Magicked

There is in every one of us a capacity for irrefutable evil. The saints and the sinners are both human, and therefore fully capable of committing the same macabre crimes as any other.



There is in every one of us a never-ending and unrenouncing greed that washes out all other emotions and drives a man to do unconsciously terrible deeds that would shock and horrify even the most cynical of men.




There is in every one of us an eternal, yet forever hidden desire for chaos and power. It is what a man thirsts for more than any other need essential to his survival and it is, in many cases, what does his survival in.



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The biting wind tore savagely at the exposed flesh on the two men standing on the grounds of the shattered cottage. Having narrowly escaped their being crushed beneath the ruins, they looked back upon their home with solemn demeanors, but stood strong knowing of their ominous incoming situation. Pieces of glass, splinters of wood and chunks of obliterated bricks lay strewn about the grassy plain in front of the rubble and scattered among the nearby trees of the immense forest surrounding the terrain.



A screeching wail filled the rapidly darkening sky and the two men turned to face it. They were of the same blood; twins, and of a rare sort. Both had fair, shabby hair and striking green eyes that drew all attention from their sharply boned faces, dotted with freckles.



“That’s impossible. There is no feasible way that they could have found us so quickly… is there?” Leviticus heard from his brother, who hadn’t spoken a word. The man’s troubled voice echoed in his confused twins’ mind before he answered.



“Articus,” his voice echoed in his brother’s head, “it’s them.”



Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck a nearby cedar tree, splitting it and falling it to the ground, narrowly avoiding smashing the twins. An enormous crack of thunder immediately followed, echoed by an eerie laugh that reverberated through the air as a small group of men appeared on the opposite side of the crackling branches.



They were dressed in similar clothing; each had a tattered traveling cloak thrown hastily over their shoulders and clasped with worn brass buttons. Their clothes were muddy, torn, and carelessly patched in places. One of the men stepped forward, playfully toying with the hem of his cloak.



He was, by far, the most cynical looking of the men. His dirty blonde hair was relatively tame, save for a few wild wisps and his wild grey eyes teasingly danced between the twins standing across from him.



“Look what we have ‘ere. The Anglen Brothers,” he hissed, addressing the group behind him, his voice remaining clearly audible over the howling wind. “Evenin’ gents. S’been too long! Joo miss us?”



Leviticus took a threatening step toward the man on the opposite side of the branches. “Leave,” he snarled. “Now.”



The man stood, looking thoughtfully at the hostile young man glaring back at him. His vicious eyes bounced between the brothers and a cruel, mocking smile began to creep onto his lips. He took a taunting step forward and began to speak again, substantially increasing the volume of his jeering voice.



“Oh, I don’ fink so, lads. Ya’see, we don’ take so lightly to the conclusion o’four last meetin’. You made a dire mistake last time we was ‘ere. You made a lot o’ very important people very angry. You made ‘im very angry. ‘Dis time, boys, you won’ be makin’ the same mistake. ‘Dis time, they’ll be no runnin’ away.”



With the last word, one of the men stepped next to the leader and snapped his fingers at the collapsed tree trunk separating the two groups. Instantaneously, the wood burst into brilliant blue and green flames that leapt twenty metres into the air.



Impulsively, the twins jumped back in the direction of the houses as the flames began to weave a circle around them. The man’s voice began to echo yet again throughout the trees, dazing the brothers and twirling the words around in their heads.



“You lads hones’ly thought that choo could jus’ run from us? Run from ‘im?” The man’s menacing voice echoed in each of the brothers’ head, bouncing between their minds and pounding on the walls. Articus clutched the sides of his head and gazed toward his brother, who was spinning frantically in all directions, looking for some sign of the men’s position.



“Lemme let’choo in on a lil’ secret ‘ere, boys. Not one o’ you is goin’ to get away ‘dis time. Ev’ry last one o’ you is goin’ ta’ die.”



“Don’t you understand?” yelled Articus, removing his hands from his head. “You can’t just do away with us! There are forces that you can’t control! Forces that even Sethirus can’t control –“



The wind began to drive the fire every which way, sending sparks into the exposed flesh of the brothers, burning their skin to such a degree that it began to draw blood.



“Don’t you understand?” came a new, cold and raspy voice. “You’re power is nothing compared to mine! You have no idea what you are getting in to, boy. The Anglens are simply a piece to the puzzle. There are forces that even you can’t control!”



Suddenly, a cloaked and hooded man appeared on the opposite side of the men in the ring of fire. Slowly, he removed the cloth from atop his head revealing his striking eyes that shined a luminescent gold against his icy, pale skin. His thin lips contorted into a sadistic smile as the remainder of the group appeared behind him, seemingly oblivious to the scorching flames all around them.



“This war,” began the new man, “has gone on long enough. Even you chaps could recognise that. You have lost power—“



“We haven’t given up!” retorted Articus. “Keeping us apart is the only thing that is keeping you together. Once we are finally reunified—“



“Don’t you see, you fool? There will be no reunion. Bellthiom and Railentry? Both dead. By my hand. You two shall be the next to perish, and you will all lose the power bestowed upon you.”



“You bloody twit,” laughed Leviticus. “You do realise that we could have gone far beyond our regular numbers, haven’t you? Have you even considered that, perhaps, there are more of us than you have anticipated?”



