Griffin's Destiny

witnessing his tears made him sick with anger, but the pain pushed too hard and strong.

With frightening swiftness, Sadaiyo raised his bow, drew, and fired. Ashinji sensed the attack coming and threw himself sideways, but exhaustion slowed his reflexes. The arrowhead grazed his neck, slicing a stinging furrow into his skin just above his collarbone. He turned and ran.

A second arrow whistled past his ear.

Can’t fight him now. Too tired. I have to find somewhere to hide!

He stumbled on the uneven ground but somehow managed to stay on his feet. His legs felt like lead weights and his lungs burned with each breath. Even though he did his best to run in silence, he knew Sadaiyo could track him with ease, even in the dark.

A rocky outcropping loomed ahead, like the weathered bones of a giant, mythical beast. He used the last of his failing strength to scramble into the sheltering rocks. Wedging himself into a crevice, he waited.

Becomethedarkbecometherockbecomethedark…

A tiny puff of breeze tickled the back of his neck. A single bead of sweat rolled down his forehead and along the bridge of his nose, then hung suspended for a heartbeat before dripping off his face. A furtive scrabbling sound from above, like tiny claws upon rock, made him look up over his shoulder, every sense strained to the breaking point.

Sadaiyo won’t stop until he’s killed me…If only I wasn’t so tired!

He had come so far, endured so much, that to die now, like this, seemed a very bitter fate, indeed. At least he could take some small comfort in knowing his father would eventually learn the truth. Amara would not rest until she had discovered the fate of her younger son, and when she did, Sadaiyo would finally be exposed. Ashinji wished with all his heart his parents could be spared that terrible pain.

Then fight! a voice in his head demanded, a voice that sounded very much like Jelena’s. Don’t let Sadaiyo murder you! Fight back with everything you’ve got!

I can’t. I have nothing left. I just want to lie down and sleep.

No! Wake up, Ashi! He’s coming!

His ears detected the barest whisper of sound-a faint scuff of leather on rock. Ashinji twisted out of his hiding place just as an arrow splintered on the stone where, a heartbeat before, his head had rested. Heart in his mouth, he peered into the darkness, up to where he could now feel Sadaiyo lurking, poised to shoot again. He swallowed hard and made a decision.

Summoning the last of his physical strength, he surged upward while at the same time, he consumed the dregs of his magic to weave a cloak of temporary invisibility. He pulled himself onto the narrow, flattened top of the outcrop just as Sadaiyo raised his bow into firing position. Confused, Sadaiyo hesitated for an instant, as if he could hear but not see his target. Ashinji slammed into him, and they went down hard. The bow flew from Sadaiyo’s hands and spun over the edge of the outcrop into the darkness.

Sadaiyo let out an incoherent roar, like a crazed beast. Savagely, he pummeled Ashinji with his fists, growling with each blow. It took everything Ashinji had just to protect his face and head. An especially brutal punch to the midsection nearly did him in.

“I hate you, you sniveling little piece of shit !” Sadaiyo spat each word like a stone from a slingshot. He stopped beating Ashinji, but kept him pinned to the rock. “Father loved me before you came slithering out from between our mother’s legs and stole him away from me! I’ll never forgive you for that!”

“Father never stopped loving you, Sadaiyo, but your own poisonous jealousy made him stop liking you!” Ashinji gasped.

“ Liar! Shut your… stinking…lying… hole!” Sadaiyo’s fingers tightened around Ashinji’s throat.

“Don’t do this to our family…Sadaiyo, please!…You know you’ll never get away with it…Mother is a mage , for Goddess’ sake. She’ll know…the instant she sees you!”

Ashinji had to keep Sadaiyo engaged or his brother’s rage would overwhelm him again and he knew he couldn’t hold out much longer.

This needs to end now!

“Brother, please! ” he wheezed.“Think about your wife and son! Their lives will be ruined if you do this!”

Sadaiyo’s fierce grip loosened a tiny bit, giving Ashinji the opening he needed. With a heave and a twist, he threw Sadaiyo off him and scrambled to his feet. Blinking sweat and blood from his eyes, he dropped into a fighting crouch, struggling to stay focused through the pain.

Sadaiyo stood very still now, arms dangling at his sides, a darker shape silhouetted against the night sky. A cloud of rage still enveloped him, and the feel of it made Ashinji shiver with dread.

“Brother. Please! Stop this now before you destroy everything you hold dear.”

“The dearest thing I had was Father’s love, and you destroyed that the day you were born,” Sadaiyo replied, his voice dripping with bitterness. “Oh, how he mourned your death! His dear, beloved Ashi! It made me sick to my stomach to watch. I did think, though, that in time, he would get over losing you and turn to me, love me again. He was just beginning to, Little Brother, and you are mad if you think I’ll allow you to come back and ruin things now!” With those final words, he charged.

Ashinji had no time for thought, only reaction guided by years of training and the instinct for survival. As Sadaiyo slammed into him, Ashinji grappled his brother’s shoulders and went down on his back, thrusting his knees into the other’s stomach. The momentum of Sadaiyo’s charge carried him up and over Ashinji’s prone body. Ashinji heard, rather than saw, his brother skid to the edge of the outcrop.

“ Noooo!” he screamed, and tried to grab any part of Sadaiyo he could, but he failed.

Sadaiyo fell without a sound.

Ashinji crawled to the edge of the outcrop then peered down. The night concealed the final evidence of his brother’s fate, but he did not need the confirmation of his eyes to know. He felt the moment of Sadaiyo’s passing as his brother’s raging soul fled his broken body.

Ashinji collapsed to the cool stone and let grief take him.

***

The moon and stars had begun to fade by the time Ashinji finally summoned enough strength to climb down from the outcrop. When he reached the ground, he did not search for Sadaiyo’s body. That would be asking too much of himself. Instead, he turned then headed back toward the encampment. He stumbled as he walked, and once, he stopped then sank to his knees, overcome with dizziness. He knew he had suffered serious injury and would need a doctor.

He did not think about the events just past-he couldn’t. The terrible pain behind his eyes made clear thought all but impossible. It took every bit of strength he had left just to focus on getting his legs to move.

“Stop right there!”

For the second time that night, a familiar voice challenged him, this time at his back.

“Don’t…shoot,” he whispered. He heard a hiss of surprise.