Brother Light, Brother Dark: In Which the Super Awesome Plot-Twist is Revealed
#10 of Brother Dark, Brother Light
The following novella was written as a collaborative effort between myself and Dragonatic for the People. Project started March 2010. All characters and content are copyright to their respective owners.This series will only be made available for reading in its entirety for a limited time only, with parts released periodically!! All comments, critiques, and criticisms are welcome.
"TALOS!"
The heavy wooden doors standing as the entrance to Talos's large abode burst open, and two bleeding guards came to a crash landing on the floor from the other side, leaving splotches of red on the floor. One attempted to get up again but no sooner fell back to the ground, and the other didn't even try.
It was then Donichus came stomping in, his sword drawn and dripping. It was getting dark outside, and much to Donichus's surprise, the interior to the large estate was just as dim and bleak. Only silence greeted his explosive entrance. The candle posts and chandeliers that illuminated the rooms on his last visit remained unlit, making it difficult to see a couple yards past the open front doors. The only source of light came in faintly through small windows in the walls; it was only just enough for Donichus to make his way.
The clicking sound his killer claw made upon the hard floor echoed across the room as he slowly - cautiously - made his way. The portraits that hung against the walls seemed to follow the raptor with their quiet gazes, and all the comfort a fancy Persian rug could possibly provide would never suffice to compensate for the uneasy feeling churning in Donichus's stomach. Even at his fastest pace, riding internationally had taken several days since Jaqaran's abduction. Now that it had all come down to this, all senses that weren't allocated to scanning his surroundings were directed to praying he wasn't too late.
Still downstairs, he ducked into the first room he came across, spinning out from around the doorway and holding his weapon out in front of him. It was a lounge room of sorts, and was completely deserted.
He tried a couple more rooms and found them in much of he same manner. The silence was unnerving, so Donichus roared out Talos's name again. The last door in the downstairs level led to a long, dark hallway; the end to which, Donichus waited until his eyes adjusted to see. The floor creaked under him, and the click of his killer claw didn't sound like it was coming from him. There was no doubt in his mind that he may be falling into one of Talos's traps, but the only thing he could do about that for the mean time was be cautious.
Before long, he found himself in a cavernous dining hall. In the center of the room was a long dining table, bare. To one side of the room was a large fireplace, and what struck Donichus as that it was ablaze. The orange firelight cast spectral shadows on the floor, jumping and swaying with every movement he made. Turning, he clearly saw the silhouette of his own shadow outlined against the wall. It held his gaze for a few seconds before realizing that it was drawing out his sword. Though Donichus was making no such movement and his weapon was still tucked in its scabbard, his shadow raised the weapon in his own attack stance and swung at him.
Instinctively, Donichus jumped back. His shadow raised its black sword and made another swipe at him, and Donichus could only step back until he bumped into the large, wooden table.
His shadow brought its weapon over its head and brought it down. Donichus rolled out of the way. His sword's shadow smashed into the shadow of the table, and the actual table became a mess of splinters where it'd hit.
It was then Donichus remembered to draw his weapon, his gaze fixed on the wall, facing his opposing shadow. Though he couldn't actually see whom he was fighting, the length between him and how far away his shadow was against the wall gave the only clue to its position. Donichus's shadow lunged at him again, and Donichus raised his sword to parry the blow. He recognized his own attack patterns being used against him; dealing out small attacks first, relentless and quick, before trying to finish him off with a large swing.
Donichus jumped up on the table to gain the upper ground. But quite predictably, his shadow spun around and did a flip in the air to trip him over with its tail. He crashed back to the tabletop, and moments after rolling out of the way, a wide crack of splinters appeared where his head was. Of course this is what he would've done if he were fighting against an actual enemy - if Donichus wanted to be beat himself, he realized he couldn't be himself. He needed a different tactic. One that was crazy, unexpected, and something he'd never ordinarily do.
But no matter what Donichus tried, his shadow always had a counterattack. His flips, sword dances, and tail tricks were useless against himself. What was worse came when they clashed swords, pushing against one another. Donichus knew he was face-to-face with his shadow, though he saw nothing out in front of him. Then, he tilted his sword at an angle, allowing the shadow's sword to slide along his, which he directed back at his attacker. He landed a hit on his shadow's arm, but it was Donichus who shrieked out in surprised pain. He looked down to see his own arm was bleeding in the exact same spot where he'd landed the hit. A thin slit of red oozed out blood, and Donichus's shadow stood back and watched.
Panting, it then dawned on Donichus that he truly was fighting himself; if he were to drive his sword through the shadow's heart, he'd only succeed in killing himself. For a brief moment, Donichus panicked, and when his shadow thrust its sword at him again, another slit appeared at his side.
