Khal knew. As soon as Rene stepped into the kitchen, he knew that something was up. That Rene was about to do something rash. It didn’t take the years of therapeutic techniques he had picked up through educated minds, or the tomes of behavioral analysis he had read off the brains of exhausted and overly anxious college graduates to know that Rene had something on his mind, and Khal wasn’t going to like it.

He knew, because he had been down this road before. A couple times actually. 

Khal filled his new kettle, and set it to boiling on the stove. He wanted to act as ignorant and innocent as possible, in the hope that Rene would change his mind. That he wouldn’t go through with what he was about to do. 

When Rene asked him to sit, he felt that foreboding pit in his stomach. What he wouldn’t give to go back in time and fix everything that had led to this moment. 

Rene blathered on with platitudes of how good Khal had been to them. How he had been there through the worst moments of their lives, and even brought them a beloved pet. Then he dropped the bomb, a suggestion that they needed to take space from each other. 

A breakup, put simply. 

Khal tried to save it, to plead with Rene that he would do better, that he could be better. No more suggestions of moving into a bigger house until everyone was ready. 

Rene wasn’t having it. 

Khal begged him not to do this, as something dark and terrible began to rise within him at Rene’s rejection of him. 

The fucking audacity!

After everything that Khal had done to bring them together, how dare Rene go through with this foolishness!

Khal begged Rene one more time as the demon of anger swept over him, engulfing him completely. 

Rene was completely resolute. He stood up and started to walk away, suggesting that Khal leave the next day, promising to help him get set up wherever he went. 

The kettle began to whistle, a shrill shrieking sound that pierced through Khal’s skull. Without realizing what he was doing, Khal stood up, grabbed the handle of the kettle, and slammed it into the back of Rene’s head in a violent fit of anger. 

Khal’s immediate panicked thought was that he had actually killed Rene, but when he didn’t feel that familiar sorrow of Rene’s death wash over him, and he saw him breathing still where he lay on the floor, a sense of relief flooded him. It wasn’t too late to make things right. Maybe. 

There was a sudden screeching sound, and Khal watched in surprise as Rene’s whole body tensed up and began to tremble. He’d looked into the minds of enough doctors to know that he was witnessing a seizure, one almost certainly induced from the damage done to Rene’s brain with the kettle. 

Well shit.

Khal quickly turned Rene onto his side in the recovery position, and made sure there was nothing nearby for him to hit his head on. When he was certain that Rene wasn’t going to aspirate, he set about grabbing supplies for what he was going to do next. 

Khal was going to tell Rene everything. He was going to lay everything bare, so that Rene could finally understand. 

So that he could realize that he had no alternative really. 

It was Rene and Khal, endgame for eternity. 

It had to work, because the alternative wouldn’t be very nice. 

*****

Khal secured Rene to the chair when he was in his post-ictal state, just past seizing, but too discombobulated to fight back or realize what was going on. He cleaned him up as best he could with some paper towels, that he tossed on the table next to Rene’s dream journal when they were soiled. 

Khal pulled out his phone, and turned on the Playlist that he had made on Spotify to remind him of Ling. The last time he had been truly, blissfully happy. He hoped it would spark something of a memory in Rene, and help this whole process run more smoothly. 

When Rene finally came to, he immediately started to vomit, but Khal had anticipated this, and had the small garbage can ready to catch everything as he rubbed Rene’s back in an attempt to soothe him. 

When Rene was done throwing up, Khal quickly wet a paper towel and proceeded to clean him up. It seemed unkind to have him sitting in his own sick for this. 

Rene asked what happened, and Khal watched him slowly process everything as he looked around. The confusion on his face soon turned to fear. He flinched away from Khal, who felt a rush of annoyance. Of course, this was to be expected. Khal dropped the latest paper towel on the table in the pile and explained to Rene that he’d had a seizure, and would be taken to the hospital after they had a chance to talk. 

Rene was immediately defensive, and demanded Khal release him, but Khal ignored him, shifting their conversation to the song, to Tom Petty, and Ling’s love for him. To Khal’s attempt to get Ling to one of Petty’s concerts a lifetime ago. 

