Slayer

“Malakulus!” she yelled, and then a jet of liquid fell from the sky, covering Arek. But the liquid never stopped. It buried Arek in ten-feet-deep paint.

  “Help me!” yelled Arek, drowning. “Thetra! I’m—” Then his voice was gone, his body was gone, and his murderer was now attacking Thetra.

  “What is your name?” demanded Thetra to the woman.

  “Kerbaun Ferabulsson, brother of Maloet!” And then she did the same technique that she had done with Arek, to and fro like a snake.

  So they are related, realized Thetra. And then he tried something, a thought so wild he thought he would kill himself. He yelled the magic word that Maloet had used: “Flyr!”

  Even though he didn’t have a wand, it still worked, but not that well. The pillar of flame was orange instead of blue, and it sputtered, harmless to the Maloet and Kerbaun. They used spells with their wands to put it out with water, and the last thing Thetra saw before passing out was Arek covered in muck, looking down on him.

    

  Arek

  Arek knelt next to Thetra, who was just waking up. He pushed his brother back down and said, “Ah. Slowly, slowly. You don’t want to hurt yourself anymore.”

  “Where—”

  “I’ll explain. You used magic, alright? Magic! You lit the place on fire! You freed me from that enchanted liquid. You made those killers cowards! You may not have lit a strong bonfire, but you scared them away.”

  “Ah, Morchad probably.”

  “They serve the evil? They look just like normal teenagers, brother and sister.”

  “Are they now?”

  “Aye.Maloet and Kerbaun Ferabulsson. Hey, I saw you kill the other one.”

  “Aye. He wasn’t in their family, though. He said his name was Daerja Opolaksson.

  “They’re magicians, Arek. We can’t stand to fight them again!”

  “So are you now, Thetra Eouhjasson. I’m proud to be the brother of a magician. Soon you’ll be a dragon rider at the rate you’re going.”

  Arek saw Thetra raise an eyebrow. “You think so? I don’t even have a sword yet.”

  “Oh, you’ll get that as well.”

  Thetra smiled. “Come on. Let’s go home and have a real supper. I’m starved!”

  When they reached their house, they ate supper, and then went upstairs and played cards.

  “Go Fish,” said Arek. Thetra picked up his card, and then picked up another. Then he put it with the other and said, “Boom baby!”

  Then Arek took a turn. And again, he won. “Game.” Then he went downstairs to get something to drink, and saw their family sword gleaming on the shelf. “It has yet to be named,” he muttered, and then went back upstairs and played again.

  His dreams that night were clear:

  He was leaning on his staff after killing Daerja, the murderer who had tried to face him. Arek grunted, and then felt the paint pouring down on him. He got in a position where he could see his brother fending off Maloet and Kerbaun, and then he fell as the liquid came pouring again. Soon he couldn’t breathe, hear, or talk. Then he wrestled his way to Thetra’s side when he saw his brother use magic, and then collapse. And then they both felt paint, which was not what really happened.

  And then they both died.

  “Wake up, Arek!” yelled his brother. “It’s time for breakfast.”

  He got up, ate, and then went to watch Worgh tell a story. It was not a good tale, so he and Thetra went back home and played in the lake.

  Time seemed to travel so quickly that day, because before he knew it, he was sleeping again. And luckily, it was a dream-free night for Arek.

  He woke up, woke Thetra up with the pots and pans, and together they played a game of bumper pool. Thetra, who was 19-0 against their family, was beating the 6-13 Arek, and once again, Thetra won.

  “Hey,” said Arek, finding an idea. “How about we take a bet on the family sword? If I win, I get it. If you win, you get it.”

  “I’m sure we could find a scroll or something that would explain how Mother and Father inherited it to us, but”

  “Let’s play!” and with that, they hit.

  PLAYING FOR

  THE SWORD

  “It has begun!” yelled Arek, and he and Thetra banged their cues together and yelled cries.

  Arek got his in on the first try. “Whew! That was good!” He went again, missing.

  Thetra scored, and then scored again to make the score 2-1 in his favor. Then his ball rolled off the table.

  Arek put it back where he wanted, right in the center, and then put two of his balls in to lead 3-2. “Take that,” he whispered. Then he went again, putting it to the left.

