Eighty

We emerge from the tunnel into the familiar-looking cavern with the little pool bathing the sombre-looking hole in the ground in its glow. If it weren't for the ominous bleakness that hangs in the air, the cavern looks magical. Ethereal even. A gift bestowed on mankind, but not within reach.

At the opposite end of the pool, I spot my prize. He is chained to the cavern ceiling and the cavern floor with thick chains. He is suspended in such a way that he doesn't touch solid ground.

My brother is no fool after all. 

Narrowing my eyes, I try to get a closer look at him. His clothes are slashed and bloodied, and his head hangs low, resting on his outstretched arm, forming the perfect x.

Footsteps pound the ground, followed by shouts echoing nearby, and I pull my hand away from my beastly friend. I return to my normal-looking self the moment I break contact with the beast, while the men rush in the cavern, filing in two or three at a time.

Mason raises his head meekly, and tugs on the chains, but the men align against the wall, and silence falls upon the cavern.

Singular footsteps, measured ones, confident ones pierce the silence with an incredibly precise cadence. I hate that the only family I have left has spent his entire existence, scheming, and putting me through hell only to get power.

I guess, Julian was right. Power is indeed the most addictive drug. If he would have come to me and asked for it, I would have gladly given it to him. Even with the risk of losing my life. 

He emerges in the cavern looking like royalty. Not a speck of dust on him, any traces of the wound I inflicted on him a week ago, completely gone. As if it never happened, and I regret refusing to strip him of his power when I had the chance.

He gives me a sinister smile, " Sister," He opens his arms wide, " How lovely of you to join us. It is an auspicious day for the Daiō," He begins his speech and I hate it when people without a backbone have so much to say, but little to show for it.

" Well, what can I say…I wouldn't want to miss yet another bloody family reunion. You'll have to forgive me for my past transgressions. I didn't know you existed," I reply with equal apathy while my brother takes a step forward, offering a glimpse of the blade sheathed at his waist. The scabbard covers the unique pattern, but the hilt is all I need to know that, that is my blade.

" I see you've kept my blade," I smile smugly at him, and the Kormon looming over me huffs a puff of noxious gas in his direction.

My brother falls into a fit of coughs, but the men lined against the wall drop like flies.

" I..," He coughs violently so," you brought reinforcements," He wheezes between bouts of coughs.

I've learned my lesson, and I have a feeling that my beastly friend is not making full use of his power of gasing people with one single of his lethal breath. It's not meant to kill, only to stun the prey, while they gorge. Mother nature is indeed clever.

" I did," I say just as the cloud thins, and dissipates. It didn't knock me out, and I know it wouldn't affect Bartholomew either. Nonetheless, I still enjoy watching suffer even if it's just a tiny bit.

" I see that you've kept my blade. Our mother's blade wasn't good enough for you was it?" I step forward, placing myself between the front legs of the Kormon. At least I think, I do because I can't see him but I feel his presence.

" Or you can't use it, because she is dead," It makes sense. The Daiō fear the blade. The blade exists but it won't work if my mother is dead. Once he kills me, he will be able to make his own, but until then he relies on my blade. How tragically poetic, to die by the blade I've made for myself.

A low groan reaches my ear, but I keep my eyes focused on my brother. Mason is the bait and the distraction. 

Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, my brother smiles, viciously so," You figured it out," He hums, but I fail to see any Daiō in our vicinity. Unless they are being held up elsewhere.

" I did," I say calmly and reach to touch the leg of the Kormon.

" Tell me, brother, what would it take for us to make peace?" I pose the question, delusional in my foolish hope that we could reach an agreement. One that he will probably break, eventually.

His mocking laughter bounces off the walls, a laugh that I will probably have nightmares about for a very long time but for now. I need to stay sharp.

" You don't understand, do you little sister? There can only be one of us. This is not a big happy family, darling. The power will belong to only one of us, and I," He points at himself as he delivers his fervent speech," I am the one, the true leader of the Daiō, mut," Right, I forgot about that little part of our past.

" Oh, I do understand," And then some," I have it, you want it. And you will do pretty much anything to get it. Is not as complicated as you make it look. Patronising me is quite unnecessary," I release a sigh of annoyance, and slip the other blade from the sole of my foot. I need that blade.

