Brother Of The Dark Places

by Miranda Bailey

  I turned away, to sit on a cold rock that froze me but it was a place to perch. “I left, rather than force them into anything. Wruin sent me here, far away from anyone.”

  “How cruel!” She cried out, coming to sit beside me.

  “I suppose it was, but we needed children back then. Our numbers had dwindled; we needed offspring if our species was to survive.”

  “Were you all dragons?” She asked, curious again.

  “Only my brothers and I are dragons, the rest of my people are generally different animals. Only I can shift into whatever animal I choose.”

  “Why did your brother send you away then? Weren’t you, I don’t know, valuable?” Her eyes searched mine for answers as she took my hand in hers.

  “He was angry, he thought I’d bend to his will. He didn’t think I’d defy him. Riever was all I wanted then, I’d have married Astrid to keep her, but I wasn’t going to force either of them.” I looked into the distance but all I saw was those eyes and the perfect fullness of her lips.

  “What happened to her and Astrid?” She still had my hand in hers and I felt the old ache ease. I smiled before I answered.

  “I don’t know, I’ve been out of contact with the Northern Kingdoms since then. I visit some of the Atlantic kingdoms, but I tend to stay in the area of the dark places, the subterranean American kingdoms or those in the Pacific. I’ve cut my life off from that area. Something happened to block Wruin from this world too, so I don’t know. I don’t ask and nobody tells. I’ve heard snippets about Wruin over the years, but it’s all just become a tangled mess now. Too long has passed and memories and times just get mixed in my head now.”

  Just as I finished, the air changed, electricity crackled, and a purple and green portal like the one in my haven opened in the clear air. Wruin, the devil, appeared on the cold peak, and rage filled my head. I cried out with the rage of centuries and launched myself at the man that had destroyed my life so long ago. Never again!

  6

  Thyra

  I could only gape as some kind of portal opened up and a man stepped through. When Endre roared in rage and launched himself at the man, I shuffled back, out of the fray. What the hell was happening now?

  I could hear flesh meeting flesh as I pushed myself up from the ground and saw a man much taller than Endre but still very similar to my Dream Man, fall back into a drift of snow. “Endre, stop it!”

  The man’s voice and face was also similar to Endre’s that I had to wonder if this was the infamous Wruin. I couldn’t imagine anyone else stirring Endre to such violence. He’d just been invaded by his other brother and that hadn’t ended up being nearly as violent. Then, for a crazy moment, I wondered how many brothers there were altogether. I’d have to remember to ask him later, if he lived, that is.

  More people came flooding out of the portal and one giant red-haired man hauled Endre off of his brother. This guy was huge, and with all of that red hair and his long, braided red beard, well, I took another step back as the man’s face turned to me.

  “How you doing there, sweet cheeks?” I gaped at him. Then he winked!

  “Really?” I stared at the giant, totally disarmed.

  “Yep. Let me help you up, Endre.” The giant pulled Endre to his feet, then his brother. Endre was well over six feet tall; his brother was a few inches taller than that, and the giant. Seven feet? I tilted my head speculatively. Yeah, at least seven feet tall.

  “Wow.” I murmured, and then glanced at the people behind us, standing around the portal.

  “I told you this wasn’t going to go well, Wruin.” The giant said, brushing snow off of his king’s coat. “He’ll have gotten over it by now, you said. He’ll be just fine, you told me. That doesn’t look fine to me.”

  I snorted at the high-pitched tone the giant used, and then looked down at the snow. These were magical beings; I didn’t want to end up a slug for snorting at a joke.

  Endre took that moment to launch himself at Wruin again, but Lothar just caught him in arms like two logs and held Endre fast to his body.

  The giant winked again and continued. “He’ll be fine, Lothar, he won’t try to kick my ass at all, you said.”

  I outright laughed at the goofy voice he put on that time. All eyes turned to me and I felt my face flame as I looked back at the group of people watching me.

  Endre tried to break free from the man I assumed must be Lothar, but he was caught well and good.

