"Who is he, Lamb? Who is Sebastian?" Kaeron repeated as Lillian just sat on her knees staring at him like he wasn't even there.
He must have been in a better mood than even he thought because instead of ringing her scrawny neck, he just took a breath and tried again.
"Lamb, who is..."
"How do you know that name?" Lillian asked quietly, and you wouldn't have needed Kaerons adept ability for deductive reasoning to tell that whatever the connection was. It ran deep.
"Who do you think I was just sparring with?" Kaeron growled but regretted doing it almost immediately, as the haunted look on her face amplified tenfold. He wasn't going to get his answers this way.
"You didn't..."
"No. You two interrupted me before I had the chance to finish the job." Kaeron shook his head and tried again. "Who is he?"
She opened her mouth to speak when Kaeron caught scent of fae closing in quick.
"Shit. This'll have to wait until we make it back to the car because I don't feel like slaughtering an entire corrupt police force today. Unless, either of you do?"
Lex helped Lamb up to her feet, and they ran over to Kaeron (good, the three of them were on the same page for the first time in a long time). From there, the three darted deeper into the storm of burning buildings, Kaeron leading the way navigating twists and turns, through back alley after back alley like he had done this many times before, and they were back in civilization in what felt like no time at all.
He mentally patted himself on the back for not parking anywhere near that place.
The Fae law enforcement will be out in force, but it'll only be for show, Kaeron thought as he shook off the sudden need to vomit. The need which had nothing to do with his senses still being on overdrive. The rich bastards who control this town will just replace the buildings with condos or hotels for addicts and the depraved alike to stay while they get their fix, and for those same powerful people to experiment on the poor addicted idiots like rats. The same experiments that those soulless immortals thought they were keeping so secret. However, It truly didn't matter what they did with the space. Kaeron just hated doing those rich bastards any favors, even unintentional ones.
"Stay close." Kaeron ordered as they entered the chaos of people gathered about on the streets all trying to get a view of the mayhem.
They pushed through the bodies in front of them until they came out the other side where Kaeron took one glance at a fae officer and turned around, wrapped his arm around the girls, and dragged them both back into the crowd as fast as he could.
"What the hell, Kaeron!" Lex hissed.
Lillian started to cough violently, and Kaeron cursed. Fucking mortals. He had moved superhuman speed, sure, but talk about dramatic.
He put a hand over his sisters mouth before she could continue her outburst and put a finger to his lips. "We need another exit." He said before taking his hand from off Lex's mouth.
"A warning next time would be nice." Lex scolded.
"Yeah, well, too bad, Lex!" Kaeron barked, and Lex took a step back.
Sometimes, Kaeron loved his nose. If he wanted to, he could track a target from miles away. He could smell the instant somebody became hostile towards him, or wanted to rip his clothes off and jump his bone. His nose was so adept that he could even smell it when somebody was lying to him. It was impossible to hide anything from his nose.
Sometimes, Kaeron loved his nose, but sometimes, Kaeron hated his nose.
He wanted to tare it off and rip out his tongue the moment he got a whiff of Lex's fear. The fear that he caused. He lowered his head and went silent for a second as he sorted his thoughts.
"Follow me. I know another way. Don't lose sight of each other." Kaeron breathed before walking past the girls and back towards the way they came. Never once looking at Lex.
******
Bang! The unexpected sound of a car door shutting shocked Lillian back to the present. When had they left the alley? And when had she gotten into Kaerons car? Weren't they just in the middle of a bunch of burning buildings, and wasn't Kaeron was asking about...
"Lily?" Lex said gently, crawling into the back with her placing a hand on Lillian's shoulder, and Lillian could almost feel Lex biting her tongue."
"So? Who the hell is he? Because he technically shouldn't exist!" Kaeron rambled on with his usual lack of concern for her feelings or anyone else besides his own and his sisters.
"What? Wait. What are you even saying right now?" Her head began to spin as she tried to make sense, the madness coming from out his lips. Shouldn't exist? What does that even mean?
"He's a golem."
"So?" She asked, not getting the point.
Kaeron let out an exasperated noise that sounded like a cross between a sigh and a growl.
"Of course, our resident princess wouldn't get it.."
"Fuck off, Kaeron." Lex said harsher than Lillian had ever heard her talk to him.
They went quiet, and Lillian would normally have just let the conversation drop, but she needed to know what he was talking about. She had to know, so she broke the silence almost immediately, ignoring the little voice in her head that was in clear opposition of the idea.
"What are golems? And how come I've never heard of them? And what do they have to do with Sebastian not existing...!?" She asked in rapid succession, not leaving time for a breath.
"Wow. Lily, calm down. One question at a time." Lex said calmly.
Lillian went quiet and was quickly rewarded.
"Lily. Did you know that there are over 20 different dominate species in Solaris. Those twenty range from Dwarves all the way to Reapers. Golems, however, are closer to pets than anything because they're.. made. Not born." Lex said, the sympathy on her face confusing Lillian even further.
