Chapter 36

NATHANIEL

“Do you remember Martha?” I asked Ishmael, who had a book in his hand, assembling some vials on a table.

I briefly wondered what they were for. He was always busy every time I came to visit.

He paused momentarily, a smile teasing at the corners of his lips. “Who the fuck doesn’t Martha? She’s the crazed Nighthowler who scowls at everyone that looks her way.”

“Well, I met her today.”

He grinned at me. “What’d she do? Chase you out of her house with a broom?”

“I don’t even think she owns a broom.”

Ishmael chortled, nodding in agreement. “You’re right. Her place is a dump. What did you go there for?”

“Information on how to wake a demon from his stasis.”

Ishmael looked at me like I’d grown an extra head. “And somehow, you thought Martha holds that information.”

“She usually knows things, and during my past times dealing with her, she was never wrong. Her solution to my question this time around was rather disturbing.”

“Why? What did she say you have to do?”

“Kill Ayra. We both know that is out of the fucking picture.”

“Kill Ayra? How does that have anything to do with waking a sleeping demon?”

“I’m not the expert here.”

“Maybe I’ll go pay Martha a visit of my own.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s fucking wrong.” He looked baffled. “Honestly, I’m fucking offended you’d go to her before consulting me.”

“Do you know something about this?”

“Yes. You don’t need to sacrifice a life for this cause. All you need to do is gather the required materials for the spell. In fact.” He moved across his workroom, grabbing a tiny book from his shelf. He opened the book, and I was left staring at gibberish. “This is the spell we need to chant.”

“Am I supposed to understand what that means?”

For the first time since I stepped into his house today, Ishmael looked unsure. “That’s the only problem I have. I can’t find the meaning of those scribblings.”

“What about Ryker and Samuel?”

“Samuel is out of the picture. He’s not smart enough to decipher something like this, but Ryker? We need him out of the fucking picture. He’s the real threat here.”

“And if we’re unable to?”

“He’ll decipher the spell. He always finds a way.”

I watched him curiously as a series of emotions crossed his face. “What’s the history between both of you?”

“Want a drink?”

***

ISHMAEL

“There were four of us.”

We wanted to create something similar to the Brothers of Doom; only ours was meant for good. It was me, Samuel, Ryker, and Keela. Odin trained all of us, but Keela was the strongest of us.

At the time, we did not know we were getting groomed by Odin himself, the great sorcerer we were all taught to look up to. He was like a god in the mage world.

First, it had just been Keela and me. We played, talked about life, kept to ourselves, and whatnot. Then along the line, the Allister brothers came along.

Ryker and Samuel.

They had been timid, dirty, and hungry when they first came in, and it took a month before the brothers were comfortable enough to socialize. By that time, they’d already begun gaining attention from the teachers at the school for their promising skills.

Another month down the lane, and Odin had already begun noticing them, too. Soon, he was training all four of us. Ryker had been an eager student, following the instructions diligently, so he didn’t fuck the spell up.

We had been the same. We worked our asses off to perfect a spell that took Keela only ten minutes. On the other hand was Samuel. He wasn’t as hardworking, but he liked to talk big game, and he enjoyed talking down on Keela, undermining her achievements.

At first, I chalked it up to him being jealous of how much she accomplished in such a short time. You know, healthy rivalry and all that bullshit. Or so I had thought. Until one very night.

“Keela came to me crying, her dress ripped apart, with blood dripping down her thighs.”

“No,” Nathaniel mumbled, his face losing some of its colors.

“Yes,” I affirmed, confirming his suspicion.

Samuel had raped her, taking something she never gave to him in the most brutal way possible. Ryker had been with me that day. He’d seen how broken Keela was. Hell, he’d broke down, too, seeing the darkness inside his brother for the first time.

Odin got the news, and he’d been furious. Keela had been like a daughter to him. He exiled Samuel for a decade, and after that, he released him.

If only we’d known. If only we’d known all the daily letters were a façade. During those ten years, he’d fantasized about doing the same thing to Keela again.

He’d won Keela’s trust again, so when he asked her to follow him somewhere because he wanted to make it up to her, she’d done so, telling no one about their trip.

For months, she went missing. We looked everywhere for her, and we couldn’t find her.

“Please don’t tell me the fucker looked for her with everyone knowing full well that he was the kidnapper.”

I chuckled, but the sound was half broken and devoid of any humor to my ears. “He did exactly that.”

It would have been slightly better if he’d just held her prisoner, but he didn’t do that. He abused her every single day. Three times a day. Relentlessly.

Keela had been a shell of herself when we found her, and her only dying wish was when she thought she was going to die, was that we kept the truth away from Ryker.

“I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but Ryker adored Samuel. He still does. I think that has something to do with Samuel being his only family. He adored Samuel, but if you’d been there, you’d know how much he loved and idolized Keela.”

To this day, I blamed myself for listening to Keela. Ryker wouldn’t have turned out like this. He’d have turned his back on Samuel had he known what his brother did to the woman who had been a steady, strong feminine symbol in his life.

When Odin kicked out Samuel for good, Ryker followed him, too. He thought we were cruel for kicking his brother out. He didn’t know the truth, and no one was willing to tell him. From that day, Ryker turned his back on all of us.

The last time I saw him was at the vampire brothel when he came to Benjamin’s aid. It broke my heart that he let his brother’s evil mind corrupt his, but there was nothing I could do. Ryker was unwilling to listen to me.

“Believe it or not, Ryker is a good guy. His love for his brother blinded him from what was right. He was never like this. He—”

I pressed my lips into a firm line, holding back the tears that welled up in my eyes, clogging my throat in the process.

“Sounds like he’s in an unpleasant situation. Now, I feel bad for the fucker.”

“If this war breaks out, could you—”

“Could I, what?” Nathaniel urged when I trailed off.

“This might be difficult for you to do, but is it possible for you to keep him alive? I promise I’ll do everything to change him.”

Nathaniel sighed, clearly torn by my request. On one hand, he’d want to do everything to end the war once and for all, to make sure an old nemesis didn’t rise and try to take out everything dear to him. On the other hand, he felt pity for Ryker after hearing his story.

“I can’t promise you anything, Ishmael, but I’ll try. For you. You’ve helped a lot, and the least I can do is honor your request.”

“That’s all I’m asking. If you’re backed into a tight spot, you’re free to kill him.”

He smiled, tossing back his glass of whiskey. “And what exactly is a tight spot?”

“You’ll find out on the battlefield.”

“I have to leave now. Don’t blame yourself for all that happened back then. It’s all Samuel’s fault, and he needs to be put down.”

“He will,” I promised Nathaniel. “Even if that’s the last thing I do.”

It would be payback for all the hurt he’s caused the people dear to me, and when that time came, there would be no mercy in dishing out his punishment.