Kai Villalvazo’s Nemesis (The Kalon Tetralogy #1)

Chapter 39

CHAPTER 39

HALONA — SUNDERWORLD

I held tightly to my mother’s hand, smiling up at her beautiful face as she led me down the quiet hallway of the castle right after we had secretly escaped the boring dinner meeting in the dining hall.

I loved it whenever my mother did this. Dad and his friends always had boring meetings and talked about things I didn’t understand, and whenever I finally slipped off my chair and gripped the hem of my mother’s dress, she knew exactly what I wanted.

To run away to a different world with her and her only.

She always had so many secret hideaways in every place. She always knew where to escape to and we frequently played hide and seek. I loved the game; the reward of finding my mother was always my motivation.

“This is our new secret place, baby, no one should ever know about it.” She spoke to me in the soft tone that always put me to bed. The soft tone that eased my anxiety and put me at total ease in unfamiliar places. Mom was my only safety and security, the only place where my heart resided.

“Our secret place?” I marvelled as she pushed the doors open to reveal the serene, garden-like atmosphere with butterflies fluttering all around us. It had endless rows of books, books, and books. Books that my mother loved reading while I fell asleep in her lap, and as I grew up, books that I remembered to bookmark whenever she fell asleep while reading by folding the last page.

“Yes, baby. We’re going to be coming down here from now on.” She carried me into her arms, her golden hazel eyes glimmering with joy as I wrapped my tiny arms around her. Her onyx hair fell past her shoulders as she carried me to the middle of the room where the sun filtered in through the clear glass roof above us.

“Mommy look, shooting star!” I squealed as I pointed at something moving in the sky.

“Yes, baby, a shooting star. That shooting star is called a helicopter.” She stroked my hair gently as I watched the star disappear in the partly cloudy sky.

I looked all around me, the sounds of the water and tweeting birds as well as the smell of old books and my mother’s vanilla perfume gave me so much comfort. I wanted to stay in this moment forever. It was the safest I'd ever felt.

“Can we stay here forever, Mommy?” I stared at her with wide eyes and she laughed heartily, holding my hands as she crouched before me. She leaned to kiss my cheek before smiling.

“Of course we can. We can stay for as long as you want.”

“You’re a beautiful queen, Mommy, Daddy said so.” I threw myself into her warm, motherly embrace.

“Aw, thank you Kai. And you're a handsome prince.” She held my face between her hands when I pulled away.

“I am?” My eyes were wide once again, and she nodded enthusiastically.

“You are. And one day, you'll find yourself a pretty princess. When you do, you will bring her here to stay with us.” Mom’s eyes became glassy and I moved closer, frowning in worry.

“Mommy, why are you crying?” My innocent voice echoed in the place and she choked.

“I just had something in my eye, baby, I'm not crying.” She smiled widely. “I pray you find a princess you like, and keep her forever.”

“Where do I find a princess, Mommy?” I asked curiously and she laughed again. She placed her hand against my chest, where my heart was pumping from the inside.

“This will help you. If it beats really fast every time you're around her, that’s your princess. Instincts never lie, my baby. You should never lose your princess.” She patted the spot and I brought my own hand up to my chest.

“I bring my princess here when I find her Mommy, and I’ll keep her forever,” I said with so much fierce determination and my mother grinned.

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

I woke up to my face being pummelled so hard, I could feel the waves of pain coursing deep inside my soul. I put my hands up to stop the impacts, but whoever it was, they were out for my blood.

I struggled to wake up after successfully pushing them away, and I inhaled deeply as the bruises stung. I opened my eyes to find none other than Kayden breathing deep and hard, his fists covered in the red liquid that now coated my face.

“Where the fuck is she? Huh?!” he asked furiously as I gave him a confused expression. Who was he looking for? Was I still dreaming? What the hell was happening here? Why was Kayden here and how did he find this place?

“What are you talking about?” I squinted my eyes at him, and he pointed to the pillow beside me.

A chill ran through me when I realised who he meant. Yasmina.

And she was gone.

Fuck.

I knew it was a bad idea. I should’ve listened to my gut. I should’ve fucking listened?—

“Exactly, you had one fucking job. I can't believe I ever trusted you.” He looked so disappointed, and the look of disgust he had made my heart clench in pain.

My own best friend hated me now. I knew it was going to happen; Yasmina tells him almost everything.

“I should have known you were on the other side, you sick piece of shit. How could you betray us like that? After all that we've done for you?” Kayden’s voice was picking up and I knew it was a matter of seconds before he was fucking me up again.

