Dio cleared his throat, tapping a finger against his arm. "It wasn't bad. But I think those poor children have been cooped up in that house for too long. Apparently I'm the only stranger Silver has met in… I don't know how long. And she's the one who texted to ask when I was coming back. I know Ben is doing his best but… he probably needs a break too. He and Violet. They're young too, and he's taken on way more responsibility than anyone should have at that age." He picked up a bag of cookies and held it up for Lackey's inspection.
Lackey glanced it over for a second before nodding and pointing toward a package of peanut butter crackers. Dio picked that up too, finding a bag to put the packages in. Lackey added a bag of trail mix–for himself, potentially–and a box of fruit snacks.
Dio nodded in satisfaction. "Good. This should be enough." He ambled back out of the kitchen and stood on the stair, watching Ryder. "Well. I'll be back when I'm back."
Lackey grinned behind Dio's back. In however many pieces they tear us into.
Dio turned, catching the look on Lackey's face, and squinted at him. "I saw that."
Lackey rolled his eyes and opened the front door, shoving Dio out into the cold night.
–
Miki took a deep, hissing breath as soon as Ben was safely away and sat up, staring at Cage. She fairly vibrated with excitement.
Ryder blinks, watching them go.
I hope y’all don’t die out there.
He takes a bite of a banana, peel and all, and turns back to the tv.
-
Cage stands, shivers with excitement, and heads out the front door to sit on the porch, not bothering to bring a coat.
Dio and Lackey settled into the carriage and began the forty-minute drive to Ben's house. Dio stared out the window at the dark city, his hands constantly fidgeting and picking at his gloves. Lackey watched him, amused by his friend's nervousness, but inside he couldn't deny he was anxious as well. He had met Ben before, when he had to extract him from the coffee shop, but he hadn't met the ones Dio kept referring to as 'Ben's children'.
And if something slipped back to Etienne that he had been so close to Ben again without bringing him in, Lackey wasn't sure he would survive another episode of Etienne's wrath.
Dio's carriage driver stopped at the top of the block and they got out. Dio pulled his phone out and texted Silver.
"We're almost there. Left the carriage at the crossroads. We'll walk the rest of the way."
"Please turn us invisible, Lackey." Dio said aloud as he pocketed his phone. This wasn't exactly the plan Cage had told him, but he felt much more comfortable leaving his carriage farther away from Ben's house and approaching on foot without being seen. Ben wasn't the only one he was concerned about being seen by.
Cage stood, not being able to sit any longer, and began to pace, biting his lip.
“What should we do with him? Maybe we can go to the backyard and have him do cool things on the water. Oh! You should go back inside and grab some ice cream!”
Miki sat in a porch chair, knees drawn up to her chest and arms around wrapped around herself. "Yes, let's play with water and ice cream in the middle of the night in November WITH THE TWO ICE GUYS. Great idea. I'm gonna freeze my butt off." She breathed on her hands. "Where is he? It's like five til eleven."
Silver silently crawled around the house, on the roof, and hung her head down over the eave that covered the porch. "He's on his way." she whispered.
Cage jumps, gasping, and looks up to Silver. “Oh! I didn’t know you were up there. Has he been texting you?”
Silver shook her head. "Only just now. He said he parked up by the stop sign and they're walking the rest of the way." she paused, and her face paled a little. "I didn't realize he was bringing someone else."
Miki hopped off her chair and flapped her arms around on her way to the door. "I'm gonna get another jacket. Or ten. Text me when he's here."
Cage stares past silver, his gaze unfocused.
Hes bringing someone else?
Maybe this was a bad idea.
What if he plans to kidnap us, since Ben thinks we’re sleeping and safe inside.
He swallows, suddenly shivering.
It took Lackey and Dio about ten minutes to walk the half mile or so down the road to Ben's house. Lackey could have done it in much shorter a time, but he strolled slowly along beside Dio, who was trotting at the best pace he could, definitely hampered by his many layers of clothing.
"Come visit us in the middle of the night, they said." Dio grumbled beneath the scarf covering most of his face. "It'll be fun, they said. It definitely won't be fifty below zero, they said."
Lackey smirked to himself. You could have said no.
"Shush your face." Dio muttered.
