Lights flickering. On and off. On and off. Each time Andreas’ eyes closed, the flame would die. When he opened them again, they’d come back to life. He had perfected the spell; it had only taken him all night. Emilia wanted him to learn, but he could see the conflict in her yellow eyes. She was scared the power would consume him -- scared that he would lose control and it would consume him. Even with her concerns, the magic was like a drug. He couldn’t stop using it no matter how hard he tried.

Andrea’s parents were out of town and he couldn’t remember why. They had told him the reason, but it slipped his mind. That had been happening more and more recently. He couldn’t focus on much more than honing his craft. Perhaps his mother’s concerns were justified.

Kalen and Andreas were left to take care of Dylan. Andreas smiled simply thinking of the little guy and his massive spirit. That kid never ran out of energy. He slid off my bed and walked over to his desk, picking up a book. Kalen and Dylan would be out training today; he’s have to wait at least two hours before checking on them.

He flashed himself to the kitchen – or at least that had been the destination in mind. He ended in the living room. Shit, he cursed himself. He was still new at the teleportation spell, and so far it hadn’t been going according to plan. He rubbed his temples as he went down the hallway into the kitchen. One day he would perfect that. One day.

He threw a tea bag into a pot and poured some water into it before placing it onto the stove. Time to test if the fire spell would work without an incantation. He closed his eyes and focused on the wood, willing it to spring to life. At first, nothing happened and he was almost tempted to give up, but the flames ignited. Satisfied with himself, he leaned against the counter, folding his arms across his chest.

It took several moments for the water to boil. He wasted time by trying to think of what to do for the rest of the day. There were several spells on his agenda that he had wanted to practice to perfection, but it was about time he spent some quality time with Dylan for a change. It had been a while since it had been just the two of them. Andreas didn’t like that Dylan spent so much time with Kalen, it meant Dylan would start thinking less of him. But he didn’t have enough patience to teach Dylan the basics and thus he knew Kalen was necessary. Andreas just wished it could be different sometimes.

After the tea pot screamed, he removed it from the flames and brushed his hand through the air to extinguish the flame. He smirked when it worked and poured himself a cup of the tea before painstakingly walking to his study. He sunk down into my desk chair, careful not to spill any of the tea, before opening the book he had been reading before retiring to his room the previous night.

The page was detailing all about how to do spells without needing to chant them. How useful would it be to simply think of something and just have it happen? It was entirely possible with some practice, but he would require a lot of it. So far he had had many successful attempts, but more failures. He was determined to perfect it though.

Kalen strolled into Andreas’s study just as he was about to turn the page and he downed the last bit of his tea. Kalen’s skin was as white as ash. He looked like hell and Andreas merely raised an eyebrow at him. “What’s wrong with you?” Andreas asked, not too overly concerned.

Kalen’s eyes closed against his will, but he forced them open. “I just came to tell you that I’m not feeling very well.”

“Clearly.”

“And that I’m not going to be instructing Dylan today as a result. You should keep an eye on him, since I’m not even sure I’ll be able to stand upright until I beat this bug.”

Andreas nodded, but kept his face neutral, not wanting to admit he was glad for the time with my brother. Dylan needed to be spoiled a little and this way Andreas could get Dylan to like him better than Kalen again. He knew it was foolish, even petty perhaps, but he didn’t want Kalen to be better at something than him.

Kalen acknowledged Andreas and left the room, his feet dragging behind him; poor guy actually wasn’t feeling well. As soon as Kalen was out of sight, Andreas sprung up and jolted down the stairs to his brother’s room. He knocked on the door once for Dylan to answer, but there wasn’t even a sound from the other side of the door. He opened it and let himself in.

Dylan wasn’t there. Andreas’ eyebrows furrowed as he tried to figure out where else Dylan might have gone. Because he didn’t know, he checked every single room there was, calling for Dylan as he entered each. Dylan didn’t as much as make a sound to indicate where he might be. Panic started to seize Andreas. Dylan was either playing some elaborate form of hide and seek, or he wasn’t in the manor. Immediately, Andreas went to Kalen’s room, hoping he would have answers for him.

“Where’s Dylan?” Andreas asked as he stormed into Kalen’s room, who moved between his sheets, his face still as pale as when he approached Andreas earlier.

Kalen looked up at Andreas, sleep still evident in his eyes. “What? I thought you were looking after him.”

“I can’t find him! I’ve looked everywhere!” Andreas yelled.

Kalen shook his head. “He was in his room when I told him today’s lesson was canceled,” he replied like Andreas hadn’t looked there. He didn’t have time for Kalen’s stupidity. His nerves were on edge, screaming at him. A sense of dreadful foreboding hit him, one he couldn’t ignore. It screamed at him, clawing at his insides. He needed to find Dylan, and he needed to find him quickly. Time was running out. He didn’t know why this insistent need pulled on him. Surely nothing could happen to Dylan? He had to still be in the house. Where else would he have gone?

