Page 25 of Fastest Kill

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"What do you mean that Niccolò was your apprentice and he actually volunteered to be a part of your crazy spell?" Dario demanded, the words almost choking him as he forced them out.

"He had the gift and wanted to learn it," Serapis replied without hesitation. "As for the spell… It was never supposed to cost him his life. The only disruption to any of it was that Niccolò would have to start stepping back from the business. He already had been, and your mother was frustrated by it. He was planning on starting training Leo within the year, too, because he has the family magic and the ability to use it."

Serapis stopped talking and rubbed a hand through his hair, the cracks in his usual armor showing.

"I cast the spell at the predetermined time as planned. I didn't know that Gabriella had sent Niccolò to Naples in her place because she needed him to smooth things over with Sorrentinos. I didn't know the Sorrentinos and Falcones had arranged the meeting as an ambush specifically for Gabriella or that he was walking into a room full of men with guns instead of standing in the position where we had agreed."

"He was supposed to live, nipote," Serapis continued, his voice cracking just a little. "He was supposed to come out the other side of it and help me fight. I had spent decades preparing alone, and at last, I would have help I could trust. Instead, since his death, all I have done is make choices he would have talked me out of, and become someone he wouldn't have recognized. All because Gabriella had to put him in danger with her fucking power games."

Dario unlocked his clenched jaw. "But you weren't alone, Zio. You founded the fucking Aurora members to be your cronies. Those sick bastards created Kon and Athena. You told Leo barely three months ago that you cast the spell to kill them all off, and Dad died because of it. If all this shit about Agrippa is true, why not tell us that? Why try to get Leo to kill Kon and Athena? Why do away with the group that you fucking created instead of using them to help with Agrippa?"

Serapis leveled him with a look that would have sent Dario running when he was a child. He wasn't a child anymore, and he wouldn't flinch away.

"You know your brother better than anyone, Dario. You saw what his mother put him through. What do you think Leo would have believed? A story about a sleeping magician that had to stay contained, or a plan to take out people who had stopped being useful. You know that word, useful? That thing that Gabriella insisted you all be, like my precious boys weren't worth shit unless they were fighting her wars?" Serapis demanded, the softness leaving his face and revealing a horrible anger and grief. "Leo stopped being useful to her, and she fucking shot him, Dario."

Useful. That fucking word. Dario's shoulders had already started curling in, Serapis's anger bringing back his mother's ghost strong enough to make it hurt.

"You still used Athena and Kon to kill off the Aurora. Why?" he said, forcing his shoulders back down, trying to breathe. "You still aren't telling me everything."

"The Aurora needed to die one way or the other. I thought I was doing the right thing when I brought them together. The truth is, I was lonely and wanted to have peers to work with again. They didn't start out as monsters. Kon and Athena were made so that they could fight against people who would abuse magic, and I wanted them to help put down Agrippa if I failed," Serapis replied, his anger banking once more.

"The Aurora members were also how I knew that Agrippa was operating in the world once more, and he was starting to influence them under different names and aliases, so I never could find the source of the knowledge they suddenly had. I thought Agrippa was still sleeping until Niccolò died, and I was a damn fool. As soon as I learned he was awake, I knew he had turned the Aurora. It was why they needed to die. I couldn't trust them not to turn on me while I was trying to fight Agrippa at the same time."

"You say that, but do you have any actual proof that Agrippa was the one behind the stuff they were learning? None of the Auroras were dumb, even if they were monsters," Frederica said, folding her arms stubbornly.

Serapis studied her carefully, his head tilting a little to one side. "Did Kon ever tell you about the night he killed Liddell at Silver End in Scotland?"

Dario flinched. Leo had told him about it because it still haunted his little brother's nightmares. Liddell had orchestrated a ceremonial 'hunt' using his drugged brother as the 'Golden Stag' to feed some magic he had been doing. Dante had saved Leo, and Dario would never stop being grateful for that.

"Kon said it was fucked up," Frederica replied carefully.

"What happened?" Despina demanded, turning in her chair to stare at her daughter.

Serapis gestured at her. "Go ahead, Frederica. I want to know how much Kon told you."

"Apparently, Liddell had gotten together a bunch of his followers for an Autumn Equinox party," Frederica replied and cleared her throat. "Liddell did some rite to channel the mana of thirty-nine people into himself. It was meant to grant him divine power and knowledge. When Kon and Athena stopped him, they shattered some circle, causing the power Liddell had drained to bounce back, and it fried the remaining ritual participants, leaving only ashen bones and fat behind. Kon doesn't spook easily, and he said it was one of the most fucked up things he had ever seen."

Serapis nodded. "Thank you, Frederica. So Liddell performed a ritual to drain his followers of their power, intending to gain divine power and knowledge. Where do you think he got the idea to do that, Dario?"

Dario's stomach turned over in knots. "You think Agrippa told him?"

"I know Agrippa told him," Serapis said, his eyes going cold. "I witnessed the same aftermath that Kon did when Agrippa's ritual killed my fellow students and friends. Bones, ash, and fat. That was all that was left when Agrippa was done with them."

"Mio Dio," Tore murmured under his breath. "Why would Agrippa tell Liddell how to do something like that?"

"He probably didn't think Liddell would be ambitious enough to try it," Serapis replied and shook his head. "Liddell never knew where his boundaries were. He always wanted more power. I should have killed him years ago."

"Sometimes retrospect can bite us in the ass," Despina said, clicking her tongue in understanding. "Why would Agrippa try to take these Aurora people from you? Why not just attack you outright?"

"Because they were all powerful prodigies as I had been. He would have used them, kept feeding them useful spells and knowledge to earn their trust, and then, when the moment came, he would have drained them all and become even harder to stop. I couldn't let that happen, so I let Kon and Athena do what they do best," Serapis replied and made a dismissive hand gesture. "Stopping people like the Aurora, who abuse their magic and hurt others, is why I allowed those two to be created in the first place.

"I told Leo I pulled the strings that led to the Auroras' deaths, and I did, but I didn't use magic to do it. I knew Leo wouldn't kill Kon and Athena either. I just didn't expect Altun to get involved and drain me before I had a chance to explain myself. I certainly didn't expect Gabriella to lose her mind and drag me over a damn cliff. Though, considering your mother, Dario, I should have."

Dario's head was spinning. He wished his brothers were there. His chest was too tight. The room was too small. Black started to creep into the corner of his vision.

"Did Gabriella know about Agrippa? That my father was helping you and was your apprentice?" he asked, already dreading the answer.