Star Eater
Chapter Thirteen

Link waited anxiously outside the bathroom. Kai had gotten so pale on the sidewalk he was worried he might have passed out. Link thought about knocking on the door, but decided to give to Kai a few more minutes. He spotted a trashcan and walked over to throw out his half-eaten yogurt. Californians and their frozen yogurt. It was just weird. He wanted water ice or real ice cream, preferably both.

He turned back around and there was a huge boom that rocked the building. White smoke poured out from beneath the bathroom door. It opened, and Kai stumbled out. Link jumped forward.

“Holy shit, are you—”

Before he could finish, Kai shouted for him to run, grabbed his arm, and dragged him out of the restaurant. Kai let go as soon as they cleared the door and took the lead, sprinting down the street. One of the fast food workers burst out behind them, screaming for them to stop. Link pumped his legs to match Kai’s speed. Damn, Kai was fast. Link had four inches on him and he was still having a hard time keeping up. The Asian kid ducked down one side street, then another, moving at a ground-eating pace and Link could only follow.

Link had played sports most of his life, so he wasn’t in bad shape, but Kai was the kind of athlete that could run at pace for miles. He ran without looking back, his feet barely touching the ground. He ran as if he’d been running from something for years.

When they were four or five blocks away, Link called for Kai to stop. There was a stitch in his side, and he was breathing hard. Kai slowed and turned, watching for pursuit. No one was chasing them.

Link bent over, trying to catch his breath. Kai was barely winded.

“Damn you’re fast,” Link gasped.

“What?” Kai asked, checking Link’s face before going back to watching their rear. “Yeah,” he agreed distractedly. He’d never noticed before. He’d never raced anyone. In gym class, he did the bare minimum. There was still no pursuit coming.

“You’re soaked,” Link said.

Kai finally seemed to shake out of his own trance, and process what Link was saying. He glanced down at himself. His clothes were soaked and covered in porcelain powder. His hair was dripping wet. Kai checked his surroundings to get his bearings.

“Come on,” he said, leading Link away at a walk.

Link followed. It was hard to appear casual when soaked through, but Kai managed. Link wanted to know what the hell had happened. Plus, he was sure that if the cops ID’d him, his dad would be alerted, and it’d be off to military school. And yet, Link felt strangely relieved that they’d gotten into trouble.

After so many weeks of being on lockdown and told how awful a person he was, it was a relief to prove his dad right. He was thrilled to be breaking the rules again. It was the same feeling he got whenever Jeff had roped him into a prank.  

Link broke out into a grin and glanced at Kai to share when he realized the other kid’s face was blank. The grin slipped.

“So was it a pipe bomb or something?” Link asked.

“What?” If anything, Kai seemed more out of it than usual.

“The bathroom back there,” Link said, gesturing. Then he chuckled. “You could have warned me you were going to blow it up.”

“I didn’t,” Kai said.

We did, Akuma pointed out.

Yeah, but Link doesn’t need to know that. It’s not like I carry explosives on me, Kai argued, angrily. What the hell had that been? That had never happened before. Kai thought about it. Any of it—the vomiting powder or the explosion.

Link prattled on as if Kai was playing him, and then nudged the smaller boy with his elbow. Kai glanced at him. If Link wasn’t so damn cute he’d leave his ass right then.

They arrived at the storage yard and Kai turned in to the open gate without thinking. He was so distracted, he almost walked right through the door, as was his habit, but Akuma hissed at him. Link was taking in the storage yard curiously, not asking questions. Kai couldn’t handle more questions. He shouldn’t even have brought Link here, but he didn’t want to be alone. He was still shaken by the explosion.

Kai had turned on the faucet. The instant the white powder got wet it exploded. Akuma had reacted fast, phasing them out before the flames touched Kai. As soon as the flames subsided, Kai phased back in. At that point, the sink and half the bathroom were gone. The pipes in the wall sprayed water all over, soaking Kai instantly. Then he’d panicked and ran.

Kai fumbled with his key ring, and found the right one. The lock was tight from time and little use. Kai hadn’t actually opened the door in over a year, since the last time he’d moved furniture in. Now, the garage door squeaked as it rolled up. He stepped in, turning on the light. Link let out an exclamation of impressed excitement.