“You really think I would be here if he was in his room? Gee, Kalen, I love your company so much that I go out of my way to come see you before searching every inch of this house for my brother, because I’m really bad at doing things myself. I don’t know how I ever survived getting by before my mother took you in.”

Kalen lifted his hands up defensively. “No need to be a jerk, Andreas.” Andreas almost felt bad for snapping at him. Wherever Dylan was, it probably wasn’t Kalen’s fault. And he really did look pretty out of it. “Where would he have gone if he isn’t in the manor?”

“I don’t know. He has never left by himself. He knows he shouldn’t.”

“He’s five. He doesn’t know that yet. Or if he does, he wouldn’t see a problem with doing it just this once, now would he? Kids need to be entertained, which is why I came to tell you I had to cancel his lesson for today. He probably got bored and wandered off. I’m sure he couldn’t have gotten far. Let me grab my coat and we’ll go look for him.” Kalen got out of bed, wobbling on his feet, but Andreas didn’t care. If he had to choose between Kalen’s wellbeing and finding his brother, finding his brother would win every time.

It wasn’t long before they left the house, Kalen coughing. If Andreas knew any spells to cure illnesses, he would’ve done it on Kalen already. Not that he cared as much for him as he did for the fact that his constant coughing was annoying. Andreas couldn’t help myself; he didn’t like him. Maybe it was the fact that his mother seemed to care about him so much even though they really knew nothing about him other than he had no family and came from an abusive home. Or maybe it was because Dylan had started idolizing him more than he did Andreas. He was jealous of Kalen, as hard as it was for him to admit that.

The air outside was frigid, only enhancing Andreas’ apprehension. Something was wrong, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. His imagination was running wild. Dylan was fine. He was a kid. He couldn’t have gotten far. No one would hurt a kid, right?

They just reached the border before entering the town’s limits. Everything after that happened so fast that at first Andreas couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

There were five knights standing about goofing off, laughing at some nonsensical joke one of them had made. Andreas recognized one as John Argeno, a decorated knight, very famous in the kingdom. He was showing off his swordsmanship. And there was a kid nearby. A little boy. He was admiring the knights. Andreas remembered the boy having told their parents how much of a dream it was for him to become a knight. He had the fake armor, swords and everything at home. Andreas even used to play with him, having sword battles and everything.

John noticed the kid, and started laughing immediately.  Andreas couldn’t make out the kid yet, but his gut told him it was Dylan. He was talking to John, and everything seemed harmless at first. But then John looked back at his buddies, a twisted smile on his lips. It took too long for Andreas to realize what was happening. His mind was too slow to react.

By the time Andreas was able to identify the kid’s face, John’s sword had already plunged into his heart. Dylan’s eyes were wide as he regarded John, his expression blank. Not even a small sound passed over his lips as he sagged to the ground, blood pouring from the wound. The strike had been lethal, killing him instantly. Andreas mind railed. His eyes, disbelieving. It wasn’t true. It wasn’t true. He was on edge. His imagination cooking up images of what he was afraid might happen to Dylan. This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be.

And then it all locked into place.

John was still there, his smirk wider than before. He and his buddies were laughing. There was a child on the ground, his blood soaking into the earth, and all they were doing was laughing. Andreas felt arms pull him back before he even knew what he was doing.

“The child dying is the first step in the fulfillment of your destiny. You cannot seek your revenge at this time, Grigoli, but you will get it one day. You are meant for great things,” a voice said, but he didn’t want to listen to it. He wanted to grab John around his neck and keep his hands there until there was no more breath leaving his body. Until that smile he wore, was etched onto my lips. Andreas fought off the arms.

He ran to the knights, but when he got there, they were gone. The man who had spoken to him had taken them away. He wanted to scream. To yell. To destroy everything in his path. But then his eyes rested on the young boy and all that fight drained out of him. Without John near, he had nowhere to place his anger. His rage was void, and empty.

Dylan was so small. The toy sword was in his hand, clutched tightly. His eyes were wide, but unafraid. Like he knew this was coming. Like he knew what to expect. His hands were so tiny. The small fingers of a five year old that didn’t even have a chance to live. Andreas sunk to his knees beside him. Everything inside him was hallow… empty.

Andreas reached out and took Dylan’s hand in his. And he broke. His soul shattered into a million little pieces. The light inside him dying along with the boy in front of him. He gathered the limp figure into his arms. A tear rolled down his cheek. And another. And another. And another, until finally he lost count. His whole body shook.

I didn’t tell him I loved him enough times. I didn’t spend enough time with him because there was always another spell I needed to practice. I didn’t get to teach him about heroes. I didn’t get to tease him about his first date. He never got the chance to grow up. He will never get to become a knight like he always dreamed. Dylan was just gone. His brother was gone.

He didn’t get to say goodbye.

He wasn’t able to even say goodbye.

Dylan was just… gone.