The Phoinix: Age of Demigods (43 page)

“Nothing. Just tired,” Cailean forced
a small smile, but Brian’s face remained concerned.

“You’re lying. Why are you
rubbing
your
neck? What’s happened?” Brian persisted.

Before Brian pushed the conversation
further, Bre and Eoghan emerged from Bre’s tent. Cailean and Brian
looked stunned seeing them both come out of the same
tent.

“
Isn’t that a surprise?”
Cailean called out, raising his eyebrows to Eoghan.

“I’d say indeed,” said
Brian
,
smirking
at Breanna who blushed when she sat next to him.

“Nothing happened you
two,” Eoghan added quickly as he sat next to her
.
“Only tried to keep her
warm
,
that is
all.”

Bre cleared her throat and changed the
subject. “Where are my brothers? I miss hearing Leo’s complaining
when I first wake up.” Bre tossed a few berries in her
mouth.

Cailean stood up, rubbing
the back of his neck again and grabbed the rabbits over the fire.
“Not sure
.
Must
have gone for a walk
,
or maybe they’re training over the hill. Rabbit anyone?”
Cailean kept his eyes on the ground, fear creeping into his
gut.

“Ooo, yes please!” Breanna
said
,
holding out
her hands impatiently. Cailean gave her the skewer of rabbit. “They
are quiet
.
Maybe
they finally found a way to block our thoughts from each other,”
Breanna said with a hopeful smile.

Eoghan and Bre made small
talk over their breakfast while Brian closely watched Cailean. The
animals woke up from the smell of cooked meat and gathered around
the fire. However, Cailean threw them raw meat he saved
specifically for them
, and
the horses had fresh grass and oats.
Cailean
had
prepared everyone’s breakfast.

Brian cleared his throat
hoping to gain Cailean’s attention, but Cailean ignored his
attempt
and
stared into the flames as he nibbled on fruit. Brian knew his
brother all too well. Brian jumped up, gripped the back of
Cailean’s arm, and dragged him down the hill where the group
usually practiced.

Looking around the field, Brian prayed
to find the brothers training as Cailean suggested.

“What have you done, Cailean?” Brian
demanded.

Cailean ripped his arm out of Brian’s
grasp.

“I haven’t done anything,” Cailean
said, his voice wavering as he massaged the back of his neck once
more.

“You are lying to me! Look at you!”
Brian yelled and yanked Cailean’s arm from his neck, “You are
ashamed of something! Now I am going to ask you once more before I
read your mind. What. Have. You. Done?” Brian emphasized
slowly.

Cailean backed away from
his brother before
he
read his mind. Even though Brian
had
promised years ago
that
he would never do
it unless it was dire
, he seemed
determined to find out what Cailean was hiding
. Despite the threat and fear of his brother, Cailean
remained fruitlessly silent.

Brian
quickly
grabbed Cailean around the
back of his neck with both hands and stared directly into
his
eyes, freezing him
where he stood. Cailean tried with all his might to hide the memory
that would incriminate him, but Brian was
a master
at dredging up old
memories. A fresh memory would put up little resistance.

What Brian uncovered astonished him.
He never thought his brother capable of such cruelty.

* * *

The memory began with
Cailean waking up
early
that morning, still dark out, stepping lightly
around the camp trying not to wake anyone. Still tired from his
restless night’s sleep, the events with Andraste plagued his
dreams. He sighed
,
glancing back to his tent, his body urging him back to bed,
but a soft voice whispered in his head,
Save The Queen
.

Cailean ran a hand through his tousled
hair and breathlessly whispered, “I have to.” His glossy eyes
promised tears.

He crept over to Nikolaos’ tent and
nudged him awake. “Nik, wake up. Brian wants us all to gather in
the cave past the field.” Cailean nudged him once more for good
measure.

“I’m up, I’m up,” Nikolaos
mumbled, grabbing his sword and rubbing
the sleep from
his
eyes
.

“Can you wake your
brothers
up
psychically?” Cailean added before leaving Nikolaos’
tent.

“Sure,” Nikolaos
said,
a
hint
of
pleasure
in
his tone.
Leo, Cole.
Nikolaos started out sweetly
. Wake
up boys!
He screamed in their minds and
then bit his blanket to muffle his cackle.

Nikolaos laughed to himself as he
heard Cole and Leo swearing at him mentally.

Nikolaos emerged from his tent and
poked his head into Cole’s tent to make sure he was up. Cole
smacked Nikolaos with a pillow then followed him out of his tent.
Cole and Nikolaos proceeded to Leo’s tent where they found him
asleep again. They both jumped on him and lightly punched him
wherever they could until he got up.

Cailean waited patiently
behind the tents
,
Tears still burning for release.

“Ready?” Cailean sounded
depressed. The brothers assumed
it
was
because they were up so
early.

“What in the gods’ names are we doing
up before the sun?” Leo looked around, barely able to see through
the dark.

“Brian wanted a meeting,
probably to prepare in case of a night attack. I believe the cave
he found has an exit we could escape through,” Cailean
explained
as he led the
brothers down through
the
practice field.

“And you’re telling me
this couldn’t wait until the morning? Andraste already rudely woke
us up
.
Now Brian
has to as well?” Cole yawned.