  “That’s enough, Lothar. Endre, if you would please stop trying to murder me, I have news you need to know about. About Airitech.” Wruin stared at his brother, his face impossible to read.

  A woman came up to the handsome man, a slim, well-endowed woman with dark hair and beautiful gray eyes. She moved to stand beneath his arm, her eyes watching Endre with suspicion. Who the hell did she think she was, I thought as I felt my back straighten.

  She looked at me, gentle concern in her eyes now. I felt my back melt a little. Then another woman caught my attention. She had dark hair and eyes, her skin slightly tanned; she looked almost Native American to me. She was definitely beautiful. They were both beautiful, but the dark-eyed one, she really caught my attention. She looked like she’d tear my head off I kept giggling at the giant.

  He must be hers, I decided. I moved closer to Endre, trying to catch his attention. “Endre, please.”

  I wasn’t sure what exactly I was asking for, I just didn’t like this tension or the way it was making everybody else react around us.

  His body went limp as soon as I spoke and he turned his head to find me. “I’m sorry, Thyra.”

  “For what?” I was confused by the apology, I wasn’t hurt or in danger, not that I could tell. I’d moved away from the giant, the dark-eyed one had stop glaring at me the moment I moved. I was safe.

  “This is my brother, Wruin, king of the Northern Kingdoms. He destroyed my life and I expect he’s back to do it again.” His head hung in defeat and my heart broke for him.

  I glared at the brother. “Look buddy, I don’t give two fucks what you’re the king of, you can’t order me around so don’t think you’re going to fuck up whatever dream/hallucination/coma dream I’m having here with your doucheyness, got me?”

  “Honey, it’s not a dream. I know, I was in your shoes only a day or two ago. I’m still not sure I’m not dead.” The gray-eyed one came up to me, her hands reaching out to touch my shoulders.

  I looked down at her hands, but looked back into her eyes. She had answers, I could see it there. “You too?”

  “Yes, only Holly and I both got it. I’m Abigail, by the way, and this is Holly, my best friend, that glaring woman there. This is my mate, Wruin. And the giant cradling your man is Lothar. It’s nice to meet you.” She held her hand out, a pretty smile on her elven face. She was just too pretty to resist, and her smile was infectious.

  “Hi, I’m Thyra.” I took her hand and we shook. Maybe we could accomplish a truce the men couldn’t.

  “Now, Wruin, tell Lothar to let Endre go. I expect he’ll be calm now, won’t you?” She looked at Endre and he was befuddled but shook his head in agreement.

  “I won’t hit him again. For now.” Endre came to my side, his right hand taking my left one. “What do you want? What has Airitech done now?”

  “He’s snuck into your kingdom with the refugees from reports we’ve had.” Wruin, so very similar to Endre it was almost creepy, took his own woman’s hand in his.

  I studied him as they spoke; apparently this Airitech fellow was Abigail’s father, another fact that didn’t please Endre. Wruin’s eyes were different from my Dream Man’s. His eyes were gold. Endre’s were green but were often almost blue. From what I’ve seen so far anyway.

  This was all too weird, but surreal. I’d come to believe it was all real, and I knew I was taking it like a trooper, but at the same time, my brain was screaming at me to run. They were all discussing what to do about this “wolf-shifter” as they kept calling him, and all I could think a
bout was whether I was hallucinating or not. I glanced at the other women, and saw a reassuring smile from Abigail. The other one was still glaring at me.

  I pushed into Endre’s side, not sure I could take the woman on. We were around the same height and build, but there was a self-assurance about her that told me I might just get hurt if I took the woman on and so far, there wasn’t anything happening worth getting my ass kicked over.

  “Fine,” I heard Endre sigh. “Come down to the house. I can’t keep Thyra out in this cold.”

  Wruin did some waving at the portal, some kind of hoo-doo, I don’t know, but the purple turned to blue and Endre led me through it. We stepped out to an area just beside of Endre’s house. I looked at the long narrow house and for the first time wondered where the materials had come from to build it. There was no wood on Antarctica that I knew of and the wood looked well-aged. He’d been here a long time, from what he said, but still.

