The Weight of the Family

21 (NEW)

ETHAN

Short of driving his own head into the wheel, he opted to crack the heel of his palm against it instead until it made him feel something else. He dug his fingers into the back as he sat on the curb near the casino, which shone bright over the smoggy skyline to block out the stars Keren loved so much. It pulsated underneath his skin and in his burned blood as he rested his elbow in the hook of the wheel, pushing his brow into his searing hand.

Fuck.

He nudged his fingers onto the bridge of his nose when air refused to give him the strength to get out of the car. People wandered out of the front entrance, through the identification checkpoint to present themselves to the guards inside. It blazed into his eardrums with the twisting sounds to follow him home. Noises of defeat or utter victory, but no matter what, the house of Malakai always won.

He wiped the stickiness off his cheeks and rolled into the staff parking, taking the VIP parking spots meant for Father and his closest associates. Stuck to his seat, waiting for the pressure behind his eyelids and brow to stop. He tried not to nod off to the gentle music oozing out of his radio, so he unhooked himself from the weight in his chest to crawl out of his car to let the door close on its own. Some of Father's associates hung around the back entrance with tangles of smoke whispering in the air. The group acknowledged him when he passed into the casino, straight through the first floor.

Colorful holograms exploded above the slot machines with every win, and melted with every loss. A roll of several dice. Through the cage of gambling, he passed the dealing tables for Chain Winch. Bells and streamers became distant memories in his ears, underneath a wave of bubbles with only his heartbeat the strongest sound. Urto, Jesti, and a couple other young blood sat in the deep conversation pit playing their own, subtle card games with everything on the line. His own footsteps echoed with the breath lining his tongue when he walked past them to the VIP lounge, where Father often sat down with his trusted associates to discuss business. It was Jozten who stood guard outside today, moving with ease to the side at his approach.

'You said you'd try!' Keren's voice dogged him, but he stood at the other end of the long table.

Father straightened himself out and flicked one last ember into the consuming ashtray in front of him and Jozten closed the door behind him. No escape. He waited for Father's silent indication to take a seat among the suited individuals of haughty power. "You wished to see me?" Ethan asked, refusing to let his voice echo in the room of tension.

"Yes," Father said. "You wanted to help, Ethanius? I think I have something in mind to introduce you to how we work." He pointed his cigar at the closest Associate to him. "You want to explain to him the problem we're facing, Oulvar?"

"Of course, boss." Oulvar slipped an infopod out of one of the tight pockets on his suit. Ethan caught it with the tips of his fingers when he rolled it to him. "Since the attack on North Park, we've had to expand our sphere of protection."

'Run, Ethanius!' Mother screeched.

"Have you figured out why the attack happened?" he needled.

"Ethanius."

He dropped the question at Father's firm, cold tone.

Oulvar waited another second before continuing. "There's an edevium shop, you might've gone past it once or twice, run by a man named Luro Goan," he said. 'This isn't the first time we've had to remind him who lets him set up shop in the area. Recently though, he's gotten more bold. We believe there is an undermine going on from our rival business', Azaika. If we lose Goan, we've just given Azaika more access to edevium weapons. We can't let that happen." Oulvar set his arms on the table with a nod at Father.