  Thetra knocked his ball away from the hole, and on Arek’s turn, he accidentally knocked Thetra’s ball in to make it 3-3. Then Thetra went and knocked Arek’s ball away from the hole, and Thetra’s right next to the hole.

  Arek missed the next one, and Thetra scored, and now he was winning 4-3. He just needed one more, and he almost got it on the next turn.

  Then Arek bumped his ball all the way back to Arek’s own goal, and Arek scored.

  “Time!” yelled Arek, and then he told Thetra his idea: “Since it’s 4-4, anybody’s game, how about let’s make it best of nine? It’s the first to win five games.”

  Thetra smiled. “Deal.” They shook hands, and Arek started. After his turn, he was inches away from the hole. “Oh, come on!” he yelled.

  Then Thetra escaped the middle and knocked Arek’s own ball in.

  “Thanks, Brother,” said Arek. “You just won the game for me. You lost your first game! You’re now 19-1 and I’m 7-13! Boom, baby!”

  “Congratulations, Arek. I’m proud of the progress you’ve made.” Then Thetra grabbed Arek in a big bear hug.

  Then they did the family routine: Arek got to hit Thetra in the back with his cue.

  “Ow!” he yelled. “I’ve never felt that before.” Then he turned around and smiled. “I really am proud of you. We’ll play Game Two tomorrow.”

    

  GAME TWO

  They smacked cues...They yelled their cries...The battle was on.

  “Let’s go,” said Thetra, who looked much more prepared than the day before during Game One.

  I wonder if he knows that I practiced all night and didn’t sleep? Well, that part is to his advantage. Arek chuckled. “Alright, but you’d better be ready.”

  Arek and Thetra started, and Thetra got to go again. He tapped his in. “Boo-ya!” he yelled, and then went again.

  Now it was Arek’s turn. He knocked his ball off of a bumper and then put it in. “We are both masters,” he noted, and then went again, knocking his ball into Thetra’s.

  The impact was so hard, it smashed Thetra’s ball. “Arek! You’re strong!”

  Arek bowed and then got the replacement ball for the color red, Thetra’s color. Then Thetra put the ball in, tying the game.

  On his next move, Thetra put it in the middle of two bumpers. “Best that, young lad.”

  And he did.

  Thetra’s mouth hung open in a surprised way. Then he smiled and knocked his in. 2-1, and in Thetra’s way.

  Thetra knocked his just short of the hole, and Arek knocked it all the way back to his own side.

  “Really?” said Thetra.

  “Really,” confirmed Arek.

  Arek scored, tying it again at two apiece. Then he scored, giving him the lead by one.

  “Ha!” And then he knocked Thetra’s off. “Oh.”

  Thetra took the lead 4-3 and then put Arek’s ball in the center. Arek escaped, however, but trapped himself in between a bumper and the hole. He growled.

  Then Thetra hit his ball, and Arek hit, then Thetra, then Arek, and so on for a few hours. After a while, they called it a break for five minutes, and then resumed.

  “Play!” yelled Arek.

  And then they did.

  “You’re going to win,” said Arek.

  And then he did.

  ?
??Thetra Eouhjasson wins!” he yelled. “Game Three will be hosted here tomorrow night at 6pm! Be there!”

  “Who are you talking to?” asked Thetra.

  “The imaginary crowd.”

    

  Thetra

  On the night of Game Three, when Thetra was doing his ten-minute-warm-up, he heard and saw Arek walk up the steps.

  “Hey,” said Thetra.

  “Hey, Brother. Can I talk to you please? Because I have something very interesting to talk about. I heard news when I was strolling around town that our country, Kiolerasdarque, might get a new name. It’s been around centuries, Thetra! Centuries! I do not know what the new name will be, but I know it is being changed. And...” Arek gulped. “...A war is starting between Morchad’s evil army and”

  “The good army.”

  “And...Thetra, this might be the biggest war that Kiolerasdarque has ever seen. So... The good army needs everyone that they can get.”

  “You want us to join! Arek, that’s insane!”

  “It’s not, Thetra. The good army is losing in numbers, and Morchad’s army is increasing in numbers.”

  “We’ll talk about it later then if you are going to argue,” growled Thetra.

