Chapter Twenty-Three:
Dinner with the Headmaster
Nicodemus
My room had been void of all sound since I woke up. The heart monitors’ methodic ticking was the only thing to break that unbearable silence, but I desperately needed it for a few moments. My body felt like lead, if not lead concrete, and if not that then a corpse. I would have thought I were dead had my chest not been slowly rising and falling. My eyes were barely able to open, but when they did, I could see the white of the hospital room slowly move into focus. My name was elegantly written on a glass board by the door, and a chart as thick as a dictionary sandwiched just behind that. I brought a hand up slowly to give myself something to focus on, and sighed in relief when I confirmed I could still see properly after what Fagan had done.
“That was badass, how you became the Grim Reaper...” I wearily turned from my hand to Sebastian, who stood in the doorway with an I.V in his arm and a warm smile. His eyes were swollen shut, and he had stitches lacing his cheeks, but his smile was just as charming as ever.
“You’re ok?” I moaned brokenly.
“As great as can be with gross amounts of malnutrition and internal bleeding,” he sighed as I pulled myself up on the bed stiffly. My arms shook like Jello, but I was able to coerce myself into an upright position. “Lysander looked at your memories while you slept. He didn't want to ask us what happened, so he watched...”
“And our families...?” I whispered.
He turned away from me, “We’re only going to be able to hold them back for so long.”
I let his words sink in before fingering for a glass of water that was sitting on my bedside table. I had to move the tubes in my nose aside but was able to choke it down; water had never tasted so good. “I’m so glad you’re ok…” I huffed, wincing from how cold yet refreshing the drink felt spilling down my throat.
“You too. I… I don’t know how you were able to take the form of the Grim Reaper like that. No one besides Grim himself is supposed to be able to do that, but you did. It was, truly amazing to watch...” His voice trailed off in a weak haze.
“Yeah, well, I'm sure my Dad will kick my ass later for it,” I coughed.
He chuckled, then crossed the room and hugged me as tight as his frail arms could. “Thank you, for saving my life…” He choked into my neck. I rubbed his back in small circles, grateful to be able to hold him like this again, and knowing he felt the same exact way.
We were able to enjoy the hug for only a brief moment. “Sebastian? Your parents want to see you?” Lysander cooed, peering into the room in relief to see us both awake and coherent.
“Oh, ok. I’ll be back later, sweets. Get some rest,” he said, kissing my cheek once.
Lysander helped him shuffle back to his room before coming in to check my vitals, then moving to tap random parts of my body to make sure they were responsive. As he was asking me to count backwards from ten the door creaked open again, and my parents broken faces peered inside the room. My heart ached to see them this upset, and I looked to Lysander desperately, who waved them forward. He took a step back to finish his notes as they both sat on either side of me, terrified to touch me in my current state. “Hey there, buddy?” Dad sniffled, his words hardly understandable due to the way his voice shook.
“How do you feel, Love Bug?” Mom added, utterly defeated.
“Good enough for a hug?” I croaked, which made them slide forward to pull me into their arms. The three of us sobbed quietly amongst ourselves, embracing as tightly as we were able to without hurting me. Lysander left to give us a moment, wiping a tear from his own eye as he closed the door softly. As soon as the door shut Mom lost all ability to contain herself, and an utterly gut wrenching cry clawed up her throat before she fell into my shoulder. “Mom, please don’t cry…?” I hiccuped, smoothing her hair back to try and console her.
“How could we let this happen to you…!?” She wailed, trembling violently as the sobs shuddered from deep within her.
“Mom, you didn’t let anything happen to me…?” Dad shook his head as I spoke, and kissed her hair repeatedly, though he was crying himself. I picked her face up and tried to make her look at me, but she refused. “Mom, please…? Mom?” She finally looked me in the eyes, barely able to breathe. “I don’t blame you for what happened…?” I was able to stutter out before losing my voice.
