Seven Deadly Smirks

Chapter 4

GABRIEL

I hasten towards the door, faltering in my steps when I hear it fly open and slam into the wall, leaving my dinner half way eaten as I notice my three brothers carrying two girls in their arms, faces bruised and clothes mildly tattered, the figures in their embrace in an unconscious state.

I rake my eyes up and down the three of them, assessing the cuts and bruises lining their features; Nikolai with an open cut in his eyebrow, bruising and redness along his brow bone, Zachary with a busted lip and a deepening bruise on his cheek, scratches along his right eye, and Aiden, with a bloody nose, red smeared all over his mouth. My eyes continue their path downwards, stopping when catching sight of the figure draped over over Nikolai's arms. Pink hair.
Panic drapes over me, only disturbed by the confusion that starts to creep in, I look over to the other girl, and it immediately clicks.

Eden.

"What the actual fuck?!" I say, maybe raising my voice more than necessary, but the feeling of frustration at the lack of information makes me mad. I motion them to one of the rooms, telling them to lay the girls quickly on the bed, sending Nikolai to tend to Phoebe's wounds. She's in a worse condition than Eden, and I'm afraid if we wait any more something will happen to her. Zachary opens his mouth to explain, but I shut him off with a stern glare.

I'm more than angry when I look at him, taking Eden under my wing and looking for damage. Her sweating body sticks to the bed sheets, and her hair glues down onto her forehead. My finger reaches to caress it away, as if I would hurt her if I moved too quickly, noting the burn of her skin, brushed with scratches like a painting, against my fingertip. Looking back at Zachary, that stands there with an unreadable expression, I hurry. "She has a fever. Could you please bring me a wet cloth.?"

His jaw twitches and he opens his mouth to say something, but then abruptly closes it and disappears out of my view. I've taken Eden to my room because it's the quietest and most undisturbed. The girl's body limp against my chest as I hoisted her onto my arms and walked up the stairs. The turmoil of Nikolai running around helping Phoebe, Aiden sulking as always, and Zachary being uncooperative wouldn't help her even in her unconscious state.

Now that I'm alone with her, I take my time to look at her closely as I clean up the nasty gash she has on her shoulder. Each claw mark emmbeded in her skin deep and rich in coppery red and black colour, tendrils of purplish hue extending from the wound site. I sigh, knowing now the reason why she has a fever.

Zach comes back quickly with a few cloths in his hands, which I want to take from him before he pushes me away. "Let me. This was my fault." His voice slithers, he looks at me, his steel blue eyes turning dark, piercing a heavy burden into my own.

"Exactly. This mess is your fault."

I begrudgingly move away from Eden's side and stand back. My eyes wearily advert the view of him tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear ever so delicately, the sight of him running his fingers over her skin eliciting a feeling of anger and hurt in me. I should be doing that.

"She's got flux poisoning. We were attacked." He says in a concerned voice, dabbing at her forehead with the wet cloth, his expression softening when he looks at her. Zachary brushes his finger along her lips, making me lose it.

"I know." I say, my tone stentorian.

My brother dares to stand up, gently placing the cloth on her forehead before making his way towards me, his presence growing when he stands in front of me, his head is high and his eyes look fierce, holding my glare and not wavering. I slant my eyes and hold myself to the same level, feeling the tension buzzing in the air. Zachary licks his lips with a snide smirk, scoffing before glaring back at me, his stare cold and unreadable.