Page 24 of The Magic of Eternity
The guard would also tuck his hair behind his ear since it was the perfect douchebag length that it constantly fell forward. I’d caught “Sloane” going to put his hair behind his ear several times, but his hair wasn’t long enough for that. So yeah, I was pretty positive. And I was also positive I was going to take great pleasure in ending that fucker’s life.
I’d spewed so much bullshit to the fake Sloane about Saige and the guys. Information about Laurie that I wasn’t exactly sure was true, but I’d bet on it. Like how she’d supposedly told me that she intended to take this kingdom for herself, that she’d never trusted Asrael and planned to get rid of him as soon as possible. I could only hope that my lies made it to the man himself and Laurie got locked up too. I no longer cared who killed that bitch, so long as she died.
The lock on the door engaged and I sighed, wondering which one I was going to have to deal with this time. Torture or rape. Essentially they were the same thing to me at this point, though one of them brought a lot more blood and physical pain versus an absolute psychological mindfuck. The door started to open and I lifted my head, just enough to see a sliver of light spill into the room.
Sounds of a scuffle and a loud thump really caught my attention, and I was surprised when Don—the asshole guard—was tossed into my cell, knocked out cold. Maybe surprised wasn’t the right word; really, it was more of a ‘huh’ moment. The surprise came a beat later when two men stepped into the cell and closed the door.They’re really upping their game.
“Fischer, by the fucking moon, what have they done to you?” Fake Kai cried, rushing over to me, a low whine slipping from his open mouth.
I slowly looked at him. They had his mannerisms down—the frantic movements and anxious energy he always had at the first sign of one of his pack being harmed. “They kicked my ass,” I deadpanned.
Fake Kai’s brow furrowed at my response, and he tossed a look over his shoulder to Fake Cam. “Cam, get over here and help me. Fuck, look at his ankle. It’s destroyed. Fish, brother, how are you even conscious right now?”
Tears were building in Fake Kai’s eyes, and I focused on that. His eyelashes were so thick and the moisture seemed to build there, waiting for him to blink so it could trickle down his cheeks. “Fischer. Talk to me,” he pleaded. Blink.
Ah. There they go.The physical manifestation of sadness. People shouldn’t be allowed to fake sadness. Or happiness, for that matter. My entire life I’d watched people act one way, only to be harboring their true feelings within, hidden away. And for what?
In this case, deceit. To trick me into thinking that these imposters were my family. That wasn’t going to happen.I’m the mind master, not whoever is pulling the strings around here, thinking they can outsmart me.
“He’s in shock, K. Move,” Fake Cam barked, and Fake Kai scrambled out of the way. My friend’s face appeared inches from mine. By the sun, he looked as though he hadn’t shaved in weeks. His beard was usually well-kept, but right now he looked like some sort of lumberjack hermit who’d rolled down the side of the mountain and landed right here, all up in my fucking face.
“Fischer, listen to me. We’re going to get out of here, but we need to be quick. We got lucky, seeing that piece of shit shifting into Sloane right outside of this room. That’s why we knocked his ass out. Asrael is making moves, and we’ve heard whispers of an execution at dawn,” Fake Cam rambled, working on the knot in the rope that was tied tightly around my ankle. The non-fucked one.
“Execution?” That was the only thing he’d said that really intrigued me. I already knew that Sloane was a fake. My practically dead and shriveled up heart skipped a beat at the thought of it being Laurie’s execution.
Fake Kai slipped behind me and started on my wrists. A moment later, the bindings fell away, as though they’d been cut. “We don’t know who, but I think we better find out. Fast.” He dug around in his pocket and pulled out a syringe.
“Get fucked if you think I’m letting you stab me with that,” I gritted out, and Kai actually recoiled as though I’d slapped him.
“Fish, it’s a healing serum. It’s a gods damn miracle. Cam found me after I’d been publicly flogged.” Kai dropped into a crouch, looking me dead in the eyes. “Over one hundred lashes. I almost died. Napoleon raided the pharmacy lab and stole one of these.” As though he’d been waiting for an introduction, the black mouse poked his tiny head out of Cam’s beard.
That couldn’t be faked. Right? A Fake Napoleon? But if he was real, then... they were real. But if it turned out they weren’t... I buried my face into my hands and rocked, trying to clear my mind.Get out of my fucking head. Stop fucking with me. Get out. Get out. Get out!
“Brother, take some deep breaths. We’re not fucking with your head. This injection will heal your injuries, and then we can walk out of that door and go find our woman. Don’t you want that?” Cam asked, his voice soothing and steady as Kai hopped to his feet and started fidgeting.
“Prove it,” I whispered.
Kai stopped his pacing. “Prove what?”
“That. You’re. Real.”
Cam and Kai shared a look. “Go on, K. Prove it.”
A blink later, and Kai was no longer standing before me. Instead, Bagheera prowled closer. His large head came to rest on my thigh and those yellow eyes burned into the fucking core of me. My hands were shaking so badly as I lifted them and let my fingers sink into his thick, silky fur.
“We met when we were five. I’d just moved to the street, and you, Sloane, and Kai were already friends. The three of you were watching us move into our house from across the street. You were all on your bikes. Mama B spotted you guys and made me go over to introduce myself. I remember thinking that you had the curliest hair I’d ever seen.” Cam’s voice was so low, I had to strain to hear him, but I was there, on that street. In that moment.
“Who’s the new kid?” Kai asked as we spotted a tall blond boy carrying a box out of the moving truck that had pulled up a couple of hours ago.
Sloane shrugged, picking at the scab on his forearm. He’d told us a dog scratched him. I thought he should be more careful. It seemed like he was always getting hurt.
“Maybe he has popsicles. Let’s go find out.” Kai headed for his bike and we followed. We could’ve walked—it was only about six houses down—but we’d all gotten new bikes recently and we rode them any chance we got. Sloane especially. He was the first of us to learn to ride without training wheels. Sometimes he rode his bike so fast I thought flames would shoot out from the tires and he’d leave us all behind.
I wasn’t supposed to know, but my parents, and Kai’s, had bought Sloane’s bike. I didn’t see what the big deal was. Sloane stayed over at my house all the time and if he wasn’t with me, he was at Kai’s.
‘His daddy is mean and a bad man. He’s scary.’
I blinked and watched my two friends pedal away. I looked around, wondering where that voice had come from.
