Chapter 5

A Brother's Flashback

One Hour Later…

Egad's Castle – Television and Music Room...

Egad sat in the television and music room of his castle, watching the news while waiting for warm afternoon tea with a few members of his coven: Zarch, Amon, Tuxa, Jet, Codec, Chaos, and Hatred. There was also two guests: His nephew, the dober-fox Anthony, and his boyfriend, the amphibious anthro-shark known as Alak'ai, but he mainly went by the nickname Alak. Things so far were quiet and uneventful.

“Today's batch comes from Ceylon on Earth, and is quite exquisite, or so I've heard." Zarch said after he and Tuxa gently setting the tea trays down on the coffee table in front of Egad.

“It smells wonderful," Egad said with a smile, taking in the scents of the tea as he poured himself a cup. “Why don't you both join us? You both deserve it after all the good cooking and other tasks you have done. Come, sit with me."

Zarch and Tuxa bowed politely. “It would be an honor,"

With that, they all settled in with tea, watching the afternoon news.

It was about thirty minutes later that the proximity alert went off on Chaos' wristband computer, showing that there was an unknown car in the grounds. It had apparently jumped the drawbridge.

“Oh, boy…" Chaos sighed, getting up with Hatred and Amon. “Master, we will deal with the intruders. Father, I suggest you, Codec, and Tuxa stay here in case something happens."

“Will do," Zarch said.

Chaos, Hatred, and Amon quickly went down through the castle's halls to the main door. Once outside the main door, they saw a clearcoat gray Dodge Viper slide sideways down the path, the doors of the car flying open once it stopped in front of the trio.

Jumping out of the car was Tommy and Silva, accompanied by a horned hybrid lion! Tommy quickly ran up, stopping in front of Chaos, panting, followed by Silva and the horned lion.

“Chaos…!" Tommy panted, almost on the verge of hyperventilating. “We need… To get… Help…! Cailus… He's… He's…"

“Tommy, calm yourself!" Chaos said politely, patting Tommy on the back. “Breathe for a moment. What has happened? What did Cailus do this time? Where's Galen, Uniko, Zhal, and Luso, and who's the newcomer?"

Tommy took a few moments to catch his breath as Silva continued where Tommy left off. “Cailus has infiltrated the guard of Mel'Andrea and implanted them with new bio-control chips! He's done the same with the Dhaelos and Sha-Lem families! This young horned lion, Julian, saved us and helped us escape after they helped the others find a place to hide! We need to get back to rescue them before they are caught! If they end up in Cailus' custody, who knows what he will do to them!"

Chaos, Hatred, and Amon quickly motioned for the rest of the group to come into the castle quickly after Silva's report of what happened. “Master needs to know about this. I also think we should call Mick, we may need his services."

“You mean Mick Daniels? He's a friend of mine," Julian said.

“Indeed, but how do you know him?" Amon asked.

“He introduced me to the three rules of transportation: Never change the deal, no names, and never open up the package."

Amon nodded. “Those are his rules, no doubt. Come in, let's see if we can come up with a plan…"

# # #

After hearing of the news of Cailus' latest act, Egad quickly set down his tea. He quickly told everyone in the coven to suit up in armor and prepare to go to Mel'Andrea to rescue their coven brothers. Then, Egad went up to his room, looking in the mirror, taking off his shirt, and examining the scar that Cailus had left there after their encounter one year ago. Then, Egad got lost in his memories, including the time he first found out about Cailus' bloodlust…

# # #

Chateau Foxmoore – Earth

Twenty Years Ago…

A sixteen-year-old Egad Nob sat in the living area of Chateau Foxmoore, the house he had grown up in with his brother, Cailus. This was only a few months after the death of their parents, and each was handling it in their own way. Cailus seemed a bit… Edgier when they both found out about their parents' deaths. Once they had been bequeathed their parents' wills, Egad, and Cailus getting 50/50 of the massive fortune left for them, Egad ended up isolating more, even when he was at the private school he and his brother had been sent to. According to the will, until they were eighteen, they would be under the guardianship of the Earth's United Government, according to Galactic Coalition Of Governemnt, or GCOG law. To add to the trouble, each one of them got separate guardians for this task. From what Egad had seen of the guardians Cailus got stuck with, he was close to losing it. Cailus' guardians were ruthless and abusive, which made Egad's easy going but neglectful guardians seem like paradise.

