Brothers: Legacy of the Twice-Dead God

Brothers

Legacy of the Twice-Dead God

By Scott Duff

Copyright 2014 Scott Duff, all rights reserved

Cover design by Jonathan Okarku

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Dedication

To Eileen Patricia Butler, who would not let me back down.

Contents

Title Page

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Chapter 60

Chapter 61

Chapter 62

Chapter 63

Epilog

About the Author

Chapter 1

My lungs burned as I broke free from the brush and skidded to a halt in the road. My arms and legs were numb from beating against bushes and small tree limbs. I knew it would only last as long as this adrenaline surge, though, and then it’d hurt—all the tiny cuts and scrapes. I took off again; I had to catch up.

I used the firebreak road instead of cutting across the forest, even though it was little more than a rutted path in the dark. At least it was a path I could see in the moonlight. At the top of the hill, I stopped again and looked around. The lake was a thin ribbon of darkness to the south behind me in the moonlight. I snorted a laugh at that, chest still pumping, trying to catch my breath. Big outdoorsman, I can locate a huge lake by sight.

Then I saw a flash of light nearby and perked up. That had to be them. I took off down the road again. I crested another small hill and swerved, barely missing a small tree, tripping through the brush. I crashed into the ditch on the other side. The pick-up truck roared past me before I could pick myself up, so I just lay there for a moment.

The dust hadn’t settled back onto the road yet when I got up. The adrenaline was playing havoc with my emotions as I looked down the road the truck had taken. They were supposed to be my friends and they’d ditched me in the middle of a forest in the middle of the night. At first, I felt like I belonged, then pitied, then I got angry. Anger won the day, though. Anger bubbled around inside of me until it was a red-hot ball of fire.

How could they do this to me? They were supposed to be my friends! I threw the heat of my anger at the embankment across the road, just like it was a baseball. I threw it with all my anger and frustration attached to it, and even though there was nothing in my hand, a red hot ball of fire flew from me and hit the ditch hard, sending dirt and debris high into the air with a soundless explosion. I just stood there, dumbfounded, as the dust and dirt covered me, mixing with sweat and blood to create mud all over me. Ick.

That is going to cause one awful headache soon, said a voice behind me.

I jumped, startled. I put my hands up, ready to fight, even though I knew I couldn’t fight my way out of a wet cardboard box right then. Too tired. Been running a long time.

Who the hell are you? I asked, shouting at the dark figure in the road. The man stood about fifteen feet away in the darkness. The moon was to his back so I couldn’t see his face very well, but he was a big man, about six feet four, and muscular. Very muscular. He had long hair plastered to his head and a beard helping to hide his face in the shadows. He was wearing a light colored T-shirt and jeans. It looked like he was bare-footed.

Kieran, he replied in a deep baritone. Were you trying to hurt them?

What? I stammered. The question surprised me. Who?

The boys in the vehicle, he said, fairly softly, Were you trying to hurt them? Or was your fury meant only for the drainage ditch?

No, I said, subconsciously relaxing a little, turning back to the road, I was trying to stop them from leaving me in the middle of a national forest. I ran my hand through my hair, feeling the dirt and grit collected there. I really needed a bath now.

Why would they do that, if they were your friends? asked Kieran.

I turned back to him for a second and now he seemed closer. I hadn’t heard him move, but still, he seemed closer, bigger, even. I don’t know, I said, It could be bunch of different things, I guess.

I thought about it for the first time. I didn’t really know why and there could have been a number of different reasons. Not that I actually understood any of them. Definitely not what my father called The Good Ol’ Boys Network. For all I knew, I could have looked a little too long at a girl one of them liked. Or, I had money and they didn’t. I thought it was just good natured fun on their part when they started throwing firecrackers around at the campsite. I didn’t think that much of it—it was kind of fun. When Jimmy pulled out the M-80s and everybody centered on me as the target, I still didn’t think much of it. I just ran for the trees. I was having fun.

They didn’t know I had my own firecrackers available. It was the only trick I knew how to do, and I could do it pretty well, too. I could fill a little pocket in my head with light or sound and throw it. I’d learned it from watching one of my tutors teaching his kid to do it years ago at home. I wasn’t supposed to be there, though, and he stopped immediately once he saw me, shooing me away back into the house. So I practiced in secret.

When I was hiding in the trees, Billy saw me toss one of my little flash-bangs at Pitch—I have no idea how he got that nickname—ten feet away from me. Of course, there was nothing to see in the toss until it exploded at Pitch’s feet, scaring the hell out of him. I hadn’t seen Billy there, but I heard him tear through the underbrush in retreat, then the M-80 he’d just lit exploded where he’d dropped it. I hadn’t realized he’d seen anything, so I just ran deeper into the woods and back toward a stream that fed into the lake, laughing the whole time.

I stopped at a hilltop after a few minutes of silence in the woods and peered back the way I came. Orienting on the river, I found our campsite and saw Jimmy, Billy, and Pitch throwing everything of value into the back of the pick-up rapidly. That memory brought me back to here.

I was just looking for a few friends, I said tiredly, mostly to myself but I’m sure the man heard me. Mostly because he was a lot closer than he was a moment ago. A lot closer.

I took a half step back and asked, What did you mean by ‘that’s going to cause an awful headache’?

You’ve been throwing around a lot of energy, said Kieran gently, and that last bit was highly emotionally charged. Your body is going to object to that soon.

