Demi-Sin of Deceit: Part Two
Caleb

Caleb

They’d just about killed her.

Destiny was slumped against the pole, blood covering her from the neck down, her back in enough pieces that I could see parts of her ribcage and spine poking out, her breathing laboured. Leviathan’s powers were all that held her up, even as he pulled her burnt hands from the iron ring, Chemosh watching from the luxury balcony as the Demon Lord mercilessly tortured the Demonic-being Princess.

She’d continued counting, right up until one-hundred-and-fifty, the blood rushing from her face and leaving her far paler than normal, her body trembling, somehow clinging on to life even now. The moment Leviathan released her, she was going to fall to her knees and not rise again.

“She’s been punished?” Chemosh called out, and Leviathan nodded.

“Then let her go. She can take the pathetic Demonic-being with her.”

I knew better than to fight back, knowing it would only lead to Destiny being on that pole again, and I waited until Leviathan had stepped back, heading over to Chemosh, to rush to Destiny’s side as she collapsed on the floor, groaning in pain and curling into a ball. Her back was… It was a mess. I’d seen cuts of meat from the slums of Pangorama cleaner than this. “She’s not allowed any sort of healing; no magic, no powers, no tonics or potions- understand? She’s to heal the old-fashioned way. Chemosh, show them to the car.” While Leviathan spoke, Chemosh replying something about having to make arrangements for a Blood Moon tournament, I placed my hand on Destiny’s neck, the only place not broken on her back. She shuddered, breathing, “I’m alright, I’m alright…” She said it over and over, either trying to convince herself, or attempting to make it into some sort of prayer to Hell, and I pulled her head into my lap, trying to comfort her. She’d taken an extra hundred lashings for me, knowing that, in my state, I might not have survived it. The cuts on my body were only just beginning to heal now, taking much longer than usual thanks to the injection they’d given me. Above us, Chemosh tossed two vials to Leviathan, who tucked them into his pockets before striding over to us. His sister followed closely behind, and I bared my teeth at them.

As traumatic as what I’d just gone through was, it was nothing compared to what Destiny had just been through, endured from her own court.

Destiny, as a human, would need months to recover, and that was if she even survived! The infection alone could kill her!

“Get up,” Chemosh said, lifting Destiny by her shoulders, her fingers brushing against the tops of the wounds, and my ally doubled over, vomiting with pain onto the floor. Leviathan laughed mockingly, tucking the whip into his belt and purring, “I might have to do that again sometime, Princess, or maybe I’ll drag in your Connected and do it to him.” He reached into his pocket, pulling two vials out, and Destiny paled in horror.

Staring at the labels, trying to read them from between Leviathan’s fingers, it wasn’t until he unstoppered them, Chemosh pinning Destiny down again, that I realised what was in those vials, the scent of them filling the room. Lemon and salt.

“You asshole!” I snarled loud enough that Leviathan paused before he could pour those bottles onto her, “You’ll kill her!”

Destiny was screaming in panic, begging for Cain and Seth to save her, absolutely wailing with a terror I hadn’t seen before as she clawed at the floor, trying to drag herself out from underneath Chemosh’s boot. Her reaction said it wasn’t the first time she’d tasted the sting of salt and lemon in wounds.

“Answer my one question, sweetheart, and I won’t use the entirety of the bottles,” Leviathan promised, and I snarled, my lips peeling back to reveal my teeth. Destiny was begging, barely able to whisper the words out of panic and pain, and I gritted my teeth.

She had just sacrificed what little dignity she might have had left in Caliem to save my life, had made a choice based only on what she thought the right thing to do was. I would be damned to Hell before I would let her suffer any longer for that choice.

“I’ll answer your question. Leave her alone.”

“Fine,” Leviathan said, “Tell me where her allies are.”

I had no idea… Paling, I watched as Leviathan stuck his finger into the first bottle, soaking his fingers in lemon that he then dangled over Destiny’s back, raising his eyebrow. Even one drop would be enough to make her scream, maybe even pass out. I wouldn’t blame her for it.

