The Bane of Existence

Published: 15 May 2017

‘Duncan! Thomas! What’s goin’ on?‘ called a frantic Zane. ‘Talk to me!‘

After several more agonizing heartbeats of silence Duncan answered, ‘Sorry, we had to raise a barrier quickly. Mom just got here with a bunch of guys who look like vampires.‘

‘Rogues!‘ stated Zane with animosity. ‘Vampires with an evil intent. Mom turns them into Rogues to do her bidding.‘

‘Zane, they’ve got us trapped,‘ sent Thomas with a hint of panic. ‘What are we gonna do?‘

‘Oh, man!‘ interjected Duncan. ‘Mom’s eyes just turned dark purple. A-i-i! Wow! A lot of pressure on our barrier now!‘

‘Listen carefully and follow my instructions,‘ Zane explained. ‘Both of your eyes should be glowing green.‘

‘They have been ever since you contacted us,‘ Thomas supplied.

‘Good! If they have you surrounded stand back to back,‘ instructed Zane. ‘If not stand side by side with your backs against a wall and clasp hands.‘

‘Okay, we’re ready,‘ relayed Duncan.

‘Now say this word together out loud while tapping into your magic centers. Stigqan.‘

“Stigqan!”

“Woah!” “Alright!” The two brothers exclaimed both mentally and vocally as they saw the host of Rogues and even their mom, the Bane, shoved away until they slammed into the opposite wall.

Zane chuckled a little at their reaction then told them, ‘Keep focused on the spell. I am going to withdraw but the connection will remain. I have some preparations to make so we can get you out of there.‘

He could feel their agreement without them consciously sending it across the connection and withdrew back to his own body. Zane then scanned his companions especially Zach and Derek who were the only humans in the group. He needed to make sure no one was overtaxed before beginning the next phase necessary to rescue his brothers.

Everyone seemed to be holding their own and further sensing showed all the candles were still lit and burning brightly. That was a good sign because if any were too depleted of magical energy their candle would have gone out.

Contacting his supporters Zane let them know what was happening, ‘Duncan and Thomas are under attack and I need enough magic energy to teleport them to safety. To up the flow you need to repeat three times one after the other.‘

Assent was given by all seven followed by their repeating the spell’s incantation three times in unison supplying Zane with the power he needed. The small vampire returned to his connection with his half-brothers.

‘I need you to concentrate on your Uncle Matt and his house. Remember as much detail as you can. I am going to teleport you there but you have to be the guides. Can you do this?‘

‘Yeah,‘ answered both brothers. Duncan added, ‘What about them? What happens when we’re thinking about Uncle Matt instead of the spell holding them back?‘

‘Don’t worry about it. By the time they figure out the spell is weakening I’ll be ready to pull you out and send you to your Uncle Matt,‘ assured Zane to the worried boys.

‘Okay. Thomas, why don’t you start while I hold the spell then I’ll add my details. That will give us a few seconds more.‘

‘Sure thing, Duncan,‘ responded Thomas. He was quiet for about twenty seconds then, ‘I’m ready, bro.‘

After another twenty seconds or so Duncan sent, ‘We’re ready, Zane.‘

It didn’t take the Bane long to notice the pressure easing and pushed against it hard. She started laughing maniacally and advanced on the two brothers. They begin to panic thinking they wouldn’t make it when a calm presence settled over them.

‘I’ve got this boys. Nobody touches my brothers.‘

The Bane had covered half the distance when a bright, golden-green wall with an image of Zane’s face flashed out and tossed her into the wall again. The golden-green wall retreated to surround the brothers and with a blaze of green fire and a boom the boys vanished from the room.

“N-o-o-o-o-o!” screeched the Bane as she watched her victims escaping. In a desperate move she grabbed the nearest Rogue and threw him toward the fading green glow. She didn’t know if it worked but the Rogue disappeared along with the green glow of Zane’s spell. Rinaldo’s Child felt the extra drain on his energy at the end of the spell and knew something had hitched a ride.

In Pattyville, in a neat, ranch-style house in a newer neighborhood, Matt Knight-Warner was startled out of his contemplations by the sudden appearance of his ‘nephews,’ Duncan and Thomas. Even more startling was the ghostly vision of a teen he hadn’t seen in more than twenty years.

“Zane?!” he exclaimed then, “Duncan, Thomas, how did you . . ? What just . . ?”

“We can explain, Uncle Matt, but you’re not gonna like it,” Duncan spoke calmly. “Where’s Uncle Jordan?”

“You’re probably not gonna believe it either,” added Thomas just as matter of factly as his brother.

“Jordan! Get in here! Quick!” yelled Matt not at all calm.

The three then heard a thud outside of the house followed by a warning from Zane, ‘You have company. Take him out before he can relay your location back to the Bane. See you soon!‘

“Was that Zane’s voice in my head?” asked a bewildered Matt.

Just then Jordan came flying into the room, “What is it? . . . Duncan! Thomas! When did you get here? What’s going on?”

