Ill Omen's Light (Lux/Jinx)

Chapter 20: Debts in the Firelight

"Shit," whispered Ekko, as the silence spread about them.

Jinx settled back on her haunches, cocked her head, and watched him.

"Yeah," she said.

He stared at nothing and brushed his hands over his hair. A nervous habit he'd picked up, she'd noticed, since he grew out those locs. He'd scratched the back of his buzzed head back when they were kids.

"I was in and out," he mumbled, "Messed up dreams. Thought I was hallucinating half of what you guys said..."

"Nope."

Jinx watched him struggle to digest it all.

The Tangle Man's real.

Lux thinks he's a demon of legend, come to haunt Zaun.

But I think he's probably here for me.

And the other one, the one that killed us all a bunch of times over?

The Mad Chemist made him, made him out of...

"How could you let him do that to Vander?"

Jinx searched his face silently and then shrugged.

"Didn't know he'd taken him until after Silco..." she flinched away with a growl, smacking at the side of her head, ignoring Ekko's look of alarm, "...after. Doc had already pumped him full of chems and done...whatever he did to keep whatever was left of him alive."

"Everyone thought he was dead," Ekko chewed his lip, "Is he...is he in there?"

Jinx shook her head, "Dunno. Don't think there was anythin' left but a few sparks in his brain-meat, whatever Shimmer was keeping going after what...happened..."

She growled again. Swung her hand at herself again. This time, Ekko snapped a hand out and grabbed her wrist, "Jinx, stop it-"

Jinx growled at him, her eyes slivers.

"Don't. Touch me."

Ekko let her go and she snatched her hand away. She snapped her teeth at him but curled her hand under her arm instead of hitting herself again.

"...couldn't kill Doc," she muttered, "Thought about it. A lot."

Jinx shrugged.

"But then what the heck would I do with Pops? I'm good with stuff that goes ratta-tatt-tatt and kablooey, all this squishy bio science stuff ain't my kit..."

She swallowed, avoiding Ekko's eyes.

"...and what if he is still in there?"

Ekko cupped his hands around each other and pressed his fist to his lips.

She hated that he didn't have a retort for that. It meant she had to keep talking and – heh, didn't that always go well for her?

"...Doc said somethin' about splicin' stuff from other species into him to keep him alive and how it like... 'unlocked latent atavistic genes' or whatever," she chewed her lip and shrugged, "Personally I think he just turned him into a wolfman cuz he wanted to turn him into a wolfman."

"Shit," said Ekko.

"Yeah, uh, so yeah, if I capped ol' Doc Singed I couldn't look after whatever Pops was turnin' into, and I couldn't make my meds," she pulled her eyelids down and grinned, "And then I'd prolly be dead or a monster too. Like, more of one."

Ekko shuddered. "How much Shimmer are you taking?" he whispered, "To have eyes like that? And, uh, your blood..."

He rubbed his chest. Jinx laughed and widened her eyes on him, knowing full well how uncanny people found her unblinking purple stare.