Destiny, to her credit, spat at Leviathan’s feet, snarling, “Tip the bottles over me! I’m not telling you shit, and neither is he!”

Without a second’s delay, Leviathan shrugged, and with a sadistic grin on his face, tipped the bottles onto her back…

*

It took me ten minutes to drag her through the Dome, navigating the confusing hallways of a place I had long ago exited, blood from both of us staining the floor black. She’d passed out not long after Leviathan and Chemosh, after handing us a key card to get out, had left, as if finally allowing herself to show some sign of what she thought was weakness, and I’d dragged her through the Dome since then, ignoring the pain in my own back. I’d even collected her weapons, the shotgun slung over my own back, the pistol tucked into the waistband of my jeans.

Zipping up her uniform after the Demon Lords had left had only served to make me feel guilty, especially when she had screamed in pain before passing out, but it had been necessary. I hadn’t wanted to drag her half-naked through the Dome.

Now, pausing in front of the entrance, the rumble of the car we had been given outside, I allowed myself to breathe, trying to manage the pain that was emanating from my own back. Destiny was beginning to rouse slightly, in the same state I had been when she’d found me, and she groaned.

“Princess?” I whispered, kneeling beside her, my back screaming in pain. If mine was this bad, with only forty lashes, how badly did hers hurt?

Her head lolled to the side, now unconscious once more, and I scooped her up, wincing as my arms brushed against her back.

Kicking open the door to the Dome, I spotted the dark grey car that had been given to us, the engine still rumbling. Xarran was in the front seat, Lucas sitting in the passenger, and in the back, a Faery who looked just as badly injured, if not worse, than Destiny did. The Faery was slumped against the glass window, either asleep or unconscious.

Stumbling down the stairs, I gasped in pain with each step, focusing on the task ahead- getting Destiny into that car.

When my foot caught on the step, nearly sending me plummeting down the rest of them, Lucas barrelled out of the car, rushing to scoop Destiny from my arms.

“What happened to her? What took you guys so long?”

“Paimon’s deal was that we could go free so long as she took one-hundred-and-fifty lashes, or they would be added to the forty I’d already had. She killed Paimon once he’d ordered for you guys to be taken out, but before we could escape, Leviathan and Chemosh caught her. They honoured Paimon’s deal, but finished it by pouring salt and lemon into the wounds.”

Wrenching the back door open, Lucas laid Destiny out before unzipping the back of her uniform, revealing her ruined back.

“Holy shit.” He gagged, before retching into the bushes, Xarran turning around from the driver’s seat only to rush over to Lucas, also throwing up. The Faery continued to sleep. Feeling hands lifting my shirt, I swung around to see Lucas and Xarran peering at my own back, wincing in horror.

“Hell below…”

“We need to get her home. Leviathan and Chemosh ordered that she heal naturally. No tonics, no healing potions, no spells- nothing.”

“It’ll get infected,” Lucas warned, and I said, “Not if we take care of her. She’s staying with us in the apartment. It’s the least we can do for her…”

Within the Dome, sirens began to ring out, and the three of us bundled ourselves into the car; Xarran in the driver’s seat, Lucas in the passenger, and me with Destiny and the Faery in the back.

I kept an eye on both of them as we peeled away from the Dome, speeding toward home, the forty Korathian dollars rattling in the glovebox of the car.

Leviathan hadn’t held back on those bottles. He’d tipped them over her, and then rubbed it in with his hands, ensuring every damned inch of her back was covered. She’d passed out, like I’d guessed she would, but not before letting out the most agonised screams I’d ever heard in my life, still refusing to reveal anything about ‘her allies’. What they’d done to her in that place… it was only the beginning. I’d heard Chemosh and Abel discussing more advanced, intricate torture that was ready once her back had healed when I’d stumbled past one of the Dome rooms. They wanted her stuck here in Korath, panicking about what might come next, until they came to fetch her to continue the interrogation.

