Betrayal's Gift

Prologue

Lights burned in the grass huts late into the night. Men were gathered in the village open, crude weapons in hand. Women and children huddled close together inside, jumping fearfully at every boom of thunder. The large jungle-covered mountain looming over their small village was normally revered. Now, they feared it.

The fast-moving clouds encircled the mountain and blacked out the sight of the stars and moon from anyone below them. Large hailstones crashed just short of their fragile homes. Torrential rain drenched the men standing outside watching the display of power. Multicolored lightning struck at the mountaintop with lethal intensity, the booming crash of thunder quickly following. They could see the shadowy outlines of two men in the midst of the tempest. One gestured angrily and the lightning flashed, punctuating his movement. The village men looked at each other uneasily and began retreating to shelter. They couldn't fight this with their clubs.

The villagers watched the swirling storm from the safety of the distant hills and still trembled. There was a dangerous scent in the air that night, the scent of powerful magic. The earth was young and strong. She lent her guardians her awe-inspiring power and the anger that filled it made the villagers hide inside their huts in fear of retribution. What had they done to deserve this?

Blinding lightning flashed towards them and was retracted in mid-strike. Slowly each club and spear fell to the mud, unnoticed in the growing awe of such powerful control over the weather itself. Those that lived in the great mountain had never hurt them. Why would they start now? They gathered their families and waited for it to pass.

On the lush towering mountaintop, just below the shimmering stars and moon dodging the black clouds, the two men argued ferociously, one for life and the other for death.

Centered on them, the violent storm raged. Its volatile fuel was their frustration at the other's stubbornness to see reason. The raging storm reflected their dark emotions, turbulent and full of fatal violence.

The black clouds swirled and twisted with a threatening vengeance as the rain slashed down at them viciously. Lightning flashed repeatedly, strikes coming so close together that night turned to day again and again. They argued fiercely, ignoring the torrential rain pouring down drenching them both, ignoring the lightning striking dangerously close to their feet and the smell of ozone lacing the air.

The wild weather didn't worry them. Then again very few things did. In this world, they ruled all. That included the weather.

They could sense the fear of the villagers below. It took both of their combined control to keep the storm centered on them rather than spreading. Small cyclones danced around them as the storm grew, straining boundaries as their emotions grew wilder, fed by the fear of the villagers and their own anger.

They were different from the vampire but were often mistaken for them. The vampire felt their emotions, good or bad. Like most creatures here, vampires were lucky.

They only possessed their positive emotions for a precious few decades then the negative outpouring in the world swiftly stifled them. Only anger, frustration, jealousy, disgust and similar emotions danced inside them.

In those moments, they could not have looked less like the brothers they were. Both of them came from a race feared even among the elitist vampire and the most powerful deities. A race so old it had no name and none but Julius knew their homeland. And he spoke to none of his past.

They were more at risk to turn evil and if they did only one of their own could control them. Control was key to their survival. The path to evil was a tempting lure. They could rule over the entire realm if they chose. Gods here did not match their power or their magic. Worlds to be ruled and kingdoms to enjoy.