Page 104 of House of Pain
Blaze tensed his core muscles and swung his fist forwards, connecting with Andro’s jaw.
Copper filled Blaze’s mouth, but his blood was on fire, heart racing. He rolled over, pressing Andro to the mossy ground as he spread out on top of him, every inch of their bodies touching.
“I thought it was supposed to be brosoverhoes,” Blaze whispered in Andro’s ear.
Andro struggled beneath him, throwing his head back, trying to headbutt Blaze, but Blaze dodged it just in time.
“Fuck you,” Andro hissed. “It’s not about that, and you fucking know it. We’reInner Circle. We’re building a family here, you dick.”
Blaze scoffed.
A family?
Andro was fucking delusional.
“Guys,” Rogue’s voice came from behind them.
“We’re busy. Don’t you see?” Blaze turned his head to glance at Rogue behind his shoulder.
He then turned back, struggling to keep hold of Andro.
“I leave you to your thing, and you should do the same with me,” Blaze said through clenched teeth. “It’s always worked great for us.”
“I’m not going to watch you ruin everything we’ve built,” Andro warned, his struggle dying down. “I’m not going to watch you ruin yourself.”
For a moment, Blaze was still as a statue.
He wasn’t sure whether he wanted to lash out and strangle Andro…or whether he wanted something else.
Slowly, Blaze released Andro, climbed off him, and sat on the moss.
His lip was split, jaw aching. Surely tomorrow there would be a bruise or two.
They sat in silence for a long moment, just staring at each other.
Maybe Andro was right about them.
Maybe he wasn’t.
But it did feel as if Blaze was losing it. He was losing his fucking mind.
And while Blaze was fine with that, he wasn’t fine with losing his best friend.
Andro sighed as if he could read Blaze’s mind, see straight through his soul. His eyes were warm and calm once again.
“Guys,” Rogue repeated, this time his voice deeper, full of warnings.
Blaze followed Rogue’s gaze to somewhere in the distance, and the hairs on his neck rose.
There, between the trees, a lone white figure loomed. Her black hair hovered around her head like a lion’s mane, pale face devious in the shadow of the night.
Andro got on his feet, dragging a stunned Blaze with him.
“You see, I knew you’re going to come in useful,” Andro whispered. And while his voice was filled with amusement, his rapid, shallow breathing betrayed his fear. “Okay, so here’s the plan. Blaze, get the Banshee’s attention. And keep it. Rogue, I’ll need you to catch her and hold her for me while I perform the spell. Are we clear?”
Wordlessly, Rogue and Blaze nodded. The Banshee moved forwards, her feet barely touching the mossy floor of the forest as she came closer to them.
Her black eyes were bottomless, and they were settled on Blaze. Hungry.
