Shadows of Home

by James R. Vernon

  If Ean was the same young man he had been at that first encounter, that knife would have plunged directly into his chest, struck his heart, and ended his life before he took a third breath.

  Except Ean was no longer that same young man from less than a year ago.

  He clenched a fist and energy exploded out of the ground. Not the protective shield that had become his instinctual response. Ean was not looking to protect anything this evening.

  The energy struck EliZane in the chest. A flash of blue light mixed with the purple of Ean's energy, creating a bright violet glow for an instant. It grew a thousand times brighter as the mixing energies exploded, launching EliZane backwards into the air. Even knowing the concussive force was coming, Ean was knocked backwards as well. He kept his feet, only stumbling a few feet before coming to a stop. His ears rung and it felt like he had been punched multiple times in the chest. Zin and Azalea weren't as lucky.

  Both were on the ground behind him, struggling to rise. Either the force of the blast or the Seeker's protection had caused Azalea to lose the illusion of a normal woman. She struggled to get to her knees, her pale blue skin covered in dirt and a few scrapes. Her hair, now its normal shade of dark violet, was matted to her face. Zin, on the other hand, hadn't even started to rise. The imp was on his side, coughing heavily with his arms holding his stomach.

  Unfortunately, taking the time to check on them was the first mistake Ean made that evening.

  Pain exploded in his stomach, causing him to double over. Strength fled from his legs, dropping Ean to his knees before the pain had fully registered. Looking down, he found the hilt of a dagger sticking out of the center of his gut. In the time it took him to realize what had happened, EliZane was in front of him. Another dagger in hand, the Seeker smirked as he reared back to deliver a second blow.

  Azalea was there, catching the Seeker's wrist and stopping the blade a few inches from Ean's throat. She let out a growl and twisted his arm at such an angle that the sound of bones snapping should have followed. The dagger dropped from his hand but he seemed prepared for the attack. Somehow, EliZane managed to both twist with it and get his wrist free from the Yulari's grasp. He rolled away, coming to his feet, his smirk now a sneer. Instead of launching into another attack, however, EliZane sprinted away back towards the center of town.

  The Yulari went after him without hesitation.

  "Azalea..." Breathing for Ean was difficult, which made speaking even more so. "Wait..."

  "Why?" Azalea called over her shoulder as she ran after the man. "So you can spare this one as well? Not this time, Ean. He's mine."

  Ean tried to rise as the two sped away but his legs refused to listen. A dampness was spreading across his shirt, becoming heavier with each passing moment. He needed to heal. Fast. And the only way to do that was to get the dagger out of his stomach.

  This isn't going to be pleasant, he thought, grasping the hilt of the weapon embedded in his stomach.

  There was a ripping sound as Ean jerked the dagger free. His vision blurred as blood splattered the dirt and stone of the road. Pain overwhelmed his senses. The ground rushed up to meet him as he fell forward. Instinct made him try to move his hands as he drew more Abysmal energy into his body.

  Ean caught himself, his hands smacking the ground. Arms wobbled but he kept himself from face-planting.

  The sharp pain in his stomach turned into an intense burning sensation. With a gross fascination, he felt the skin slowly knit back together. When it had finished, all that was left was a dull pain, the after-effects of such a dire wound remaining like a memory.

  He didn't bother to check. There was no time.

  With a deep breath, he pushed himself into a kneeling position again, then tried to stand. Ean had to fight with his own legs but they listened after trying to give out once or twice. By the time he felt his legs were solidly beneath him, he turned to check on Zin. The imp was standing, his beady black eyes staring at him questioningly.

  "You still you?" Zin asked.

  "As far as I know."

  "Just checking." The imp visibly relaxed. "Last thing we need is your other personality coming out now."

  "Agreed." Strange that the other personality didn't even try to come out, Ean thought as he glanced around. "Which way did they go?"

  "It looked like they headed towards the inn, but I didn't watch them for long. I was deciding which way to run incase you went mental."