“Who did this to you? Who hurt you like this…?” She whimpered. Dad had picked his head up, his eyes now black as he prepared for the violent anger to return, but he jumped slightly when I shook my head. “What do you mean…?”
“Mom, this isn’t something we should talk about right now. Seb and I need to talk to everyone about this, so please, let it wait until we can all be together.”
“Nick, I don’t understand…?” Before Dad could continue, Freya, Lysander’s assistant doctor, strolled into the room with a cheerful grin.
Dad pressed his lips together uncomfortably and greeted her in a sour tone, but eyed me suspiciously as she rolled her chair over to poke my nose. “What’s cooking, good looking? Ready for a status report?” She flipped the pages of her clipboard wildly before clearing her throat to make me giggle, “For starters, you're going to be put in intensive counseling, group with Sebastian and one on one. I want you to talk about what happened, everything,” she raised her eyebrows, which made my parents cringe, “Good news wise, you should make a smooth recovery, even after what happened on the field. Your injuries will heal quickly, and we can get your weight back up as well. Let’s be lucky we have so many Gods on standby, or else you’d be toast, shrimp. I don’t see you missing that much school.”
“Lucky me,” I snorted, which made her burst into laughter.
“Well, that’s also up to your therapy of course. Your Shadows all seem fine as well, and are in the Shadow Realm healing up. Your father escorted them there himself and made sure to give them space to recover in his private quarters. You all took quite the beating, but no one should be unable to bounce back normal again.”
“And Akira?” I attempted weakly.
“He's weak, but that's because you haven’t healed him. He’s fine until then though. I have him in the familiar rehab center to rest while you do. I’ll bring him to you when you’re up and moving again.” She assured with a lopsided grin.
“Well, that’s as good as it can get I suppose,” I whispered, blinking harshly as a strand of my hair hit my cheek. When I focused in on it I found it was pure white, which made me raise an eyebrow. “Um, Freya? Why is my hair still white?” I asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine. Not many Elemental’s I know change their hair color when they fight, but then again, we all know you’re a special case to begin with. It’s probably due to the amount of energy you used yesterday, so for now, we’ll let your body catch up to itself and hope for the best. Things could be, and were, a lot worse than they are now.”
“Thank you for everything,” Dad said as she stood and excused herself, exiting to make her way towards Sebastian’s room. Mom, who hadn’t moved from my neck the entire time Freya talked, was still emotionless as if she were waiting for something but not wanting to rip the band aid off. Finally, Dad sighed and patted my hand twice, as if to prepare me, “Where did you learn how to take the form of the Grim Reaper, Nick?” He whispered brokenly.
I stared down at my hands as he waited for my response patiently. “I don’t know...” I finally whispered, “I really don’t. I just, instinctively did it. I remember being so murderously angry, and then...” I paused, my voice falling an octave, “The words just slipped from me. My Shadows didn’t tell me anything, or try to stop me. I thought after what happened in Japan that I couldn’t get passed half the stage, but we morphed into the full form flawlessly…?”
“Well, not to scare you, but this is very serious,” Dad began, smoothing locks of my hair back, “You know the only being in the universe that should be able to take that form is...?”
“You?” I croaked, which made him smile ever so slightly.
“Yes, me, and even I have a difficult time with it. The amount of energy it takes to transform into Grim is excruciating, and you saw what happened to me when it went poorly. Honestly, buddy, I don’t know how you even survived it.” He said, which made Mom snap up to smack his chest. “Ash, I can’t lie to him, not after what happened?” He breathed in defeat.
Mom sighed miserably, closing her eyes as she pressed her face to mine, “Nicodemus, promise us that you will not take that form again.”
“Mom...?”
“I mean it, Nick. Until we can figure this out, I don’t want you to even think about it.”
“I didn’t really know what I was doing...?” The look of grief that swallowed her expression made me press my lips together. “I promise, I’ll try and control myself.” I finally said, though chose my words carefully on purpose. It was enough to please my parents for the time being. Mom clutched me closer as Dad sighed, rubbing my back in small circles. The two exchanged a sad nod before looking back to me with an expression that showed how truly crushed they were that Sebastian and I had experienced what we had at the hands of Pandora.
