Page 22 of The Order: Rise of the New Empire (Order #4)

Chapter twenty-one

Mason

" Y ou were one of those things?" Silas questions, looking over the sketchbook in hand, the eerie drawing of the Shifter something a child might pull from their nightmares.

Having taken the sketchbook from the cabin, Silas's curiosities grew larger with every passing minute, his eyes stuck on the brief images Forest had managed to draw of my people.

"For a long time," I sigh, feeding the young boy what little information I can stomach.

"Marked stuck in a state of Deception, right?" Silas questions, my shoulders shrugging.

"Some perhaps, most of the other Shifters were results of nuclear fallout. Marked that became collateral damage to the effects of war. There are still pockets of nuclear waste in some parts of the continent."

Barely able to recall much before my time as a Shifter, the pain from the transition was unbearable, feeling as if my bones were being broken in every single way they could, my flesh ripped clean from my body.

"And your people know we are coming?" Silas questions, still on edge at the idea of most interactions given his time away from others.

"At this point they don't really have a choice. Either they kill me for trespassing or hear what I have to say. Not like they have many options in a world that is always changing, leaving them out of it."

Hiking up my backpack, I try and keep the conversations light, still pissed off at Bekah for tasking me with training Silas.

For most of my life, I have done things alone, never having to feel the presence of another breathing down my neck.

Now, the kid looks up to me like a deity, holding onto my every word.

"You know I remembered something last night," Silas whispers, my eyes barely glancing his way. "About the girl you asked me about from below."

Keeping my focus forward, the conversation finally takes a turn that holds some interest to me.

"And?" I question.

"The Prophet used her like a dog. Most of the time, the man never cared to give any of us a second glance. Unlike the rest of us, she held abilities years past what he had seen. She was like his own personal lie detector, able to get into anyone's mind to grab any information the Prophet wanted-"

Tuning out Silas, something itches at the back of my mind.

Atticus, the Commander from the Precipice.

The deep scar working down his face.

I took a glimpse into the man's thoughts.

Someone, another Marked, had managed to do that.

Someone young.

Could a child truly hold enough strength to harm someone like Atticus?

"Can I ask a question of my own?" Silas asks, glancing my way.

Shrugging my shoulders, I allow the boy to speak freely.

"What happens if this Forest woman doesn't choose to convert back? If her life and the Prophet's are entwined, wouldn't the solution be simple?" he questions. The repercussions of what would happen if she died is something he can't see.

I sense the darkness in Xavier.

I know it's something she keeps far from him.

"If Xavier lost her," I start, speaking with no boundaries. "I fear we will have something much worse than Elyon to fear."

"Why is that?" Silas questions, tucking his hands in his pockets like me.

"Xavier fought for his love, tasted it, and had it ripped away on multiple occasions. What would you do if you lost everything and had the means to use your power to make a change. Xavier is man who loves. Take that love away, and the repercussions would be astronomical."

Taking several seconds to digest my words, Silas speaks up.

"Are you a man who values love?"

"I value living. I value my kind living. That's what I love. Human connection holds no value to me so long as the path I'm paving has a light at the end of the tunnel for those after me," I admit with full honesty.

Laughing, I dart my attention to Silas.

"What's so funny?" I question, his eyebrows raising.

"Full honesty?" he questions. "It sounds like you are a man who has felt no real love."

Snapping my mouth shut, I struggle to think of a rebuttal, the loud buzzing in my pocket throwing me off from my argumentative state.

Pulling out the communication device Bekah had handed off to me, her name sprawls across my phone.

"Yes?" I question, with a little more aggression than I'd like.

"How close are you to home?" she questions, poking fun at my once horrific state.

"Close enough, why-"

"I heard from Valerie," Bekah sighs. "They got Fallan and Xavier. The others barely made it out alive because of that sick fucking Commander," she hisses, my head shaking.

"Forest and Elyon got Xavier and Fallan?" I clarify. "Why the hell would Xavier let that happen?"

"Apparently, he made a large show of force on the Commander. They had already grabbed Fallan and Xavier made things worse. If trying to remain unseen was the plan, Xavier shattered it entirely. Valerie and the others are heading back to the cabin. Aaron and Val might stop by the Underground-"

"Just them," I hiss, stopping her before she can continue. "No one but the Danvers are allowed in."

"What about Kaiden?"

"Bekah, please, trust me," I plead, something within the Blackburn boy keeping me unsettled for days. "I told you our whereabouts need to remain concealed. Kaiden has too much at stake to stay neutral."

Saying nothing, the line is silent.

"Fine. You better come back here with an alliance. Elyon's forces have made an alliance with the Precipice. A mass extinction of our kind is coming, Mason, if we don't do anything."

Wide-eyed and fearful, Silas stares at the device.

"I know that, so you do your job, and I'll do mine," I hiss.

Ending the call, I cram the device back in my pocket, shaking my head at the boy.

"I hate to break it to you, kid, but I don't have time to love anything. If you were smart, you'd do the same thing."

Brushing past the boy, I move toward the front door, ready to be rid of this cabin.

Busting open the door, the group funnels into the space, each one looking bruised and defeated, their clothes lined in blood.

Taking a step back, Silas drops Forest's sketchbook, the boy still wary of any and all social interactions.

