Hexus

>34< Repair

[6:58PM, November 17, UTC +09:00]

The streets were jam-packed with cars, horns blaring frantically as the drivers looked around with terrified eyes. But nobody was moving; the intersection had been clogged by the panicky uncoordinated traffic about five minutes ago. Some drivers came out of their cars, abandoning their failed escape plan to join the screaming horde running down the sidewalks. Some were piling into the train station and surrounding sturdy-looking buildings for protection, others trying to get as far as their legs could carry them. The ashy gray sky rumbled with thunder and flashes of lightning, while wind churned dust, grit and garbage into the streets. And in the midst of all this chaos, nobody had eyes for them, two young men standing beside a Green Dakara vending machine on a street corner.

Augustus had forgotten that this tether point was in Osaka, very close to the area of the battle which, judging from the helicopters hovering some distance away, was likely being reported as a freak weather event. He glared at Nathan, who stared past him at the hysterical crowd running for their lives. All this was his fault; if he’d never betrayed them, they wouldn’t be having this fight right now and putting so many innocent lives in danger.

At least, that’s what Augustus wanted to believe.

But the events of the last week had made him question everything, from the Hexus to his sanity. Intrusive thoughts and impulses had hounded him constantly, leading to more than a few outbursts in school and at home. Even Esther had gone from a free-spirited happy person to a jumpy nervous wreck in a matter of days, until she disappeared two days ago. Nathan stood patiently, giving him a calm look as though waiting for him to make the first move.

I might as well.

“What the hell is going on?”
“There’s a lot going on, so it’ll be better if you were more specific.”
“Don’t play with me! Why did you betray us? Why did you join Hiene? Did you really leave Moira to die?”
“Okay, one at a time.”

Augustus growled and Nathan made a sound that was like a cross between a grunt and a sigh.

“You were all going to die,” he said.
Augustus frowned. “What? How?”
“It’s complicated and I don’t really have time to explain but-.”
“Well, un-complicate it!”
“You know everything we told you about the Hexus, from how you were the ones chosen to how it binds you together and gives you powers and all that?”
“Yeah? What about it?”
“Forget it. It’s all bullshit.”

Augustus gaped.

“What?!”
“Almost everything we’ve told you is a lie,” Nathan replied. “A few things are true, but for the most part we’ve all been part of one very long charade intended to bring us to this very moment.”
“Hold on. You mean none of this is real?”
“The Nucleus is real. As is the connection to your twin. But that’s not from the Nucleus. It’s a natural thing that happens when twins are born into magical families. The degrees of attachment are different. For some, it’s a bonding companionship, for others, it’s a driving need. But there’s always a bond. Also, the death of your twin doesn’t kill you, even though you’d wish you were dead. It’s supposed to be a side effect of the magic, but nobody really understands it.”
“Wait…we’re all in magical families?”
“Yes.”
“Even…Henri?”
“Henri’s great uncle is Ecru.”
“What?”
“Vampires don’t age. Ecru was turned at around nineteen years old after he was caught doing magic and lynched by a group of fanatics in his village. It was all part of their new-age religious movements. The rest of his family shied away from using their magic, waiting for their bloodline contract to thin out. Henri and Portia always had magic in them. They just never used it. It’s like putting a muzzle on a dog; you’ll never know what its bark sounds like.”
“What of the black kids?”
“Double magical ancestry on those ones. Triple, if you consider their step-father. It’s probably why they were so strong from the beginning. The McCalls – Linus and Esther – are one of the most powerful magical clans in Britain. The Yamamotos are pretty powerful too, as is your family. You all had the potential for greatness.”