Chaper 3

 

Reagan watched as Kenneth was thrown back, but she didn’t help him as his head hit the floor with a bang. There was only one thing running though her mind, whoever killed or badly hurt Nex was going to die, and they were going to die a very painful and slow death. Within moments metal pipes, and the doors in front them was thrown from their places and towards two people that was behind the doors.

                Reagan saw the smirks that they once had on their faces vanished as they tried to move out of the way of the pipes. The green eyed teen didn’t flinch as one of the pipes went though the man’s chest. Now she only had to deal with the woman. She looked her up and down, waiting for her to make the first move. The blonde haired woman didn’t move an inch, but those lighting blue eyes held pure hate.

                “You’re going to die for that. I don’t care rather the higher ups want you or not.”  Before Reagan could reply she was slowly falling to the concert floor and was fast asleep before she hit.

----        

“Well, it seems as if some of her powers are awake.” A cool voice said from the shadows. “Oh, sorry about your lost Storm, but I had to see how strong she was.” A tall black haired man walked out. “Can I get two people down here…Yes; I have two of them, but keep a look out for the boy.”

                “You were there the whole time and didn’t do anything!” Storm yelled as tears fell from her eyes. “Do you know that if you helped William do still be alive!” She fell to her knees and crawled towards her now dead husband.

                The man just watched no emotions showed on his face or in his eyes. He knew when he first started that there would have been deaths, especially when dealing with people that were stronger than you. So, why couldn’t she see it? “I will never understand you.” He told the crying woman as guards came down the hallway. “Take them back to the cell. And then go find the other Velius. We can’t have him running around thinking his sister is dead.” He didn’t wait for the guards’ reply as he dragged the still teary eyed woman down the fall.

---------

                Aden woke up to the sound of his cell door opening. As he looked up he saw two people being thrown in. Great. Just what I need, two whining Godless.  His silver eyes watched as the guards walked away before he looked over his new cellmates.

                First he looked at the girl; she couldn’t have been older than nineteen, but she did look good. Dark brown hair that went to the middle of her back and she was tan. The girl also had the lip pierced, along with her ears. I bet this chick only has one power, and I bet that she doesn’t know how to use it .

                As he turned to look at the male he was in shock. “Kenneth?” Aden sighed as he watched the two. But he did wonder how his little brother got stuck with the girl. “Guess I’ll just have to wait until they wake up to find out some answers.” He growled as he ran his hand though his already messy black hair.

------

Reagan slowly opened her eyes as rolled over on her stomach. Man, my head is killing me.  She groaned as she sat up and rubbed her head. “Nex?” She called out, but she didn’t expect the answer she got.

                “Sorry, there’s no one here by that name.” A rough voice said from behind her.

                “Oh, then what about Kenny.” She asked but didn’t turn around. How did my whole body become so f*****g sore?

                “Kenneth?” She nodded. “He’s still knocked out. How did you meet with him?”  She heard the guy move as he asked the question.

                “My brother and I met him when we were trying to escape, but something happened…” Tears fell from her forest green eyes. “ And…I don’t know if Nex is alive or…” She couldn’t finish that sentence, and she didn’t want to. She looked up as she felt rough, but smooth fingers wipe her tears away. 

                “Don’t worry. If your brother is strong then he is still alive.” Reagan just stared into his bluish silver eyes, and couldn’t help but believe him. Yes, Nex was alive and he will get out of this place, with or without her. “So, what’s your name? I’m Aden.”

                “Reagan.” She was quite for a moment. “Do you know Kenny?” She asked as she moved some of her hair out of her face.

                “Yeah, he’s my brother.”

-----

                He couldn’t help but stare at the girl, and he just wanted to hold her until her tears went away. But he couldn’t and he knew that, where they were there would just be more tears, and she seemed as if she got attached to people easily.

                “Well, we can’t say we didn’t find you.” She said as she glanced at Ken. “You know, I thought Nex might have raped your brother when he first saw him. But I wouldn’t really call it rape because Kenny was egging it on.” She giggled as she looked back on it, and Aden let out a small smile.   

                They sat there quietly as they waited for Kenneth to wake up. They both were lost in their thoughts that they didn’t hear Kenny groaned as he opened his eyes.

