Living on the Other Side

Chapter Twenty-Two

Unanimously, my head and that of my father jerked towards the source of the newcomer's voice in surprise and shock. The sight that greeted my eyes brought me even more grief than I was already struggling with, for when Cory stepped into the light, it was not the Cory I had known for most of my life.

The Cory who stepped out of the shadows was sickly and pale, his clothes hanging baggily over a fleshless frame. His eyes were sunken and his face was gaunt-he looked as though he were already at death's door. However, there was a fire in his eyes that I hadn't seen for a very long time.

Blinking in shock, I stuttered as I spoke. "C-cory? W-what... What are you doing here?"

With his eyes warily trained on my father, who remained too shocked to speak or move, Cory responded to me tiredly, his voice full of emotion. "I never betrayed you, little brother. Please believe me-I swear to it that I never did. I didn't know anything about the extra scouts, for Father wasn't sure if he could trust me or not. That scout took me by surprise that night, and I was trying to occupy his attention so you could escape unnoticed. However, he heard you anyway. But it wasn't my doing."

Before I could respond or react, my father had found his tongue. "So you betrayed me too, then, Cory?" he spoke up acidly, his voice taunting. "Of all the people I would have expected to betray me, it wasn't you-but I should have known. You were always too soft. But it doesn't make any difference to me. You're almost dead already; you're no longer useful, and killing one extra family member won't be much effort." He laughed nastily.

"Cory..." I spoke up, my voice pleading. "Don't do this; I can't lose you, too." I cradled my mother's lifeless body in my arms, and tried hard not to imagine my brother's body lying beside it.

"Don't underestimate me, Xav," he replied. "I may look bad, but there's a reason I got as high up as I did in the organization; and even as he bluffs right now, Father knows it, too. I'm not going to let him get away with any of this, and his reign of terror needs to end. I'm just the one to end it, and I'm going to do it if it takes the last ounce of life that I have in this body."

My father's nasty laugh filled the warehouse, echoing off the walls. "Listen to that bravado. And you have the nerve to say that I'm the one who is bluffing? Have you taken a look at yourself lately, Cory? This will be an easy fight to win." However, even as he spoke, he gestured to his men; they quickly headed for Cory, who laughed mirthlessly.

"Not this time, Father. This will be a fair fight." A blinding burst of color emanated from Cory's hands, and suddenly my father's men were blasted thirty feet into the air, flying backwards away from Cory and Genghis. What remained around them was a translucent wall of shimmering purple, surrounded them in a large ring.

My father's men quickly jumped to their feet and ran towards the ring of purple, in an attempt to come to his defense, but found that they couldn't penetrate the magical barrier that had been put in place. Even their combined magic was not sufficient to break through the barrier that my brother had set, and when my father aimed a strike at the barrier, it stood unwavering and continued to hold stable. Unable to assist, his men crowded around the barrier to watch the fight, and I was quickly discarded by those who had been guarding me.

My father's face registered some surprise, and his bold offensive stance quickly became a defensive one. I knew, just as he knew, that the loyalty of his men was cheap and his position as their leader was now unstable-the outcome of this fight would determine their loyalty, for power was the only hold that he had over them. His power, his throne, and the influence he had were all on the line now, for his inability to break Cory's barrier had given his men reason to doubt his power-just as it had ignited in me a small flash of hope for my brother's chances. He gritted his teeth.

Suddenly, a flash of light emanated from him, and the fight immediately began in earnest. From what I was able to see, the two were very well-matched in strength; each one struck blow for blow and was able to block even the most powerful strikes sent by their opponent. As sparks and strikes flew around the large room, I crouched over my mother's body to shield it from harm with my own, covering my head and face with my arms as well as I could.

The warehouse door creaked open slightly, catching my attention-I saw a man from our congregation look inside, then hurry away. In sha Allah he's going to fetch help, I thought to myself desperately. Please, my Allah, send us help. I don't want my brother to die.