The Conciege
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August Intruder- Chapter 94- Dying Light
🕑 Added 2024-11-10 13:56:18 +0000 UTCDorthna had died once. That was what Melmarc had gotten from his uncle’s answer regarding the reason his indicator was red and grey instead of just one color like every other persons.
I had to kill Caldath twice, he thought as he approached the front door. Did someone have to kill him once?
Everyone else was already outside, apart from Spitfire who was in the kitchen doing whatever it was doing.
Melmarc opened the door and closed it behind him. His parents had an obsession with never leaving a door open unless there were more people walking through it behind you. It was an obsession he had inherited from them through nurture.
A vehicle Melmarc didn’t recognize sat idly in the driveway. But the moment Melmarc closed the door behind him, the door to the driver’s seat opened and his mother stepped out with a worried look on her face.
He was the first person her eyes settled on when she stepped out of the car and Melmarc watched relief wash through her worried expression. Her attention moved over to Ark next and all forms of worry was gone. A smile touched her face. Her relief was palpable. It didn’t take much for Melmarc to realize that she had been terrified only a moment ago, not just worried.
When her gaze moved to their father and his very stoic expression, she lit up. It was always something about their mom. All his life, she always looked elated to see their father, even though there was nothing on the man’s face that was supposed to induce such a feeling.
Melmarc had times when he was happy to see his father’s stoic expression, but he doubted he’d ever felt anything outside of simple happiness or an extreme sense of safety.
Elation was definitely never on the table for him.
Despite her expression still being fixed on their father, their mother walked up to Ark and reached up to grab his face.
Ark bent forward as she approached him, lowered his head so that she could reach his face without any strain. She took his face in both hands and lowered him some more so that their faces met. She was no longer looking at their father now.
“How are you?” she asked him, here eyes searching his. “Are you fine?”
Her words were a bit rushed, but anyone listening could tell that she was doing her best to keep her tone calm and casual. She was trying to hide her worries. She was doing it poorly.
“I’m fine, mom,” Ark said, smiling. “You should see the bull.”
Their mother paused for a moment, confused. “What bull?”
“The one in the video.”
Her brows furrowed, her confusion deepened. “What video?”
“You didn’t see the video?” this time it was Ark’s turn to be confused.
“There’s a video of you doing something reckless?” their mother scowled suddenly and Ark gulped.
“Did I say video?” he said shifty. “I meant a video game. I’ve started streaming online.”
“Don’t lie to your mother,” their father said from where he was standing casually with arms folded over his shoulder.
Their mother’s gaze moved to their father, but she still held Ark’s face in both hands.
“You’ve seen this video, babe?” she asked.
Their father shook his head.
“But you were there when it happened?” she asked.
Again, their father shook his head.
Dorthna stood casually beside Melmarc and their mother was yet to acknowledge his presence.
As for their mother, she shook her head as if dispelling an unimportant thought.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “What matters is that you’re fine. You went into a portal and came out fine.”
Ark backtracked, confused. His head left their mother’s grasp and he looked down at her. Melmarc couldn’t see his brother’s face, but Ark’s form looked very worried from the back. His shoulders grew tense, his neck stiffened slightly.
He looks like he’s getting ready for a fight he knows he won’t win.
When Ark finally said something, it was a single word. “What?”
Their mom looked from him to his father. “The portal your dad went into to save you,” she said. “Going into a portal is a tough experience. People don’t talk about it a lot but it really is.”
Oh, Melmarc thought, realizing what was happening. How did she hear about me entering a portal?
His mom had the wrong son.
“Dad didn’t come to get me from a portal,” Ark said. “In fact, I just met dad yesterday.”
“Wait, what?” Their mother pinched the bridge of her nose. “Hold up, I’m getting confused here. If your dad didn’t—” she frowned and stepped forward, silence dawning on her as if she’d just realized something. Her hand shot out before Ark could react and grabbed him by the hem of his shirt. “What the hell happened to you?”
She’d raised Ark’s shirt up already, staring down at his massive scar. Her expression grew pale. “My God. What—”
“Maybe this conversation will be better had inside,” Dorthna said, interrupting her.
Their mother blinked twice. She carried a haunted expression, as if she had just seen the greatest horrors of mankind.
Then her expression hardened into something very dangerous. “I’m going to kill Ruth.”
Sometimes, their mother didn’t listen to all the details given.
“I don’t know who Ruth is,” Ark said slowly. “But I kind of feel sorry for her already.”
