Grey IV - Chains

Chapter 38 - Show Me

When I left James' room for mine, Malachi was waiting, sitting on my bed looking like a father waiting up for his teenage daughter to get home past curfew. Except for his yellow eyes, eyes that always looked more like a predator than a parent.

"What?" I asked flatly.

"I was watching, from here. And he seems...like he used to be, back in his father's house, back when we were young." Malachi's tone was halfway between confessional and informative, showing he was just as unsure as I was, though he was trying very hard to hide it.

"Like he used to be. Like you used to be. Like he is again. Apparently a stay in Baraqiel's home has the same effect on everyone - hollowing and soul-stealing."

Malachi raised a finger in dramatic fashion as if correcting me.

"Soul-burying. He's never actually succeeded in stealing our souls, or in keeping them at least."

"I guess he isn't such a good collector after all." I muttered, dry as the dessert.

There was a beat of silence before Malachi burst out laughing and I felt it like a window breaking, shattering the tension in the room and letting fresh air in. I laughed too, ridiculous laughter, crazed and manic, until we were both bent over, crying and gasping and wheezing. Until our abs hurt, lungs burned and we had headaches from the pressure.

"That was a shit joke," he choked out.

"You laughed first, idiot."

"Well, I have a terrible sense of humor." He grinned and I wished he always looked like that; happy and young and carefree. I wanted him to be happy so badly, he deserved it. Or maybe he didn't, but I still wanted it for him.

I looked around.

"Where's Ailech?"

He closed his eyes briefly.

"Hmm...he's with Nevaeh, talking." He opened his eyes to roll them like that was the worst thing they could be doing. "Kael is with that Nymph of his, laying in her lap as she braids his hair. And Abby is...resting."

I ignored the other answers he tried to distract me with and soldiered on.

"And how was your shower with him earlier?"
My voice smirked even if my lips didn't.

"Less pleasant than you might imagine," he replied wryly. His piercings clicked in his mouth as he tried to stop his small smile from showing.

I changed my tone to more serious, not sure why I was even asking. It just seemed important - to him and his happiness - and therefore to me.

"And now he's with Nevaeh?"

"That's fine."

"I didn't say it wasn't."

"Good. Because it is. I'm just playing anyway. That's all I ever do. You should know that."

I watched him for a long moment until he laid back in my bed to avoid my gaze, his feet still planted on my floor, his hands pillowed behind his head. I didn't believe him, and he knew it, but I left it. The silence wound on into something relaxed, easy, until Malachi broke it.

"Where's James?"

"You check."

"I asked you first."

"I'm the leader."

He let out a bark of laughter. "You know we don't work that way - and that's your own damn fault. Can't change the rules now, sis."

I rolled my eyes, which he didn't see, before diving into my Sight and trying to find James.

It was easy. He was like a beacon to me, shining with something other than light.