The Karma Study

Chapter 9 - Behavioral Epigenetics

Max

Sure, digging up the grave of our dead mafia king to see if maybe he actually isn't so dead, may have been an impulsive decision. However, if we can just get to the skeleton and get the skull of the person in the coffin, we could check the dental records. We have Khal's dental records and if they don't match the body in the grave, then we at least know for sure Khal is not the one we buried all those years ago.

"Hey, can we make this fast? Grave sites give me the creeps." Brandon says in a panicked hush as he passes us all our shovels.

"This isn't even a real cemetery." Dean scoffs, "We are literally in the Hera's old backyard."

"Right, I get that. But there is a bare boned fucking corpse that we are taking from the ground." Brandon argues. "I'm cool with the gambling and drug trade and hell even the torture on some days. Grave robbing was in fact not on my Bingo card."

I force the blade into the grass and turn to face the other three huddled in a small circle behind me. "Well, the quicker we start, the quicker we can get this skull home and to the analyst." Not waiting for a response, I turn and step onto the shovel to start the process.

I have to admit, it is a bit surreal being back at this house again, back at the site we buried him at. I suppose, it's not really him, but the act still drags memories to the surface.

I never wanted to be the leader, but Khal saw something different in me when it came to the others. He knew I'd do everything in my power to ensure their protection. He knew that in my being so protective, I would always choose to comply. Slowly, but surely I became a younger version of him. I'm not saying I'd ever cook up a plan to infiltrate the sex trade to also start making more human weapons for some imaginary war that doesn't seem likely.

I remember Zoe mentioning that that was why she needed to escape and kill him when she did. Kahl was planning to bring in more children and start building them the way he built her. The way he tortured her. The same way he could be doing right now.

I shake away the thought, I need to focus on the things I can do to rectify the situation, not stew on the what-ifs.

I keep circling down the drain with the thought of, why? Why does Kahl Hera need to build these human weapons? I don't necessarily think he is planning for an all-out war. But there is a possibility that he has been planning a hostile takeover of other surrounding territories. It was rumored that the Cambions were stretching and growing south of the west coast and even reaching parts of the mid-west. At the time we only knew that it was the sex trade, but now knowing what we do, it has to be so much more than that. Unless he has just totally become drunk and delusional with power he doesn't know when or how to stop.

Kahl has always been power hungry, from the moment I met him, and the moment he sunk his teeth into me. He craved power and control, and needed it. And I suppose now that I'm becoming more honest with myself, I am, in a lot of ways, identical to Kahl.

I see it in the way I comb back my hair, how I dress and let my energy monopolize a room full of people. The way I check my pocket watch as a nervous tick, and even down to the rings I still wear.

I should've gotten rid of the rings the moment I knew what he did and what all he was involved with in terms of Zoe.

My Harpy.

I need her. I need her. I need her. I need her. I need her back, I need her home and in the manor. I need to feel her soft ivory skin, I need to run my fingers through her hair, I need to hear the steady pace of her pulse after I break her. I need her back with us. I need her for me. I need her for my brothers. Teddy is so far off the deep end I'm sure there isn't a rope in this world long enough to bring him back. Dean is... different. Even though Dean's rage is quiet, and doesn't burn as bright as mine or Teddy's... Dean is a waiting grenade-- An ill-timed storm just waiting for a single change in pressure to cause catastrophic damage. A completely undetected earthquake and I'm honestly scared to see what happens if we don't get her back. Brandon is riddled with unmatched guilt. Not that he has anything to actually feel guilty about, but he is his own worst enemy when it comes to these things. I can tell Brandon hasn't been sleeping when he's supposed to, not like any of us are, but I know that the rest of us are at least getting in an hour or so. Brandon is pushing himself to a limit I didn't know he could reach in the first place.

We need her. Ou balance, our gravity, ours.

"Max!" Dean's booming voice pulled me back to the surface just as my shovel had landed into something impenetrable.

"What?" I scream as I turn towards them, still just holding their shovels and not moving a muscle since I last looked at them. I feel the sweat pouring down my face, and soaking through my dress shirt.

Instead of speaking a word, they all just stare at me, and then past me to where I'm standing. I follow their gazes and realize that I have already completed the dig in a matter of moments. How long was that? It felt like seconds at the most, but that can't be true. I stare at the grave below me, the physical exhaustion of the task finally hitting me. I toss my shovel out of the six by three hole and climb out, letting my body just flop on the grass next to it.

"Don't just stand there with your dicks in your hands," I say, tirelessly and chest heaving for breath attempting to steady the drum of my heart. "Get him out."

They move as a single unit, still yet to say a word, and they silently work together to pry open the coffin. It's quiet for a moment, all movement stopped. But I can't gain enough strength to crack open my eyelids, and I patiently wait for them to move again.

Finally, with a snap and a lock I know it's done. After talking to Teddy about the chance for sedation he's been a bit more mild. He doesn't like it, but I know his devotion for Zoe is much stronger than his current blood lust. After his small outburst at the manor, we were able to explain our next steps to Teddy. Luckily, instead of feeling the need to turn the city red, he got invested, and even found a little box with a lock that just so happens to be perfectly sized for a human skull. We shouldn't be too surprised, because this is one of Teddy's favorite pastimes; grave robbing that is. We didn't ask too many questions about the box, but he did let us know it's usually what he brings with him to hide his trinkets.

"We should get back to the manor," Brandon is the first to speak. "The analyst is waiting and the guards have already searched her. We don't want her waiting too long with Jessica and Drake, who knows what they might say or do."

I groan, but finally I sit up and force myself to stand from my lying position on the ground. My three brothers stare at me warily, including Teddy, which concerns me. However, they all know better than to ask about what just happened, I don't have answers yet.

I have never, ever, not even after Khal's death, experienced this wide range of emotions.

I miss my Harpy. I will do anything to get her back, even if it means burning this world down bare, and rebuilding it with the bones of our enemies.

"Great," I sigh and start my walk back to our car. "Let's go find out who we buried after all."