The G.A.M.E - Chapter 1

Location: Drecaster City, Endo

October 20, 12:03pm

“Watch it.” Sebastian hissed when one of the branches that Kody had pushed out of the way swung back once the brick house of a redhead passed, almost smacking the Mage in the throat.

Kiya, who was a good ways ahead of the pair, turned around at the commotion, easily continuing her stride as she watched the couples’ interaction with a blank stare. One of her thin brows rose when Kody immediately slowed his march in order to walk next to Sebastian, tongue all but tripping over his heartfelt apology in his haste to get the words out, only for the Mage to ignore it in favor of frowning down at the map that he had in his possession.

But Kiya didn’t miss the softening of his features at Kody’s clumsy attempt at an apology, the sappy look causing something in her gut to twist.

“I can slow down if you boys are having trouble keeping up.” Kiya called out in an attempt to distract herself from the unpleasant feeling. The redhead plastered a smug grin on her face when Sebastian briefly glanced up, his expression losing all traces of fondness as his metallic silver eyes met hers. Her grin widened to shit-eating proportions once she had Sebastian’s full attention, the Mage’s gaze narrowing into a piercing glare.

“Do you even know where you’re going?” Sebastian snapped back and Kiya took the attitude in stride, shrugging nonchalantly as she blindly waved a hand behind her to indicate that she thought the direction she was currently heading in was obviously the correct way.

“That still doesn't explain why you’re leading, you weren’t even present for the initial survey of the terrain.” As expected, Sebastian had correctly interpreted her wordless answer to his stupid and pointless question.

“I wasn’t under the impression that it took three people to find a lake. If you needed help, all you had to do was ask.” The redhead girl pressed a hand to her chest, mock innocence taking over her features as she gazed at Sebastian, fluttering her eyelashes for dramatic effect.

“Die.”

“You first.” Kiya retorted without missing a beat, her sickeningly sweet expression falling into an annoyed scowl before she turned her attention back to their surroundings, subtly sniffing at the air as she simultaneously listened for the sounds that normally accompanied the presence of a body of water.

“Uh… hey-” Kody’s timid interjection was harshly cut off by Sebastian, the dark-haired Mage twisting to brandish a threatening finger at the brick house that was her brother.

“Kody, if you take her side one more time, I’m gonna-”

“Fuck!” Kiya interrupted what was most likely going to be quite an impressive threat when her next step proved to be a mistake, the redhead flailing her arms out as her heel met nothing but air.

Unfortunately, she’d placed her entire weight back onto the appendage, which resulted in her tipping so far backward that chances of regaining her balance instead of taking a spectacular tumble were unlikely. To make matters worse, her dark combat boot did eventually hit ground, but the surface beneath her was loose and her foot ended up completely sliding out from under her.

The redhead’s shoulders collided with the ground, which turned out to be sun-warmed sand and not dirt like she had initially believed.

“Yeah, well, fuck you too.” Kiya grabbed a handful of sand, petulantly throwing it in the general direction of the pond. She aimed once last scowl at the treacherous terrain before taking stock of her wayward limbs, making sure that nothing was injured beyond a minor bruise or scrape.

She was pulled out of her examination when Sebastian stepped off the short drop that separated the forest from the secluded beach with far more grace than she herself had demonstrated and Kiya sat up, unwilling to deal with the petty Mage while sprawled out on the sand.

She sneered at the judgmental side glance he gave her as he passed, the redhead pushing to her feet with a frown before brushing herself off in quick, furious swipes.

“This the place?” Kody asked, scratching at his head as he meandered toward Kiya. He didn’t attempt to help dust off the stubborn grains that were determined to stay fastened to Kiya’s form despite the fact that he clearly wanted to, the sporadic twitch of his hands a blatant indicator of such. Kiya looked at him out of her peripheral, brows furrowing when a perplexing thought occurred to her.

“Why are you asking Sebastian? You were with him during the initial survey of the scene, weren’t you?” Kiya blurted before she could think better of it and, when Kody flushed a deep red with a nervous chuckle, her unease was buried under amusement at her brother’s expense.

“I uh… wasn’t really paying attention?” He admitted without a lick of shame, the guy was almost brutally honest.

