Eli peered out from the bushes, eyes scanning the quiet cul-de-sac. Still nothing. His legs were starting to cramp from too long crouched in an uncomfortable position and he could feel his irritation growing by the second. It was just like the Bewley brothers to be late. Four hours spent hiding in these overgrown bushes, making sure he arrived early enough that everyone would still be at work and wouldn’t see him hiding. The last thing he needed was a soccer mom calling the police on the pervert doing who knows what outside everyone's houses. If they knew the actual reason he was hiding, they would have called SWAT.
The worst part of the waiting was the time it gave him to think. He blamed Delilah, Benjamin, the Bewley’s, and himself most of all. Even if he knew that was irrational. Emotions were bullshit most of the time he’d found. All these thoughts churned in his head, adding to his growing anxiety and anger. Eli forced the thoughts away, trying to daydream about everything working out perfectly and the night ending with a glass of whiskey and a parade in his honor. Delusions to pass the time. The sounds of an approaching car snapped Eli out of his thoughts, bringing him back into the chilly night. Headlights blinded Eli as a large car barreled down the road, completely ignoring the annoying neon signs in people's yards reminding drivers that kids lived here. The car screeched to a halt just across the street from where he was hiding.
Two hulking figures stepped out of the car, casually surveying the empty street as they stretched. Large as the vehicle was, for Jacob and Alex Bewley it barely contained their massive frames. The brothers looked like they had been carved from rock by a particularly ungifted artist and were twice as viscous as they were ugly. Eli had told them that once and only the presence of their boss, Benjamin had stopped them from trying to rip him limb from limb. There would be no one to stop them from trying to kill him tonight though, in fact he suspected Benjamin would give them a bonus for the murder.
Now was the time to confront them and hope for the best, but Eli’s feet refused to move. He stayed crouched in the bushes as Jacob and Alex strode down the street towards a dark blue house. His breathing sounded loud and shallow in his ears as doubt and fear clawed their way into his mind. This really wasn’t any of his concern. He had tried to settle this peacefully and gotten nothing out of it. It was no longer his job and interfering would only lead to blood and he was already on thin ice. Eli turned to leave, ignoring the tiny voice in the back of his head calling him a coward, when he heard the laugh. He couldn’t tell which brother it came from, but it was loud and full of an eagerness that he recognized too well.
Tonight was going to end in blood no matter what he did. Before the rational part of him could object, Eli stepped out of the bush and headed towards them.
“Hey guys, out for a night time stroll? How crazy is it that we both picked this spot?”
The two spun around as Eli’s voice cut through the air. Their eyes narrowed as they caught sight of him standing in the middle of the street. The two took a careful step back, gaze never leaving Eli. Alex clenched his fists, knuckles going white, a heavy growl escaping him, too deep even for someone of his size. Eli kept a cocky grin on his face as he stared them down; these two were predators and would pounce if they caught even the slightest whiff of fear from him. There was still a chance that he could bluff his way out of this without anyone getting hurt.
“Eli. What are you doing here?” Jacob asked, head cocked to one side.
“Well it’s the craziest thing, I was just out for a walk when I noticed you guys lurking about and I just had to come say hi.”
Jacob sighed. “Cut the shit. Neither of us are really in the mood. You were explicitly told to leave this alone. Benjamin isn’t going to be happy about this, especially since you’re already at the top of his shit list.”
Eli dropped the smug grin, stepping closer to the duo.. “I know what Benjamin said, but I was assigned to… check up on Delilah Mead, not you two. Let me handle this my way. This doesn’t have to end with broken bones and blood.
Alex barked out an ugly laugh. “That’s rich coming from you Eli. You got more blood on your hands than either of us. Bit late to start playing the hero.”
The quick retort on his lips died. There was no witty comeback for the truth. Time for plan B. “You’re right, I will never be a good person. That doesn’t mean I can’t still do some good though. You two should leave. Tell Benjamin that I am going to take over her debt and he will get his money by the end of the week.”
