The traitor is back?

As is the traitor I'm instantly thinking of? The one who befriended me. The one who made me feel safe with him only to lead me astray and into a realm where he tried to murder me? That traitor?

He's back.

Oliver is back, and she said he's talking, but what the heck else could he have to say? He killed people. He betrayed us all. He tried to kill me and then ditched me in Hell. What kind of a person does those things? And even bigger question, who does that and then comes back around afterwards for a chat?

"You people let that boy back in here?" The man up front starts up again. "After everything he's done?"

For once he says something I halfway agree with that doesn't make me want to shove my fist so far down his throat that he chokes on it.

The crowd of people get uneasy, swaying and whispering loudly, creating a loud hum of concerns.

"Everyone," The woman says. "I assure you all, the traitor is being held securely." She says loudly, trying to calm the crowd. "We need all leaders to come with us to the council hall."

The others on the stage begin to move, but bigmouth can't help himself.

"Why do the leaders get to know what he's here for?" He asks, revving the crowd back up. "You'll have to forgive us if we don't exactly trust your authority to tell us the truth anymore. Why don't you bring the traitor here and he can face all of us to tell us why he killed those girls. Courtlyn was my friend!"

I don't want to feel bad for him, but at least now I know he's so adamant because he's hurting over the loss of a friend like me and reeling from the truth of the demi god's lies. It only makes my dislike for him slightly less, but it's something. At least now I don't think he's just a complete asshole just to be an asshole. He's got reasons I guess.

Tonyedda shakes her head. "I've lost friends here too." She says. "Some because of the traitor, others because of these senseless attacks. I want revenge and resolution as much as you all do, but to get that, we've got to figure out what we are dealing with here, and to do that I and the other leaders need to hear what he's got to say."

"It could all be lies or more tricks!" Someone says.

"He could be nothing more than a distraction!" Comes another.

"You're right." Tonyedda agrees. "But he could also be the key to the answers we need. We are backed into a corner here and don't have much of a choice, so we have to work with what we've got."

"That still doesn't explain why we can't know too!" The man snaps. "We want to hear for ourselves what that scums got to say."

"So that another panic can ensue?" Tonyedda counters. "There are still hundreds rioting out in our very halls do to the way that information was passed last time."

"We will discuss his claims, and then all will be brought before you." The council woman says, waiving Tonyedda and the others forward in haste.

"How can we even trust you'll tell us all the truth after?"

The woman looks strained. "Bring the Newb." She says and I still. "She will accompany us and she will be assure you all that what we tell you is the truth. Surely you can trust this child?"

There are a few who disagree, but the majority seems to agree to the terms.

"What?" I gaps. "No."

"Come on, Malikah." Tonyedda tugs my hand with her.

I can't do this.

I can't.

I have zero desire to be back in the same building, much less the same room as Oliver. He ruined everything. He started all of this. He betrayed me. I have no idea what I'd even do if I saw him again. I'd never planned to see him again at all. I figured he'd stay in hiding for the rest of his stupid life, but no, he's had to come back.

"You'll be fine." Tonyedda tells me as we walk through the auditorium.

I catch the looks from my friends as we pass by them and they look as worried as I'm feeling. I liked Oliver. He probably knew that I liked him and he was just using me to...I don't even know. He just planned to kill me. He probably thought I was stupid. Maybe I even was.

"I know." I tell Tonyedda though, really trying not to show my nerves.

We walk through the halls, the other leaders following behind Tonyedda and me. I shouldn't be doing this, but I also guess I want to know some things too. The further we walk, dodging riots, the more I hype myself up.

By the time we walk into the big round room, I'm pissed.

Tonyedda walks in first and then steps to the side and I see him.

The room is full of people, all important looking, but one in the center even more so. She's tall with wild black curls tied back at her neck and her red stone is held by an elaborate headdress. She stands in front of a metal table where Oliver sits, his hands shackled in front of him and secured to the table.

His auburn hair glows orange under the bright lights and he's looking down at the table.

"You son of a bitch!" I snap, taking off towards the table and he whips his head to the side, his chains clanking as he pulls at his hands. "I should kill you for-."

"Malikah!" He pulls on his restraints, blue eyes wide on me. "Let me explain!"

"Explain why you tried to murder me?" I snap. "I don't want to hear it!"

"Mali," Tonyedda grabs my arm, holding me back. "I'm just as angry as you are." She says, glaring at him and Oliver looks down, his mouth turned in a frown. "But we need to do what we're here for."

I have to bite into my lips to keep quiet and I wrap my arms tightly around myself, standing off to the side of the room.

"What is she doing here?" The woman with the headdress asks.

"It was the only way to keep the peace." Tonyedda says and she nods.

"I'm Raysmith." She tells me with an air of authority.

"Malikah." I grit out.

Seeming to sense that I'm in no mood for conversation she turns her attention back to Oliver who is still looking at me. "So you say you weren't in control of what was happening?" She asks him and I laugh.

"Oh, nice, Oliver." I shake my head. "Don't take any responsibility for what you did."

"No." He tells me. "I am taking full responsibility for the things that happened where I was involved." He looks down at the table. "But I wasn't always in control of myself. I was always aware, but not in control the majority of the time."

"What do you mean?" Raysmith asks and everyone sort of leans in, equally curious.

He sighs. "I mean I wasn't the one who did those things." He stops and then starts back. "I mean, it was me, but I didn't want to do them. I wasn't purposely hurting anyone."