“I was just happy to be spending time with Seb on a mission after so long on the bench.” Kody’s lips pulled up into a warm smile that made something in her chest clench until she looked away, glaring at the pond’s calm surface.

“It’s your own fault for severely damaging your prosthetic.” Sebastian’s tone was arctic, a strangely pinched expression on his face that Kiya couldn’t fully decipher. It was a confusing mixture of anger and guilt and something that was even more rare to catch on the Mage’s unfairly attractive features. Now, nothing about Sebastian was feminine by any means, both his looks and body were distinctly masculine. But, somehow, the only word that Kiya could use to describe him was beautiful.

And, even though Sebastian was quite the looker, his brash and cold attitude pretty much ruined the air of nobility that he exuded. So, in other words, the pretentious douchebag was nice to look at until he opened his mouth. And he did so often, ruthlessly shattering the illusion of the mysterious beauty with his scathing sarcasm and petty remarks. The narcissistic piece of work just spoke as he pleased, saying pretty words that never really expressed what he was actually feeling.

“-re you even listening to me?” Sebastian snapped his fingers in front of Kiya’s face, startling the redhead into rearing back when she was forcibly yanked out of her thoughts. The click of his fingers was dangerous, the branching tattoos on his body allowing him to use magic without having to bring his Grimoire everywhere. He actually didn’t even have to snap to use magic, it was more for the benefit of those around him, acting as a warning that he was actively using spells and to keep vigilant so they didn’t get caught in the crossfire.

Although in this case, Sebastian was just being an asshole. He damn well knew that she would react to the sound seeing as he used his magic to inconvenience her when she pissed him off.

Kiya fixed the haughty Mage with a fierce glare, swatting at his hand with enough force to potentially damage his wrist were the blow to connect. Unfortunately, the bastard was able to evade her irate gesture, his hand retreating back to his person completely unscathed.

“I try not to make a habit of listening to assholes who just like the sound of their own voice.” Kiya drawled, casually sticking her pinky into her ear to act as if his useless chatter was grating and she was trying to remove the fact that she had ever heard it from her ears.

“Could you at least pretend to be professional about this? I don’t have time to indulge your temper tantrums.” Sebastian sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with a put-upon expression that had her metaphorical hackles rising.

“It seems that I’m the only one taking my fucking job seriously while you two lovebirds treat our assignments like a goddamn vacation.” Kiya sneered, every speck of the faux indifference that she had previously displayed rapidly drained out of her posture as her raised arm dropped back to her side.

“Ironic, considering that it was you that outright refused to do the bare minimum and assist in the initial survey of the affected area. From where I’m standing, it’s apparent that you are the irresponsible one who is not taking their job seriously.” Sebastian smoothly countered, easily deflecting her anger in a way that made it seem as if she were being irrational.

“Maybe because I don’t want to spend any more time with you than absolutely necessary.” Kiya bit back, gesturing at an unimpressed Sebastian and a wide-eyed Kody in turn.

“So now you’re mixing personal feelings with professional matters? How typical, you certainly know how to act your age.” Sebastian smirked, like he’d proved something with his dumbass remark, his eyes swirling with barely contained annoyance.

“I find it kind of difficult not to notice your drama since you throw your relationship in my face every chance you get, shithead.” Kiya snarled, wanting nothing more than to wipe any and all traces of satisfaction from the fucker’s face. Her fingertips itched as her nails lengthened into claws, gums aching as her already inhuman canines elongated to the point that gritting her teeth was a struggle.

Kiya reared back when her view of the Mage was suddenly blocked by her brother, the idiot having stepped between the two of them.

“Oh-kay! That’s enough of that.” He huffed with an air of exasperation, as if they were merely squabbling children instead of extremely dangerous and super pissed off people with an extraordinary talent for violence.

“Seb was just going over the plan one more time, you know how he is about being thorough.” Kody held his hands up placatingly, but his tone was firm and brokered no argument or backtalk.

“The plan is to use Sebastian as bait by putting a shiny bracelet on him. Not exactly hard to remember.” Kiya grumbled as she reached up to press the pad of her finger to her gums to make sure that she wasn’t bleeding as the majority of her canines withdrew into the sore pink flesh, her anger giving one last valiant flicker before fizzing out completely. Kody -who was far more observant than most gave him credit for- recognized that the situation had been successfully de-escalated, heaving a breath or relief.

