Gallows of Transgression (ON HIATUS)

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Shaam raised his curly brows at her. "This is my house, young lady. Well, technically, it's my casino, but saying that wouldn't sound as authoritative. Anyway! The point is: if I don't want you talking about something while you're under my roof—there we go, that works much better—then you don't talk about it. Got it? Good! Now, let's go talk business." Without waiting for her reply, he spun on his heel, nearly knocking a painting off its hook upon bumping it. It dangled precariously from one nail, swaying from side to side.

Remi hurried after her uncle, whispering to Killure, "C'mon!"

His long, muscular legs easily caught up to her in a couple strides. As they followed Shaam, Killure muttered beneath his breath, "You're going to let him talk to you like that?"

Remi scowled at him, whispering so quietly that only he could hear. "We need something from him, so we're going to cooperate. If we piss him off, it's only going to hurt my chances of finding Kareem."

Raising his eyebrows in disapproval, Killure looked ahead and shoved his hands back in his pockets, saying nothing more. Remi tried not to be bothered by his disappointment. Although she would stand up for herself and others if need be, she wasn't going to be unnecessarily rude or snarky just to get a point across. It wouldn't help the situation whatsoever, so in her mind, there was no point.

Shaam began humming loudly in his usual deep, gutteral voice. It sounded like some sort of war anthem, but Remi had never heard the tune before.

As the minutes passed, she became increasingly convinced that her uncle was making up the tune as he went. Or, perhaps, combining about forty different tunes and putting them together in an ugly, unbecoming harmony. They continued walking behind him in silence, treading across the lush carpet that went down the entire hallway. 'This carpet must have cost a fortune,' Remi thought to herself, marvelling at it as they walked.

Eventually, his humming began to include fierce grunts and other battle noises, making an even worse tune. Remi had to resist the temptation to cover her ears with her hands, and judging by the irritated flicking of his tail and his pained expression, she assumed Killure was feeling the same way.

"Almost there!" Shaam cried out suddenly, starting Remi and making her jump in fright, much to Killure's amusement. His loud and abrupt words echoed in the long hallway, bouncing off the walls and distorting for a few moments before disappearing. The Icix snickered beneath his breath, covering his mouth with a dark, clawed hand.

"Remi!" a new voice shouted loudly from behind them as they passed yet another room.

Shaam stopped walking and glanced behind him. He rolled his eyes and his lips curled in disgust. "Oh, great. Here we go again. Yet another distraction."

The last door they had passed was slightly ajar, though most of the other doors were shut. Remi glanced back at it, wondering if the voice had come from in there.

Sure enough, the door was yanked open in a blur of motion, and out tumbled her a blur of tanned skin and silvery white hair, pulled back by a royal blue bandana. Soren.

Soren yanked on a pair of pants as he stumbled towards them, his muscled, bare chest exposed. He must have been spending a great amount of time in the sun, for he was much more tan than Remi remembered. A wide grin was lighting up his face as brightly as the sun casting its powerful rays across the dry earth of a steaming desert.

Latching his buckle in place, he sprung towards Remi, arms outstretched. Excitement pulsed through her veins, and her huge, beaming smile was a mirror of her cousin's. He wrapped his strong arms around her tightly, pulling her in for a tight embrace.

Finally, Soren pulled back, holding her by the elbows at arm's length. His teeth were a dazzling white, without a hint of stain on them. "I can't believe you're here!" he shouted much too loudly in elation, despite that fact that she was standing right before him. "Father, does this mean you're over your petty grudge and I can spend time with my favourite cousin again?"

Shaam crossed his large arms and frowned deeply, wrinkles spreading across his broad forehead. Anger burned in his eyes. "Petty? I have been done a monumental wrong! There is nothing petty about my—"

Soren waved his hand dismissively and interrupted him without a care. "Oh well, I suppose not. And who is this?" he asked, his eyes darting over to the Icix standing behind Remi with his arms crossed. Killure's expression was one of displeasure and impatience.

"This is—" Remi began, but was quickly cut off by her cousin. If she wasn't so happy to see him, she might feel more annoyed by his habit of interrupting people. Clearly, he had not outgrown doing so.

"An Icix!" Soren exclaimed in surprise. He was about as tall as Killure, easily able to look the tall creature in the eyes. He kept a distance, walking around Killure and looking at him appraisingly. "Skin the colour of burnished bronze! Hair the colour of an ebony sky on a starless night, as the moon hides from view behind the clouds like a thin smile. A tail that—" he stopped short as Killure swatted Soren's hand away from his tail and bared his fangs in warning.

"Don't touch me," he said coldly without taking a step back, his eyes narrowing. He looked quite disturbed, which only made Remi giggle. She already knew what her cousin was doing, though she was sure it was probably quite confusing to Killure.

Soren wasn't the least bit fazed. "Broad shoulders, and by the looks of it, straight and pointed teeth—or, should I say canines?—that gleam a brilliant white!" He spun around the Icix once more like a ballerina twirling on stage, his eyes wide in rapt fascination. "And, if I may be so bold . . . judging by how unblemished the rest of you is, I'm certain there are some beautiful black wings hiding beneath the skin, right about . . . here—"

As Soren reached out to feel the ridges on Killure's back where his wings could come out, Killure spun around as fast as a lightning bolt, grabbing the other man's wrists. And, by the pained look on Soren's face, extremely tightly.

Killure's eyes were as cold as one might feel after plunging deep into the dark waters of the ocean during a fitful storm while an angry grey sky shut away the warmth of the sun. "Touch me again and your head will no longer be attached to your neck."

Remi's face heated as her thoughts suddenly went back to that night aboard Captain Rismak's ship, when she'd massaged his back in the dark. The back of an Icix was extremely sensitive, causing them to react to even the smallest of touches and let down their guard entirely. In the past, Icixes had been killed—quite literally stabbed in the back—by allowing their backs to be touched due to the intense state of vulnerability it put them in. She'd simply wanted to make him feel really good after all the bad he'd been through . . . but the sounds he'd made . . . Remi tried to shake away her thoughts. She brought her eyes up to see Killure staring intensely at her for a moment, before rolling his eyes and turning back to her cousin to guard against any more wandering hands.

Soren took a step back and sighed dreamily. "I can already picture it! You, sitting upon the thick cushions of my lavish purple couch, the scent of lavender filling the room, and my cute little painter sitting before you with a canvas beside her, brush in hand! People would pay a fortune to have a realistic drawing of you on their wall!"

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A/N: chapter nine is already released on Inkitt, and you can read it there (for free, of course)! You can find it by going on the Inkitt website or downloadable app and searching for my book, OR by clicking on the link in the comment I've put right over there! ➡️

Chapter nine will also be released here on Wattpad in one week, don't worry! Inkitt is just going a chapter ahead of Wattpad. So feel free to read chapter nine early, if you would like, by heading over to Inkitt(: