Wayward Son

By Dabeagle

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Chapter 9

Thursday morning I greeted Gideon at the front door and walked him to his locker. He thought I was still concerned about his back, not that I wasn't; but I was more concerned with moving us forward. So we exchanged some small talk. I filled him in on homework assignments I'd done in his absence that I could help him with – in short nothing of real substance. Aila and Joel passed by his locker as well, Joel simply a moon around Aila's planetary pull. Or maybe it was her breasts that drew him in. I watched Joel's eyes for a few moments to see if he was staring at her breasts, but that didn't seem to be the case.

“What do you think of Aila's tits?” I asked after she walked away.

“Did you just ask...?” Gideon burst out laughing.

“Well, yeah.” I smirked and filled him in on the thought I'd had about Joel and Aila's breasts. He just shook his head.

“You know, she really loves him.”

“I figured. He loves her too. But I'm just saying there has to be parts he's more, ah, enamored with, right?” He chuckled at me as we walked down the hall towards his first class.

“Maybe you should be asking Joel this question?” he snickered.

“Oh no, can't do that.” I sighed.

“Why not?”

“He'd tell me of course!” I smacked Gideon on the arm. “I don't want to hear about Aila's tits.”

“Then why are you asking me about them?” he burst out laughing again and I scowled at him.

“It's called making conversation.”

“Is that all?” Gideon said with a thoughtful look. “Here's my class. Hey,” he tapped me on the shoulder as I turned to go, “Next class, you want to carry my books?”

“Screw you, Erebos. See if I ever bring you pizza again.”

I went on through my day feeling pretty good about myself, demons breaking through to our world and killing people not withstanding. Hey, I even felt like I could survive math today. Joel even behaved in the class we shared. I wonder if that was 'cause he was getting some again? Ugh, don't want to dwell on that thought. I bet I'd feel even better if I were getting some though, and that let my mind wander back to how good Gideon looked with his shirt off. I wonder if he sparred that way all the time? I'll have to ask if I can watch one of their sparring sessions. I'm sure it was interesting to see, with or without the shirt. Of course if I get a vote, he's skins while Aila is shirts. Oh god, I hope that's not how they do it. I don't think I can take Aila as skins.

At lunch I sat down with Aila and Joel. Today was Taco Thursday and I had my twin set of tacos on my tray, half filled with imitation meat and wilted lettuce; topped off with a watery tomato and what they claimed was cheese. When I bit in I discovered that the shell was actually cardboard.

“I wonder if there is a school regulation that they have to make the food as bland as possible.” I groused aloud.

“Probably. Everything else is done to the lowest common denominator.” Aila replied.

“Oh, be right back,” Joel hopped up and left us alone.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well, the speed at which the teacher works is directly proportional to the slowest member of the class. Everyone gets held to that lowest standard,” she pointed at my food tray, “I'll bet there was a lawsuit about spicy food or something at some point and now they serve the blandest things possible. It's why I bring a bag lunch.” She smiled sweetly.

“Cool kids buy their lunch,” I retorted.

“And they deserve what they get,” she smirked. I lifted a taco and it wilted in my hand and, I swear, actually stretched out a bit. Like it was melting plastic. Yuck.

“Maybe I'll start bagging lunch.”

“Look who I found,” Joel returned with Gideon in tow.

“Hey!” I said with a grin and slid over to make room.

“Hey. So this is Joel huh?” Gideon sat next to me and glanced at Aila, “I've heard a lot about you Joel, even if we just met; formally speaking.”

“I'm not surprised. Danny can't stop talking about me.” Joel quipped. I snorted in response.

“Is that so?” Gideon raised an eyebrow at me.

“What?” I shrugged, “I don't think I've really mentioned Joel to you.”

“Danny...” Joel sighed.

“Stop calling me that, pecker head.”

Joel looked at Gideon with a faux serious expression, “Danny hasn't gotten over us not working out.”

“What?” I frowned at Joel.

“Well, he's been very brokenhearted since I kissed him once,” Joel winked at Gideon, “His one and only.”

“Joel!” I was fuming.

“I want a repeat, I think that would be so hot to watch,” Aila chimed in, “Don't you think so Gideon?”

“Uh. Um. You guys kissed? But Joel you're...dating...”

“Yeah,” Joel waved a hand, “Any doubt in my mind cleared up after that kiss. He's so bad at it, I went straight,” He deadpanned.

“Oh, you are so stuck on yourself!” I snorted.

