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The Brothers

The red, brown, and orange leaves blew across the hall’s open windows as Daniel’s boots scraped across the stone floor. All time was a blur to him now, but it was sometime in mid-Autumn from the looks of the trees and what he remembered from the books he read.

The world he was born into was void of most wildlife, and he’d only ever known manufactured food. When the aroma of roasted venison entered Daniel’s nose for the first time, his growling stomach called out for a taste, and he had to wipe the drool from the corner of his mouth.

He stood in the entryway and peeked through the crowd, then found a hand waving him over. Daniel slid onto a bench next to Nicholas and tipped his head to the other men sitting with him. “Daniel, let me introduce you to a few of my children. This is Agamori, Mage and Uzzi.”

Agamori and Uzzi were nearly identical in their looks with their thin, fair skin and long white hair. Mage favored his father with dark hair that had a red glow to it in the torchlight, but they all had the icy blue eyes that he came through time to meet.

The plate of food the servers set before him made Daniel’s eyes close; he’d never seen or smelled anything so lovely, and his throat ached in anticipation. His fingers wiggled against the lip of his plate as he ducked his chin around the server’s arms to face the brothers. “My name is Daniel Darke.”

At just a shade over a thousand-years-old, the eternally handsome Agamori raised his arrogant white eyebrow to Daniel. “You must be a witch of great skill to travel here on your own.”

Daniel licked the taste of the strange, sweet liquid off his lip and shook his head as he set down the cup. “I don’t know how that happened. I was just following the woman in my vision.” His eyes slid to Nicholas, and he fumbled with the stem of his glass. “She asked me to come here.”

A tight-lipped grin spread across Agamori’s typically smug face while the evening breeze caught his white hair. As it lifted from his back, it blew the subtle scent of the red-haired woman across Daniel’s face. The burn of envy sat in the middle of his chest, and he rubbed it away as his eyes snapped up to the pale wizard. “You know who I’m talking about, don’t you?”

Agamori glanced to his father before his eyes fell to the table in front of him, and he nodded. “Indeed. I know her very well.” His fingers wrapped around the intricately carved stem of his glass and lifted it from the table. “It is a rare gift to travel without a guide. I am quite eager to see what other skills you have yet unknown, Daniel.”

While the evening carried on and the men’s tongues grew looser, the wine worked its spell on Daniel, and he managed to smile when Nicholas told stories of the old times.

Every now and again, when he caught the smell of her again, Daniel would look back over his shoulder and dart his eyes around the room, searching for her.

Watching Daniel frantically look for his daughter, Nicholas laid his hand on his shoulder and shook his head. “She’s not here, Daniel. Not yet.”

Daniel’s heart sank in his chest, and he nodded in understanding, then returned to his food.

While walking back to his room that night, Daniel slid his fingers along the murals, and flashes of ancient memories came into his mind. Every second he spent in this unknown world he found, Daniel’s powers and recollections grew.

The evening breeze across the library brought with it the voices in his head again, and they led him to a mural. His arms crossed his chest as he took in every curve of the artist’s brush strokes and cracked ancient scrap of paint.

In the scene, a dark-haired warlock with flashing dark eyes struck down an enormous giant of a beast. In his drunken state, Daniel sneered at the monster, and an icy chill went down his back. “Fuck you, you ugly bastard.” With his finger pointing at the nightmare, Daniel’s swaying head turned slightly, and he narrowed his eyes. “We’ve met before. Haven’t we?”

“That’s the Great Evil.” Daniel startled and gasped back a breath as Nicholas walked up behind him. “Nearly a thousand years ago, that creature tore our whole world apart and killed over half the population. It took all the power we could muster to contain it.”

When he glanced over his shoulder at Nicholas, Daniel examined the old warlock’s face. “Contain? You didn’t kill it?”

Nicholas came to Daniel’s side and clasped his hands behind his back. “Nothing ever really dies, Daniel. Even when your body ceases to breathe, you will go on, as does The Evil. His soul lingers on the wind and in the hearts of wicked men. The time will come when he can poke a hole into this world and begin his reign of terror again.” With his hand on Daniel’s shoulder, Nicholas turned to look into his eyes. “We must be ready when the time comes.”

His eyes fell back to the wall, and Daniel nodded while he took in every horrid feature of the monster. “We will be this time.”

“I have no doubt. I know the things you’ve done, Daniel.” A hint of shame tugged at his cheek as Fate pulled it to face Nicholas. “We need men like you. Men who aren’t afraid of doing what needs to be done to win. The fate of everyone depends on your ability to be ruthless; it is your gift to us. Don’t be ashamed.”

Daniel huffed out through his nose and smirked to himself while he tried to maintain his balance. “Another master told me the same thing once.”

The kind old man’s lips twisted, and he shook his head as his finger lifted in front of his face. “But this time, no one’s demanding that you do so for glory or power, only for survival.” His arms unfolded, and he held his hands out while his eyes surveyed the room. “And here, Daniel, you are your own master. You are free to come and go as you please. The only thing that binds you to me or anyone else is your own conscience. There are no chains to tie you down.”

His face jutted forward and turned just a bit as he challenged his new benefactor’s words. “You know why I’m here, my Lord.”

Smiling at Daniel, Nicholas nodded and turned away. “Yes, but there’s much to do before she returns. You should get some rest; your training starts in the morning.”

Daniel wandered back to his room and felt the doors with his hands as he passed by until he reached one that made his fingers buzz, and he knew who belonged there. Daniel pushed the door open, and the gentle smell of wildflowers from his memory bathed him as he passed through the threshold.

He closed the door behind him, and stumbled to the bed in the room’s corner, then sank down into it on his belly. “Where are you? Please come home.”

He buried his face into the pillow she once rested her head upon, and his chest filled with an ache he’d not felt since he was a lonely child begging for his family’s attention. His broken heart called out for her, and he’d never be whole until she was by his side. Whatever their connection was lit a fire inside Daniel and his entire body was consumed by the burning desire to be in her presence.

The soft bed he laid on invited him to stay as his heavy eyelids bobbed up and down. His hands pushed against the mattress and his throat burned with a hint of sadness as he left the only comfort he’d ever known. Daniel’s fingers slid across the pleasingly silky sheets, and he backed away towards the door. Before leaving the room, Daniel peeked back at her bed and rested his hand over his heart. “Everything I do is for you. Wherever you are, you are my Queen.”

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