He stood a little outside of arm’s reach now. I could see his face a little better but it was still shrouded in darkness. His teeth flashed white when he spoke. His arms hung loosely at his side and he made very little movement, except apparently, when I wasn’t looking at him.

You’ve been watching me, I said, disconcerted. This strange man has been watching me from the woods. I didn’t like that. It was more than a little scary.

For the last hour, he said. I barely saw him nod in the dark. He went on, Yours is the brightest aura for several miles, outshining your friends’ like the moon to the stars. He raised his left hand to indicate the sky. From my perspective, it looked like he was holding the moon up himself. I wondered if he had intended that or if it was purely coincidental. Had to be the latter.

So what are you doing wandering around a national forest in the middle of the night gawking at little boys? I asked, suspicious.

Kieran snorted out a laugh, then said, I’d hardly call any of you ‘little boys’ and I am a little lost.

That makes two of us, then, I said, trying to hold back the sarcasm but not succeeding very well.

And I saw the mark of my kinsmen on you, said Kieran, cocking his head slightly as he looked at me.

What mark? I asked, suspiciously. I didn’t have any birthmarks and certainly no tattoos.

On your aura, he said, You bear the mark of the Pact. He watched me as he said this, gauging my reactions. I didn’t know what to make of him. I knew what an aura was, because I could see them surrounding people. My mom and dad’s, for instance, were both really bright and vibrantly colored. This guy, though, didn’t show anything. Might as well have been a rock on the ground.

I don’t know what that is, I said.

Curious, he muttered. Raising his right hand to shoulder height, a soft blue energy flowed from his fingertips. This is the Pact sigil, he said, as the neon-like energy flowed and pulsed into a form I recognized from one of my father’s books, his genealogy book. He kept it locked in a drawer in his desk and I’d only seen it once. The image pulsed in my mind and for the first time a space opened for me in my head. That’s what it felt like anyway. A huge cavern in my head just opened up and there sat a duplicate of what this man was showing me, sitting at the bottom like a gleaming jewel in the dark. I gasped as I touched it in my head. It was far more beautiful than the one in front of me and it felt like mine. Wholly mine.

My father called that his family crest, I said quietly.

It’s a bit more than a family crest, though it is hereditary, said Kieran, sounding amused as he dropped his hand to his side. The sigil of blue began to fade from sight slowly. I would very much like to meet your father, if that could be arranged.

Perhaps, I said, not wanting to say I hadn’t seen my parents in over half a year.

Yes, I suppose a measure of trust is in order, Kieran said. I more heard the grin than saw it. Draw up your Sight, Pact-man, and look at me.

If you mean check out your aura, I said with chagrin, been there, done that. You ain’t got one.

What? he said, shocked. But you should see my natural aura… As he spoke the words, I was battered, and I do mean battered, with the image of his aura, brighter than anything I have ever seen in my life. If it was real light I was seeing, I bet my retinas would have been scorched.

…my Pact sigil… he continued, and I caught the image of his Pact sigil, just like mine, blazing in blue on the afterimage of his aura. Just the sight of it said Not Yours to me, but it was still beautiful. My own sigil hummed in resonance with it.

…and symbol of the Pact I carry, he finished. I caught my breath on the next image. I had no idea what it was, besides old—it reeked of old. And danger, and beauty beyond words. It was very well protected by the Pact sigil below it. I knew that from all the blackness around me. And the pain. Maybe that was the gravel in the back of my head from hitting the ground that caused the pain. I really don’t remember falling.

You’re all right, boy, Kieran murmured in my ear. My head was in his lap and my whole body was tingling. I’ve got you, just relax for a moment.

I felt a push of energy from him, soothing the pins and needles that had started in my legs. The cuts on my arms stopped nagging me, too. My headache started to recede. I didn’t remember even starting a headache. The energy seemed to ebb out of me and Kieran helped me up. I was right—he was barefooted.

What happened? I asked, rubbing my temples at the half-remembered pain.

I was going to ask you, said Kieran, his hand on my shoulder, steadying me still.

Last I remember, I was seeing your aura, the Pact sigil, and your Pact with freaky intensity, I said, shifting away slightly. I wanted some room between us. Just for a flash, anyway, and it hurt.

That is… odd, he said, thoughtfully. What’s your name, so I can quit calling you ‘Boy’?

Seth, I answered. He gave me one name so I stuck to that.

Okay, Seth, Kieran said, Where are we?

Bankhead National Forest, I said, I can’t get more specific since this is the first time I’ve been here and I really don’t know anything about it.

Huh, Kieran grunted. Try less specific, then.

I wasn’t sure what he was looking for here. I decided to go the smartass route. Alabama, I said, not remembering which county. That seemed to shake him. He turned back along the road and pointed to the lake in the darkness.

How long has that been there? he asked.

What? Lake Smith? I asked, confused. I don’t know, maybe eighty, ninety years. I think that’s what I read about them damming up the rivers.

Well then, he said, rubbing his hands together briskly. We may not be as lost as I thought. Damnably clever of the old ghost.

What? I asked. Clever of me, I know.

Come along, now, Kieran said. We just might have you home by sunrise. He took off down the gravel road at a pretty good pace. I had to hurry to catch up. I wondered what his feet were made of to handle this road so easily without shoes. He didn’t seem to flinch at all. He veered off the road onto a firebreak path a couple of hundred yards down, so I followed close behind.