Eli expected surprise at his declaration. It was not a small amount that Delilah Mead owed, and no one in the organization had ever taken on a client’s debt willingly. It would wipe out most of his savings, but it was the only thing he could think of that had a chance of success. A rush of relief left him lightheaded as Jacob and Alex stared at him in silence; they were actually considering it. That relief came crashing down as Alex burst out laughing.
“That’s cute but this isn’t about getting the money we’re owed anymore. That sorcerer bitch has been going about bragging how she won’t pay Benjamin back, how she’s too important for some thug to threaten. That’s bad for business. Can’t have sorcerers thinking they are excluded from their debts. She’s going to be a message.” Alex said, words laced with dark humor.
“She’s one unimportant sorcerer, a low-level Enchanter. There are other ways to send a message, it doesn’t have to be this one. At least check in with Benjamin and see if he likes my solution. Please” Eli knew he was pleading with people who would only see that as weakness, but he couldn't help it. He could feel the situation slipping away from him.
Jacob shook his head. “Sorry Eli, but this is just a job. You understand. You should go. I promise neither of us will tell Benjamin about this.”
They both turned around and began walking towards Delilah’s home, confident that they had cowed Eli. Frustration and anger roiled in his gut, pushing him to attack, meet their challenge head on. He pushed those feelings down with some difficulty; he was trying to do things differently now, but it was hard to break a habit that ingrained.
“What do you think Benjamin would prefer? His money, or his two best enforcers dead because they were too stupid to walk away?”
Eli knew he was pushing it too far, but his only chance of avoiding a fight was to call them out and hope they were too afraid of him to follow through. Also, if things did get violent, he wanted them as angry as possible.
Alex spun around at Eli’s words, another growl tearing out his throat, cutting through the silent night. He began to change, his form shifting, growing even larger. Fur began to sprout across his body, and his eyes turned a deep gold. Eli could hear the bones snapping and reforming as his body rearranged to allow his inner beast out. In seconds Alex had changed into a massive creature, a terrifying mix of bear and human that sent a shiver of fear down Eli’s spine. Fighting weirs always touched some primal fear in the dark recesses of Eli’s brain. Humans and weirs have been at peace since the Beginning War thousands of years ago, but something in his biology still remembered the grim conclusion of hearing those growls in the middle of the night.
Jacob, still in his human form, put a restraining hand on his brother. “Don’t push this Eli. You are about to do something very stupid.”
“This is incredibly stupid,” Eli agreed, sighing as he forced his body to remain relaxed. “But I’m going to do it anyway. You have a choice Jacob. Leave and bring my proposal to Benjamin, or I beat you both senseless, drag your unconscious bodies to Benjamin, and give him the proposal myself.”
“So be it.” Jacob said. Bones breaking once again filled the air as Jacob released his inner animal. The two weir-bears stood across the street from Eli, their sharp claws and powerful frames declaring that they were the predators, and any who stood in their way were prey.
Eli allowed the anger he had been suppressing to course through him, the heat driving away the fear as a wide grin split his face. The Bewley brothers were two of the most feared individuals, not just in Benjamin’s organization, but in the entirety of Seaset. As weir-bears they had the strength to go toe to toe with century old vampires and could shrug off a sorcerer’s spell. They were destruction incarnate and Eli had just pissed them off royally.
They weren’t the only dangerous ones though. Eli was just as feared as they were, more so in certain circles, and it was time to remind them why. He reached down into himself, touching the power that resided in the center of his being. Icy cold energy rushed through his veins as he opened himself to the Void, invigorating him and further pushing the fear away. His smile cut wider, and he took a few moments to just enjoy the feeling of the Void coursing through him. Despite his conflicting feelings about his ability Eli had always enjoyed how the frozen torrent made him feel, so different from magic but no less powerful.
“Are you sure you two want to do this? You know what I can do.” Even as he spoke, offering them a chance at peace he knew they would never take, Eli took the energy inside him and forced it outside of his body and into the world. With a thought he surrounded himself by several feet in all directions; he was ready. Going against two Weir-bears bare handed was tantamount to a death sentence for most, but Eli wasn’t most. He was something wholly unique.