Melmarc shared the same opinion on the subject.
Their mom took a very deep and calming breath. When she let the breath out, she looked around them, specifically at the road and the houses in the neighborhood.
“Your Uncle Dorthna’s right,” she said finally. “We should go inside.”
She walked past Ark as Dorthna turned and opened the front door and made a straight path to Melmarc.
Melmarc was already bending his head before she got to him. He bent low as she wrapped both arms around his neck.
“It’s so good to be back,” she muttered against his ears. “I’ve missed you both so much.”
“We’ve missed you, too, mom,” Melmarc muttered.
For a moment, he realized a possible dark side of his skill as his mother held him in her embrace. What would he have done if his thoughts had called dissonant on her words?
It was terrifying enough to burrow a hole in his mind. Being able to tell when his parents were lying was beginning to seem more like a daunting thing than something he would be happy to take advantage of.
His mother separated from him, pulling back so that she could take his face in her hands. Everyone was already heading towards the door now. Their father stood between them and the rest of the world, facing the road and the building like some rear guard, protecting the rest of the team.
Dorthna was already inside the house and Ark was doing his best to sneak passed Melmarc and their mother. Their mother’s hand shot out to smack him on the shoulder as he past and Ark let out a pained yelp.
“That hurts,” he complained, grumbling as he rubbed his shoulders and opened the door.
“That’s for making me worry,” she scolded him, turning her attention back to Melmarc as Ark laughed awkwardly and went inside. “Why can’t your brother be more like you? I swear it’s like he has too much of a life. Maybe we should tie him to a post at the back of the house. What do you think?”
Melmarc smiled. “We don’t have a post at the back of the house, mom.”
“That’s right.” His mother nodded, thoughtful. “We should build a post at the back of the house. Something that can hold him.”
Melmarc’s smile widened and he raised a hand and placed it on his mother’s shoulder. “We should go inside, mom.”
She nodded, dropping her hands from his face and reaching past him to open the front door. “You’re right. And why are you and your brother having another growth spurt? I thought kids only have the one growth spurt.”
Melmarc didn’t have an answer to that, so all he did was laugh as he held the door open for her to enter the house.
“Dad,” he called once his mother was inside. “I’m going in.”
His dad said nothing. He simply turned and started walking towards the door. In moments, they were all inside the house.
…
Melmarc hadn’t been gone for that long yet it felt like he had been gone forever sitting in the living room with his parents, Uncle Dorthna and Ark. The entire family would be complete if Ninra was present, but it was what it was.
“So,” their mother let out a sigh, sitting next to their father on the two seater in the room, “who’s going to tell me exactly what is going on?”
Ark shot Melmarc a look from across the room since they sat on opposing sides. Melmarc remembered an old conversation the moment he caught the look. Once upon a time, Ark had worried about how he was going to tell their Christian parents that his class was debatably synonymous to the anti-Christ.
Melmarc had suggested that having him or Uncle Dorthna would be a good idea.
Well, he’s got the both of us, so he should be fine.
Melmarc found himself doubting it, though. After all, he had his own things to tell. Only his father knew that he was Gifted between his two parents. He also had to tell them that he was the [August Intruder].
“Melmarc got stuck in a portal,” Ark blurted out suddenly.
“What?!” their mother turned on Melmarc, and he ran a frustrated hand down his face.
Ark gave him an apologetic look. “I’m so sorry, I panicked.”
Melmarc didn’t know what he had been expecting. Ark liked to play Russian roulette with dangerous situations but couldn’t tell his parents that his class was [Demon Lord]. But Ark wasn’t stupid, Melmarc always had to remind himself of that.
His brother was prone to doing stupid things that often made people think that he was stupid but he really wasn’t. Now was an example of when someone would mistake Ark’s actions for stupidity.
Naturally, Melmarc would want to shift the attention from himself by revealing something that would return it to Ark. And since their mother had already seen the ‘stab’ wound, he couldn’t use that. The only other thing he could use was Ark’s class.
And that would play right into his hands, Melmarc thought.
There was no way he was going to be the one to tell their parents of Ark’s class. Ark’s punishment would be having to tell them himself.
“You’re the one that got stuck in a portal?” his mother asked, her face a mix of worry, anger and confusion.
Melmarc nodded timidly, and Ark’s face took on a look of someone who’s plan had failed. Melmarc tried not to smirk at his perceived victory over his brother.