“I have an idea!” Aila clapped her hands. “Gideon, why don't you kiss Danny? That would be pretty hot too.”

I'll give the evil bitch this much, she has timing. Gideon had actually tried to eat one of the cardboard tacos and was now trying to cough it back up. I think his lung was going to come with it.

“What is up with you two?” I shot them both a dirty look.

“We have to work out the kinks.” Aila explained and Joel nodded enthusiastically.

“Of what?” I asked cautiously.

“Saturday lunch, of course. Now that Gideon is back on his feet you have to have that lunch you missed.” Joel smiled smugly.

“I didn't even ask Gideon yet,” I rolled my eyes at Joel and Aila. “Not that he'd come now, but why would I invite you two?”

“Because as bad as we are,” Aila smiled sweetly, “Joel tells me we'll be nothing compared to your mother.”

I paled and looked at Gideon who had recovered enough to look at me questioningly. “How can your mother possibly be worse?” He asked.

“Well, I don't know if I'd call it worse exactly,” I demurred as I felt my cheeks growing hot.

“This is better than reality TV,” Joel sat forward and grinned.

I think that was what did it, the grin. It was bad enough he was trying to have fun by embarrassing me in front of Gideon, who I might add was not my boyfriend. I should also add that he never has indicated, even once, that he was interested in any sort of romantic relationship with me. Although we were on the road to being friends, I think he might seriously reconsider with Joel and his antics.

“Fuck you Joel,” I growled. Wiped the grin off his face, at least, but I wasn't done. “You want to try and embarrass me?” I turned to look at Gideon's inquisitive expression.

“You don't have to...” Gideon began.

“No, I think this is better now. I mean, eventually as a friend, I'd confess to embarrassing things in my life, probably the worst of which was actually kissing Joel.”

Joel snickered, thinking I was sniping at him in good fun. He was so very wrong, though.

“What Joel fails to tell you is that he kissed me out of pity because I was whining that there were no out guys at school,” I shot a glare at Joel, “Yes my best friend gave me a mercy kiss and likes to tell people about it to embarrass me. My only kiss, thanks for adding that in Joel. I wasn't mortified enough.”

“Dan,” Joel opened his mouth.

“Shut the fuck up! I'm not done yet.” I returned my gaze to Gideon, “My mother is a wonderful lady who is dying for me to bring a guy home to meet the folks. She wants pictures and stories to tell to her friends.” I slowed a little here, some of my steam failing me. I had no choice but to finish now, my temper having gotten the best of me. Damn Joel anyway.

“She would have interrogated you like we were dating, probably. She would have hovered and thoroughly stressed me out and probably thrown you for a loop too.” I stood and put my pack over my shoulder and shot a baleful look at Joel. “You can be such a dick.” So saying I dumped the rest of my lunch and left the room.

I had about fifteen minutes to kill before the bell rang and I headed to the bathroom. I didn't really have to go; I just needed someplace quiet to examine my little meltdown and wonder about the consequences. Joel would come and try to make it up but at the moment the thought of forgiving him roiled the acid in my stomach into a sour tempest. I opened the bathroom door and walked to the row of sinks to splash water on my face and try to relax a moment.

I was drying my face when the sound of a wet, wracking cough echoed through the room. I glanced around and, seeing no one, assumed the noise was coming from a stall. The cough started up again, and finished with an awful retching sound. I walked towards the stalls only to hear a low moan, a miserable and lonely sound.

“Do you need some help?” I called out as I pushed the door of the first stall open.

“Daniel?” The voice grunted.

“Yeah, it's me. Where are you?” Who are you?

“Mid,” the voice, rough and scratchy dissolved into a hacking cough. I had already pushed on the middle door, revealing a very sick looking Seth. He looked up at me and I realized sick wasn't really the right term. He looked dead. His skin was pale, slicked with a sheen of sweat. His eyes looked bloodshot with heavy bags under them, as if he hadn't been sleeping. I held my hand out to him.

“Seth, let's get you some help.”

Seth barked a laugh like a single gunshot, turned and spit a wad of phlegm and blood into the bowl. His stomach clenched a few times and I squatted down, patting him on the back so he'd know I was there.

“You know what? This is funny.” He groaned out. His body shivered and my hand told me all about the fever running through his body.

“Just take it easy Seth, it'll be all right. We'll get help. Can you stand?” I spoke to him in a low soothing tone, or at least what I hoped was soothing.

