Disclaimer: I don't own it.
A/N: Another long update time. Things are actually going to start moving after this chapter. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Happy Holidays.
Bryan rolled over and buried his head under his pillow, hoping he was simply imagining the headache that seemed to be splitting his head open. A slow bolt of pleasure trickled through his body and he shot straight up in his bed, anger spreading though his body, pushing back the pleasure. "Damnit Tala! Stop projecting." He climbed out of his bed and slipped a robe on before entering the common room. Frowning he placed the teakettle over the banked fire, reheating the Verwort tea from the previous day.
He settled in the chair and closed his eyes, trying to rebuild his shields. Normally when he woke up his shields were intact, though a little holey. This was the first time in nearly ten years that he'd woken up with his shields completely down and picking up everything from anyone within a twenty foot radius.
Warm fingers pressed against his temple and he sighed slightly as he felt the pressure from Tala and Rei's emotions lessen. Besides being a Seer Rei could help keep his empathy under control, but it tired the neko-jin out, so Bryan rarely allowed his brother to help him.
"Tala says he's sorry about the projecting. He forgot that you've been having problems with your shielding." Rei leaned forward slightly and pressed a kiss to Bryan's cheek before moving to the fire to pour him a cup of tea. "Why are you having so many problems? You haven't had this much trouble since your powers first started flaring up."
The silver haired man took the cup without opening his eyes and sipped at the hot liquid. "I don't know. The Healers think it's because I've gone so long without someone to ground me. You don't have nearly as many problems as you used to since you and Tala got together."
Rei poured his own cup of tea and settled on the couch, smiling when his tiger hopped up on the couch and sprawled out, taking up the rest of the space. He scratched the cat's ears, golden eyes focused on Bryan. "True, but if it weren't for the Verwort I'd be in a coma."
Bryan nodded before downing the rest of his tea with a grimace of distaste. "I know, and if I could save you from having to deal with that, I would, but it's not an option." He set his cup aside and got to his feet. "Why don't you spend the day in the Library and see if you can find anything that might help us. I have to go deal with the Hiwatari and the rest of those bastards."
The younger man smiled at his brother. "Have fun. And say hi to ambassador Hiwatari for me."
Bryan slumped in his chair, eyes closed. Only half of the Ambassadors were in the room and he could already feel their emotions pressing against his shields, threatening to crack the fragile walls. It was only a matter of time before they collapsed all together and he ended up on the floor, screaming in pain as he went insane. Rubbing tiredly at the bridge of his nose he nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt someone bump him as they settled into the chair next to him. With that single bit on contact all of the person's emotions slipped through his shields, causing him to grit his teeth in pain.
"Are you okay?" A hand settled on his arm and warm breath drifted over his neck, causing the pain he was already feeling increase tenfold.
The lavender haired man shot to his feet, fingers wrapping around the throat of the person next to him, tightening slightly. "Don't ever touch me again!"
Tyson clawed at the bigger man's arm, navy eyes wide with fear. "I won't! Just let me go!"
At that moment Robert stepped into the room, garnet eyes going to Bryan and Tyson. "Ambassador Kuznetsov please put Ambassador Granger down. I'd rather not have another incident like yesterday." The purple haired man sat down in his chair, a silent sign for the others.
With a look of disgust Bryan released Tyson and sank into this own chair, eyes closed as he focused on trying to keep the nausea at bay. Evidently his shields were worse than he thought, even with Rei's power reinforcing them.
It wasn't until the scraping of chairs on stone reached him that he slowly opened his eyes, wincing as the world did one slow loop before evening out. The room was nearly empty, except for Robert and Oliver, both who were watching him with confusion. "What's going on?"
Robert got to his feet. "I decided to not meet today. After yesterday's little incident I'd rather not have all of us together for the next several days. You're free to do what you please for the next three days." He paused for a moment. "And you might want to go see the Healers. You look a little pale."
The older Ambassador swept out of the room with Oliver following, leaving Bryan alone. With a long sigh the lavender haired man slowly got to his feet and slipped out of the room, wanting nothing more than to be far away from people
Rei slipped into the room with Tala behind him. He was surprised to find Bryan sprawled on the couch, asleep with one arm thrown over his eyes. Smiling softly the neko-jin pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and spread it over the other man. As he was tucking the blanket around Bryan's feet his fingers brushed against the instep of his brother's bare feet. A shudder ran through his body and he found a wave of unease creeping though his thoughts and not letting go.
