hear his brotherâs silent laughter. It made him wonder if it hadnât been a mistake to think he could come back and face the wicked family his brother had created in his absence. The only way he and his brother were alike was that they didnât like to be alone⦠though they had two completely different ways of correcting that problem.
âI knew you would return⦠here where the night is never dark⦠here where you will never be alone among so many humans and the children I have created for us.â Tadamichiâs voice had become wishful.
Hyakuhei walked into the bathroom, turning on the shower then whirling to face the mirror. No reflection looked back at him so he just pictured his brotherâs face⦠his own face as he answered. âI want nothing to do with the abominations you have sired.â He backed into the shower as he tore the link apart so he wouldnât have to hear his brotherâs haunting voice any longer.
No⦠he had not come back to his homeland to join them like some twisted family reunion. His brother was the most destructive of all the demons and the children he sired were disturbing to say the least. Those children where now spawning others and their numbers were growing like the black plague.
Hyakuhei placed his hands on the ceramic walls of the shower⦠letting the hot water warm his frozen skin. What did it matter to him? The last time heâd tried to stop his brother from infesting the human world with half-breed demons, it had ended in both their deaths⦠a false death that took centuries to rise from.
Their punishment for that crime was banishment from each other and this world of humans. They had become Shades who walked the realm between realms⦠casting only shadows of loneliness. That had ended over a century ago. Yet, heâd stayed away from his twin. Even from the darkness on the other side of the world, he had heard this city calling to him until he couldnât fight the summons any longer.
His brother was right about one thing⦠he was exhausted from being alone. But now that he was home, he could smell the taint of his brotherâs sins plaguing the land. True blood demons he could abide by, but the rape of the city by the half-breed vampires that spawning had created⦠was provoking.
His twin brother stayed underground most of the time within the lavish catacombs they had once shared during the medieval era⦠only to resurface once in a while, long enough to bring another victim into the deadly fold.
Hyakuhei looked up into the waterfall of the shower⦠trying to keep his rage from seeping out, but knew his failure when he heard the bathroom mirror crack.
Tadamichi had accused him of hiding himself away from the world but that wasnât true.
âIt is Tadamichi who has chosen that path,â He thought darkly. âHe cannot see the destruction he is causing. The night is no longer dark nor is it silent.â Hyakuhei turned off the shower and stepped out, not bothering to wrap a towel around his lithe form. Instead, he grabbed the soft black cloth and began drying his long ebony hair. Within moments he was dressed and ready for the night.
Walking back to his window in the living room, he sat down on the sill and looked out at his view.
Hyakuhei smirked at his own dark humor and looked down at the side of the opposite building.
âThe darkness is alive with demons Brother. This city with its high walls has made it so,â he mused aloud.
*****
Yuuhi reappeared within the downtown area of the city minutes before daybreak. He could already feel the sunâs heat on his skin and quickened his pace toward the Grand Hotel in the center of the metropolis. Beneath the massive five star establishments hidden away from the world was his sireâs underground dwelling. It was just as beautiful below ground as what housed the humans above⦠his sire had arranged it to be so.
Yuuhi stepped through the front doors of the Grand and strode across the lobby. Ignoring the friendly greeting of the human woman behind the desk, Yuuhi stepped through the door that read âmaintenanceâ. Making his way down to the basement, he boarded the maintenance elevator that would take him down to the sub-basement level. From there, it was the opening of the hidden passage that would take him to his sire.
Feeling the darkness close in around him like a protective blanket, the platinum-haired child raced through the winding tunnels as though trying to outrun the darkness⦠or keep up with it.
Yuuhi was one of the privileged few allowed in Tadamichiâs private lair⦠only the ones Tadamichi had personally sired were permitted. The small boy had been one of Tadamichiâs first and the bond that held him faithful was what led him to warn the master about the girl⦠and the power she possessed. The bond also allowed him to feel his masterâs emotional states, which could prove troublesome at times.
He could sense that Master Tadamichi was angry and knew the cause behind that rage⦠Hyakuhei. Only the masterâs twin brother could provoke this kind of reaction. Jealousy and rejection could be a dangerous thing with one so powerful.
Yuuhi quietly slipped into Tadamichiâs chambers but stayed in the shadows to observe his master. The young boy was patient and knew to wait out the storm of his masterâs rage.
Tadamichi glared at his reflection in the Mirror of Souls then looked away with an angry hiss. His brother had broken the link between their minds⦠banishing him once again. Every opportunity Tadamichi took to speak with his brother was terminated rather abruptly, angering him. He was starting to believe their bond would never return to what it had once been.
Had the centuries away from each other not been long enough of a punishment? Would Hyakuhei forever keep his distance?
Seeing movement within the shadows, Tadamichi angrily waved his hand in its direction⦠every half-breed within his chamber and within a thousand yards of his solitude spontaneously combusted⦠leaving behind the scent of sulfur in the air. There would be no witnesses to his brotherâs rejection. However, he turned his head in the other direction and laid his eyes on the only one of his children that he would trust with his secret.
Ignoring Yuuhi for a moment, Tadamichi slowly walked across the room and stood in front of a portrait with his hands clasped behind his back. As the screams and flames died down, Tadamichi continued to stare at the painting as if nothing was amiss.
The painting was created long before the medieval wars had taken place⦠before their civil war. One would assume it was a self-portrait showing two personalities. In truth, it was he and his brother⦠so hard to tell them apart. How could they be so alike in looks⦠and be so different? Had his brother never learned the meaning of love⦠the pain of rejection?
Tadamichi dusted his fingertips across the image of his brother, his brow furrowing slightly before his face contorted in rage. He suddenly lashed out at the painting in a movement so fast it was virtually unseen. The picture held for a moment, then ever so slowly a jagged rip appeared⦠severing the twins from one another. The cloth of the portrait fell slightly to the side and Tadamichiâs expression suddenly showed sadness.
Placing his palms against the painting, Tadamichi held them together for a moment before letting them drop.
His love for Hyakuhei was fathomless. Tadamichi merely wanted Hyakuhei by his side to share in this wonderful existence. âWhy do you forsake me and the life we could have?â he asked silently then felt the chill of having asked that same question to one other than his brother. He drew the memory deep within himself refusing to dwell on her.
Yuuhi stepped out of the shadow behind him, feeling his masterâs melancholy. It amazed him that his sire could feel so deeply for his brother when he himself had barely felt a twinge as the girl had killed his brothers only a couple hours before.
âSo, you have lost them?â Tadamichi asked, never taking his eyes from the image of his brother.
Yuuhi nodded knowing Tadamichi could see into his thoughts. A flash