Xarran was silent even when he turned onto the road that would take us directly home to our apartment, his hands clutching the wheel in a death grip that turned his knuckles white, but Lucas began nervously chattering, trying to fill the pained silence with meaningless words.

“I suppose I should go to the Caliem Manor and fetch some clothes for her, since we don’t want her stuck in that uniform. I might also pick up some groceries from the city so we can cook dinner later, and some snacks in case Destiny needs anything. We need bandages, too, so we can…” He continued chattering, my mind almost automatically tuning him out as the pain in my back flared, Xarran turning a corner in the car, and Destiny gasped awake, shrieking in pain when her back rubbed against the seat.

Her agonised screams woke the Faery beside her, who jolted, his wings rising in panic only to look over and see Destiny. Lucas grimaced, turning to stare out of the window, while Xarran only tightened his grasp on the wheel.

Relief flickered in his eyes, before that too turned to panic. He gripped her hand, frantically asking what was wrong.

Destiny didn’t answer, gritting her teeth to silence her screams, breathing, “Where are we?”

“Almost home. Destiny, what you did in the-”

“Later,” she gritted out, “We’ll discuss it later.”

Later, when her back wasn’t aflame, when her dignity- She turned to look at the Faery holding her hand, and promptly panicked further, shoving him away, almost sending him tumbling out of the door. He reacted accordingly, trying to pin her into the seat to prevent her from knocking his lights out, only to have Xarran hiss, “We’re here! Behave or we’re going to be questioned! I’ll explain everything later!” Xarran and the Faery exchanged a knowing glance, having clearly already discussed whatever history was between him and Destiny, and I grimaced. If we were going to walk through the reception, I had to do up Destiny’s uniform.

The receptionist was already staring at us, her eyes widening when I turned Destiny around in her seat to zip up her uniform once more, revealing a small portion of her back. Xarran parked the car, tucking the keys and the forty dollars into his pocket, before opening the door to let us out.

Lucas practically skipped to the receptionist, providing the distraction we would need to usher Destiny across the lobby.

I helped her out of the car, listening to Lucas’ rambling about the shopping day we’d had, the new car we’d bought, the friend who was visiting for the week and how we needed a spare key set. While he went on and on, boring the receptionist back to her computer, Xarran and I helped Destiny into the elevator, the Faery limping close behind. When we were in, I called out to Lucas, who babbled his goodbyes, the spare set of keys in his hand as he jogged into the elevator, rising upwards.

Destiny lasted two floors before she collapsed again, beginning to shake as the adrenaline wore off, and the Faery cursed Hell, keeping carefully on the opposite side of the elevator to her, using Lucas as a buffer.

The elevator stopped three floors beneath our own, and I wrenched Destiny up in a panic, causing her to heave, dry-gagging in pain. Wrapping my arm under her shoulder, I held her up as the doors opened, and two women walked in, chatting idly. They eyed us off for the moment, took note of Destiny, and then relaxed slightly.

“Which floor?” I asked quietly, and the first woman replied, “Oh, the lobby.”

I bit back a groan as the elevator began to descend, prioritising the lobby over our own floor, and Destiny gulped. The two women turned to her, noting her pale face, the way she leaned on me, and whispered, “Are you alright, dear?”

“Fine,” she mumbled weakly, “I have the flu.”

Both women flinched away, shrinking against the doors, and when they opened, rushed out into the lobby, vanishing out the front doors. The doors closed again, and I scooped Destiny up, murmuring, “Home soon.”

“Provided we don’t have any other pitstops,” Xarran muttered annoyedly, “Lucas, once we get into the apartment, are you comfortable running to the store and buying some bandages? We can’t use healing tonics, but Chemosh never said anything about general first aid.”

“You’d have to clean the blood off her first,” I said as the elevator doors opened, revealing our floor.

