Fire of Life (Fiery Soul Series Book 1)

Chapter 11

For the first time in weeks, the hallways of Griffin Hospital look less like a condemned site and more a base of operations. Masked men with brands on their torso clear out the debris and exposed iron, which includes building flooring over gaping holes. With a coordinated effort, the men repaired and powered the fluorescent lights, which now brightens the hall.

A disgusted Ben walks frantically down the hallway as he stares at the men. Each one has a letter brand coordinating with a cardinal sin, which he identifies the group as the Men of Sin. The realization hit him hard as Neil's men are brutal and vicious criminals. His boots echo down the hall as he searches the rooms for some form of leader.

Another improvement is Emily's room, which now has light and functional medical monitors. She lies in a comfortable bed in pajamas as Neil coaxes her. Gone were the signs of drugs as she's clearly alert to her surroundings.

"You're safe from the bad man," Neil softly speaks. "No one is going to hurt you ever again."

Behind his smile, thousands of machinations run rampant to manipulate events. He sees how well the oaf served as a blunt instrument of vileness, which sent her right into the quarterback's hands for a sense of safety. Now Emily is one of his pawns, which also includes Eric and Bria after the manipulations of the swimmer's wet dreams. Soon, he'll stack it against his real enemy.

When Ben barges into the room, it annoys the quarterback at how predictable the oaf is. Emily panics at the sight of the man, and the room shakes before two men drag Ben out. After the oaf's out of sight, Neil manually charms his way into her heart by gently stroking her hair and wearing a soft kind face.

"He won't hurt you anymore."

She looks at Neil before calming herself to sleep. The rumbling stops, and he tucks her into the blankets and narrowly avoids vomiting with the acts of kindness he shows for appearance. After assuring she's unconscious, he storms out of the room.

In the hallway, Ben struggles as two men effectively restrain him, which opens the man for a backhand from the quarterback. The thunderous sound of the impact shows the continually disintegrating relationship the two have.

"Now, I must restart again, you swine!"

Neil suddenly regrets dealing with this simpleton when he'd much rather indoctrinate people. Since mancers aren't fully human, they have more resistance to his suggestions, which makes it necessary to apply psychology. However, the glare from Ben indicates he doesn't care about that more exceptional point, which grows tiresome with the quarterback.

"These men are criminals!" Ben accuses.

Neil looks exasperated at the man, who abducted a lawful citizen without a warrant or a badge. While the quarterback doesn't care about laws, the hypocrisy of the accusation is not lost on him. Even worse, the man would shout ridiculous military notions when Neil been putting pawns into place over decades. Pawns that include the biker gang that creates the psychic energy of terror that fuels his quest.

Moreover, Neil growls at having to remind this man who's really in charge. As he ponders another way to break the man's spirit, a gang member interrupts him.

"King Herod demands a sacrifice since you kept us here."

Neil rolls his eyes at the demand, but he figures he has to appease that nutcase leader's blood-lust somehow. Since Eric mentioned his art professor on the first day of class, the quarterback moves with more caution, which means ensuring someone takes the eyes of the Fae off him. As he stares down the hall, he sees Aida preparing something at her station.

"Take her!"

He smirks as men surround the researcher and drag her off. He looks at Ben as the mortal's power base erodes and signals the men to drag him off.