Revelation

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

                Darius and Viceroy arrived at the house a few minutes early. He had gotten the idea that he should have left his fylgja at home, but he never liked it when that was suggested. It made him think he was walking into a trap. So the snow leopard was coming with him, whether Erik liked it or not. And hopefully, it would just be Erik waiting for him. He half expected the rest of the Sumicalts to be waiting for him, thinking he had turned against them.

                Before he had left New York with Niki, Erik had spoken to him about working against Senator Rheingold, or at least it had been implied. Darius hadn’t wanted to get involved, as he couldn’t be sure it wasn’t some kind of trick that the senator had set up. The only reason that he was going to meet with Erik was because of the revelation that Barton had made about Erik being his brother.

                The text Darius had received only had a location and time. Darius had arrived there and Erik had said nothing. He only handed Darius a piece of paper and left. That piece of paper had a date, time and an address. The address was for a house in an old neighborhood and as he stood outside, he wondered just what awaited him inside.

                Viceroy at his side, he headed to the door and knocked. Erik opened the door and invited him in. He offered a drink, but Darius just wanted to talk to him and not waste any time. He felt that they had wasted enough time.

                “I know who you are,” Darius said immediately, seeing no reason to wait.

                “Really,” Erik said. “Ruslan, you can let go now.”

                With that, Erik’s appearance changed. The shape of his nose and ears were different, but so very familiar. His once blond hair was just as dark as Darius’ and his green eyes became the same brown as his own. Seeing him in his true state, there was no doubt that Erik was his brother, or at least related somehow.

                “How did you know?” Erik asked.

                “Does it matter?” Darius asked in return. He couldn’t very well tell him that Barton had told him about their relationship. He didn’t know if Erik could be trusted, and he especially didn’t know if Ruslan could be trusted, as he was apparently somewhere in the house. Manipulating his mind on how he saw Erik. He now understood why the two of them were always together.

                “I suppose not,” Erik said. “But now that you know, I assume you know about our father. You don’t remember him. But he had a vision. A plan for the Sumicalts. But Rheingold didn’t share that vision. He’s not what we need. Ruslan and I are going to follow father’s idea, and I hope you’ll join us.”

                “I don’t see why I should,” Darius said. “What are you guys doing that’s so different?”

                “For starters, we don’t give a shit about this age old vendetta Rheingold’s inherited. We’re not about killing the Anitreh. Honestly, when they actually do their job, they do it well. They just have too much influence. Our father wanted us to simply be a balance to them. We’d be another option, and make it so the Anitreh aren’t the only ones the world knows about. And when some people are ignored by the Anitreh, they’d have someone else to turn to.”

                “Sounds… nice,” Darius said, not sure what to say to him. He really thought Erik might have a good idea, but he really couldn’t join him. He was already working for Barton trying to bring down Rheingold from working close to him. He didn’t need to be working another angle.