“Och, you know how Bri
is
.
Always needs
to be properly prepared,” Cailean forced a light
chuckle.

Cailean’s chest tightened
as he guided the brothers through the field. A ball of pain
grew
in his heart with
every step he took. The nausea in his stomach demanded him to turn
around. However, an image of Brian having to make this awful
decision popped into his head and
he
continued with his plan,
determined to save his brother from the awful fate that awaited
him.

“Let’s just get this
over
with
. Leo
needs his beauty rest,” Cole yawned.

Leo dug his elbow
into
Cole’s
side.
Cole chuckled and slung an arm around his little brother’s
shoulders as they followed Nik and Cailean.

Days earlier, Cailean
discovered a hidden cave past the field where they
practiced
. He now
guided the brothers through the winding cavern. “He shouldn’t
be too far down.
Soillsich
,” A blue light appeared in
front of the men as they walked deeper into the cave.

“Brian?” Cailean shouted.
He then hovered a hand over his throat and whispered,
“
Ailis
.” Brian’s
distant voice answered back, but it was Cailean’s mouth
from which
the sound
escaped, “I’m down here, Cail. Did you bring the
brothers?”

“Yeah
, we’re all here, you rooster
.
Why in Hades did you wake us up so
damn early?” Leo answered the fake voice.

“You’ll see
whe
…”
Brian’s
disembodied voice responded. Cailean’s lips
trembled
,
causing
the last word to break up and trail off.

The men
turned
a sharp corner
and came across a doorway big enough for one person to enter at a
time.

Cailean stepped aside and motioned
with his arm for Nikolaos to go through. Cole and Leo followed with
Cailean bringing up the end. Once inside, the brothers lazily gazed
around to see the rest of their group. Instead, they stood in an
empty room with only the light Cailean conjured.

“What’s going on, Cail?” Nikolaos
beseeched his longtime friend.

Cailean stared at the
floor and rubbed the back of his neck. “I am so sorry.” His
words
trembled
as
his burning tears streamed down his face. “A decision had to be
made
, and
I am
making it to spare Brian and your sister. Destiny has led us down a
dark path
.
I am
so sorry I have to be the one to do this.”

Cailean raised his head to
retain what little respect he had for himself and look the brothers
in the
eyes
as he
did the unthinkable. They
stared
back, confused and cautious.

Nikolaos lifted his arm, a
small gesture, to comfort Cailean. Cailean mistook the move as
aggressive and jumped back through the doorway. Nikolaos raced
towards the door, but before he reached the exit, Cailean raised
his hand and shouted, “
Ciur Caisg
Air!
”

Frost sprung up from the
ground and cold white light blinded everyone in the cave. Cailean
could not believe what he had done. He hunched over,
leaned
against the wall
and hyperventilated. The massive guilt of betrayal brought
him, a
grown
man
,
to
blubbering tears.

He sprinted back through
the cave and up through the practice field before the light
vanished, revealing the aftermath of his spell work. Silent tears
kept his face wet and puffy. He grabbed several
long
,
thin pieces
of firewood and conjured them into a bow and arrows. He thought
hunting might calm his nerves
,
but deep down he knew nothing would take away his
guilt.

* * *

Back around the
campfire
sat
Eoghan and Breanna, curious as to where everyone
went
. They
headed
down the slope
where
Brian and Cailean came into view
,
Brian
holding
the back of Cailean’s neck
with both hands, staring
him
in the eyes as if in a daze. When they were close
enough, Bre recognized what Brian was doing and called out to
him.

Bre’s voice broke Brian’s
concentration. He gave her a pitying glance of
disbelief.

Brian let go of Cailean
and sprinted towards the cave. Cailean ran after his
brother
, and
Bre
and Eoghan followed, screaming their names.

Brian did not stop until he found the
doorway he saw in Cailean’s memories. Cailean leaned against the
cave wall and slid down to the floor with his face in his hands.
Bre and Eoghan were seconds behind Cailean. Their gasps of shock
filled the silent cave.

There, displayed behind
glass, were Bre’s brothers, frozen as statues depicted in motion.
Nikolaos took a sprinters position, racing to the door. He bit his
lower lip to urge his body faster. Cole stood behind Nikolaos with
his hand extended, no doubt trying to cast a spell to
counteract
Cailean’s
spell. Leo casually rubbed his eyes and yawned.

“What happened? Who did this? Were we
attacked last night and I didn’t realize? I should have been able
to sense they were in trouble,” Bre sobbed and buried her face in
Eoghan’s chest.

Eoghan gaped from Brian to Cailean as
Brian swooped down and grabbed Cailean by the shirt. He pulled him
to his feet and slammed him against the cave wall.

“Why?
” Brian shouted in his brother’s face, his own cheeks burning
red. “
Why did you do
this?
”

Bre watched Brian scream
at his brother, wiping tears from her eyes
and
trying to
understand
,
not
wanting to
believe
it.

Eoghan rushed over to
separate
them
. He
pulled Brian off Cailean and demanded answers, “What is going on
between the two of you? And what happened to the
brothers?”

“My genius of a brother here decided
to take fate into his own hands. You overheard my conversation with
Andraste last night, didn’t you?” Brian shouted at Cailean,
straightening out his clothing.