Page 94 of Malcolm

Lydia's long nails were neon blue, and her hair was black and electric blue at the tips, matching her nails. She tugged on the end of a long strand she’d left out. Her skin was a dark beige, and her eyes were oddly white. She frowned at Lanias, “I was in the middle of playing a game, and sorry to be that person, but…You’re not exactly the person I want to see, especially after all these years.”

“If she’s called us here, then there must be a reason, babe,” Coral said, dusting the dirt off her jeans. Her hair was close-shaven, with a stylized rose in it. She straightened; her dark oak-colored skin was disrupted by the occasional splash of milky pale coloring. She eyed Lanias with interest, “It’s been a minute. Luckily, I had only just started gardening in my yard. What do you need?”

“I need you two to join a fight,” Lanias said, reaching into her back pocket and pulling out her cell phone. “You two are the only ones without family and with moderate attack power.”

Oye cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, but Sabina and I have kids. What are we doing here?” she demanded.

Lanias didn’t look her way. “Moral support.”

“I hate you,” Oye snapped, the spatula changing into a scythe in her hand. She looked at Lanias as if she was contemplating whether or not to take her head.

“I always heard that you witches were a dysfunctional bunch.” Tiller’s voice immediately garnered everyone’s attention. “It turns out it’s true.”

Lydia appraised him, “Why is there an animal talking? That’s just not natural. " She lifted her fingers, letting blue sparks flicker off her skin. “Should I change that?”

Coral covered her hand, clicking her tongue. “Babe, remember what the therapist said.”

Lydia pursed her lips.

Lanias laughed. “No, he’s just barking at you because he likes you.” She wrinkled her nose. “Just ignore him. He’ll calm down eventually.”

Tiller ignored her insults and focused on his phone call. Once he had finished, he hung up and looked at Malcolm. “They arecoming. You should think up a good reason for what you did.” He grinned, his eyes flashing. “Because they aren’t very happy.”

Some part of Malcolm wanted to run when he heard that, but he wouldn’t. He’d put his life on the line to be with Eliza, and he wouldn’t run away from it. He took a seat in the chair that remained by the bedside; he didn’t look to the corner where all the witches, aside from Sabina, were standing. There was an unclear line between them all.

He knew the witches didn’t trust anyone or anything related to the council; he was lucky that he’d not been attacked. If it hadn’t been for Eliza’s power, he’d have been dragged away by Tiller.

The man liked pretending he was weaker than others, but that wasn’t the least bit true. Tiller enjoyed being underestimated and left most of the fighting to the Jackals. But he was a nine-tailed fox who’d kept his existence mostly a secret, often only showing his three tails.

The fact that he’d displayed all nine to Malcolm had been a clear sign he intended to drag Malcolm back kicking or screaming. Tiller wasn’t sentimental; it was clear he’d been ready to put everything on the line to return Malcolm to the Jackal HQ.

“When will they get here?” he asked.

Tiller didn’t look at him. “In probably five minutes, ten at most, but they are using the dark tunnels, so it shouldn’t be long.”

Malcolm sighed and rubbed his hand down his face. “Okay.”

“Castian, in particular, has a few words for you.” Tiller seemed eager to see them clash.

At the tail end of that thought, the door to Eliza’s room opened, and Raijin entered. Immediately his large form and aura filled the room. Those gleaming read eyes immediately zeroed in on Sabina.

“Sabina,” he called her name with relief. Completely ignoring Tiller he hurried over to his wife’s side. “Are you okay?”

Wiping a sentimental tear from her cheek, Sabina turned to face him. “Yeah, just a little nauseous.”

“Good to hear.” Placing both his hands on her shoulder, he leaned down and kissed her cheek. Done with that, he turned a fiery glare on Lanias. “My wife will not be summoned here and there by you anymore.” He warned angrily, as his skin slowly bled red. “I would hate for you to ignore my words.”

Lanias gave a little shake. “Oh, yes, Daddy. I won’t do it ever again.”

Raijin slowly squinted his eyes and kept his gaze steady on her.

Lanias rolled her eyes and raised her hands, “Okay, okay. I won’t do it.”

He gave a short nod, turning his attention back to Sabina.

“I also would like to add to that threat of death if you pull my love from my side again,” Castian’s smooth English accent cut in as he stopped before Oye. His eyes weren’t blue but black, demon black. “It rubs me wrong.” He reached up, brushing his fingers against Oye’s cheek. “I don’t like being rubbed wrong.”

Lanias sighed. “I can’t even call my own family without being threatened. Where is Steve Harvey when you need him?”

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