"What's that?" Alex asked confused. I think we all were. Mason lowered his dagger and stared at Alex numbly.
"You heard me. And no, I didn't know you were my brother when you stepped into our class. I knew a lot more earlier, say, around the day you were born,"
"Huh!?"
"You were all they talked about, you know," Mason continued.
"What are you talking about?"
"Mum and Dad. The day you were born, they knew immediately you had the key to Brix's planet. Saw it using their powers, they did,"
"What's this 'key' thing?" I asked the question that kept bugging me. Mason looked at me in surprise, as if not knowing that was a crime.
"Basically, it's just a title used by wizards to say when they find a candidate worthy enough to become a leader of the Brix planet, where even gaining the smallest of titles is considered as an honor," Griffin explained to me.
"So what you are saying is Alex has the capabilities of being one of the leaders of his planet?"
"Not just any leader, the One true leader. His growing power is a testament of that. When our parents saw what Alex could turn out to be, they freaked out," Mason continued.
"That's why they tossed you in the woods. I'm sure you already saw it for yourself, just how self centered those two were. They couldn't allow their child to rule over them come that day but they couldn't finish the job on their own, hence left you for the beasts."
"I already know that! As I said, mother Teresa saved me that night," Alex recalled his story.
"And who do you think sent her to the woods? Or did you really think where Dad took you was out in the open?" Mason asked, folding his arms.
"She didn't happen to stumble on me while searching for some type of flowers in the forest?" Alex asked confused. Mason began making a raspy noise like a cat scraping on wood, which I realized was him laughing.
"Alex, you were taken to one of the most dangerous forests in our world. No one, and I mean NO one, dared stepped foot in that hell hole. Until dad of course."
"So what what are you saying? You're the one who sent Teresa to save me?"
Mason paused, perhaps thinking his next words carefully. He then sighed in a sort of defeat.
"I didn't want you to find out this way, but I guess at some point the truth would have came out whether I wanted it to or not," he stated.
"Contrary to what you might think, I was very happy to here that I'll have a little brother. That's why the day you were born, I was at the hospital gates ready to receive you,"
"I was four, so my caretaker, Teresa, was the one in charge of me that time. When our parents finally stepped through the gates, I could immediately tell they were not thrilled in having you. Their body language gave them away, though they wore fake smiles and acted like they were happy."
"Dad suggested that we head home with mother, that he had some forms to fill out and the baby was required to be present and mum insisted she was tired so that was that. We left dad with you too, and looking back on it, I didn't even get to hold you,"
Mason had a wistful look on his face, but it quickly vanished and was replaced by anger.
"If I knew dad could have been that ruthless....anyways, Teresa felt something was off after I told her my thoughts and acted like she had a sick relative in the hospital too and stayed behind,"
"That's how she was able to save you, by tailing dad. Unfortunately, I couldn't see you less I risked you're exposure, so from then on, I told Teresa to become your foster mother,"
"Our parents were a weird bunch, you know. Always kept spoiling me with gifts with the mindset that they will always be above me, hoping that I'd never have to think for myself again. I honestly despised them for that, and also despised them for what they did to you,"
"But at least the were useful enough to give me money to support you under the shadows. Teresa knew you had the key too, but that made her even more determined to protect you from people such as our parents, that's why she asked me for money to take you to school."
He smiled as he said this to Alex, like paying for his school could make up all the pain he had caused him. But this smile too was also short lived.
"You were an exemplary student once you enrolled in school, the same prestigious school I was in. I brought you there so that I could at least meet my little brother, but Dad at that time thought I could develop the Brix's key given time since he was sure you were dead, so I had many tails on me and I couldn't risk it,"
"By then, the teachers had already considered you a brilliant wizard, never knowing the fact that you were the Key due to the small enchantment Teresa placed in you, so they moved you up to my class, as they thought you were wasting your potential in your previous class,"
"As you know, the school was one of the best, so many of the best Wizards had their kids there. I at once realized the blunder I had made. Any powerful wizard was he or she able to break Teresa's enchantment and realize you had the key, then they would try everything in their power to have it for themselves or their kids, which requires your death,"
"So I had only one job to do. Destroy and chance of you having friends."
"What kind of reasoning is that?" I interrupting him in between the story.
Mason raised an eyebrow in question "You have no idea how the key works, do you? Listen up, Max. The more the key is in contact with another Wizard, the more it leaves a type of residue, sort of like a calling card."
"But even so, why do all that? You could have just told me to back off. Not buy off everyone's loyalty with money!" Alex questioned his brother in anger.
Mason signed in exasperation, "You really don't get it do you? I knew you could feel it, the bond we shared as brothers. But dad's minions held a tight leash on me, so I had to force myself to convey that bond as hatred, less the minions noticed that you looked a lot like mum and had dad's hair. So no, I couldn't tell you to back off,"
"Then what about investigating where I lived?! What about..." Alex voice broke with pain. "What about mother Teresa?! You had her killed, didn't you?! You never wanted me to be happy! So you took her away from me!"
Mason's mouth twisted in a look of displeasure and (I can't believe this) sorrow.
"That woman was a real mother to me too you know? That kinda stings coming from you," Mason's eyes flashed with hurt but regained the numbness just as fast.
