Seeing is Believing

by Sasha L. Miller

  Though really, what if there were more? What did he think he was going to do, without energy and with two gaping holes in him that were leaking far too much blood to be healthy down his front.

  "Can't—ah—" Asahi tried, clutching at Nesfir's pant leg because it was the closest thing he could get a grip on. That and the grass, and for some reason, Nesfir still wasn't wearing a shirt and his hands were smeared with blood.

  "Shh, almost there," Nesfir soothed, giving him a brief, pained smile before managing to snap the end of the arrow off. The movement jolted Asahi, sending new waves of white-hot pain flaring through him. He must have passed out for a moment because the next thing he knew, he was on his back in the grass, his shirt stripped open and Nesfir's burning-hot hands pressed against his chest.

  Then all he could focus on was the searing sharp sensation of healing magic surging through him too quickly—too much of it. Asahi gave up his tenuous grip on consciousness and passed out again.

  *~*~*

  Asahi woke up quickly. Breathing harshly, he tried to sit up but found the movement blocked by a heavy weight resting on his chest. Glancing down, Asahi stared, dumbfounded because Nesfir was sleeping, half on top of him and half sprawled out towards the room.

  It was a room he didn't recognize, cozy and a bit messy. The bed was comfortable, and the furniture was homemade—well-worn but serviceable. Nesfir shifted, his bare arm moving along Asahi's bare stomach with an electric surge of panic.

  Why wasn't he wearing a shirt—

  Except … Asahi touched his chest lightly, frowning. Why didn't he have wounds from the arrows in his chest? He'd been healed, but by who? Nesfir? Nesfir didn't have a witchmark. Except that no one else had been close enough, so it had to be.

  Asahi touched his fingers carefully to Nesfir's left cheek, where the witchmark should be. He'd never heard of a witch without one. But even if it hadn't been Nesfir, it certainly helped explain why they weren't terrified of him. They had a magician around healing people.

  Only, what had happened to the man shooting at them? Hopefully Nesfir had stayed awake long enough to deal with that. Asahi scoffed, quietly because he wasn't ready to wake Nesfir up yet, because even with a magician around someone still wanted him dead.

  Though it didn't necessarily have to be any of the villagers. What if he'd pissed off someone and they were following him? That didn't make much sense, but neither did the hatred of witches here, so it was certainly possible.

  What happened now? Would Nesfir deem him too dangerous to keep around? Could he stay, knowing the danger he brought with him? Asahi sighed, his fingers twitching a little as he brushed a stray lock of hair out of Nesfir's face. That was another question—why was Nesfir in bed with him? Where was this bed? Though the more he looked around the more he thought it was probably in the farmhouse somewhere.

  Nesfir stirred, mumbling something incoherent against Asahi's shoulder—and really, he'd contorted himself quite peculiarly since he was so much taller than Asahi was. Asahi's fingers stilled and he tried to breathe shallowly. He didn't think he was ready for Nesfir to be awake yet.

  Unfortunately that had no bearing on whether or not Nesfir did wake up, and Asahi carefully relaxed, shutting his eyes and breathing evenly as Nesfir groaned and shifted a little. If he pretended to be asleep, he'd have more time to think.

  Nesfir muttered something that Asahi didn't catch, and shoved himself up a little, off of Asahi. It made it easier to breathe, but also made his skin colder where Nesfir had been playing human blanket.

  "Oh," Nesfir mumbled, as though discovering something, and Asahi jerked in surprise when warm hands touched his chest.

  "Are you okay?" Nesfir asked quietly, and Asahi gave it up, opening his eyes and batting Nesfir's hands off his chest. How was he supposed to think when Nesfir was touching him?

  "I shouldn't be," Asahi hissed, angry all of a sudden. Nesfir at least had the good grace to look guilty, but Asahi wasn't satisfied. "You healed me."

  "Yes," Nesfir admitted, carefully detangling himself from Asahi and the twists of blankets that had bunched around their legs. Asahi helped, sitting up and pulling his knees towards him so that he wasn't touching Nesfir at all.

  At least they were both wearing pants. Probably Asahi's shirt had been ruined by blood, and he silently cursed that too because he didn't have that many to begin with.

  "You don't have a witchmark," Asahi accused when it looked like Nesfir was going to leave it at just that.

