Chapter Fifteen （Against Doctor’s Orders）

CHAPTER FIFTEEN (AGAINST DOCTOR'S ORDERS)

HAZEL

I froze. The first time I faced my brother it all happened so fast. There hadn't been time to think. I didn't want to think.

It was harder to shut my brain down this time.

My fist was full of silky crimson hair but Bree wasn't fighting me anymore. Her lips were sealed shut over her vicious fangs. She was still straddling my body but all the aggression had dried up, caving in on itself. Her blue eyes stared at my brother, widening in concern.

Meek wasn't a word I would have used to describe her a minute ago but right now she looked the definition of it. All because of my brother. I scoffed and pushed her off me. Bree didn't care about me anymore. I was ignored as she stood up and swayed towards Baz.

"I wasn't—" she started. I held my breath as his gloved hand snapped out, wrapping her hair around his fist. He dragged her face into the clown mask he wore. Bree grimaced, letting him manhandle her. There wasn't an ounce of fight in her while he touched her.

My heart thudded in my chest, pure anxiety making a bitter taste fill my mouth. I kept waiting for her to discolor, wail in agony, and die. I knew I'd been told she was resistant but my brain couldn't catch up to that fact. I held my breath but she never showed any signs of Baz's venom.

So it was true. The untouchable basilisk had someone he could touch. I felt deflated, angry, and confused. Then I decided it didn't matter. Nothing mattered except killing him.

"I told you not to touch her," he said calmly. My stomach dropped and a flash of chills slid over my body. No . Gonzo wasn't right. Baz wasn't protecting me. If he was… I swallowed a lump in my throat. I had to kill him, didn't I?

"She started it," Bree grumbled, shooting a vicious look at me. I staggered to standing. The war around us hadn't stopped. Baz seemed entirely unaware, or maybe uncaring, of the chaos around him. It was normal for him—the scent of violence in the air that smelled of blood and sweat, the sound of flesh meeting flesh, the roars and hisses and laughter, and the overwhelming alarm everyone had from his mere presence.

All of it was commonplace. This was the world my brother was raised in.

"Say sorry," Baz told Bree, his voice amused instead of angry.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly, her fists gripping his black jacket tightly.

"For what part?" He asked teasingly. She didn't respond, glaring at me as my brother gripped her hair. Their little tete-a-tete was interrupted suddenly when the Ward leaders pushed their way through the brawling. Each was sporting new gashes and bruises, breathing heavily, and had rage in their eyes as they looked at Bree and her men.

"Hazel," someone said. I whipped my head around and saw Gonzo standing by me. He pointed at Baz.

"Isn't this what you've been waiting for?" He asked. "You better hurry." He was right because in the same second the Infernal leader, Josie, thrust her finger at Bree in a rage.

"You're the worst thing in this fucked up asylum and that isn't a compliment," she spat. Bree thrashed in Baz's grip but he didn't let her go until she settled down again. He patted her on the head as if giving her permission and then let her go. She flung herself at the demon.

"Backstabbing bitch!" Bree screeched. If it was chaos before it was pure anarchy now. Nemo and Orson flung themselves into the fray alongside Bree.

Now I saw why they were in charge. They slaughtered the people who stood between them and Bree. A detached arm flew up, arching over my head as Nemo ripped someone apart. Orson effortlessly and effectively brandished a scalpel, letting the sharp blade kiss just the right spot on each person's neck to ensure they bled out as fast as possible.

"Hazel," Gonzo pressed, reminding me to take the opening. My eyes snapped back to my brother who was looking at his friends with tight fists, holding himself back. I needed to kill him. I'd been waiting for this opportunity. His people were distracted. He was distracted. There was a clear shot between him and me.

But why wasn't he killing anyone? It would be so easy to eliminate his enemies. And was he really protecting me?

Bree made a noise of pain and Baz took a step towards the people. My resolve re-established itself as I saw him move to kill. I let out a breath and a calm washed over my body. I slipped a throwing dagger out of my pants. I had about a hundred sharp objects strapped from groin to ankle under the loose scrub bottoms.