How did that happen? I could’ve sworn I'd locked the doors and secured everything, there’s no way they came in. Which could only mean that she…that girl. She just had to defy me and leave the room.

“Listen, you can slaughter me and serve me to whichever gods you worship as sacrifice, I don’t care. But right now, I need to figure out where Yasmina is and make sure she’s safe.” I took my phone and called my bodyguard.

“Damn right, I'll use you as sacrifice. If Yasmina is not back in one piece, then I'll make sure to cut your entire family tree down.” I didn’t take the venom in his tone lightly. I knew he meant it and that he was capable of doing exactly that.

Kayden never made empty threats.

“Yes, boss?”

“The girl? Where is she?” I tried to remain cool, but I was already losing it. It felt like I was running out of time.

“I was moved to the other base some hours ago.” I sweared under my breath, banging my fist against the wall. Rico made sure to remove all obstructions to capture her smoothly.

“Fuck! Why didn’t you tell me?” I was growing upset as my mind raked for solutions and answers.

“Rico is interfering with our calling system, none of the calls are going through. I'm glad you called?—”

“Which is it? The club or the warehouse?” I cut straight to the chase.

“Most likely the warehouse. He has a few other people captive there, I suggest you hurry.” I cut the call and soon enough, Kayden and I were sprinting out of the mansion.

My whole body was trembling as I took the nearest car keys while Kayden went to his bike. I took note of my switchblade lying on the floor outside, and it was the same one that Yasmina had stolen from me months ago.

She was in big trouble without the only defence she kept on her.

I picked it up and got into the car that beeped before speeding out of the gates like a maniac. There were two places Rico usually went to first: the abandoned warehouse ten kilometres away from here or his sex club.

And Marcelo was right; she was probably at the warehouse.

“I could check the club just in case she’s there, he's unpredictable.” Kayden put his helmet on and I nodded, sending him the location of the club.

“Okay. If you don’t find her, make sure you come to the warehouse immediately with backup.” He nodded, revving his Harley, the powerful vibrations raking through my entire body. I rushed to the car and quickly turned it on before speeding out of the gates with Kyden behind me.

I mindlessly weaved through the traffic, praying to all the gods for Yasmina’s safety. I got to the warehouse within minutes and as expected, it was close to deserted. And because Rico was dense and literally stupid, he left his car parked outside.

I got out of the car after making sure the coast was clear, then went straight to the back.

The back was equivalent to Hades. A lot of bad shit happened there, and a lot of killing. Abuse. Rape. You name it.

And if they harmed a pore on Yasmina, then there was going to be even more hell to pay.

The guards didn't ask me to identify myself or even stop me. That would be a grave mistake. They knew exactly who I was, and they knew that once I stepped into power, it would be over for them and their families.

I walked down the dark room then descended the staircase to the red-illuminated corridor. No one was allowed here except people at the top of the hierarchy.

If you were caught roaming around down here, you'd be killed instantly.

The thought of all the vile, inhumane things that could be happening behind all the doors sickened me to the core. I had made a vow to myself to eradicate this system completely the moment I became the Pakhan.

I followed the muffled sounds I could hear distantly, and the moment I opened the black door at the end of the corridor I knew so well, a gun pressed against my forehead and I instinctively lifted mine to the attacker's throat.

I glared hard at him, the pieces finally clicking on exactly who this was.

He had taken out the contact lenses and dyed his hair back to its original state. He had finally stepped out of the sheep's clothing and portrayed the true wolf within him.

This wasn't Ethan, the snowboarder I hated and Yasmina's close friend.

This was Raphael, the guy who had nearly killed me.

And he had forged an identity to revenge on that one day everything fell apart between us.

My mom and I were in the process of baking some cookies when a loud banging sound echoed in the house.

Her eyes widened and she held my hand tightly, giving me a silent warning to remain quiet. I pursed my lips and held onto her when she carried me off the counter and took me outside to the back.

It was freezing cold and I shivered as a chilling breeze floated by. My mother noticed this and took off her black shawl, then put it over my shoulders.

The back was a bit unkempt with overgrown grass and trees. My mother and I loved playing there a lot, and that's where we explored different creatures and cooking herbs.

I'd name all the creatures I encountered as my mother taught me and sometimes, if I was good, my mom would let me keep a creature I would have found, like a butterfly or a ladybug.