Rene wasn’t listening. Khal ignored his requests for freedom, and continued in his conversation about Ling. 

And Charun.

Cody.

Asim…

Khal picked up the journal and spoke about Rene’s 17 lives, all the stories he had learned from reading his journal myriad times. Rene tried to redirect Khal to let him go, which brought back the demon of anger. Khal jumped up in frustration, kicking the kettle violently rather than take his anger out on Rene again. 

Rene’s eyes were wide, and full of fear. He began to apologize profusely. 

Finally, it seemed they would be able to talk. Khal carefully went over how the dreams in Rene’s journal were more than dreams. It took a bit, as Rene was fighting so hard against the logic staring him right in the face. To him, they were just dreams, but to Khal, they were so much more. He slowly got Rene to see the truth. 

He explained to Rene that they were meant to be together. That he had waited in so many lives to see the turquoise hue of their goddess’s eyes in Rene’s, in his past selves. How he had been so close to immortality a number of times. 

It was strangely difficult for Khal to remember some of those deaths. A painful reminder of the devastation he had lived again, and again, and again. 

Khal vaguely touched on the fact that Rene had not written about their first life together. He believed their goddess must have her reasons for not helping him remember, and who was he to question Aset.

And speaking of Aset…

Khal feigned ignorance of the divine women in Rene’s dream, trying to lead Rene to the truth. Somehow, he just wasn’t understanding that it was his dear sweet Emory speaking to him from…somewhere. Sometime. Connected eternally to their goddess. Khal tried to help Rene understand without laying it all out. He didn’t want to completely overwhelm him. He was also a little bitter at Emory giving Rene the memory that seemed to have a lot to do with his final decision to end things with Khal. What was she playing at?

It took a little bit for Khal to steel himself, but he knew he needed to be honest with Rene, at least about certain things, for them to move on. To move forward. 

He told Rene about his abilities, and after a less than subtle demonstration with their neighbor Colleen, wherein she chopped her pinky off like it was a carrot, Khal certainly got his point across. Now, he faced Rene, and let him know the truth.

The truth about Jeff Aquino, choosing him to recreate the Ankh. About putting Rene in that horrible position to bring them closer together more quickly as Rene was running out of time to gain immortality, with only 27 years left, according to their goddess. 

Rene was livid, and Khal was uneasy. He knew this would be the case, but it didn’t make it any easier. Their love had spanned centuries, and he needed Rene to know that he would do literally anything to sustain it. 

Rene practically spit venom, unable to see Khal’s reality that no matter what, he was drawn to Rene. It wasn’t his fault.

As Khal began to clean up the mess left by Colleen’s blood, Rene’s words twisted like a knife into his side. 

“I don’t love you, and I never will again.”

The demon returned. The anger rising once more in Khal, but he kept calm, calculated. He knew this would happen. He knew what he had to do. 

He made it abundantly clear that he would do whatever it took to keep Rene with him, all loved ones and friends be damned, if he so chose. 

It took a moment, but Rene gave in, with only two requests. 

That Khal wouldn’t hurt anyone Rene cared about. 

And that Khal would let Ari go, free her mind from him. 

He could have asked for the moon and the stars, and Khal would have given them to him. 

Khal destroyed the pebble he had left in Ari’s mind, and she was free of him.

*****

It seemed clear that it would take Rene some time to come around. 

However, after getting him settled in at the hospital, and heading home to clean up the mess left behind before Emory or Ari came over, Khal was pleasantly surprised to watch Rene wake up from his dream, and look at him in that special way that his precious Asim had. If only for a moment.

Rene had remembered their first life together, and suddenly had every intention of using Khal’s abilities for the good of mankind, as their goddess had wanted. Khal was more than happy to oblige.