Purchasing the entire floor had been a genius move, and we’d promptly had it renovated into a large, open-floor house with five bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, a theatre room, a kitchen- We had everything only the richest in Pangorama had the privilege of owning. But the elevator still sat in a small hallway that led to our front door on the right, a set of double doors made from solid wood, with six bolts.

Xarran unlocked the door, revealing the large kitchen-living room, the kitchen on the right, the living room on the left. The apartment was massive, spanning the entirety of this floor, but the living room and kitchen were my favourite. Large floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the entirety of Pangorama, only veil-thin, white curtains acting as a barrier to any prying neighbours. Three couches had been arranged in a semi-circle around the TV, while a coffee table with a small green plant sat between the black leather couches.

A dining table sat behind those couches, a rug filling the large, open-plan floorspace, and a small hallway branched away behind that, curving back toward the front door and past it, revealing a second, open-spaced room Lucas had filled with TV’s, and four doors. One of those doors led into a bathroom, another into Xarran’s, and the other two belonged to Lucas and I. Another hallway curled away to the left and right beyond those rooms, housing two guest bedrooms and another bathroom, as well as the theatre room, games room and small indoor pool that overlooked the city.

Carrying Destiny into the apartment, I glanced down at her as she breathed, “It’s so light…”

“I can close the curtains.”

“No, it’s nice.”

Placing her down on one of the leather couches, I turned her over, saying, “I need to undo this uniform. Is that alright?”

She waved her hand in confirmation, gripping the edge of the lounge as she steeled herself for the pain that was surely coming, and I unzipped the Assassin outfit, noting the way it hid her blood so expertly. Her back really was mangled, blood still oozing from the wounds.

Cleaning it was the first priority while we waited for Lucas to return with the bandages, but how did I clean it? Putting her in the shower seemed cruel, but so did scrubbing down her back with a wet cloth.

“Destiny, how do you normally clean wounds?”

“Bath,” she gasped out, “I take a bath or shower. Why?”

“These wounds need cleaning before we can bandage them. I’ll show you where the shower is, but do you think you’ll be alright cleaning them on your own, or do you need my help?”

My ex-wife, Elisia, had worked as a nurse when we’d gotten married, and I’d joined her several times as a volunteer at the hospital, helping to bathe, tend to, and talk to patients that she helped as they were referred to doctors for surgery, so it wouldn’t have been the first time I had helped someone clean wounds out, but none of those wounds had been from being whipped over one hundred times!

Maybe I should call her… She knew about the Caliem Manor, the court I was a part of, and it was the court that had caused us to divorce. When we’d had our child, Elisia and I had both been afraid they would be dragged into Caliem because of her bloodline, so we’d divorced amicably. I paid child support, seeing Elizabeth every second week for the weekend. In fact, one of the guest bedrooms was my daughter’s, the walls a soft lilac, her stuffed animals lining the shelves I had put up on the walls. Elisia and I had both decided that it was better she grew up without a fully present father than it was to have me and Caliem. I met with Elisia often enough that she knew I was still loyal to her, and her to me. We did everything normal, married couples did, minus the marriage.

Elizabeth was happy to grow up as a normal child, with friends and school and the freedom to be whoever she wanted, although she was aware of Caliem.

With Leviathan and Chemosh furious at Destiny, and thus at my brothers and I for helping her, Elisia and Elizabeth were likely on the firing line for who to hurt in order to reach me.

Dragging out my phone as I helped lift Destiny from the couch, I dialled Elisia, who picked up on the second ring, demanding, “Where the Hell have you been?! I’ve called you six times since yesterday!”

Pulling the phone away to look at my notifications, I grimaced. She HAD been calling.

“Listen, Elisia, I need you to do something for me.”

Hearing the tone in my voice, my ex-wife paused the rant she had been about to start, quietly but determinedly asking, “What?”

“Caliem arrested Xarran, Lucas and I, along with one of their Princesses, but refused to disclose why. The Princess and I were tortured, but she struck a deal and we got out. I need you to bring Elizabeth to the house with as much money and personal effects as possible.”