But as I grew, I began to grow an interest in the cold-blooded creatures. It fascinated me how they were different from all the other creatures. And my mother never judged me when I caught my first snake at a tender age and named it. After figuring that it wasn't poisonous, of course.

My mother had great knowledge on a lot of animal species.

When I asked her why it was so cold and not warm like us, she was more than happy to answer with so much affection in her gaze. "Sometimes, you can't survive on your own, you need some warmth and sunshine from another source. One day, you'll find a princess that warms your heart, my baby."

But this time, her gaze was distant and troubled, an expression I was seeing for the first time. I was getting worried, but she had warned me to stay silent and I didn't want to make her even more upset.

"Baby, here's what we're going to do. We're going to play hide and seek, okay? You're going to go and hide in our favourite spot and then I'll come and find you in a bit, alright?" I nodded quickly, her shaky voice spiking my fear within seconds.

"I'll count to eight, and then I'll come and find you. Now go." She nudged me and I ran as fast as I could, my pulse beating loud in my ears I feared it would pop my drums.

I went through the branches and other obstructions, following the path I knew so well. The path I took almost every day and memorised so that Mom would know where I was if not the house.

I sat on the rock and held Mom's shawl tightly to my body, counting to eight along with her like I always did. But what I didn't realise was that Mom wasn't coming.

For the first time, I had to hide without being sought for.

I had so much hope, though. I counted to eight over and over again, much like a mantra, eagerly awaiting the soft sound of my mother calling my name or the crunching of the dead leaves as she came to our favourite spot.

She always came. Mom never failed to find me. And when she did, we'd find a few creatures then go inside for cookies and milk.

Hours later, I was shaking from the cold. It was even snowing and the shawl was wet now. I wanted to go back inside.

I wanted to go inside where it smelt like cookies and Mom. Where it smelt like sunshine, and rainbows, and vanilla. I wanted to go to Mom.

Where was she?

I finally decided to get up after eating a tiny piece of the cookie in my pocket. I wanted to eat the rest of it with Mom. So I sprinted back to the house as the icy cold blew all around me.

My teeth chattered as I tried to open the door, but it didn't budge. I knocked, banged, cried, and screamed, but no response came.

Through the window, I noticed the cookies still on the counter, but Mom was nowhere to be seen. Her silver chain was the only thing left of her.

I hit the door until it broke and I huffed to get as much air in my lungs as possible. It hadn't been a strong door, anyway, and the loose pieces of wood fell to the tiles. I didn’t feel the pain of my bleeding knuckles or the splinters hooked in my skin.

I got in through the small space and searched every spot in the house. I searched under the bed, in the closets, behind the fridge, everywhere.

But there was only one conclusion.

Mom was gone.

I choked on violent sobs as I took her chain and clipped it around my neck, heaving and hiccupping as I screamed her name. She had been the last I had, and she was gone, too.

Just as I was about to go outside again, I found a little note that seemed to have been scribbled in a rush. But it was my mother's handwriting.

I cried even harder when I saw it, all the sounds of some scary people entering the house and talking about an abandoned toddler blurring out as I read the words.

Please seek me if I don't come, my baby. I love you very much. I'll be waiting for you to find me.

??????????

“Do you know what the date is, brother?” Raphael had a cruel smile on his lips and I was still processing the fact that he had deceived me the entire time.

Of course, I knew what the date was. It was the fucking deadline.

I knew he had been so familiar at the academy and my brain had constantly pondered on exactly where I had seen him, but since I had last seen him ten years ago, it had been hard to place him.

Asshole.

“Answer me!” He pressed the barrel of the gun deeper into my forehead but I hardly flinched. “Oh, and your girl is minutes away from drowning in acid, so you might delay it if you give me a response.”

My whole body froze as my brain racked for solutions, but if I made a move right now, they'd definitely drop her and that would be the end of it.

I'd simply ask them to kill me, too, along with her, because life had no purpose without Yasmina. My princess.

“Do you always threaten your victims like this? It's pathetic,” I remarked coldly, my jaw clenching as the smell of strong bubbling acid met my nose. If I wasn’t so used to this brutal environment, then I would have gagged.

It was a matter of minutes until words became futile. Minutes until I was either fighting for Yasmina’s life or enduring hours of brutal torture. Both would end in my death, but as long as my princess lived to see another day, then my life was not that important.

“I'm sure you'll be equally pathetic when you lose that girlfriend of yours,” he gritted out before tilting his head. “How does it feel to be powerless? Terrible, right? It's time you understood the way I've felt ever since you stole my position.”

So, you might be wondering, what position?

