water from his shorts. “Not sure, but whatever it is, it can’t be good.”
None of us argued with his logic.
“Still say we should have killed him.” Paulo may have been the one with the balls to speak his mind, but I had a hunch the others felt the same way.
As we spoke, Isaac—the wild man who attacked his father, and then us—lie chained in a makeshift cell. Had it been up to the others, he’d no longer be breathing, but I couldn’t allow that to happen. In some instances, death couldn’t be avoided, but this wasn’t one of those instances.
“I promised I’d take care of it,” I grumbled, “and I always keep a promise.”
“We can’t save them all.”
I lifted my head long enough to glare at Ori when he made the comment. Stubborn, he held my gaze to make it clear he wasn’t intimidated.
“Nor can we turn our backs while innocents die,” I reminded him.
“Innocents?” When Ori laughed with the question, it was a dark, cynical sound. “Is that what you think he was? The man who just nearly killed his own father?”
That reasoning was flawed because Ori had chosen to ignore one important factor.
“He’s infected with the darkness,” I pointed out. “Which means he wasn’t acting of his own will.”
The others fell silent. The number of new reports seemed to increase every year. Specifically, since our hive had been activated, making it difficult to tell which had been the cause, and which the effect.
“We’re supposed to do more than just defend the border,” I continued. “If killing out of convenience is what we’ve become, then I’m out.”
Ori scoffed at that. Maybe because we both knew that wasn’t an option. Becoming a Firekeeper wasn’t some job we applied for.
Spirit had chosen us.
From the day we each awakened with the symbol emblazoned into our skin, glowing with eternal fire, our fates were sealed. That was the moment the Omega Hive was born, and the only way out was by death.
“We’ve never taken a life out of convenience,” I was corrected, observing Paulo’s stern expression.
“But isn’t that what you’d call it? If we can help someone, but choose not to?” I pointed out.
“No,” Rayen spoke up. “Not considering the cost.”
Frustrated, I lowered my head back down onto the porch. There was no cost. Not to them anyway. And even though the ‘cost’ was on me, it wasn’t more than I was willing to sacrifice.
“The guy is dangerous, and taking him out would have sent a message,” Ori reasoned. His tone was hard, unrelenting. “If we can show others that there are consequences for trespassing, it might serve as a deterrent. You have to understand, Kai, it’s for the greater good.”
My shoulders tensed as the rage inside me grew. It wouldn’t take much to set me off, and Rayen must have seen my fuse shortening.
“All right. Take it easy,” he asserted. “We don’t have to agree on everything. What matters is that the old-timer is safe, and the situation is under control.”
“As soon as I recharge, I’ll go back and fix this.” They had my word on that.
When Ori sighed, I lifted my head again, figuring he had something to add.
“And I take it that’s supposed to make us feel better? No one’s okay with your idea of ‘fixing’ things, Kai. For all we know your ‘fix’ is slowly killing you. Even if it isn’t that drastic, the last thing we need is one of our own going dark.”
I didn’t need the drama, so I rested my head again, staring at the overhanging roof. “Relax. If it was harming me, I’d feel it. And not to mention, Spirit would certainly let me know I crossed a line.”
Without looking, I knew they’d all just rolled their eyes, thinking I was being way too casual about this. But what did they expect? From the moment I realized I had the ability to absorb the darkness when it infected our people, I knew it was my calling. No one else had such an ability, thus making it my duty to take this on.
And contrary to popular belief, I hadn’t been affected.
Everyone was silent, and I knew it was only in part because we were all exhausted. The other cause was that each of us had our own way of doing things, and they were all so different. Sometimes making it difficult to believe Spirit brought us together as a unit.
But here we were, and as much as we butted heads, the bond between us was unbreakable.