* * *
Back around the campfire sat Eoghan and Breanna, curious as to where everyone went. They headed down the slope where Brian and Cailean came into view, Brian holding the back of Cailean’s neck with both hands, staring him in the eyes as if in a daze. When they were close enough, Bre recognized what Brian was doing and called out to him.
Bre’s voice broke Brian’s concentration. He gave her a pitying glance of disbelief.
Brian let go of Cailean and sprinted towards the cave. Cailean ran after his brother, and Bre and Eoghan followed, screaming their names.
Brian did not stop until he found the doorway he saw in Cailean’s memories. Cailean leaned against the cave wall and slid down to the floor with his face in his hands. Bre and Eoghan were seconds behind Cailean. Their gasps of shock filled the silent cave.
There, displayed behind glass, were Bre’s brothers, frozen as statues depicted in motion. Nikolaos took a sprinters position, racing to the door. He bit his lower lip to urge his body faster. Cole stood behind Nikolaos with his hand extended, no doubt trying to cast a spell to counteract Cailean’s spell. Leo casually rubbed his eyes and yawned.
“What happened? Who did this? Were we attacked last night and I didn’t realize? I should have been able to sense they were in trouble,” Bre sobbed and buried her face in Eoghan’s chest.
Eoghan gaped from Brian to Cailean as Brian swooped down and grabbed Cailean by the shirt. He pulled him to his feet and slammed him against the cave wall.
“Why?” Brian shouted in his brother’s face, his own cheeks burning red. “Why did you do this?”
Bre watched Brian scream at his brother, wiping tears from her eyes and trying to understand, not wanting to believe it.
Eoghan rushed over to separate them. He pulled Brian off Cailean and demanded answers, “What is going on between the two of you? And what happened to the brothers?”
“My genius of a brother here decided to take fate into his own hands. You overheard my conversation with Andraste last night, didn’t you?” Brian shouted at Cailean, straightening out his clothing.
“Yes, and I saw your face when she told you that you would have to make the decision about the brothers. I did not want you to go through that. I thought I would be saving you from how I feel now!” Cailean shouted back.
“I did make a decision, you overzealous fool! I decided to leave the brothers alone. If you had just come to me and discussed this like, oh I don’t know, an adult, we would have come up with a proper plan. We will not be able to defeat Elpis without them!” Brian continued to yell.
“Why did Andraste come back last night? What did she say?” Bre asked trying to break Brian's murderous stare, afraid for Cailean.
Brian ignored Bre. “Remove the spell, Cail,” he warned, pointing a finger at Cailean.
“I can’t. The spell can only be removed when the cosmos deems it necessary,” Cailean said grimly.
Irate and shaking, Brian lunged at Cailean and almost freed himself from Eoghan’s grasp. “Are you telling me you cast the Nádúr spell, the most sacred spell in our religion? You bent nature’s will to do your beckoning? You should know that you cannot command the universe like that! It will end up commanding you!”
“You heard what Andraste said; they needed to fight another day. I figured the world will know when it needs its heroes,” Cailean tried to diffuse his brother’s temper with logic.
“Brian, answer me,” Bre walked over and grabbed Brian’s face with both hands, forcing him to look at her. “What did Andraste say last night?”
Eoghan still had a firm grip on Brian, hoping he would not make another move towards Cailean.
“She wanted me to know our fate resided with the brothers’ involvement in the battle. She insinuated that if the brothers were removed that the world would be safer,” Brian explained.
“How will the world be safer if they do not fight? How is it better that they are frozen like statues? What is this spell?” Bre desperately asked with tears forming in her eyes.
Brian eased his tension against Eoghan as he listened to the desperation and trauma in Breanna’s voice. “I believe Andraste wanted us to understand that they need to live for another time. They could have died in this battle and she did not want that to happen. However, what this means is that we will fail in this battle. I don’t know how we can defeat Elpis without your brothers, Breanna.”
Eoghan let go of Brian and took a deep breath. “We will have to find a way. We are powerful as we are and Breanna is The Queen. There must be a way to fight.”
“There is always a way to fight, but there is not always a way to win,” said Brian, locking his defeated eyes with Eoghan’s.
Brian turned and walked back to the cave entrance. Eoghan followed his chief in silence, leaving Bre alone with Cailean. Bre walked up to the glass and tears fell from her hazel eyes, freezing when they touched the ground near the glass.
“I am so sorry, Bre. I thought I was doing the right thing to help you and Brian. I wanted to protect you all,” said Cailean moving closer to Bre.
To his surprise, Bre wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. She released him then kissed his cheek. Bre slipped her hand into his as she said, “I know. I can feel your grief. I am not angry with you, Cail. I am angry with Andraste. I’m just afraid of what will happen to us once we face Eversor and Elpis. Not so much me, but you, Brian, and Eoghan. ”
Cailean looked back up the path that led to the entrance and tugged on Bre’s arm. “I am not sure of the future, but I can be sure that I will protect your brothers. I can hide them and they will not age or die in this spell. They are time locked until the universe releases them from it.”
Bre tightly held on to her wolf pendant with one hand. With her free hand, she pressed her fingers to her lips, and then pressed them against the glass. The glass that held her brothers captive burned her fingers from the cold. Bre wove her free arm around Cailean's as they jogged towards the entrance.
Brian and Eoghan waited outside with their arms folded across their chests, deep in conversation.
“Let’s go, you two. We need to plan. I have a feeling that in three days we can expect company,” Brian said coldly.
“Wait one second,” Cailean raised his hands and shouted, “Cleocadh agus dìdean!”
As soon as he said the last word, the ground rumbled and rocks fell from the ceiling, collapsing the entranceway. A wall of dirt and rock blocked anyone’s path to the brothers, but Bre’s heart jumped at the thought that it blocked her brothers’ path out. When the dust settled, the air rippled around the entrance and the cave completely vanished, turning into a clear field and blank rock wall.
“The first thing you’ve done right all day, Cailean,” Brian’s tone was cold and cruel. He turned and headed back to camp. “Let’s go!” he snapped over his shoulder.
Eoghan followed him up the hill, too afraid to speak. He had never seen his chief in such a cruel mood before. Bre hugged Cailean one more time and thanked him for hiding her brothers. Bre and Cailean silently walked back to camp. There was nothing left to say to ease each other’s pain.
When Bre and Cailean reached the camp, they found Brian exiting Lysandros’ tent, holding on to his blanket. He immediately confronted Cailean. Bre conjured a small shield charm from her palms to keep the brothers apart.
Furious, Brian waved Lysandros’ blanket through the air as he shouted, “Where did you hide the body this time?”
The Phoinix: Age of Demigods Page 66