Iscariot

Don't even think that you know me.

"Do you still tend the flowers in the garden, Raestrao?" Uzaeris asked again.

"I tend over half of the Abyssal Plains." The Demon Lord glared at him. "There are more important things in the world than flowers; something you, as a ruler, should know. Or has Ezaeur's death condemned her kingdom?" He studied his brother, growing thoughtful.

Uzaeris recognized the danger. He had seen that look on his father's face, many times. "You may kill me, brother, but my Kingdom will never bow to you." The words were out before he realized his mistake.

"Your Kingdom? Yours?" Raestrao moved closer, his head high as he squared his shoulders to the challenge. "As if you knew how to run it. What ruin you bring upon us all! Her death must have been most fortunate for you; did you even mourn her?"

"Did you?" Uzaeris threw the question right back but he still felt its sting, making him drop his head for a moment.

"Enough!" Raestrao lunged at him again. Caught unaware, Uzaeris had no time to react, no time to summon his magic or powers. Raestrao held him by the throat once more, closing off his air. Rather than summon his weapon of choice, his other hand gripped one of Uzaeris' horns. He would not kill the incubus; he would break it off. A sign for all to see his strength and his brother's guilt; a sentence for the sins he'd committed, Lord or not. It was a tactic their father had used as a warning, a mark of shame the incubus deserved since his first betrayal.

His concentration broken by Raestrao's latest accusation, Uzaeris stared up at him in surprise, struggling for air. His physical strength was no match for his brother's. I was a fool to come. One hand gripped Raestrao's arm, the other tugged at his brother's fingers on his throat. Loss of oxygen grayed his vision along with the pain. Perhaps he will kill me after all.

I deserve it, a small part of him whispered.

Dimly, the incubus felt the wave approaching once more. Mika's power was stretching over the gap between worlds again to call him through his magic. No! Not now! Uzaeris clenched his eyes shut, gritting his teeth as he heard the creak of his horn straining. Would it crack or his skull?

The wave hit. Raestrao's eyes widened, his grip loosening as it crashed over them and he felt it for the first time, flooding him with energy along with his brother. The glory of it arced through them and Uzaeris clung to him as the pleasure mingled with the pain. Every nerve tingled and his body tensing as it closed over them, before slowly relaxing as it receded.

"Mika," Raestrao spoke her name and let his brother's throat go. His eyes had gone golden and were boring into the incubus'. "What was that?"

Uzaeris pushed himself away, staggering back to get out of Raestrao's reach. "Who, brother. The question is who and you've already answered it," he rasped out. He ran a hand over his throat, casting some subtle healing that his brother did not protest.

"Explain," Raestrao growled instead. Bolstered with Mika's power, his command broke through his brother's shields easily. The incubus was too distracted to block him.

Uzaeris struggled against his brother's power, but the fear gripped him. Intimidation finally bowed his head. "The gate, the one we took to her world; it's echoing, reappearing thirty years later."

Raestrao's brows furrowed. "Zecaru? Izroul? Are they returning?"

"No. It's Mika, herself." The incubus cursed his weakness, that he let his brother take him unaware. His shields were useless despite the energy he'd gained. Once in, he could not push Raestrao out of his head. I'm sorry. The woman may have saved his life just now, but at what cost?