  Where did the fire wood come from? The rest of it? Magic, I had to guess as I looked around. We walked into the house, now cleared as the kings went inside first. All of the people were gone, down at the camp from what I could see.

  “Airitech is down there, I can feel him.” Abigail said as she went into the long, narrow house. I saw she’d clenched her hands around her biceps, and knew it wasn’t from the cold. Something had unsettled her.

  Who was this guy if he was such a dick even Endre would put aside his lifetime hatred of Wruin? From what I understood, he was Abigail’s father, but that meant little did it? Not all fathers were as good at their jobs as mine had been.

  For a moment, I missed my parents deeply and pain squeezed my heart. What would they do if they knew this is where I’d end up? My father had told me the legends and fables of his country, so I wasn’t totally ignorant, but this was an alternate reality, wasn’t it? It went well beyond the fables and legends.

  As if he sensed my pain Endre stopped whatever he was saying to his brother and came to me. He smoothed a finger down my cheek, his eyes searching mine. “Are you alright?”

  “Yeah.” I shook my head positively, “Just a moment.”

  “Okay. Are you hungry? I can find us something to eat. Our guests might be hungry too.” He lead us all into the kitchen and we all set about calmly preparing a simple meal. Endre actually did most of the cooking, preparing a fish stew for all of us, as they all made plans.

  Wruin had an army coming as soon as it could be assembled, but they were hoping Airitech would just leave now that Wruin’s very obvious portal had appeared. The portal was gone and would reappear when Wruin had word that his army was ready.

  “Why did he come here?” I asked, cutting up apples to make a dessert with. Everybody turned to me, questioning me.

  “What?” Wruin asked, his own hands busy applying butter to bread.

  “Why did that man come here? What drew him?”

  “Abigail recently met her father, and also destroyed the plans he had for getting back into his own world. He was cast out of the lands to the west of ours, in the flooded area that used to be a part of Ireland. It was called Tir na Nog before it sank beneath the waters. It’s the land of the fairy folk. He was banished from his own lands long ago. He betrayed his people.” Wruin finished his recital and went back to his bread.

  “Tir na Nog. The Tuatha de Danan?” I asked, remembering some old legend my father had told me about the legends of the other country. He’d loved all of the old mythical tales like that.

  “That’s them.” Endre agreed, placing a kiss on my nose as he sat down to take a mug of ale from a pitcher on the table.

  “And he’s a part of them?” I continued, pulling out another apple to peel.

  “He was, he tried to overthrow the leadership there at one point, but he was caught and banished. They should have...” Wruin stopped his words as he looked at Abigail. “No, you wouldn’t have been born then.”

  She smiled at him happily, and honestly, I just wanted to go take a nap. This was all doing my head in. Fairies were real now too?

  I sighed heavily, I couldn’t help it.

  “It takes getting used to doesn’t it? If I hadn’t seen my father turn into a wolf with my own eyes, and Wruin into a dragon I’d be screaming for an ambulance to the psychiatric ward. I saw it though. So did Holly. It’s real. Knowing I’m not alone in this has helped. And now you’re here. I’m really not alone now.” Abigail took her own cup of ale and sat down at the long bench and table we were sitting at.

  The room had one long table with two benches on each side, and Endre was back at the old stove, something from the 1930s by the look of it. He kept feeding wood into a tiny little box on one side to keep the stove hot.

  “So there’s a really evil man down in the camp, and we’re all just sitting here, twiddling our thumbs? If you’re all magic, why do we need an army? Can’t you just go zap him or something?”

  “He’s brought his pack with him, and they’re just as magical as we are.” Abigail said, picking up an apple and knife to help me. I noticed her use of we, but she hadn’t called herself a shifter. Was she more than the human woman I’d taken her for?