“Hell, Caleb… Are you alright? Elizabeth is at her grandparents. Is she in danger?”

“I’m fine. It’s not confirmed, but if they want to reach me, the first place they’re going to go is to you and Liz. Could you pick her up?” I paused as Destiny stumbled, tripping over the rug and tumbling to the floor, groaning in pain. Helping her up, I pinned my phone to my ear with my shoulder, half-carrying Destiny the rest of the way to the first bathroom. Thankfully, it was clean. Opening the shower door, I helped her into it, looking away as she peeled off the rest of her uniform, tossing it away. A second later, the shower water was running, and I stepped out, leaving the door open by an inch so I could hear if she passed out again.

“I’m at work right now, but I suppose I can talk to my boss, tell him it’s a family emergency…”

“You’re at the hospital?”

“Yes.”

“While you tell your boss about the family emergency, I need you to walk me through something. Remember that Demonic Princess?”

“…Yeah?” Elisia’s voice was wary, and I explained, “She took one-hundred-and-fifty lashings to free all of us, and she’s in a pretty bad shape. They used BloodIron to make her human before they did it, and she’s been ordered not to use any healing tonics or anything. I need you to walk me through cleaning her back. Lucas has gone out to get bandages, so when he’s back, I’ll need your help again.”

“Alright. First, you need to clean her back. Is she in the shower?”

“Yes she is.” Peering into the room, keeping my eyes at a respectful level, I watched her shivering in the water, steam rising around her. Black and red blood ran down her back, saturating the water beneath her before it flowed down the drain, only to be replaced by more blood-stained water.

“You need to grab some towels, and set up a bed with some clean sheets. Once you’ve done that, place one towel over the sheets, and the others folded on a bedside table. Gather some clean cloths and a bottle of antiseptic. Boil the cloths in boiling water to sterilise them, and then place all of that on the bedside table.” As Elisia spoke, I opened up the guest bedroom, checking the sheets were clean before rushing over to the linen cupboard, pulling out three towels. The first one I laid over the sheets, the other two being placed on the bedside table. Heading into the kitchen, where Xarran was quietly speaking to the Faery on the couch, I grabbed a bowl, setting the jug to boil while I waited for Lucas to return. Destiny’s weapons had been placed down on the dining table; the ammo neatly laid out.

Gathering cloths from the linen cupboard, I poured the boiling water into the bowl, carrying it over to the guest bedroom just as the shower turned off, Destiny groaning in pain.

Xarran rose from the couch, shoving past me to grab another towel from the linen cupboard, glancing away as he held it in through the door.

When Destiny emerged from the bathroom, the towel wrapped gingerly around her, I scooped her uniform up, tossing it into the hamper. Leading her into the guest bedroom, Xarran helped her sit on the bed, turning the overhead light on.

This guest bedroom had a small balcony attached to it; the floor-to-ceiling windows covered by thick grey curtains to block out the light. A cupboard was built into the wall on the right, the bed in the middle of the wall on the left, flanked by two bedside tables. Thankfully, the carpets were clean, something I had been somewhat concerned about ever since Lucas had held his party last week, and the walls were free of damage.

The wardrobe was empty, but once Lucas returned with the bandages, I would send him to Caliem to pick up some of Destiny’s clothes for her. That, or shopping to buy some new ones. Caliem might be too dangerous to approach for now…

“Lucas should be back soon with some bandages. Try and get some rest until then,” Xarran said, ushering me out of the room and closing the door behind us. Striding a few steps away, I asked under my breath, “What’s the relationship between her and the Faery?”

“He claimed his name was Tiskial, and he was an ally of hers from The Borderlands. He came into Caliem through the Divider to look for her, but got attacked by these hound things.”

“An ally? She tried to kill him in the car. As for the hound things, those will be the Cu Sith.” The Cu Sith… I wasn’t entirely sure where they came from, but they worked for Caliem, or rather, for Hell. Hunting down traitors and intruders before ripping them to shreds. If Tiskial had survived an attack from those things, he either had the luck of the Archangels, or he was incredibly skilled as a warrior.