Sebastian scoffed from where he was rummaging through his shoulder bag, pulling out the expensive looking jewelry and blinding Kiya when the sun glinted off of the various diamonds encrusted into the gold-plated metal. She put a hand up to shield her eyes with a grimace as Sebastian proceeded to place the gaudy cufflink bracelet onto his left wrist, the jewelry engulfed the majority of his arm, ending only a few inches away from his elbow. Once the clasps were secure, the Mage turned his attention to the lake, his brows creasing as he stared out over the calm water.

“We don’t even know if it’ll take the bait. What if it only hoards emeralds or something?” Kiya asked, lowering her hand from her face when Sebastian helpfully angled his body in a way that would keep the bracelet from shining directly into Kody’s sensitive eyes, Kiya also being spared from the bright glare of the reflective material was merely a bonus.

“Well, this is all we have so it’s going to have to settle with diamonds.” Sebastian grit out, moodily pulling the sleeve of his violet button-up down to cover the bracelet entirely for the time being in order to avoid losing the element of surprise.

“Make sure you tell that to Cross during your daily report when it doesn't show up. I’m sick of being his verbal punching bag cause god forbid his precious tater tot do any wrong.” Kiya muttered -loud enough for both males to catch- as she hastily pulled her hair into a sloppy braid, she was not about to turn her long mane into a tangled mess if she could help it. Sebastian shot her a dirty look and Kiya fought the urge to give him a smug grin, it wasn’t exactly a secret that he didn’t like when Cross dared to utter the dumbass nickname that he had thrust onto the Mage, much less Kiya herself.

“Enough already.” The Mage bit out before promptly dismissing her existence in favor of turning to directly address Kody, laying a tattooed hand on the other redhead’s forearm to bring Kody’s attention away from the water and to Sebastian.

“You stay here with Kiya. The second you find an opening, get it out of the water.” The Mage instructed in a firm tone and Kiya rolled her eyes at being left out of the loop yet again. This bullshit was just one of the reasons that she hated going on assignments with the pair, their dynamic never failing to make her feel like the unwanted third wheel.

Kiya tossed her crimson braid over her shoulder after she tied it off with the black elastic band that she normally wore around her wrist, glaring daggers at the back of Sebastian’s head.

“Just… be careful, yeah?” Kody murmured, catching Sebastian’s hand as it retreated, peering at the Mage with beseeching gold eyes that were an exact replica of Kiya’s own.

“I’m always careful.” Sebastian’s tone had softened, the ice in his eyes thawing some. Kiya had to bite her tongue when the urge to speak up with a scathing remark washed over her, she couldn’t stand how they danced around each other instead of just admitting their damn feelings.

Whatever, their stupid puppy love wasn’t her problem.

Finally, Sebastian stepped away from Kody, who held onto the Mage until Sebastian moved far enough away that Kody was forced to either let go or bring the Mage to a stop. So of course his grip went lax and Sebastian’s wrist slipped away, the Mage turning away from Kody’s pinched face with a blank expression before wading into the dense foliage and disappearing from view. Kody stared at the treeline long after the sound of Sebastian’s footsteps receded to the faint crunch of fallen leaves and the crack of dry twigs.

“We need to get into position.” Kiya spoke up as she moved to follow after Sebastian, breaking the relative quiet that had settled over them. Her voice seemed to shake Kody from his daze, her brother startling out of his intense staring. His wide eyes drifted to Kiya, his anxious gaze making Kiya shift her weight from one foot to the other. Her eyes darted over to where Seb emerged from the forest a few yards away, confidently moving into position ankle-deep in the lake before slowly walking away.

Kiya’s brows dipped as she watched Sebastian put more distance between them than what she was comfortable with. The two of them needed to stay within a certain range of him or else there was a chance that they wouldn’t be able to intervene in time if things were to go horribly wrong. Most of their plan hinged on Kody and Kiya’s inhuman reflexes and strength after all, Sebastian was only human and he was quite literally in the Siren’s turf. If they lost the Mage once he was dragged under, he was as good as dead if he didn’t react fast enough.