As Egad, waited, he saw who he was waiting for come around the corner out of a hallway. It was his brother, Cailus. He looked slightly shaken, and angry as well. His school blazer was a bit askew in a few places, and he looked like he had just washed up. Egad could also pick up the slight scent of motor oil, brake fluid, and antifreeze on his brother.

Cailus sat down next to Egad on the couch. He then looked at Egad with a wicked yet happy grin. The look would have been filled with a deadly poison, if looks could be viewed in such a way.

“What happened?" Egad asked, feeling concerned for his brother.

“Nothing. I just finally did it." Cailus said, his voice hinting at a bit of craziness.

“Did what?" Egad asked.

Cailus' expression remained unchanged, looking up at the ceiling. “Let's just say we won't be hearing from the Luthers anymore…"

Egad's eyes quickly went wide. He looked around, making sure no one was around, then focused on Cailus. “Brother, what did you do?!" He hissed quietly.

Cailus shrugged, glancing at his watch. “Nothing much. Just arranged a little… Accident. A car accident to be precise. Which we should be hearing about in say… Five more seconds."

Shortly after those five seconds passed, Egad heard the sounds of squealing rubber outside, accompanied a few moments later by a massive metallic crashing sound, accompanied by the continuous honk of a car horn!

Egad quickly got up, and ran out towards the front doors. He threw them open in a dramatic fashion, and saw a sickening sight: The Luthers' Mercedes-Benz had rammed down the gates on the way out of the Chateau's grounds, then careened down the road before wrapping itself around a tree outside the fence along the road! Servants and Gardeners on the estate were quickly running towards the crumpled, blue Mercedes-Benz, the car almost unrecognizable! The Luthers' bodies were hanging out of the broken windshield of the car like limp noodles, no doubt they died upon impact!

Cailus, in shock and panic, ran back into the living area, grabbed his brother by the arm, and ran upstairs to his room, nearly dragging Cailus behind him! Once up in his room, Egad quickly shut the door, and grabbed Cailus by the shoulders.

“WHAT DID YOU DO?!" He shouted in panic. “Brother, if they find any trace of what you just did-"

“They won't." Cailus said with a hardened expression. “I made sure to cover my tracks: Latex gloves, bleach, the works… To everyone else, it will appear that the car's brake lines were just poorly maintained. I did this so we could have our freedom, and besides… After all the crap they put us through, you can't say the Luther's didn't deserve it."

Egad's brain was in full panic by this point. If anyone found out what his brother had done, he'd be arrested and most likely tried for murder! “You cannot tell ANYONE about this, understand, Cailus?! If they find out that you did that, you will most likely be tried as an adult in the court system! I don't want you doing anything like this again! You understand? If anything happens with your guardians, you come to me! Then, we figure something out! Got it?"

“What, you think I'm stupid?" Cailus laughed a bit like a crazy, neurotic person. “I don't intend of breathing a word of this to anyone. Also, I suggest since you don't want to see me in chains, you'll keep quiet about this too. Right, brother?"

Egad looked at his brother for a bit, the shock, and reality of what Cailus did now settling in. He sat down on his bed, and quickly could feel his calm demeanor abandon him. “I… I need to be alone."

Cailus just smirked. “Take all the time you need,"

With that, Cailus stepped out of the room, closing the door quietly, and leaving Egad to deal with the shock and sickening reality of what Cailus had just done. One short, sickening sentance kept circling through his thoughts:

My brother is a murderer.