Kenney groaned again, louder this time, and Aden looked over at him with a look of concern... before he kicked him in the shin.
"Ow, damn it!"
Reagan laughed through the new tears she was close to crying over her brother. Aden just smirked at his.
"So, you wanna explain why you're here, dude? And how you met up with this chick and her brother?"
Kenneth looked up at Reagan then, something unreadable in his eyes.
"Where... Where's Nex?"
Reagan shook her head as she looked away, too pained to speak. Mentally she was telling herself that Nex was alive, but she didn't quite buy it yet.
Kenneth looked away, tears in his eyes too. He coudn't describe it, he couldn't explain it. There was just this feeling inside, he belonged with the blue-eyed, eccentric boy... he couldn't be dead. Aden couldn't see the tears forming in his brother's eyes.
"Yo, I'm tellin' you both, he'll be fine. You said you two had to escape some other cells...?"
They both nodded, Kenny unwilling to meet his brother's gaze.
"Then see, he's gotta be powerful, at least a bit..."
Kenny snorted.
"Power doesn't solve everything..."
Aden, just looked uncomfortable for a moment, before shaking his head and looking at his brother again.
"You still haven't told me how you got in here."
Kenny hugged himself for a bit before banishing the tears from his eyes and looking back to his brother.
"Well, after they had captured you... I had to find a way inside to find you."
That's when he had come to someone who worked in this awful place and offered to help catch others like himself. They wouldn't trust him until he finished up a mission, besides, if he was good enough, he could catch someone powerful enough to help him out with his bro.
"So, they sent me to this apartment to capture Nex Velius..."
Reagan looked at him blankly for a moment before her anger seeped out.
"You did it? You're the reason Nex was in this place, the reason why he might be DEAD?!"
It was only by shear force of will that she wasn't exploding his head right now.
"I didn't mean for this to happen! I swear to God! They just sent me after him and then he used his powers to escape better than even I could and I knew he'd be the one to help me... I'm so sorry, I figured nothing could hurt him."
"Electricity has a curious effect on a being made of water..."
All three jumped in unison at the cold voice that spoke to them from outside of the bars. All they could see was a shadowy figure standing outside, but the lights were on bright out there, there shouldn't have been any shadows to start off with...
"Yes, you see, the electrical current passing through his body would have been rather negligible to him had he not been forced to use his power of water mimicry."
The man's voice was soft, like velvet, and it was sinister and filled with death. Reagan didn't give a s**t...
"What do you mean forced?!"
The man looked at her for a moment before her green eyes shifted to black and suddenly the other two in the cell with her were floating in the air, gravitating around her smaller form.
"This is one of my powers, to manipulate the powers of others..."
Without warning, he forced Reagan to deactivate her psychokinesis, dropping the other two to the floor with equally loud thuds.
"I can assume control over your powers and use them as I see fit, just like I did to your brother."
The shock of him releasing her power was enough to knock her over. It was insane, like a fist wrapping around a part of her and squeezing out what it wanted. It made her feel dirty and helpless. The man smiled in a very unpleasant way, it made everyone in the cage shudder. Reagan sat herself up, more irritated now than before.
"Where the f**k's my brother?"
The man smiled a sickly sweet smile.
"What makes you so sure he's not dead?"
She shook her head violently.
"You wouldn't let him die like that. You need us for whatever reason..."
His thin lips compressed into a line as a thinner smile took over.
"You're smarter than what I had expected..."
That's when Kenney suddenly burst up from his place on the floor and rushed the cell door, no doubt thinking to pass through it as usual, but instead he got a nasty shock that sent him flying into the wall on the opposite side. His brother shouted in frustration as he ran over to him.
"Damn it Ken, I've already tried all that s**t! Powers don't seem to have any effect..."
The man cast an irritated glance at the speedy brunette and gave a derisive snort.
"True, these walls have been enchanted with a resistance to powers..."
Then his cold gaze slid over to Reagan again and it just felt... oily.
"Now, I came down here for a reason..."
Before she could ask what that reason would be he had siezed control of her psychokinesis again, only using it to pluck one of her hairs from her head and bring it to him through the bars. Again, when he released her powers she almost fell over, but managed to drag herself to her feet.
"What the hell- ?!"
Before she could finish, the man started chanting in a different language.
"Piece of unus, addo ut mihi ceterus / Vis him pro mihi!"
As he finished speaking, a bright, green light flashed around the now floating piece of hair, but as it cleared... there was nothing. The man looked around his feet with a disgusted look on his now slightly more visible face. The shadows had dissipated somewhat and it looked pale and drawn and he had begun sweating, like the spell had taken a lot out of him. He cast an irritated glare towards the occupants in the cage.
"He shouldn't have been able to resist that spell. He should still be a puddle!"
Reagan almost laughed at his obvious discomfort and irritation but didn't. She so did not want him back inside her...
'Nex, I hope you know what you're doing...'
Next thing anyone knew, there was a flash of blue light and crackling energy which through the shadow-man a few lengths down the hall. When the light and noise finally dissipated, there stood a very pissed off looking Nex. His normally blue eyes were pitch black, kind of like what Reagan's had been as an effect of the evil guy's power, but this was different, there was a solid ring of crimson surrounding the black and it looked like it was moving in a circle.
The shadow-man hopped up easily and stood facing the other. This was not something he had anticipated. The two brother's were almost entirely ignorant of the magical properties of being descended from the Godless, and the girl had enough knowledge to understand, but she had yet to actually use magic or cast any type of spell, even in her daily life. But this one... He looked closer at the boy's eyes.
"You aren't casting spells..."
Before he could say anything else about this astonishing revelation, the boy through his hands out in front of himself and a surprisingly solid wall of force smashed into his target. The shadow-man could have torn the magical force apart effortlessly... had there been some warning. Instead, he was tossed back a few more feet and he landed with a hard thump, rolling a bit as he did. As he rose, he spoke his thoughts aloud.
"I must have truly vexed you... for you to be subconsciously casting such advanced forms of magic."
With that, he let loose a large bolt of lightning, aimed directly for the boy's face. Instead of the blast hitting the boy, it smashed into a barrier of white energy and refracted, smashing the man in the chest and finally throwing him into the wall at the hall's end. His unconscious body fell to the floor in a limp heap.
Nex turned his unthinking eyes to the bars that held his sister prisoner-
'And my mate...'
Without even registering that thought, he released the white energy of his barrier and sent the light flying into the bars and walls of the cell. There was another bright flash as the enchantments were totally nullified and broken. When the light had finally gone, Nex was out cold on the floor...

