Blood Brothers pt2 by Mark O. Burson

The warm spring day gave way to a chilly evening. The moon in it’s half phase shown brightly in the heavens as the brothers made their way through the shadowed alleyways between the dock warehouses. “You got anything yet Bro” Quickshot quietly asked. “I can feel his presence, but I can’t seem to get a proper fix on his location. I am getting the sense he is ahead and to the left by the Bolax warehouse.” Bulge said, in his raspy voice that always sounded to his brother as if someone were shaking broken glass in a fifty five gallon drum. “You know if anything should go wrong, you’ve got to take care of Mom” Quickshot said matter of factly. The deep guttural growl that rolled forth from his gigantic brother was sharp. “Nothing is going to happen to either of us Runt. Just stick to the plan and don’t deviate. This evil Bastard isn’t going to hurt anyone ever again.” As the brothers made their way closer to the old Bolax Warehouse, they could hear the sounds of activity ahead. Three dock workers were busily moving freight from the open warehouse to the barge that was moored to the dockside. It rose and sunk with the slight waves of the river, as the men operating the forklift and the heavy loading crane went about their duties oblivious to the evil that stalked among them tonight. A slight shifting of the wind and a whisper of air being displaced was the only sound the burly, dark haired dock worker heard before a talloned hand clutched his throat. “What th…” were the only words the startled man managed to squeak out, as the loathsome creature before him drew him off of his feet to stare into its dark soulless eyes. Just as the dark eyes of the ageless, evil creature began to glow and the strong dock worker could feel his life essence ebbing forth from his body, a solid energy arrow of the darkest ebony pierced the gray, mottled forearm causing him to drop his would be victim. The rage and pain filled scream that tore from a throat old when the world was young, echoed along the docks and out into the darkness of the water. Turning, Jonahs grabbed the arrow with his left hand, ripped it from his forearm and threw it with uncanny accuracy at the costumed adventurer running towards him. Kyle Stevens barely had time to raise his hand before the arrow he had just shot his victim with, was almost upon him. As he held forth his hand he called the energy back into his own body and in the space a two heartbeats reformed the arrow and nocked it in his bow. He drew down on the evil being before him and released the deadly projectile once more directly at the black heart of Jonahs. “Run!” Bulge growled at the stunned dockworkers. “Get out of here if you value your lives!” The dark clad giant hefted a barrel from the fork lift with one hand and drew it back. He threw the barrel with all of his might at the being who had killed his grandmother ( see last issue) and so many others down through the eons. The large projectile hurled with the force of a cannon shell struck Jonahs in the back of the legs causing him to fall backwards just as the dark arrow his brother had carefully aimed struck it’s target. The impetus of the blow caused the arrow to miss its mark by only a few centimeters so that it lodged in the right shoulder instead of the heart of its target. “Now Bulge, while he’s down, do it now!” Quickshot screamed at his brother. Running the thirty yards to his quarry at full steam, Danny Stevens reached inside the neck of his costume and pulled forth the dark amulet his aging aunt had given him that afternoon. From the other direction, Quickshot sprinted down the dock toward his brother and Jonahs. Before either of them could reach the evil being, he once again with a howl of rage, ripped the arrow from his pierced body and was on his feet. He shimmered and was gone as the brothers reached the spot where he had just stood. Looking at each other and then their surroundings, both brothers turned as Jonahs appeared out of thin air right behind Quickshot and with a lightning like move of his left hand, grabbed the bow from his hand. “ You won’t be using this again Mortal.” Jonahs hissed, crushing the bow. Dark ichor oozed from the wound in his right shoulder as he grabbed the young, energy wielding archer by the throat. “Move a muscle and I’ll snap his neck like the worthless twig that it is.” He snapped at Bulge. “I see you have the Wynmark Amulet Brute! Take it off and lay it on the dock.” He clenched his talloned fingers tighter around Quickshot’s throat causing his younger sibling to claw at the ancient hand and his eyes to grow a little larger. Bulge weighed his options quickly as the maniacal creature before him shook his brother violently and bellowed in his hissing snake like voice, “NOW!” Reaching up with both hands he slowly removed the ancient artifact from around his neck and held it forward. “If I give you this amulet, you’ll kill him anyway. I may as well use it to make sure your evil is gone from this world forever.” Bulged growled. “Not so Giant. Give me the amulet and you will never see me again.” Jonahs snarled. The young giant slowly held forth the amulet toward the reaching aged hand. Quickshots brow wrinkled in concentration as his hand began to glow. Before Jonahs could take the Bauble he so craved from Bulges outstretched massive digits, the dock began to shake violently. Bulge