Thicker Than Blood

"Well!?" We hear from inside the locker springing Radney into action he summons his spear aiming at the padlock keeping the locker shut and swiftly breaking it. The locker swings open and a boy around Emily's age tumbles out. Jet black hair sat around a cracked mask too destroyed to hide his purplish eye whose pupils somewhat seemed to narrow similar to a goat at the sight of me.

"Gil!" Emily exclaims rushing to his side on the floor. Tears threatened her eyes as he sits up slowly, he had been badly beaten his clothes were in ruin and the Clown-like mask he wore had cracks revealing bits of his face. He struggled to an upright position leaning against the nearby wall giving enough room for Emily to wrap herself around him.

"Alright Em I'm alright can't kill the Clown." He says with a cheerful tone I heard hiding pangs of pain. He said they had beaten him daily without giving him too much time to rest in between He went on to explain no one except Polidori could enter this room until we had appeared. He spent most of the time wondering what day it was stuck standing in that locker.

"I hope I didn't make you and Lily worry too much." He managed while looking Emily over and realizing something was different.

"Your hair... and your heart it's barely beating." I could hear a fire in his voice.

"I thought we agreed we would wai-

-You're the one who didn't answer his phone and we couldn't connect to you through..." Lily slowed her interruption side eyeing Radney.

"You're the one who wasn't reachable through soul-link me and Lily tried! She's been on a rampage looking for you it's been a mess..." She communicated silently to Gil I was sure now me and Emily were connected and she also must have remembered as a panicked "Please Lady Willow don't tell." Invading my mind. I confusedly agreed not sure what there was to tell. "What's your connection to Emily." I hear from the boy in the Clown mask, his tone was so serious I couldn't help but smirk.

"I have joined Lady Willows Familia..." Emily admits helplessly, a mix of fiery and surprise seeped through the cracks in Gils' mask.

"We were supposed to find a way to make our own Familia..." Gil thought to us sorrow in every word.

"It wasn't planned!" I say out loud forgetting that this was a silent conversation.

"Hey! It's rude to just be talking to each other." Radney said over our shoulders reminding us we weren't alone in the room.

"Sorry Em I made you worry and I wasn't there to help... We need to get out of this room it has a siphoning effect on magic and also doubles as a Sandemanian Cage." Gil informs the room which only seems to trigger Kairo's anxiety.

"A Sandemanian Cage bloody fuck we need to get out of this room before it locks down." Kairo adds making a B line towards the door.

"Wait! I'm not leaving until Lady Willow here makes a deal with me." Gil said his eyes locking with mine.

"I don't have time for you to be playing as your dad child the day has been long and I'm ready to go." Kairo said managing the sternest voice he could standing in the threshold. Gil didn't acknowledge him never taking his eyes away from mine.

"Hear him out." Radney adds to Kairo's surprise.

"Appreciate that Rowdy." Gil chirps earning a kick from Radney.

"Don't fucking call me that and just make the bloody fucking deal." Radney's tone was serious and Kairo could tell this was another secret he was holding.

"What did the Fates show you Lonan." Kairo demanded, but Radney ignored him waiting for Gils' deal.

"Willow I'll only leave this room with you all if you agree to put your name in as one of the successors of the Black District." Gil proposed even though I couldn't see his face I could hear the devilish smirk Joker handed down to him. Another offer to join or take something I wasn't sure of all within the same day, it was becoming exhausting.

"I refuse I wasn't here for you and I'm still not I don't care if you leave this room and I don't need to be the successor of the Black District." As my resolute words left my lips I felt my heart drop to my feet a feeling I wasn't expecting with how sure I was to refuse.

"Please Lady Willow I beg you take the offer." Emily said now in the lowest of bows surprising not only me but Gil as well.

"Have you lost your fucking minds we don't have time for these games Gil! And there's no reason to offer her that!" Kairo said panic flooding his tone.

"It's not a bad deal kid." Radney adds further surprising the rest of the room.

"Lonan!?" Kairo had crossed the room slamming Radney into the wall.

"Kairo you just need to trust me..." That is all he replied in defense.

"Go ahead kid make your decision." Radney said to me again ignoring an angry Kario. Dumbfounded by the situation I was in again, forced to make decisions I knew little of. I couldn't feel any different but I could tell the magical siphoning was getting to Emily.

"Fine." I say begrudgingly seeing again that goatish excitement flash across his face.

"Thank you." He raises a hand outward to shake. I hesitantly reach out grasping his hand and attempting a quick release but found a death grip instead.

"Let! Go!" I struggle against his strength but fail, I watch as a dark tattoo appears on the back of his hand and as tendrils shoot from it and crawl their way to mine finding the adjacent spot and drilling into my skin until we both shared the same image. As the tendrils finished and returned to their home his grip released and besides a slight soreness I was fine. I feel my phone vibrate with a notification I quickly retrieve it from my pocket to see the Pulse app updating. On completion, I receive another notification stating "ACCESS to the Black District granted." I look at the mark on my hand and watch as it fades away.

"Welcome to the Dark District Lady Willow."  Gil says struggling to his feet.

"What was that Mark?" I ask frustrated with another internal invasion.

"It means similar to you and Emily we're thicker than blood and you are gonna have a whole new host of responsibilities." He adds with a laugh making his way to the door, at first anger gripped me until I felt Emily grip my hand.

"Thank you so much I promise you won't regret it, Lady Willow." She added as joy showed in her eyes.

"You can just call me Willow and I hope you're right."  I said rubbing the spot on my hand.

"Ah she won't regret it, heck it'll be fun! She'll have a whole D-" Gils' statement cut short as he passed the threshold the four of us watched as he lost consciousness falling just outside of the room.

~End of Chapter 8