Well, long story short, Raphael and I met in the cages.

I was only thirteen when I was introduced to the cages, and these were the worst of all compared to all other places. We didn’t eat, shower, talk, or even sleep for days. We were brutally tortured, beaten, and scarred in the cages like wild animals. Anyone who was supposed to be incorporated in the Bratva had to endure eight intense days of being in the cage.

This is where I was first branded, and I remember screaming and crying in agony then being punished for it after by a thorny whip. I didn’t sleep well for a month, and I endured beatings almost every fucking day.

Then Raphael entered my cage two days later. I hadn’t seen a normal human in so long, I was genuinely relieved to finally have someone to keep me company. Raphael had been as scared as me, but as time went on, he got used to the hardships of the place.

We both did.

Until we were taken to the Pakhan.

He was looking for a young, resilient man to take over the Bratva since he had no son at all, despite trying with so many women. Most of the people who had entered the cages had died or fell too sick to stay in there, so only Raphael, Samuel, and I survived the cages for eight days and eight nights.

Raphael was two days late so while he suffered, I simply lamented over my broken life and how my freedom had been taken away from me.

We were taken through so many painful challenges for three consecutive days and afterwards, they finally took us out of the cages to live like normal people. We were still controlled, but now we could interact, sleep, eat, and do human shit without getting into trouble.

It took a month for the Pakhan to finally decide on who he wanted, but in that month, Raphael and I had become so inseparable.

We were homeschooled together, talked about our struggles, and spent basically most of our time together. It was like that until the Pakhan chose me over him and proceeded to train me. That’s when all hell broke loose.

We had promised to stay loyal to each other regardless of who got chosen, but I didn’t realise that Raphael hadn’t kept his part of the bargain until it was too late. Until he was cutting me up with a machete, the deep slices permanently engraving into my back.

I won't forget the way he ruthlessly slashed me up with pure wrath and evil before the guards and the Pakhan intervened. A fraction of a millisecond could have changed everything. I had almost cried while he attacked me with my body chained to the bed.

I never wanted to be that weak and helpless ever again.

The scars would never fade away, nor will the memories. I could still feel the tingle of the wounds whenever I thought about it. The doctors almost failed to put me back together, and it was God’s mercy that allowed me to make it out alive.

That’s why nothing ever scared me. I had been on the brink of death so many times it didn’t scare me anymore.

He had done a very good job at disguising his identity; for the first time, I was genuinely surprised to have overlooked a person who made up an unforgettable part of my life. He had been banned from the Pakhan’s place, but Rico had a soft spot for him and probably brought him back after the Pakhan’s death.

“I swear if you do anything to her, I'll skin you alive. Literally.” My dark, monotonous voice was unwavering. Raphael shrunk away slightly, but quickly recovered before I got the opportunity to exploit that fear.

“Do you think I liked it, huh? Watching you fuck her when I wanted her so bad? Kissing her when you thought no one was looking? Or taking her away from me when she rightfully belonged to me?” A glint of envy flashed in his eyes before it quickly disappeared. “Surrender her to me, or I shoot.”

“Fucking shoot,” I said in a heartbeat, moving my head so the barrel was buried deep in my head. Death was a better option than losing Yasmina.

“I'll kill you the same way your father was killed, and now your girlfriend, don’t try me.” My entire body chilled as I looked him dead in the eye. Acid is what took my father away, and now Yasmina. But not on my watch.

Reading Hector’s summaries shed so much light on my life and now I knew the truth. He was the reason our only source of protection left us. He was the reason I never got to live with both my parents for long.

They had told me it was an accident. It had been an accident. Yet, it was all planned carefully.

I didn’t have time to think about it when I slammed my fist right into his face. I pummelled harder and harder, channelling all my rage into the action. He howled in pain, blood streaming from his nose and while he was disoriented, I swiftly caught his arm and swung it, but I miscalculated something along the way because I felt a hot, searing pain on the side of my thigh when the gunshot went off.

I quickly retrieved my switchblade and stabbed his throat, specifically his artery, earning an agonised groan from him. He was already half-dead anyway from my punches. Blood gushed out from both our wounds and despite my pain, I punched him over and over again, my vision red as each hit got worse than the other.

When he was finally still, I ran to where Yasmina was, and my heart ached when I noticed that she was tied up and hanging above a large metal container of acid.

She was unconscious as she swayed gently, her head hanging low as well.

