He was but a child then no older than fourteen and reeling from Marco’s betrayal. Already their mother had destroyed any living shred of him throughout the palace, and they were left with only memory. A memory he was still gasping from. It had been two days since his departure for saying it kindly. Their room was now his, painted a light blue almost white in some places, resembling his ability with ice and water. He had a bigger bed with falling white curtains and blue bedspreads layered over the other resembling waves. His whole room resembled water in some way, which calmed his baser nature some. He was listening to his favorite band when his large doors were thrown open, and a disheveled Edline tumbled into the room. She ran straight for him.
“Stop her from doing it, big brother! I can’t do it! I can’t!” she cried, twisting her russet hair until he was wont to call her Goldilocks. He pulled her to him and swept his hand to her back rubbing soothing circles.
“Stop who from what?” he asked, prying her hands from her head. She was gonna go bald early if she kept twisting.
Edline turned big teary eyes to him. “Mom! She wants me to read the Anshrank’s general’s mind! I don’t want to do it. She wants me to become Bei right after! I can’t Stephan. I’m not ready to kill.”
Stephen faced her wordlessly. He knew he couldn’t stop his mom. He couldn’t take her place either, he couldn’t read minds at all…but…he turned to her, wiping her tears.
“I’ll talk to mom. Now hide under my bed and whatever you hear don’t come out,” he said. She nodded and slipped under his bed taking a pillow with her. He stood and walked off to face his mother. It wasn’t too long a walk since his mother was walking towards his rooms knowing his sister was there.
“Oh good, Stephan. Send your sister to the last room in the black hallway. We’re ready to begin.”
Stephan stood tall. He knew defying their mother always ended in injuries but he was going to protect Edline the best he could.
“No, mother,” he said freezing her in her steps.
“No?” she repeated, coming closer and circling him like a shark after some prey.
He knew he had angered her, still, he wasn’t ready for the crushing tentacle of water that swept him aside and crashed him into a glass wall, shattering it. He coughed out blood as he struggled to stand. His mother was already taking the steps to his room. Having no time or regrets, he lifted his arm and sent a hail of icicles at his mother who dodged the majority but was cut by a few. Surprise was in her eyes as she turned to him again. He was kneeling on the Persian rug out of breath.
“Let me do it,” he gasped. “Let me take the mission. If you aren’t satisfied then you can kill me and use Edline,” he said his breath becoming stronger with each word while his heart jackhammered in his chest with fear. He would have to bullshit his way out well enough to impress her and her generals.
Stephan stared at the night sky. The stars shone down, their heavenly light eclipsed by the full moon’s radiance. Stephan held onto the balcony remembering that night. He had bullshitted his way at first but the generals had known, when he was told to describe the battleground. He couldn’t and he was tortured by his own mother.
Another wave was upon him and he was dunked into the depths of the lake. The ice-cold lake where every breath was a struggle. The water had been made from his mother’s elemental signature. She controlled everything about it. His powers were useless against hers here. He was held until he was about to lose consciousness…until blood clogged up his airways from the blows he suffered. The generals were guaranteed him as a plaything.
His mother smiled at his drenched form. “I want you there for when your baby sister proves how much better she is than you.” She walked over to him and grabbed his face. “You’ve always been worthless Stephan. The only child I had no use for. I should have used you instead of Marco…,” she let his face go. “I made a mistake but not with this. This time I’m making the right choice.”
Stephan was too tired to do anything. He let his mom’s words sink in. He was the unworthy, unwanted one and he by consequence had never been touched by their mother. It was a godsend not to be seen as worthy in her eyes. He still needed to save Edline and himself. He knew of a way but it required Edline to see the massacre for a minute. It would only take a minute too, to brain-swap the info to him. He might not be a talented Traveler but he was half of one. It ran through his blood and certain aspects were easier than others. Erasing minds, mind swapping, and such were his areas of expertise.
“You’re nothing Stephan and nothing is what you shall become. A perfect whore for my generals.”
Stephan smirked inwardly. Not if he had anything to say about it. Outwardly he trembled giving his mother the response she was looking for.
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Stephan clenched the railing remembering how Edline had shaken that day. It had truly been horrible for her.
Stephan winced as another whimper shot from Edline as she gathered what the general and his mom wanted. When she was given the same test as him she remained quiet. It was a part of their plan.
Edline shook and asked to be near him. He’d be quick and Edline wouldn’t suffer anymore. Of course, their mother always had to spoil things.
“Stephan can wait, Edline. We need those coordinates. Now.”
Edline shook her head and walked towards me, before electrifying their mother as she moved to attack her impressing the generals.
“I say Elenora. Your children are impressive. First Marco now Edline. Its like they were made for battle,” said one.