  “I will probably have changed my mind the next time we talk about it!” Arek roared back.

  “Later,” insisted Thetra, and they waited for later.

  WINNER OF THE INHERITANCE

  Clack!

  This was the sound of cues being smacked together, and being smacked together before Game Three of the Family Sword Bumper Pool games.

  “Bring your ‘A-game,’” demanded Thetra, trying to intimidate his opponent.

  “That question’s not worth answering. Because I will, and you won’t.”

  “It was a command.”

  “Know-it-all.”

  And then they started Game Three, each of them hungry for a win.

  They had installed a radio that automatically narrated their game.

  “It has begun!” shouted Radio. “This is Game Three, live here in the Home of Two Stadium, Home of Arek and Thetra, sons of Ehouja of the” Radio caught himself. “Alright! First shots by the Masters... Score by Arek Eouhjasson! 1-0, Arek!

  “Thetra scores to tie! Then again! He’s up 2-1 on Arek!

  “Tie game! 2-2! This is happening all too fast for me to process! Whoa!” He went on and on, yelling and whispering, keeping record of stats and points.

  Finally, tied 4-4, he yelled in a huge outburst, “It has already flown past before my eyes in less than...ten minutes!” Then he calmed himself down and said in a whisper, “It’s Thetra’s turn, if he scores, heOh, and he’s done it! THETRA WINS GAME THREE TO TAKE THE LEAD OVER AREK 2-1 IN THE SERIES! What a game!”

    

  Arek

    

  “Brother,” said Arek to Thetra. “I believe the night is time for Game Four.”

  “It must be.”

  Then they banged their cues together once more, and turned on the radio.

  “It has begun! We are back tonight for Game Four of the Family Sword Bumper Pool-Games! Zea Mör!

  “And Arek is closer on the first shot, so he will go first...Not lucky enough! Let’s see what Thetra can do now...There’s a shot! Half a centimeter away from the hole! So unlucky as Arek bangs Thetra’s ball away from the hole! Now Thetra is hungry for revenge! He shoots from a good two feet and...If it can keep on rolling...SCORE! Thetra puts it in! He got some air under it at one point, but it falls straight in like we’re playing golf. Now it’s Arek. He shoots it off the table and it’s 3-0 Thetra! Thetra puts it in the middle of the tablehardest part...And Thetra scores again! He’s up 4-0 on his brother Arek! If he scores this shot from the beginning, he will take the series lead 3-1. Thetra chalks up, shoots, and misses! He is trapped within the bumpers! Oh, Arek sees daylight! He may have a chance!”

  “No!” shouted Thetra. “How could I miss? I was so...” He looked like he would break his cue, which meant he would be disqualified. But he didn’t.

  “And Arek’s up again. So far in this series he has won Game One, lost Games Two and Three, and now is losing Game Four.

  “He shoots and puts it in! My, oh my! I can’t yell because my throat is sore from the night of Game Two, but it’s worth whooping! 4-1!

  “Now for Arek’s next shot...SCORE! I just cannot hold my tongue! He is on a streak, now! His next shot is a...I CANNOT BELIEVE IT! HE IS NOW ONE BACK FROM THETRA, AND IF HE MAKES THIS ONE...TIE!”

  And Arek ran around the table, cheering for himself. He had a chance.

  “...But he misses this next shot. Poor Arek, the streak is over. But the good news is that he set a family record with the longest streakfour!

  “And now for the master, Thetra. The 22-1 master of the family, going up against the 7-16! He shoots...RECORD! Scoring from the middle has been a flaw in the family, and he sets the flaw on fire! That’s game, and Thetra is up in the series 3-1. We’ll see you next time at Game Five. So long, everyone!”

  On the night of Game Five of the series, neither Arek nor Thetra were into the game. In fact, after an hour and a half, it was 0-0.

  Finally Arek scored, and then Thetra. It went on for three hours and fifty-six minutes, and finally, Thetra took it 5-2. He lead the series 4-1 then, and then next came Game Six.

  “SCORE! 3-0 AREK!” yelled Radio. “He has been hot all game long, and he is putting on a shut-out!”

  Arek saw Thetra take a deep breath, and then he shot his ball.