Do your parents know you’re out here? he asked without preamble.

I haven’t seen my parents in over eight months, I said. Crap. That slipped. Kieran stopped and I stopped a step later. I tried to keep my emotions in check. Tonight had already been a roller-coaster ride and I didn’t want to lose it in front of this guy, this stranger. But if he could see my aura, he probably knew…

Haven’t seen them? Kieran prompted me, seeming concerned. I tried to build walls around myself before I answered but I didn’t know if it was enough.

Yeah, I said, as stoically as I could muster, Both left on business trips about eight months ago. Our family lawyer came to Savannah about two weeks later and moved me to a house between Huntsville and Scottsboro. Said my parents would come there to get me when they were through with their business. I haven’t seen them since then. Their cell phones have been cut off. I don’t have a way to get in touch with them.

I lost the stoicism battle just a little. My voice quavered and there may have been a few tears, but I wasn’t going to wipe them away. That seemed weaker than actually crying right then. I don’t know what I expected out of him, but a hug wasn’t it. It felt good though, comforting. He was a big man, strong. He reminded me of my father. Even kind of smelled like him in an earthy sort of way.

Well, Seth, he said when he pulled away, My problems have waited years to resolve, they can wait a bit longer. I think we can see to yours first. He put his arm on my shoulder and started walking through the woods again. He started off slowly, letting me collect myself, I think.

We’ll need to move a little quickly through here, he said. Detaching himself from me, he jumped in between two trees, pulling my arm as he went. It made me a little dizzy for some reason. As we moved into the canopy of the forest, it got darker, which confused me. We were too close to the lake to be under the canopy. I hurried to catch up, trying not to think about it. I looked up to see him on the other side of a small box canyon. Startled, I stopped. Suddenly, he twisted me around by the shoulders to face him, and then I was on the other side, too. I shook my head, disoriented, and looked across the canyon. I could have sworn I was over there a second ago.

Kieran pushed me between my shoulder blades and I took a step… directly into the lake. I backpedaled into Kieran, who chuckled at my confusion.

We took a few shortcuts, he said, mildly. It’s easier on you, the first time, if you don’t know what’s happening. He stood at the shoreline looking out over the darkened lake. The moon was in descent; it was going to get really dark soon. He put his hands together like he was praying, mumbled something I couldn’t hear, then pulled his hands apart, fingers splayed. Tendrils of yellow energy played between the fingers of each hand. I was watching real magic performed and I was in awe of it. Why I wasn’t scared to death, I wasn’t sure.

The tendrils coalesced into a ball in front of him, growing larger as he let the energy collect. When it was as big as a softball, I suppose he was satisfied because he brought his wrists together, fingers still splayed, and shoved the ball out over the lake. The ball shot out, veering left and right, searching for I don’t know what, but it dove under the surface in the middle somewhere. Kieran stood by the shore watching the darkness, wrists still together and yellow energy still arcing between his fingers.

What is that? I asked, watching the darkness for the ball of light to reappear.

A seeking, mumbled Kieran. Something of mine is near here.

It took a few minutes, but the ball reappeared over the water. It was much paler, almost translucent, and it had grown, from three inches to about a foot and a half across. It moved more slowly across the top of the water too. A few minutes passed before it got to shore, popping like a soap bubble when it hit the ground. Inside was a stone box a little less than a foot to a side. Each side was marked with symbols I didn’t know that glowed in fiery red or deep emerald green. It looked dangerous.

Kieran walked over to it and knelt down beside it. I was right with him. Don’t touch it, he said, It’s still hot. I didn’t know if he meant heat-hot or explosive-hot, but I didn’t touch it. He just looked at the top of it, where it looked scorched. I really didn’t know how hot you had to get rock to scorch it like that, but it had to be pretty damn hot. Kieran twisted one of the emerald sigils a quarter turn and that side popped out. All the sigils darkened and he tossed the panel away. Reaching inside, he pulled out two large leather-wrapped bundles and stood.

Grrrr!

Both of us jerked toward the treeline. It sounded like a big dog growling. The moon was on the horizon in front of us—no help in lighting the woods. I scanned the darkness looking for movement. Kieran took a few steps forward, but I stayed close to the lake. I figured I could out swim a dog if I had to. I hoped.

Grrrr! There it was, sniffing at the ground, moving slowly out of the growing dimness and out onto the tiny peninsula we were on. It was a big dog, maybe a wolf, not that I really knew the difference, especially in the dark. Its head snapped up at us and it growled again. It padded forward a few feet, centering its attention on Kieran. It had us trapped unless we took to the water. It was unlike any dog I’d seen before, its aura rolling strangely behind it and disappearing in a halo of blackness.

Kieran stood his ground as the dog started running at him. About four feet out, it jumped at him and hit something in the air about two feet out. It crumpled to the ground with a loud yelp. Whining, it got up quickly, scrambling back toward the treeline a ways, whining the entire time. It sat down on the rocks where it started and glared at Kieran, growling.

What is that thing? I whispered to Kieran after moving a little closer. He had a way to stop it, so that’s where I wanted to be, behind whatever it was.

I don’t know, but it’s more than just a dog, he said quietly. He kept his eyes on the thing. So did I.

Still, I don’t think either of us actually saw when it changed, it was so dark. I saw it when it started running at Kieran. It was totally reflective, almost invisible. The starfield above mirrored on its back and small stones from the ground. When it hit that invisible shield this time, it exploded around Kieran like hundreds of tiny lightning bugs swirling around him. Kieran was rigid.

