The Traitor

Chapter Twenty-Six: Questioning Evil

Savannah gave a slight nod and Jasper turned his attention to me, both of them rising to their feet. "As I was saying," he continued in a hurry. "I'm prepared to offer you a deal, one that you won't be able to turn down."

I rolled my eyes and waited for him to explain himself. If he thought there was a deal he could make that I might possibly agree to, then he was dead wrong.

"If you join us and help defend the Wens in the battle against the Daines-" he began.

I cut him off. "What?! No, I will never-" but before I could finish, Jasper held up his hand to silence me.

"...we will release Brandon and take him back to his family," he finished.

I was speechless. If I helped defend Wen territory against the Daines, they would let Brandon go. But what would that require? Fighting against my own friends? No, I couldn't possibly do that. I fought back and forth with myself as I tried to figure out the right thing to do. Then a small little voice prompted, 'at least Brandon will be safe.'

Jasper interrupted my thoughts by saying, "All you have to do is fight with us, and your brother will be free. After all, this whole thing-" he gestured to the destroyed room around him, "-is your fault. The Daines are coming after us because you betrayed them. So it's up to you to put an end to this. Before people get hurt." The way he said that last part almost sounded like a threat, and it sent chills up my spine. "Besides, if it wasn't for you, Brandon could be home safe, all of your friends who are coming to fight, who may die in battle, wouldn't even be here, and most of all, your family wouldn't be suffering because of your betrayal to the Wens."

I felt like I just had a stab to the heart. He was right; all of this was my fault. This whole time, I had been trying to make sure I made the right decision, but the only thing my choices have done was make my friends and family suffer. Everything that had happened to Brandon, to my family, and everything that was about to happen to my friends who were coming to fight, was all because of me.

So maybe I wasn't as good as I thought I was. Maybe a RAY was supposed to be bad, and that was why I had made all of those choices that had led me here. But then again, what if there was no bad side? What if all the villains in all of the movies I had ever seen thought they were doing the right thing? That was what this felt like. Maybe to the Daines, I was making the wrong decision in fighting alongside the Wens, but to me, it seemed like the right thing to do. If I was protecting my family, it had to be the right choice.

I gave a slight nod to show I was ready.

For Brandon, I thought.