----

                “NEX!” Reagan yelled as she threw open the cell door.

                “He’ll be fine, he’s just exhausted.” Aden said trying to calm the eldest Velius, the key word there was ‘trying’. He just sighed as he watched the green eyed girl check her brother over. “Ken, think you could carry him? I’d like to get out of here.” Aden glanced at his younger brother.

                “Yeah.” Kenneth smiled as he went towards the sleeping water user. “Aden’s right. Nex will be fine.” Kenneth said softly as he picked Nex up bridle style. Reagan nodded, but she still just stared at her younger brother. If only he knew that Kenny was carrying him like that.

                “Um, what are we going to do about him?” Reagan pointed towards the guy that Nex knocked out.

                “Leave him.” Aden replied in a cold voice as he glanced at the younger girl. He was still trying to figure out his feelings for her. Aden knew that all Godless had mates, and they were chosen for them. It was up to them to find their true mate, but no ever did. I really hope that she isn’t, because I have a feeling she’s going to be a lot of trouble…her and her brother. His blue eyes looked at the passed out teen in his brother’s arms, and he just sighed. At least things won’t get boring.

                “Do you know where you’re going Aden?”  Reagan asked, though not really caring. She just thought that she heard Aden’s voice in her head, but it wasn’t cold or emotionless.  Did I really just hear his thoughts or am I just going crazy? Ever since that guy I’ve been feeling weird, but in a good way. Am I am now confusing myself, lovely. She shook her head to get rid of her thoughts and waited for Aden to answer. I’ll just ask Nex when he wakes up, because I am not making a fool out of myself in front of two people that I barely know…

                “Yes. Now just be quite, you’ll see the sun…or moon, in just a few minutes.” Reagan just glared at the man.

                “Is he always like this?” She asked her brother’s kidnaper.

                Kenneth just laughed at her, and nodded as he noticed her glare. Satisfied with her answer, Reagan kept an eye out for more guards. Which, surprisingly, there haven’t been anymore. That didn’t bother her none, because she didn’t want to fight anymore of these people, especially since she didn’t know if Nex was truly okay.