╪
It wasn’t long before Sebastian and I were cleared to go home, and soon after, forced to begin therapy. We, for the most part, were able to talk openly with Abagail about what we experienced, and she gave us numerous tools to handle things such as the anxiety and never-ending nightmares. Of the two of us Sebastian was hit the hardest. He couldn’t shake the memory of the first day Pandora dragged him into that field. He told Abigail that every time he closed his eyes he saw me laying in a pool of blood, and it haunted him every chance it had. Abagail continuously explained to him that while that was traumatic, I was alive and well, and Sebastian was at no fault for what transpired during our near month of torture.
Sebastian would nod and let her hear what she wanted, but inevitably go back to having full blow panic attacks whenever he and I were separated. This lead to many nights where we would sleep at one another’s houses, curled up in one bed as close as we could get to make sure the other was safe. I, too, had horrific separation anxiety with him, not as severe, but absolutely unbearable at times. Our parents traded guest rooms on the regular, though were happy to do it if it meant Sebastian and I could sleep peacefully for the night.
We also vowed to not speak a word of what happened until we both were healed, and could sit down with all of the Gods privately. Galaxy amped up school security so much that no one was allowed into the Realm without inspection by all seven Gods themselves, and once they were in, they sure as fuck were not getting out. We also warned them to keep a tight leash on the other kids, which they had no problem doing while they let us collect ourselves and heal.
Around two weeks after our release, when Sebastian and I both agreed we were ready, we asked the Gods to meet with us formally to discuss what happened. They were incredibly eager to finally find out who was responsible for the torture, but at the same time, terrified. They knew based on the way we acted that this was the most serious thing they’d ever come into contact with, and, nonetheless, face their biggest challenge yet. We were well aware that it was close to torture to make them wait as long as they had, but for once, Sebastian and I took advantage of what control we had over the situation. I also demanded Seraphine join us, and though the Gods still did not personally believe she was exempt from this, they agreed only because I was positive she was not at all involved. Really, I wanted every God alive to be here for this, as I figured she’d be more useful than they gave her credit for.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
I had only been to Galaxy’s home a handful of times since Soren and Griffin were not fans of hanging around the dull mansion all day, so it was always a bit daunting to stand before the two white doors leading inside. My parents were nervous wrecks, their hands trembling against my back though their faces remained composed. Neither of them could bring themselves to knock, so I took the plunge and rapped three times before letting them pull me back into their sides. A set of men’s dress shoes clicked across the tile before Galaxy opened the door, sighing in relief to see me in much better condition the last time. “Come on in, guys. We’re going to start in a moment; just waiting for Sebastian.”
“This place always amazes me,” I offered as he lead the way into the dining room.
Galaxy chuckled with a slight shrug, “If you say so. I feel like I’m never here anymore.”
“When were you to begin with?” Elizabeth teased as she came from the kitchen, laying out another tray of snacks before rushing over to take my face in her hands and kiss my cheeks gently. I smiled at the warmth she always radiated, and hugged her back before she nodded to the table, “Sit wherever you’d like.”
“How you feeling, kiddo?” Blaine asked, ruffling my hair as he pushed my chair in for me. I shrugged, but grinned for him. He tried to smile, but when he saw how deadpan Dad’s face was, he shifted his attention to sitting beside my parents to silently console them, which I was grateful for. Seraphine had also arrived much earlier, but was seated as far from everyone as possible. She couldn’t bring herself to look at me, and looked so uncomfortable that I thought she would scream. I decided to leave her be, and take the opportunity to settle myself before everything began.
