The Only

Chapter Sixteen - Karl

Karl watched Monty march down the hall and disappear around the corner. That man really had a talent for coming and going. The remainder of the group murmured under their breath and shifted uncomfortably. Unconsciously, Karl's fingers began to play with the stun gun on his belt.

"Leave that thing alone," Yasmin hissed. She stood straight up and cocked her ear as if to try to hear something from far away.

Karl unclipped the gun from its holster.

"Put it away, I tell you!" She pushed Karl and stepped in front of him. "Get behind me."

"Why?"

"My father approaches, and trust me, he is not happy." She pushed him again. "Now get behind me."

Like thunder building up before a storm, Hamza stomped up the hallway. His great cloak floated behind him like wings. He took up the entire width of the hall.

"A sick Nocturne child?" The emir's voice boomed and echoed off the walls. "It should have been taken care of as soon as we arrived. It must be disposed of. We cannot keep away chaos with that child in this house. Roland," he nodded at his lieutenant, "take care of it."

"Wait," Neima interjected, placing herself in front of the sick child's door. "I have called a Reckoning."

"That only applies to the Vulgari in this house." Hamza nodded again to Roland.

"No, it applies to all under my roof." Neima spread herself wider, taking up the entire doorframe.

"Fine." The emir shrugged. "Roland, take the child outside the house and then kill it."

"Hamza‑"

"Only, I have been respectful. I have been patient, even with you demanding that both the Nocturne and Mutare attend this, this event. Now you want too much. The child is contaminated. It must be destroyed." He snapped his fingers.

Roland pushed up his sleeves and walked toward the door.

"I can't allow you to kill the child," Neima said with a growl.

Her eyes grew dark so he couldn't see where her pupil ended and her iris began. In direct contrast, her face was pale, colorless. She didn't exactly look sick, but it didn't give her an appearance of wellness either. The sallowness of her skin dimmed her.

"I must obey my emir," Roland said. "Please step aside, Only."

"Father! Father!" a voice shouted from far down the hallway.

A tall Mutare gracefully and speedily ran down the hall. His eyes seemed like a big cat's, and his face seemed to be framed in the markings of a leopard or a cheetah, but only for a moment. It was as if the man had channeled the animal's essence.

Was that part of it? They took on the characteristics of animals to enhance their own?

The man bowed and kneeled at Hamza's feet.

"What is it, my son?" Hamza placed his hand on the kneeling man's head.

"It is Reza, father," the young man said. "He has taken to his bed and will not rise."

Another sick Experiment? Which one was Reza? Karl pictured each man until he reached the youngest Mutare being introduced outside on the lawn.

"Nonsense, Malcolm." Hamza shook his head. "He most likely doesn't wish to participate in this, this madness. Tell him to get up and attend his father. The emir demands it."

Malcolm shook his head in defeat. "I cannot...he cannot–"

"He cannot what?" Hamza snapped.

"What do you mean, he won't rise?" Karl began to tap his foot. "Is he unconscious?"