Silver sat up, squinting up the road. The only thing she could see was the dry leaves skittering across the pavement. The pale moon gave just enough light that she would have seen them coming.
It doesn't take that long to get here from the stop sign.
(They’re invisible xD)
Cage sits on the porch and shivers again, staring at his feet.
Its too late to turn back.
He looks up at the driveway, staring at the bushes that hid most of the road from the house.
Bens just upstairs. We’ll be fine.
Once they were a few yards from the house, Dio said pulled his phone out and texted Silver again, "We're almost there. We're invisible, so don't get scared."
Silver snatched up her phone when it buzzed, and after reading the next, she silently jumped off the roof and landed on the porch beside Cage. "He says they're invisible." she said, her face belying her horror. "That means they have a Kavi with them."
His stomach starts to twist. “…. should I wake up Ben?” He very quietly asks. “He’ll be angry, but he’ll understand.”
Silver swallowed, glancing toward the road again. She opened her mouth to reply, but paused when she felt something change in the air. "They're here." she whispered, not taking her eyes off the road.
Dio paused at the edge of the driveway, seeing Silver and Cage on the porch. "Oh, dear," he said, quietly enough for just Lackey to hear. "There's no way for us to do this without scaring them to death."
Miki crept out the front door again, this time with several more layers on. She caught the strange looks on Cage and Silver's face. "Hey. What's going on? Why aren't they here yet?"
Cages eyes become glossy and full of tears, one or two spilling down his round cheeks. He doesn’t make a peep, and wipes his eyes.
This was a really bad idea.
Im scared.
Kissa sits inside, staring at them on the porch.
What on earth are they doing?
She wraps her arms around herself to shiver, having turned herself invisible so no one would see her in her night gown on her way to get a cup of water. She squints at Sil and follows her gaze to the end of the driveway.
???
Silver gulped again. "Dio says he's here but he brought someone with them and he said they're invisible so that means it's a Kavi."
Miki walked up to Cage and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. "Hey. It's okay, kid." Actually it's not but let's pretend.
Dio sighed, closing his eyes. This was an awful idea.
Lackey watched the kids, who were staring straight at them without realizing it. He knew Dio had wanted them to be invisible in case anyone else was watching Ben's house, or tracking Dio's movements. But he decided to risk that and turned them both visible.
Silver started as Dio and another figure suddenly appeared in the pale moonlight, still several yards from the house. Dio she recognized, because of his short stature, but the other person loomed tall and dark behind him.
"Guys, this was the worst idea ever."
Cage rubs his eyes, making a little choked noise before he stands and heads to the door, “I’m getting Be-“ the door opens, whacking his face and he stumbles backwards, rubbing his forehead.
Kissa walk out, invisible, and closes the door carefully behind her. “Oh, Cage, I’m sorry! Are you okay? That hit you hard.” She takes his face in her hands, turning it side to side to look him over.
He doesn’t bother to talk and instead starts to whimper.
She stares. “It doesn’t hurt that bad. You’re okay.”
"No, Cage, don't–oh my word!" Miki yelped (quietly). "Oh my goodness, Cage, are you okay?"
Dang it. Dang it, dang it, dang it. This is bad. So many bads.
Silver stepped in front of the others, standing directly between them and Dio. Slowly her wings rose over her head and her feathers ruffled up until they were over twice as big as usual, forming a physical barrier. Her hands curled into fists and she curled her lip, baring her teeth.
"Never mind." Dio said, turning on his heel, not caring that they could see them now. "Nope. We're going home."
No, we're not. Lackey grabbed him by his collar and dragged him up the walkway toward the house. He yelped at Lackey and swatted at his arm, but couldn't twist out of his grip.
"No! No, Lackey, this was not a good idea! We're scared them! Look at them, they're scared and we shouldn't have come and–"
Lackey stopped a just a yard or two from Silver and shoved Dio in front of him. He stumbled up to Silver, trying to keep his footing, and looked up at her, his face white with guilt. He froze, his face barely peeking out from the scarf around his neck.
"I'm sorry." he whispered.
Without another thought, Cage throws his arms around Kissa. “He’s gonna kill us! He brought a bad guy!”
She shoves him off, disgusted, and takes a step back, turning herself visible. ”stay off, Cage. Geez.” She turns, stepping around Silver’s wings and peering at them both. She blinks, relaxing. “Are you serious.”