I lifted my arm. The shot was clear. It would bury in his neck easily enough. It was amazing how fragile basilisks were compared to their phoenix kin. One little nick and my brother would bleed out on the floor. Chills spread across my body, the hair standing up on my arms as I eyed the spot I planned to aim. I took another settling breath.

This was it. The end of him.

However, his buddy Nemo was already barreling towards me. His entire body shifted into something grotesque as the distance between us vanished. Not a wolf—but some bastardized wolf monster that stood on hind legs.

"Fuck," I hissed. I went to throw the knife at Baz but Gonzo was shoved into me with a grunt, probably from people fighting. The knife went in the wrong direction, missing my brother entirely.

Nemo was on me in the same instant, taking me down. It felt like getting rammed by a train, the bones in my body yielding to the force. He hit my bad side, crushing my venom arm. Pain flared, sharp and sour. The cry of pain came from my mouth before I could swallow it down. My head hit the floor and the room spun. Suddenly I couldn't hear anything and my eyes couldn't focus.

A snout dripped saliva onto my cheek while a hot growl hit my face.

"Stop!" Baz snapped and Nemo's muscles bunched, his wolf eyes thinning into angry slits.

After my brother snapped, I realized my hearing wasn't an issue. The room had gone eerily silent. Not a single bellow, scream, or rustle—as if everyone had gone mute. Nemo crawled off me and I kicked my way from under him. There was a slight shake in my hands. Even hardened assassins could get freaked out and whatever the fuck Nemo was, was worth freaking out over.

I watched the wolf monster look at someone, roll his eyes, and then strut away. A moment later I saw what had made everyone stop. Zero was in front of me, holding out his left arm for me to take with my good arm. My hand slid into his as I looked around, seeing everyone standing frozen in place—eyes darting between Zero and the floor as if their dad had caught them with their pants down.

"I'm hurt no one invited me," he said apathetically, pulling me from the floor. Gonzo scoffed and rolled his eyes but the Wards shriveled up on themselves. They slid backwards, beginning to cling to the shadows near the walls.

Not even Baz, a basilisk, had inspired them to stop fighting. This man did though.

"What are you doing up here, Stein?" My brother asked curiously.

"I understand why I wasn't invited," Zero started. "This is a game of power, right? Fighting for the top spot… " He looked around at everyone and they eyed the hallways, planning their departure. His apathetic mouth twitched at the corners, a smile threatening to blossom on his blank face.

"But there's no point fighting me. I control this place and always will."

Nemo shifted back to a man, naked as the day he was born. I gawked at his cock before my eyes snapped away.

"We defeated you," Nemo said. The smallest chortle escaped Zero's lips—more an entertained scoff than anything. Everyone's eyes bugged in shock as the noise hit their ears.

"Nemo, defeating me is impossible. I don't need to compete because there's no competition."

"We're in charge now. You don't have power over me, us, anymore," Nemo insisted, grinding his teeth.

"I allow you to roam the halls and do what you want. I told the staff to let you have your fun. Do you really think they were listening to you?"

"Why would you let us kill and terrorize?" Nemo asked in confusion.

"Because it keeps you entertained and out of my hair. You think I care about murder? Also, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I like you. I made you after all." His attention swept back to me for a moment and anger simmered in his eyes. "But don't ever forget that I'm the asylum's master. I could make things so much worse." His mouth stretched wide across his face in a terrifying smile. A laugh bubbled out of him suddenly.

"What's wrong with him? He's never done that before," Baz said to Nemo. Half of the inmates were already running back to their rooms, constantly glancing over their shoulders the entire way.

"I don't need a crew, super strength, venom, or fangs," Zero said to each one of them. He kept on smiling and it was unnerving to everyone still in the room. "My presence worms its way into your mind, burrows into the archaic parts. Your mind tells you danger , it tells you to run." His voice had gone from monotone boredom to entertained delight. More inmates escaped down the hall. The sound of doors closing and locking echoed around us like a large chorus singing all at once.

"All I have to do is show my face and this entire place slinks back into their rooms, locks their doors, and prays I don't come knocking." A manic laugh suddenly burst from his mouth. His eyes were round and animated.