My brother laughs again, " It's not just power, mut. Once you've reached the peak, there is no limit. You will become all-powerful. Your gifts can shape the universe, can warp time, can bend matter to your will, and nothing and none will be able to stop you," I was afraid of that.

" Thank you," I dig my nails into the Kormon's skin, hoping that he can understand the gesture as an attack. The window will be small, and I need to act fast.

When the Kormon doesn't react in any way, I dig my nails deeper for good measure. He coughs up a thick noxious cloud of smoke just as I drag one gulping breath to keep me going.

My brother begins to cough, and I take a leaping lunge for the blade strapped to his waist just as the cloud engulfs him, cutting his air supply and visibility. It's the perfect distraction. I know it won't kill him or debilitate him, but all I need is the opportunity.

Guided by his hacking coughs mostly since I can't open my eyes to see properly, whatever the Kormon expels in that cloud is making my eyes water.

It takes a bit of fumbling blindly before my body collides with his. We both tumble to the ground while, after a bit of feeling around, my hand finds the hilt of the sword, and I find myself in desperate need to pull away, to find a spot where the air isn't toxic.

I'm surprised to see that no Daiō has joined us as of yet, but I guess the Kormon horde is keeping them occupied, for now. I'm in no condition to fight more than one.

Gasping for air, I lean against the wall of the cave to regain my strength and sense of direction. A straining grunt floats to my ears, and I see my brother rising to his feet through the thinning fog, feeling around his waist for the blade. 

" You bitch," He growls, and stands straight in front of me, trying and failing to suppress another bout of coughs.

" So, I've been told," I pant, pushing myself off the wall. The weight of the blade feels good in my hand. I never thought I'd miss it, but I was wrong. It's a part of me. It's an extension of myself. Finally, I understand what Mason was trying to teach me all along.

" The Daiō will never bow to a whore, a mutt, a simpering bitch like you," He spits, his features twisting in disgust. The revulsion he displays towards me is utterly shocking. He doesn't even know me, and yet he spent years tormenting me from the shadows.

" And you think they will bow to you?" I twist the blade in my grip, preparing to land the final blow.

He spits again," They already have," He opens his arms wide, and rotates both of his wrists. I can see it forming around him, like a translucent veil of mist. It's not uniform, it moves with him as he takes a step forward. It behaves like a sort of shield, and I guess it is time to find out what it can do.

Raising my blade, I slice through it, but it wraps around the blade as if it has a mind of its own, and at the same time, it repels the blow.

A mocking laughter fills the cave," You have no idea of what I can do sister. But I know all about you," He taunts, his sinister laughter rings in my ears, marking the twelfth hour. The moment of truth. I catch a glimpse of something in my periphery, and I dare to have a quick peek. There she is, standing mutely, vacantly staring at us is Enid. The urge to ask, what has happened to her crawls under my skin but I know my brother doesn't exactly play fair, and this is nothing more than another ploy to get under my skin.

Advancing, surrounded by his protective cloud, my brother smiles victoriously at me. The time has come, to see what I have to show for myself. I can't unleash my powers to their full potential. It's a risk I can't take. There is a good chance that I will destroy everything in the process. Not just my brother.

I do the only thing I know and I've mastered fairly well. Slipping into a pocket, and holding back as much as I can. It's small, easy to find, not bigger than a broom closet. I move and it moves with me, cloaking my presence. I'm blind too, I can't see him either.

" Hiding sister. How very courageous of you. I guess the Daiō need to see how their future leader can't even face me in the final battle," He taunts. His big mouth is getting on my last nerve but I know that's what he is gunning for. 

Slipping out of the pocket, I find myself right behind him. I spear the sword through the repelling bubble, and it pushes back. My attack falls flat. I don't wait for my brother to turn around, and slip back into the pocket. I've lost track of the Kormon, and there is a good chance he has moved away or is waiting for the perfect opportunity to bite my head off.

" Come out, come out and play," My brother taunts in a sing-song voice, and I find myself racking my brain on how to break through or pierce through that damn bubble.

