Magicked: Prologue

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 everlastingly 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. 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, the men 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 on the spot to face the direction in which it had come. The men 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. They couldn’t’ve found us this quickly, could they have?” 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, also without words.

“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 large of men appeared on the opposite side of the crackling branches.

All of the men 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 of men 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 spat. “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 toward the brothers 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.”