"What the fuck?" Baz hissed. The only ones left now were Gonzo and me along with my brother's crew. Even the Ward leaders had vanished.

From the look on everyone's faces, I could tell we all felt the squirm in our guts and the hair lifting on our arms as if electricity was building in the room.

Gonzo reached out and grabbed me, pulling me closer to him.

"What's he doing?" I asked Gonzo.

"I have no idea," he said. "Two fucking immortals on my ass," he grumbled. I gave him an off look and he blanched before recovering with a wink. Something felt off. Something I didn't have time to think about because even the "rulers" of Verfallen were looking white in the face from Zero's laughter… which hadn't stopped despite his own efforts. His hands were sealed over his mouth, trying to hold it in as his body shook and tears streamed down his face.

"What's happening to him?" Bree asked. Nemo shook his head in confusion.

Zero used one hand to cover his eyes. His glasses fell off his face and dropped to the floor. Suddenly alarms started blaring, red lights flashing as if a tornado was about to blow through the room.

"Uh oh," Zero laughed loudly. Within five seconds, every staff member inside Verfallen barreled into the room. Zero's laughter stopped suddenly and the smile slid off his face as if it had never happened. Slowly, he removed the hand from his eyes.

The same apathetic Doctor Stein everyone knew was standing there again. Without glasses it wasn't a quirk that his face was cruel and beautiful, it was a sensation that crawled up your spine. He grabbed his glasses from the floor and slid them back up his nose.

It hit me in the base of my brain what Nurse Rachel had told me.

He's not a man.

That wasn't metaphoric. The body standing in front of me was a mask made of flesh and bone. It was an approximate representation of a man crafted to trick us all into thinking we stood in the room with something like us. In the pit of my stomach, I realized he wasn't like us at all.

Gonzo grabbed my hand and squeezed it, probably because I was suddenly sucking in a sharp breath of shock.

"Does someone need a fresh fucking lobotomy?" An orderly growled at Zero.

"I was trying to scare them into cooperating," he said and the staff hesitated, looking at one another. Then they all relaxed, letting out a breath of relief. Zero's gaze settled on Gonzo holding my hand.

When he came towards me, my mind kept screaming: He's not a man, he's not a man. I remembered the terror etched into Nurse Rachel's face as she hissed it at me, her frigid fingers biting into my arm.

So what the fuck was he?

He stopped in front of me and I was speechless.

"Ready to go back to our room?" Gonzo asked me, sending a shit-eating grin at Zero.

"Hazel needs to be seen after the fight," Zero said.

"I'll make sure to check her thoroughly," Gonzo chuckled. They both looked at me.

"Ready, Hazel?" Zero asked, holding out his hand to me.

"Yeah, Hazel, ready?" Gonzo asked, bringing my hand to his mouth for a kiss. Their attempt to one-up each other via me was pathetic. I scoffed before I ripped my hand from Gonzo and shoved Zero aside.

"What I'm ready to do is kill my fucking brother," I hissed.

"Oof, sorry boys. Looks like she picked me again. What can I say? Psychotic women want me."

"I want you fucking dead!" I screamed, running towards him. Behind the mask, Baz began to laugh as he turned around and ran down a hall.

"You little shit, this isn't funny." I followed while tossing a throwing star. It whizzed past him.

"Stay still!" I snapped, pulling out another.

"Really? Okay," he said, suddenly stopping. He turned around and my eyes bugged as I realized I was barreling towards him. I screamed as my body got closer to his. I was going to hit him and I was going to die. I got so close I could smell him —leather and spice. I sucked in a breath and then suddenly he moved to the side—one casual side step that saved my life. I pinwheeled, falling face-first on the floor with an oof.

The weapons attached to my legs dislodged and slid down my pants, going in all different directions. Baz loomed beside me, demented clown mask smiling down.

"You're a cute big sister, you know that?"

I scrambled towards the other side of the hall, my heart pounding in my chest. All my remaining weapons fell out of my clothes. My fingers were shaking so bad I couldn't even attempt picking one up. I felt like I was one second from death. Logic wasn't there, just panic.

