Okay, one thing did.
Bay couldn’t look at Sila’s account now though, not with Flix standing right there. Both he and Berga were also students at Vail. They were seniors and wouldn’t have any classes with Sila, but that didn’t mean Flix wouldn’t recognize him. Sila stood out, even more so lately.
A twitch of something—no doubt only possible due to the adrenaline stil pumping through his dead heart from winning—caused an itch at his chest and absently, he scratched at it. He’d been the jealous type before, but he was still caught off guard whenever he felt a flash of that familiar emotion now, after years of it being dormant.
It wasn’t his fault though, really. Sila was the one who’d changed and caused this reaction. Over the summer something had caused the younger man to open up and become more flirtatious and charismatic. Bay simultaneously hated it and found it alluring.
The picture he’d posted earlier…had it been for someone else? Someone other than Bay? Some new man Sila was trying to attract and—
“I’m shocked,” Flix drawled sarcastically, pulling Bay’s attention off the device. “Come on, like I’d ever back a losing cat.”
Pandaveers were rather large feline creatures, lithe and speedy, with pearlescent fur that gleamed in the light. There were certainly uglier things he could have been compared to instead, especially on this planet.
In exchange for their services on nights like these, Bay had promised Berga and Flix he’d help them earn money. All they had to do was place bets on him and he’d do the rest. In the beginning, it’d been imperative to bring someone like Flix on. A member of the Brumal betting on a nobody? It’d drawn attention just like they’d hoped. Now everyone knew the name Pandaveer and sponsors were frequently requesting him for impromptu races.
Some of those races had been tight and Bay had started to wonder in the past couple of months if there weren’t someone out to get him. He’d even feared for a hot second that someone had somehow uncovered his secret game, but had soon realized how impossible that would be. He didn’t keep anything like a diary and he’d never told a soul. It wasn’t like there was a good way to slip “hey, if I lose one day, I’m going to kill myself” into a conversation.
“Speaking of backing,” Flix straightened and then reached into his front pocket, “You helping Berga with one of his experiments again? He asked me to give you this.” He held up a small glass vial and then carelessly tossed it at Bay. “He specifically told me to tell you that he upped the dosage, whatever the hell that means.”
“You don’t want to know,” Bay stated, checking the contents of the vial. It was a small mixture of loose leaves the color of midnight. When they were mixed in with a tea blend no one would be able to tell the difference between them. This was the second batch Berga had concocted and given Bay to test out, though he was a little annoyed the future Butcher of the Brumal had shared that tidbit with Flix.
The less people who knew what Bay was up to, the better.
He may have given up on finding proof his grandmother had been taken advantage of, and he may go through life like the walking undead, but he’d never forgiven the Shepards. He’d left them alone only because he had no real way of getting back at them, and no strong urge to do so, but hearing Sila talk about August Bril had ignited some of that old hatred within him.
Sure, he couldn’t take on the entire Shepard gang, but he could teach August a lesson. Those assholes already had his house. They weren’t allowed to take Sila from him too.
Even if Bay technically could never be with the man either.
He’d gone to Berga and asked if he had any poisons that wouldn’t leave a trace and Berga, the evil little devil that he was, had gleefully listed off all the new concoctions he’d been crafting in his off hours. Bay had offered to help him test them out and Berga had accepted without asking any questions. The only thing he’d said before handing over that first vial had been not to use it against a Brumal member.
The Shepards and the Brumal were enemies and Bay had been tempted to share who his target was, but had refrained. He couldn’t risk anyone knowing and it ever getting out. If he were caught, they’d lock him up and then not only would he never get to ride again, he’d also be parted from Varun.
August had come into his office at the beginning of the week for a meeting—Bay had made up wanting to discuss their first pop quiz which he’d done poorly on—and Bay had slipped him the spiked tea then. The kid had stumbled from his office acting all out of sorts, but if anyone had seen him, they would have just figured he was tipsy on campus.
It wouldn’t have been the first time for him, so it was more than believable.
There was no target in mind for this next batch, but Bay had asked for it just in case. He’d never admit it, but he’d gotten a sick twisted thrill when he’d seen August’s face flush. Revenge had never been something he’d legitimately considered because it’d seemed so impossible but…
August wasn’t the only Shepard who attended Vail and Bay would chase anything that made him feel something other than the dark, yawning empty state of being that was his normal, even drug students.
“Thanks.” He pocketed the vial and then waved, about to leave.
Someone waited here for him so he could change, but he never rode in their car. It would be too easy to figure out his identity if he was caught with one of the Satellite. He was able to coast by with such a mild disguise because people actively knew not to look too closely at other spectators in the crowd since this event was illegal. If someone was spotted with Flix or Berga, however, the curiosity would be too great for anyone to ignore.
“I’ll see you at school,” Flix said before Bay started across the parking lot.
He had to travel through another short cropping of trees, a patch that was attached to the main forest, in order to reach the larger parking lot where most people parked. By the time he got there, the crowd had already started to arrive. He was careful to move with them and not draw attention to himself.
Typically, he ignored everyone else the same way he hoped to be ignored, but he was halfway to his car when he lifted his head slightly for no particular reason and caught sight of someone that gave him pause.
A tall man with broad shoulders dressed in black was walking in front of him, making his way through the throngs of people with confident steps. Bay couldn’t catch a glimpse of his face, but the back of his head was familiar enough that after a moment he was eighty percent positive he was looking at Sila Varun.
Before he knew what he intended, he started moving again, rushing forward to follow the man, the timing was terrible, however, with more and more people making their way to their vehicles. It wasn’t long before he lost sight of Sila and, no matter how hard he looked, he wasn’t able to locate him again.
Swearing under his breath, Bay’s shoulders slumped forward. What were the odds that was actually Sila anyway? He’d had a long day and the adrenaline rush from the race was still spurring him on. There was a very good chance he was seeing things and whoever that man had been, he’d simply seemed like Sila from behind.
Sila Varun was a straight A student on the honor roll, well rounded, with regular hobbies like reading and swimming. There was no reason for a guy like that to be here, at an illegal race that could easily wreck his entire future if they were raided and he was caught. And even if it were Sila…He was astudent. Bay’sstudent. If he’d run up to him, Sila would have recognized him for sure.