  "No," Nesfir agreed, looking … deflated, and Asahi subsided, staring at him. Nesfir was usually cheerful, full of smiles and pestering optimism. It was disturbing to see him so unhappy. Asahi scowled at him, unsure of when Nesfir had gotten close enough that Asahi actually wanted him to be happier.

  "Stop it," Asahi ordered, frustrated when Nesfir just gave him a confused look and didn't stop looking like someone had kicked him. "Just … explain."

  "It's complicated," Nesfir muttered, and he looked exhausted. But if he really was a witch, and had thrown his energy into healing Asahi without a spell, then it really was little wonder. Asahi would still be flat on his back except for the influx of Nesfir's energy.

  "Okay," Asahi accepted, staring at him expectantly. Nesfir laughed ruefully, a bit of a smile turning the corners of his lips. Asahi almost smiled back before he caught himself. Really, that wasn't much of an accomplishment. Nesfir still didn't speak up, just stared thoughtfully at the far wall.

  "We'll start with something easy," Asahi decided, restraining the urge to throw a pillow at Nesfir. "Where are we?"

  "In Tehli and Kajin's house," Nesfir answered. "It was closest and I don't think I could have carried you further."

  "You carried me?" Asahi glared. "Are you an idiot?"

  "What?" Nesfir asked, obviously surprised. "I thought you'd prefer that to having Kajin or Ellac do it. Besides, they were carrying Paxif."

  "Paxif?" Asahi asked, confused. "Wait, no, you're still an idiot. You spent all your energy without using a spell and then carried me?"

  "Yes," Nesfir shrugged. "It was easiest. Paxif is the man you brained with the tree trunk you conjured."

  "Is he a villager?" Asahi asked suspiciously.

  Nesfir sighed, digging his hands into his hair. "That's where it gets complicated," Nesfir muttered, and Asahi crossed his arms and glared. "He is. But he wasn't when he shot at us."

  "That makes no sense," Asahi declared, his stomach sinking. It looked like he'd have to move on again because he wasn't going to stay here, not even with a few people fond of him. The ones who didn't like him were more dangerous.

  "It does," Nesfir refuted with a sigh. "I have a brother."

  "I fail to make the connection," Asahi snapped, getting annoyed because Nesfir was just making everything worse by not coming out and saying it.

  "He's my twin," Nesfir explained, looking worse, if that were possible. "My parents were both witches."

  "So he is too," Asahi interpreted. "Let me guess, he's an enchanter."

  "Yes," Nesfir confirmed.

  "And he's not a good witch," Asahi continued. "And maybe he thinks this is his territory and he enchanted Paxif to attack me."

  "Essentially," Nesfir shrugged. "Though I don't know if the arrows were meant for you or if you just got in the way for me."

  "Lovely," Asahi drawled, kicking Nesfir with his bare heel because he hated being shot. It hurt like a bitch every time.

  "He was born with both marks—magician and enchanter, so everyone thought he got all the magic for a while," Nesfir explained, touching his hand to the spot on his cheek where the witchmark should have been.

  "And you never learned how to moderate, right?" Asahi shook his head, eyeing Nesfir speculatively.

  "My mother was an enchanter and my father was a conjurer. Like you. They had no idea what to do with magician magic," Nesfir answered, smiling a little. "They were going to see if they could find a magician when we grew up, but then my brother started his attempts to e
nchant everyone into doing his bidding."

  "Obviously that didn't work out," Asahi muttered. "So he ran off and got some education and came back?"

  "Apparently." Nesfir glanced out the window worriedly. "I don't think we can scare him off that easily this time. Especially if he's learned more."

  "Hmph," Asahi scoffed, sliding across the soft mattress and standing. Brushing the wrinkles from his pants, he glared at Nesfir. "I don't care what he's learned. I hate being shot."

  "Asahi," Nesfir protested, following his lead and moving to stand.

  "Oh no you don't," Asahi pushed at his shoulders,unsurprised to find the action futile. Nesfir wasn't exactly small. "You're resting since you don't know how to conserve."

  "There's too much to do," Nesfir denied. "Besides, you're not going off to face him alone."

  "Nesfir," Asahi snapped, shoving him again. Nesfir actually sat down, though Asahi couldn't fool himself into believing it was because of him. "Witches in Osamu are trained for combat, even if they're not going to be combatants. I think I can handle myself against one partially trained enchanter."