A spark of fear flashed its way through Alex and Jacob’s eyes, but they quickly buried it under a mountain of anger. They were predators, top of the fucking food chain in this city, and they would not be pushed around.
“There’s two of us and only one of you. I doubt you can suppress both of us enough before we tear your arms off and beat you to death with them.” Alex’s words were barely understandable, more growls and snarls than actual language. Jacob let out a roar that shook the nearby car windows which Eli took for agreement to his brother’s words. Jacob always had been the more eloquent of the two.
Eli took a deep breath in and slowly let it out. Talking hadn’t worked; now he had to put them down. Quick.
“Alright Yogi and Boo Boo, time to fuck you up.”
The brothers rushed him, dropping down to all fours their claws tore huge grooves into the asphalt as they closed the distance far quicker than anything that big had a right to. There was no subtlety to their approach, they had complete confidence in their ability to hit and take a hit. Why worry about strategy when you were a 7-foot-tall killing machine? It was one of the brothers few weaknesses, if you could even call it a weakness. Eli let them cover the distance, not moving from where he stood. Jacob and Alex thought they understood what he was capable of, but they had never experienced it themselves. Time to show them.
Eli drew deeper on the Void, forcing more of its energy out into the world around him. He pushed it farther away from himself, covering the entirety of the street. He could no longer feel magic, a loss that still ached, but Eli could easily picture the abundance of magic as it suffused everything, and he could picture it cease to exist, snuffed out by the Void and his will.
The two barreled into the sphere and stumbled, their bodies weakened as the innate magic that brought their animal spirit to the surface was suppressed. Weirs drew their power from the connection to their inner animal, it was what gave them enhanced strength, durability, and the ability to transform into terrifying creatures. They relied on that innate magic for the connection and in Eli’s area of influence no magic was allowed.
Eli’s breath quickened as a rush of excitement filled him. Suppressing two weirs as strong as the Bewley's was tough, just weakening them was taking too much power, too much will. He had to finish this quickly while he was still able to force a fair playing field. A small part of him worried about fighting, about losing control again, but it was drowned out by the pounding in his ears and the freezing energy pushing him to act.
The sound of shoes slapping against the pavement was the only warning Jacob got before Eli’s fist slammed into the side of his neck. He went down hard, coughing and gasping for air, unused to the weakness and pain. Eli took the opening and kicked him while he was down, his own foot searing with sudden pain from the impact. A dirty shot? Absolutely, but Jacob was tough enough to be fine, he just had to be down long enough for his brother to be taken out. The only way to fight multiple enemies was to hit them hard and fast, before they had a chance to overwhelm you.
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Leaving Jacob curled up on the ground, Eli turned around just in time to dive out of the way and avoid being tackled to the ground by a charging Alex. The Weir-bear had managed to ignore the weakness coursing through his body, relying on pure rage to make up the difference. Eli managed to stay just out reach of Alex and his claws that could easily tear through his flesh. Only Alex’s sloppiness and weakness from the Void allowed Eli to stay out of reach. Every second they spent in Eli’s Void energy further weakened them. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Jacob slowly getting to his feet, anger painted across his bestial face. Eli cursed. This was bad, he had been hoping that Jacob would stay out of the fight longer. The bastards were strong, he had to give them that.
He had become too distracted. Alex hit him with his open hand the size of garbage can lids, sending him crashing and rolling across the ground. His ribs screamed in pain as he got back to his feet slowly, bruised but not broken, the slash marks from Alex’s claws seared and dripped blood onto the pavement. He was lucky. A hit like that would have caved in a normal person's chest; it was only thanks to the Void filling him, that he was able to keep standing. Void energy didn’t make Eli any stronger, but it sure as shit made him tougher. Tough enough to take a hit from an enraged weir-bear and keep fighting, although his aching ribs reminded him that there was a limit to how many more of those he could take. The situation had taken a horrible turn. The Bewley’s were standing shoulder to shoulder, looking no worse for wear. Fucking weirs. Worse every breath sent a sharp spike of pain through his chest, and his grip on the Void was getting slick. He normally didn’t have to hold onto it this long or deeply. He relaxed his will slightly, allowing the Void to lessen up. He had to conserve his strength and try for one more push.
