Wrath of the Gods [Legacy, BK 3 - Hiatus]

2.4 - Ezra

I took the stairs two at a time, heading down to the lower level of the bunker. It wasn't my favorite place to be, but it was where we'd decided on a room for Liam.

The bunker was still relatively new to all of us. After we'd decided it'd be better to stick together, we'd pooled resources and started looking for something on this side that would work for all of us. The bunker had been Benji's idea, a place he'd remembered his dad saying he'd found as a kid. A place that was leftover from World War II.

It'd taken us a week to track down. Another two to make sure it was abandoned and to seal it off from the outside. We were still settling in and making it more livable.

I paused at the door to the hall, bracing myself. Liam hadn't become any easier to deal with in the weeks since losing his power. The fever and weakness had lasted about as long as they had with John, a couple of days at most. But it was the anger and the near insanity in his eyes that I had the hardest time dealing with. I didn't know how Dad managed it.

Dad was the one who had been taking care of Liam; making sure that he ate and trying to talk get him to talk about his time with Nathan. But so far he'd done very little of either. 

Stalling wasn't going to make this visit any easier, and I'm sure Dad wouldn't have called me down here if it weren't important. A deep breath and I pulled the door to the hallway open, heading down to the set of rooms Liam was kept in.

The outer room was smaller, where we kept a couple of chairs and a table. On the far side of the room was another door to Liam's room. A camera and video feed similar to the setup we used in the portal rooms let us monitor what was going on inside. It wasn't like he was in a bare cell. Dad had brought in a bed and nightstand, a small bookcase for Liam, and even some of his favorite books and a couple of magazines. But Liam wasn't interested in any of it, spending most of his time sleeping or just staring at the wall instead.

I went in and found Dad sitting at the table in the outer room, writing in his notebook.

"You wanted to see me," I said, closing the door behind me.

He glanced up at me, then finished what he was writing. "How did your errand go?"

"I found him without much trouble. His name is Jett. We were interrupted, though. Apparently, the witches have put a bounty on my head. I'm not sure how I feel about that."

He set his pen down and gave me his full attention. "They what? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I pulled out a chair and sat next to him. "Vasco distracted the witch long enough for Jett and me to portal somewhere safer to talk."

"How's he taking it? Did he know anything about his past?"

"I don't know," I said, settling back into the hard chair. "That's something that's bothering me. He knew the name Reinhardt, and there's some sort of mystery with his parents. But honestly, I find it really hard to read him. He's very much a closed book. He did come back with me. I left him upstairs in the kitchen with Avery. And I thought I'd let him sit in on the meeting."

Dad winced, shifting a listing in his seat. "I don't know if that's such a good idea. Throwing him in the deep end like that."

"I don't know what else to do with him right now. And it's the fast way to learn to swim."

"Or drown." He gave me a pointed look but then turned back to his notebook.

"How is he?" I asked, changing the subject.

"The same, mostly. He sits and stares at the wall. Barely eats."

I could see the worry lines on his face and I could read between the lines. Dad feared that Liam wouldn't last much longer. The lack of accessing his powers wouldn't kill Liam like it would a Reinhardt, but he could pine himself to death. Neglecting to care for his body and refusing to eat. And unless we had him committed to a hospital somewhere, there wasn't much else we could do but watch him die. He might have tried to kill me, but I didn't wish that on him. Not on my brother.

"Have you talked to Mom about my suggestion?" I asked him. "About sending him someplace where they could take care of him. Get him the help he needs."

Dad closed his notebook altogether, dropping his pen to scrub his hands across his face. "I have, and we're still discussing it. I don't think it's a great idea. There are too many unknowns. What if there's a witch in the facility? One that would know that if he started talking about demons or talent that it's not just nonsense or a wild imagination?"

It was a good point. "Perhaps, once things have calmed down, we can take our time. And really research the possibilities. Or even find someone to come care for him at home."

"Perhaps," he said but there wasn't any commitment behind the word. "But I'm not sure there's time to wait."

We sat in silence for a few moments and I got the feeling that there was something else he wanted to say, but couldn't bring himself to say.

"What?" I asked him.

He studied his notebook and toyed with the pen. "I think we should take Liam to the Halfworld instead."

The request startled me. "Why?"

Dad set the pen down again and looked me straight in the eye. "I think the difference in surroundings might help and if he were at the temple, perhaps the monks would be able to find something for him to do."

"I see what you're saying but-"

"Think about it, Ezra. Here we constantly watch him. He's in the heart of our planning. If he were to get free from us and find Nathan, it would be a disaster. And so, he's locked up."

"For everyone's safety."

"But over there, where would he run to? Out into the jungle? He could have time to heal, perhaps even learn to be himself again. Have a chance to figure out where he went wrong."

I could see what Dad was saying, but. "He tried to kill us."

Dad sighed but continued anyway. "I'm not saying forgive him, or even trust him. But unless we are willing to condemn and kill him for what he did, we need to do better. Do something different. Otherwise, he's just going to die in there anyway."

"I'll think about it," I said finally. I wasn't sure it was a great idea and I wasn't sure if it would make a difference. But this was Liam. We might not have been close growing up but he was still my brother.

"That's all I'm asking."

"Was that all you needed me for?"

"Yeah," he said, glancing up at the clock on the wall. "What time will the meeting start?"

"Soon, once everyone is back."

He nodded. "I'll check on Liam again and be up shortly."

I left him there, thinking over what he'd asked as I headed back upstairs. I agreed that something needed to be done with my brother, but was taking him to the temple the right thing to do? I had to admit it was a better plan than sticking him in an institution somewhere a witch might find him.

But the decision couldn't be mine alone. If I was going to bring a potentially dangerous person to the Temple, the monks had to be consulted. Yet another item to add to my to-do list.