The Calling

FIVE

DEXTER

I smirked as I opened another message on my phone and chuckled to myself as four more chimed in. An exasperated sigh made me look up briefly.

“Dexter, I have asked multiple times now that you not bring your phone to our meetings, or at least silence it before everyone gets here,” Merrick stated in that tone he always used when speaking to me. A dead tone, like he knew his own words meant nothing.

“Sorry, brother. I can’t help that I’m popular.” I shrugged and smiled coyly as my phone went off in succession at least ten more times.

My brother scoffed but didn’t bother responding. This battle was old news, and he had other things to attend to. As always.

Merrick, being the oldest of us, was in line to become the new head of our company, Vorra Industries. He would be taking over for our father, Morris Vorra. He was controlled and direct, coming off almost cruel when he spoke. He often made me feel like an i***t when we were younger, so I made it seem like I didn’t care as we got older. I watched him straighten his suit and tie and check himself in the decorative mirror to ensure his long, blond, curly hair was neatly tucked in its bun. I shook my head. He always had to be perfect.

I heard a crash in the hallway and a woman’s scream, and both Merrick and I sighed. I was the least of his troubles. Our eyes met, and we nodded in unison as Silus, our youngest brother, came sauntering in.

“Morning, boys,” he said in a breathless tenor, smiling like a serial killer.

“Silus,” Merrick stated.

“Little broooootheeerrrr!” I sang out with sarcasm.

He sat down at the end of the table and leaned back in his chair, sprawling out as if to consume the room with his presence.

Merrick barely contained his glare as he met Silus’s golden eyes. “Please tell me that you didn’t kill my secretary. Again.”

“Of course not, brother. I just gave her a little fright,” Silus grinned like a small schoolboy, feigning innocence.

“I shouldn’t have to remind you that our place in this world is directly related to our true nature staying non-existent. That goes for both of you. Between the cover-ups I have to create for Silus’s victims and the treatments I have to pay for or create on behalf of Dex’s romantic encounters—it’s a wonder this company isn’t bankrupt and that we haven’t been cast back into The Void.” Merrick placed his thumb and forefinger at the bridge of his nose.

I had never seen him show this kind of stress. He was always more emotional around us than anyone, and we annoyed him a great deal, but this was different. I could clearly see distress in his eyes.

“Merrick, what’s going on?” I silenced my phone and put it away.

It had been chirping away as messages from girls rolled in. But I needed to focus if Merrick was worried.

“Things are not good. The company is doing fine, but Father isn’t well, and we are running out of time. If we don’t find our soul bonds, our control over ourselves is going to waver, and we will either be forced to return to The Void, or we will wreak havoc upon this world. We need our bonds to tether us to this world.”

“How much time do we have?” I asked.

“Three years, according to Father. He said that when one of his contracts ends, so would any chance of us being able to maintain normal lives in this dimension.”

I wanted to ask another question, but Silus started snickering, and seconds later, a soaking-wet Rolland came storming in and tackled Silus right out of his chair. Rolland was large and muscled. He was the third oldest and wasn’t very good at maintaining his temper, which meant that Silus loved to torture him. Merrick and I just sat by and watched. We didn’t want to get hit by Rolland’s huge fists. After a few minutes of Silus and Rolland rolling around on the floor and screeching or throwing punches, Rolland gave one final hit and flicked Silus on the nose.

He knew he had won. He always won when it came to physical fights.

Merrick cleaned his glasses and looked bored when he glanced up. “Are you done now?”

“Yes, Merrick. I’m sorry. This morning I woke up in the middle of the pond on a unicorn float,” he growled toward Silus.

“Maybe you should sleep lighter,” Silus said as he got up and sat in the nearest chair, where he leaned his head back over it and closed his eyes. “Let’s move on, brother. Merrick has dire news,” he said with a feigned expression of fear, then let his head fall back again. His face looked peaceful, which was rare.

Rolland grumbled in Silus’s direction, then pulled himself from the floor and sat on the other side of our large meeting table to be as far from Silus as he could.

“Brother, what is happening?” Rolland asked, giving Merrick his full attention.

Merrick sighed and looked out the window, staring out over Rochester, New York. “We have approximately three years left to find our soul bonds. If we don’t find them, we must try to return to The Void before we lose ourselves completely. Otherwise, we will become a terrible plague upon this world.”

His face fell solemn, and he gazed out the window again. He looked so sad. This concerned me greatly. I knew I needed to take what he said seriously. Merrick never showed emotion. Never. I looked around the room and noticed that Silus had raised his head and was looking toward the corner of the room, whispering something. The usual look of amusement was gone from his face, replaced by anger. I felt a pang in my heart for my little brother. This news affected him worse than all of us. Silus had never fully integrated into this world. He was always stuck somewhere in between, with creatures visiting him and voices playing in his mind.

I called out to him, “Silus. Just ignore them.”

“I can’t just ignore them, Dexter. Not always,” he whispered back, now glaring at the corner of the room.

Merrick came around the table and slid Silus a crystal bottle full of a glowing white liquid. “Take this. It will silence them for a time.”

Silus didn’t hesitate. He grabbed the bottle and downed the liquid within seconds. He leaned back in his chair again and closed his eyes, and we all watched as relaxation began to consume his young face. He had white hair and golden eyes like our father, but far less human. Because he was the youngest, it was the hardest for him to integrate into a human world. The rest of us maintained a human glamour that concealed what we were. But Silus had never been able to fully hide. His hair remained white and unkempt, sometimes looking as if it were moving on its own, and his eyes were a deep, molten gold that occasionally shifted in a very non-human fashion.