I circled around in front of him slowly. The moon was below the horizon so it was really dark and I could barely make out anything. Well, I could see he was completely naked. That worry was for another time, though. The dog was nowhere to be seen.

Kieran? I asked softly. He didn’t move at all. This was seriously scary stuff and I didn’t know what to do.

This is an interesting experience, he whispered. It startled me. I don’t think I’d call a dog exploding around me interesting, but if that’s the word he wanted to use…

What’s happening? I asked, cautiously.

I believe, he answered slowly and quietly, that the being animating the beast is trying to possess me, but I’m not exactly sure.

Can you get rid of it? I asked, panicked. A demon dog possessing him and he was calm. I was panicking and he was calm. One of us belonged in a nut house and I don’t think it’s me.

Yes, he said, sounding casual about it.

Don’t you think you should, then? I asked. I didn’t believe this side of the conversation. I seemed pretty damn obvious to me: ditch the devil dog immediately, no possession required here. Kieran’s skin got all sparkly and he tensed up all over. The sparkles shot up and out in front of him, coalescing into the shape of the dog again, jumping out of Kieran this time. It yelped like it hurt. I can only hope it did.

It ran out to its spot again, yelping the whole way, and turned back to us, yellow eyes gleaming in the dark. Then it did something really creepy. It spoke.

Kir, the beast said. I didn’t think dogs could make that sound. Kir, it said again and started running at us again.

I think Kieran was ready for it this time. He took a half step back and held up his hands in front of him. I even felt a thrum of power from him—I don’t know how, but I did. I backed up to give Kieran room to work, to get out of the line of fire. We didn’t see our mistake until it was too late.

I watched the dog change this time. I watched it start its run at us. And I watch it launch itself at me. Yeah, that was our mistake, thinking Kieran would be the target again. I had time to think, This is gonna hurt.

It did.

Chapter 2

I woke with a start. Confused, but I didn’t know why. I looked around my room. Everything looked right. Clock read 9:12. Bit late for me to be getting up, but it’s not like I had anywhere to be. Dresser, chair by the window, chest of drawers, everything looked normal.

Then I remembered what happened last night. No, I thought I remembered, but looking at my arms and seeing, well, my arms, perfectly normal told me I didn’t go running through the woods in the middle of the night. I didn’t hurt anywhere and I definitely remembered hurting last night. It must have been a really bad dream, a really bad nightmare.

I threw back the covers and moved to the edge of the bed and stopped. I was naked. I didn’t sleep naked normally. Usually, I slept in a pair of shorts, ever since moving here by myself. Ewww. Someone had undressed me after breaking into my house and putting me to bed. The thought of it being that guy, Kieran, who I didn’t know, was creepy. Maybe the guys came back for me. That was kind of creepy, too. Ugh. Now I felt dirty.

I grabbed some clothes out of the dresser and headed for the shower. As I passed through my closet, I glanced down into the hamper and saw the clothes I wore last night. That stopped me. Certainly couldn’t have been a nightmare, now. I pulled out the T shirt. It wasn’t as dirty as I thought it’d be, but was surely caked and dusty enough. Gonna have to soak that or toss it, one.

Tossing my clothes on the vanity, I jumped in the shower, closed the glass doors, and turned the water on full blast, slowly turning up the heat. It had to be ten minutes before I remembered to pick up the soap and washcloth, just enjoying the running water over my body. The hot water soothed aches I didn’t know I had. Drying off, brushing my teeth, and combing the hair out of my eyes was the extent of my grooming for the day.

As I walked through the hall to the den, I heard plates rattle in the dining room. Someone was setting the table. By the time I got there, whoever was back in the kitchen. I took the seat to the side, turning it to see the kitchen doorway and still see the backdoor, too. Whoever was in the kitchen was planning to feed me so it figured the game of hide and seek was pretty useless. Unless there was a third person, in which case they can feed me or just get out of my house and buy their own damn groceries.

Good morning, said Kieran smiling at me, breezing into the room carrying a plate of biscuits in one hand and one with sliced ham and bacon in the other. He’d cut his hair and shaved since last night. Didn’t do too badly doing it himself, either. His hair was reddish brown. Auburn, I guess is what it’s called. His jaw had that ashy color of people who hadn’t shaved in a long time. As he disappeared into the kitchen again, I noticed he was wearing a jersey of mine that was baggy on me. It was tight on him.

I snagged a biscuit and started in on it while I waited for him to come back. It was good, too, and I didn’t remember buying any biscuits or a mix. Kieran slid a plate with a steaming omelet in front of me, and suddenly I was very hungry. I was halfway through it before I realized I’d picked up a fork. That made me pause. That was the second time today I’d acted on autopilot.

So, I started, looking at Kieran at the head of the table, how did we get here?

I brought us here, he said. He ate slower than I did. I had to carry you, so it took me a little time.

How did you know where I lived? I asked, stacking some bacon on top of the remaining omelet and crushing it into the eggs. I couldn’t believe how hungry I still was.

You told me, he said, watching me and grinning.

I don’t remember telling you that, I said, taking a bite. This was goooood bacon. I’d have to get some more of that brand.

I’m certain there are a number of things you don’t remember about that night, he said, taking some bacon before I got it all. His phrasing struck me as odd.