Their mother looked from him to their father. “Is this true, babe?”
Their father nodded.
“He’s the one you went to save?”
Again, their father nodded. A man of so little words.
Their mother’s confusion grew. She smiled, then frowned. She shook her head as if rejecting an accepted thought.
“So, you’re Gifted, Mel?” she asked, voice slightly shaky.
Melmarc nodded. “Yes, mom.”
Their mother sucked in a deep breath then let it out. Once she was done a soft and genuine smile touched her face.
“Congratulations, Mel,” she said with a smile. The smile made her look younger. “I know how much you’ve wanted to be Gifted. Would you like us to throw a party?”
Melmarc’s brows furrowed in confusion but their mother wasn’t really paying attention to him anymore. She was slowly getting lost in her own thoughts.
She turned to their dad. “We can throw something small. Just call it a party. Parties don’t always have to have a reason, right?”
Their father nodded and she turned her attention back on Melmarc.
“You could invite your friends,” she continued. “The huge one, and the other one. Delano and Eroms. I’m sure they’ll be happy to come. And, Ark, you can invite your girlfriend.”
Ark made a dismissive gesture with his hand. “No girlfriend, mom. I’m single again.”
Their mother paused. “Oh.”
“Yea,” Ark nodded. “These things happen.”
“I’m sorry, Ark,” their mom said. “I know how much you liked her.” She paused to think before adding: “I don’t think you’ve introduced me to any other friends, though. Do you know any other ones, babe?”
Their father shook his head.
Ark didn’t have any other friends that he called friends at home. He had a few friends on the football team and the basketball team, but he treated them more like school friends not actual friends. The same thing applied to his friends in class.
Ark had a habit of keeping his friends in a category. He had a lot of them, but they knew nothing about him besides what they got to experience in school or when they hung out. Melmarc never really knew why.
“I guess just Mel’s friends, then.” Their mother pursed her lips. “But that’s just two people. I don’t think we can call it a party.”
“Mom,” Melmarc said, drawing her attention.
“Yes, hun.”
“No party.”
She frowned. “Am I missing something? When I was your age, kids loved parties and going out and things like that. Is it different for you people now?”
“Not really,” Dorthna said. “Mel just isn’t a people person.”
“What about you, Ark?” their mom asked. “It’s kind of hard to believe you aren’t a Gifted. I saw the scar.”
Ark nodded, his expression as casual as he could make it. It might have been too casual because their mother’s eyes narrowed at him in suspicion.
“Ark.”
“Yes, mother.”
Melmarc almost sighed. Ark only called their mom ‘mother’ when there was something going on. It didn’t have to be good or bad, it just had to be something. And anyone who didn’t know whatever the ‘something’ was had to be negative right now wasn’t intelligent enough to be a part of this conversation.
“What are you hiding?” their mother asked, jumping on it very quickly.
Ark forced a smile, it looked sheepish. “Nothing, mom.”
Their mother’s gaze narrowed more. “Tar’arkna North Lockwood.”
Uncle Dorthna laughed. “Your middle name gets me all the time. Who names their kid after a cardinal point?”
Their mom glanced at him but that was all she did before looking back to Ark.
Melmarc found Uncle Dorthna’s reaction funny because who names a kid Tar’arkna. Yes, from what he’d been told, Uncle Dorthna had been the one to give Ark the name. According to him, it was a name from an old language that meant ‘Dying Light.’
Still, it was such an odd name that they just shortened it to Ark to avoid long conversations regarding the name. People still gave Ark odd looks whenever they saw the name on his identification.
Their mom and Ark were suddenly caught in a staring competition and Ark was clearly losing. Given more time, Ark might cave. If he didn’t, Melmarc doubted their mother would ever deduce that the thing he was hesitant to share was the name of his class. There was no such thing as a terrible class—at least as far as the world knew—so there was no way she would guess that he had a terrible class.
“Did you get a bad class?” their mom asked.
I guess I was wrong.
“No.” She shook her head. “You wouldn’t be ashamed of your class even if it was something like [Gardener]. You’ll be sad but not ashamed. Has to be something else.”
Uncle Dorthna laughed again. “Ark, please tell your parents so we can move on to other things. Your dad looks like he’s going to pass out from trying to keep his thoughts in check.”
Melmarc looked to his father and he looked completely normal. Expressionless.
How can he tell?
“It’s my class,” Ark admitted in the end.