The malicious smile imprinted onto the man’s vanished suddenly and was replaced by an anxious and irate gaze. Only just opening his mouth as to not set the two brothers off, the man carefully mouthed the word Tourqio. A frosty blue mist sank from the twisting storm clouds above and, before either of the twins had time to react, savagely descended upon them, throwing them to their knees. Their wrists wrenched backwards so that they were nearly touching the smalls of their backs and began to entwine themselves, breaking bones in their hands and arms and smearing blood from their previous burn wounds.



“Radiligum,” he calmly whispered, flicking his wrist at the brothers rapidly trying to return to their feet, only to be thwarted by the new curse. Vines shot up from below the soil and looped their way around the men’s ankles and folded knees, rooting them to the spot.



What are you talking about, boy? came a voice that rattled in Leviticus’s mind. The agonizing pain of the reverberation in his head caused him to cry out, alarming Articus.



“What’s happening?” he cried. “Leviticus, what’s wrong?”



“Can’t… you… hear it?” he strained to say.



“Hear what?”



He can’t hear a thing. hissed the voice. It’s just you and me, Anglen. No interferences. I’ll warn you though. You will tell me how many more of you there are. Who they are and where they are.



“And if I don’t?” screamed Leviticus, the pain in his head beginning to pulse through his entire body.



“If you don’t what? Leviticus, no one is speaking!”



You and your brother are quite unusual. It would be a shame for one of you to have to die before the other. In fact, I believe that would disable the abilities of both. Perhaps even allowing information to simply slip from his mind…



“No! Please…. Stop…. Articus!” The pain was becoming unbearable. He felt as though any second he would give; any second he would fall into unconsciousness, into death’s grasp.



Suddenly, the pain within him left as quickly as it had come. The relentless vines released both men’s limbs and a cold snicker broke the sudden silence left by Leviticus’s screaming.



“Articus… No…” Leviticus whispered, gasping for breath.



“I… I didn’t… mean to… I… I didn’t know… what was going on…” stuttered his brother.



“I do offer you thanks, lad,” said the new man, who had come gradually closer to the brothers, still kneeling in the dirt. He stared down at Articus, hanging his head as his thoughts were knowingly infiltrated. “Anneliese and Seamus Taite,” he chuckled. “The final pair. Currently living in Lucernia. Destined to be betrothed and…”



He stopped and slowly turned, addressing the men behind him for the first time since his arrival. “Destined… to pass down the genes…” he whispered. “Go. Now.”



Without hesitation, the leader of the group nodded and the assembly of men disappeared yet again.



The man turned back to the two brothers and spoke again in a whisper. “Unfortunately, Anglen, you are still both considered a piece to this great big puzzle of ours. We’ve been bound together far too long and it is time for this to finally end. For good.”



At the last word, Articus and yelled out, “Monium!” A vibrant green light rose from his splintered hands still knotted together, shot straight up and exploded in the air, and set off in the direction of the forest.



The man did not remove his gaze from the twins.



“Cute,” he spat. “But it won’t save them. Now—“



“Arcendium Munio!” yelled Leviticus. The man flew backwards as if struck and tumbled out of the circle of flames. “Articus, hurry! Unbind us!”



“Uh, right!” he answered, warily. “Privium!”



The mist immediately rose from the men, who stood immediately and were again faced with the blindness of the fire. The silence itself was almost deafening. The only sound in the world seemed to be the crackling of the fire, which muffled any sign of the man’s location. The usually present birds had all vanished and the swirling sky above loomed ominously over the desperate men.



“Emuria!” shrieked the man, shattering the silence as a flash of golden light engulfed the scene, heading straight for the brothers. The twins slammed into the ground, attempting to avoid the blows as more and more light began to fill the circle. Suddenly, an enormous jet of light broke through the wall of fire from the opposite side of the circle, striking Articus in the back. He fell to the ground with a soft thud as Leviticus ran toward him, stooping into the dirt yet again.



“Articus! No! Please!” he cried with tears running down his face and splashing down onto his brother’s rapidly reddening cloak. “Brother! Please! I’m begging you! Be strong!”



“Leviticus,” spoke the twin, as gently as a falling leaf, “take the amulets. Hide them. Destroy them. Keep them from him at all costs.”



“Please, my br—“



“Do as I say, brother. Quickly!”



Sensing the impending fury, Leviticus took one last look at his twin’s paling flesh, and wrenched a golden amulet from his neck. The sparkling ruby inlayed in the centre, matching his own, sparkled wildly, although the sky was as dark as night. As he stood he whispered a small word and suddenly the amulets had vanished.



“Forgive me, brother,” he whispered. He then quickly turned in search of his opponent, only to be met by an icy grasp that clamped tightly around his throat and raised him slightly into the air. The cold voice of his brother’s murderer spoke again.



“You have no idea what you have done, Anglen. You have lost your power, boy! Yet, you dare try to kill me? You see how far that’s gotten you? Your brother is dead. Now, nothing is a secret. You have given me all the information I need. It’s all your fault, and they will die because of you. Think about that.” He gave a final cruel laugh. “That’s right. It’s too late. Emuria!”



Leviticus went limp in the man’s grasp, who dropped him carelessly to the ground, kicking him abruptly as he swept past. The raging fire immediately extinguished as he stepped into the gloomy landscape.



“Now then,” he spoke to himself. “Annaliese and Seamus Taite. The last of the Gailins.”