’That night’? I asked as he shoved a piece of bacon in his mouth. He nodded as he chewed.

You’ve slept for a day and two nights, he said.

And you didn’t see anything wrong with that? I asked, incredulous, nearly yelling.

He smiled calmly, still chewing the bacon.

You were safe and sound, he said, swallowing. Quite healthy.

I didn’t know what to say to that. All I could do was stare at him.

What do you last remember about that night? he asked me, tearing a biscuit in half and dredging it through his omelet.

That slowed me down a little. I sat back in my chair and thought. The last few moments were a blur to me. After you threw the dog out of you, I started, pausing to try and find the right words. It jumped at me. I remember thinking this is gonna hurt.

Did it? he asked, softly.

I don’t remember, I said.

He nodded sagely and said, It did. You all through? He stood and started gathering plates from the table. I’d eaten voraciously and quickly.

What was that thing? I asked, standing to help clear.

As it turns out, he said, moving into the kitchen with me a few steps behind, it is a being that I am familiar with. It was sent after me to protect me while I, well, relearned a few things. He seemed sheepish when he said that, even ducking his head a little.

Funny way of showing it. Who sent it after you? I asked, scraping the plates off into the trash. He’d already washed the pans he cooked in, so we just had the plates we ate from. Wish I could time meals like that.

I don’t know if it was sent after me or if the power of its creation caused it to follow when I left, he said. It’s complicated.

What is it that you have to relearn? I asked. If it was complicated, we’ll come back to it. Right now, I just wanted some of the big questions out of the way.

This is going to difficult to explain, he said, stacking the clean plates on the drain board. There are a number of things that you will want to know before you get to that point. Several you need to know sooner. On the last part, he turned and looked me in the eye meaningfully. He pulled the stopper from the drain and started the water rinsing on the silverware.

All I did while this apparent ritual was going on was watch him. Even the way he dried his hands seemed familiar—He seemed familiar. Kieran reminded me of my father. Hmm. So this is what maudlin is like.

Come on, he said, putting his arm on my shoulder amicably. Let’s take a walk. I have something for you to see, someone for you to meet, and a few facts for you to acknowledge. This is going to be an… interesting hour for both of us.

He led me out the back door and down the deck stairs. The house sat on an incline on a big wooded lot. My backyard is trees, trees, and more trees and I loved it. No yard to cut and life all around. And the noise the wind makes during a storm is beautiful. He was taking me down to the clearing about a hundred twenty yards back. He picked his way carefully down the path, avoiding several small sharp rocks on the path. I didn’t get what the problem was since he didn’t have a problem on the gravel the other night. He was still bare-footed while I was wearing tennis shoes.

There’s some flip-flops in my closet you can wear until we can get you some clothes, I offered. Crap, now I’m takin’ in strays.

Some what? Kieran asked, tiptoeing through a dense area of rocks a few feet long.

Sorta like sandals without backs, I said, grinning at the undignified sight of six feet four inches and probably three hundred pounds of lean muscle waving his arms around like a little girl in the park as he stepped on a sharp rock.

We broke from the trees into the clearing and the bright morning sun. It was a beautiful pastoral scene to me, mostly because it was so different from what I grew up with in Savannah. Not that Savannah isn’t beautiful, but I mean, there are mountains and hills here! Savannah is wetlands and oceanside, Spanish moss covered trees crossing dirt roads into dark and threatening swamps. Beautiful in a completely different way.

Kieran steered to a vantage point that would have been a nice place for the porch of a house, or a deck maybe. He kicked around in the grass for a moment until he found a rock, then cleared the grass away from it.

Do you recognize this? he asked me. I looked at the stone. It looked like a square rock in the ground, nothing special, to me.

Nothing in particular, a foundation stone? I answered.

Actually, you’re right. It is a foundation stone, he said, grinning. Then he put his hand on its center, pushed and released. It took about three seconds for the script to start showing on the stone in a neon greenish yellow color. I’m sure a paint store had a name for it, but I didn’t know it. The script looked like an invitation script that you couldn’t read. You know the type, with so many loops and serifs that you can’t tell an f from an s from a b. Except I could feel this writing as it flowed out. It had a presence. It felt like my house, actually, and I turn up the hill subconsciously, feeling a resonance there. It was eerie.

It is also a ward stone, he said standing, brushing his hands together and looking down at the script. My ward stone, specifically, and my foundation stone. No doubt you felt the resonance when my ward was activated. He paused long enough for me to nod, then went on. The only way they could do that is if they were the exact same spell written the exact same way. This is my mother’s. I’d know it anywhere. So is the one on your house. Only my father could have put it there. He was the only other person who knew this ward. My father’s name is Robert McClure. He exhaled slowly, thoughtfully.

Seth, is this your father, too? Are you Seth McClure? Kieran asked me.

Talk about a shock. Uh, yeah. Yes, it is, Robert Eric McClure, of Savannah, Georgia, I said. Is this guy for real?

Well then, you should know that I am your older fraternal half-brother, Ehran McClure, looking sad as he said it, and I have caused you a good deal of difficulty just because of that relationship. I am sorry and I will do what I can to fix these problems as quickly as possible.

What problems? I asked warily.

It would be easier to show you the first one, he said grinning, and just so you don’t go into culture shock, you should probably stay out of it for a while. Get to know how people actually work. It’s a traumatic story.

What is? I asked, impatiently.