  "We'll try the inn then."

  Ean took a step on wobbly legs and stopped before he fell over.

  Zin was right by his side. "Maybe you should take a few more moments. I'm sure Azalea can handle the Seeker."

  "No." Ean drew in more energy. It filled him to the point he felt like he would burst. It raged inside him, but more importantly, it at least temporarily invigorated his body. "I won't leave her to face him alone."

  His next step was less shaky. The one after that felt more solid. By the sixth step, he felt confident enough to break out into a jog. By the time he reached the inn's porch, he felt ready for a battle.

  Except not a single sound emanated from inside the large building.

  Ean paused, slowed his breathing, and strained his ears to try and hear something. Anything. Azalea should have had no problem catching the Seeker. If they weren't battling inside, he should hear them nearby. If they no longer fought, Azalea might have already won. Or...

  He was up the four stairs in a single leap.

  "You charge, I'll be smart," Zin yelled after him as Ean pushed through the inn's double doors with enough force that the hinges squealed in protest.

  Inside, he found his fears for Azalea's safety had been justified.

  The Yulari was suspended upside-down towards the back of the common room by her ankles, a large gash in her forehead. The tables, chairs, and benches that usually filled the large room had all been pushed up against the wall, clearing a large area of space in the middle of the room. Towards the back, Azalea hung limp, her arms drooping at her sides. The Yulari's eyes were open but rolled back in her head. The rope that held her aloft was strange. It was hard to tell from a distance but it seemed made of a metallic material, yet it bent and swayed like a regular length of rope. EliZane stood next to her, a knife held close to her throat.

  "Fell right into my trap," EliZane said as he ran a finger down her cheek. "I'll admit it was meant for you, but it came in very useful catching this Abysmal spawn instead. Now I can cut her throat without the slightest bit of effort."

  Ean took a step forward but stopped as the Seeker pulled out a knife and stuck the blade to Azalea's neck.

  "Now, now," the Seeker continued, "let's not do anything hasty. Just because I plan on doing it, doesn't mean I want to kill her before I kill you. If I'm being honest, I haven't decided which would be more fun. Having her see you die or having you see me slit her throat."

  "Leave her alone. It's me you want."

  "I want you both. I want every human or creature connected to the Abyss. Don't you get it? Killing you and anyone touched by the Abyss is the only way I can legitimately kill things without being labeled a murderer. Or a psychopath. The other Seekers think they keep me on a tight leash. That my instinct to kill is another tool they can use. But I'm using their beliefs to justify my desires."

  Ean took a step towards him and Azalea but stopped as EliZane moved right back to Azalea's side. His breath caught in his throat for a moment as the man's blade touched her neck, but Ean forced himself to speak. Forced a confident tone into his voice. "I already knew you were a murderer the first time I saw you. Whatever sadistic plan you may have is useless as well. If you kill her, I will destroy you. Utterly. You are completely ignorant to the power I wield now."

  A partial truth. Ean was still fairly ignorant as well compared to what the other personality could do with his power.

  "Big words from someone who was practically pissing his pants a few seasons ago." EliZane brought the knife up and tapped it against his lips a
s he continued. "But I think you're right in one regard. I'll kill you first. That way I'll have plenty of time do whatever horrible things I want to your monster afterwards."

  "Come and try."

  Ean started walking into the room, some of the tension from worrying about Azalea disappearing as EliZane left her side and started moving towards him as well. Unless the Seeker had some tricks up his sleeve, all he could do was hurt Ean. There was no way EliZane could win. All Ean had to worry about was not getting himself so injured that the other personality could take control.

  That, and if he could go as far as killing the man. But Ean would cross that bridge when he reached it.

  Both men slowed as they got closer to each other. Ean began gathering in energy as he watched EliZane produce another knife from his belt that was different than the one he already held in his right hand. Its handle glinted with gold filament, and a blood-red jewel seemed to sparkle at its base. It reminded him of the blue stone that rested at the base of the larger Seeker's knife—the one used to close the Scar. Whether this gem had some connection to the other was unclear, but it made the hairs on the back of Ean's neck stand up.