knowing what was about to happen managed to keep his balance, but Jonahs was not so fortunate. He began to teeter on his feet trying to maintain his equilibrium. As the ancient, evil one tried to regain his balance, his knee high, black leather boots burst into flames. Jonahs loosed his grasp on the gasping Quickshot as the flames began to swirl around him like unto a living thing. The wind creating a vortex to maintain the flames inside, licking at the core of his dark being. “Mom!” Quickshot croaked through his sore and almost crushed voice box. “Mom! Get back!” Raynia Stevens stood feet spread wide and hands raised before her. Her brow knotted in concentration as she stared at Jonahs. Years of hatred and pent up anger and hostility rolled from her mouth. “No more Evil One! You will take no more lives, your darkness ends tonight at the hands of a true elemental. I command the fire that burns your flesh, and the winds that tear at your soul. You killed my mother and after the call I received earlier, I’m sure you killed my Aunt as well.” ( Last issue again. ) Lightning flashed in her eyes as she gestured at the river with her left hand, while holding her right hand forth to maintain the fiery vortex around Jonahs. “Boys! Finish him!” she yelled. Kyle Stevens called forth the dark energy his aunt had infused him with earlier that day. As it boiled forth from his hand, it coalesced in the form of a solid black sword. Danny Stevens held forth the Wynmark Amulet in his huge ape like paws. Both young men stood ready as a crashing wave from the rivers swelling tide crashed over the evil being dousing the flames. Jonahs had time to roll over and start to rise as Quickshot reached him. Jonahs shimmered once more, leaving naught but a smoking residue where he had been. Appearing in front of their mother he grasped her firmly by the shoulders and his eyes began to glow. “I think not Cow! You may have hurt me, but I am ageless. What could possibly make you think you could stop me? Once I add your strength to mine, I will kill your pathetic children and take the amulet once and for all.” She gave a startled scream of fear as the dark energy sword transfixed the creature from behind. Quickshot had hurled the sword at the exposed back of his mothers attacker. The glow in his eyes faded as he turned to face the brothers. Bulge held forth the timeless artifact toward Jonahs, as his mother regained her feet. She walked around in front of the being that had robbed her of a childhood filled with motherly tenderness, as Jonahs sank to his knees. “Go to Hell!” she said as the Amulets pull finally took hold. From the wound in his chest where the energy sword had pierced him through, boiled forth a foul, dark vapor. The amulet glowed as the vapors were sucked inside. When the last of Jonahs evil had been ensconced inside the Amulet, his body simply vanished. It didn’t disintegrate, or crumple to dust, it simply vanished as though the ancient amulet had swallowed him body and dark, gruesome soul. Quickshot and Bulge both ran to their mothers side. “What do you think you were doing? You retired from this life a long time ago. We had it under control Mom. You could have gotten yourself killed!” Quickshot spat coldly at his mother. I was just about to stick him when you showed up.” Bulge reached down and placed a calming hand on his little brothers shoulder. “I sensed her presence but couldn’t tell you without Jonahs knowing. Sorry Kyle… Quickshot., but she probably just saved your runty little hide. You may have managed to stick him with the energy blade, but from the position you were in, he would have broken your neck.” “Kyle,” She said shaking. The realization of what had just happened starting to settle in on her. “He killed your grandmother, he killed your Aunt just tonight. He’s killed countless others down through the ages. He very nearly killed you! I couldn’t stand by and not act. I’m sorry but I just couldn’t.” She wrapped her arms around both boys and gave them a motherly hug. “This is the last time you’ll ever see me in action. I’m getting too old for this life. I’ll leave it to you boys to handle from now on.” Two nights later on the roof of River City Bank, two costumed brothers watched as a cloud of darkness slithered along the slick bricks of the alleyway behind the bank. The dark cloud rose up and formed into a man in a deep purple cape. Beside him, another man came forth out of the dark cloud. He was wearing a leather vest and chaps. On his head rested an old worn cowboy hat and his right eye glowed crimson. “You were right again Danny,” Quickshot said. “It’s Red Eye and the Scarab. As soon as they make a move toward the back door of the bank, we go. Scarabs dark purple cloak wrapped around him tightly, he started toward the bank doors. Red Eye reached out to touch the metal door hinges. They disintegrated in his grasp and he pushed aside the heavy metal door as it fell to the alley floor. Danny Stevens looked at his brother and growled playfully. “The name’s Bulge, Runt!” With that, he leaped over the side of the bank wall to land in a cloud of dust amidst the cracked and broken bricks of the alleyway. “It's about time.” Quickshot muttered as he shot two blinding white energy arrows from his new bow to stick in the ground in front of the criminals, its light erasing all shadows from the alley.
The End ( For Now)