“We can explain everything but right now we have a problem,” Duncan nearly yelled. “There’s a Rogue vampire in your yard and we have to kill it before it can report back to it’s boss! Com’on Thomas!”

“Right, Duncan!” responded Thomas. “There’s just one problem. Dad never taught us any spells that could kill a vampire. All our spells are defensive.”

“Oh, yeah! Guys, do you have anything long and sharp like a sword?” asked Duncan looking from Matt to Jordan back and forth.

“While we use wooden swords in class and for practice we did pick up a set of Japanese swords not long ago,” answered Matt then he looked at Jordan. “Go get them. You’re better with a sword than I am.”

Jordan tore back out the door he had just come through while the brothers headed for the front door where they had heard the thud a minute ago. Opening the door they found the Rogue about halfway up the steps leading to the porch. Two things happened simultaneously right then!

The Rogue launched himself at the boys as they came out the door with a feral growl and Thomas snapped off a quick spell. The first thing to pop into Thomas’ head was the spell Zane had just taught them when they were surrounded by Rogues. “Stigqan!” he shouted pointing at the Rogue coming at them.

The vampire was halfway to them when the spell caught him throwing him backwards and slamming him into the concrete walk leading to the steps. After a moment the Rogue rose from the ground, shook himself and roared his anger. The boys looked at each other then stepped apart so the vampire couldn’t attack both at once. He would have to choose a target leaving the other free to counterattack.

The snarling Rogue looked from one brother to the other trying to decide how to proceed; he chose to go after Thomas, the one that had smacked him onto his ass. As the Rogue advanced Thomas tried using the same spell but the vampire was ready for it and countered it with a spell of his own. Backing away from the vampire Thomas was starting to panic.

“I don’t think so, asshole,” yelled Duncan gathering his energy. “Af-skiuban!” Duncan made a swiping motion with his hand at the same time.

The Rogue had just come beside one of the thick, weight-bearing columns when Duncan released his spell. It drove the vampire hard into the column snapping a few bones. He howled with pain then snarled as he turned from Thomas to Duncan waiting for his body to heal. The Rogue had enough of these young humans who obviously knew and could use magic. No more playing around; he would use his magic too.

He faced the older brother who had just slammed him into the column and started an incantation. In between his hands grew a ball of deep purple energy reaching the size of a basketball. As he reared back to throw it Duncan wracked his brain for a spell to block the crackling energy ball. Just as the ball left the vampire’s hands an idea popped into his mind and he quickly yelled, “Spiejel,” while preparing to drop to the floor of the porch if necessary.

Zane’s consciousness returned to his body and he ended the spells allowing the leftover magic to energize the seven companions who had lent him magic force to contact his brothers. Even with the energy Zane gave back to them the others were sluggish as they came out of their magical trances. The small blonde vampire sent them all to rest and relax while assisting Zander into their private room.

“I need to go visit some old friends and check on my brothers,” explained Zane once they were alone. “Do you want to come with?”

“Who is it?” queried Zander curious about what went on during Zane’s time talking to his brothers.

“Do you remember Matthew and Jordan from Pattyville?”

“Yeah,” Zander answered slowly pulling the memory forward. “What about them?”

“Well, for one thing they’re married now,” replied Zane. “A-n-d for another Matt is my brothers’ cousin. That’s where I sent them to escape from the Bane. So, do you want to go?”

“Sure. I’d like to see them all again.”

Fortunately, Duncan’s spell worked just like a real mirror and reflected the ball throwing off purple sparks back at the Rogue. It struck him in the chest setting him ablaze with purple colored flames. Duncan and Thomas recovered from their fright and set barriers that kept the burning vampire at bay.

This was the scene that greeted the Z’s as they appeared out in the yard away from the house. The Rogue was nearly successful in slapping out the flames covering his body. Zane was readying a spell to end the vampire’s existence when with a roar Jordan dashed madly out of the front door swinging a Japanese katana over his head.

The Rogue turned toward this latest disturbance just in time to see the blade coming at him. Jordan’s two-handed slash came at too fast a speed for the unfortunate vampire to react and it neatly separated his head from the rest of his body.

Now unhindered the purple flames quickly consumed the body while the head rolled to the edge of the porch. Thomas, Duncan, Jordan and Matthew stood transfixed by the sight of the bodiless head and had not noticed the arrival of Zane and Zander. Until . . .

“Fon in-tandjan,” rang out over the stillness and fire shot from Zane’s hand to incinerate the head almost instantly. Such was the small vampire’s control of the magic that there was not a single spot on the porch other than some ashes that gently blew away on the slight breeze coming through the yard.

All four heads of the guys on the porch snapped toward the yard instantly spotting the two figures standing there. Matthew and Jordan looked like they were trying to catch flies and the sword in Jordan’s hand slipped to the porch with a hollow clatter.

