Ander - Part 1: Subchapter 24
24
Very rarely has Ander experienced pain like this. He would be very surprised if that last knee strike didn't crack a rib, but even worse than that was the look he could see on Kiana's face. Even through the rain, even through the stabbing, throbbing pain, he could see it. He was her only hope, and he was letting her down.
He felt two great hands grip him firmly by the shoulders, felt himself being pulled up by their strength. Next thing he knew, he was looking Banno squarely in the eye.
"I told you, Ander. You shouldn't make promises you can't keep."
Promise?
Kiana...
As long as you're with me, I promise you, I won't let anything bad happen to you. Do you believe me?
That's right. He made a promise.
I do...
And she trusted him.
Banno opened his mouth, ready to clamp down on Ander's neck, ready to taste his death.
No.
Ander brought his head forward with all the force he could muster, driving it against Banno's nose with a sickening crunch. Banno staggered backwards, howling, blood spurting from his nostrils in twin streams.
Pressing the attack, Ander lunged forward and struck Banno in the face, again and again, pushing him back, the gashes in his own arm forgotten for the moment.
Banno suddenly reached out and grabbed Ander by the neck, his fingers digging painfully into his throat.
"You bastard!" Banno screamed, his face contorted into a bloody mask of anger and hatred. Ander could see the blood drip down from Banno's nose and mix with the blood around his mouth. His own blood. Their blood.
The blood of two brothers. The same.
No! We're not the same!
Look at you. You're killing each other. You're no different. You know this is true. Blood doesn't lie.
"No! I made a promise!" Ander grabbed Banno by the throat as well, and suddenly they were like two mirror images; one dark, one light. One fighting to preserve life, the other to end it. "And I intend to keep it!"
Banno's eyes grew wide as he realized Ander was actually pushing him back, pushing him -
*
- towards the biter! So that's his plan, the sneaky bastard. His Fox wasn't able to trick him last time, and he'll be damned if he allowed his little brother to force him now! Banno gritted his teeth and dug his feet into the earth. He pushed back with all his strength, but there was something wrong here. He was still being pushed back! Banno looked down in amazement at the furrows his feet were leaving in the dirt, rapidly filling up with rainwater like miniature canals. Where the hell did Ander suddenly get this power from!?
Banno looked his brother in the eye, trying to find the change, trying to see what was so different all of a sudden, but there was nothing. So why!? Ander was practically dead on his feet, so why!?
Banno leaned forward, increasing the pressure around Ander's neck. They stopped for a moment, but then Ander redoubled his efforts and Banno found himself being pushed back yet again! What is this madness!?
Banno didn't dare turn around, but he knew they must be dangerously close to that biter by now, maybe even right on top of it. If he didn't do something right now...
That's when he felt it drip onto his arm, different from the countless kisses of the rain. This was thick and warm... the blood from Ander's wound, the wound Banno had made with his own teeth. The freak's name might mean "Different" but his blood tasted the same as his own: deliciously bitter!
Banno let go of Ander's neck and grabbed his arm instead, allowing his fingers to dig deep into the gashes.
Ander screamed, and the sound filled Banno with nothing but satisfaction. "That's what you get for breaking my nose, you wretched excuse for a Wolf!" He squeezed as hard as he could, wringing it out like a wet rag until he could feel the blood seeping between his fingers, warm and sticky. "You know Ander," Banno said, leaning in close, taking great pleasure in the look of agony on his brother's face. "If I like the taste of your death, I might try Hezzi next. It should be interesting to see how you two compare..."
Banno loved to play mind games. He loved to force reaction from his foes. He knew Ander loved that fidgety pup, and he wanted to see what kind of reaction his threat would garner.
But he wasn't expecting something like this.
Ander's whole face seemed to change. His brow furrowed and his eyes grew darker. His lips pulled back from his teeth in a monstrous snarl, crinkling his muzzle. It was like he wasn't even looking at his odd little brother anymore, but at a reflection of himself.
"If you so much as touch him," Ander said, "I will kill you."
Banno was expecting a retaliation, of course, but not of this sort. Instead of using the uninjured arm around his neck, Ander wrenched his already tattered arm free of Banno's grasp and struck him a heavy uppercut beneath his jaw. One moment Banno was looking his brother in the eye, the next he was staring straight up at the thunderclouds above, the transition lost in a white flash he knew couldn't have been lightning. He could feel himself losing his balance, could feel the world tilting beneath his feet, but the thought of the biter somewhere behind him was enough to keep him steady. It would take more than a single sneaky punch to fell Banno, firstborn of the Chieftain of the Wolves! His freak of a brother would soon understand -
Someone grabbed his tail.
Banno looked over his shoulder, surprised to see that snivelling Fox standing right behind him, holding onto his tail in a death grip. "You - !"
"I'm not a bitch!" she yelled -
This has been the 24th subchapter in my serial novel, "Ander". If you enjoyed it, please help keep my face un-mauled by irritable ostriches by dropping me a donation. Thank you! ^_^
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