by SF Mazhar
“Weird that,” Aaron mumbled. “Supposed to be summer in May.”
“In some parts of the human realm,” Kate corrected. “But in this realm, it’s the end of autumn.”
Aaron sat with his mum for long, silent minutes, before clearing his throat.
“I wanted to ask you something,” he said. “Dad kept saying he couldn’t feel Kyran. How does that work?” He shifted out of her embrace so he could face her. “I mean, how do you know if someone is a part of your family? What is it that you feel?”
Kate took in a deep breath, hugging her arms to her chest. “It’s a feeling deep in your bones,” she said. “When you’re physically close to someone from your bloodline, you have a familiarity that you can’t ignore. You’re comfortable around them, you feel at ease. But this bond should still be felt when physically away from each other.” She closed her eyes. “Right this moment, I should be able to feel both my sons. I should be able to sense Ben’s presence, no matter how far away he is.” She sighed. “But I can’t. The only one I can sense is you.” She looked at Aaron. “I feel a void, a deep empty space where Ben’s supposed to be.” She shook her head, reaching up with one hand to caress her forehead. “I’ve felt it for fourteen years. I’ve walked around with a hole in my soul, just like your dad has, but all this time, Ben was right here.”
Aaron looked down at the ground, not able to watch the pain on his mum’s face. “Tell me more,” he said quietly. “About this bond.”
Kate took in a breath and dropped her hand into her lap. “Simply put, Aaron, the bond is what tells you who your family is. You can sense when they’re around. It’s like you can recognise them by their footsteps alone. If they’re in trouble, you can feel it.”
“And if you call for them…” Aaron started quietly. “If you ask for their help, even if they’re in another city, in another zone, they can hear you?”
Kate smiled. “They can’t actually hear you, in the proper sense of the word,” she said. “But that’s what it’s named, ‘hearing calls’. But it’s more like they can feel it. If you call out to someone in your family, they know you need them. You don’t even need to raise your voice. You call for them in your mind and they will hear you.”
Aaron didn’t say anything.
“We should go inside,” she said. “It’s getting chilly.”
Aaron nodded but he didn’t move.
Kate paused for a moment before leaning over and kissing his head. “Don’t stay out here for too long,” she said softly, getting up and going into the cottage.
Aaron sat for a few minutes, trying to take it all in. That’s why Kyran had come the day Rose got attacked by a hell hound. Aaron, in panicked desperation, had called out for Kyran and he had come running, even though he hadn’t been in the same zone. When Aaron asked how he knew they needed help, Kyran had replied it was because Aaron was wearing his pendant – a necklace Hunters wore to keep in contact with Scott and each other during a hunt. But Aaron knew he had lost his pendant before Rose had got attacked. It had been nagging Aaron ever since, how Kyran heard his calls for help. Now he knew. Kyran hadn’t heard him; he had felt him. Kyran felt the pull when Aaron, his younger brother, called to him. And just like so many times before, Kyran had come to his aid.
Aaron got up. The wind ruffled his hair. The sun was getting ready to set. For a moment, Aaron just stood there, motionless, eyes staring at the empty street. Then he stepped forward, instead of turning to go indoors, and headed towards the Gate.
Aaron walked through the forest until he was sure he had left the Gateway leading to the Gate of Salvador far behind. He couldn’t risk anyone coming to, or going from, Salvador seeing him.
Aaron stopped at a small clearing. The air felt warmer here. Aaron had no idea if it was because he was this deep in the woods or because he had been walking for so long that he had built up a sweat. He went to a short tree stump and sat down. For almost ten minutes, Aaron did nothing but sit there.
The last six months he had been in this realm, he had spent four of them with his brother without knowing it. All his conversations, his time training, every moment he’d spent with Kyran flashed through his mind. The morning after they met, Kyran had interrupted Aaron when he was introducing himself. Aaron had been so surprised that Kyran knew who he was. When he’d asked how, Kyran had smirked and replied, ‘You look like your father.’
Aaron tried to imagine what it must’ve been like for Kyran, to see his brother and recognise him because he resembled their father – the father that had left him and disappeared from the realm.