Donichus staggered back and hit the wall next to the fireplace. There, he sagged to the floor and dropped his weapon. He couldn't hope to win at fighting against himself. He watched the opposite wall as his shadow came around the table's edge, seeming to stand right in front of him. Then it raised its sword at such an angle that a single swipe would decapitate him.
Talos was a black mage, and thus, he should've expected more that he would use his black magic to defend himself. His thoughts spontaneously trailed back to when he was telling Jaqaran about it.
Darkness is merely an absence of light, Jaqaran...
An absence of light. That was it!
His shadow was ready to take his head off, and just before the sword came down, Donichus seized a burning log from the fireplace and hurled it at the opposite wall. It exploded into sparks as it hit, and Donichus gave a shrill cry of pain, clutching his chest as a burning sensation radiated out from his bowels. It lasted only for a moment, until the burning log hit the floor.
With a heavy pant in his breath, Donichus looked up and saw that his renegade shadow was gone. He sighed out heavily and gave out a hearty chuckle. He had to admit, he didn't expect that to work - and perhaps that's why it did. Grabbing back his sword, he groaned as he got back to his feet and continued down the hall, no sooner hearing a familiar voice cry out in the distance.
"Donichus! Donichus! Can you hear me? Where are you?"
"Jaqaran? Jaqaran," Donichus yelled out as loudly as he could.
"Donichusss..." Jaqaran sounded as though he were speaking through a sob. "Help me, Donichus. Help!"
"I'm coming, Jaqaran! Just hold on!" With renewed energy, Donichus sprinted forward, bursting through a door on the opposite side of the room that led to yet another hallway, longer than the last.
"Oh please, Donichus... help..." Jaqaran's voice was getting fainter as it kept repeating all the while Donichus ran the length of the hall. At the end, was another door, and Donichus, frustrated with the number of them, rammed it clean open.
Talos looked up at him from his cup of tea. "You really should learn to knock."
Donichus glided across the room and grabbed the hawk's robe, pressing him against the chair he was sitting in and positioning the tip of his sword to his throat. The cup he'd been holding clattered to the floor. "Where is he," the raptor demanded at his face. "Tell me!"
Talos returned the raptor's glare from his shattered cup on the floor. "I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about," he said calmly.
Donichus reeled his arm back and plunged his sword straight through the chair, mere inches away from Talos's neck. "I shan't ask again," he growled.
Talos recovered from his flinch and once again looked up at Donichus. "He's not yours to take. If memory serves correctly, it was you who took him from me."
Donichus pursed his maw. "I'm taking him with me. This is not up for discussion."
"Isn't it?" Talos said with a slight tilt of his head. "Why don't we ask someone with a more... diplomatic point of view."
Suddenly, Donichus felt a sharp tip pointed at his back. "Hello Donichus."
With another sigh, Donichus hung his head. "Tyrannio."
A clawed hand reached from behind and took his weapon. Once disarmed, Donichus turned around and faced his brother. The king's countenance was expressionless. Donichus didn't know whether it was because he simply couldn't read his face, or that he truly was void of all emotion. "I'm sorry, brother. But you just have to be stopped."
"The king has been most gracious," Talos said, connecting his fingertips on each hand. "It was he who returned Jaqaran to me."
Donichus glared at the other dinosaur. "Our place... that was you?"
Tyrannio tipped Donichus's sword to the floor and took a small step back. "I had to. If I sent dispatches out to get you, you'd have been hanged on the spot. And I needed you here to see this."
Donichus spoke through gritted teeth. "See what?"
To this, Tyrannio brushed past Donichus. There came a slight cling of metal, and when Donichus turned around, Tyrannio was standing behind Jaqaran, holding his sword at his throat.
Suddenly Donichus released a shrill peal of mindless emotion and hurled himself at the two, but sooner found himself with his feet planted firmly on the ground after Talos lifted a finger. He looked over at a nearby wall to see the hands of Talos's shadow gripping his ankles in place. "You... you let him go, or I swear. I swear, I'll -"
"You'll what," Talos said, getting to his feet. "He is mine to do with as I please. I'm sure Jaqaran must have told you by now that his job for me was to simply be used. To help me set an example. That was his role." He reached into his robe and pulled out a gleaming, serrated dagger and began brushing it against Donichus's neck as though he were painting an elaborate portrait. "But I suppose you're right in a sense that I have little use for him now. Perhaps a final demonstration of what I can do is in order."
Donichus growled.
"Stop," Tyrannio said. He pressed the sword closer to Jaqaran's throat, making the boy stiffen and whimper slightly. "The deal was that I get Donichus."
Talos blinked at him. "Fine," he said. "He can watch while I finish Jaqaran." He strode towards the boy, dagger held high.
