Taint

5 - Bannirama

Lord Umbra hacked like he'd just sucked down thirty packs of Extra Tars and Kai flew out of his father's lungs like a watermelon seed spit out of a cannon. He hit the ground with a wet splat and staggered to his feet. The whole vapour thing had seemed like such a good idea, but on second thought, Kai hoped he wouldn't ever have to do something like that again.

"Bannir?" Lord Umbra wheezed. "You're using Bannir against your own father?"

Kai wiped lung juice and god-knows-what-else out of his eyes. "Yes. I'm sorry. But it's the only way I'll ever be able to live my own life!"

Lord Umbra doubled over, a pain-stricken grimace contorting his face. "I can't believe you, boy. We gave you everything!"

"Yes, you gave me everything! But I don't want it! I don't want to carry your shitty mantle any more! I will not continue this madness! It ends with you, Dad!"

His father laughed, wincing as he did so. "Ends with me, brat? Hardly. You don't think I've waited for this moment your entire life? You don't think I know what you've been planning, what kind of demon you were? You're a disgrace! You're nothing! Why do you think I trained your sister alongside you every day?"

Kai stared at Sharla, who shook her head. "Sharla?"

"I didn't know, Kai. I just thought he wanted to make you feel better about yourself. Or worse." Sharla crumpled and clutched her stomach. "Okay, that sucks. Now, I hate you. Straight up. You don't bannir your family, you bag of shit!"

"Shit, Sharla, I'm sorry! I had to!" Kai ran to her, but their mother blocked his path. She smacked him back with one powerful sweep of her wings. He sailed through the air and landed in a heap near the edge of the building. "Mom, what the hell?"

"Stay away from her! Never touch her again!" Lady Elanizia's eyes blazed as she towered over her son. "I have never been more ashamed of anything in my life! Or my death! Look at your father! Look at what you've done to him!"

Lord Umbra roared, a guttural scream as his skin crackled and burned from the banishment curse. He shot his son a look of deepest loathing, one that Kai would have cowered from were this any other situation.

"Mom, I'm sorry! I couldn't let this go on! You've raised me to be this thing that I'm not, and I can't keep this up anymore! You're horrible, all of you! I love you, to the core of my being, but I had to draw the line! You can't make me kill innocent people!"

"Innocent people?" Lady Elanizia hissed. Her skin cracked, and she shook with every breath. "Who are you to judge innocence and guilt? You aren't here to judge, you are here to claim your throne as the Lord of All. If you banish us now, we will hunt you down for the rest of time! Think about what you're doing!"

Kai gave his mother a long look, but stood firm. "I will never be your Lord of All."

"You cannot escape your destiny, boy!" Lord Umbra collapsed to the ground and shuddered uncontrollably. "You can banish us now, but there is nowhere you can hide, nothing you can do that will ever stop us! We are Shadowthorns!"

"Shadowthorns!" Lady Elanizia and Sharla joined Lord Umbra on the ground, and Kai watched as his entire family exploded in a fireball that would have lit up the city limits. He kneeled near the ash pile and kissed the ground.

"I am sorry, father," Kai said. "But I had to do it."

He stood up and stared out at the city. A strange feeling crept over him, something he had never felt before.

"Freedom," he said. "Now, what the hell do I do with it?"