything anyway, so I shouldn't be surprised."

  "Excuse me?" Anj stopped walking. Teague knew the tone he used all too well. At home, he only reserved the sharp, cold, and almost dark feeling in his voice for those moments where there was serious trouble to be had. Mad was an understatement. He had the fire of a thousand suns fueling his rage, and Teague pitied anyone who was ever on the receiving end of it. Thankfully, he hadn't ever been, but he'd seen it enough times with his older brothers.

  Teague winced, always hating when he heard his father speak that way. Zes, however, didn't seem fazed in the slightest and kept walking.

  At least, he did until Anj snatched his forearm. "What are you talking about? I tell you everything I can."

  "You're a bad liar. Obviously, you could have told me about mom. You just chose not to."

  "Fine, point made. But I didn't mean to hold back. We were both so stressed with the wedding and moving...it never seemed like the right time. I wasn't sure if you would want to know."

  "You're my brother," Zes stated, as if that should have explained everything. For Teague, it didn't help much. He wasn't close to his siblings. Loved them, yes, but he wouldn't call them his friends. He was too goodie-goodie for Cory and Madison. Alain just had better things to do than bond.

  Zes' message must have hit Anj hard, because he visibly paled, his hand shaking ever so slightly.

  "I know I suck," Anj said. The words were strained. "I don't want to lose you."

  "Then stop pushing me away."

  "You have secrets too!"

  "Because why should I bother trusting you with anything if you aren't going to trust me!"

  "I trust you. I just can't tell you. I didn't make up the rules."

  Zes threw up his hands. "Right, back to this. I don't even know what you're talking about, but just because it's a rule doesn't mean it needs to be obeyed. Sometimes you have to make exceptions. I mean, you told Jewl. I get it, you love her in a different sort of way than me, but...I guess I thought I was more important to you than how you treat me."

  "You are." Anj let go of his brother. "I'm having a hard time functioning without you. And I'm sorry I didn't...choose you. Please don't hate me because of that choice."

  "I still have no idea what you're talking about, but I can say that I don't hate you. I'm just frustrated. For so long, I've been kept in the dark, and I've been held back. Finally, things are going my way. My. Way."

  Anj's eyes glowed with a soft blue as he used his magic to watch his brother. Tears pooled in his eyes. "And that's all I've ever wanted for you. Please remember that. No matter what happens."

  "Another cryptic warning?" Zes laughed sourly. He glanced back at his twin, a small smirk playing on his lips. "You annoy me, but you're still my best friend. I know you just want to see me succeed. Just remember it might not happen in the way you envisioned."

  "That's okay. I just want you to be around."

  "You're talking like I'm going to go somewhere."

  "I –"

  Both of the young men stopped talking when the shadows around them started to come alive. The shadows moved along the ground, rushing toward the twins, and took on a solid form at the last moment. A shadow tackled Anj, knocking him to the hard pavement. He let out a sharp breath, clearly having the wind knocked out of him.

  Without any hesitation, Zes kicked the shadow. Teague watched the creature sail through
the air and into a nearby wall. More shadows came, and each one had Anj as its target.

  And Teague was helpless to stop them. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see anymore, praying silently that the blue door would appear before him and he could wake up in his room again. The Elders didn't feel it was time, apparently, because the vision continued.

  When he opened his eyes again, he saw the brothers standing side by side, pressing close to one another. Zes's arms extended in front of Anj, as if he were trying to use his body as a shield.

  "I-I don't have enough magic for a spell," Anj said.

  "Good thing I have enough for the both of us," Zes stated confidently. "Stay close. I won't let anything happen to you."

  More shadows appeared. The demons are supposed to be under Denver's control. How are there so many of them working for Lucien? None of it made sense to Teague. With each new demonic shadow entering the scene, his spirit fell even more. Zes did his best to fend them off with his magic, causing the ground to quake around them. He could only do so much. Normal people lived in the city. Using too much of his magic could destroy the fragile boundary between those who were normal and those who had magic. Not to mention, the demons didn't respond to his spell. In fact, they laughed.

  The demons ripped the brothers apart. A hoard carrying each away from the other. Anj desperately wiggled his outstretched hands toward Zes. Then with a flash of light, the demons carrying him were gone. The creatures screeched as if in pain, and the distinct sound of metal cutting through flesh could also be heard. It took a moment for Teague to see the lone figure wielding a massive sword.

  He had sandy-blond hair and steel blue eyes. Zacheous, Denver's most trusted adviser of the underworld, and Jewl's long dead ex-bodyguard, was there to save the day. The demons were far too plentiful, however. For every demon Zach felled, another two took its place. As he attacked the group moving toward Anj, the bunch carrying Zes began to chant. Black ooze started to slide up Zes' arms, making him just as black as the shadows holding him.