“This is awesome,” he said.

Despite his shock and worry, Kai felt a surge of pride at that reaction. Looking around, he realized it was awesome. He had food, drinks, a couch, and a game console. The back corner was devoted to developing his photos. It was pretty sweet.

“Close the door, will you?” Kai asked. He rummaged through his clothes and found the jogging suit he’d stolen a few weeks ago from a golf course night excursion. Akuma really liked golf courses, and Kai had taken to stealing gear and showering there whenever he woke up in one. At least the suit didn’t smell. Turning his back to Link, Kai slipped off his wet clothes and changed. He’s not looking, Akuma told Kai plaintively. Despite that, Kai found himself blushing.

There was the sound of metal springs coiling as Link sat on the love seat. Kai grabbed a towel and dried his hair.

“You have an air hockey table?” Link said. “And a lot of manga.”

Kai nodded and watched as Link grabbed one of his comics and flipped through it.

“Are these any good?” Link asked.

“Uh, I like them,” Kai said cautiously. He thought he just needed to change his clothes and they could move on, preferably to the mall. He was also ravenous for water and went over to the fridge.

“Thirsty?” he asked Link.

“You got a fridge in here, too?” Link asked, just noticing. His eyes were wide and then he beamed with admiration. Kai grinned and handed him a bottle of water. “How’d you do all this?”

Kai turned away as he grabbed a bottle for himself. “My parents are rich,” he said, opening it. “Not as rich as some of the kids in our school but enough. This is my secret base.” He took a long swig, enjoying the liquid going down his throat. He was parched. He finished off one bottle and grabbed another.

“Don’t you need, like, parental permission to sign for something like this?”

“Yeah,” Kai agreed. “My parents don’t really talk so I told my dad that my mom said I needed to clean out my room, and that I didn’t want to get rid of my childhood memories.” Kai made a face that said he knew it was a cheap shot. “He signed the papers, and then forgot about it.”

“And bought you a mini-fridge and couch too?” Link asked. He was still flipping through one of the comics, but he was listening.

“I got a credit card a few years ago,” Kai said. He shrugged. “It was easier than trying to get my parents to give me money for books or food or whatever. As long as I don’t spend over a certain amount each month, my mom just pays for it.” 

Link snorted. “Must be nice. My dad won’t give me any money. He’s convinced I’m going to buy drugs.” Link’s mood soured and he shifted uncomfortably.

“Are you?” Kai asked.

Link gave him a sidelong glance but Kai’s expression was curious and open, not judgmental. Link put the manga back, and wiped suddenly sweaty hands on his jeans. Kai had this way of looking through him that made him unsure of himself.

“I got into some trouble back at my old school,” he admitted. “Me and Jeff were caught selling weed.” Link looked at the cement floor, almost afraid to look up at Kai. He stood up and walked over to the air hockey table, pretended to become absorbed in studying it. “So my mom sent me here to live with my dad.”

“That’s it?” Kai asked incredulously, as laughter bubbled up from his belly. “Do your parents know weed is legal in this state?”

Link took in Kai’s laughter and laughed himself. He picked up a puck and placed it on the table. Kai walked over to the other side. Wordlessly, they started to play. They both forgot about the mall, and their problems, and just hung out. Evening set in and Link finally called it quits, making his goodbyes. Kai walked him to the nearest bus stop.

As the bus pulled away, Kai basked in the revelation of having a flesh and blood friend. His basking was interrupted by Akuma’s worried plea.

The star needs food, Akuma said.

The demon had remained quiet, eerily so throughout the festivities as if holding himself as still as possible. Kai sighed.

I can’t drink the other gallon if I’m going to throw up explosive powder, Akuma.

Then we must replace another way, the demon said. The star needs to eat.

Kai rolled his eyes. Then it can replace food for itself, Kai snapped. Then relented. I’ll do some research when I get home and order a stronger chemical. And hopefully I won’t puke explosives next time.

“Uncle,” Mason’s voice stopped Joseph and Cole on their way to the car.

