Dear Brother

Chapter One: Blood

Sylnan played with his fingers as he watched Mountain give a deep laugh to something that Taxi has muttered. Something was off, and everyone knew it. Br'aad should be down here drinking with the party, not up in his room doing gods know what. Sylnan had tried to ignore it, the change of tone, the small rage that fluttered through Br'aad's eyes when he had met Sylnan's gaze. It was too hard not to lash out and ask, but he knew that Br'aad would turn it on him like he had a few days back.

Taxi had tried to comfort Sylnan for upwards of an hour because of it, even as Sylnan tried to explain himself. Sylnan watched the false smiling eyes of the party as they chatted. They all seemed so worried about Sylnan now, he always noticed the side glances they gave him, the comforting comments. Even when Br'aad disappeared much more often and was growing more and more withdrawn.

"I'm going to retire for the night, I'm exhausted." Sylnan laughed, not feeling it in his soul. The party waved their goodbyes, giving him looks of pity. Br'aad hadn't even offered to perform for free lodging for them or himself, he had insisted they all pay for themselves. No one even seemed to notice.

The inn was a decent place for the most part. Well, anything was better than where he and Br'aad had lived in the Wharf. It was all a bit old though, an up side was that the old locks weren't the best. Sylnan recalled the memory of which room Br'aad had slipped into. It was 105, five doors from Sylnan's room.

He gave a light tap on the cream colored door. He waited a second, nothing in return. He knocked once more, nothing, thrice, no answer. Hoping he didn't have to break in anywhere, he tried the door handle. Nothing. It was always nothing.

Sucking in a sigh, Sylnan pulled his lock picks from his pocket. He looked about to check there were no others into the hall as he broke into his brother's room.

Click.... Click.... ..... Click... Click.

He gently swung the door open. The old wood released a loud creak, he held his breath, hoping he wouldn't alert anyone of his presence. He shifted his gaze across the room. It was a mess which was almost a relief, Br'aad's rooms were always messy.

But this mess wasn't right. It was constructed. It was all wrong. Sylnan felt panic rise up his stomach. He was planning something. What was Br'aad doing? He moved the clothes strategically sprawled across the floors. He knew how Br'aad thought, he was careless enough to leave something important under a pant leg.

There was nothing. Sylnan's breath quickened, there was never nothing. If he was Br'aad, where would he hide something he wanted no one to see? Somewhere he wanted Sylnan not to see?

Jammed under one of the bed slats. It was such a stupidly obvious place, people would never check there for something they deemed important. He remembered Br'aad hiding his doll under his bed in the orphanage, whenever the workers did 'check-ins' to make sure there was nothing 'unsafe' in their room. It was never found.

Sylnan took in a breath, dropping down to look under the bed. There it was. He remembered what it was, he had seen it before. It cursed his memories.

The hand on his brother's face, the purple marking of that trickster fiend, Ob'nockshai. That damned book, Br'aad had kept it all this time.

Sylnan pulled it from its place hidden under the bed slats. His brown eyes shift across the symbols unreadable to him. He whispered a curse, why did he have to not know how to read? Why did that crystal have to break?

He flipped through the pages, his fingers frantically looking for something he could decipher.

Soft footfall pulled his eyes from the book. A figure stood above him, a murderous smirk painted his face. Sylnan dropped the book and stood.

"Uh, Br'aad I was just looking for you."

The figure's eyes narrowed to him. They were off, the green that enveloped them were poisoned by a purple tracing the edges. The tattoos that had only recently turned gold had that familiar purple seething along the edges.

"He died." Br'aad's face fell into a frown filled with a fierce hatred.

"Who?"

"Brandon, Alwyn, Dad, whatever you want to call him. And guess what?" Br'aad leaned in close to Sylnan's ear. "I killed him. And it was all because of you."

His breath hitched as he felt something cold and sharp dig into his stomach.

"I won't kill you, I'll just make you wish you were dead. Again." Br'aad's unusually sharp eyes latched onto Sylnan's.

Sylnan kept the dagger in his stomach, even as the blade felt as though it was burning into him. He couldn't risk bleeding out, not like this. He pulled one of his daggers from his belt, holding it in his other hand as blood leaked into another.

"Please Br'aad. Don't do this. It's Ob, he's got you wrapped around his finger again, please. I'm your brother." He begged.

Br'aad gave him a cold stare, a smile returned to his face. "Oh dear brother, blood is only what falls to the floor once you bleed out. And I'll make them think it was you who made it happen. Who killed Hilltree."

Sylnan stared in horror. His lungs hurt as he inhaled sharply. He could feel his eyes edging with tears. He stiffened. What had Br'aad done? Hilltree was who he had when he didn't have Br'aad. And now Br'aad had killed him. "Please Br'aad, this isn't you."

"Now, every good killer needs a good exit, yes?" He ignored Sylnan's plead. All Sylnan could do was watch as Br'aad grabbed his armed hand, slicing himself across the chest. Sylnan loosened his grip out of shock, leaving the dagger to clatter to the ground. Br'aad shoved him over to the closed window. "Bye bye." Br'aad's mouth flickered with the pain across this chest. Sylnan opened his mouth to say something, anything.

Before anything could be said, he was falling, shards of glass cutting into his back. The smiling face of his brother was no longer one of happiness, but once of revenge as he stared from the broken window sill. He twisted to his side to see the ground quickly approaching.

As pain wrapped his body in a blanket of darkness while he made a final impact on the bottom, he realised he was all alone again. He would be branded as a murderer by his only friends, and he couldn't say otherwise. Not with Br'aad around with his convincing words.

Impact hit. Darkness fell.