“Move it.” Kiya’s order came out more harshly than she had intended, but at least it kicked Kody into gear. They were creeping along the edge of the lake, being careful not to touch the water when Kody cleared his throat. Kiya glanced at him out of the corner of her eye with a questioning raise of her brow, prompting her brother to spill what was on his mind.

“So… did you really mean what you said earlier? That you uh, don’t like spending time with us...or um, me?” He haltingly asked and Kiya barely refrained from heaving a deep, suffering sigh. Her brother could be insecure sometimes, but this level of anxiety over something she had said in passing was ridiculous; they were in the middle of a sensitive ambush for fucks sake.

“Kody, now isn’t really a good time.” Kiya scolded absentmindedly as she watched the shiny reflection of Sebastian’s bracelet on the water, tracking his movements and matching his cautious pace.

“Yeah. I just, I know that we’re not your usual team and all, but if there’s anything I can do to make you feel more comfortable…?” Kody insisted and Kiya caught the hesitant movement of his hand out of the corner of her eye. He had reached for her shoulder, but changed his mind at the last moment, his arm dropping to hang limply at his side instead.

“You’re doing fine. It’s fine, seriously.” Kiya halted their prowl, allowing herself a moment to reassure her brother since it seemed like her offhand comment that was meant to piss off Sebastian actually only succeeded in upsetting Kody. Figures. Her own hand awkwardly came up to hesitantly brush a wayward strand of hair out of Kody’s eyes, Kiya quickly pulling her limb away when he shifted in a tentative attempt to push into the gentle touch.

Kiya coughed into the awkward tension that had settled over them as her hand hovered oddly at her side, unsure of what to do with the appendage that now smelled of her brother’s brief surprise and subsequent contentment. She absently brushed the appendage off on her dark sweatpants, her face twisting into an expression of discomfort when the scent merely spread. She would have to shower with the cleansing body wash that she had recently restocked up on, it removed scents and would hopefully erase Kody’s from her body.

“Got something.” Kody murmured, nodding toward a break in the trees, which gave them a nice view of the pond. There was the flash of shimmering scales that were the same color as an oil spill, the dark shape steadily cutting through the water with every pump of its massive tail, creeping up on Sebastian without so much as a ripple on the surface. The Mage that was being stalked had moved further in to make the pot more sweet, currently knee-deep in the water and trudging along the bank. He was peering down at the cuff bracelet, turning his wrist so the sunlight bounced off of the expensive jewelry enticingly.

Initially, Kiya thought that he had noticed the Siren coming up on him, but upon closer inspection of his person, Sebastian actually appeared to be lost in thought. He made no indication that he was aware of the approaching creature, merely continuing to fiddle with the bracelet with a furrowed brow. Her blood ran cold as the Siren ate up the distance between itself and Sebastian, the steadily decreasing window of opportunity ticking away like a doomsday clock.

10 feet.

7 feet.

“What the hell is he doing?” Kody hissed, coiling like a tight spring the longer that the Mage stood there doing nothing.

5 feet.

Kiya’s gaze darted around and landed on a stone the size of a tennis ball and snatched it up as the creature came within grabbing distance of Sebastian. Her grip went white-knuckle around the rock before she darted out of the brush. She heard the pounding of her heart in her ears as she came up on the beach, her shimmering eyes locked onto the thing just below the water’s surface. She dug her boots into the soft sand, leaving deep gouges in her wake as she slid to a full stop at the edge of the lake.

She rotated her hips and brought the arm holding her chosen weapon forward, the rough stone rolling from her fingertips as if left her grip. It had barely even traveled a few inches before she was pivoting, spraying sand as she pushed off to sprint around the bend of the lake and toward Sebastian. The air whistled in warning as the stone shot over the lake, the rock skidding across the surface of the water.

The Siren surfaced in an explosion of water, Sebastian jerking as his eyes flared a vivid stardust purple. The stone slammed into the ribs of the materialistic creature with an audible crack, the loud shriek of the Siren ripping through otherwise silent forest before it made a grab for Sebastian. The Mage scrambled backward and away from the churning water, grunting when Kiya snagged the back of his dress shirt and yanked him out of the path of the Siren’s claws.

