Book 3: Chapter 28: Double Trouble

Book 3: Chapter 28: Double Trouble

As he strode beneath a forest canopy, Deklan held his hand out, feeling the stray drops of rain that bounced off leaves above and fell toward the forest floor. Every few seconds, a tiny droplet splashed against his upturned palm. It made his smile spread even wider, and he lifted his face, enjoying each fragment of rain that hit him.

Rather than fishing, he and his brother had gone for a walk. Well, it had started out as a walk, anyway. As brothers are wont to do, it quickly devolved into a footrace. Given that they were now cultivators, the sand had sped past, as did trees, grass, and eventually mountains, both men sprinting until they were kilometers inland. After a short break to catch their breath, they’d started walking in silence, both soaking in their surroundings.

Deklan peered toward Dom, shaking his head in amusement as he realized his brother was also walking through the rain with an upturned face, smiling at the sensations of his body.

Somehow able to sense his attention, Dom cracked an eye and raised a brow at him. “Something wrong?”

“Not at all. Can’t a man enjoy his younger brother’s joy?”

Dom’s contentment immediately died on his face. “I am not your little brother.”

“How could you say such a thing? I was born before you.”

“Five minutes before me. That makes me your twin, Deklan, not your little brother. Wait, have you been telling everyone in New Tropica that I’m your younger sibling?”

“You haven’t been?” Deklan raised a hand to his chest. “You wound me, little brother.”

Dom held his composure for another few seconds before breaking into laughter. “You are so annoying.”

“That’s what big brothers are for.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Dom rolled his eyes, the corners of his lips tugging up.

They slipped back into silence as they strode on. Despite the grounding presence of the surrounding forest and falling rain, Deklan’s thoughts strayed toward the day’s events.

There was some sort of mission going on back in New Tropica.

Given how little the leadership had informed him of, he assumed it was important. All Barry had told them was that they were welcome to take part. Deklan had mentioned they’d planned to go for a walk, fully expecting Barry to tell him he couldn’t. Instead, Barry had just smiled and told them to have a good time.

“You know,” Dom said, his tone musing, “I know they keep telling us we can do what we want, but I’m repeatedly surprised when they actually let us...”

Deklan laughed. “I was just thinking the same thing. What is it that Barry keeps calling it? Aunotomy?”

Dom snorted in response. “Autonomy, you goose. An older brother would have known that...”

“Or maybe this older brother was only pretending not to know. That way, his baby, much-younger brother could correct him and gain a sense of self confidence.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

They shared a smile and Deklan shook his head. “Jokes aside, I’m constantly surprised by it too. Don’t get me wrong—I knew Fischer was a good person despite his power, but I still expected some of it to be a lie, you know? Like they were selling us on taking part, then we’d have to spend half the time getting ordered around.”

“They truly gave us freedom, didn’t they?”

Deklan took a deep breath and let it out slowly, grinning at the world. “It would seem so.”

They stopped walking as they strode into a clearing, both holding their arms wide. The raindrops hitting him made a pleasant shiver run down Deklan’s spine, but before he could completely fall into the moment, something slammed into him.

Both their eyes flew open as a wave of chi shot over the landscape, its resonance strong enough to make Deklan’s vision pulse.

Deklan wouldn’t either.

Some would call Deklan a fool. Many fellow guards had done so back in Gormona. Despite appearances, Deklan was always listening. He’d heard all about the breakthroughs people had been having. Gods above, he’d felt the one that Roger experienced a week ago. They appeared to be reliant on finding one’s purpose and admitting it to themselves.

Rather than look for power, Deklan searched for truth.

Thankfully, it was only his physical power that was suppressed, so his mind remained sharp. It whirled through myriad possibilities, and it only took him a moment to find what he believed to be his purpose. He stared into his brother’s eyes, conveying his feelings.

To finally find a place he and his brother belonged, then to have it taken away so abruptly... it was unacceptable.

As he and Dom looked into each other, their truth resonated. He could sense his brother’s thoughts—they were exactly the same as his. Both men wanted to protect each other and the life they’d found. Chi rushed in to them, but this time, it wasn’t Nathan’s.

It was the world’s.

Invisible ropes of it penetrated the hazy bubble surrounding them, forcing their way through the muck and into the brothers’ bodies. Their cores remained sealed, yet power coursed through them all the same. They got to their knees, then to their feet, hunching against the oppressive darkness that sought their destruction.

As they stood, bracing their shoulders against the assault, Nathan’s eyes grew furious. The pressure coming from the man redoubled, the air growing so dark that it obscured the outside world. The creek’s water receded, getting forced from Nathan’s sphere of influence and leaving the bed dry.

Unwilling to be subdued, both brothers remained standing, calling forth the world’s chi as their breakthrough approached. Deklan’s body felt full to bursting, yet the chi continued to swell and build, collecting around his core. He felt the same thing happening within Dom, and they radiated reassurance, letting the other know they weren’t alone.

The chi condensed, grew to a fever pitch, and then broke.

All at once, it flowed away, flung from them and returned to the outside world. Deklan and Dom collapsed, both letting out pained cries as their bodies slammed into the ground.

Nathan sighed through his teeth, stumbling and almost falling once more. Some of his power subsided, but what remained was enough to keep them held firmly against the ground. He let out a soft laugh, more relieved than victorious.

“Unfortunately for you heretics, I won’t repeat Barry’s mistake.” He shuffled forward, making his way toward Dom, who was only a meter away. “There will be no monologue.”

Deklan tried to rally his power, attempting to beckon the world’s essence back to him, but it was fruitless. His core, and everything around it, felt raw. Even if Nathan’s ability wasn’t pressing down on him, he wasn’t sure he could stand, let alone gather the strength to fight back.

Nathan, still wobbling, stood over Dom. He raised his elbow high, gathering power there and preparing to drop it down into Dom’s body. If the blow were to land, his brother would be no more; with their chi locked away, their bodies were those of regular humans.

Despite this, Deklan never gave up hope.

He reached out, making his core feel like it caught flame. His abdomen burned, yet he still grasped outward with metaphorical fingers, attempting to find something—anything—that would give him the strength to save his brother.

Uncaring of his wishes, Nathan’s elbow gathered the last whisper of power necessary. The muscles surrounding his shoulder bunched, and the elbow raced downward, aimed for Dom’s back. Deklan tried to cry out, and a sound like a blade shearing through metal tore through the air. The elbow continued its deadly trajectory, so fast it would go unnoticed by anyone but a cultivator. Deklan had the barest of moments to be confused by the noise seeming to come from his own throat before something catapulted into view.

A blur of brown, orange, and blue rocketed forward, the metal-on-metal sound so loud that it hurt his eardrums.

Corporal Claws, streaming lightning and grinning maliciously, gave Deklan a thumbs up in passing. Sergeant Snips was right behind her, blowing greeting bubbles as rivulets of ocean-blue chi propelled her forward.

The next moment, they both slammed into Nathan’s chest. The tangle of man and creature flew through a tree, obliterating its trunk before they tumbled into the forest and out of sight. Borks was there a moment later, giving the brothers a drive-by lick on the cheek before leaping over the shattered stump to join Claws and Snips in their assault on the poor fellow.

“Frack me,” Deklan said, rolling onto his back. “That was close.”

“Uh-huh,” Dom agreed, taking heaving breaths.