Meeting my gaze, Aaron looks defeated, his focus narrowing once he senses another.

"Who's the kid?"

"A cadet," I snap, watching as Kai takes a seat on a couch, his focus lowering toward Silas.

"More Marked?" Kai questions, saying the statement with a hint of disgust.

All taking a seat, the group is worn, their hands trembling as they sit.

"Bekah told me what happened," I sigh. "We lost them both?"

"Not like Xavier made it easier for anyone," Valerie scoffs. "He went after Atticus-"

"And what would you have done after what we told you happened?" Kai questions, stopping her before she can start. "Xavier always has a plan. Clearly, he saw something in that brothel that motivated him to allow himself to be detained-"

"Cause Xavier has never done anything impulsive?" I question, shaking my head at the man. "Last time I checked, Kaiden, all Xavier and Forest do is impulsive decisions, leaving everyone else to figure out what the hell they are doing."

Tensing his jaw, Kai snaps with rage.

"Why the hell are you even here? Where's this fucking solution you think you found? Aren't you supposed to be talking to your genetic mutt of a family about a plan?" Kai snaps. Aaron's hand grabbing his, forcing him to take a seat next to him.

"Kaiden, chill out," Aaron hisses.

"No, Aaron, I'm not going to fucking chill out. You all are putting your faith in someone who could give two shits about my sister, while the rest of us are fucking trying to get a solution-"

"Like you'd put Forest before the greater good," I snap, throwing my hands up in defeat. "Do you have any idea what is going on outside of your goddamn family?" I question, his body flinching. "There is a whole fucking world teetering on the brink of something horrible, and you think all priorities should be on your fucking sister, who, news flash, Kai, left you too," I hiss, my brute honesty a trait I wish I didn't have.

"It's comedic really," Kai whispers. "That some fucking Shifter, with no fucking family has any say in what the hell it means to love someone unconditionally!" Kai yells, anger dripping from his tone.

"Can all of you shut the hell up?" Valerie snaps, nudging her head behind me.

Turning around, Silas looks fearful, his eyes watery, ready to spill tears.

Feeling immense guilt, it's moments like these I forget children still hold innocence.

"Silas-"

"Come here, kid," Valerie gently states, urging the boy toward her. "Let's go sit outside while these assholes work their shit out," she snaps, enunciating her words.

Guiding Silas out of the space, Kai and I stare one another down, our focus entirely set on one another.

"They have Xavier and Forest. I am not waiting around like a sitting dog for them to find our operation," I admit with full honesty, watching Aaron nod his head.

"Well, I'm sure you'll be fine given only some of us know where the Underground is," Kai snaps, sitting away from Aaron.

"Do you seem like someone capable of safeguarding that knowledge?" I question, his focus lowering once more. "I'm not entertaining this."

Moving toward the back of the cabin, I grab the blade free from the fire prodder rack, looking over its sleek build, admiring the work of the Underground's blade smith for working with the material so quickly. Sheathing the weapon, I move toward the front door, ready to leave this horrid space.

"What the fuck is that?" Kai yells, looking toward Aaron.

"Aaron?" he questions, the man's face filled with dread.

"Silas and Mason found metal below the waters of the reflection pools. If it's true the earth provides, we figured it could not hurt to fashion a weapon-"

"To kill my sister-"

"To kill the fucking Prophet," I hiss, shaking my head in disbelief. "We can listen to those bullshit stories that they are joined or actually try and find a way to harm the man in an isolated setting," I hiss. "Let's hope Xavier and Fallan are still capable of finding a way to detain the man. The only way we are going to be able to test our theory is if the Prophet is in our confinement."

"What the hell are you doing?" Kai questions, taking a step toward me. "What the hell are you really doing, Mason?"

Scoffing, I shove the man away from me.

"Unlike you, Kai, I can follow a plan. We have forces, Kaiden, we have the blade. I think it's pretty fucking clear what the hell I'm doing.”

"A plan? If it goes south, there's only one more solution to end the Prophet. I'm not willing to harm my sister to find peace," Kai snaps.

“Our kind will be exterminated if we do nothing. Can't you see that? If we sit back and do nothing, our kind is gone-”

“And what makes you think your kind is needed?” Kai yells, both me and Aaron turning our attention to the man.

"What the hell did you say to me?" I question, the darkness I have sensed in the man only growing.

There are those true colors, Kaiden Blackburn.

"What makes you think your kind is needed in the world, all the Marked have ever done is fuck up my life-"

"Do you think that was their choice?" I snap, getting in the man's face. "Of course you do, because you have no idea what it means to bear the burden of being a Marked. We did not ask to be fucking genetically mutated. We didn't ask for any of this, so you can sit here and act as if we are the problem when you know damn well you are related to the real issue. I will sit here and entertain the idea that she turns back to us, but in the meantime, I will always keep a realistic plan within arm's reach."

Glancing at Aaron, I nudge past Kai, allowing him to fester in his own despair.

"I am getting my resources. I am getting my fighters. Choose your side now, Kaiden," I hiss, barely looking the man's way. "Just know, any scenario in which you are not on mine will end poorly for you."

Making my way out the front door, I slam the door shut, listening to the shouts from Kai and Aaron as they begin to argue, focusing on one thing and one thing alone.

The fall to the house of the Prophet.