Deveraux and Zephyrine entered the room just a moment after, with Sebastian clinging to his mother’s side with a glossy stare. When he saw me seated at the table, he let go of Zephyrine to run to my side and stuff his face into my chest, which made me tsk and pat his hair lovingly. He didn’t say a word, but his body was trembling like a frail leaf. The Gods, all who had now sat around us, held back their emotions as best as they could as they watched me help him decompress. Once he had slowly sat up, his eyes ringed red from crying, I sighed and turned to address the table. “Thank you, for being patient with us. We just, needed some time.”
“Don’t ever thank us for such a thing.” Deveraux scolded, but in a loving way.
I moved to rub Sebastian’s back aimlessly before taking a deep breath, clutching the rim of the tablecloth to steady myself. “You’re going to have a hard time believing us at first, but please know whatever we say is true. The severity of this situation is beyond anything anyone could have ever imagined, and we’re going to do our best to convey it to you as plainly and calmly as we can.”
“You have our full attention, and as much time as you need,” Elizabeth assured.
Sebastian was absolutely not ready to talk, so I took the lead. “Pandora and Constantine, those were the names of our, captors? We’d never heard of them before, let alone knew anything about them, but I’m sure you’re all familiar.”
“Pandora and Constantine…? So it was them…?” Seraphine hissed in horror.
Sebastian surprisingly spoke up, but didn’t lift his head. “The only two remaining of the Original Gods of the Universe. They were tasked to retrieve the souls of their comrades, and wait for us all to be born… We’re meant to become the Ultimate Rulers of the Universe.” Gasps echoed through the room, but it didn’t stop Sebastian from firing off blow after blow, “Pandora didn’t agree with handing off her status to Erasmus’s ‘creations’, so she tried to take matters into her own hands. She wanted to collect each of us, and test our powers to see if we were truly the Successors they had been waiting for centuries for, but used this as an opportunity to flip the script. She wanted Nick to raise the souls of her comrades, to bring them back to life so they could use our bodies as hosts and take over once more. She used Nick and I as her first test subjects, and tortured us to the point of insanity…”
“Sebby?” I warned as he clenched his teeth to brace for the coming panic attack.
Tears erupted and spilled down his cheeks in violent waves as he reached for my hand to grip like his life depended on it, “She almost killed us many, many times. She wanted us to perform the most advanced spells we could, and if we failed, she would heal us and make us do it over and over again until we hadn’t…”
“Seb, enough!” I barked.
He let out a weak wheeze before gripping either side of his face, “I can’t stop seeing it… I can’t stop seeing the blood…?” He bawled before losing what little control he had.
Our parents were hysterical as I wound my arms around him and whispered soothingly in his ear, trying to bring him back to reality. He kept sobbing wordlessly into my embrace, shaking so hard that I did with him. It was very hard to be strong for the both of us, but I would be damned if I let him be this upset for longer than he was. “Shh, Seb, it’s ok, it’s ok… Remember what Abby said…?” I cooed.
“It’s easy for you to say!” He wailed, punching my chest to make me loosen my grip slightly, “You weren’t kneeling in your best friend’s blood!?” He screamed, shooting his penetratingly broken eyes to mine. My mouth fell slack, and I pressed my lips together. I absolutely would not turn and look at my parents, because if I did, I would crumble. I could hear their heart wrenching sobs, and that alone was enough to dissolve me. Sebastian saw that I was at my breaking point and relaxed, wiping his eyes slowly as he took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I went too far…” He stammered before cradling me against his chest.
Deveraux slammed his fist into the table, his eyes a dangerous all green. None of us had seen him so angry before, and it was at the very least terrifying. “Let me make something very clear to the both of you; do not DARE apologize for a single thing that has happened. This, this… absolute fucking mess is all our fault, and has nothing to do with either of you. We should have never let this happen…!”
“How were you supposed to know?” I weakly reminded him, which made him cut off mid-sentence, “How were any of you supposed to know? I doubt anyone did, even Seraphine.”
“I swear I didn’t? I thought they were dead… I watched them die…?” She begged abruptly.