“No really, it's hilarious. My devout mother sits in her room all day praying and who is the only one that reaches out to help me? One of the people she warned me to stay away from, that would corrupt my soul? Isn't that some shit?” Seth grinned, blood on his lips and teeth.

“Seth, lets get you to the nurse.” I urged, trying to get my hands under his arms.

“Nurse?” He coughed out more blood. “Doctor doesn't know what's wrong, what can she do? Give me an aspirin and tell me to,” his voice dissolved into a coughing fit and his face tightened into a grimace.

“But Seth, you can't just lay here!” I urged, “You need help.”

“And, ironically, here you are.” He smiled through the pain again, the blood in his mouth roiling my own stomach and pulling on my pity for his lousy home life. “It wasn't so bad this morning, it comes in waves, but this is the worst. Look Daniel,” he straightened up enough to lean against the side of the stall and tugged at the bottom of his shirt. It refused to come untucked under his weak pull. I heard the bathroom door open and Joel called out my name. I reached out to Seth's tee shirt and helped him pull it up to expose his stomach.

His skin was alight with fire, small explosions under the skin. It almost looked like fireworks embedded in his flesh and he groaned with each new brilliant explosion.

“Dan! Why didn't you...” Joel's gaze shifted to Seth's collapsed form. “Holy shit, I'll get the nurse!” As he spun on his heel to leave my mind engaged and I called out to him.

“No, get Aila and Gideon.” I said firmly. He glanced at me questioningly and I yelled at him, “Now!”

I went to the sink and grabbed a few paper towels from the dispenser and soaked them in cold water before returning to Seth. I wiped his face and pressed the cool towels to his forehead. His breathing was labored and I was itching to go find Gideon and Aila myself. Instead I did what little I could to try and make Seth comfortable and let him know he wasn't alone. Finally the door burst open and Gideon was there, Aila right behind him. Aila took one look at Seth and turned to Joel who was out of my line of sight.

“Lock the door,” she snapped.

“There is no handle on this side!” Joel called out, “it takes a key.”

“Then lean against it, just don't let anyone in!” she stepped past Gideon in the stall and effortlessly pulled Seth out of the stall and into the middle of the tiled floor.

“He was never instructed,” Gideon whispered.

“I know. We have to hurry.” Aila muttered. She turned to Joel, “Honey I love you and I was going to tell you one day. But if you change your mind after this, I understand. I'll still love you.”

Turning back she nodded once at Gideon and muttered that she'd cover him. In her hand a long white staff grew from thin air, glowing with a life of it's own and thrumming with power. Her eyes shifted to pure white, no strike that, they were pure light. When she moved her head the afterimage of her eyes followed her, and then it was almost as if vapors of pure light wafted from her open eyes. She set herself in a defensive stance and I watched, mouth open, as wings of gossamer light etched themselves into the air around her.

I switched my gaze to Gideon who was similarly transformed, but he didn't appear as ready for combat as Aila. His eyes were leaking shadows as they had when I had first seen him. His eyes were completely dark, no whites or warm chocolate to be seen. Behind him his own dark wings stretched out, etched into the air, ephemeral yet undeniably there. He rose into the air, wings stretching but not flapping or anything, he simply rose into the air with his hands splayed to his sides palms out.

Darkness flowed from the vents and blocked the frosted windows and as less sunlight filled the room the shadows at his command grew thicker. They began to race in thin strands around Seth's suffering body, dashing into him and disappearing as if they simply merged with him. Each time a small explosion of light occurred, now visible through his shirt, it was met with a lance of darkness. The shadows rippled and fine filaments attached themselves to Seth's head and began to whip wildly about, much as they had when Gideon had been healing himself.

Seth's tense expression relaxed and I continued to hold his head, the shadows passing through me as though I didn't exist. His breathing eased and it seemed that he'd settled into the steady rhythm of sleep. I slid my pack under Seth's head and slowly stood to survey the room. Aila was a blazing warrior of light, making me think that this is what a Valkyrie should look like. Gideon pulsed with dark energy and continued to concentrate on Seth for a few moments longer. Joel had abandoned his post by the door and was now standing next to me.

“Dude...bro, did you know about...”his hand waved at the tableau of light and dark before us, “This?”

“Gideon looks the way I described him, doesn't he? Except for the wings.” I mumbled.

“Yeah, but I thought...”

“Yeah, well, it wasn't my imagination.”

“And Aila...Dan she looks fierce.”

“Just remember she loves you.”