Aaron had been forced to wait for four months in Salvador, not knowing where his parents were, when they were going to come back. Kyran had waited fourteen years.
Aaron remembered Kyran trying to convince him to give up on his parents, that they weren’t coming back.
‘Ace, they’ve done this before. Your parents ran out on this realm and didn’t look back for fourteen years.’
‘Yes, but at that time they didn’t leave behind their son!’ Aaron had replied.
Aaron cringed. He closed his eyes, shaking his head at what he had unknowingly said. He thought about the way Kyran had changed the subject then, taking him away to train. At the time, Aaron thought Kyran had done that for him, to distract him. Now, he wondered whether that distraction was for him, or for Kyran himself.
Aaron let out a heavy breath. Kyran had looked out for him, risked his own life to save him from a collapsing Q-Zone, taken him away from Skyler’s beatings, protected him on hunts, stood before him, shielded him – Kyran had done it all, not because Aaron was an inexperienced Hunter, but because Aaron was his younger brother.
‘You think that’s why I call you Ace?’ Kyran had asked. ‘To make fun of you?’
Aaron buried his face in his hands. No, Kyran had never called him Ace to make fun of him, but because that was the name he’d wanted to give his baby brother. Aaron dropped his hands and let out a shaky breath. He closed his eyes and, for a moment, just sat like that.
“Kyran?” he called in a quiet voice. “I don’t know if this is just...me being crazy or…or if you can actually hear me,” he started. “But I – I really need to see you.” He looked ahead, fixing his stare on the darkened trees. “There’s so much that I need to ask, so much that I need to know.”
He looked around the forest, but there was no one there except for him. He took in a breath. “Ben?” He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. That didn’t feel right. “Kyran, please,” Aaron breathed. “I really need to see you. We need to talk. We need to...I don’t know, figure this out.”
The minutes ticked by, but no one came. Aaron looked up at the sky, barely visible through the thick tops of the trees. “Kyran, please, I just want to talk,” he repeated. “Please, Kyran. I just want to talk.”
He fell quiet and the silence of the forest surrounded him.
“Talk, then.”
Aaron whirled around. He found Kyran standing a few steps away, his arms crossed at his chest, intense green eyes fixed on him.
“I’m listening.”
28
Blood Brothers
Aaron rose to his feet, staring at Kyran. He had come. Aaron had called for him and Kyran had come. Although this was what Aaron had been hoping for, it still came as a bit of a shock.
Aaron gazed at Kyran, at the brother he never knew he had. But for Kyran, Aaron understood it wasn’t the same story.
“You knew,” Aaron stated. “From the very beginning. You knew that we were brothers.”
Kyran smiled and leant against the tree beside him. “I only have the one brother,” he said. “It’s kinda hard to mistake him.”
Aaron’s heart leapt in his chest when Kyran referred to him as his brother. He didn’t know why, but he was bracing himself for Kyran to deny it. He stepped forward, his eyes prickling. “Why didn’t you say anything?” he asked.
Kyran looked surprised, and then started laughing. “Bloody hell, Ac
e,” he chuckled. “What did you expect me to say? ‘Hi, Aaron. You may or may not know that you have an older brother and, surprise, surprise, that’s me’?”
“You should have told me,” Aaron argued. “I asked why I was seeing you in my dreams. You could have told me then. You could have explained that the dreams were my Inheritance and I was dreaming of you because you’re my brother.”
Kyran looked closely at Aaron. “Tell me something,” he said quietly. “Before you came to this realm, did you even know you had a brother?”
Aaron felt like someone had doused him with ice-cold water. He froze on the spot, staring at Kyran. He willed himself to speak, to lie, to tell him that their parents had told him all about their family from the very beginning. But Kyran had already picked up the truth from his silence.
He nodded and looked away. “I thought so,” he said.
“Kyran–” Aaron started.
“It makes sense,” Kyran said. “They didn’t tell you anything about who you are, where you’re from, what you can do…” He held Aaron’s gaze. “So why would they tell you about the one they had left behind?”
Aaron stared at him. Left behind? Wait, so Kyran thought...