“Fuck, that did not feel great. How are you doing Jacob? Throat a little sore, ribs a little bruised? If you both feel like throwing in the towel and walking away with your tails between your legs I will completely understand.” Eli forced a smirk, refusing to show any of the pain he was feeling.
“I am going to enjoy shattering your bones. The only thing keeping you alive is that the boss is going to wanna finish you himself.” Alex said, bloodlust bleeding into his words.
Jacob kept silent, golden eyes honed in on Eli. Their predatory nature had noticed the shift of the fight, their inner animals were strong again and demanding they attack.
“Breaking bones. Not exactly the most original of threats. I know you struggle to stream even two coherent sentences together, but that doesn’t mean you can’t at least try to get more creative. Jacob’s clever enough that you two can come up with something halfway decent. How about a bear pun right before your victims lose consciousness? Now that would be downright unbearable.”
“Trying to cover up your fear with lame jokes?” Jacob asked.
Jacob and Alex split up as they stalked closer, each taking a side to ensure there was nowhere to run.
“Nope, just trying to lull you into a false sense of security.”
Eli tightened his grip on the Void, drawing on it deeper and forcing more of the power into the world than he had before. His breath sounded ragged in his ears as he focused on the two Weirs, blanketing them heavily in the Void and ripping their magic away from them. Alex’s knees hit the pavement; his muscles too weak to hold him up. He had reverted to fully human, his bear spirit torn from him by the intensity of the Void energy. Eli knew he must be in shock from having his innate magic gone. Weirs described their inner animal as a comforting presence that always rested right below the surface. With it temporarily gone, he was just a human. Jacob had managed to stay on his feet and hold onto his weir form, but he was breathing as if he’d just run 10 miles in concrete shoes.
Sweat poured down Eli’s face and his hands trembled as he formed them into fists. The void raged through his body, stronger than he had ever called on it before. The cold was so intense he felt like his veins would shatter if he moved, but as always instead of impairing him, as such cold should, it only gave him strength. This was his limit, honestly this was more than he had thought himself capable of summoning. His time was measured in seconds before he lost it, he had to take out both now.
Alex was only able to weakly raise his hands before Eli was on him. Eli brushed his hands out of the way, grabbed hold of his head, and slammed it down into the ground with all his strength. Once. Twice. On the third hit he felt the body slump. The stomping of heavy feat and an anguished cry were the only warnings he got as Jacob rushed over, weakness momentarily forgotten in his desire to defend his brother. Eli barely dived out of the way, rolling quickly to his feet and backing away.
Jacob was beyond words. He let out a roar that was sure to give everyone on the block nightmares for weeks, and rushed Eli.
Eli ducked and dodged away from the frenzied Weir, massive claws mere inches away from rending his flesh. He was clinging to the Void, his mind stretched like taffy, but a smile rested on his face. One down, one to go. They were much more manageable when he didn’t have to worry about being blindsided. A familiar thrill bubbled up in him. Eli gave into it, losing himself in the simplicity, the rush of fighting. The two crashed into each other, all semblance of control gone, it became a maelstrom of fists, pain, and snarls.
Eli found himself straddling Jacob, raining blows down. The Void still pulsed through him and he focused all his remaining will on shutting down Jacob’s innate magic.
Jacob’s arms fell to his sides, too weak to put up a defense. Between one strike and the next he had also reverted to his human form, animal crushed under the weight of Eli’s will. Eli grinned wider and continued to bring his fists down. The shock ran its way up his arms with each impact, and he reveled in the feeling. Pain, hurt, anger. Focused and released in the simple act of violence.
