Kingdoms of Gold

30 | Flesh to Stone to Pieces

Pain exploded down the side of my body. I was tackled, hard. I rolled several feet, crashing into the side of a car. 

A black trash bag sloshed to a stop inches from me. It felt much heavier than it looked.

Malachi snarled several feet in front of me. He crouched low, clawed paws scraping against the cement. He blocked the path between me and a demon.

Three deep scar mark ran down the side of the demon's face. It was a scar from The Forest of Unbinding. 

Gier, Fourth Prince of Hell, perched on a rooftop. Blood splattered across his clothes. "Finally. I was getting bored of the reptiles."

I grabbed my katana but didn't move any further. My brother had warned me of Gier. He was one of the few Princes blessed with magic. I stiffened as the pungent scent of blood and death hit me. Underneath the bitterness of rotting flesh was a scent I recognized.

"Oh, so you've finally noticed. Why don't you take a peak inside. It's a special present from me and the rest of your family to you." Gier grinned at me, full of excitement.

Malachi growled in warning. 

Valentino knelt by my side. "Don't."

I ignored him. A part of me already knew what was in there, but I needed to confirm.

He grabbed my hand as I reached for the bag. "Token, don't open it."

A gun shot went off. The car window behind us shattered. 

Gier tossed the small hand gun aside, magazine clicking empty. "Let her. I promise not to do anything while she opens the gift."

My hands shook as I struggled to untie the knots at the top. Blood coated the plastic, making the strings slippery and all the more difficult to undo. I gave up, digging my nails into the bag and tearing it open.

Body parts scattered to the ground. A hand had fingers missing. What fingers remained had the nails torn from the bone. Other limbs were in similar state. There was an ear, chunks of flesh too small for me to recognize where on the body it belonged.

The head was mostly intact, at least enough for me to recognize the face. 

I slammed my hand over my mouth, blood smearing on my skin, and gagged. 

Lee's hair was still as long as when I last saw him—alive. The dark brown strands matted to his face with blood. Both of his eyes were missing and several teeth.

I squeezed my eyes shut. I'd never called him my brother, never acknowledged our bond. Truth was, he was just as much of a brother to me as En, who raised me. Lee put in as much work, taking the time to visit me on Earth. He'd bring me presents, keep us up to date with information. I'd never given him anything in return.

It was too late now. He was gone.

I was always too late.

"We all thought he was too lazy to pull this treasonous shit off. The sneaky bastard had us fooled for a century." Gier stood, balancing on the gutters, and stretched. "He was as stubborn as Enojo. Didn't talk even after we broke his bones, took out chunks of his skin."

"Shut up." I hissed, wiping away the tears streaming down my face.

My brother was dead.

"What? You don't actually care for him do you?" Gier's chartreuse eyes hardened. "He didn't bother screaming as I cut off every digit. He knew no one was coming, you certainly weren't. It's clear you didn't care about him. Enojo is your priority, but that's only out of guilt. In truth, you care about no one but yourself."