Look at your Pact sigil. It now encapsulates what was my Pact.

I looked in that newly discovered place in my head. Yep, there it was, the Pact sigil, my dad’s family crest. Sitting on top of it was a huge, and I do mean huge, sphere of gyrating, undulating color. As I stared at it, brief images appeared on the surface showing vistas of beautiful landscapes definitely not on this planet. Nature here just didn’t have lavender rivers and, patriotism aside, purple mountains majesty just weren’t that purple.

It is fascinating, isn’t it? Kieran asked quietly, smiling at me, bringing me back to the field of normal green grass and blue sky.

How did I get this? I asked. As fascinating and beautiful as it was, it didn’t belong to me and I wasn’t sure I wanted it. Hell, I didn’t even know what it was. For all I knew, it was a tumor.

It sloughed off of me when I threw the beast out, he said, eyes cast down and shifting on his feet, almost like he was ashamed of it. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I’d only been back a few hours and so much was going on… He sighed and looked at me with really big mournful green eyes. He looked like a little boy right then. I barely succeeded in holding back the laughter. The paradox of a three hundred-pound man looking like a lost little boy was comical. And me, a seventeen-year old, having to act like the parent here? I should be rolling on the ground, gasping for breath.

And I got it…? I was right earlier—I did have a nightmare and I was still in it.

When the beast entered you, he finished my sentence. He stopped to let me absorb this, I suppose. Of course, I was still back on the fraternal half-brother thing, so I guess I did need the time.

Wait, I said, pinching the bridge of my nose, getting royally confused, First you said your name is Kieran and now you say it’s Ehran. Which is it? Yeah, that’s me. It’s the little things, not the big things.

Ehran is my given name, he said, bobbing his head. Kieran is an approximation to the name I’ve been called for… roughly four hundred years. It’s hard to tell. Time flows differently in the lower realms. It is the name given to me by my teacher and it is tremendously important to me.

Okay, Kieran it is. That was simple to accept. Sort of. You’re over four hundred years old?

He hesitated in answering, but said, I have experienced about four hundred and fifty years, yes, but I was born in 1964. I believe that actually makes me forty-nine. You should know, though, that our father was born sometime in the early 1400’s. We are a long-lived people.

Okay, that one floored me. Dad was over six hundred. He didn’t look sixty. He looked maybe the forty-nine Kieran claimed. On a bad day. Kieran looked twenty-two. He’d definitely get carded buying liquor. Wow, I’ve got a giant glowing ball in my head now, and this is what I’m having a hard time believing.

Any more relatives I don’t know about? I asked sarcastically.

Probably, he said, nodding. When I left, I had at least two brothers and a sister still living, and I believe they had children as well. And I believe there is at least a nephew by a brother who was killed in the 1700’s still living. We would have to ask father to be sure.

Damn. Instant family. Just add a lake and shake violently.

Why haven’t I heard of any of this? I asked, frustrated.

Again, he hesitated. I don’t know. Equally important to that is why you haven’t been trained in the Arts. I mean the Magical Arts. You were prepared to take the Pact, but nothing else. There is much that father didn’t teach you and you are well past the age that you should be taught. And it adds to our troubles here. It’s very confusing.

I sat down in the grass, cross-legged. This was obviously going to take a while so I was going to get comfortable. Kieran followed suit, sitting opposite me with his legs out at an angle.

All right, I said, trying to collect my thoughts in all this. You said we’re a long lived people. Who are we as a people?

Wizards, magicians, people of power, he said mildly. We are a very small portion of the world who can see and manipulate the powers in the universe that we call magic. For us, it’s like using a muscle to move a rock or lighting a candle to see in the dark. It’s a talent, mostly traveling down families. Occasionally, a normal person will show up with some talent but not often. And the talent does vary from person to person.

And this is called a Pact? I asked.

Oh, no, he said. The Pact is completely different. The Pact belongs to our family and a few others and is secret. Actually, it is several secrets. I don’t know how many exactly, but there can’t be but, maybe three or four. The one you hold now, for instance, shows the history of the Fae, down to their defeat and expulsion from this plane by us. You should, by the way, never try to open the Pact to anyone. It will react very badly to that. That is its purpose: to keep that secret beyond coercion. You know it’s there and you can use the information if you need to, but you can’t pass the information around. It is very old and very strong magic, written before the Fae even. No one has ever broken it.

But you just said it, I asked.

Yes, but I am no longer constricted by the Pact, he said, smiling. You are.

So remove it. This didn’t sound difficult to understand.

It is entwined in your soul, he said. I cannot remove it without killing you. And then it would dissolve before I could take it. Okay, that sounded difficult.

But you removed yours.

No, my teacher taught me how to disengage it from my soul to do other things, he said. "His language was much older even than that of the Pact. The beast pulled the Pact with it when it left my body. I can teach you the same way, but it will take some time.

And we must be certain that you are not the last holder of this Pact. If you are, then I have the duty to find a suitable replacement. The story must not die.

Why is it your duty? I asked.

I accepted the Pact. He said it so simply, he was almost child-like again.

So where is this beast now? I asked, playing idly with a blade of grass.

He stiffened. It was able to do with you what it could not with me. The body disintegrated creating the gateway attached to your soul. Right now, it’s sitting in its home between worlds waiting on you to call it.

Okay, this was another astounding moment. My head snapped up, but my jaw was on the ground. This was the biggest yet.

