The Grave Shadows

52. Borrow

Taunting was the foundation of the Watts brotherhood. The boys comfortably tolerated the mockeries and the nicknames which might have been spiteful before. One contempt, the one that was cruel and quiet, however, was unendurable. The twinge it caused wilted their pride, for it was the only ridicule that was true.

Half-brothers, the common denomination of the imperfect bond, was a fire in the Watts boys' mouths and ears. Despite being competitive among themselves, they were a pack—a clan. Nevertheless, blood was everything.

The Watts boys were capable of ignoring this truth, but perhaps Everett was more observant than his brothers. His very being screamed that he was different, that he despised and envied his brothers, and that they felt that itch. Everett was the black sheep without a soul, worth the least to the family. He wasn't the prettiest like Simon, cunning like Will, or smart like Luke—he wasn't perfect like Hector, the Hector before the craziness. Even when David was a lunatic, people thought he was some kind of a prince. Everett always wondered if he was ever the Watts boy.

The fateful eventide painted the sky with soft violet shades over the town of Colt. Over the lean shadows before the cabin were the Watts boys. The breezes were frail around the rigid crowd. David's magic no longer managed anxiety efficiently.

In his assassin costume, the face and the hands were left of David. He merged with the darkness. Black had become his uniform, the fashion he and Angelica arrogated to themselves. Simon and Will reddened, shining trepidation, their breathings broken and wavering. Luke and Everett had no color, no part, no saying, excluded from the ritual, for Mary wasn't a huldreke—she wasn't David's, Will's, and Simon's mother—Everett and Luke didn't have the right blood.

The air thickened, the woods mute for the show. Will and Simon braced themselves for whatever David was about to do, the stunt Everett and Luke silently watched, the play these younger boys prohibited—the real Watts boys' game.

David explained that he could borrow Will's and Simon's powers temporarily. The huldreke power had a short shelf life outside its origin, and Will and Simon would grow their hidden strengths back in weeks.

"Quicker if you're strong." David sneered. "Not that you can do anything with it, anyway." His grin dissipated in one corner of the triangular formation of brothers.

John and Angelica emerged from the back of the cabin, and in their hands were buckets of cold water and a first aid kit. David made two incisions on both of his palms with a pocket knife and passed it to Will. Wincing, Will drew the slits over his. Simon was next, groaning through repulsion. David snatched Will's and Simon's bleeding hands, and the trio joined three sides.

"Looks like I'm having what you're having now," Will said to Simon.

Luke giggled before shifting closer to Everett, seeming to be satisfied than resentful. But Everett thought, half-brothers. He saw it, feeling hurt and little.

David suddenly turned around. "You know CPR, Wolf?"

At that moment, the forbidden word snapped away. Everett narrowed his eyes.

"I can do it," Luke said.

"I know." David simpered as he waited for Everett's unenthusiastic response. "That's why I asked him." He turned back to Will and Simon. "Well, we're all going to die someday," he concurred.

Everett's blood, the part made of Bill Watts, whirled at the thought of Will and Simon bleeding to death. Perhaps jealousy was the closest emotion to reverence in this savage ancestry.

"Relax," David said and tightened his grips around Will's and Simon's hands.

Will and Simon cringed as the clenches wrung out their blood. Red fluids fell onto dust. The horrid howls immediately crawled out of their lungs as some electrical streaks slunk from their arms to David's. The rawness of their screams made the woods gasp. Some things were leaking out of Will and Simon, the parts they needed and the pieces ingrained in their cells, and David was taking those things by force. Will and Simon wobbled in David's control. Perspiration soaked three of them, but only two were in agonies. Hot smokes and metallic odors rising from Will's and Simon's skins cued Angelica and John to pour the water over Will's and Simon's heads.

Will and Simon shook violently when the water met their skin and turned into steams. David remained composed as Hector would when holding two trophies in each hand. Would Will and Simon need CPR? Everett stepped closer to the formation, however smart enough to keep his hands off David's things. After a long burning moment, David broke the formation. Will and Simon collapsed onto their knees, sucking in the air and spitting out curse words.

Everett seized Simon's arms, and Luke enfolded Will. With tears falling from their reddish blue eyes, Will and Simon rose from the ground. The tickling heat on Simon's arms pricked Everett's skin while Luke cried out that Will had shocked him.

"Thank you, boys." David curled his lips, rubbing his palms together. "Now, I'll take it from here." He shuffled to the van with Angelica behind him.

"I'm going with you," Everett yelped and wiped Simon's sweat onto his shirt. "Cyan needs me."

Luke lifted his chin. "You're crazy if you think we're staying here," he said while going through the first aid kit. He threw some gauze cloth at Simon and wrapped another strip on Will's hands.

"I admire your spirits." David rotated and nodded. "But you've done your parts. Wait here with John. If we're not back by one, you need to follow the plan. This fight is different, Everett. Will, you're in charge now. You need to protect them."

"You're not Hector." Will nearly collapsed upon making a step, saved by the support of Luke's shoulder. "So stop acting like a big brother."

"You might never care about the Brother Codes when you were hiding in Hollywood, you jerk." Simon messily spun the gauze around his hand. "Let's be clear: we hate you. But we're not leaving any boy behind, let alone two crazy ones."

"David." Angelica placed a hand on the dark of David's sleeve. "They need to see it."

Letting out a harsh breath, David strutted back and loosened the gauze on Simon's right hand. "If they can kill their most beloved sons, they won't hesitate to finish you boys." He tugged the cloth, and the firm compress pinched a grunt from Simon's lips. "I won't be able to protect you and save those lambs at the same time. The girl and Hector are my priority. Don't feel bad if I let you die." He clenched his fist around Simon's hand and let go.

"That's why we have these." Will popped the trunk of Angelica's Prius.

David might have his plan, but the Watts boys, the entitled brats born to push beyond limits, were very deft to the rules as to the word half-brothers. The Prius flaunted assaulted firearms which David had saved for later. This was the game Everett knew, liked, and played well—the affinity of this beloved, dysfunctional brotherhood.

"Come on, boys." Will raised his brows andslipped in the Prius, looking a little more mature than Simon at that briefmoment. "Alea iacta est."