Miki wrapped her arms around Cage, patting his back and shushing him. "Hey, it's okay, kid. I'm sorry she hit you with the door. But it's okay. Kissa will protect us. You know how much she likes to fight people."
Dio stood frozen in place, glancing back and forth between Kissa and Silver, now suddenly unsure which was the nicer one.
"Who is that?" Silver asked, her voice coming out as more of a snarl than she intended. She nodded back toward Lackey. "Why didn't you tell us you were bringing someone? And a Kavi no less."
Lackey closed his eyes, letting out a slow breath. Dio, you idiot. You didn't tell them I was coming?
"He's my friend." Dio managed to squeak out. "I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you. I bring him with me. Everywhere. Most of the time. He's safe. I promise. I thought it would be safer to be come invisible."
Kissa raises an eyebrow. “What are you doing here?” Her words are directed at Lackey, obviously ignoring Dio. “You’re with this freak?” She tilts her head towards Dio.
Cage bites his lip.
“This isn’t good. Ben is gonna kill us.”
Lackey's eyes widened and he looked up at Kissa, seeing her watching him. In the darkness he hadn't recognized her before, but now the blood drained from his face as he placed her.
Kissa.
Kissa Cove.
Etienne's prize Kavi.
Slowly his head started swimming and he opened his mouth, gasping for air.
How do Ben and Kissa live in the same house? Two of Etienne's top marks?
Dio turned around when he realized Kissa was speaking to Lackey, and saw the glazed look in his eyes, the slackness around his mouth.
"Oh no." he breathed. "No, no. Not here. Lack. Lackey." he walked back to him, placing both his hands on Lackey's arms. "Lackey. Hey. Come back. What's going on?"
Silver frowned, sensing the turbulence in the air. Something about Kissa had triggered the other Kavi and she felt the panic swirling around him. Slowly she stepped back, unsure what was happening, and glanced toward Miki.
"This is really bad." she whispered. "I don't know what's going on but this is bad."
Kissa rolls her eyes, arching her wings behind her backer stepping off the porch and walking towards them. “Does Etienne still control you, hm?” She places her hands on her hips, a mere few feet away from them.
Gabriel slowly steps out on the porch, invisible, and stands still, watching Kissa and Lackey.
Whats going on?
Lackey's breath caught and his chest heaved as he panted through his teeth, sweat breaking out on his forehead.
"Lackey!" Dio cried, growing desperate. His friend hadn't had an episode like this in so long. He had been doing so well, despite Etienne's abuse. "Lackey, please talk to me. What's going on? Do you know her?"
Lackey nodded, just barely.
Silver stepped down off the porch to stand beside Kissa. "Hey. What are you doing?" she asked her. "What did you do to him?"
Lackey flinched as Silver approached, and took a deep back, trying to put distance between them. "She's…" he breathed. "She's his…"
Dio nodded. "Yes, Lackey, I know who she is. I didn't know that you two knew each other. It's okay."
Lackey shook his head. No, it's not. Why are all of Etienne's highest targets all in one place? He'll find them–they're too close to his base–
Kissa glares.
Whats his problem? Geez.
She turns to Silver. “What are they doing here?” She snaps. “Ben certainly didn’t invite them.”
Gabriel catches sight of Dio and goes pale. He arched his wings and turns visible.
She brought them here.
She really is still with the bad guys.
Miki started as Gabriel appeared beside her, and swore under her breath. "How else could this night get worse?" she muttered to herself, still patting Cage's head as she held him against her. "Let me count the ways."
Silver gulped. "We invited them. Well, Miki and Cage did. I texted him first though and then they kind of stole my phone when Dio called me."
Lackey kept backing up, shaking his head no matter what Dio said. Finally Dio stopped following him because he knew he couldn't help, and turned back toward Kissa.
"What did you do that for?" he snapped. "If you know him that well then you know how Etienne treats him. You know what he lives with." He spun on his heel, muttering in Korean, and followed Lackey, heading back toward where their carriage waited for them.
Silver stared after him, mouth falling open. He can't leave! He just got here! She whirled on Kissa, eyes burning. "What was that? You just chased them away!" she gave Kissa a rough shove and stalked back to the porch. "We just wanted to see Dio again and you ruined it!"