I’m possessed? I shouted. Didn’t mean to, but when a demon makes a doorway through your soul, whatcha gonna do?

Not exactly, he said softly. More like you’re a door now.

I stood up and started pacing. Several times I stopped to say something, but I couldn’t get the words out. Frustration was just too high. My parents were God knows where. I was stuck in the hills with this giant redheaded Rumplestilzkin telling me stories about magic. I couldn’t ignore the magic because I felt and saw it. And even performed some of my own.

Why me? I finally got out.

Oh, that actually does make some sense, he said, sitting up straighter and getting his legs underneath him. That was amazing in itself, considering how thick his legs were. The spell that sent me back concluded with a word that translates to ‘home.’ For me, that would be my house. All that remains of my house are the two ward stones. This one here and the other one we found in the lake. Now the word ‘home’ has strong connotations to family and friends. So from the spell’s perspective, the ward stone in the lake had a stronger sense of home since you were closer to it that night. See?

I cocked my head at that explanation, wondering if he had some snake oil for sale. A spell had a perspective? Hmm.

So if I had been at home that night, you would have shown up here? I asked.

Probably, he said, nodding and smiling. I wondered if he was using magic to get me to buy this crap. Because I was and I didn’t know why. Maybe I was just too bored and needed the excitement.

This demon inside me… I started, looking down at him.

It’s a protector of the realm I just left, he said looking up, green eyes gleaming in the sun. He looked proud of the thing, whatever it was. "It is the last of countless beings that stood as a barrier between that realm and everything else in the universe for untold millennia. I was the only person or thing ever to have gotten past them. When he sent me away when the realm finally died, it followed me here. Neither it nor I know if he caused it to follow or if the magic of its creation caused it. But it cannot stay on this plane without an anchor so that it can move between here and there.

"Confusing terminology, there. The ‘he’ is my teacher and his name should not be spoken just yet. There is power in names and his is a very powerful name. The creature lives in the dark place between worlds. That is how it protected my teacher’s realm, by not allowing anything through. But as with anything that has a beginning, the realm had an end and I saw it. I was there to see the end of the most peaceful and exotic land in all of creation.

As I was cast out, the creature watched me leave and followed. The damage it accrued fighting its way through the destruction and up through the many levels of the universe to get to me was immense. It will never be fully what it was. But now it wants to protect me as the last of the realm.

Then let it make a door outta you, I thought.

It is still a very powerful being, he went on, but neither of us could tell exactly what the extent of the damage is. Or how it will change, being on its own.

That was alarming. Great, I said, So not only am I the doorstep for a demon, but you don’t even know how it’s gonna act?

No, not really, he admitted. After I followed it and recognized it for what it was, I was more interested in taking care of you. It told me where you lived and how to get in. So I carried you home, watched, and waited.

You said I told you where I lived, I said.

A matter of perspective, he said. When it created the anchor, it had to know you well enough to not hurt you in any way. It effectively knows you better than you know yourself.

It has my memories? I asked. He nodded and I felt really dirty. Violated. Icky. I wanted an hour in the shower. That’s just gross.

Kieran made a face and shrugged. I suppose that was agreement.

It has been sleeping almost as long as you have, he said. We need to get it started acclimating. And you need to meet it.

Why? I was angry now. Why do I have to meet this thing? This damn thing is just using me to get to you! Hell, for all I know, you’re just using me for something! Why should I believe this? What have I done to deserve any of this? I stormed off, stomping and kicking at clumps of tall grass. I stomped all the way back up to the house, slamming the door on the way in.

I lost it somewhere between the backdoor and my room. Yeah, I know, guys aren’t supposed to cry, but get real. Look at what’d happened to me in the past six months, in the last two days. It didn’t last long anyway. I was in the shower longer. I went to my bathroom to blow my nose and wash my face. When I walked back into the room, I was already sitting on the bed. I mean, someone who looked just like me, exactly like me, was sitting on my bed.

Hello, Seth, he said, with my voice. Time for another breakdown. A nervous one, this time.

Chapter 3

A few months ago I watched an episode of I Love Lucy where Lucille Ball dressed up like Harpo Marx and got caught by the real thing. I hadn’t seen much television before then so it was really funny to me. It was also the first time I’d seen anybody playing a harp before. I thought it a piano on its side and out of its case. That started my love affair with the Marx Brothers. Don’t care for the Three Stooges, though.

Doing that bit didn’t occur to me then. This man was an exact duplicate of me, down to not shaving this morning. He stood as I exited the bathroom. I looked at him sideways and circled around him. There had to be a flaw in the disguise somewhere. He didn’t move at all while I did this. When I came back around to the front, I poked his shoulder with a finger to prove to myself I wasn’t dreaming. He was solid. And unthreatening, which I supposed was a good thing.

So, where are the pods? I asked him.

I do not know, he said, totally devoid of inflection. Oh, a joke. I understand.

Who are you? I asked.

I do not have a name, he said, still blankly. It was eerie, like I was a robot or a real pod person or something. The last time we met I was a large, black, sparkly dog.

I backed into the doorframe hard. First you steal my head and now you steal my body! What the hell are you!

I have upset you, the other me said, this I-not-I. I have made many mistakes in a short time. I am sorry. I assumed that coming to you in the form you were most familiar with would be the most calming considering the circumstances of our first acquaintance. There is much that I am having difficulty understanding.