“Kody, I got Seb! Get the Siren!” Kiya shouted and her brother charged past, barrelling into the water in order to reach the Siren right as it twisted to dive.

He got his hands around the creature's tail, which flexed and flailed as the Siren thrashed. Kody’s prosthetic arm hissed compressed air as he adjusted his grip, desperately trying to keep his grip as the Siren writhed. Kiya moved to help, but she couldn’t get any closer than a few feet before the creature lashed out. The only one that was out of hitting range was Kody, seeing as the Siren couldn’t fold itself in half in order to get at her brother. Kiya and Sebastian though, they wouldn’t be able to get past those deadly nails and sharp teeth so easily.

Not to mention the venom-filled spines that lined the Siren’s tail, just a few drops of the potent stuff could completely paralyze a full-grown human in a matter of minutes.

“Kody, ease up! You're gonna hurt yourself!” Sebastian called out, shrugging Kiya’s grip off his shirt in order to step closer. She grit her teeth when another wave of fresh water further drenched the three of them, the Siren’s thrashing getting more and more violent the longer it was held captive. Kody growled when his hand slipped, several scales catching on the gears of his prosthetic as he tried to recover lost ground. Unfortunately, the Siren was able to wiggle out of his grip, the iridescent scales being torn off when it darted back into the depths with one last splash.

Kiya was watching Kody as he stared at the place where the Siren had disappeared when a hand landed on her shoulder to roughly spin her around, the redhead coming face to face with Sebastian. His nostrils flared as he stared at her with piercing eyes that flickered between silver and stardust.

“What the hell was that, Kiya!? Now we lost it!” Sebastian barked, wincing when Kiya harshly grabbed his wrist in a crushing grip and threw it away from her person.

“Me!? What the fuck were you doing!?” She snarled, shoving him with enough force to send him stumbling out of her personal space.

“My job!” Sebastian exploded, flailing his arms in order to remain upright and aiming the full brunt of his sneer on Kiya once he had steadied his footing.

“Oh yeah? And where exactly in your contract does it say to become Siren food!?” Kiya scoffed, waving a hand at the settling water around them.

“I had it under control!” Sebastian spat, hands clenched into tight fists as his eyes finally settled on their natural shade of silver. But just because he no longer felt threatened, didn’t mean that he wasn’t royally pissed off.

“No you didn’t! You fucked up and I had to cover your ass!” Kiya brandished a clawed finger at him, the sharp point hovering mere centimeters from his chest. Sebastian was undeterred by the notion that he may impale himself and stood his ground.

“When you’re playing bait, fucking pay attention! I can’t do my job and save your damsel ass at the same time, Sebastian!” Kiya roared, baring her teeth at the source of her fury, who saw fit to continue arguing with her.

“I’m a Mage! I’m not helpless! The whole point of this was to draw the Siren out! And when it surfaced -just like we planned- you panicked. You jumped the gun and now it’s gone!” The Mage barked accusingly, dragging a hand across his clothing to fuss with the wet, clingy material as if they weren’t in the middle of a heated argument. Kiya hated when he acted like she was being the irrational one and they both knew it.

“What? So I was just supposed to let you handle it yourself? Magic or not, you're still human!” Kiya pointed out, her words slurring slightly as her canines attempted to elongate.

“You don’t trust me to-” Sebastian’s tirade was abruptly cut off by Kiya’s disbelieving laugh, his mouth shutting with a click as she marched into his personal space.

“Of course I don’t! Frankly, you’re overconfident on a good day and, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but today is not a good fucking day! You need to remember that you're not invincible! You’re not like your sister, you can’t just take a lethal hit and walk it off!” Her tone was so icy that even Seb looked mildly put off for a second before he expertly schooled his features, hiding his emotions.

“You’re not here to act as a bodyguard. I can handle a Green Card assignment.”

“Someone needs to keep you in check since you have no sense of self-preservation!” Kiya bit out, nearly nose to nose with the blank faced Mage. God, she fucking loathed the mask that he wore when she was trying to get through to him, both emotionally and physically shutting her out.