  "It's easier if there are more people than he can enchant at one time," Nesfir argued, snagging his wrist before he could get away. Asahi glared, ignoring the faint blush that crept into his cheeks.

  "It's more distracting," Asahi countered. "I'm not stupid enough to let myself be enchanted—"

  "You won't have a choice," Nesfir argued, ignoring Asahi's attempts to get free. Asahi glared at him, continuing to try and tug his wrist free. "There isn't a way for your magic to block his magic."

  "If that were true, I wouldn't have beaten so many enchanters in the mock trials," Asahi replied sweetly, baring his teeth. "Let me go."

  "You can block him?" Nesfir asked, looking confused. "My mother could enchant my father." Asahi smirked, and Nesfir made a face, pulling him closer to the bed where he sat. "Not like that. For chores and things he kept putting off."

  "Sure," Asahi replied, still smirking. "But I went to school for magic. I think I know a bit more than he did."

  "Still," Nesfir maintained. "I'm not letting you do this on your own."

  "You know I could conjure something heavy to drop on your head," Asahi threatened, but he'd stopped fighting to get free. Nothing he did short of magic was going to get him free of Nesfir's grip.

  Nesfir laughed, adjusting his grip. "You'd have to chant a full spell first, and I wouldn't let you get that far."

  "I don't have to chant a spell," Asahi bluffed. If he didn't he'd be in worse shape than Nesfir, and Nesfir probably knew that.

  "Not unless you learned some fancy way of doing that," Nesfir countered with a grin, and Asahi leaned closer, his eyes on Nesfir's. Nesfir blinked once, slowly, and Asahi tried not to think about how close they were, or how warm Nesfir's hand was, wrapped around his wrist.

  "I don't," Asahi admitted, the words mumbled and quiet in the sudden stillness. Nesfir's thumb stroked along the sensitive skin on the inside of his wrist.

  "Take me with you," Nesfir said quietly. Asahi stared a moment more before the words sank in.

  "What? No." Asahi moved quickly, yanking his wrist away and taking a step back. Nesfir looked startled, and Asahi blushed hotly. He'd almost—but there was no way Nesfir could come with him.

  "It's either that or you take more than me," Nesfir countered swiftly. "I won't have you going after him alone."

  "I doubt you could stop me," Asahi replied coldly, crossing his arms and wishing for a shirt because he didn't want to be half-naked in front of Nesfir anymore.

  "Asahi," Nesfir stood up and closed the space between them quickly. "You don't have to deal with this—"

  "He shot me!" Asahi shouted, irritated. "Yes, from a distance, but the bastard shot me and I'll do worse to him!"

  Nesfir looked startled briefly before looking amused. "I've had worse from him. I think I get to go along."

  Asahi paused, about ready to launch into the spell that would conjure bonds around Nesfir's hands and feet for him to pull tight.

  "Did he shoot you?" Asahi demanded, but his voice was quieter and he watched Nesfir carefully, not sure if he wanted the answer from the look on Nesfir's face.

  "He killed our parents," Nesfir answered slowly. Asahi stared at him for a long moment before deciding he wasn't making it up.

  "Fine," Asahi agreed quietly. "But you do as I say, and we're not leaving until you've eaten something."

  "Alright," Nesfir agreed. He wasn't smiling, but Asahi left it. The best thing he could do for Nesfir at this point was get him vengeance.

  Asahi was unhappy. It wasn't the snappish, annoyed unhappy he'd had before, when Nesfir visited his cabin in the woods. It was more of a worried and angry unhappy. Not that he could really blame Asahi—he had been shot twice and that could make the nicest of people cranky.

  Nesfir was a little surprised Asahi hadn't done worse to poor Paxif when he'd thrown that spell, especially since he hadn't known Paxif was enchanted. Not that Nesfir could really say much on Asahi's inclinations to cause harm. Certainly he seemed like he wanted to do Resdi harm.

  And that was the crux of it. The smart thing to do would be to get rid of Resdi, once and for all. To kill him as quickly as they could to minimize the damage he'd done. So far no one was dead this time, but if Nesfir hadn't been with Asahi, the witch probably wouldn't still be alive.