Todd, fat fuck that he was, tried to prevent Mason from getting close. He put his hand on Mason’s chest. Mason hadn’t really thought through what he was going to do or say. And he was just as surprised as Todd when he grabbed the wrist, twisted, turned, knelt, and flipped him over his shoulder. Mason could feel the surprise leaking off everyone involved, particularly Todd.

And because there were many daemons spectating now, specifically his Uncle, and because Mason knew that no one considered him much of anything, he wrenched Todd’s arm around and cleanly broke the bone. The raw savagery that always lurked under Mason’s surface was somewhat satisfied by the scream of agony. He let his claws slide out and gripped the errand boy’s throat.

“The next time you lay a hand on me, I’m removing it,” Mason said coldly. He made sure Todd knew he was serious.

 Satisfied he wouldn’t be interfered with again, Mason stood, dusted off his pants and shirt and turned back to Joseph and Cole.

“May I have a word?” Mason asked politely.

“Later,” Joseph said. “I’m on my way out.” It showed how much Joseph had enjoyed that little interaction that he didn't dismiss Mason out of hand.

“To replace the traitor,” Mason said.

Joseph paused and narrowed his eyes at Mason.

“No one said anything about a traitor,” Cole growled.

“It wasn’t that hard to figure out,” Mason said. “The implication earlier was that this meeting was important and after the breach today, it’s obvious that you need to shake down the organization until you expose the traitor.”

Mason only glanced at him. Joseph was impressed at how unafraid Mason was by the larger daemon’s menace. Mason stepped closer.

“There is no way the FBI would be able to infiltrate our ranks above a certain level, certainly not enough to obtain the sort of evidence they need to make an arrest for murder. There must be a leak,” he said.

Joseph considered his nephew. Mason had never shown this sort of insight or readiness before. Could he possibly be the leak? Joseph almost scoffed at the notion. His nephew, the probably gay spoiled brat. And yet, where did that fighting prowess come from?

“What of it?” Joseph asked.

“My father wanted me to take my place,” Mason said. “He told both of us this.” Joseph’s eyes hardened so Mason continued quickly. He had to play this right. “Now is the time to show unity. Take me with you. I will not interfere,” he added, “but I need to learn.”

That was the first time Joseph had ever heard Mason refer to anything as ‘ours’, but it didn't matter.

“It’s too risky,” Joseph said. What he didn't say was that Mason was not impressive. His brother Rob had been big, like his father. Big and menacing. He'd died during the war. Another crime to lay at the Sharpe's feet.

“A possible traitor among us threatens us all,” Mason hissed. “Both here at the compound and abroad. I want to see how you conduct this investigation so I can be another pair of eyes here.”

Joseph glanced back at the main house. It had only vaguely occurred to him that the spy could be in the main house. It seemed unlikely. However, now that Mason had planted the seed, he wondered if there was more than one. A set of eyes in the house would give an outsider schedules, habits, meal times.

His gaze flickered to Cole. Cole he could trust. Then his gaze flickered to the minorlings. The last war had seen so much turmoil, so much upheaval. Families rendered apart by the Sharpe lie. Battle lines drawn right down the middle of bloodlines. Joseph’s eyes came to rest on Todd, Silas’s favorite errand boy, who was still trying to pick himself off the ground. Todd was of Fillion bloodline, an old if not particularly robust clan. The clan had sided with Sharpe except for Todd. Or had he?

Joseph turned back to Mason. Mason was family. “Very well, but you will remain silent.”

Mason nodded agreement. Once the door was shut behind them, Joseph said, “Promise me you will do everything in your power to set your father free.”

“I promise,” Mason said.

Joseph studied his face. Mason’s gaze was steady, firm. There was perhaps more strength there than he had credited before. True, Mason had spent too much time with the women, particularly his mother. But he was a Wright. With proper molding and a firm hand he may become a worthy leader. If he survived. And if not… Joseph’s eyes went back to Cole. Cole would surely survive.

Settling back into his seat, Joseph turned his attention to the meeting ahead, but his thoughts refused to stay there. They skittered back to the boy on the roof of the yogurt shop and the shadow creature next to him. He thought of the claws. Where had he seen something like that before? It would take time, but he would replace out. There weren’t that many shadow creatures left. He would need to do research, but he would definitely replace out.