Broker

Chapter 166

Empty. She felt so very, very, empty. It wasn’t just an emotional emptiness. It was like her ability had sucked something out of her. Hollow. She glanced down at her hand and watched as the ice formed on it, spreading less like flakes and shards and more like an icy-white root. Before her very eyes the wicked tendrils began to darken, a black smoke filling them until they’d turned the color of obsidian. She felt a little more drain out of her as she admired the glittering black material, turning her hand over with trembling shoulders. She felt empty, like a bottomless pit that could never be filled.

He did this to me, she thought as she let her instincts rise to the surface. They were… broken. It felt like her mind was glitching, static and twitching sensations crackling spasmodically in her brain. She swallowed and drew the black ice back in, letting it sink into her skin and send an otherworldly chill through her entire being. It felt so wrong. And yet, it was a little pleasurable too. Her fingers twitched as the static cleared a little. Her ability was hungry, it wanted something insubstantial, something that lay deep at the heart of every living thing. It wants souls, she shuddered and turned her gaze back towards the crowd.

There he was, her ‘partner’ for this ‘mission’. Greg was standing with a happy looking older couple, talking merrily with them. She reached up and squeezed at her arm as he made eye contact with her. His lips thinned for just a moment before his father said something and he returned to the conversation. She felt that hollow feeling deepen, again, colder, emptier. Was it even possible to feel more hollow than she already did? She’d played it off as a reaction to his decision to go to the UK, throwing a tantrum a few nights ago and ending their ‘relationship’.

He wasn’t a bad guy. I kind of liked him. A good lover. It was… warm. She shook the thoughts off as her shoulders sagged, If it was a different time, maybe a different life. It might be nice. She reached up and ran her fingers through her hair. Stop it! You ended it! She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall of the dojo, far away from the rest. No one’s coming to see me anyway. Who in their right mind would-

A face in the crowd.

No.

A calculating smile.

No no no.

A faint ripple in the air that she knew all too well.

No, please no, go away. I don’t want to see you too.

Messy dark hair, eyes that were blue like glaciers, almost white. He caught her gaze and his smile curled upward. What is he doing here? How is he even here? She thought frantically as he began to work his way through the crowd towards her. His hands were in the pockets of his long trench coat, a turtleneck raised to his throat. He tilted his head up and smiled down at her from over his nose, striding across the grass with a confident gait before coming to a stop just a few feet away. “Hello Sister, congratulations on graduating!” he said, showing his eerily white teeth.

 “Phillip,” she breathed, “What are you doing here?”

He shrugged blandly, “Can’t a big brother come visit his darling sister on her special day?”

She looked away and squeezed her arms, “You know what I mean.”

He snorted and rubbed at his wrist, “These cuffs are tight, but effective in getting past an RTE,” he muttered as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a cloth doll. She recoiled at the sight of it.  It was grotesque, like it was made from human skin and had its eyes and ears sewn shut. “Got it in a dungeon, isn’t it neat?” He said with a chuckle, “Nobody can hear us talk and people will look right over us, even Black Lotus with those amazing senses of hers. It’s just you and me, Sister.”

She felt her stomach drop out from under her. He was going to kill her. He had said that he would one day. Was this it? A final release, she supposed, death at the hands of her brother to escape servitude to that monster that paraded around like a hero. Her eyes shot towards the head of perfectly coifed blonde hair amidst the crowd. So many fawning over him. He wouldn’t look her way. He wouldn’t care. She was just a tool to him. Just like she was to Liberty and Phillip. Her lips twitched and he raised an eyebrow, following her gaze. 

“I thought you liked the dark-haired boy, what was his name? Gravitic? Halloway hates him, by the way,” Phillip said casually, turning to glance in Greg’s direction.

She flinched, “N-no! We broke up,” she said quickly and looked down at her feet, “He’s leaving the country and the mission was a bust. I don’t need him anymore.”

“Aww,” Phillip purred, “Poor thing. So is the blonde boy your new cover?”

“It’s not like that,” she muttered.

“Mhm, sure,” He said and leaned forward, grabbing her by the chin. It was so cold. So unbelievably cold. She didn’t think she could get colder. He jerked her head up to look him in the eyes. “You are very, very fortunate, you pathetic little failure. Even with my cute little doll there are way too many witnesses here, if I left a body behind there would be problems. More importantly, Liberty told me to let you live,” he snapped through gritted teeth, “I wanted to watch you bleed, but she says your excommunication is punishment enough. You don’t know enough and aren’t worth enough to kill and cause a scene.”