"NO!" Donichus screamed.
The weapon plummeted down. In that instant, the animalistic defensive instinct kicked Donichus hard in the head as he launched himself in blind fury at the three of them. Tyrannio's grip against Jaqaran was released for a mere moment, but that was all Jaqaran needed to fling himself out of the way while Tyrannio did the same in the other. He made a blind grab for the knife, swerving it out of Talos's grasp in an impressive counterattack.
It all came as a rush to Donichus. In one instant, he was in one spot, and in the next, he was in another, and a startled cry of pain from Talos as he made for the far wall, clutching his bleeding arm. He pulled a hidden lever on a nearby bookshelf and the wall rotated him out of the room.
With Talos's shadow gone with him, Donichus immediately resumed his assault on Tyrannio, who was taken completely off guard, allowing Donichus to ram him flat to the floor. He roared in his brother's face after grabbing back his sword and was just about ready to push it deep into his chest when a pair of hands grabbed him and started pulling him back.
"Donichus, no! Stop!"
"He did it!" Donichus snarled at Jaqaran. "He's the one. I'm going to kill him!" He attempted to drive the sword in again, but Jaqaran yanked back his arm.
"No, Donichus! You're not going to kill him."
"Why not!"
"Because he's your brother, Donichus!" Jaqaran's shoulders were heaving as his tone softened. "And because he didn't do it."
Donichus flared his nostrils, peering deeply into the young jaguar's eyes.
"He didn't do it, Donichus."
Tyrannio grunted. "So my brother will return to Talos. And with our new alliance forged, we'll be able to take him down together."
The hooded guest that spoke in Tyrannio's private study some nights prior shifted under their cloak and nodded.
"And you will be the one to deliver Donichus?"
For a period of time, the figure sat in still silence before sealing their bargain in plain terms: "I can give you Donichus... you just make sure we be there in time."
"Hmm. Well, as I'm sure you can imagine, my brother and I aren't exactly on the best of terms right now. What makes you so sure he'd be willing to join sides with me?"
"Because I'm on your side." The figure reached up and pulled back the cowl on their head. Young feline eyes gazed at the king with that foolish sort of hope often found in those who probably don't know any better. But Tyrannio had to believe the boy knew the best way to reach his brother. "To unite common enemies, you give them a common goal. And that's where Talos comes in."
"You want me to turn you in."
"Use me to get to Talos. Use Talos to get to Donichus."
"Yeah? And then what," scoffed Tyrannio.
"And then we convince him who's really against who."
Donichus stared blankly at Jaqaran, his shoulders heaving and eyes unbelieving.
"He was never going to hurt me," Jaqran said, taking a step closer to him. "I'm sorry it had to be like this, Donichus, but I had to do something. After the attack on your brother, and after what happened... with us... I just couldn't see how the two yous could be the same person. You couldn't either. It was tearing you apart, and I couldn't stand for that." Jaqaran turned his gaze briefly to Tyrannio, then back to Donichus. The raptor's glare hadn't yet lifted. "I knew that if you really wanted your ability... to love back, I had to bring in your brother."
"What made you think," Donichus gritted, "that I wanted anything more to do with him?"
"He's your bro-"
"Stop using that as an excuse," roared Donichus.
"It's the only reason you both are still alive," Jaqaran yelled back at him. "You grew up together. You did everything together. You were afraid that you'd loose him forever, so you built walls to distance yourself, but this only made you grow more and more apart."
Donichus scowled and turned away from Jaqaran, choosing to focus instead on Tyrannio pinned beneath him. The king's eyes were wide, his mouth slightly agape to regulate his heavy breath. With a gaze that burned beneath the stoic, detached countenance of a ruler, Donichus found a hint of sentiment in his eyes. Undetectable, at first glance, for it was hidden deep below ages of a hardened character that somehow reminded him of himself.
Jaqaran released his hand holding back Donichus's sword and moved it up to place on his shoulders. "You've been angry for a long time, Donichus. But you cannot change who you both are, it's time to let go of all that."
Donichus wrinkled up his snout and pushed off of Tyrannio with an irate grunt. He took a few aimless steps around the room before stopping to sheath back his weapon. "I can't," he finally said with his back to them. "It's been far too long."
"It's never too late to make amends," Jaqaran said somewhere. "That's why I went to him, that's what this is all about. Forgiveness. Your brother loves you, Donichus. I... love you."
Donichus looked up at the ceiling and blinked. "Yes, well..." and then, after a few seconds, he shook his head. "There are better ways of showing it. You," He said, turning around and pointing a claw straight a Tyrannio, "stay out of my way." He started to huff out.
"Donichus!" Jaqaran called out, but Tyrannio cut him off before he could get to him.