Where is Kieran? I asked, calming slightly. This thing scared me and I didn’t want to be alone with it. It turned its head in the direction of the back of the house.

He is just coming back from in-between, it said, turning back to me, I came through the anchor in you. He could not survive that way, so he went back the way he came. I was hoping I could assure you that I meant you no harm while he was away. I will wait outside.

With that, he disappeared. Just blinked completely out of sight. Like a reflection or something. I didn’t know if he moved really fast or just popped out of reality. Either was possible, I guess. This was getting disturbing. I had to find out what was going on in my own house. I walked through the house again and out onto the deck just as Kieran cleared the trees and caught sight of my double standing at the bottom of the steps.

Oh no, I heard him say, Tell me you didn’t talk to Seth looking like him.

I did not realize how upsetting it would be to him, my double said, blankly.

I told you to wait for me, said Kieran. He sounded frustrated. Good, maybe he was feeling a hundredth of what I was feeling.

Yes, Kir du’Ahn, my double said, bowing his head. That phrase made my head buzz, like the words resonated and echoed in that empty space around the Pact and sigil. It didn’t hurt exactly, but I definitely took notice.

Seth, Kieran called, looking directly at me from the ground, It doesn’t know. It doesn’t understand yet.

Yeah, that’s what he said, I said and went back in the house. I know it was petulant, childish even. But I had to have time to think. Too much weirdness was happening too fast. I walked down the hall and into the office. I’d always thought of it as my dad’s, but considering I’d never seen him in it, I guess it was more mine than his. In the safe, there were a ton of papers, mostly bonds and real estate deeds, all in my name. A good bit of cash in several currencies, too. Just looking at the safe now bothered me. It was like my parents were taking care of me before they disappeared, like they knew they weren’t coming back.

There’s that word again: maudlin.

It did make me think about my life up till then, though. I had a lot of opportunity for that in the last six months. As an only child, I spent most of my life around adults and was having a very difficult time making friends around here with people my own age. I couldn’t figure out why, but I kept trying. My last failure was explosive. It was time to get help. It was time to find my parents because now problems were invading my house and I didn’t know what to do about them.

I sighed and got up, deciding to tackle the smaller problems first: getting my houseguests taken care of. Then I’d start working on finding my parents. I let myself stay in the dark on that for way too long and I wanted them back. I needed my family back.

I went to change. There was no way I was going shopping looking like a twin whose mommy dressed him. It was bad enough that I suddenly had a twin. I grabbed the flip-flops for Kieran and went to find them. They were on the deck, sitting at the table and talking.

We need to go shopping, I said, dropping the shoes at Kieran’s feet as I plopped into a chair. I looked at my twin and asked, What do you need? Food? Clothing?

I don’t know, it said. My previous incarnations did not last long enough to need nourishment and had no need for clothing.

So for the moment, we concentrate on a name and a personality, is that what you’re saying? I asked. I’d turned into quite a smartass this morning. Kieran chuckled, though. I not I just nodded robotically. I’ll plan on you eating, anyway. At least that way, we won’t run out of food. Let’s go.

I led the troop through the kitchen to the garage, grabbing my wallet, keys, and cell as I passed the basket on the counter. The cell’s battery was so dead, it wouldn’t cut on. Charge it in the car. I had to move the seat for Kieran—he wasn’t too electronically adept and couldn’t figure where the controls were much less how to use them. I-not-I sat behind me but I think I could have put him in the trunk and he wouldn’t have complained. I did consider it briefly. I started the car, hit the garage door opener, cranked up the radio, and pulled out into the world.

Except for the music, it was a very quiet hour drive into town. The drive was relaxing, mostly because I saw normalcy right away. People driving in cars with normal auras around them. Kieran had one. It was just hidden somehow. I guess it was the same for my double. Kieran looked out the windows quite enthusiastically. I could tell he wanted to ask questions about things, but I just wasn’t ready to talk just yet. And I think he knew that asking I-not-I would probably tick me off again. That hour gave me time to plan this shopping trip to maximum affect.

The first stop was a warehouse department store. We found a place to park on the side and piled out of the car. I grabbed my cell from the charger, turning it on as I shoved it in my pocket. It rang before we got to the front door. Jimmy’s home number lit the display.

I don’t want to talk to you, Jimmy, I said, answering the call, Just lose my number.

Seth, John Morgan, Jimmy’s father, said a deep, raspy voice. I am so glad to hear your voice. We’ve been so worried about you.

That’s kind of you, but I’ve been taking care of myself for a while now, I said, not really caring that he worried. I did try to keep the bitchiness out of my voice, but I don’t think I succeeded.

Jimmy came home saying that he left you in the middle of Bankhead… he said. I wasn’t really sure exactly which question he was trying to lead me to answering.

…In the middle of the night, yes, I said, Along with Pitch and Billy. That’s pretty much why I don’t want to talk to them again. If those guys are my friends, I pretty much don’t need enemies.

Yeah, I can understand that, he agreed, So how did you get out of the woods? Are you home?

No, I had to call on my brother for help, I said, fudging the truth a little. He had to come a long way and it’s taking me a little time to get back to normal.

Is there anything I can do to help? he asked. The stories those boys were telling—

Mr. Morgan, I interrupted him, not seeing how the two related and not caring, "I really don’t know what they told you and I really don’t care. The simple facts are they started a fireworks war and when I reciprocated, they left me for dead. And that could have actually happened out