“Bro,” he leaned in to whisper in my ear, “She looks so freaking hot right now! I can't believe this but it's making me so freaking horny!”

I shot him a curious look and then remembered that Gideon was healing. Perhaps that made everyone a little...extra excited. I glanced at Gideon who was slowly beginning to settle to the ground and realized that, yes, that excitement extended to me. Great, just what we need. We'll have an orgy while poor Seth expires on the bathroom tile. A terrible smell wafted through the room then, something like a porta-potty times a million.

“Gideon! Move Seth now, he's defenseless! Come back as quickly as you can!” Her eyes blazed and, with barely a nod, Gideon bent down and wrapped his arms around Seth. Shadows swirled around him until he was no longer visible and then the shadows dissipated and we were left with Aila and the smell.

“Stay close to me!” Aila called out and we moved into her reach. Her staff spun and made a whirring noise as it sliced through the air. The door to the farthest stall burst open and a nightmare stepped out on three feet and waved five arms, each clutching something sharp. It's eyes glowed a muddy brown with malevolent red streaks. It's gray and blue splotched hide was covered in oozing sores, the only thing in good repair seemed to be it's rows of sharp teeth that it gleefully exposed. It's head brushed the ceiling as it advanced towards us and Aila's staff became a blur.

She suddenly seemed to disappear and reappear three, then four times; always punctuated with a blow coming from her staff. The demon screeched with the skin smoking wherever her staff had touched. It's tongue lolled out with silvery drool running from it's mouth and down it's skin and to the floor where it burned through the tiles. Aila reappeared in front of us, staying between us and the demon.

“Light brings us, be we don't want you now. Let us have the sweet meat behind you. We will not,” the demon rolled its tongue out of its mouth and caressed its lips, “Disturb you. We are hungry for...sweet...meat.”

“You do not belong!” Aila vanished again and a flurry of blows were rained upon the demon, which staggered towards Joel and I, each point of contact smoking and burnt. It grinned the whole way, teeth working as it eyed us. Aila was once again in front of us and she jabbed forward with the end of her staff and hit the demon in the mouth, shattering a row of teeth.

“Augh!” The demon shrieked as it backed up a few steps. “These males, they mean nothing to you! But to us...” the demon drooled again as he caught sight of Joel and I and licked his lips again, “Such sweet meat can not be allowed to go untasted!”

He lurched forward, his arms spinning in a deadly hail of blows. Joel and I shrank back while Aila surged forward to meet the attack, her staff parrying and countering each one of the five hands. Aila cried out as one sliced her shoulder, but her staff never lost its manic pace. Joel ran to the wall and began tugging on the towel dispenser until it came free. He did the stupidest, bravest thing I think I had ever seen. He charged the demon, swinging the dispenser like it were shield and hammer in one.

“That's my girlfriend!” he hollered as he swung clumsily. The demon knocked the dispenser from his hands and into Aila, who fell back at the unexpected blow. The demon howled in triumph as it reached for Joel who was trying to backpedal out of it's way. The dispenser had landed near my feet and I grabbed it and charged the demon much as Joel had. I was more fortunate as the creature was blindsided and I connected squarely with the side of his head.

He grunted and backhanded me, sending me and my dispenser flying into the wall, but it had bought Aila the time she needed to regain her feet and get back into the fight. She was a vision of terrifying beauty, her staff slashing and spinning as she fended off the multi-armed attacker for what felt like eons. The room suddenly grew darker and Gideon materialized like a dark avenging angel. He held short blades of pure shadow that looked as if they wiggled back and forth in each of his hands and he flew forward driving them both into and through the demon.

The demon roared and Aila, taking advantage of the demon's plight, drove her staff forward into the creatures forehead – and through it. The demon erupted in ash which quickly collapsed on itself as if a small vortex pulled it all into nothingness. Then it was gone.

“You're hurt,” Gideon said as he stood over me. I hadn't gotten back up after being thrown against the wall.

“I'm okay,” I replied, my gaze locked onto his smoking eyes.

“You're bleeding,” he stated as he knelt and pulled my head away from the tile wall. Now that he mentioned it, I did feel a little stickiness running down my back.

“Meet you at your place,” Aila stated. She took Joel in her arms and vanished in a blinding light. Shadows swirled around me as Gideon looked into my eyes.

“People are coming, we have to leave. I'll take care of you.”

“I know.” I replied and closed my eyes as Gideon wrapped me up and we were gone.

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