I finally turned to face the group, including her, who I looked directly in the eyes as I spoke, “The last thing Sebastian and I feel is anger towards any of you. This has nothing to do with anyone but those monsters. As painful as this is for us, we are not the only victims. She said all of your children are vulnerable, all of them. Each of us are meant for a God, meant to host them like some meat puppets if Pandora has her way. She could do this to any of us at any time, and that needs to be the main concern. Sebby and I will be ok, with time, but we need to protect everyone else, too.”
“Nick is right,” Blaine offered, taking the room’s attention, “We aren’t dealing with just high class Elementals here; these two created the universe as we know it.”
“Well, now one.” Zephyrine reminded the group.
Galaxy cleared his throat, and hesitantly looked towards me, “Nick, um… Constantine? Do you truly think he is dead? I mean, can they even, die…?” He mumbled.
My heart thumped wildly, and my face flushed pink with rage, “I crushed his skull, so let’s fucking hope so.” I barked violently.
Everyone flinched slightly, and decided to not continue that thought. “They’re probably a thousand times stronger than any of us, let alone much older and knowledgeable. We have no upper hands against this…” Blaine picked up where he left off.
“Not, none?” Seraphine nervously added. Dad tensed up, but she laid her hand on his warmly, “Atlas, I had not a single ounce of anything to do with this, I swear it. I want nothing more than to protect your son as much as you do. I battled Endymion to become the next Grim Reaper, so if anyone knows what you’re up against, it is me. I know all of them, not as well as some, but enough to help. Who knows if she was truthful. Constantine most likely is dead, but others could be in hiding waiting for us. We can’t take the chance that she is working alone. Let me help, please. Please, for the love of the universe, let me help.”
“So you can put him through what he experienced all over again?” Dad shot back, his eyes pooling with black as his anger won the battle, “So you could torture him the way she did all over again? Why don’t we air all our cards out while we’re here, shall we, Seraphine?”
“Atlas, I taught you the way I was taught…?” She said in a slightly annoyed tone.
“And you ruined me…” Dad hissed violently, smoke pluming from his hands and eyes. Mom didn’t do a thing to stop him, since she had her head down with in grief. Blaine tried to hold him back but he smacked him away, turning to stare at Seraphine dead on, “I will not let him go through what I did…!?”
“Would you rather Pandora do it?” She whispered through unmoving lips. Dad froze completely, his face turning a sickly grey as she continued. “If I don’t help, then she gets her hands on all of the children, not just Nicodemus, and does what she has already and much more. However bad you think I am does not put a candle to what the Original Gods did to us. There is a reason I am the only one to have survived our fight, and that is only because you restrained yourself enough to leave me within an inch of my life. Between the battle with the Originals, and then you all, we were all defeated and ready to die. You are lucky to have the boys as intact as they are. I am not by any means saying that they did not suffer, nor that they have no right to heal as they have, but I also can see a future that you cannot. I lived that future, Atlas, and so did you to an extent. Yes, I was awful to you, but I made it so that you have lived as long as you have. There are many things I wish I had not put you through, that I had eased up on, but I was scared to lose you, so I pushed you to the brink so no one would take you from me…” She choked, brushing tears from her cheeks.
Dad eased up slightly; Mom slowly lifted her head, “Seraphine, you have my permission to help us handle this. I know you will teach the kids how to be safe, and hopefully, the others will allow you to help their children as well. I cannot risk this happening again, I just cannot. Your experience is well beyond ours in this situation, and I will not lose my child.”
“Ash…?” Dad tried, but she turned to him lifelessly. Whatever look she gave him made his shoulders slack and he sigh morosely. “I don’t want a scratch on him.” He demanded.
“I wouldn’t dream of it. The way I trained you was wrong, Atlas, and though it worked, I vowed to never do it again. I can help you, and whether you want to believe it or not, their safety is my utmost priority. I do not want to lose you, or your family, again. You are all I have left in this world, and I want the chance to be useful to you and atone for what I’ve done.” Seraphine hesitantly stood to walk over to Dad and kiss his hair gently, and when she realized he allowed it, she then encased him in a loving hug, which she pulled Mom into as well.