“I’m confused,” their mother said. “It can’t be that bad. If you healed from a terrible injury like the one you have between now and when I left, it should have good healing properties.”
“The healing was more Spitfire than me,” Ark corrected. “I still have some healing things, though. Just, not that strong.”
“Alright, I don’t get what’s going on right now.” Their mother folded her arms. “Ark, tell me what your class is so that I don’t have to force it out of you.”
Ark scratched the back of his head. “You’ll both love me, regardless, right?”
Melmarc raised a confused brow, his head cocking to the side involuntarily. Was Ark serious?
Was he making a joke or was he really afraid that their parents would stop loving him because he was the anti-Christ. Their mother was more open-minded than their father, so he knew that there was no reason to worry about that on her end.
But dad…
Their father’s expression hadn’t changed in any way.
“Ark, stop being dramatic,” their mother sighed. “It’s just a class. I don’t see any reason for—” she stopped suddenly. Then she took a moment to look at him, really look at him.
Melmarc did the same and saw it. It was there, bright as day, hidden behind Ark’s sheepish smile and awkward expression.
He’s serious.
The thought of their parents no longer loving him because of his class had really crossed his mind. There was no way that Ark hadn’t known that it would not happen. Yet, it bothered him. He looked like a boy waiting for the judge’s verdict in a court of law. Waiting to know if he would be going to jail or not.
Melmarc almost wanted to take his place. But he couldn’t.
“Ark,” their mom said, choosing her words slowly. “You’re our son, our child—”
“A pain in the neck,” their father added out of nowhere, surprising everybody, including their mother who turned to give him a look of surprise.
She smiled softly before returning her attention to Ark. “Your father’s wrong. You’re not a pain in the neck, you’re a massive pain in the neck.”
Ark gulped visibly.
“But,” their mother raised a finger at him, “you’re still our son. Whatever it is you’re worried about, I promise you that we will be mad, angry and all around pissed at you, and that’s the worst-case scenario. But we will never stop loving you.”
Ark nodded. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Now what’s your class?”
“[Demon King].”
“Oh.” Their mother’s eyes moved slowly to their father.
Everyone’s gaze followed and there was no one that didn’t see the slight twitch in his left eye.
“Babe,” their mother said.
Their father met her eyes with a lack of any expression. “It’s not like he had a choice.”
That much was true.
“It’s just…” their mother turned to Dorthna. “I thought humans couldn’t have that class.”
They knew about the class? Melmarc thought, surprised.
Uncle Dorthna shrugged. “Why wouldn’t humans be able to have the class?”
“Isn’t it in the name? I thought it was only for demons.”
“Just because the one you met was an actual demon and the class has demon attached to it doesn’t mean it’s a class strictly for demons.”
They’ve met a [Demon King]? What the hell?
Just how much had his parents gone through? How much were they already aware of?
“So, what?” their mother asked, worried. “Is he going to be like the others?”
“If he wants to get stronger.” Dorthna didn’t seem the slightest bit worried about what they were talking about.
Their mother, however, looked worried.
“He’ll probably find his way to his kingdom soon enough.” Dorthna shot Ark a subtle glance. “But I’m sure he can stay. The Law of Bloodline should allow it… amongst other things.”
“It’s just…”
Dorthna sighed. “You’re not going to be losing your child. At least, not that one. Just move on with the conversation and let’s have this whole conversation done with.”
To Melmarc’s surprise, their mother did.
Turning her attention to him, she asked, “What about you, Mel? What did you get?”
“[Faker].”
His mother cocked a brow. “You don’t look like a [Faker], though.”
With his extra height, Melmarc was sure he didn’t. In fact, he looked like someone with a strength based Class. It was sure to throw anyone that tried to guess his Class into some form of confusion.
Their mother looked at their father and chuckled lightly. “I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
“Wait, what?” Ark blurted. “Dad’s a [Faker]?”
Their mom nodded. “Uhuh.”
Ark gave her a suspicious look. “And you’re just telling us like it’s nothing?”
“Well, Ninra knew,” their mother said.
Ark shook his head. “I don’t get it. You were happy to tell Ninra but not Mel and I. Then all of a sudden you’re okay telling us. You have to admit it feels kind of… odd.”
“The kid’s right,” Dorthna said. “You should give him an explanation.”
“Well, Ninra has always been very mature,” their mom said. “She only retains information that’s useful to her and doesn’t share unless you ask her to. You are a wild card, only God knows what you do with the information you get. I think it’s as simple as that.”