“Yes two out of three ain’t bad,” said another while Edline reached my side and glanced deep into my eyes which is all I needed. I collected energy and like a spoon shoveled all her thoughts into me, letting her free.
“Close your eyes Ed,” he said and rose his hand aiming an icicle between the Anshrank’s general’s eyes starting his killing count.
“The coordinates you want lie with me. The Anshrank general is dead. Only I have them.”
His mother’s eyes twinkled and that was never good. She was beyond mad. She grabbed Edline and asked her to repeat what she had before but it was useless. Edline had lost the info to him. She growled and slapped Edline for being a silly girl before turning to him.
“You no good piece of shit. You will give us the coordinates. Am I clear?”
He smirked and nodded before rambling off coordinates left and right. The generals wrote them down.
As they finished he knew his life was forfeit and when his mother asked her general the Blood sage to make it hurt. He knew what he was in for. The blood sage began by disrupting his blood flow, painfully reversing it. Somehow his heart withstood that so he moved on to his brain giving a brain hemorrhage. He was still awake when another general made his mother see the Gem he was and so he was given medical care to fix what had been done. During the hemorrhage, a new ability arose. One that scared yet thrilled him until he really heard his mother’s thoughts.
He awoke in his room with a headache and pain in his arm. He glanced at the tattoo that was engraved there. A big E with a small b and i on the sides and a wavy blue line intertwined with the words. Marco had worn one like it but with a curly line of grey around his. The sun streaming in was covered by his mother in her fighting leathers and usual braids.
“Finally, I thought you were dead,” she said.
‘Would have preferred it but since Andre insisted I train him…’
He glanced confused. “Who’s Andre? And we both know I am nothing to you. Why am I alive?”
His mother looked surprised. Instead of talking she thought out. ‘The general whom you owe your life to. Anything he wants you have to do now and he wants to sleep with my little mind swapper. How could I say no?’
“Does me being your son mean nothing to you!” he’d screamed and she had smiled then.
“Looks like you aren’t as worthless as I thought,” she walked to his bed and sat by him grabbing his tired face. “We’ll see what you’re made of. Welcome to Bei, Stephan. Don’t screw it up.”
Stephan sighed letting the grip he had on the railing soften then tighten as a memory came to him. It was the night Edline escaped. A year later saw him commander of the Bei forces, second to his mother. He had played and been played with. He’d had to off entire civilizations, but he had done it to keep her safe. Every time she acted out and showed why she ought to be the superweapon, he brought down another entire planet to show who was better and keep his mom’s eyes on him. He knew about Edline’s courtesan classes and his mother’s pressing engagements with her becoming a female courtesan, but Edline was only nine! He had a few friends that he could send her to for her test who wouldn’t touch her. All she had to do was ask. Instead, she ran.
The creak of his doors caught his attention but he was too tired to lift his head. He kept his eyes closed.
“Stephan? I…I can’t stay here anymore what with mom and you. You’ve changed. You aren’t my caring big bro anymore. You’ve killed so many innocents and for what? Mom’s never going to look at you ever! You’re just a meanie now! I’m glad I’m leaving. Bye!”
Stephan lay still tears streaming. All he did he did for her safety.
He heard the alarms and rushed to where Edline was being held by several guards afraid. She was shy of the landing strip. Using his traveler abilities he swept Edline’s image from the guard’s heads and implanted another girl into their thoughts. It took a lot of energy and all he wished for his sister was a safe trip away from him and his mother.
That was when he truly turned into a weapon closing his heart and mind. Meeting Asphodel awoke him again but it was being with Aleesha the welcoming mother figure in Anshrank that had reopened him to the world and her death that made him realize another path needed to be taken. Asphodel had been playing him. She was older and was the princess of an Earth clan and had duties. She had died and promised him to her sister, who was the same age as him. He had been young and dumb, now he paid for it. He squeezed the railing so hard it squealed under him. He couldn’t tell Marco the truth. He still didn’t trust him enough.
He saw the lives of those he took even now. The joyful couple about to give birth, the little girl at what seemed like a strange foodery place, the strapping kid who would never grow up to be a knight. They all hunted him. Every night, all night long. He didn’t sleep much. Didn’t need to. He was trained not to need it for long periods. He stared up at that lonely moon and stars in the night sky and sighed. It was going to be a long night.
A creak of his door caught him unawares as did she. “You should be asleep.”
He abruptly turned his hand out to face a sleepy Zen.
He scowled putting his hand down and calming his pulse.”Don’t ever do that again! I could have stopped your heart, Zen!”
She shrugged. “Ishevara would have restarted it. Ishevara won’t let me sleep because she says something is wrong here in this room. Since the only thing in this room is you, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, go back to bed Zen.”