A blast of fire tore into the ground feet from Eli, sending waves of heat washing over him. Not enough to hurt but it did snap him back to reality.
“That was a warning shot. I won’t miss next time. Get up off that guy you were just trying to kill and turn slowly around.” The voice came from behind Eli, female and with the kind of rasp that only came from decades of smoking.
Eli ignored her. He stared down at the wreckage that was Jacob’s face. It was bloody and beaten almost beyond recognition, for a terrifying second Eli thought he was dead, but Jacob drew in a wheezy breath and the panic receded. He hadn’t killed him. Even though he had lost control again, he hadn’t killed Jacob, and Alex was also still alive. Good thing the bastards were so tough. He released the Void and tension melted from his body; with their magic back in place the brothers would start healing and be just fine. It might take a couple days, even Weir healing had its limits, but they would recover. He kept repeating that to himself as he slowly got to his feet and turned to face the woman who had just tried to roast him. Guilt wormed its way through his gut, but he ignored it. He would deal with that later, for now he had another damn complication to deal with.
Delilah Mead stood at the edge of her lawn, scowl on her face and a carved piece of wood held in one hand pointed right at Eli’s face. Her eyes flashed with recognition as he turned around, the scowl deepened, settling into the well-worn wrinkles of her face.
“You.”
“Good evening Delilah, nice to see you again. Before you use that construct to burn me to a crisp you should know that I just saved your life.”
“Is that right?” Her eyes were hard, the point of the wand never wavering from his face.
“It’s like I told you last week, you owe Benjamin quite a bit of money and are late on paying him back. I tried to be nice about the whole situation, left you with a simple warning. These two were not going to be as nice.” The adrenaline from the fight was wearing off, exhaustion filling his body like wet sand. All he wanted was a hot shower and a cold drink.
Delilah glanced over at the unmoving bodies of Alex and Jacob. “They were going to hurt me. Sounds like you did end up saving me then. My hero.”
Something in her tone put Eli on guard. “I am going to take these two back to Benjamin and get your debt settled. I’m here to help you Delilah.”
“And you have helped me, but I think I'm ready for a new location where I don’t have to worry about annoying debts to some stupid weir who thinks himself powerful.” The runes carved into her wand began to glow a deep red as she spoke. “A group of Benjamin Water’s thugs attempted to break into my home. The audacity to try and harm a sorcerer. A murder attempt that I barely escaped from. That should be more than enough to get the Sentinels to whisk me far away from here.” The wrinkles on Delilah’s face crinkled with a warm smile. “I forgot your name, but thank you. Unfortunately I’ll need to burn all three of you all to make this look more believable.”
Flames erupted from the wand before Eli could even open his mouth, heading on a crash course towards him and Jacob. From the research he had done on her, Eli knew that Delilah was a mediocre sorcerer at best, but she was more than competent enough to cook the three of them if he didn’t do something. He reached down, desperately clawing at the void to bring up its protection around them. It felt heavy, awkward, like trying to lift a greased-up boulder. This was more of the Void than he has used in the last five years and he was exhausted, physically and mentally. With one last burst of will, born of panic and stubbornness, Eli brought the Void forth, snapping it into place around him and Jacob.
The arc of fire danced and hissed as it tore through the air, a blast large enough that it would have turned both of them into charred out husks. Eli could feel the heat radiating from it, even as it slammed into his hastily erected barrier, stopping just inches from his face. The pressure drove him to his knees, sweat stung his eyes and he could not get enough air into his lungs. Delilah’s magic was a battering ram trying to break through the Void he clung onto by his fingertips. Fire continued to pour from the construct, the runes glowing brighter by the second. Cracks began to form throughout the carved piece of wood, the burning red trying to escape.
Poorly made, Eli thought absently, his mind latching onto that detail even as he struggled to withstand the magical onslaught. The cracks grew wider, spreading quickly like deep red vines growing through the construct.