  When they were only a dozen or so paces away, both men slowed and began to circle each other. Ean thought it best to strike first, to not give the man a chance to use his speed. Unfortunately, they were interrupted before Ean had the chance.

  "Stop!" Both Ean and EliZane paused as Bran walked out of the kitchen door behind the bar. "I can't let you kill him."

  Ean couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Bran," the words rushed out of his mouth. "This psychopath won't stop with me and the other creatures from the Abyss. He'll kill anyone he can as long as he can make an excuse that they had the slightest taint of the Abyss in them."

  EliZane still had his eyes on Ean, but he had frozen in place. His body was turned in a way that it was possible Bran was at the edge of his vision. "I would keep out of this." EliZane's voice sounded as if he were speaking to a child. "This is way beyond the understanding of the mayor's son in the simplest village I've ever visited."

  Bran seemed to ignore them both. As they spoke, he moved behind the bar and grabbed a strange sword that was hanging on the wall. It appeared made of a dark grayish stone, everything from the hilt to the blade seemed chiseled roughly with jagged edges.

  "I have to stop you," Bran replied, the stone sword gripped easily in his one hand. "It's my master's orders."

  Ean saw every expression in the room turn into a look of surprise that probably mirrored his own.

  "Your master." EliZane spoke slowly. "You mean you follow this abomination? You're foolish enough to worship something associated with the Abyss?"

  "Oh, no, no, no." Bran was halfway between the bar and EliZane now and came to a stop. "I serve another man. One who has shown me what is to come. Has made sure that I'll get the revenge on this man that I truly deserve. Ean must die. But he has to suffer a great deal more before that happens. That is something my master has promised me, and I won't let you kill him and take it away from me."

  "Bran..." Ean struggled with what to say as he tried to process what was going on. "I'm sorry for whatever happened to Jaslen, but I--

  "Quiet Ean." Bran's voice was quiet, which made him seem more intense than if he had been yelling. "You've spoken enough lies. It is time for you to get the justice you deserve. The punishment you deserve."

  Bran drove the stone sword into the wooden floor, the planks splintering and creaking from the blow. "Let my, and Sadiek's, vengeance begin.

  And then, to Ean's horror, Bran began to change.

  Chapter 37

  The change started small. Bran's arms seemed to stretch, the area between shoulder and elbow expanding out as muscles grew, while his forearms doubled in length.His chest and abdomen expanded next, muscles growing and stretching his clothes until they ripped. Underneath, Bran's skin seemed on the verge of ripping as well. Muscles stuck out in places not usual for even the thickest warrior. The change in his legs came last. The area below the knees shortened while expanding in muscle like his upper arms while Bran's upper thighs elongated. The only thing that remained unchanged was Bran's face and head, which looked strange in their normal proportions atop a body that had doubled in thickness. In the few moments it took for the man to change, Bran had almost doubled in height and could no longer be considered human-looking.

  Ean had seen the end result of people twisted and deformed like this before, deep in the mountain where Zin's old master had made his lair. Except those monstrosities had been horrors of ripped skin and protruding bone. Bran looked whole, despite the changes. Whether that made him more dangerous or less was something Ean did not want to find out. Especially with him carrying that massive stone sword as easily as if it were made of feathers. Diplomacy first, even if it was just to buy him some time to think and Azalea some time to wake up.

  "You would let someone do this to you?" Ean tried to keep his eyes on both EliZane and Bran at the same time, but the Seeker was moving backwards towards the wall and out of Ean's peripheral vision.

  "I asked for this." Bran pointed the sword in Ean's direction. "Sadiek came to me not long after you left on your last little trip. I don't know if he heard about my disgust towards you from one of the other villagers or his hatred sought out my own. But when he offered me the chance to find vengeance for myself as well as him, it became an easy decision."