                “ Freedom!” She heard Kenny sigh as Aden opened a door that showed the night sky.  

----

Everything was so dark. It was cold and dry and the air was painful against Nex's skin, like dry ice. Everytime he tried to open his eyes it suddenly felt like they were being scorched from the inside out. He would have screamed if the same feeling didn't overcome his vocal cords when he tried to speak. He couldn't feel anything else but the pain... Until the world around him suddenly exploded in light.
Again, he wanted to scream, but this time his jaw simply locked up. There was no pain anymore, or if there was, he was simply too numb to feel it. He tried moving his head around and was able to so he tried lifting his arms and when that proved possible, he tried opening his eyes... He saw nothing but white, but at the same time, it appeared to be ice and frost covered. He couldn't explain it to himself, much less anyone else, but it was amazing.
Suddenly he felt something strange go through him, like this shadowed wind, if that made any sense at all.
"It makes perfect sense, dear. In this world, most things are nothing but shadows... Why is that?"
Nex nearly jumped out of his skin at the woman’s voice and then again as she suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She looked to be in her early forties and her raven black locks were upswept in a high bun behind her hair with multiple white streaks shooting though it. She was wearing a white and black business dress that accented her form nicely and her eyes...
'Damn... I guess we know her favorite colors.'
One eye was pure white and the other black as night. It was vaguely disturbing. Then Nex caught what she had said before hand.
"Where exactly are we? And why are you asking me about shadows?"
Strangely, he didn't feel irritated like he normally would and he wasn't afraid, he just felt calm and curious. She smiled indulgently at him.
"We're in your mind child. Or, we're in your mind's eye, your inner sanctum. The core of your being... And the makeup of the landscape, the things in the landscape, how these things appear... It's all decided by you."
Nex shook his head quickly.
"Oh no, I have never even thought bout any of this. How could I possibly have affected anything here?"
Again, that indulgent smile, as though he were a child complaining about wanting more candy and not knowing why his parents wouldn't let him have it.
"The only way for you to have any control over this place in the concious term is to undergo special training. Other than that, everything that happens here, everything that changes, lives, or dies, happens without your consent and usually without your knowledge."
Again, Nex shook his head in disbelief. It was so new and there was obviously more...
"Okay, skipping all of this for now, who are you? Why are we here? What do you want?"
The woman sighed heavily and her shoulders slumped a bit. She seemed to age before his eyes in her weariness.
"What I want is peace. Three continental nations and they still can't get along..."
She looked at him and regained her composure almost instantly.
"And I want us all to be together again. Not as Godless or their descendents, but as our own kind. As a people that have faced their challenges, grown and learned from them... I want peace and happiness."
Her look became one of steel.
"And you and your friends will help me to achieve these goals."
Nex could feel his eyes widen and his mouth fall open in shock.
"Oh no, Regan and me have dealt with enough as it is. And I can hardly vouch for Kenneth or his brother..."
She waved her hand at his concerns with a knowing look in her eyes.
"I'll visit each of them in the same way as I am visiting you now, no need to worry. I know what lies in each of your hearts. You're all good people and you want what I want. You and your sister are two of only a handful of individuals with such a strong connection to our ancient ancestors; I can't do what needs to be done until I have secured your help..."
She looked at him with such expectancy... He couldn't say no. Besides, she was basically right, he wanted peace. Maybe not for anyone else, but for himself and his sister... And definitely Kenneth. He nodded slowly.
"Alright... I'll help, but only if you convince Reagan and Kenny, too."
She nodded at him as well.
"Fair enough. However, you can't speak with any of them about this. Not until I have visited them as well. After that, feel free to share your experience."
Nex nodded as well and was about to ask her more about this inner sanctum of his when there was a sudden flash and all he could feel was searing pain again. He could distantly hear someone screaming before it all stopped and he opened his eyes to see a very distraught Reagan and terrified Kenneth. Not to mention some other boy he vaguely recognized.
He remembered everything from the strange meeting with the woman but he had no recollection of anything after getting zapped into a puddle.
'Oh man, I have to lie to Regan and Kenny...'
He looked from his sister to the boy he couldn't stop thinking about.
'This is gonna be so hard...'