Delilah’s brows furrowed in concentration, sweat beading her forehead. A blast of fire and heat washed over her hands as the wand suddenly exploded, sending her crashing down onto her back, clutching her arms in pain. The skin was blistered and raw from the backlash of flame. She had overloaded her construct, pushed too much magic through it without giving it in too short a span. Constructs were tools to help sorcerers, instruments to better focus and control the tide of magic. Just like any tool, they could be overused, broken if pushed too far. Especially if they were poorly made.
Eli was hanging on by one rapidly fraying thread. The only thing keeping him standing, keeping his tenuous hold on the void, was the anger. He had risked his life for this woman, taken a beating for her. Fuck, he had even offered to take on her sizeable debt. And she had tried to kill him. Fucking sorcerers, thinking they were beyond all rules, all consequences. It was past time being nice. He was done trying to protect her, she was on her own to deal with Benjamin. Right after he made her pay.
Delilah had also gotten back to her feet, they locked eyes and she hesitated before reaching a burned and shaky hand into a pocket, desperately grasping at something within. Most likely another construct. Eli knew he didn’t have the strength to withstand another assault like the last one, honestly it was a miracle he had even stopped the fire. The void refused to move beyond a few inches around him, he was just too damn tired. Looks like he would have to get close. Forcing his leaden feet to move, Eli stumbled towards Delilah, closing the distance between them in seconds. The whites of her eyes grew large as he was suddenly right in front of her, faster than she had expected. Luckily, she had managed to grab her second wand from her pocket which she pointed at him, the tip mere inches away from his face.
A smirk curled up on her face. “Sorry once again about this.”
The smirk morphed into confusion and panic as nothing happened. Eli reached out and grabbed the construct, nothing more than a stick with scribbles carved into it within his Void energy. With a quick twist of his hands he broke the wand in two, dropping the pieces at Delilah’s feet.
“What are you?” The fear in Delilah’s voice was palpable, hanging in the quiet night air between the two of them.
With his remaining strength, Eli decked her across the face, knocking her on her back and nearly falling down himself. He knelt down, and finding that she was unconscious he straightened up and surveyed the scene before him. This had not turned out how he’d hoped. Eli released the void, almost collapsing from the sudden lack of strain. A headache was beating its fists behind his eyes and his body felt like it had been run over by a stampede of elk. He was alive though, and no one had been killed. He kept repeating that to himself as he went to check on Alex and Jacob, making sure that they hadn’t choked on their blood while he had been busy. They were fine, still out of it from the double shock of the beating and having their powers temporarily torn away from them.
Eli found himself at a loss for what to do. Normally he would call Benjamin, let him know that the job was complete and his other lackeys would deal with the cleanup. He couldn’t call in and say that he had stopped Jacob and Alex from doing their job, beaten them within an inch of their lives, and still refused to deal with Delilah even though she had tried to kill him. Eli could imagine how well that conversation would go. He would be better off breaking his own kneecaps, at least it would be over quick.
The screech of tires and blinding lights snapped Eli out of his thoughts. Four dark SUV’s sped into the cul-de-sac slamming to a stop in a half circle around where he stood. Before the vehicles had even come to a complete stop men and women poured out. They fanned out around the area, some eyeing the other houses, some checking the road they had come from, but most surrounded Eli. Guns were aimed at him. Wands and other constructs glowed with magical energy, ready to be released at the slightest sign of trouble. One young woman even had dark purple lightning arcing up her arms.
“Fuck.”
Eli made sure to keep his arms relaxed at his sides and his posture as non-threatening as he could with three unconscious bodies on the ground around him. These were Benjamin's personal security detail, all chosen to protect him due to their skill, ruthlessness, and absolute loyalty. They would be itching for an excuse to unload on him. Perhaps he shouldn’t have always been such a dick to them over the last five years.
One of the dark tinted windows rolled down, Benjamin Waters, head of the largest criminal organization in Seaset, stared calmly out at the scene. His cold blue eyes roamed across the bloody bodies of Jacob and Alex, Delilah lying on her side, and the scorched earth around them before settling on Eli.
“Well, it looks like we have quite a bit to discuss.”