“No.” Aaron stepped forward. “No, Kyran. Mum and Dad didn’t know they’d left you behind. They thought you were...That you had...died.”
Kyran’s eyes widened, and for a moment he looked truly and completely shocked. Then those vivid green eyes darkened. “Died?” he asked. “Wow, that’s...Okay, I admit I wasn’t expecting that excuse.”
“It’s not an excuse,” Aaron said. “They said they felt you die.”
“Well, then they should get their feelings retuned, ’cause I’m right here,” Kyran said.
Aaron held his eyes. “I saw the memory,” he said. “I saw the attack, Kyran. I saw what happened, how those…those Lycans…What they did–” He broke off as the image of the four-year-old child being ripped out of his mother’s arms and thrown to the beasts to devour flashed before his eyes. Aaron shook his head, struggling with the stinging in his eyes. “How did you survive?” he asked, his voice reduced to a whisper.
Kyran’s eyes were a poison green. “By sheer luck,” he said. “No thanks to my parents.”
“No, they thought you were dead,” Aaron said again.
“Oh come on, Aaron!” Kyran snapped. “Wake up already. Stop taking whatever crap they throw your way. They knew I wasn’t dead. They knew, but they got so damn scared, they left me and ran. They left me to die.”
“No.” Aaron was shaking his head, hurrying closer to Kyran. “No, Kyran, no. They wouldn’t do that. They told me they felt you die. Uncle Mike said he felt it too. That’s why Uncle Alex went after the Lycans, because he felt you die as well.”
Kyran’s expression softened at the mention of Alex. “Alex died fighting the Lycans,” he said. “He died the death of a Hunter, of an Elemental.” He paused and his eyes glinted with nothing but fury. “Christopher Adams, on the other hand, is a coward who left his dying four-year-old son to save his own skin.”
“You can’t believe that,” Aaron said. “You must know Dad would never do that.”
“Wouldn’t he?” Kyran asked.
“Dad would never leave someone in need to save himself,” Aaron said. “Let alone his son.”
“Look at me, Ace,” Kyran said, holding out his arms. “I’m right here. I’m not dead; I never was.” He held Aaron’s eyes. “So if they’re telling you they felt me die, then they’re lying.”
“No they’re not,” Aaron said. “You didn’t see them when they talked about how you were attacked. Their grief, their tears, they were all real. They thought you had died, Kyran. They’re wouldn’t lie.”
“Really?” Kyran asked. “They’ve always been truthful with you, have they? Always told you how it is?” He stepped closer. “Ace, they didn’t even tell you that you were a mage. Had you not come to this realm, you wouldn’t even know that you have a brother, that I exist.”
His words pierced Aaron’s heart. He didn’t want to admit Kyran was right. “I know now,” he tried.
Kyran pulled back, his expression hardening. “It’s too late.”
“Don’t say that,” Aaron pleaded. “It’s not too late.”
“It is,” Kyran said. “Ben is gone. There’s nothing of him left. He withered away, waiting for his parents to return, being foolish enough to believe they would come back for him.” Kyran’s eyes were dark, full of pain and anger. “Four years,” he said in a voice that almost broke. “He sat and waited for four years, watching the Gateway to his home, calling out to his parents. He spent day after day, just waiting – waiting for the family who ignored his calls and never came for him.” The sorrow in Kyran’s voice, in his eyes, was killing Aaron. “Eventually, he gave up. From that day onwards, Ben ceased to exist. For the last ten years, there’s only been Kyran Aedus – the son of Hadrian.”
Aaron shook his head. “That’s not true,” he said. “Kyran Aedus wouldn’t care what happened to Aaron Adams,” he said. “Kyran Aedus wouldn’t take me away from Skyler’s beatings. He wouldn’t have risked his life to save me from a collapsing Q-Zone. He wouldn’t have taken on the responsibility of training me. Kyran Aedus wouldn’t feel the pull every time I call out to him.” Aaron paused to steady his voice. “Kyran Aedus wouldn’t use the name Ben thought up for his little brother.” His eyes stung like crazy, but Aaron didn’t care any more. “Somewhere, deep down, Ben is still there,” he said. “You’re my brother and it means something to you, otherwise you would have just ignored me.”