The words hit her like a truck, she felt smaller, her soul crumbling just a little more under the weight of everything.  A tear ran down her cheek as she tried to pull away but he held her tightly, his gaze leaving hers for just long enough to glance at the side of her face. “Black?” He muttered, puzzled. “Why are your tears black?” he asked and pulled his hand away, reaching for her face to touch it. She jerked away and he grabbed at her again, “Hold still you little-”

“Phillip Wayne!” A bright voice called out causing the two of them to freeze.

She watched Phillip blink and turn his head and she looked past him. She knew the voice but she couldn’t believe that he would deign to intervene. Maybe he might, just for his sick games. She could barely imagine what that man was thinking, what motivated him to do anything. Glimmering blue eyes and blonde hair framed a picture perfect smile. He was like a prince charming made manifest, achingly beautiful in his youth. Yet she knew all too well the kind of cruelty that hid behind those eyes.

“How?” Phillip muttered, “Listen kid, you’re interrupting a family discussion.”

“Am I?” Otis asked, glancing between the two of them. “Seems rather heated! Today’s a very special day for me, I’d rather it not get all messy.”

Phillip scowled and let Jessica go, “I was just leaving, punk. What’s your name?”

“Otis,” Otis said without hesitating, “The Most Promising Hero of the East Coast camp,” he tilted his head in confusion, “Why are you leaving? Jessica hasn’t had a chance to say her piece.”

Phillip whipped his head towards her and gave her a look before breaking into a smile, “Wow, you do work fast. Already got your claws in him?”

“Brother, stop,” she begged, “Just-”

“Hardly,” Otis scoffed and walked in closer, looping around Phillip to stand next to Jessica, “I don’t have any interest in that kind of thing. What’s so interesting about fucking anyway?” He asked, glancing her way, “It just makes more people. I hate people. Why on earth would I make more?” He asked as if Phillip was the stupidest person on the planet, “Goodness, are all of Liberty’s henchmen mentally deficient?” He paused, “I suppose Rift was salvageable, I like him,” he admitted with a thoughtful tilt of his head.

She felt a chill run down her spine as he leaned against the wall. What is he doing?

“That’s not the kind of talk I’d expect from a hero,” Phillip said, standing up a bit straighter.

“Poorly educated too,” Otis shook his head and turned to Jessica, “How do you put up with this? I am so terribly sorry.”

“Stop,” Jessica squeaked, trembling as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder before leaning in an inch from her ear, “Please. You’re making it worse.”

Phillip frowned, “Don’t you-”

Otis held up a hand out of the corner of her eye and Phillip froze, his eyes going a bit hazy for a moment. He looked confused, blinking rapidly as he tried to shake off whatever had overcome him. Otis leaned in a bit more and rest a hand on the spot where the bomb had been. “He knew,” Otis purred, “He knew. He let them do that to you. He obeyed and now he’s here just to hurt you. Annoying. Impudent. Subhuman thing,” he murmured as he ran his hand up and down her abdomen, sending a wave of nausea through her, “You don’t deserve that, do you?”

She tensed, “Wh-what? What are you talking about? What did you do to him?”

He tilted back a bit, “Jessica!” He admonished her, “You’re one of mine now! You belong to me,” He said as if she said something silly. “That means you are above everyone else. He is a thing, not a person - he has no rights, no will, and no value - he means nothing to you,” he rumbled, his lips shaking with a mix of disgust and madness. “What could something less worth-while than an insect possibly have to say that would affect one of my Heralds.”

“Herald?” She murmured, turning to look at him.

“Heralds. My champions, the deliverers of my will,” he said, “I told you I would become a King, King of the world. If you’re part of my inner circle, what does that make him?”

She swallowed as that gnawing hunger roared to life in her gut, that need to consume, a desire to rip the lifeforce from her brothers body and leave it lifeless on the ground, suffering eternally in a state of endless torpor. Her fingers flexed as Otis’ hand reached up and stroked her head, “No one can see us, thanks to your brother’s toy. Your brother is stupefied by my power. He’s at your mercy, you could end him right now…” He whispered, “...or…” he let the option hang in the air like a decadent fruit.

Her breath was coming in rapid, she felt her ice slide down her hand taking the form of claws. She could rip his heart out right there, she could destroy him. Otis would even have a way to make the body disappear, to make everyone forget it even happened. No one would know. She could bleed her brother dry with a crowd of civilians standing there, unaware. A chill of excitement ran up her spine as she realized just how powerful he was, how powerful she could be if she just let him change her. He could fix her broken, worthless soul.