  "To let him do that to you?"

  "Do what?" Bran flexed the arm not holding the sword. "Make me strong?"

  Ean shook his head. "No. Make you into a monster."

  "You're the monster!" Bran's mouth twisted into a sneer. "You brought monsters here to live!"

  "Sadiek is the monster, Bran. I've seen him take innocent people and turn them into grotesque aberrations worse than anything I could bring out of the Abyss. He had people murdered, ripped apart, and put back together to follow his will. Is that what you want to become?"

  Bran dismissed his words with a wave of his elongated arm. "He told me about his earlier experiments. As you can see, he has gotten much better at improving the human body. Those before me were just practice as he learned to control his own magic."

  "They were people, Bran. People he killed. It was because of him that practically the whole caravan I was with was murdered."

  Bran shrugged massive shoulders, muscles popping out in strange directions. "I've read dozens of books in my father's study that have said every war has innocent casualties. That caravan was doomed the minute you joined it."

  "Except," Ezzy said as she emerged from the hallway at the back of the room, "Ean didn't get them killed. He has been telling the truth the whole time. And you knew it."

  For the first time since Bran's change, Ean noticed his face soften a little.

  "But don't you understand." Bran's voice almost sounded like a plea. "It's Ean's fault they all had to die. He brings death and misery wherever he goes."

  "Sadiek would have killed them even if I wasn't there," Ean replied. "He was going to the Plaguebringer’s old lair for some reason. Even without me, he still would have changed those men. He still would have gotten the people of Ulundkin to turn on the caravan."

  "No," Bran closed his eyes. "You're just twisting things..."

  "You say Sadiek told you what happened," Ezzy said as she moved further into the room. "And that the people he changed before you were experiments as he tried to understand his power. Are you saying now he wouldn't have experimented on them if Ean wasn't there?"

  "Sadiek..." Bran seemed to struggle to find the words. "The experiments were necessary..."

  "Then those people were going to die whether Ean had been on the trip or not." Ezzy took a step towards Bran, one first curled into a ball, while the other hand reached for a hilt sticking out of her belt. "My father was going to be killed by your master."

  "Sadiek didn't--"

  "I trusted you!" Ezzy's voice trembled with what could only be a barely controlled rag
e. "Since I've been here, I've opened up to you because I thought we shared a common enemy. Because we had some connection in what we both had lost. And this whole time you've been working for the man that was the real cause of all my loss!"

  "No." Bran brought a long-fingered hand to rub at his face. When he pulled the hand away, his expression grew dark. "No, no, no! It was Ean's fault! This is what he does, Ezzy! He twists people's minds. Turns them against me. First Jasmine. Now you."

  Through his bonds, Ean could feel Azalea's consciousness start to stir and he felt Zin somewhere above him. The time for talking was coming to an end. Either Bran was going to see the mistakes he made or Ean was going to say some things that would lead to a physical fight. In case it was the latter, Ean glanced to the side to take stock of the Seeker's position. A knot formed in Ean's stomach as he failed to see EliZane anywhere in the room.

  A problem for later. Bran was now.

  "Enough, Bran." Ean started gathering his energy. "I don't know why Jasmine left you, but it was long after the two of you separated from me. I refuse to continue to take the blame for your relationship problems. It’s time you start taking responsibility for your own actions. By the gods, just look at what you've let Sadiek do to you because of your misplaced anger. You've murdered people!"

  "Strangers." Bran dismissed the comment with a wave of his hand. "Invaders of our peaceful village. Just like you."

  Bran started moving forward, arms and legs jerking as if the muscles weren't sure how they were supposed to behave in the mutated body. Before he had taken two steps, Ean threw up a wall of energy between them. The energy wall shimmered and crackled, distorting the image of Bran on the other side. Even so, Ean could see the smile that broke out on Bran's face.

  "You think yourself so powerful." Bran pressed against the barrier with his free hand. "But there are all kinds of powers in this world that you know nothing about."