  Resdi had more than earned his fate. He had at least half a dozen deaths to his name, including their parents. That alone should be more than enough for Nesfir to want to see him dead.

  Only, Resdi was his brother, which was an incredibly stupid reason against killing him. Just because they were related … Nesfir was the Mayor of Shakartha. They counted on him to keep them safe. He needed to get rid of Resdi's threat, but was there a way to do that without killing him? There had to be some way to convince Resdi to leave and never come back.

  Nesfir just wasn't smart enough to think of it, and they were getting closer to the grove where Resdi would be. Even after five years, Nesfir could still anticipate Resdi's actions. The grove was quiet, a little too far away from the village for anyone to stumble onto it accidentally.

  They'd played there as children, hiding from their parents and the chores they'd been assigned.

  At least Asahi had agreed, however reluctantly, to not go without him. That gave Nesfir a chance to reason with Resdi, and a chance to make sure Asahi didn't immediately try and kill Resdi.

  Asahi's footsteps were quiet and barely discernable behind him, and Nesfir really wanted to not be thinking about Resdi and keeping the village safe. He would much prefer to be thinking about that moment in the Cinades' bedroom, where he was positive Asahi had been about to kiss him.

  They were fast approaching the grove though. Nesfir had no doubt that Resdi knew Nesfir wasn't dead and that there was another witch residing in the village now, though Nesfir doubted he knew that before his attack. No, Resdi was smarter than that and he would've figured out a different way to neutralize Asahi before that.

  "Let me talk to him, first," Nesfir instructed quietly as they neared the little grove. Asahi looked like he was about to protest and Nesfir stopped and rested a hand over Asahi's mouth. "Please."

  Asahi's eyes narrowed, but he nodded. Nesfir tried a reassuring smile, but it fell flat. Asahi did roll his eyes though and Nesfir took that to heart, marveling a little because Asahi had been barely civil to him just a few days ago. Turning away, he stopped when Asahi's hand touched his arm.

  "Hold on," Asahi ordered, his voice quiet as he started to chant. Nesfir waited uneasily, wondering what Asahi was doing, but he didn't interrupt. It took a moment, and then a curious tingling sensation ran along his skin.

  "I'll be staying close. Don't go too far into the grove or you won't be protected anymore," Asahi directed, not elaborating what the protection was for. He hesitated, but shook his head instead of saying anything more.

  Asahi's hand slipped away from Nesfir's arm, and Nes
fir took a slow, steadying breath. He could do this. He would do this, because he was the Mayor of Shakartha and it was his duty to make sure his village stayed whole.

  Even if it meant killing his brother.

  Steeling himself, Nesfir walked into the clearing. He didn't bother to try to keep his steps quiet, even if he hoped Asahi had more or less stayed undetected so far. Remembering Asahi's edict, though, he only took a few steps into the clearing.

  It wasn't that different than it had been when they were younger. Some of the trees were bigger, and there were a few fallen branches and what looked to be a fox den under the far trees. The stream that cut through the center of the clearing was just a dry, empty bed this late in the fall.

  Most importantly, Resdi was leaning against one of the far trees, a knowing smirk curving his lips.

  "That certainly took you long enough," Resdi commented idly, not moving. He looked extremely casual, leaning against the tree. One foot was propped up against the tree trunk, and he was barely looking at Nesfir, seemingly finding his nails much more interesting.

  "Resdi, what are you doing back here?" Nesfir asked, unable to keep the weary note from his voice.

  "What, no backup this time?" Resdi asked, glancing up with sharp green eyes that were the exact shade of Nesfir's. "Sloppy of you, Nesfir. I would have thought you'd bring more. Or could you not convince anyone to come?"

  "I can't imagine you'd be happy here," Nesfir tried, ignoring Resdi's attempts to ferret out what he was up to. Resdi was probably a little thrown at only Nesfir showing up, and Nesfir wasn't going to give Asahi up before the witch wanted to be given up. "Shakartha's not a large town and it's not close to anything."

  "Ah, but that's why. No one would notice if something happened to tiny, backwater Shakartha," Resdi informed him with a smirk. He pushed away from the tree, his intent gaze suddenly focused completely on Nesfir.

  Their mother had had that same look whenever she was working magic, or about to. Nesfir didn't back down though, trusting that even were Resdi to try and enchant him, Asahi would break it.