  “SCORE!” And then... “SCORE AGAIN! AND AGAIN! IT’S TIED 3-3. Then he misses. AND AREK SCORES! AND AGAIN! GAME OVER!”

  And then Arek won Game Six 5-1.

  “A Game Seven day game! That’s nice. They’re playing outside as well! I love the breeze, it’s 69 degrees. I say perfect for a game of bumper pool. Let’s get started!

  “1-0, 1-1, 2-1, 2-2! They just keep scoring and tying. It’s tied at two right now, but probably not much longer. We’re thirty-nine minutes into the game right now.

  “And AREK scores! Then THETRA! This is what I’m talking about, imaginary crowd! It’s 3-3. Unbelievable!

  “THETRA! He scores once more, once again, and we are playing golf! 4-3, youngest! And Thetra goes again... Less than half a centimeter. He could easily blow that thing in. And Arek...Scores, and he knocks Thetra’s all the way back to the starting place...And Thetra’s trapped within the middle of bumpers. Arek can score all the way from the beginning…He’s done it before. And... AREK WINS! AREK WINS! AREK WINS!”

  And music burst from the speakers.

  They then played Game Eight and Nine that day as well, and Thetra won the first, sending the imaginary crowd into a loud outburst, for now it was time for Game Nine. This was the tiebreaker, the game that if Thetra won he would be crowned champion and would receive the family sword.

  The game started quickly, and after ten minutes it was already 2-2, then Arek scored, and then gain, and the score was 4-2. Thetra then scored, then knocked it off the table, but Arek missed his free shot. Then Thetra scored, tying it 4-4.

  “Why is Radio not on?” asked Arek, tuning the electronic on.

  “And it is tied 4-4. Next score wins. Arek...he is only two inches away from the hole! He could do it! This is amazing! Now it’s Thetra’s turn, here comes the ball, rolling down and knocks Arek’s out of the way! Arek is now eight inches away, which he could manage. He hits the ball...it’s on target...and...”

  There was a pause before Radio yelled, “He has done it! Arek wins! AREK EOUHJASSON HAS WON THEIR FAMILY”S SWORD AFTER HE BEATS HIS BROTHER, THETRA EOUHJASSON 5-4 IN GAME NINE OF A BEST OF NINE SERIES! THIS IS INCREDIBLE! SERIES OVER!”

  After all had calmed down, Radio said, “I speak for Eouhja and Uvorc, the parents of Arek and Thetra:

  Arek and Thetra, this is our inheritance to you:

  Arek, you deserve the family sword, but do not

  take it out until
needed most. It is valuable. Take

  good care of it, for it will help you like a sibling.

  Thetra, you deserve something as well, and you

  get something of great need: a golden coin

  from the good army that we love and hope

  to win fights and battles. Once again, use this

  possession only when needed most, and you

  will only get it when needed most. Who you

  will get it from, we do not know. But you will

  get it from someone who is good, someone

  who is special and loves the good army lots.

  That is what your parents left for you children,” said Radio.

  “Thank you,” said Thetra.

  “Thank you,” said Arek.

  And then they went to bed for the night, waiting for morning to come.

  THE CEREMONY

  Zzzzzzz...Zzzzz...

  “Wake up!” yelled Thetra.

  Groaning, Arek pushed himself out of bed, and when he fell, said, “Aggggh!”

  “I found a book,” said Thetra. “It’s called Other Countries than Kiolerasdarque.”

  “Are there any other races there?”

  “I was waiting to read it with you, Brother. You want to find out more, yes?”

  “Aye.”

  “Well, first let us have your ceremony of winning the bumper pool tournament. We won’t give the sword to you, because”

  “We?”

  “Radio will be present. He’ll just be talking.”

  “Alright, but then we will eat breakfast and read the book. What’s its title? Is it English?”

  “Yes. It’s title is The Lands Beyond.”

  The ceremony wasn’t much. Just a simple “here is your sword” and they were done. They moved on with that day.

  “Wake up call!” cried Arek the next day. “It is time to wake up! THETRA!”

  Thetra woke up, got dressed, had breakfast, and then went for a walk with Arek. They took their swords with them everywhere on their mother and father’s belts; Thetra had his mother’s, Arek his father’s.