Ignoring Tala who was watching him with confusion Rei grabbed Bryan's shoulders and shook the older man with almost violent force, golden eyes wild. "Bryan, wake up. You have to go get Ambassador Hiwatari now!"
The lavender haired man came awake with a jolt, silver eyes slight disorientated. It wasn't until the pain of Rei's grip on his shoulders finally reached his mind that he realized something was wrong. He pushed the neko-jin away, glad when Tala stopped Rei from hitting the floor. "I realize you're worried Rei but stop projecting before I vomit."
Rei shrugged away from his mate, golden eyes slightly glazed. "I'm sorry Bryan but you have to go bring Ambassador Hiwatari here. I have a feeling that something horrible is going to happen and I need to do a reading on him."
With a groan of frustration Bryan got to his feet and ran a hand through his hair, rumpling the lavender strands even more. "I should have known that bastard would have something to do with this entire mess." Without even worrying about his shoes he left the room.
Kai looked up from his book in time to see the door of his suite being flung open with Bryan standing in the stone arch, looking like hell. He was paler then normal, pain lines were clearly visible at the corners of his mouth and eyes, his hair was rumpled and he was bare-foot. Definitely not how Kai ever imagined seeing the other ambassador.
"What the hell are you doing here?" The slate haired man surged to his feet, book falling forgotten at his feet. He stalked forward, mahogany eyes focused on the taller man. "I don't care of you're the Emperor's lapdog, it doesn't give you the right to burst into my room."
Bryan's eyes narrowed and he took a step forward. "Look Hiwatari, I'm not in the mood to deal with your attitude right now. And I can guarantee you that I'm not going to put up with you being a bastard." With lightning speed he reached out and grabbed Kai's arm. "Rei wants to see you now and you don't get an option in the matter."
Without waiting for Kai's protests Bryan dragged him from the room, not even bothering to close the door.
By the time they'd returned to Bryan's suite Kai had given up on trying to fight with the taller man and had settled for simply stewing in his anger silently. The common room was dark, with the exception of several candles on a small table in the center of the room and the fireplace. The temperature of the room was almost unbearable hot, with Tala sitting near the fire, feeding more fuel to the already large flames.
Bryan pushed Kai into the room and closed the door behind them and locked it. Rei looked up from where he was sitting at the table, moving several gem stones into their positions on a piece of black velvet that had been embroidered with a circle of power. The neko-jin smiled slightly at Kai, his eyes slightly glazed. "Sit."
The slate haired man shot Bryan a venomous look before sinking into the chair next to Rei. Bryan leaned back against the door, eyes never leaving Kai. "Just do what Rei says. It will make your life easier."
Rei smiled at Tala. "Love, go ahead and put the herbs on the fire."
Tala did as he was told and a sickly sweet scent filled the air and thick purplish-green smoke quickly filled the room. Kai took a deep breath and started coughing, the smoke feeling like acid in his lungs. A soft hand rested on his and he squinted against the smoke, slightly unnerved by the way Rei's eyes were glowing slightly in the dimness of the room.
A quick glance over his shoulder showed that Bryan's eyes were also glowing, two argent spots in the darkness that cloaked the taller man. Wondering if all three men had magic Kai looked at Tala near the fire. Despite the fact Tala was so near the fire he could clearly see that the redhead's eyes were not glowing.
Suppressing a shudder Kai turned back to find Rei watching him, a soft smile curling his lips. "I know what you're thinking. How odd it is for two such strong Mind Mages to be together. Bryan and I have a special relationship. We keep each other balanced. However, that is not why were here."
The neko-jin rested his hand on Kai's face, thumb against his cheek bone, middle finger resting against his temple. "Relax. This isn't going to hurt." His eyes slid shut and he took a deep breath before slowly releasing it.
The room was completely silent except for the crackling of the fire for several seconds before Rei started talking. His eyes were open again and were glowing brighter then before and were tinged with red. "I see blood…tears…crying…a child's laughter…anger…love."
A shudder wracked the neko-jin's body but he kept murmuring as though nothing was wrong. "Silver….gold….traitor in the darkness….someone no would believe…poison." He looked straight at Kai. "Bryan. Trust him. He's the only one you can."
Without warning Rei started to scream, the sound tearing through the room. Before Kai could react he found himself ripped away from the neko-jin and pinned to the wall by Bryan. The taller man smirked at him, silver eyes still glowing and shot through with iridescent blue. "Unfortunately it looks like were stuck together."
Kai was so shocked by everything the neko-jin had said that he wasn't prepared for the pain fill groaned that trickled out of Bryan's throat as the taller man collapsed against him.