“Well, what do we do from here? Are we capable of keeping the children safe with the way things stand?” Zephyrine asked Seraphine sadly.
Seraphine chuckled before taking a seat beside Dad, “Zephyrine, darling, you’re the Gods are you not? You have been so for two thousand years, so this self-deprecating nonsense is far from reasonable. You are doing everything as perfectly as expected. The only thing I can further do is add my own layer of defense to the Realm, but it isn’t like you need it. You all are doing everything expected to keep the Elemental world safe, which is why I have said nothing. Now that we know who we’re up against, we’ll fortify ourselves to match her strength, so there are no loopholes for her to pounce on. Earth, on the other hand, is another story. We won’t know the impact it will have with this dormant God now active, but for now, we will sketch out a plan to keep the Humans safe as well as our Elementals. Above all else, though, we need to keep the children safe. They are top priority, as they are also the main targets, and we need to get to work as soon as we can, so long as they are willing and ready?” She added, eyeing me especially.
“Education wise, where should we start? Your true opinion, this time.” Galaxy asked.
“You’re digging my grave, Galaxy,” she laughed, which made him roll his eyes before she winked and clasped her hands, “Some of this will need to be discussed in private, but for the basics, I think we can all agree that the sky is no longer the limit. We need to advance each of them as far as we can. They are not just Elemental children; they are the Successors, and that is how we will refer to them. Remedial lessons in spirit conjuring will not do a thing against Pandora. I suggest we not only begin training them ourselves, but we push them through the Particeps Potestatis ceremony, and get them enrolled in separate training for them alone.”
“Is it not too early for that…?” Blaine tried, but then fell quiet.
“I know it seems so, but if we come to find that they are Particeps Potestatis with another in their circle, it will not only buff their abilities further, but ensure that they have someone always watching their backs. Pandora and Constantine are not Particeps Potestatis, which means they will have at least one disadvantage, and most likely that is why she could not protect him from Nicodemus. We will have to look deeper into the meaning of all this nonsense she spilled, but for now, going along with what she said is all we can do. Another thing: you all need to stand by your own Particeps Potestatis as much as possibly starting effectively. I know you are all married to your own, but from a God standpoint, find ways to constantly be together. If you were to be caught off guard by any kind of attack, from the Originals or not, it is best to them tackle together so no one is lost in the chaos, especially considering how hard you were hit in Japan.”
“You seem to forget about someone.” Blaine huffed brokenly.
Seraphine chuckled to his surprise and fluttered her eyelashes slyly, “You’ll be stuck with me all time anyway, Fire boy, and since my own Particeps Potestatis is long dead, you and I will have to fend for ourselves.”
“Yeah right!” He snorted, but everyone laughed at the blush he sported regardless.
“Maybe she’ll stop flirting with my husband if she has someone else to chase,” Mom snarled viciously, but giggled when Seraphine rolled her eyes to her, meaning she and Mom both knew her flirts were just playful teasing and harmless.
“It seems we have a plan in the works, I suppose. It will take some time to get things in order, but for now, we need to give the boys time to heal as well. We’ll try and keep things as normal as we can, and prepare them for what’s to come at our pace, but a fast one.” Galaxy said.
I shook my head carefully, “I think Seb and I are still in shock, is all…” I clutched his hand tighter, “Regarding what Pandora said… are we, really, going to be Gods?” A stagnant silence filled the room. Each God waited for another to speak up, but none of them felt comfortable enough doing so. I took the hint and exhaled slowly, “So, yeah… we are…”
Deveraux tried to front an answer for me, “Please, Nick, let’s not worry about that right now. We have enough going on, ok?”
“Boys? Is there anything else you’d like to say, or tell us, concerning everything?” Zephyrine prompted with an unsure smile.
Sebastian shrugged and curled up into a ball with a pain-filled sigh. “I’m going to stay at your place tonight, Nick...” Was all he could offer.