"As it should! Why kill her? If she was a mother to you then–"
"I didn't kill her, ok! But I might as well have done so. After all, I was the one who wanted a picture of you."
Alex looked dumbfounded. He turned to me with this look that said 'can you believe this guy?'
"Mother stumbled upon it when she went through her room, wondering just what her maid was hiding. She later threw her into that godawful dungeon they made into your room to make her talk, and she finally gave in and told her the truth. That was around three days when she never returned to your cottage."
"Just answer the damn question. Who killed her?" I asked him. He looked down in shame before answering.
"It was the only way, and she asked me to do it. She was afraid that if they found you through her, that would be the end of your good life. I begged her to reconsider, maybe I could come up with a way to save her, but she was very good at control magic. And that day she had to conveniently have a knife in her drawer and well..." he inhaled sharply, leaving us to answer for ourselves.
Alex drooped his head down shock, a fresh batch of tears flowing through. I saw Mason wipe something from his eye but he did it so fast, I wasn't sure if I was just imagining it. Alex inhaled sharply, then regained his composure.
"They later found you using tracking magic, like Teresa's death didn't have any reason for it," Mason's mouth twitched in anger.
"I've heard enough! Wanna explain why you became the devil reincarnate with me then?!"
Mason looked uncomfortable with the question but answered nonetheless.
"I knew I would eventually have to live with you hating my existence so I had to make a painful decision. They was already planning on using your power for their own benefit, so I had to result in making you as unready as possible, hence the torture and suffering."
"Thankfully, they had no idea that I was also dispersing you power little by little, never giving you a chance to recover it. To them, they just saw me bulling my little brother and assumed I was making you stronger."
"But why would they think–"
"Don't ask. I'm sure they both had a loose screw in their head."
"I–I see. So then, what about Jay? You could have at least let him remain my best friend. And who gave you the right to protect me? It's not like you did a good job anyways!"
Mason smiled and said, "I got the right to protect you the day you became my little bro. And also, don't get me started on Jay! The guy wouldn't take a hint! The boy's got balls, I'll give him that. He really had no idea what was going on, and I wouldn't tell him less his parents were to find out."
"But you made my life a living nightmare! No friends, no help from anyone. I even had no idea how you got to the teachers, but Jay...Jay was just about the only thing going for me. That is, of coure, until you beat me to a bloody pulp in front of him!"
Mason winced with the tone Alex used. I just stood there, my mind racing with many thoughts on how twisted this guy really was. I mean, may be it was to protect his brother, but who does all that?!
"The day I started reducing your power, I realized that too much of torture would elevate it, then it would randomly disperse. By then, you were already unconscious so you had no idea."
"When you stared hanging out more at your friends house, I panicked cause no one could stop it from climbing to a certain point. The day I came for you, the seal placed on you was already damaged so your power grew to a point that anyone close enough to the house could detect it's presence,"
"I had already accepted the consequences of never having a relationship with you, so I gathered all the hatred I had stored up for our parents, and did the only thing I could do, beat my brother half to death to save his life!"
"WHAT THE WHAT?!"
I was flabbergasted! That was the only solution he could come up with?! Griffin stood their the same as me, thinking just how desperate was this guy?
"But why?" Alex murmured.
"You wanna know why? Because it was too late! Someone already felt the energy you had released before it dispersed, that's why! Although that day I almost killed myself due to what I did. But I knew I was already down under anyways so I might as well live my life protecting you, little bro."
"Don't call me that! You have no right! You, who almost killed my best friend just last week!" Alex screamed. Mason looked offended with that statement.
"I didn't do that! Someone was trying to frame me, I swear! The only Wizard I've ever hurt was you Alex, as horrible as that sounds. As I said, someone already knew of your power, and I'm guessing he was the one did that to your friend."
"A likely story!"
"I don't care if you believe me or not. Yes, he came over to my room to stand up for you and yes, I did chase him away but other than that, I wasn't the one who almost killed him!"
"Now that you know all that, can you please get out of my way. Miss Ivory knows your importance, so she promised your protection at camp if I were to do her a favour," he finished, and turned towards me.
"She wants you dead. I don't know what you did to her to warrant that, but you or my brother, sorry, but family comes fast," he said.
"Hold on! Wait... Things are moving too quick for me. You say you were always protecting me all this time, by beating me up? Sorry, I'm just... I mean I don't... I can't... AAAAH!" Alex screamed in frustration.
"I don't need you to understand little bro, what I need you to do is step aside, and let me deal with this," Mason said. Alex lifted his head and stared at his brother.
"No. I'm not gonna seat here and allow you to kill my friend. Not happening,"
"I didn't want to do this, but you've left me no choice!"
He suddenly threw his dagger at the friend he had previously stabbed, which implanted itself firmly in him. The body twitched and then suddenly stood upright with a hollow look in its eyes. Mason wasted no time and ordered it.
"Kill the Furrha. I'll deal with my brother," he said and that's when I knew I was in deep trouble when I felt an alarming amount of dark magic seeping from the body that was just now rising from the dead.
***
[Bradley, can I.. ]
[That's it then. Well... I'm not going down without a fight!]