Greys III - Revelations

Chapter 29 - Kings of the Killing

Only an hour after the disastrous first training, still long before the slow sun would rise, we found Malachi lounging in a cafeteria, one leg draped over the arm of his chair, his head hanging a bit over the other, watching the mages like a cat looking out the window at birds he couldn't eat. No sign of the collar's first episode in his lazy sprawl and loose muscles.

"You're coming with us on an errand into the city."

James sounded very much like a leader as he told Malachi what was expected of him. Grayson walked into the mess hall halfway through James' order, reading, quickly scanning each page before it turned without being touched. Malachi's yellow eyes tracked him as a crooked grin curved one edge of his lips, a smile I had seen James wear before, one that promised his plans would only be fun for him.

"I'd rather not. Busy schedule today, you see. Thanks for asking though."

Malachi's reply was sugary sweet as he shifted his attention to bat his eyes at James before returning them to where Grayson now sat. He was still reading, apparently ignoring the warning bells I'm sure were going off within his hateful body that his pupils, both old and new, all of which despised him, were across the room.

"I'll let you kill things," James said simply in explanation.

Malachi stuck his lips out as if thinking, tapping his collar with his fingernail rhythmically before standing from his chair with a heavy sigh, and cracking his neck.

"I'll admit, you've piqued my interest. But what do I get for helping you? You know nothing is free, dear brother, everything has a cost. And though I'm usually accustomed to paying dearly for my actions, maybe I want to see how the other side lives."

James chuckled, but there was no joy in it. Instead, it made my skin prickle.

"You help me, dear brother, and I will help you."

James' eyes flashed black and after a moment to consider, Malachi smirked, clearly understanding some meaning I had missed.

What does that mean? How will you help him?

I asked as we walked down the hall, feeling the current of our connection run over my skin and fighting the shiver of pleasure it tried to bring.

It's better if you don't know.

I gave him a warning look, but something in the one he and Malachi had shared made me think maybe I really didn't want to know.

Kael and Nevaeh were still asleep when we left for Chi's warehouse, finally able to rest in a safe place. And we planned to be back before long anyway, so we didn't feel the need to wake them. Ailech joined us at Abby's request, in case we needed to stop Malachi from trying to escape or needed to be healed, but I seriously doubted either. In fact, Malachi had a rather disturbing smirk on his face for the whole ride, looking much too eager for some reason.

James broke the silence as we parked.

"What should we expect?"

Malachi had been quiet the whole drive, that smirk painting his lips the only sign that he knew something. He made a big show of straining his neck to look out the window at the sky before replying.

"Oh, I don't know, I'd say only about a forty-percent chance of snow flurries, maybe rain actually. It's getting warmer already. Short winter really, climate change is a-"

James rolled his eyes in an uncharacteristic way before cutting off Malachi's ramble.

"What's inside? What's coming for them?"

"Why, how ever should I know? I'm just your lowly prisoner, or I suppose I'm more of your attack dog today. Want me to bark for you?"

Malachi feigned innocence before his low voice teased momentarily, though his yellow eyes stayed sharp and his smirk sly throughout.