Khal gave Rene the brief overview of how his ability worked, and they made their way through the hospital, Khal reading mind after mind to find a good candidate for justice. He was amused at Rene’s insistence that they just have the “bad guys” turn themselves in. Khal, who had a more direct view into their demented minds, could think of much more creative forms of punishment. Tortures that would only begin to touch on the cruelty of these beasts, but which felt a whole lot more justified than a little jail time. 

Rene was insistent. Ever the good soul. Ever the kind one. 

Khal wanted to push him. To make him want real justice. The justice of a goddess. 

So he introduced him to the hospital CEO, Mr. Davis. An unholy terror of greed, murder, and gluttony, Mr. Davis was everything that was wrong with the world, and Khal laid out his myriad sins for Rene to judge. 

His cruelty and callousness toward his staff and patients. His inability to feel even a shred of empathy for dying children if it got in the way of his profits. Willfully endangering the lives of all those in his hospital during the peak of Covid-19 to save some money. 

And of course, the home run sin that even Rene would be unable to get past. 

Murdering a sweet little girl that looked like dear Emory because she wouldn’t let him live out his rapist fantasy in the way he wanted. 

“You want to kill him so badly.” Khal pointed out, pushing Rene, nudging him into the darkness where Khal would be to catch him. Where they could together find real justice for the wicked. 

Rene fought him still, pointing out that Khal had done evil things too, and asking if he should be punished in the same way. 

Khal was amused by Rene’s fight to stay a decent man, to not give in to the darkness. It had been so easy for him. 

Rene’s words bit him when Rene pointed out that he knew Khal would try to make it up to him, but could he ever make it up to their goddess?

The demon returned for a moment, squirming in Khal’s gut. How dare Rene question his devotion to Aset! He had prayed to her for centuries. Lived for her. Suffered for her. Died and was brought back to life again and again and again for her. 

Rene accused Khal of doing their goddess a disservice in his actions over the years. What rose colored glasses he must be viewing her through, having just remembered her only very recently. He had not lived the years of suffering by her absence. He had not been tortured for decades while she refused to acknowledge him. He had not been tested in his faith of her as Khal had. Who was he to judge what their goddess expected of them?

Khal threw up his hands, and offered to just let Mr. Davis turn himself in, but he was sure to point out every way the system would benefit him, and would the punishment truly be enough for what he had done? For the sweet little girl he had murdered?

Rene hesitated, and asked Khal to force Mr. Davis to tell him the truth. 

Together, they pulled the brutal truth from Mr. Davis, and at the end of it all, Rene finally came to the decision that Mr. Davis did indeed need to suffer his own worst fear of being tied to concrete and fed to the fish. 

“I want him to leave a note, confessing to everything. Then I want him to go tie himself to a cinderblock and drop himself into the ocean, it’s what he deserves.”

Khal heard those words, and couldn’t help but swell with pride. This was his Rene! This was the man who was going to bring the world to justice with him. 

He grinned and nodded and he pushed those exact thoughts into Mr. Davis’ mind, and said, “It’s done.”

As Mr. Davis drove to the coast to enact his own fate, Khal had his most important conversation yet with Rene. This was the moment, the path he had been waiting for in every life since Aset had bestowed them with their gifts. They were meant to make the world a better place, together. It’s what their goddess wanted. It’s what Rene wanted. Khal knew deep in his heart that it’s what they were always meant to do. Whatever cruelty he had done in the past, would now be undone on a level he never could have conceived of before. His slate would be wiped clean. 

And Rene would be there as his compass. The man who could help him decide what justified right and wrong. Rene, who was always an advocate for good, no matter what life he was living, would find the answers to make the world a better place. 

It would be difficult. Khal anticipated feeling exhausted in a way he had not felt in centuries. He needed to know that Rene would be there to protect him, to love him, to look after him as they did this. He also needed Rene to believe that they were doing this for Emory’s benefit too, even though Khal knew that Emory was no longer their problem, she now belonged to Aset.

Khal was willing to do whatever it took to make Rene happy now, to see the turquoise in his eyes once more. And right now, that meant changing the world for the better. Making a brighter future for everyone. 

And the best and most important part was that they were going to do it together. 

Chapter 43 – Woman Woman