“He’s just as confused,” Xarran explained, “Says that he’s known her for close to a year now, and while they didn’t always see eye-to-eye, she was reliable enough that he came back to rescue her. He’s… wary about us, too.”

We both glanced down the hallway, where the Faery was trying to messily bind his wrist with his shirt, hissing in pain with each new loop. Striding over, I whistled my approach, not wanting to startle him, before taking a seat on the armchair beside him, saying, “My brother told me that your name is Tiskial, and you came back to rescue Destiny?”

“Yes,” he snapped out, “Against my friends wishes, I came back, told them I could handle sneaking through Caliem. I made it three feet before those hounds caught me.”

“You kill them?”

He shook his head, lifting his injured wrist weakly. Green blood had dried down his mouth and nose, dripping off his chin, and judging by the laboured breathing that escaped his swollen lips when he looked up at me, he had a broken rib. Deep gouges revealing bone also littered his body, scattered like stars. His right wrist was broken, too, although the Fae healing was slowly beginning to take care of it.

“I got a few good hits in, but they got better ones,” Smirking, he jokingly added, “Your kind can really pack a punch.”

Clearly. Xarran strode into the kitchen, pulling out a bottle of whisky and pouring it into a glass, lifting it questioningly at me. Nodding, I turned back to Tiskial as Xarran poured out two more glasses. Tiskial seemed willing enough to talk, but if I found anything he wasn’t willing to reveal, the whisky would help get it out of him, not to mention dull the pain he must have been in.

It could certainly dull mine.

“Why does Destiny act like you’re an enemy if you’re actually allies?”

Leviathan had asked Destiny about her allies when he’d poured that salt and lemon on her, and she’d said nothing. I couldn’t imagine anyone being able to withstand that kind of pain and let nothing slip, so either she was incredibly good at keeping her mouth shut, or Tiskial was lying about them being allies.

Caliem hadn’t given us any information on the current events, either, like why everyone had suddenly been dragged to Revala, the court emptied for several months. Lucas, Xarran and I had remained behind, not wanting to travel all that way only to be stuck in a court we didn’t truly want to associate with. Nobody had taken notice of our absence, anyway, aside from our parents, who sent us a letter demanding to know where we were. When we’d sent one back, asking what was going on, we’d simply gotten another letter telling us to stay safe. That was all- no explanation as to why they were in Revala, why the Lords of Hell had vanished, or why the Princess currently sitting in our bedroom hadn’t shown up in months. Neither had Alishan. Lyna had, but she’d seemed pissed whenever Alishan was mentioned by Agron.

Plenty of balls and celebrations had passed before Caliem had vanished to Revala, the Lords trying to distract everyone with music and drinks, but Destiny, Alishan and Cain hadn’t shown up for any of them.

Alishan I could understand, she had a child, but Destiny and Cain? They had frequented almost every party that had ever occurred, Cain getting wasted, Destiny placing exorbitant bets during games of Forte- that she almost always won.

I’d seen Destiny’s grave, once, when Lucas, Xarran and I had visited the cemetery to explore some of the trail paths in the forest behind it, and I’d found it interesting. A half-human Demonic-Princess who was over thirty-three-thousand years old, placing her birth on Earth. I’d only ever read about Earth in Caliem’s library, but Destiny had lived there. She’d breathed the air, walked the earth, experienced the Legacy War. So had Cain. The knowledge they must have had, being so old… Maybe they had written most of the books in the Caliem library?

My brothers and I were immortal as well, with myself and Lucas taking the longest to become immortal. I’d lived for three-thousand years, barely a flicker of Korath’s history, while Caleb had lived for two-thousand, Xarran for one-thousand. Easy to remember, even if our birthdays were only weeks apart, date-wise.

Destiny had lived longer than all three of us combined, and by a longshot. She wasn’t even immortal yet! She was just cursed to keep living, to never be able to have her soul recycled! How long would she have lived before she became immortal? Forty-thousand years? Fifty-thousand?

