Page 96 of Sick Bargain

I turn in time to see Kyd launch himself over the railing. He lands with more grace than I thought him capable, his feet light. He unsheathes a dagger and whips it at Axel Graves.

But Axel is fast. He steps to the side, avoids Kyd’s grab, and gets Kyd spun around. Kyd’s back is pulled to Axel’s chest, and a sharp blade rests against Kyd’s throat.

“So fucking hot,” Kyd groans, which is when I notice he’s already embedded a dagger in Axel’s thigh, with another held to his femoral artery. “Hey, soulmate. Seems we’re at an impasse, but I’m cool to stay just like this for a bit.” He wiggles his ass back, grinding on Axel.

Axel is still fucking smiling. He looks right at me when he says, “Kill Remiel Sauder.” That thing in his hand clicks again.

Relief churns with fear when I see him. My Krypt.

Unmasked, hollow, and deadly, he prowls towards me with no chains on his monsters. They’re all set free, creating havoc in his mind and violence in his heart. He’s the most unhinged version of himself, and he’s never looked more terrifying.

I shake on the spot, caught between wanting to go to him and wanting to run away. I’ve done that already. I ran from him in this very asylum, thinking I stood a better chance of surviving it than him. I won’t make that mistake again.

Curved knives spin in his grip, and his vibrant silver eyes stay locked on me. Dressed in darkness and shrouded in his natural shadows, he takes his time getting to me. When Facts tries to intercept, he’s thrown to the side. When Seven hauls him back, he gets a slice to the cheek.

When Riot steps in front of him, Krypt growls.

“Think, you dumb bastard. Think! For your fucking self!” Riot snarls at him. “You won’t hurt Remi.”

But he will because he can’t think. He might have gotten his name for having a mind like a vault, but Axel Graves figured him out. Found a way in. Penetrated his walls and freed his demons so that rational thought means nothing and memories are warped into something that feels like numbness.

“Krypt.” Riot tries again, stepping back with every forward step his brother takes. When Krypt doesn’t slow, my heart sinks. When he looks at me like he doesn’t know me, my heart stops. When he stops twirling the knives and raises one to kill me, my heart dies. “Run, Remi!”

Remind me who I am.

I backpedal, being pulled by Ransom and Glitch. Krypt snarls at them for touching me. But I keep going.

“Get in front of me,” I tell them, an idea forming. “I need space to take my shirt off.”

“What? Why? Run, Remi!” Ransom pushes me behind him, and Glitch tries to shove me towards the exit.

A knife fight breaks out, metal clangs together, and shouting ensues. Guns clatter to the stone floor, firing bullets in wayward directions. I keep my eyes on the danger and undo my jacket, needing to get through to him.

Remind me who I am.

Krypt cuts Monster, which makes Ransom go insane. He attacks Krypt at the same time my brother drops from the platform above, landing right on Krypt’s shoulders. I rip my shirt open and toss it aside.

“Krypt! Stop!”

“Fucking stop him!”

“He’s my brother, Krypt! Don’t fucking do this! Keegan, please.”

The problem with fighting your brethren is that you don’t fight to kill. Krypt powers through them all because they’re hesitating, trying to keep him alive. He snaps and snarls and gives no fucks about how many of them he cuts and injures.

With a deep breath and a panicked mind, I shout, “Let him through!”

“Remi!”

“No!”

“Let him fucking through!”

Krypt breaks through all on his own, and I’m right here, within stabbing distance. His order is to kill me, and he plans to follow through. He’s lost one knife somewhere in the fight, but he lifts the other. He grabs me by the back of my neck, draws me forward, and gets ready to stab.

“Cut here!” I raise my wrists. “If you’re gonna kill me, you’ll have to go through your brand on my skin. Fucking cut me here, Krypt.”

Ghost gasps, seeing the full extent of my scarred body for the first time, but it works. Slightly. Krypt hesitates, almost like he glitches. His orders are strong, the pull of them fierce, but something in what he sees on my body jolts him enough to create hesitation. Everyone else crowds in at his back, ready to haul him off me if he tries again.

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