  I looked around the room and saw a group of people ready for the fight coming their way. Ready in a way I didn’t think I could ever be. Sure, I’d won a fight with myself, with my ex, by crossing the ocean alone, I’d conquered my fears of being helpless against a man that had far more power than I did. But that was an intangible kind of power, the power these people had, even Holly with her karate skills, had a magic that I didn’t have. I was the odd man out, the one most likely to be voted to don a red shirt. The one most likely to be killed in the first seconds of a magical firefight. I put down my knife, fear making my stomach churn.

  “Ah, right. So we can’t just blast him then.” I didn’t like the sound of this at all, and it showed in my voice. “Uh, Endre, can I talk to you? Alone?”

  “Sure.” His back had gone stiff at my tone and I wondered if he knew what I was going to say.

  He took me to the bedroom and we settled on the bed.

  “I’m not sure I can do this whole battle thing. I’m only human.” I looked up at him, into eyes gone ice blue. Whoa.

  “If that is your decision, Thyra. I would like for you to stay though. I will do all I can to protect you.” He looked like he wanted to try to sway me, but wasn’t going to force me.

  I barely knew this man, but I knew enough. He was kind, good, loving, and protective. He wouldn’t make me stay if I wanted to go. He’d proven that with his story about Riever.

  Now, he was willing to let me go, even if that meant his world would crumble once again. Did I really want to leave a man like that? Especially after running from a man that was the exact opposite? I looked at him, and knew the color of his eyes reflected his feelings right now. He’d shut himself down. Could I do that to him? Could I do it to myself? I closed my eyes, trying to find an answer.

  7

  Endre

  Thyra was confused, her heart was aching, and fear was starting to creep in. I couldn’t blame her, this wasn’t the life she’d led. She lived a life with cars, electricity, and danger, but nothing like this. She’d lived a peaceful life compared to many, even with that awful man she’d married, only to divorce. I didn’t want to let her go, but I knew it wasn’t my place to make her stay.

  “If you want to go back to your world, Thrya, I can send you there. I can get you to one of the dark places in South America, then you’ll have to find your way home from there. There’s no portal into your country.”

  “I just...” I could see the indecision, the uncertainty, and knew she needed the truth.

  “This is not going to be easy, Thyra. Airitech is dangerous, and what he wants could end my world and yours. We might all die in the process, but we have to try and fight him. He’s cagey, and there is evil in this world the same as in yours. He’s growing support from the disenfranchised in the magical world from what Wruin has said. He has to be dealt with
. If you think you’re unable to help with that, I understand. This life isn’t for everyone.”

  I could see pain in her eyes, emotional pain, and wanted to take it away, but I couldn’t lie to her.

  “I think, I just...” She held her hands out, open and empty. “I have nothing to offer do I? I’m not magical like you or the others. I don’t have the karate skills Holly mentioned. I’m not a giant. I only have two weak human hands to offer.”

  “Maybe that’s what we need, but no. I won’t try to sway you, Thyra, forgive me that moment of weakness.” I had to look away. The pain of losing her pricked me already.

  This was so much worse than leaving Riever. So very much harder.

  “It’s just too much, Endre. I can’t do anything but die. That would be even worse wouldn’t it? If I died and left you alone?” Her eyes implored me for understanding, she didn’t seem to realize she already had that. Maybe she was trying to convince herself.

  I held my hand out to her, to her heart. I placed my palm flat and listened. I could hear the gentle beat of her heart in my own blood. I closed my eyes, opening my mind to hers.

  I felt something soft brush against my brain, just as I brushed against hers. I found her memories, her thoughts, her hopes and fears, the same as she found mine in that moment. This was far more intimate than even sex, but I wanted her to have this part of me before she left.

  I knew everything about her, just as she knew herself, with that one act. We were each other from that moment on. Wherever she went, whatever she did, I would always be a part of her.

  “You will know if I die, my heart. You will know if I survive. If you change your mind, all you have to do is think it, and I will come for you. Somehow, I will find a way.”

  I saw her eyes change, become darker, as she looked at me. She can’t leave without knowing me. I knew her thought before she even thought it. I would give her anything, anything at all. And this would be a gift to me as well.