I changed the gears and brought her to the ground where her life wasn’t threatened. I moved over to her and gripped her body, a sob unexpectedly leaving my lips as I tried to get her out of the chains. Her body was so cold she might have been dead, but I didn’t care. I would hug and kiss her corpse if it meant it was the only way I could be close to her.

I was in a rush to disconnect the links and bring her back to safety when a weight pushed against me. It was so forceful that the lever moved forward and Yasmina began to go back up.

I was panicking now and I wanted to push the lever back, but I was already being dragged away from it. I tried to fight and resist, but whoever was pulling me was probably twice as strong.

I couldn’t lose her. She was my only happiness and solace in the world and I would never be the same without her. The links I had loosened finally gave in and my heart stopped as I watched her drop into the container. I was still in denial even as I heard the acid bubbling louder the minute her body was submerged.

She was actually…gone.

My whole soul numbed instantly, and it felt as though I'd been hit by a meteorite. I trembled with both grief and anger, unsure of how to handle myself. I was going to fucking kill everyone. They were going to pay, they would pay?—

No, no—no. How was I supposed to live without her? What was life without my nemesis? My princess. It felt as though I'd lost a piece of me in that moment, and everything colourful began to fade into black and white right before my eyes.

“You lost the challenge, Vazo.” I heard a familiar voice say and I noticed Rico walking towards me, but that wasn’t all.

He was dragging some bright chains behind him with safety gloves, and as I felt the heat from afar, I knew what this meant.

I had failed to save my mother. I had failed to save Yasmina, and I had fucking failed to save myself. This is exactly why I didn’t deserve to be loved. That’s why I hated myself so much.

“You think I'd let you become the Pakhan? I knew you were going to fall in love with her, that’s why I sent you there. And Raphael, my son, kept me updated, you were absolutely pussy-whipped.” He shook his head, but I could hardly make sense of anything. I couldn’t fathom the fact that I was alone again.

They had killed my father and my girl. He had destroyed my family and to top it all off, they had my mother in captive. The poison flowed through my veins as I glared at him, my white-hot anger giving me enough strength to pull away and swiftly get up.

I gave him a powerful blow that sent him reeling back, but I couldn’t finish what I'd started because I was back on the ground, and two people were holding me down this time. They knew I couldn’t be stopped by one person.

I had pure rage as I thought about how he had destroyed my entire life. All the years I lost, all the precious moments—everything.

“Kill me. That’s what you’ve always wanted, anyway.” I ignored the burn that spread through my leg as I fruitlessly tried to get out of the grip of the people holding me. I wanted to kill this man with my bare hands and avenge my loved ones.

“Ah, where’s the fun in that? Oh look, Raphael is back from the dead.” He smirked when a bloody Raphael who was as good as dead walked towards him. His face was all kinds of purple and black shades and I smirked. Serves him right.

He must have noticed this because gave me a strong glare and moved to kick my gut so hard that I groaned in pain.

I was nonchalant as the two men kicked me over and over until I was bleeding through my mouth. This was nothing new; I had experienced this brutality many times before, but my eyes blurred with unshed tears as I thought of Yasmina. Reality was slowly settling in and it was fucking ugly.

She was gone, and it was all my fault. I was too late and too weak. So fucking weak that she had lost her life due to my actions.

The only harsh pain I felt was the squeeze in my chest. The one person who resided in there was gone and I'd never get her back. Nothing hurt me more than the fact that I killed the only person I truly loved, and now, my mother would never be saved from wherever she was.

She would wait and wait, endure pain and torture while hoping to be rescued by her only son, but no one would come.

“We know the Pakhan favoured you. He wrote that you should be the next Pakhan no matter what unless you die. I just sent you on a mission for fun, to test your limits. Buy time until I had a reason to kill you. I wanted my son to have the position. You didn’t have to do the challenge, you were still the Pakhan regardless of the deadline. But now we have to change that, don’t we?”

Yasmina was the only person who never used me in a world where no one loved me and constantly took advantage of me. I had lost the only person who saw me as a human being with feelings and emotions.

My eyes blurred with unshed tears as my body gave in to the beatings, and I was deathly still as they damaged the last bit of me. I wanted to die and follow my soulmate, hence, I didn't resist anything. I stuck to memories of Yasmina to lessen the pain and console myself in my final moments.

There was nothing left for me here. And I had known that since I was only seven-years-old, until Yasmina changed my entire life.

I was going to follow my princess to the afterlife. And there, my heart would be warm again.

And that was the last thing I uttered to them before a gunshot went off and I drifted into an infinite darkness.

“Yasmina.”