Black Holes - The Mors Mortis Trilogy Book 3

Chapter Twenty Seven

Seth blinked at Tai, frozen like a rabbit in headlights.

It took a second for the shock to wear off, for him to realise that Tai was actually here. He stifled the urge to drop the knife, to hide it behind him like kid caught out by his parents.

"Tai..." Seth's words were cautious and slow, but his mind was spinning.

He could feel the portal throbbing at his back and the walls of the basement caging him in. His eyes darted around the space, looking for another exit, but the only way out was the stairs that Tai currently blocked.

He took a cautious step forward, peering up. His light was still trained on Tai's chest, not blinding him, but not letting Tai get a good view of the basement either, and as he caught the expression on Tai's face, he was thankful for that.

Seth had seen anger in Tai's eyes many times, but never like this. Never directed his way.

"Drop the knife, Seth," Tai said again. "Now."

Panic roared through Seth's chest, but he didn't do what Tai asked, instead his grip tightened.

"How did you know I was here?" Seth asked.

"Did you forget its my job to know?"

"No, but you left this morning."

Tai's gun was steady, fixed on Seth's chest, and he could feel it tracking his breaths, the barrel moving up and down with his heartbeat.

"Yeah, I did," Tai said. "I knew you were up to something, but I couldn't figure out what it was, so I pretended to leave with the others. I never thought—"

Tai cut off, his eyes flicking to the knife in Seth's hand, and Seth's heart dropped.

Tai must've been following him the whole time, trailing him through the streets. He could see the nerves and disgust rippling across Tai's face, and he couldn't help but wonder how long it'd taken Tai to figure out where he was going, to accept what he was doing. From the disbelief coating his friend, perhaps he still hadn't.

"How could you do this?" Tai asked, his words shaking. "After everything we've done to protect you, to protect this world. What on earth are you thinking coming anywhere near that knife?"

Seth's mind whirled. He knew he didn't stand a chance if Tai attacked. Tai had always been good at reading people, at knowing when and where to hit hardest. Seth was only getting out of here with the knife if Tai got distracted or he convince him that using the knife was the right move.

Unless he used it right now.

Seth's heart pounded in protest to where his thoughts were heading, and he glanced down at the weapon in his hand, at the glint of light off it's hilt.

"I was thinking it was about time we used it," Seth said.

Tai let out a choked noise, like Seth had hit him in the gut, and Seth took a step back.

He was still within a couple metres of Tai though, still within his striking range, and Tai had the upper ground too. If Seth moved too fast, things would go downhill quickly. But would it be quick enough to stop him from using the knife?

The idea of dying down here, in the dark basement of a building full of corpses, made Seth's stomach churn. If he could get out of here, if he could at least breath fresh air when he did it, that'd be better.

"There's nothing left of this world to protect, Tai," Seth said. "At least, there won't be soon. This is our chance to save some of it."

"You've gone mad," Tai said. "You've actually lost it."