"If you weren't in control then who was?" Tonyedda asks. "How could you not be in control of your own body?"

"It's hard to explain," He says. "But just think, who would have an interest in seeing the Custodes fail?"

"Obviously you." Raysmith shakes her head at him. "Though I can't fathom why."

"No, not me." Oliver sighs. "There is only one group of people who benefit when the Custodes fail."

"No one would benefit." Tonyedda says. "All supernaturals of this realm would die, just like the humans and this whole realm as a whole. There is no winning for anyone."

"I never said they were of this realm." Oliver points out and I slowly start to follow his line of thought. "Think back, to the origin stories."

"You're not trying to say..." I whisper under my breath and he tries to turn to me, his chains keeping him from doing it fully.

"The Six original Gods never thought that the Demi would actually be successful when they made that deal with them." He says. "They thought it was just a way to appease them for thousands of years before they'd have to deal with them again. The Six are the ones who are messing with everything now. They're the ones behind it all. And it was them that got in my head." He squeezes his eyes shut. "I could feel them there. I could tell that my decisions weren't all my own and I tried to fight it," He opens his eyes to stare at me. "You have to know I was trying to fight it," he looks to the others. "But I couldn't."

"We are supposed to believe that the Gods are the ones trying to ruin us?" Raysmith asks, her mouth wide. "They're our Gods, they wouldn't do this."

"The Demi are our Gods." He says. "You know more than anyone else, Raysmith, that the Demi used to be much more involved here. They guided the Custodes, but as the years went by and you grew more successful they didn't worry themselves with it as much. They grew complacent while The Six grew nervous. They don't want to share their power with The Demi. They still think they're lesser than them and so they want to destroy the one thing that keeps this realm together."

"The Custodes." Tonyedda shakes her head.

"Without the Custodes, this realm fails, and The Demi fail."

Raysmith turns away. "This can't be true." She shakes her head, her red stone glowing. "This has to be a ploy by whoever is really behind this. He's got to be lying. The Six wouldn't do this. They wouldn't."

She wasn't sure, but I was slowly starting to think he might be right. I'd always sensed something about Oliver, like he was two people in one. A boy with a mask. This all makes sense to me. If Oliver wasn't in control of himself, then he didn't try to kill me. He was the one who warned me to stay away. He was the one who was so broken when he came back from the fight with the wolves and had killed Iris and Courtlyn. He was the one who was apologizing and feeling the guilt that Raven sensed when Oliver tried to kill me.

Someone else had been the one to make him do all of those bad things.

"Are you in control now?" I ask and he nods to me.

"Yes, Mali, and to you I'm so sorry." He says and then his eyes meet mine. "It wasn't all fake." I didn't want to hear those words. "There were a lot of times I broke through to you. You've got to know that. I never wanted to hurt you, or any of the others." He looks down, shame in his eyes.

"You killed Iris and Courtlyn?" Tonyedda asks, lifting her chin.

"I..." He stalls. "I was only supposed to be killing Courtlyn, but then Iris saw, and so I had to kill her too. I wasn't in control though. It was my body, but it wasn't my decision to do any of it. I've been trapped for years."

"How are you not trapped now?" Raysmith asks skeptically.

"After what happened with Mali, I kept fighting harder and harder." He says. "I called out to the Demi over and over and finally, I got one's attention. He freed me from the hold and I came straight here so that I could explain. You all needed to know the truth and know what you're up against."

"The Gods?" Raysmith shakes her head and paces. "We're up against the Gods, that's what you're saying? The Six want us to fail. We're fighting for The Demi against The Six?"

"Yes."

"This is all impossible then!" She throws her hands up. "If The Six want us to fail, we're going to. All of this work will have been for nothing. All of our lives wasted and the lives of all of the others."

"No," I shake my head. "It can't be impossible."

"It's not." Oliver agrees. "They made a binding deal when they agreed to The Demi. They can't force us to fail, and now we know what tricks they tried to play. I can tell you all everything I know to help fight back and still come out of this alive. We can still save the realm."

I move forward, stopping beside the table. "How do we do that, Oliver?" I ask. "Going against the Gods does sound a little hard."

"More than a little." Tonyedda nods.

"It won't be easy," Oliver says. "And I still have to tell you the worst part-."

"Malikah!" The door slams open and we all turn to find Raven shirtless with his shoulder wrapped and panting.

"Raven?" I gasp. "What the heck are you doing? You should still be in bed."

He crosses the room to me, wincing a little as he moves, his feet bare beneath his sweats. "They came to tell me what happened and that you'd been brought to him." He turns to glare at Oliver. "I should have killed you." He spits and Oliver's eyes go wide.

"The demon?" He balks, looking from him to me. "What's he doing here?"

"The better question is what you're doing here?" Raven fires back icily.

I grab onto Raven's good arm. "Look, I'm fine." I tell him and he slowly looks away from Oliver to look at me. "They needed me to come, and I'm fine. He's literally shackled to a table."

"I wouldn't trust him if he were shackled to a brick wall." Raven says. "He tried to kill you."

"Oh, I haven't forgotten that part." I nod.

Raysmith clears her throat and my face flushes as I stand between Oliver and Raven. Both of them looking at each other with distain.

"Back to the worst part you haven't told us?" She prompts Oliver. "What could be worse than The Six trying to end us?"

"The way they went about doing it." He sighs. "The stones have been compromised."

A resounding gasp fills the room as my hand goes to my necklace.