"Not born?" Lillian repeated, hoping that it would help make any of it make sense. "Not born!? What are you trying to say? That he's not real!? Of course, he's real he has to because if he's not, then this is all..."
"Hey spaz. Shut up and let my sister finish before you start crying on my cushions." Kaeron said, shooting her a look in the rear view mirror, and it was obvious that he was leaving her no room to debate, so she took a deep breath and focused on keeping herself above the rising panic threatening to sink her heart like a ship.
Lex cleared her throat, and when she spoke again, she kept a calm, quiet tone. "He is real, Lillian. What I mean by not born is that... They're created..."
Lillian shook her head. "No."
"... by necromancers through a process called a "Blood Contract..."
"No..."
"... During this process, the necromancer builds a husk out of dirymt and rocks and other things from the earth that have been magically enchanted, but its..."
"Please don't..."
"... But it's all useless without the blood of the necromancer, so the necromancer feeds the Golem their blood, bringing the Golem to life..."
"Please." Lillian begged.
"... tying the new life of the golem, to the life of its creators."
The car went silent for only an instant before Kaeron chimed in. "Look, I get it he was someone important to you, but he should not exist. There are only 22 recorded golems roaming around Solaris, and although I only know them by reputation. I know that he isn't one. So either somebody miss counted or theirs a necromancer with a unregistered golem. Maybe even an unregistered necromancer. So I'll ask again. Who is Sebastian?"
Lillian wanted to vomit. She always knew working for that twisted bastard Talion made Sebastian hate himself. Even if he never said it out loud, she just could never figure out why he continued to do so. Until now. Her friend never had a choice.
She felt the sting of tears as she spoke. "He was my one, and only friend."
******
"How unhelpful!" Kaeron sighed dramatically, throwing his head back in his seat. Lamb had prattled on about how Sebastian saved her from this and protected her from that, but in the entire half an hour, she spent ranting about the guy, not once did she say anything useful. She didn't know where he came from, what his job was outside of taking care of her, she didn't even know if he had a last name. Some kind of friend
"Shhh." Lex reprimanded from her seat next to him, which was a surprise all of its own. Lamb had fallen asleep soon after her disappointing tale, and instead of staying in the back to nurse the sad sleeping girl back to health with a kiss or something, Lex had climbed back up into her seat.
"Can't you two just scissor already and get.. whatever the fuck it is thats going between you two over with, because fuck sis. I ain't never seen somebody kiss so much ass in my life."
"Drop dead." She said without hesitation.
"Fine, don't listen to me. It seems to be the reoccurring theme with us lately." Kaeron said, pressing his foot to the metal, passing by a young witch on her broomstick and her two-headed cat (who shockingly looked as comfortable on the broom as if it were on solid land) flying low near them on the highway.
She was probably new to flying and didn't want to risk flying too high, thought Kaeron.
Lex sighed. "It's not that I don't want to forgive you, Kaeron, it's... You killed a child. Kaeron. A three year old baby boy, and you didn't even have the balls to do it yourself. You drugged a grieving mother to do so, and I get it. You were under orders, but Kaeron." Lex shook her head. "I just need to know that nothing like this will ever happen again."
"Lex, come on, you know..." Kaeron tried.
"No. You either promise me. That no matter what. You won't ever murder an innocent. Man, woman, nor child. Or we're done. For good. I won't be afraid of my own brother." Lex said, voice shaky, but the message was clear all the same.
"I promise." He answered without a thought. He knew his sister. Any hesitation would only make her doubt his intentions.
"Good. So where are we headed?" Lex asked, looking out her window.
Kaeron looked at his sister for a moment and smiled before turning his attention back onto the road, and his smile disappeared as he took in a breath and worked out what he would say next.
"I was thinking that we could go and visit mom."
Her head whipped towards him. "Really?"
He shrugged. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm serious."
She shook her head. "Don't get me wrong, of course I would love to go and see mom; it's been forever since that last time, but why are you the one suggesting it? You haven't been to see her in years?"
He laughed. "You caught me. I've got business to take of in Dekidos, and it's on the way, so I thought two birds."
Lex's smile grew bigger, and she lept at him, hugging him tight. "Thank you, big bro."
He wrapped a hand around her and smiled. "It's what I'm here for."
He returned his attention to the road as his sister pulled away and whipped out her phone, probably to call their mother. He mentally inhaled and exhaled an exhausted breath. Luckily, Lex didn't question him too hard. This way, she'd get to spend time with their drugged out mother, and he'd get to get some answers.
Draefin may be the type of person to have another killed for something as dumb as leaving his services, but Kaeron didn't believe that was the real reason his friend was dead. It couldn't be. Draefin wouldn't have sent two of his most powerful people, and he definitely wouldn't have shown up in person. Not for something so small. This was overkill, and Kaeron had to know why. So he'd try and retrace Bonnie's steps from the days before she disappeared. Maybe he'd find something at her old hangout spots, and after he delivered Lamb to the desert, he'd come back and unravel whatever mess Bonnie had gotten herself into when she was alive, and maybe he'd even get a bit of revenge in the process.