Element

Ch 18 - Weird Phases

"You're supposed to be dead."

"Am I though? Did you make sure that I was?" he asked. He was with Karr, my team and I.

"When a person gets shot eight times, it's very rare that they survive," Malachi pointed out.

"Rare, but not impossible. I'm a rare case as you put it. It took a lot of work to get me walking, and going through metal detectors can be a bit of a hassle," Grayson responded.

"They hooked you up?" Aziel asked him.

He nodded. "The best in the business. I believe you know him. He goes by the name Lane Mason."

"Lane? Why would Lane help you? Lane doesn't help anyone without getting anything in return," I pointed out.

"That much is true. I did some work on the side for him, but now that I've repaid my debt, I'm free to go back to the life I was living before," he replied.

"And you thought to come here?" Nigel asked him.

"You don't want me here?" he asked.

"Are you suffering from amnesia?" Mordecai, Malachi, Nigel and I asked him.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm well aware of the fact that you're the ones who tried to kill me to begin with. What's your point?"

"He's here because he needs our help," Karr informed.

"Our help with what? We tried to kill him," Nadia stressed.

"I know that much, but I've turned over a new leaf, and the world is in danger. It's the only reason why I came straight here from Lane's company. He's working on something and it's huge," Grayson said.

"What is it?" Aziel asked.

"It's a bomb, but it's like nothing I've ever seen before. I couldn't get a good enough glimpse, but I can tell you that whatever it is, it's a big deal. Production has seemingly stopped and last I heard, he was hosting an investor's dinner to reassure current investors and woo new ones onto staying onboard," Grayson replied.

"I still don't understand what's so significant about him that you would come to us for help," I pointed out.

"Are you aware of The Order of Kricxs?" he asked.

"The Order is a myth," Nadia said, while the guys and I were quiet.

"By your silence, I take it you guys know that it exists," Grayson said to us guys.

"What about it Grayson?" I asked.

"So, as you know, The Order works with souls and what not, and they believe that the most powerful souls belong to two souls named Raganor and Ellysia, two star crossed lovers. Over time, their souls host great people who end up falling in love, but there's always one who dies first, and it's normally in a war of sorts. The two people also always have great influence in one way or the other. Now, while I was at Lane's place, I learnt that they were trying to figure out who was hosting the souls now. Rumour has it that this is the last time they'll be hosting anyone, which can only mean that the greatest battle is about to take place, and that's where Lane Mason comes in. Whatever they have planned, he's been roped in to lead and create it."

We were already suspicious of this, but it didn't make it easier to hear. "Did they have any leads on the hosts when you left?"

"I don't think so. It is a very wide net to search from, so they're looking at prominent people in everything and then combing through them. What I learnt is that they found Khalil," Grayson informed.

At the sound of the name, something in me shook and I was overcome with a great rush of anger. It knocked the breath out of me as I reached for the table. I could feel the familiar feeling of Raganor's presence, but this time I wasn't pushed aside.