Burning Bridges

Chapter Thirteen: Drawing Lines

Grandfather had told her stories about Kurayami, but Jules heard rumors around town as well. Whispers of the lives he took, leaving bloody trails of innocent lives. A part of Jules never believed one person could be capable of such a thing. But the stories were true, even if the lives taken weren't innocent. Every one of the four intruders was lying motionless on the ground. This room was too small for so many bodies.

Asa and Riku were the only ones left standing. Max leaned against Jules' bed breathing heavily, though he didn't seem to be bleeding, just stunned. Both Casts were bleeding, but neither backed down. If they kept at it, the whole place might collapse. Already the stone around the doorway was cracking and the Grounders Riku brought had taken so much rock from the walls they'd left holes all the way through.

"Are you happy?"

Asa's voice dripped with venom. Though his gaze remained trained on Riku, Jules knew the words were for him.

"I didn't do this," Jules insisted. But he was the one left standing and unwounded. He was the one neither side had touched. There was a choice to make, he knew. Maybe there was a right choice. Maybe it would be the one he didn't make, but of these two Casts, Riku was the one who had misgendered and deadnamed him. Riku was the one who had cut him to make an impression, who had stolen what little attention Grandfather had ever spared for Jules.

He didn't really care if he made the right choice.

Jules threw the knife in his hand, directing it with more precision than Riku had ever bothered to learn. The blade slashed Riku's thigh right where he'd cut Jules all those weeks ago. Before the knife had stopped sliding across the floor, Riku was already out the front door, white feathers a flash of motion in the doorway. Asa had lunged forward, too late. His glass blade broke agains the wall. If Riku hadn't fled, he would've died.

Asa didn't go after him. Jules thought he might, and from everything he'd heard about Kurayami, he would be more than able to catch Riku. Instead, he watched the stone blade spin until it stopped then brought his eyes up to Jules. More than anything, Jules wanted to look away, but he held Asa's gaze. The Cast wasn't trying to conceal his anger, but above all else, he seemed confused. Jules was confused himself. Riku would run back to Grandfather, turning Jules' split second decision into a clear drawing of lines. He'd just made an enemy of his own family.

At last, Asa said, "He'll hunt you."

"I hope he does" Jules admitted. If he'd been in Asa's position, he knew he would've gone after Riku. He wanted to finish this. "Next time, I'll aim a little higher."

Asa was still staring, as if Jules was a puzzle and some of the pieces were missing. Only when Sky appeared in the doorway did he finally look away.

"How's the damage?" Asa asked.

Sky shook her head, nursing a swollen wrist. "Not good. I can't—there's so many dead, Asa. The only ones uninjured are the four Jules let out through the wall."

Asa cursed, running a hand through his hair, eyes closed. He sucked in a long breath. "Okay. Okay we separate the dead. Dispose of the intruders' bodies. Hold a ceremony for our own. How many injured?"

Sky went to help her brother up. "Seven, perhaps?"

Asa cursed again. Jules still wasn't sure how many people lived in the basement, but going by his previous estimate of twenty, excluding himself, Max, Sky, and Asa, there were five dead. Five. A fourth of the residents. There were four dead intruders in Jules' room alone, but he had no sympathy for them. Asa's people were runaways, children. They hadn't chosen to fight, hadn't even known how to. They were innocent. They were dead. It didn't matter how Grandfather reacted or what lies Riku told. Jules knew he'd mad the right choice.