“Do you think I should rescue him?”
Hel followed my gaze and shrugged.
“Your call. Do you really think he would hurt him?”
I glanced at the door then back at Hel.
“No, not on purpose,” I said, a note of doubt creeping into my voice. If he really thought Rhuyin intended me harm, Elexabsolutelywould hurt him. I just hoped my brother would trust my judgment. I grinned at the Soma.
“He’ll put the fear of the goddess in him, though.”
“Kind of like what you did to me?” Hel chuckled, popping another grape in his own mouth and raised an eyebrow at me.
I blushed.
“Not my finest hour,” I admitted.
“Oh, do tell!” Betts said, leaning forward expectantly, but Hel just smiled at me.
“I knew you meant well. I was glad to know someone was in his corner.”
I saw Hel stiffen and felt a flush of rage. Before I could make sense of my feelings, or ask what was wrong he was on his feet and out the door. The same door Elex had led Rhuyin out. This was not good. I raced after him.
The sight in the hallway stopped me cold.
I had guessed that Elex would try to pull the big brother schtick and take it a little too far. The way Hel had taken off, I hadfully expected to see Rhuyin bound or threatened in some way by Elex. I didnotexpect to see Rhuyin holding my brother against the wall by his neck, his feet dangling several inches above the floor, pinned there by a seriously pissed off Soma.
Rhu had partially shifted. He had grown several inches taller, his fingers now sported black claws and red and black fur had sprouted from the back of his arms. His ears were now pointed, and his nose had elongated almost to snout proportions. A flash of white from his extremely sharp looking fangs peaked from his mouth.
“Take. It.Back.” I heard him hiss at my brother through bared teeth.
Rhu was oblivious to Helios approaching him from behind. I saw Hel’s snow tiger claws extend as Elex began turning an alarming shade of purple.Shit. I had to stop this, and quickly.
Without thought I reacted to the scene in front of me, gesturing as if I were going to physically separate the two combatants from a distance, flinging them against separate walls with my magic. I saw them fly in opposite directions from bursts of air, slamming against the hallway paneling. Rhu just shook his head slightly and began to ready himself to re-engage with Elex, but Helios was suddenly between them. Elex slid down the wall and shook his head dizzily. I knew my brother could take a hit, so I wasn’t worried abouthim. Besides, he had obviously done something to seriously piss Rhu off.
Rhu growled and stepped forward. I saw Hel’s claws flash out to defend his Bonded. Without thought, I surrounded my Bonded with a shield. Hel’s claws bounced off the shield harmlessly. The shield ofairthat I had just created. I looked down at my arms and saw the rings of earth, air, fire and water rotating around them. Just like the ones my brother sported.Holy fuck. I was a Tesseris Mageia! I didn’t have time to focus on that, though.
“ENOUGH!” I yelled, allowing my power to leak into my voice and all three turned to look at me in surprise as the ground shook beneath them. I heard Betts enter the hallway behind us. Even Rhu knew I’d done something, because he turned to look in my direction.
“Helios, take ‘Lex for a walk,” Betts ordered peremptorily. “Let’s all go for a walk.”
“But—” my brother began to object, but his Bonded tugged him away.
“Later,” I heard Hel bark as he and his sister almost dragged his Bonded down the hall. I wasn’t too worried about him, though. I knew Elex well enough to know that he wouldn’t have been so easily diverted if he hadn’t wanted to be.
I walked over to where Rhuyin stood, still in his partially shifted shape. He was panting heavily, his rage and frustration evident on his face. While my shield of air kept Hel out, it had also kept Rhu in. I silently dissolved the shield as I approached him. Even with the changes in his form, his eyes were still the same glorious green they always were. I kept my gaze locked with his and used the sign he’d shown me was his name.
Rhu, S-T-O-P.I signed, spelling the word in the alphabet I’d been learning. I couldn’t remember the correct sign, but I remembered the alphabet enough to make myself understood.
Rhu’s eyes slowly lost their rage as I laboriously spelled out the word.
“It’s easier to just use the sign for stop,” he said, his face transforming back to human. He held his left hand out and brought his right down on it in a chopping motion.Stop.
“Well, excuse me for not remembering the right sign at the moment, since you were attacking mybrother,” I said in exasperation, making sure I was staring directly at his face. “What the hell was that about?”
He flushed, glancing down the hall to the door Hel had dragged Elex through.
“I—he—,” he spluttered for a minute before finally spitting out, “He said you couldn’t take care of yourself!”
