© Copyright 2011
All work is property of Leah Crichton, any duplication or reproduction of all or part of the work without explicit permission by the author is illegal.

Fratricide: (fra-tri-sahyd)

the act of killing one‘s brother

His steps were soundless.

It wasn’t until the grass moved, betraying his position, that Damien was even aware he was coming. “Ahh, that’s more like it, Orion. I’ve never known you to refuse a challenge.”

I held my breath, trapping air in my chest. I waited, expecting one of them to rush the other one, but it was eerily calm. Orion’s face was cold as stone. “Not really a challenge, Damien. I’d have to have a worthy adversary for it to be considered a challenge. This? This is more like an inconvenience.”

Damien stretched, cocking his head first to the left and then to the right. He straightened his shoulders and tensed, preparing for the battle he had been waiting so long for.

Orion made the first move, extending his giant hand in front of him and pulling his elbow back like a skilled archer. Swiftly, almost before I had time to realize what he was doing, he threw it out in front of his body. A deafening sound ripped through the air, like thunder. The impact of the energy he threw sent Damien barreling across the field, like he had been propelled by rocket fuel. He was momentarily stunned, then disappeared, using the thick brush as a shield. “Is that the best you’ve got?” His voice was condescending. His laughter echoed. It made me shiver.

Orion remained completely composed. Where was his notorious temper when he needed it? “On the contrary, Damien, I haven’t even started yet. Come out, come out wherever you are.” He mimicked Damien’s earlier game. “What’s the matter? You aren’t afraid, are you?”

The voice that responded was ominous. I’m sure it could be heard for miles. “Don’t insult me, Orion, you pathetic little fool.”

Orion looked around for any sign of his brother. His eyes shone brightly. I must have been half a mile away from him, and I could see the blue in his irises gleaming as it did yesterday. “Truly? You call me pathetic, but look at you. You, the vile soul collector. You’re weak.” He was being pompous.  He underestimated both Damien’s speed and agility.

I sat helpless and watched as he made a rapid descent from above, like a skydiver. I had no idea where he had actually came from, but he caught Orion off guard. His body hit his brother’s with force, knocking them both to the ground. I slapped my hand over my mouth to muffle a squeal. Orion was quickly on his feet, and he was angry. He rolled up his sleeves as Damien got to his feet.

Damien growled, his face distorted. Orion didn’t flinch. Damien held both hands down at his sides. His eyes rolled into the back of his head like a venomous snake. His arms started to shake, and the ground beneath him started moving like it was being shoveled away. Angry red flames quickly rose up from it and onto each fingertip. I gasped. 

Orion’s temper erupted; his voice was just as booming as Damien’s was a moment ago. “Come on, snake! This is what you wanted, isn’t it? Well, I’m right here, so come and get me.”

I was too shocked to cry. I wanted to. I wanted desperately to run to Orion and beg him to stop. Fear kept my body frozen to the ground beneath it.

Damien’s fingertips pointed toward Orion, and the fire that came from them was red hot. As his finger extended, the flames swirled and formed a pointed spear. He launched it. I watched, helpless, as it targeted Orion and penetrated his upper arm. I heard a hissing, searing sound, like he’d just been branded. He grimaced and ripped it out, tossing it back at Damien, who ducked. Orion’s aim wasn’t even close. “Tsk, tsk. I think perhaps you’ve underestimated me,” Damien growled. “What a shame!”

Orion didn’t say anything; his response was physical. His hand lit up as I had seen it do before. He held his palm upwards to the sky and what looked like a purple lightning bolt shot downwards right onto it. Like the fire it swirled, but then took on the shape of a circle. It looked like a sphere of electricity. He tossed it and, right before it made impact with Damien, it blew up. The pieces that had expanded outwards reminded me of shrapnel. I could see them glowing up the side of Damien’s leg. His teeth were clenched. Orion shouted, “No, I think perhaps you don’t realize what I’m fighting for or how far I’ll go to protect it, swine.”

Damien snarled and lunged forward with remarkable speed. His hand balled into a fist and he struck Orion in the kidney, then his chest, then his already wounded arm. His hands were a blur of speed and impressive accuracy and as quick as his hands moved, he disappeared again. Orion, visibly shaken from the vicious assault, grunted and tried to hide his pain before Damien could attack again.

My mouth hung open. I couldn’t believe Orion, who was by all accounts invincible, could be so easily injured. I blinked. Where the hell did Damien go this time? My eyes darted wildly across the curtain of trees, looking for any sign of him. I strained my ears trying to hear him. Nervous, I shifted so my back was flush with the tree. I winced as the earth beneath me crunched; Damien would hear me.

