Euphoria

Chapter Forty-Three: The Final Destination

The cold seemed to wrap around them like a blanket, lingering on their skin and stabbing at whatever flesh it could get to, but it wasn't coming from outside. It was coming from inside, which appeared to be even colder than the wonderland they currently resided.

"You ready for this?" Sean said, not waiting for their answers before stepping inside the mansion, appalled by the intense smell that grew worse by the second, his brothers in tow. "Oh, no. Come on in. Take a deep breath. Smells like cookies. Anyone else?"

Jameson took a whiff, gagging. "What the hell... why would you say that?" He said, staring accusingly at Sean before grabbing that familiar bottle of Aspirin out of his pocket and choking down three of them.

"Sorry! Sorry." Sean said, avoiding eye contact mostly because of the bottle in his hands. He wanted to ask Jameson how bad it was getting, but he couldn't muster up the courage needed.

"Stop fucking around." Henrik snapped, glaring at the two before walking over to the basement door that looked like it was the oldest thing in the house, a hint of mold and soil seeping from the ancient-like wood. "It's been recently padlocked... how are ve supposed to get inside? Ve don't have a key."

"Yes, we do," Sean said, grabbing the key from the hook. "But it's a trap. Who would leave a key lying around when they know they're going to have company?"

"Unless he didn't know," Jameson said.

"No, I've been here before." Henrik rubbed the back of his neck. "He had to know I vould be bringing someone."

"And how did you escape?"

Henrik didn't answer, snatching the key from Sean and opening the padlock, but he dropped it, cursing his shaking hands. "I don't know why Dark vants Anti, but I read a few pages of his journal--"

"You read the man's journal?! Are you insane?" Sean whisper-yelled, a vein in his forehead was pulsing dangerously. "You ever think that's the reason why he wants to kill us all?"

The doctor thought for a moment before shaking his head. "No." He said, wrapping his fingers around the cold metal of the door handle. It was frigid enough to reach to his forearm, unsettling him more as he opened the door. The hinges groaned, orange and brown rust caking the iron. He wondered why such a rich person would have cheap material for such an expensive house but shook the thought away. "Ve must keep moving."

Sean sighed. "Now or never I supposed. If we don't make it out alive—"

Jameson pushed past them both, already walking down the stairs, his movements fluid. It was nearly as if he wasn't scared at all of what was to come.

Henrik caught himself on the wall, reaching out for Sean as well and holding him up by the shirt.

"Jesus! What's his deal? All I was going to say was to make sure we saved Anti so he could try and voodoo us back to life. I'm sure he could pull it off."

"I don't zhink so," Henrik said, too focused on Jameson's shadow to fully comprehend what his brother had said. He let Sean go, following Jameson after a moment's hesitation.

"And I thought Anti had the royal scepter up his ass," Sean mumbled, rubbing his arm before walking after them. He wasn't trying to make light of a dark situation; he was just uncomfortable with the turnout. All of them could potentially lose each other. And the odds weren't in their favor. He wanted to relieve the pressure on himself. Maybe calling Mark would've been a better option...

Sean nearly sent himself rolling down the stairs when his brothers abruptly stopped at the bottom of the staircase, but what he saw was enough to make his mind tornado. Stacy and the kids were smeared with dirt and soot, along with whatever else was down there. There wasn't any sign of Anti, but Dark stood in the middle of the room with his hands clasped around Chase's arms.

What bothered him most was Marvin, standing right next to the menace they all sought to destroy.

"Marvin?" Sean croaked, pushing down his emotions. "What the fuck?"

The magician couldn't look at them, and his eyes were downcast and dimly glowing. "I'm sorry. I didn't have a choice."

They could all tell that he was fighting an internal battle with himself, but they also knew that now wasn't the time for a mid-life crisis, mostly when the life of once of their brothers was at stake.

"Oh, he had every choice. He just couldn't help the desire he felt—the desire to have everything when you have nothing. Pathetic, frankly." Dark said, glancing at Marvin with a sneer.

"And you're any better?" Sean said growling. "You want Anti! But for what? What are you going to do to him?"

"Well, now that the rest of the Calvary has arrived... I want his soul. His entire being fused into mine. Ultimate power will be achieved. Then, I can destroy every one of you." Dark mused, chuckling to himself.

"And then what? Rule the world?"

Dark rolled his eyes, tightening his grip on Chase as he struggled. "No. I'm not that ambitious. I don't want the world. Just the people who make my life Hell on Earth. It'll be euphoric. Even if it's for a brief moment, and I'm taking my traitor of a host with me. Pity you didn't call him. He could've helped."

"Maybe. But then you'd have everything you want. And we're not going to make it that easy for you. You're not going to win this. You're outnumbered." Sean said, moving to the front of his two brothers.

"Have it your way, pest. Your heads will be hung above my fireplace soon enough." He said, throwing a weakened Chase to the ground beside him. "Don't even think about running, you pathetic man."

Chase wiped at his busted lip, glaring at him. "Wouldn't dream of it." He said, feeling the remaining effects of the Vicodin overdose. Even though he wouldn't die from it thanks to Dark, at least he'd get to feel the drowsiness before he was beheaded and became a trophy on display.