Page 27 of The Syphon King

“Or that it’s escaping into him,” Lore said.

“He must be siphoning passively,” Gauld realized.

Thakx returned to his station. “We’re about to find that out.”

“I’m afraid this is the tip of the iceberg,” Alerik thought as he settled into his chair. “He’ll need to figure out how to open her entirely if he’s going to siphon all of it.”

“And very carefully, if she’s not aware she holds it,” Lore muttered.

“We have no idea how this darkness may react too,” Vex said. “If it will become hostile at some point in this transfer.”

“We need to talk to Zodak and learn things before devising a plan,” Alerik said. “Every detail that took place from the moment he touched her to now should be considered in calculations.”

“Let’s bring him back.” Thakx quickly administered the chemical reversal then hopped up. “Text me when he wakens, I want to be here.”

“You got it,” Vael said. “Where you headed?”

“The Marsh Kings will be here in two hours. I’m making arrangements to be needed elsewhere.”

“Include me,” Vex shot out as he hurried.

“And me,” Lore added as Thakx found the nearest empty office needing someplace private to take notes.

ZODAK’S NEURONS BURNEDhis skin as he listened to his brother’s inform him of Zeen’s gift and the prognosis. At the end of it, a blazing crucible sat in the center of his mind. On the one side, his sweet Zeen stood, an angelic force imprisoned by immeasurable darkness, longing to give him her ineffable light. And on the other side,hestood. And by some unfathomable miracle, the Freak, the Monster, the Forbidden Door between the realms was not a curse, but a key. A chance to free her from a web of evil and pain. With every one of her needs he met, with every craving he answered, every smile he brought, that darkness which dared touch her would become his.

A week, a month, a year, an eternity. However long it took, he would quietlydemolish the strongholds and break the chains in her spirit. And if it meant suffering to do it, then all the better. Perhaps this was his opportunity to pay down some of the siphoning sins that imprisoned his own soul.

He relayed his plan to his brothers and got their consent. Seeing their reluctance, he assured, “You will still place the nano-bots inside me in case this darkness attempts more malevolence than I’m capable of neutralizing. I want all risks eliminated as you do.” Their relief entered him like a balm, and he remembered the scars he’d encountered. “How were her physical scans?”

Their guarded expressions immediately lit his rage. “Not good, brother,” Alerik offered quietly.

Zodak had to push his power in reverse when it attempted to suck the details from his hesitant brain. “Tell meeverything. Imustknow.”

“Let me remind you that you haven’t neutralized what you last siphoned from her yet,” Vex said. “I think we should get the nanobots in before we go a step further.”

Zodak’s lips moved over the edges of his teeth as his saliva became burning acid. “Do it quickly.”

BISHOP FOUND BETH’Shand under the table as they all sat in the Kings’ Sanctum. There were quite a few empty chairs on their side still. Seer mentioned something had happened to Zodak and the girl they’d picked up. He'd gone to see him when they arrived and judging by the perturbed look on his face, it wasn’t good. Related to any of the coinage chaos?

“Déjà vu,” Beth leaned and whispered.

He nodded, ready to know all that could be known and then get busy with countermeasures. All the Marsh Kings—as their Creole brothers called them—were.

Finally, Nidev stood. “Apologies for our absentees. King Zodak required medical intervention and as our brothers, the details of what has transpired will not be hidden from you. As you know, his siphoning powers require certain protocols to neutralize. The female he has in his care seems to have gifts that bypass those usual measures, causing him to become unstable. He’s been contained and is under surveillance as they assess his condition and develop new means to restore his defenses.”

“Poor Zodak,” Beth barely said. “I wonder what kind of gift she has to cause that?”

“Maybe none.”

She considered that as he listened to Nidev announce that they too had news to share. “As our guests, we’ll allow you to decide who shares first.”

Bishop eyed Bart and gave him a nod. His brother shot up and shoved his dark locks aside with a hand as he opened his notebook. “So, uh...” He slap-turned the worn pages then lifted the tablet. “Guess I’ll start with theoh shitand work my way to theholy shit.”

Bishop watched the Kings as his brother unloaded on them, only mildly amazed to find their stoic faces intact even after theholy shitnews.

“Anything else?” Nidev asked.

8-Bit tossed up a finger. “I fed Big G and Al the data and they’re running algorithms that search and find anomalies and patterns of interest.” He raised his watch. “They’ll be done in...seventy-two minutes.”

---