Smoke and Mirrors

Chapter 25

  "Do you think she's ready?" Viktor asked with an impatient tone to his voice. "This needs to be perfect."
  "I, personally, believe she is," Aries replied.
  A smirk quickly grew on his face. "Just what I wanted to hear."
  Slam.  The sound made them both jump, and exchange looks.  They knew exactly what it was, but she was the first to say it.
  "They're here."
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  Val clenched his fists in frustration. "Where the heck is she?  There can't be too many places she could be hidden, can there?"
  Aske was checking his surroundings to make sure they were safe, his daggers in both hands. "If my dad is working with her, then no.  He'd most likely hide her in the most obvious place he could find; if it was her hiding her, then she'd probably hide her somewhere safe, hidden."
  "What about my dad?  Where do you think they'd hide him?"
  "My dad probably hid him, in an obvious place," he sighed. "But, what can I say besides 'he's a simple man'?"
  "Thanks for the compliment," the boys turned around to see Viktor, Aries standing behind him. "Remind me to return one later."
  "Father," Aske growled. "Where are they?"
  He furrowed his eyebrows, looking at him with a confused look. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
  "You know what he's talking about!" Val yelled, deciding to butt in on their conversation. "Maybe this will refresh your memory: a blue-haired dragon and her father."
  "Oh, them," hysterical laughter escaped him; it reminded Aske of a prisoner who escaped, finally free from confinement. "You really think I'd tell you, pathetic boy?"
  The blond scowled at his father's comment; it made him angry that he wouldn't give up easily, that he wouldn't surrender their place of hiding- well, not really hiding.  The word that should be used instead of hiding was captivity. "I'm not here to play games; now tell me where they are!"
  Viktor smirked. "Fine," he glanced at Aries. "Take his friend to his sister." He glanced back at his son. "But you stay here."
  The boy scoffed as the girl with fire in her eyes grabbed the boy with platinum blond hair, walking him down the corridor, then disappearing out of sight.
  Neither one of the boys talked for a while, just stared, trying to take in each other's appearances and how much they both had grown.  The silence was good for Aske; it gave him time to think about what to say to him, and what his next move should be.
  "So," his father coughed, breaking the silence and tension.
  Aske shot daggers at him with his eyes. "I don't want to hear it."
  With a roll of his eyes, he said, "Don't worry; I wasn't going to apologize, if that's what you thought." It seemed foolish to him that his son would think he'd actually say sorry for all the things he'd done to him.  In his psychotic mind, all of the pain he'd caused was for a good reason- discipline, and making him into a better man.  And besides, he thought, he deserved the beatings I gave him, and his mother deserved to die.
  "Then what were you going to say?"
  "I was going to say how lovely the girl is- the dragon, I mean.  You know, her hands are so soft, and her blue hair smells so divine; I could just bury my face in it for eternity.  And her eyes- oh, her eyes- when I look at them, all I see is the ocean; I wish I had more time to stare at them though."  He knew these words would anger his son, would make him hate him even more.  Truthfully, he would probably go on longer, if he could.
  "SHUT UP!"  Those words Viktor had said did anger him; he just didn't think his father could get more sick in the head than he was during his childhood.
  "Well, someone's a little angry," he laughed once again, making him hate him even more- just like he wanted.
  "You're not laying your hands- not even one- on her!"
  "Who's to say I didn't already?" A grim look formed on his face, making him look like a monster from a horror movie.
Those words finally pushed Aske to the edge.  He ran at the monster, aiming his daggers at him.  When he reached the monster, it grabbed his arm, flipping him so he landed on his stomach on the ground.  He immediately coughed up blood, spitting it on the ground with a moan.
  "You're pathetic," he spat. "Always were and always will be; you think you're strong, but you're not- you're just weak." He took out a knife of his own, knelt down, smiling at his son evilly.  "Who's to say I didn't kill her already?"  He stuck the knife in Aske's thigh, causing him to scream out in pain. "Her father put up a fight before he died; I'm not sure she will though.  She's probably dead right now, as we speak."
The boy with enchanted forest colored eyes laughed weakly; he didn't think he had the strength to do it, but there he was, laughing like a maniac with a sore throat. "You know what?  You're pathetic." He stuck one of the daggers in the monster's right eye; Viktor screamed as he grabbed his eye, trying to keep it in the socket.  Then he stuck it in its chest, causing blood to gush everywhere.  That warm substance now covered Aske's face, and he wasn't even sad about it.  He felt nothing as he watched his so-called father die slowly in agony.
  He pulled the knife out of his thigh with a painful grunt, and stuck it in the monster's other eye. "The pain you feel right now is the same pain I've felt ever since I was little, and it was all because of you." He shoved the dagger deeper into his chest, watching the monster's body go limp at once. "I hope you end up in hell for what you did."