I wanted so badly to complete the job I’d been hired for. Not just complete it. Completion of the project would be a mediocre box-ticking exercise. I’d always strived to be at the top of my field and if that meant having the twisted God live with me, then so be it. Gareth would no doubt have the proper precautions put in place.
“Let Gareth decide,” I said as a close on the matter, before Matt could argue.
The rest of the afternoon saw me removed from the lab and settled opposite Gareth in his office. After having the predicament laid out to him, Gareth had spoken to Grayson and Hunter, Matt and me, before finally deciding to allow me to become Grayson’s official host. Matt would also temporarily move in as a safety measure, regardless of my objections.
By the time Gareth handed the verdict to us, the sun had disappeared, and the rest of the floor had clocked out for the day, leaving me and Matt to deliver the news to Grayson, who waited patiently in the lab.
“So, shall we remove these now?” Grayson asked, lifting his hands to highlight the copper cuffs.
Matt grudgingly took the key from his pocket and moved towards Grayson. The metallic click sounded loudly in the space as he unlocked the cuffs that bound Grayson’s hands and weakened his blood. The moment they came off, Grayson flexed his long fingers and rolled his wrists before smoky black tendrils drifted from his hands.
“Holden!” I cried out when I saw what was happening.
The warning came too late as Grayson used his powers to slam Matthew against the wall, the pressure against his throat restricting the airflow and pinning him in position.
Grayson picked himself fluidly from the stool he’d occupied and rolled his neck, sauntering towards Matt casually.
“As your superior,” Grayson told him, “I expect a lot more respect from you.”
“Put him down!” I yelled.
Matt struggled against the black tendrils that held him, his face slowly turning red from lack of oxygen. I moved towards the pair, but another arm of black emitted from Grayson and snaked around my arms, legs, and waist, holding me securely in place. Despite their smoke-like appearance, their grip was solid and powerful.
“I know more about you than you care to admit,” Grayson said to Matt, not bothering to spare me a glance. “I know what you pray for. I can see what runs through your head. You better start showing me some respect, or you’ll see just what I am capable of.”
Grayson let go of him and he slid to the floor, gasping for breath. Done with Matthew, he rounded on me, and panic flooded my system.
“Don’t think I’m above hurting a woman,” Grayson told me, a wicked glint in his eyes.
Without the cuffs, the full effect of his divinity surrounded us, and he showed no signs of easing up. The grip around my waist tightened like a painful corset, squeezing the last breath out of my lungs.
“I demand respect,” Grayson continued. “And I’ll take it by force if needs be.”
When he finally released his hold, I dropped to my hands and knees, feeling the pain course through my ribs. Grayson leaned down as I heaved in deep breaths, aching with the effort, and tilted my head up towards him, terrified of the situation we’d ended up in.
“That’s exactly how I like to see people worship me,” he whispered gleefully.
I should have killed him when I had the chance,I thought to myself. It would have been simple and saved me a lot of hassle. But Scott had distracted me, and the delay was costly.
A blinding blue light illuminated the room, causing the long fluorescent bulbs overhead to flicker wildly from the sudden surge of power.
Well, that happened quicker than I’d expected.
When the blue cleared away, Hunter was visible, uncuffed, at the far end of the lab. I would have wagered that they’d released my older brother from the restraints as soon as he had entered his designated lab space. Hunter was the favourite child. A shining beacon for the rest of us to look towards and emulate.
“What are you doing?” Hunter asked me furiously.
His blue eyes, the only common feature among us three brothers, narrowed and focused on me. Where I thrived on chaos, Hunter strived for order. Even now, in his rush to get to the room and get a handle on this situation, Hunter’s sandy blonde hair remained perfectly in place. The perpetual poster boy for the elite Gods.
My aura coiled back towards me slowly, receding so that the room appeared less dark. “Just reminding them of their place,” I answered, completely unfazed by my brother’s anger.
“This is not why we are here,” Hunter hissed.
His eyes flicked over to Scott, picking herself up from the floor. As she straightened up, her hands went to her ribs, and she winced in pain. Pride trickled through me, warming my chest. I’d got her on her knees, and considering how pretty she looked there, I’d have been interested in how well she could worship me before the rude interruption.
Pulling my attention away from her, I enunciated every word as I responded to my brother. “May I remind you yet again that I had no desire to be part of this idiotic plan you concocted. You’re going soft. Bartering with mortals and wanting us to pretend like we’re one of them.”
The disgust seeped into every single word, cocooning them in hatred. I couldn’t reconcile with the fact he expected us to walk among mortals and behave like them. Integrate and blend in as if we weren’t destined to control every aspect of their menial lives. I was a divine being, and to ask me to lower myself was a great, if not the greatest, disrespect I’d suffered in centuries.