Her father was over a billion years old, for Hell’s sake!

“We’re allies,” Tiskial promised, “We’ve been fighting in an Immortal War against Caliem for months now.”

“Wait, an Immortal War? Caliem hasn’t said anything about that.”

Cain and Destiny’s soldiers had vanished months ago, too, and so had several of the Lords of Hell’s soldiers, although they had returned later, often fewer in numbers. I had just presumed they were going through rigorous training, not through war!

Looking to my brother, I asked, “Is that why mum and dad told us to stay safe?”

And why the Caliem Court had vanished to Revala, leaving the Manor empty for months? Had they been hiding?

Xarran, who had taken a seat on the couch across from me pulled his phone from his pocket, dialling our parents with a grim look on his face. It rang twice before our father picked up, answering with a gruff, “Hello?”

“Hey dad… Care to explain why we’re currently being told about an Immortal War for the first time?” The pause on the other end of the phone spoke volumes, and a moment later, our mother’s cheery voice replaced the silence as she sung, “Hey boys! I was just about to make some croissants! When are you next coming over for dinner? Your father and I have missed you very much.” Xarran looked to me in concern, raising an eyebrow as he again asked, “Mum, why are we hearing about an Immortal War for the first time?”

The silence took over again, and I downed my glass of whisky, preparing myself for the truth. Tiskial hadn’t been lying, obviously, if the silence from our parents was anything to go by.

Neither of our parents were overly high-up in Caliem’s court, with my mother being a baker in the kitchen, my father an accountant for a lower Lord, but if anything was going on, they would know about it. Either gossip from the kitchen, or from the Lord my father attended would have reached them.

“That’s just Caliem nonsense, Xarran,” our father cut in, “You shouldn’t be listening to that.”

Snarling, I argued, “Cut the crap! Xarran’s been assigned as a Guardian to Desterium Maladur, who has just been flayed for being, and I quote, ‘a traitor to Caliem’. What the Hell is going on?”

Turning to me, Xarran mouthed, “You aren’t telling them about your own punishment?”

“No,” I mouthed back, “They’d kill us for getting involved.” In what, I had no idea, but if we were going to survive being in Destiny’s presence, and thus in her father’s presence, we had to know what was going on.

“There’s nothing to know, Caleb! For Hell’s sake, I thought you had a smart head on your shoulders! Have some common sense and stop paying attention to idiotic rumours!” My father snapped, just as our mother said, “Keep away from Destiny. Tell her father to reassign a new Guardian. Is Xarran alright?”

“We’re fine, but we need to know what’s going on. Why do we need to keep away from Destiny? She’s a Princess of Caliem.” A clever bait, to see if either of our parents would reveal anything. My father was patriotic to Caliem, almost to the extreme, so if we played it right, we might be able to get something out of them. Seeing my plan, Xarran added, “Besides, she seems pretty nice for a Princess of Hell. I like working for her.”

“She’s a traitor!” Our father hissed, “Zeella was an idiot to assign you to her! In fact, Lord Succorbenoth has specifically denounced his two daughters, too. They also work with Desterium.”

“Who?” Xarran questioned, pouring another glass of whisky for each of us. Tiskial downed it with ease, grimacing in pain.

“Oh… I can’t remember their names! Lydia? Lydiav? Yes, that’s it, Lydiav and Nym. The twin girls. He’s denounced them as traitors, although he disowned them a long time ago.”

Nym and Lydiav- Those had been two of three of Destiny’s Guardians. I hadn’t known their last name, though, perhaps because Lord Succorbenoth had removed them from the archives?

Nym Succorbenoth. Well, if she hadn’t been disowned, she would be Lady Nym Succorbenoth.

In the Demonic-being court, Succorbenoth was the Demon of Gateways. That was what the name meant, at least.

“What about her third Guardian? Bal’gag?”

“He was also denounced as a traitor.”