“Oh.” Ark pursed his lips sheepishly and Spitfire finally made its entrance. “What about Mel. You didn’t tell Mel.” Ark looked at Melmarc. “They didn’t tell you, right?”
Melmarc shook his head. “They didn’t.”
“There!” Ark said as if he had just won the argument that didn’t exist. “You didn’t tell Mel. How do you explain that?”
“Easy. We didn’t want him getting too intimate and comfortable with the idea of Gifted in the family. We weren’t sure if he would get a Class and we didn’t want him to be more disappointed if he didn’t. Also, there was a very high chance that he would tell you. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he kinda does whatever he has to when it comes to you.”
Dorthna nodded. “He does.”
“So,” their mother said with a drawl. “A [Demon King] and a [Faker]. Your sister’s going to flip when she finds out.”
“Nin already knows, though.”
Their mother laughed. “She must be turning in her bed just thinking about all of it.”
Uncle Dorthna clapped his hands suddenly, drawing everyone’s attention to him. “Now that that has been sorted out. You will need to have a conversation with your husband and the kids will need to be left alone. The time has come, wife of Madness.”
There was something suddenly very eerie about Uncle Dorthna. Something different. It was in his eyes. He reminded Melmarc of the friend of the good guy in the movies who got a big reveal at the end and turned out to be the bad guy.
“Mom,” Melmarc said, voice unsure.
“It’s alright, Mel,” she said with a smile. “Uncle Dorthna just wants to have a very deep conversation. It shouldn’t take too long.”
“It will take at least two days,” Dorthna said, matter-of-factly.
“Hold up,” their mother protested. “It didn’t take that long last time.”
“That’s because things are more complicated this time.”
Their mother dropped her hands in her face, mumbling something incoherent. “This is highway robbery.”
Melmarc looked between the both of them. What did his mom mean by highway robbery.
“Two days is a lot,” she insisted.
“You won’t be the one bearing the cost,” Dorthna pointed out.
“My point exactly,” she grumbled. “Last time was already too much for the both of us, and it was barely three hours. Now it’s just going to be only him. How do you expect him to handle two days?”
“The children could always chip in.”
Their mother’s eyes turned cold, empty. “If you intend on giving me a warrior’s death, Dorthna, then say it now. But you cannot have my children.”
Dorthna waved her words aside with a dismissive gesture. “What do you think I am? I’m not some demon that you sacrifice children to. I’m just saying they can chip in on the payment. I’m sure they’ll be happy to.”
The cold fury slipped from their mother’s face as Ark and Melmarc watched in confusion. They had no idea what was going on.
Despite the lack of her anger, their mother still had a frown on her face. “A [Demon King] can offer payment, too? I thought only Oaths can handle it.”
Dorthna shook his head. “Truthfully, Oaths aren’t even meant to be the ones handling such a thing. But a [Demon King] is definitely a good fit. An even better fit, however,” he turned and looked at Melmarc, “is an [August Intruder].”
Silence fell over the entire room.
Melmarc hadn’t been worried about telling his mother that he was the [August Intruder] but something about the way Uncle Dorthna had dropped the news just told him that it wasn’t a piece of information that would’ve mattered very little to his mother.
He watched understanding dawn on his mother. It was in her expression, the sudden widening of her eyes the slight parting of her lips. It was in the horror that he saw there.
When she spoke again, it was with two simple words that carried too many emotions.
“Please no.”
She looked back at their father, and their father gave her a simple nod. There was something solemn about it and her expression fell a little more.
Melmarc wasn’t sure why, but something inside him broke a little at the sight.
Ark isn’t the one that should’ve been worried.
Uncle Dorthna had always known and yet he had dropped the information like this, without even giving him some heads up. In this moment, Melmarc hated his uncle just a little bit.
[Alert!]
[System message detected!]
…
[Permission requirement detected!]
[Your Oath of Inevitability wishes to send a system message to all Oaths of your world.]
[There are no system protocols in place detected.]
[Would you like to allow system message to be sent?]
…
[Grant permission to send system message.]
[Y/N]
What the hell?
Comments
Dasarcastic1
I'm curious to see if this'll drive Melmarcs mom to take back her oath
Zero
Oof hard conversation coming up. I absolutely adore how even though Mom and Dad are big tough oaths they still care about their kids and do their absolute best to make sure they thrive in a safe environment. I’m looking forward to what comes next. Thanks for the chapter