Orion, regaining his composure, yelled again, “Come now, Damien, is that the best you can do?” Damien reappeared before Orion but Orion was the quicker one this time and sent his hand barreling outward. I could almost feel his power draw in the air around him. It was stronger than the last one. It threw Damien backwards and his head smashed into a rock. He stood up and vanished. “Going to play dirty, then?” Orion was not surprised.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, Romeo.” Damien’s voice again seemed to be coming from the sky. In a flash he appeared beside Orion. His foot raised, he quickly snapped a kick to Orion’s head. I heard something shatter under his foot.

Orion’s reflexes were on overdrive. He grabbed Damien’s ankle, lifted him off of the ground and flung him across the grass. It was a brutal assault. Orion staggered, dazed by the force of Damien’s foot.

Damien, wasting no time, came from behind and threw his body against his brother’s. Orion groaned but managed to reach behind him and grabbed Damien by the shoulders, hoisting him over his head and tossing him toward the row of trees. Damien was like a cat as his feet met with the bark of the tree trunk. He ran up the side of it and jumped down, crouching stealthily. He growled.

“Am I beginning to irritate you?” Orion asked.

“Your very existence irritates me. The fact that you woke up and took a breath this morning irritates me,” Damien replied, still hunched like a predator stalking its prey.

Orion, who I knew was injured, wouldn’t give in. He flexed both of his hands, his fingers making a grotesque cracking sound. Then he rolled his neck around; the cracking noise was even louder. “I thought you were going to erase me, brother. You aren’t doing a very good job, but you haven’t ever been very good at anything, have you?”

That did it. The sliver of composure remaining in Damien vanished. He leapt forward, launching himself off of the ground directly toward Orion. As he did, the fire came back into his hands like two vicious flamethrowers. Orion held up his hands quickly, forming an energy wall. The fire Damien was throwing evaporated when the two forces met. This set Damien off even more. He made it to Orion and he began punching him in a terrible, insanity-filled fury. Orion moved just as fast, blocking, punching, trying to keep up with Damien’s rapid assault. I could see nothing more than a blur of limbs intertwined in a horrendous battle.

“Stop, please!” I screamed. I tried to heed to Orion’s orders to be quiet, but he was getting hurt and I couldn’t bring myself to watch and do nothing. For a split second I could feel Orion’s eyes on me, but they didn’t linger. It didn’t matter. Damien didn’t need much more than a hint of where I was hiding.

Instantly he was beside me. He grabbed my hair and pulled it, forcing me to stand with him. I let out a loud squeal. Orion was right behind him but Damien was quicker, moving me in front of him, wrapping one arm around my neck and the other around my waist. I was a human shield.

“Let her go,” Orion demanded.

“I don’t think so,” Damien replied. He tightened his grip on my neck and removed his hand from my waist. He brushed my hair to the side and licked my face. I cringed. Orion looked like he might explode. “I will consider a trade. You, for her,” Damien said.

Orion didn’t hesitate in his response at all. “Fine. Hand her over first, then I’m all yours.”

Damien shook his head. “Afraid I’m not that stupid, brother. This is my game now. My game, my rules. She’ll stay right here with me until you’re finished. Then I’ll let her go, you have my word.”

“Your word is useless to me,” Orion said flatly. “Let her go now and I’ll consider making this easy for you. If you don’t, I can assure you you’ll be begging for a merciful death.”

My heart was pounding. My breathing was frantic, my chest heaving up and down.  Damien’s arm tightened around my neck; I thought he might strangle me. His other hand was red with flames. “You burn or she does. Choose.”

Orion held up his arms in defeat. His palms lit up brightly and then faded out. “There’s no choice,” he said.

“No!” I struggled, trying to wiggle free of Damien. “No!”

“Close your eyes, love.” Damien’s repugnant voice was in my ear. “Unless you want to watch him die.”

I had to do something. I had to try. Damien’s fire began to swirl like a ticking time bomb. I prayed to God for help. I prayed with everything I had.

I don’t know where it came from. I will never question how. My instinct to protect Orion, my own protector, was all-consuming. Tucking my chin down as far as I could, I sank my teeth into Damien’s arm. I bit down as hard as possible. His skin broke and it was only when I could taste the stickiness of his blood in my mouth that I let go. Damien jumped and released his grip on my neck, allowing me to fall to my knees. 

“You stupid bitch!” he roared. I wasn’t finished; I turned my body to face him, looped my arm around the back of his knees, and pulled with all the strength I could muster. His knees buckled. He stumbled and tried to regain his balance. Not bothering to stand up, I scurried to the side as far away as I could get from the two of them.

Damien let out a terrible snarl. Staring directly in front of Orion, he threw his hand out sideways, right near where I had taken refuge. “What a stupid little girl. Now you both will pay,” he said.

The flames in his hand this time were much more intense than the last few had been. They came toward me at an incredible speed. I didn’t have time to react before I was surrounded in a circle of hot fire. Orion ran in my direction with fantastic momentum. His only focus was to get to me. His attention was diverted enough for Damien, who pulled the ground upwards and caused Orion to stagger. Each pull was like a mini earthquake and increased in intensity, finally sending Orion falling to the ground.