“I don’t understand why. Destiny is amazing,” Xarran cried out enthusiastically, winking at Tiskial and I. In the hallway, the lock clicked on the front door, Lucas striding in, whistling. Immediately, as if a switch had been flipped, my mother’s voice replaced my father’s, and she cried out, “Is that my middle child? Where have you been, Lucas?”

Dumping the shopping bags onto the kitchen counter, the Pangorama Chemist logo branded on it, my brother called out, “Shopping, mum! How are you?”

“Shopping? For what, honey?” Now that our parents were aware of Destiny being whipped, they were worried- Was Lucas buying items for her?

“Oh, you know,” Lucas lied, “the usual. Food, drinks, some tampons for Caleb the next time he gets moody, that sort of thing.” Grabbing a glass from the top shelf, Lucas snagged the whisky bottle from Xarran, pouring himself a drink, and earning himself a middle finger from myself.

“Is it true? Xarran’s working as a Guardian for Desterium?” Lucas eyed us curiously, and at a nod from me, cheerfully replied, “Yes, he is. Getting a damn good paycheque, too. Over ten grand a month.”

It would be enough to continue paying rent on the apartment, leaving the rest for us to spend as we saw fit. We shared our incomes, seeing it as the best way to stockpile money.

The whisky had numbed the pain of my wound, but it was going to need attention soon. Once Destiny had been treated, I would take a shower and have Lucas help me treat my own.

“I don’t care how much he’s getting paid! Xarran, tell Zeella to reassign you!”

“Look, we have to go. We love you both, and we’ll arrange for dinner at some point!” I called out. The way my parents had responded to our questions had just about proven that there was an Immortal War, and Destiny had chosen to fight against Caliem, rather than with it. Why?

“Wait!” My mother called out, “You have to understand- Desterium is bad news. She’s been declared a traitor by the Manor, alright? You need to keep away from her, otherwise you might be pulled into it, too! The last thing our family needs is to be dragged through the mud with her and her Guardians.”

“Bye mum and dad!” All three of us sung out, Tiskial grinning at the blatant refusal to listen, and Xarran hung up.

“We’re going to have to treat those wounds on Destiny,” I said, and Xarran mumbled, “Lucas, stay here with Tiskial.”

Saluting us nobly, Lucas grabbed the TV remote, switching it on only to have the Faery go wide-eyed as a show began playing on the screen. Grinning at his reaction, Lucas laughed, “You and I are going to have so much fun, Faery!”

Grabbing the bags from the bench, I strode into the guest bedroom where Destiny was now laying on her stomach, the towel draped over her legs and lower back. The blood was mostly gone, although a few new droplets sat glistening on her skin. Pausing, I waited while Xarran said, “Destiny, Lucas bought some antiseptic and bandages. We’re going to treat your back now, if you don’t mind.”

Waving her hand weakly, grimacing in pain, she said, “Go ahead.”

Closing the door for some privacy, I exited onto the balcony, taking a seat there, staring out over the city and the sunset that was glowing over the skyscrapers that surrounded us. It was Thursday night. Lucas had work in three hours, Xarran in two days.

I’d taken a holiday for the month from my own job, hoping it would be peaceful, only to have it be complete and utter chaos.

“Be prepared,” Xarran warned the Princess of Hell, “This might sting a little.”

I heard liquid being poured out of a bottle, and a second later, Destiny spitting out profanities that would have soured milk.

Nudging the balcony door closed so we didn’t end up having the police called by either our upstairs or downstairs neighbours, I leaned back in my chair.

I was going to have to go to Caliem and ask around. If Destiny was involved in an Immortal war, then I wanted to know why she decided to go against Caliem, not to mention why she was here, seemingly on Zeella’s side once more, and why our parents had refused to talk about it. They weren’t normally so reserved, both of them eager enough to gossip when it suited them, but the fact that they weren’t this time was raising some red flags in the back of my mind.

The sun continued to set, turning the sky golden, and I sighed.

What were we getting dragged into?