“Or?” she breathed.

“Or… you could spare him. I’ll give you the opportunity to say your piece here, to stand up for yourself, and when the time comes,” He smiled against her ear, his lips so close she could feel his breath, “I’ll let you rip him to pieces. War is coming and Liberty is the target. She’ll be beneath you one day too. Wait. Be patient and have your day of glory when you can destroy him and be celebrated for it,” He urged her, “Heroes aren’t supposed to kill, but accidents happen, don’t they Felwinter?”

Felwinter. Her lips twitched again as she felt that chill deep in her soul, that emptiness, that rattling cage where her spirit should be. Her eyes sparkled, I like that name.

“I can’t wait,” she said, her entire body trembling as he took a few steps back.

He raised his hand to his lips while the other rose to show five fingers. A timer? Understood.

Phillip blinked and shook his head in confusion, rubbing his eyes before looking down at her. His lips curled in a sneer. Did he not see Otis standing off to the side? It didn’t matter. She clenched her fists and took a daring step towards him, her teeth bared and her eyes wide with hate. The chill in her bones flared to life and the grass beneath her feet started to die. Low shrieks and whimpers of pain echoed in the air around her as her mind relaxed, her fears dying, the static of her instincts became clear, clearer than they had been before Otis had changed her.

Phillip raised an eyebrow, “What?” he snapped.

“You didn’t warn me,” she snapped, “You didn’t warn me about the raid.”

He shrugged, “So?”

“I was to be just another casualty. Liberty lost her patience with me and now that you can’t touch me easily, you came to torment me and deliver the excommunication as some kind of ‘punishment’,” she snarled before letting out a manic laugh, “Like that even matters!”

Phillip narrowed his eyes, “Excuse me? How-”

“No! How dare you!” She barked, “How dare you even show your face here,” she bit out, “You insufferable…” she shook her head, “I-I have someone even stronger who backs me now!” she said as black tears streamed down her face, “He’s going to be a king! King of the world!” she threw her head back and laughed, “What’s some cult mean to me?” she raised her hand to her face and covered it with a black clawed hand, it looked like armor, “I’ve been so stupid! I believed in her? Please!” She peeked through her claws at his irate face and she let her arm go slack, her hand falling to her side. “What was I thinking?”

Phillip’s nostrils flared and his hand snapped out faster than the eye could see, his fingers curled like talons ready to grab her and ruin her. Before he could blink, she gripped his wrist with her clawed hand. He snarled and jerked his hand back only to hesitate, his eyes going wide. “Wh-what?” He gasped as his skin began to lose its color around where she touched, his veins turned dark as his fingers twitched and tensed. His mouth fell open in a silent scream as he collapsed to his knees. He reached up to grasp at her hand only to pull his trembling fingers away as they sizzled against the black ice encasing her grip.

She released him and he let out a trembling sob, “You are very, very fortunate, you pathetic little man,” She sing-songed, grinning ear to ear. She felt a warmth seep through her hand and into that hole in her chest, savoring it. “I wanted to watch you suffer, but my King tells me there’s a far more satisfying way to deal with you. You aren’t worth killing here, I want to make a show of it…” She hissed before glancing Otis’ way.

Otis’ fingers slowly drifted down as she went on her tirade before he closed his fist. Phillip cupped his hand, glaring at her, “This isn’t-” He began before shutting his mouth and turning away. He walked past Otis as if he weren’t even there and shoved his hand into his pocket, staggering away. No one seemed to pay him any mind even in his wounded state as he walked through the crowd towards the portal and disappeared. 

Otis let out a breath, a bit of sweat beading on his brow that he quickly brushed away before turning to give her an appraising look, “Well done.”

Jessica felt the moment pass and she swayed a little and dropped to a knee, “What did I just do?” She gasped, her mind reeling from her own actions. 

“You chose,” he said, standing over her and reaching down to take her clawed hand. He didn’t even flinch, “Be proud, You were chosen and you got to choose, Herald Felwinter.”

She looked up at him, her shattered mind and soul piecing itself back together in whatever new, wicked shape it now took. Her lips curled into a smile, “Herald Felwiner,” she said, “It has a ring to it.” n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

She rose to her feet and her eyes drifted away from Otis to a face in the crowd. Just another one of the masses. He couldn’t have done anything. Did I really want him to? No. He’s just a… thing. She smiled and turned her back on the crowd and faced her King. With him. This is where I belong.