Maybe Nemo was freaky and Zero was creepy but Baz was terrifying.

My breath was fast and I could hear my pulse in my ears. Baz terrified the entire phoenix population because he made them consider the unimaginable—something so wildly unknown to them that it short-circuited their brains with terror.

There hadn't been a basilisk for five hundred years because of that terror. They killed them at birth.

Baz shouldn't be alive. He should have been quietly removed from the room after he opened his eyes and blinked that one green eye up at our parents. Normally, a nurse or a doctor would have bundled him up, left the room swiftly, and we would have never heard about him again.

When my brother opened his eyes, warmth turned into terror and panic. The nurse sucked in a breath and pulled him from my mom's arms.

He was already dead to them. I could see it on their faces. But he hadn't been dead to me; he was alive, he was mine, and he was perfect.

Basil Fury was the first basilisk to live in centuries because of me and me alone. I had refused to let them take him. I'd demanded no one touch my brother and my parents had given in.

I pressed against the opposite wall in the asylum hallway, shaking in fear.

This was why it was my burden to kill him. I had to fix the mistake I'd made. I had put an entire species at risk because I wouldn't let my parents take him from me. I had been promised a brother that I'd live with until the end of time and in my mind, I'd gotten just that. No one was going to take that away from me. I hadn't cared about anything else.

The brother I had protected killed my pets, killed my nannies, and eventually killed my parents. And now, he was going to kill me.

His boots came closer as I pressed into the wall, looking through blurry, tearful eyes to see straps and rubber soles stop a few feet from me—close enough to touch. Then he crouched down, dipping his head to the side so he could look at my face. The mask smiled at me.

Was this really who I saved? This villain? Where was that brother with mismatched eyes and a dimpled smile?

Baz didn't say anything. I couldn't move—trapped in fear that any subtle movement would be my last.

"You never wrote back," I said softly, my voice trembling. I don't know why that was what I said out of all things. It was childish and weak. I'd written him letters for years and not once did he ever write back.

"You think I wanted your letters?" He asked, practically scoffing. It felt like there was a weight on my chest, his own boot pressing in even though nothing was there. "You think I want a sister?" His words struck me painfully.

"How…" could he say that? Did he not know he was alive because of me? That I sacrificed our parents so he could live? That I'd given up my home and my freedom so that our parents let him live? I didn't have a childhood. I didn't have a real family. I didn't have love. I'd given it all up for him.

"You need to get the fuck out of my life. I'll make it easy," he commented. I felt like I couldn't breathe. His words were pounding into my heart, trying to break it apart. A dark gloved hand came up between us and I flinched. There was a thick key card in his hand.

"The key out."

"I can't leave," I said quickly—Uncle Vernon's face flashing in my mind. Baz shifted, readjusting his stance. I sucked in a sharp breath, closing my eyes tightly. I could feel him leaning closer.

"I could kill you so easily, Hazel." I could almost feel his venom itching at my cheek.

"Then why don't you?" I asked through gritted teeth. I felt something touch me and screamed, thrashing, only to realize he'd dropped the key card in my lap and had backed off.

"Get the fuck out of here."

I stared at the card and then at him. The unfamiliar body stood there, his impersonal mask still grinning ear to ear. He didn't want my letters, didn't want a sister. I'd sacrificed and forfeited everything for him and he spat it back in my face.

This wasn't my brother, it was simply a mistake I had to fix. A snake in the nest. Uncle Vernon had been right all along.

"Are you going to use that card?" Baz asked.

"Yes," I lied. He stood there for a moment. I couldn't tell what he was thinking behind all those clothes—hiding behind a mask. Maybe there was nothing there, a blank face full of nothing. Not a person, not my brother. Just a basilisk—cold and deadly.

Finally, he turned and left, walking deeper down the hall until the shadows swallowed him.

I slid the key card into my pocket and pulled out my lighter, tracing the filigree patterns. My father's name was etched into the front. I flicked open the top, touched the grooved wheel, then flicked it shut again before sliding it into my pocket.

For the very first time, I felt ready to kill the basilisk I'd mistakenly let live.