Euphoria

Chapter Twenty-Two: Fool Me Twice

Jackie carefully lowered himself into the seat in front of his brother's large, red mahogany stained desk that resembled a dark shade of blood, ignoring the urge to prop his feet up despite how uncomfortable he felt.

"You know, it's funny... Sean came to me with this exact problem. Almost." The magician fixed his gaze onto Jameson, his eyes shimmering purple before fizzling out a moment later. "Tell me, brother. What can I do for you?"

Jameson shifted, feeling uneasy under the gaze of the trickster of a man, pulling at the collar of his shirt after loosening his tie. It seemed only yesterday they were making a fool of themselves in the kitchen of Sean's home, living in blissful ignorance, naive to the pains of the real world. "I don't want anything. We've already told you what we need—40,000 dollars in cash by tomorrow night."

"Oh, I know you don't want anything. It's what you need--"

Jackie leaned forward in his chair. If he were a dog, his lips would be pulled back, foaming from the mouth with an animal look in his eyes, hackles raised at the mention of his brother's problems. "You don't have a right to say anything about what he needs. You've done nothing to help him; he's pulled his own for years--"

Marvin laughed, leaning back with his hands in the air, a sneer on his face. "Whoa, brother. Calm down! I'm only here to help, remember?"

An awkward silence fell over the room, and it took a while before Jackie finally realized what his brother was hinting at. If he kept arguing with him, there was a chance he wouldn't get any help at all, and he hated it. He hated being out of control and at the mercy of the enemy. "Will you help us or not?"

"I'll help you; you'll just have to find the money yourself," Marvin said, kicking his feet up on the table, but making sure to place down a piece of paper beforehand. "I wouldn't get involved in it. I'm sure you two could handle yourselves. Maybe."

"Where's the money...?"

"Oh, it's safely tucked away."

"Yeah, but where?"

The magician grinned, staring at the two of them for a while, knowing at least one of them would be that desperate. "In a police station, 30K in cash. Locked away behind a gate. I'd say... The evidence room? Think you can manage that, boys?"

Jackie jumped up, about to protest when his brother got to it before he could, his voice calm and without waver.

"We can. Where's it located?"

-

Dark moved aside, stretching his arm out to the side in a friendly manner, but inside he was jumpy, and the glass smile had been the best he could manage without everything appearing too suspicious. All he needed was a moment. A moment the man in front of him would let his guard down so he could get to work.

Even though he could smell the potent scent of blood and the subtle hint of hydrogen peroxide coming from his abdomen, letting him know that the cut had recently been fooled around with, he knew the demon still had tricks up his sleeve, only briefly glancing at it. "Come on in, bro. Dark's got the kettle on in case you wanted any tea."

Hearing his own name come from the man he was possessing felt awkward, letting him know that Chase hadn't said it often, and the informal speech was enough to make him sick to his stomach.

Anti stared at who he thought was his brother for a while before stiffly stepping inside the mansion, not even bothering a polite smile as he watched the man before him like he was the most dangerous thing in the room, keeping his body facing him the entire time, in defense mode.

But at this moment, Dark was the most dangerous thing in the room, and he was impressed at how much the demon had improved himself. He was almost sorry to have to kill him. Almost.

"Why are you here, Chase? Is He... Is he controlling you or something?" Anti's voice lowered at the last part, and Dark almost couldn't hear him as he got closer, examining his brother's eyes, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion, and Dark could tell that it really baffled him. That it made him so frustrated that he couldn't understand what was going on or why it was happening.

"He signed me out of that mental hospital, something none of you bothered to do." Dark said, admitting that it did sound a little passive-aggressive, but he couldn't help the way Chase felt about the whole thing, how alone he felt. How angry he was that his brothers forgot about him, didn't even visit. He wandered into the kitchen, expecting Anti to follow him. "What kind of tea would you like?"

"No tea. I don't drink that piss water."

"Not all tea tastes horrible."

"If it's camomile or dandelion, it tastes like piss, but that's not the point. You know he's our enemy. But you're here. What won't you tell me?" Anti slowly reached forward and grabbed hold of Dark's shoulder while his back was turned.

Dark tensed, his fingers wrapping around the grip of the kettle, unable to hold on any longer as he spun around, splashing the boiling water onto Anti's face and chest before kicking him back, his body quivering with anticipation. "Make fun of my tea; insult me with your presence? How do you feel right now?"

Anti screeched, his hands up, shielding his face from taking any more damage, steam licking off his skin as it reddened, swirling around him angrily. The pain was unbearable, accompanied by the stabbing and stinging agony spreading through his abdomen. Before he could pull himself together, Dark slammed the kettle into the side of his head, effectively knocking him down.

A neat and already bleeding cut stretched at least two inches above his eyebrow and across his forehead as he looked up from the floor, unable to focus on his brother's intimidating form looming over him. His ears were ringing, and he was unsure whether he was still screaming, his mouth only slightly ajar as he could feel himself slipping into a thick fog of unconsciousness.

Dark leaned over, laughing as he placed his hands on his knees to steady himself. "You look tense, bro. I think you should really chill out."