By the time Jericho had been born, Braith had been nearly grown and almost untouchable, and his father had eagerly turned his attention to a new target. It was why Braith had always felt closer to Jericho, had always looked out for his little brother, and had not wanted him sent straight into the lion’s den. His father had been more than eager to throw Jericho in there though, easily willing to toss him aside.
Braith had been surprised when his father hadn’t destroyed him after the loss of his eyesight; it had only been the fact that he had adapted so well to being blind that saved him. He could still fight as well as he had when he had been able to see his attackers, and he was still as ruthless as he had ever been. He was not like his father and Caleb though; he was not vicious for the pleasure of merely being vicious and cruel. He was simply a murderer when it was needed, and not a moment more. He was not his father and he was not Caleb, he did not relish in cruelty and he did not relish in hurting people, especially not children.
“He has some interesting information for us.”
“Does he now?”
“Yes, I have called him and Caleb here.”
“This is not a celebration announcement for the banquet then?”
“The banquet is not a celebration.”
Braith kept his face impassive; he did not want his father to see that his curiosity was peeked. He turned at the sound of the door opening, listening to the swift footsteps that echoed down the hall. He recognized Caleb’s gate in the lead, but behind it was Jericho’s softer, lighter steps. Though he wanted to smile in greeting, he didn’t. Caleb moved past him, but Jericho stopped, his hand clasping hold of Braith’s arm. Braith accepted his outstretched hand, squeezing it tight within his own. When Jericho had left, his hand had been a boy’s, with no calluses, or scars. It was not the same now. It was larger, firmer, stronger, and marked by multiple scars and calluses.
“You have grown,” Braith said softly.
Braith could almost feel his smile, the light that Jericho radiated. He had always been the easiest going of them all, the least affected by their world, and it seemed as if he was still the same. But beneath it all, he could sense a tension and maturity in his brother that had not been there when he had left six years ago. They held each other’s hands for a long moment, Braith tried to size up the man before him, but there were a lot more layers to Jericho now. He had a feeling that there were a lot of things that Braith no longer knew about his little brother, and may never know.
“I finally reached maturity.”
Braith laughed softly, but there was no humor in it. There had always been a joke between them that Jericho would never grow up, that he would be seven hundred and still acting like a seventeen year old. Braith had always thought it would be true, but he realized now just how wrong they had both been. Whatever had happened to Jericho in the last six years, it had changed him deeply. Braith was surprisingly saddened by this realization. He had missed his brother’s easy camaraderie over the past years, he realized now that he would not be getting it back.
“I can tell.”
Jericho squeezed his hand again before releasing it. “Tell your brothers what you have told me,” their father commanded.
Jericho took a few steps away from Braith. “After a year of living in the woods, fighting amongst the rebels, hiding my true nature, and struggling to earn their trust I was finally able to break through part of their tight knit, tight lipped, group.”
“How?” Caleb asked.
“I saved the life of a child that happened to be a cousin of the group that leads the rebel faction. The child’s parents started to trust me, accepted me, but it was still another year before the father took me to meet his cousin. I was blindfolded for this journey, and it was in the middle of the woods, but I met the man who leads the rebels. His name is David, I don’t know his last name, most rebels have forsaken them, but I would recognize him on sight.”
“And you know where he lives?” Caleb inquired eagerly, the bloodlust evident in his voice.
“No, no one outside of family knows where David lives.”
“Then what good is any of this?” Caleb hissed. “A man named David leads these imbeciles. Six years and that’s all you came up with?”
“Enough!” their father snapped. “Let your brother continue.”
“As I was saying,” Jericho growled; his annoyance at being cut off and degraded was more than apparent. At one time Jericho would have laughed off Caleb’s impatience and attitude; he did not do so now. “I met David, and though I don’t know where he lives, I do know his family. They may keep their living quarters a secret, but they all work together, especially David and his oldest son. I only knew the eldest son in the beginning, but three years ago David’s younger son became more involved, as did his daughter. Though they tried to keep the girl out of most of the fighting, she was well trained at it, and is a very skilled hunter. She often went on the food gathering trips, and would aid in planning and executing raids.”
Braith felt a tight knot beginning to form in his stomach. Arianna had been hunting for food when she was captured, she had admitted as much. And Max, she had said that Max had been captured because of her, that he could have run but had instead sacrificed himself in the hope that he would be able to free her from captivity. There were only two reasons a man would do that either for love of the woman, or love of his leader. He had assumed that Max had wanted to save her because they were friends, that he did love her, and because he was good friends with her brother. He realized now that he may have been wrong, that Max may have come after her because he knew who she was, and who her father was. Because he realized what a threat it would be to their cause if one of the children of their leader was caught and held by the enemy.
What the hell kind of a mess had he gotten himself into with this?
“Ok, so the girl is a heathen and wishes to be a man.”
“Shut up Caleb,” Jericho growled. Braith could feel Caleb’s shock, and he supposed he would have felt the same if he wasn’t already completely stunned and terrified of what else Jericho might reveal. “The girl is also in our possession right now, or at least she was. There was a raid on an outer encampment a few weeks ago, blood slaves were taken. Who exactly was taken was only muttered and rumored about, but one child claimed that a girl had saved him, a girl that very much resembled David’s daughter. No one knew for sure, until last week.”