The flames engulfed me swiftly. Feeling the heat on my skin, I began to sweat. I wasn’t going to need Orion to steal my breath. I was going to burn to death, I was sure of it.

“Orion!” I screamed.

He looked up and began to stand, but Damien tackled him to the ground again. He sat on top of Orion and began a sadistic attack: he wrapped one hand around Orion’s throat. Orion tried to pry his skinny fingers off, but Damien immediately issued several painful kidney shots. Orion grunted, but it was hardly audible as Damien’s fist pounded into his chest, winding him. The relentless attack continued; Damien’s speed gave him the clear advantage. Orion may have been bigger, but Damien was unquestionably faster and his fists flew across Orion like he was a punching bag. Orion continued to struggle, but it wasn’t getting him anywhere. 

“Orion…please…no!” I cried out. My voice was laced with fear. I worried that I was going to watch him die. The terror my words gave him one last bit of resolve. He finally managed to block one punch and then another. I could see him looking around, but what he was looking for eluded me. Damien continued his assault, not noticing that his brother was slowly beginning to block more and more of his blows.

Suddenly Orion’s hand dropped to the ground in a cloud of dust, leaving his face open for Damien. Twisting his head with the punch to lessen the blow, Orion drove the hand he had dropped into Damien's arm.  I could see what looked to be a large sharp-edged rock in his hand. Orion drove the rock into his brothers’ arm, opening a large gash that flowed with blood. It was enough to slow Damien down and give Orion a chance. He managed to get his arm up and he splayed his fingers. His palm lit up as he zapped the side of Damien head. The force was not comparable to his previous bursts, but it was enough to get Damien off of him. He quickly jumped to his feet, again drawing the air. He aimed it at Damien and sent him flying fifty feet across the field.

I felt the rubber on my sneakers melting as I pulled my knees even tighter against my chest. The smaller I could make myself, the more chance I would have. Orion was sprinting toward me again. Damien, who was caught off guard by Orion’s sudden defense, was struggling to stand.

Flames licked at my feet. I could smell fabric starting to singe. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut. Orion wrapped his arms around me, picked me up, and ran right through the wall of fire. I think I was screaming. He ran with me in his arms to other side. He set me down, took one look at me, and turned back to face Damien.

I thought I had seen his rage before, but it was nothing compared to what I saw now. He threw his hands outwards. His orbs of lightning materialized, one after another, and as fast as they appeared he threw them at his brother. I squinted, but I couldn’t even see Damien through the shards of lightning. The air cleared when he reached his rival.

Damien looked shocked. He thought he had won, and now he had to fight again. But he didn’t stand a chance. Orion didn’t even bother trying to disable Damien first. His huge hand wrapped around Damien’s neck, lifting him off the ground with ease. Damien’s eyes rolled and he gasped. Orion screamed, a hollow sound, and ran faster than I had ever seen anyone run toward the trees. He held Damien in front of him and hit the tree with the full force of his body. He ran backwards and forwards again, slamming him into the tree repeatedly. I saw Damien’s arms flailing outwards at first, but with each assault he got weaker and, by the last one, he had stopped moving altogether. Orion released his grip, and Damien’s body fell limply to the ground. “Get up!” Orion was livid. “Get up!” I held my breath. Palm up, Orion lifted his hand swiftly. Damien’s body looked like a rag doll as it shot up off of the ground, but he still didn’t move. Orion made a pitching motion with his arm and sent his brother’s body flying across the grass. Damien landed hard, lifeless. Orion looked over to me.

“Close your eyes,” he said. I obeyed at first, squeezing them shut, but curiosity about what he was going to do got the best of me and I opened one eye, just enough to see. 

Orion stalked forward cautiously. He knew as well as I did that Damien could recover at any moment. Damien moaned. The light from Orion’s hand was almost blinding. It was like looking into the sun. He put his massive foot across Damien’s chest. “Good riddance.” The beam from his hand went directly into Damien’s chest, where his heart would have been. I wasn’t so sure he had one. He took a deep breath, taking as much air into his lungs as he could, and pulled. A swirl of dark smoke rose from Damien’s chest and into Orion’s hand. It was almost exactly what I’d seen him do at the scene of my accident, but instead of putting light into Damien, he was taking blackness out. Damien’s body arched and he screamed. It was a demonic, unearthly sound. I shut my open eye and threw my hands up to cover my ears. I didn’t want to see anymore. I didn’t want to know that Death, that Orion, was not always merciful. 

The next thing I remember was Orion’s soft voice in front of me. “Tiger, are you okay?”

My eyes burned with tears. I put my arms around Orion’s neck. “I-I… Is he gone?”

Orion scooped me up. “He’s gone. He’s gone, and he’s never coming back.” I rested my head on his chest, but as he walked away, I turned to look.

Black smoke covered Damien’s body, as black as the darkness of the soul that had been within it.