The reactions of Duncan and Thomas were much different. They shouted with joy and launched themselves off the porch racing to be the one to reach their brother first. Despite the fact that both of the Renoldo’s were bigger than Zane, he wrapped them in a big hug hefting them off the ground. After Zane set them down the two brothers greeted Zander just as warmly though without quite as much enthusiasm.

Zane turned his attention to the two adults still on the porch whose faces continued to have the shock of recognition etched on them. Zane and Zander started walking toward the house but had to suddenly sprint for the porch as Jordan’s body slumped and would have tumbled off the porch had the Z’s not caught him in time. Matt had the forethought or good fortune to have collapsed against the wall of the house then slid down it into a squat.

Zane and Zander gently lowered Jordan to the porch floor laying him on his back then stood up. Zander looked at Zane who returned the look and nodded.

“Duncan! Thomas! Come watch over Jordan while we have a chat with Matt,” directed Zane while he and Zander walked over to Matt and sat cross-legged in front of him.

“Hey, Matt! You gonna be okay?” asked Zane gently looking into his eyes.

Matt tentatively reached out with one hand as he spoke, “Is that really you?”

“Yes, it is. Go ahead! You can touch us,” answered Zane smiling. “We’re solid.”

“But . . but . . How?” stuttered Matt with his hand still hovering near the two vampires sitting in front of him. “You look exactly the same as when we were kids. How can that be?”

“How much have Duncan and Thomas told you about how they got here?” questioned Zander joining the conversation.

“Nothing. They were just about to when we heard the . . the vampire arrive,” explained Matt slowly recovering from the shock of all that had occurred since the arrival of his young cousins. “Since then we’ve been kinda busy.”

“Let’s get you up and see if Jordan has revived yet,” urged Zane as he put words to action. “Then we’ll fill you in on . . well . . everything.”

Once they had Matt on his feet the three turned toward where Duncan and Thomas helped Jordan into a sitting position. Jordan looked up at the figures before him then closed his eyes and shook his head after which he looked up again.

“Okay, so I’m not seeing things. You really are standing there with Matt looking the same as you did years ago,” Jordan exhaled loudly. “This is going to be one helluvan explanation.”

The four in the know helped Matt and Jordan into the house and all got comfortable in the living room. Thomas ran to the kitchen and got everyone drinks and snacks for him and Duncan. After a few sips of the sodas brought by the boys, Matt looked at Zane and Zander and practically demanded, “Spill it!”

“Well, from what you said earlier, Matt, my half-brothers told you that was a vampire who was attacking,” started Zane.

“Actually, he called it a Rogue vampire,” cut in Jordan.

“Yes. A Rogue. An evil vampire that has usually been taught to use magic,” Zane went on with his explanation.

“Magic! Is that how Duncan and Thomas just popped into the house?” cried out Matt nearly leaping from his seat next to Jordan.

“Yes, again. All four of us are able to do magic as is their dad, Beldane.” answered Zane with a smile that was close to a grimace. “The spell used was one for teleportation.”

“The boys know how to teleport?”

“No, Uncle Matt.” replied Duncan. “We can’t do that strong of magic yet.”

“I did the spell with the boys providing the guidance to where and I had magical backup from seven other people,” Zane relayed.

“Why was this Rogue after them?” Jordan wanted to know with Matt nodding in agreement with the question.

“It was sent by our mom who is now becoming known as Rinaldo’s Bane. She wanted them on her side or dead if they didn’t join her.”

“You said our mom and you called them your half-brothers,” queried Matt. “Are you really kin to them?”

“Yes, we have the same mom who is an evil bitch,” spouted Zane uncharacteristically. “She dumped me and my dad then later she dumped Duncan and Thomas and their dad, Beldane. All in a bid for power. Thanks to an ancient prophecy she and I are mortal enemies.”

“Is that where her being called Rinaldo’s Bane comes from?” asked Duncan coming and laying his hand gently on Zane’s arm.

Zane took a long shuddering breath calming himself before answering, “Yes, it is from the prophecy and I am now known as Rinaldo’s Child and Heir. Zander is also in the prophecy as Samhain’s Son. There are others mentioned that will play a major role but I haven’t figured out who all of them are yet. We are going to war against the Bane and her army of Rogues so we will need others to help us.”

“Teach to use our magic to fight and we can help,” volunteered Thomas excitedly. Duncan nodded.

“Hold on, boys,” interrupted Jordan. “All this is well and good and explains the boys dropping in and the Rogue we killed. But how do the two of you still look like you did when you rescued Matt and allowed me and Scottie a second chance?”

“Okay, we’ll tell you but you gotta remain calm and let us finish,” interjected Zander. “Do you think you can do that?”

“And remember my brothers know about us already and are comfortable with it,” added Zane. “They trust us and know we would never hurt them or let anyone else hurt them.”

Matt and Jordan looked at each other long and hard then finally turned to the Z’s and nodded. At the same time Duncan and Thomas nodded their agreement with what Zane had said.

“All right, then,” both Zane and Zander spoke in unison. “Here goes. Remember, you promised to listen to the whole thing. We. Are. Vampires.”

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