I only offer him silence. I have nothing to say to the prick. I'm done talking. He is far too lost in his delusional fantasy, and I'm not that fond of him, anyway.

What would Laira do? I don't have an entire science lab at my disposal to come up with a solution. Even if I did, I wouldn't know where to begin.

The only thing that comes to mind is a balloon. I think of the time Hector used to blow them up for us, and then we would pop them, just for fun. Some didn't pop right away, because the strain on the membrane wasn't enough to weaken its integrity. So, I put on my thinking cap. His shield behaves like an underinflated balloon, allowing for the air to move around. Apply enough pressure and it will pop, eventually.

And with that, I slip out of the pocket and charge towards my brother more aggressively this time around. I'm not expecting to land a blow straight away. As expected the blade bounces off the shield, nearly ripping away out of grasp. But I don't relent. I try again, making sure I hit the same spot, over and over again. The shield around him warbles, emitting a disorienting vibrating sound. It travels through the blade, echoing through me, making me dizzy. It looks deceptively harmless, but I can see why my brother is smiling so widely from inside it. By the time I penetrate through his shield, I'll be so confused that it won't matter anymore if I have the blade or not. Now, I know how my mother failed to kill him.

A weak low groan reaches my ears, and I know that Mason is stirring awake. His hands are tied, quite literally, and I can't rely on his help.

All the while, my brother just stands there, checking his nails, without a care in the world, watching me huff and puff with each blow I land on his shield.

My gaze drifts to his feet and I see that is the only place he is exposed. His feet are touching the ground. I look to where Mason is held, and I know what I have to do.

I slip into the pocket and carve my way towards him. I know he is weak, but I'm just hoping he might have enough to offer me the slightest advantage over my brother.

When I slip out, I find myself behind Mason, in one fell swoop of the blade, I sever the chains that anchor him to the ceiling and slip back before he touches the ground.

I slip out of the pocket, in front of my brother just as Mason crashes against the ground. In a fraction of a second, his eyes find mine, a silent understanding falls between us, and Mason plants an open palm on the ground.

It trembles ever so slightly, and in a matter of seconds, roots sprout from the ground at my brother's feet. They wrap around his ankles, yanking him off his feet. It's only for a split second, but his shield falls, and that is when I strike, the blade slips between his ribs seamlessly, and I don't stop pushing until the other end pokes out of his shoulder. I place the palm of my hand on his chest, and that is when I feel it, tickling my fingertips, his power rising to the surface. The little marble of light, pushing through his chest, concentrating into the palm of my hand. Its soft comforting warmth spreads along the length of my arm, and I find my brother's haunted eyes, as I pull the blade. The pained gasp that slips out of him, at the feel of the barbed edge of the blade slicing through him, is a balm to my soul. He has put me through hell, and I feel no sympathy in these last moments.

" Go to hell," He garbles, the hateful glint in his eyes so strong and piercing that I feel the heat of it all the way down into my soul.

" You first, brother. I'll meet you there. Be good and save me a spot," I lift the blade to sever the little thread of light that ties his powers to his now mortal shell.

Staring blankly at the cave ceiling with glazed-over eyes, specks of pink light reflecting in them, his body falls limp. I stare at his lifeless body, his blood, my blood drips off the blade, every drop echoing eerily in the deadly silence surrounding us.

Grunting pulls me out of my trance and I find Mason trying to push himself off the cave floor, chains rattle and I can't help but look at the marble of light in the palm of my hand.

" Apple," I say as I cover the distance between myself and Mason.

He rolls on the floor on his back, just as Apple appears in the cave.

" Mistress," He greets but my only focus is the man on the floor.

With one swing, I shatter the chains that bind his legs, the shackles will have to wait for now.

" Find the Daiō," I say quietly, and look over in the corner only to find that Enid has gone.

" Yes, Mistress," I hear him but in that moment, it is of no importance. I lower myself next to Mason to check his wounds. Thankfully, they are not as severe as I thought they would be, but then again the Whiteheart will take care of him, like it did before. I only need to get him there before it's too late.

I never pledged my allegiance to Zareen, but I assume Mason must have done so in his unconscious state. I never asked and he never told me.