“It’s not your job to take care of me.” Sebastian deadpanned and a thick, suffocating silence descended over the drenched trio. When Kiya stepped back, retreating from Sebastian’s personal bubble, Kody looked between the two of them with suspiciously wet eyes and a wobbly frown.

“Yeah no. I get it. No room for me inside your precious walls. I get a box all to myself labeled ‘desperate side piece’, right?” Kiya huffed a bitter laugh, trying to ignore the burning of her own eyes and the pressure in her ribcage. Something on her face must’ve given her away though, because Sebastian faltered, his stance losing some tension as Kiya glanced away and out toward the forest.

“Kiya-” The Mage began with a sigh and Kiya cut him off with a strangled laugh, shaking her head as she turned her gaze back to Sebastian.

“Fuck you.” Kiya stated coldly and she saw Kody shift from foot to foot in her peripheral vision. She hated them. She hated them for making her feel like she wasn’t welcome. She hated Kody for remaining a useless bystander. She hated Sebastian for making her care. And most of all, she hated herself for allowing his words to hurt her like this.

“Can we just-” Seb was cut off when Kiya pushed him, the Mage stumbling back a few steps, but before he could regain his balance she was there, shoving him even further and keeping him off kilter.

“I. Said. Fuck. You.” Each word was accompanied by a vicious hit, Kiya’s vision clouding red. When she felt water begin to fill her shoes, making her socks squelch uncomfortably within the soaked fabric, she stopped her barrage and allowed them both a moment to regain their breath.

“Did that make you feel better?” Sebastian grunted out with a scowl, his gaze nervously flicking from Kiya’s intimidating, heaving figure to where she assumed Kody was loitering somewhere behind her and back again as if Kody was going to step in and help if he just stared at him hard enough.

No fucking chance Kody would risk being on the wrong end of her ire, not even for Sebastian.

“No. But you getting horribly maimed would be a good start.” She hissed, taking a threatening step forward and driving Seb deeper into the water in an attempt to maintain the careful distance between them.

“This is exactly why no one wants to be around you! You act all high and mighty until things don’t go your way, then you just throw a fucking tantrum like a child!” Sebastian shouted in order to be heard over the slosh of water as he backed away, Kiya freezing at his accusation. Her breathing picked up as her nails sharpened to deadly points, her vision tunneling as the slits of her eyes narrowed even further, a low growl erupting from deep within her chest.

“No! Hang on!” She vaguely heard Kody trying to reason with her as he grabbed her forearm with his left hand, refusing to release her.

“Let go of me.” Kiya snarled, teeth bared at the bruising grasp her brother had on her pale skin. Kody looked uncertain, which was a direct contradiction to his sure grip on her arm.

"No." His lips thinned in determination and Kiya growled at the challenge, ignoring his watery eyes and trembling figure in favor of viciously shoving at his chest. Kody grunted under the assault but never retaliated, merely holding Kiya’s forearm hostage in order to keep her from going after the Mage.

“Why do you always take his side on things? I’m your sister!” Kiya complained, her tone sounding more betrayed than she had intended it to. Kody floundered under her piercing gaze and difficult questions, his eyes darting around as if the answer were somewhere in the forest surrounding them and he just needed to find it.

“I- I don’t! But that doesn't mean that I’m gonna let you kill him.” Kody objected weakly, his free hand running through his dripping hair to smooth it out of his face.

“Come on, the sex isn’t nearly good enough for him to have you whipped like this.” Kiya grit out, her fruitless struggles ceasing since no amount of twisting and yanking was going to get her out of the vice grip that Kody’s metal hand had become.

“What? I don’t understand.” Kody spluttered, his face flushing red, abruptly reminding Kiya that Sebastian and Kody hadn’t actually slept together since she had joined the clan. Guilt was quick to swoop in, coiling around her heart and constricting.

“I-” Kiya wasn’t sure what she had been about to say, but she was equal parts relieved and annoyed when a sudden yelp -that was followed by a splash- diverted the twins’ attention to the lake. It was immediately apparent that something was wrong, Sebastian was nowhere to be seen, the spot where he had been still agitated. In a matter of seconds, the rippling water settled, leaving the pond’s surface undisturbed.