Kyran smiled bitterly. “Your parents may be able to ignore me,” he said quietly. “But I can’t ignore you.”
Aaron’s heart broke. “Kyran, please,” he begged. “Think about it. Why would they ignore your calls? Why wouldn’t they come back for you if they knew you were still alive?”
Kyran held his eyes. “Fear makes you capable of almost anything,” he said. “They got scared and left me to die. They heard me screaming their names, every day, for four years. They heard but they ignored it, too afraid to come back in case they were attacked.”
Aaron shook his head. “They must’ve not been able to hear you, to feel your calls–”
“It doesn’t work that way,” Kyran said. “They could hear me, they just didn’t care.”
“How can you believe that?” Aaron asked. “Why would they not care? Kyran, something must have happened when you got attacked. Some sort of...of misunderstanding. That’s why they thought you died. That’s why they can’t feel you.”
“Then why can I feel them?” Kyran asked. “Why can I feel both of them? Feel you?” His gaze searched Aaron’s. “Bonds aren’t one-sided, Ace. If I can sense all of you, you lot can sense me too.”
Aaron didn’t know what to say. He pulled in a breath. “Kyran–”
“Can you feel me?” Kyran asked.
Aaron stilled. “I...I don’t know what it is I’m supposed to be looking for,” he answered honestly.
“When I’m with you, do you feel comfortable?” Kyran said. “When you look at me, is there a familiarity you don’t really understand? Can you tell it’s me by just the sound of my footsteps? When I’m with you, do you feel safe? Like anything can happen, but you know you’ll be okay, because I’m here?”
Aaron didn’t say anything, but he gave a small nod.
Kyran looked both relieved and heartbroken. “Don’t believe their lies, Ace,” he said. “If you can feel me, then they can too. They’ve known I’m alive all these years.”
“No,” Aaron breathed. “That’s...It...They’re not like that. I don’t believe they’re capable of being so cruel.”
“You want to talk about being cruel?” Kyran asked. “They know who I am, Aaron. They knew the moment they saw me, but they pretended not to notice. Your dad stood there, and asked me what my father’s name was.” His eyes were glinting in the limited light, making Aaron’s heart clench with pain. “He wasn’t
asking because he was unsure. He was asking to see if I remembered. To see if the four year old he had left behind still recognised him.”
“He asked you because you look just like Uncle Alex,” Aaron said.
“It shouldn’t matter who I look like,” Kyran argued. “I’m their son – their blood. How can they look at me and not know who I am?”
Aaron didn’t have an answer.
Kyran took in a heavy breath and closed his eyes, forcing back his pain. “It doesn’t matter,” he said quietly. “It’s better this way. They ignore me, so I can ignore them.”
“Is that really how you want it?” Aaron asked.
A bitter smile came to Kyran. “None of this is how I want it, Ace.” He stepped closer and rested his hands on Aaron’s shoulders. “I need you to understand something. You may be my brother, but Hadrian is my father.” His eyes hardened. “He took care of me, brought me up. Everything I am today, it’s due to him. I’m fighting this war for him, and I need you to keep out of it.” His grip tightened. “Leave Salvador and go back to Marwa. It’s the only safe city. It was Hadrian’s home once; he doesn’t want to see it in ruins. Take Rose and Sam with you and stay there, until the worst is over.”
“Until the worst is over?” Aaron repeated. “You mean until Hadrian destroys the realm and kills everyone?”
“That’s not his plan,” Kyran said. “He wants to fix this realm, not destroy it.”
“Come on, Kyran,” Aaron said. “We both know he wants to burn it to the ground.”
“Sometimes, that’s the only way,” Kyran said. “To start again and rebuild, so it’s stronger.”
Aaron pushed Kyran’s hands away and stepped back. “You’re willing to do that?” he asked with disgust.
Kyran paused for a moment, then straightened up to stand tall. “I’m willing to do whatever my father asks of me,” he said. “I owe him more than you can imagine, Aaron. I have never disobeyed him.”
“Really?” Aaron asked. “So if I stand in the way and he tells you to kill me?”