Reapers - Thirteen Brothers

XXXXV - Escape

The whole cabal was already in the common room when I got there.

I went in and cleared my throat. "Uhm... where's Vincent?"

By the looks I got from them, I knew they were waiting for me. Apparently, there was no need to tell the super exciting story of Aramis' wonderful chat with Pilgrim Reaper. Just thinking of it made me want to drop dead in exhaustion. Literally. Maybe, dying and thus, resting in peace was a better option.

"He's in his room," Vladimir answered. "Still all mad and sullen about the idea of you pledging loyalty to Father, I reckon. What d'you expect?"

Closing my eyes, I rigidly sunk on one of the seats. "Why, do you have any other bright idea? No? Thanks a lot for helping," I retorted half-heartedly.

The boy raised an eyebrow. It seemed like I finally rubbed him the wrong way. Immediately regretting my temper, I let out a sigh and apologized. Then I filled him in on the details of my last encounter with Sharifa, her deal with Max. Everything. That seemed to lighten up his mood.

"SirenSoul," Vladimir brooded. "So that's what's making Cairo able to bear the pain."

I sighed. People kept talking about SirenSoul but no one bothered to tell me what it really was. As if sensing my confusion, Rosario rolled her pretty eyes and answered my mental question.

"SirenSoul is a new-type potent drug that became overly rampant among immortals over the last century. Hector developed it," she muttered derisively like this was something I should have already known. "Production's been banned but there are still ways—illegal ways—to get your hands on it. It was mainly used as a hypnotic and painkiller, especially when rapidly healing from a severe injury. You know how regeneration hurts. Human-made painkillers don't really work."

Rosario's eyes twitched a bit, her hand instinctively fumbling on her chest as though her wound was still there. Surely by now, she had already healed that.

"Ah, but in large doses, it could cause some permanent damage," Vladimir pointed out. "Memory loss, paralysis, unconsciousness, seizure disorders, coma..."

"Seizure disorders," I mumbled blankly, my brain working faster than I could comprehend. "Absence seizures! That's it!"

"Pardon me?" he asked, fixing his eyes on me.

"Absence seizures!" My voice went up a pitch higher as the thoughts in my head got all tangled up. "Your father. He had that. He had an episode this morning... when I talked to him. Said he was trying a drug his son recommended."

Vladimir haphazardly slapped a pair of glasses onto his face. Ponderously, he rubbed his chin, getting up from his seat to pace the floor.

Several seconds ticked, then he finally paused to say, "Son... You don't suggest that Cairo's been drugging Father."

"That's exactly what I'm thinking," I answered, clutching hard on the edge of my seat. "And he's using Sharifa to get the drug from Max."

A short pause hinted us Vlad was thinking hard. Eventually, he got back to his seat, crossing his legs. "The scythe," he began, purposively leaving us hanging for a few seconds. "That's how Cairo was able to steal the Master Scythe and return it without anyone knowing. He'd drug Father before going out to hex our Gates. And Father would have no recollection of it whatsoever. Makes perfect sense. Cairo must have been doing this for too long if Father already exhibited a mild form of seizure."

I stood up. "So how could that help us?"

Vladimir just looked down with a heavy sigh. "Unless we can prove something, I cannot say any of this could keep you and my brother alive." He urgently glanced at his watch. "For the meantime, I'll try to talk to Father about this. You better go to Vincent for now."