Calder only sneered. "So, you know it all then, do you? I suppose the witches haven't changed you after all. Typical Icarus, omniscient. Knows all. Sees all." He laughed harshly. "You think Seren doesn’tstillcare about me? That she wouldn't have me, after everything? I wouldn't even have to ask. Just simply think it, and I could have her on her knees, eating from the palm of my hand. She stole the Pavor wand for me, right out of your office. All I had to do was plant the idea in her silly little head and she scampered off to do my bidding." His amber eyes flashed as he leaned forward, so close to the barrier his nose almost touched it.
A careful wall, built over years to cage the violence his past had brought him, snapped within Icarus’s chest, overtaken by a wave of blinding red. Roaring, he dug deep into the pocket of his pants and felt the golden chain of his watch wrap around his wrist, sensing his need, his urgency to rip. To tear. Tohurthis brother. With the half-spat curse, a wall of blue flame erupted from his hand, blistering across the magical barrier to scorch everything within its reach. There was only a moment for Calder to react, wide-eyed, at the heat of his brother's fury and flame, he stumbled back, reaching for his own augere to protect himself with a counterspell.
Water sizzled against the azure tendrils of fire, both from the rainstorm shaking the trees around them and his brother's quick spell shield that had gathered the falling drops to protect him, though the edge of his cloak was smoldering. He shouldered it off and his school robe followed, landing with the thud of something heavy.
Above them, a violent caw ripped through the sounds of wind and thunder. Lightning flashed, illuminating the outline of Calder's raven soaring determinedly over the canopy of trees. Behind Icarus, a great screech answered the challenge. Eiridis swooped in on graceful feathers, his curved talons glinted against another streak of silver that brightened the sky.
And just as the familiars collided, so did the brothers below.
Icarus, losing patience with magic when he longed to feel the give of his brother's flesh beneath his fist, pocketed his augere and ran straight for the younger wizard.
Calder's cry of shock melded into a growl. He braced before his back met with the rough bark of the tree behind him, and the air skated from his lungs. Icarus reared and without pause brought his fist down hard into his brother's side. A satisfying crack of ribs sounded, and Cal shouted in pain but, still wrapped tight in his fingers, his pocket watch glowed green and the shout twisted into a spell.
Roots sprung from the wet earth, thick, brown wood that coiled like snakes around Icarus’s ankles to tug him hard enough that he lost his balance. Slipping into the mud and leaves, Icarus howled a series of half-formed threats. The roots continued to sprout around him, in twos and then threes, pulling him into the thick muck where he couldn’t draw breath. His strong arms ripped a line of them away only to have another take its place as Calder continued to grow and feed the spell.
Above them, Eiridis screeched like a fury, sensing his master's distress. Tucking his wings, he pulled from Horacio and dove into the air towards Calder before fanning out so he could rake his talons across his shoulder. Instantly, blood seeped from the three shredded lines.
Calder cursed. The augere dropped from his hands and landed in the muck gathered at his feet. The roots went slack, and Icarus seized the moment to break them off and push back up so he was standing again with a gasp.
The brothers, breathing hard, both in shredded shirts, covered in a mix of blood and sweat, stared at one another. The sky darkened, and the storm swelled, thrashing around them, knocking loose leaves and tree branches that peppered the forest floor. Tangled in their damp, tousled hair.
"This is your fault, Icarus!" Calder spat, breaths of pain whistling between his clenched teeth as he held his weeping shoulder. "You turned on him and left me behind. This legacy was yours to fulfill and because of what you did, it was all thrust upon me. Now you would see me suffer the same fate as him if only to spare the mangled remains of your reputation."
The pain in Calder's eyes flashed like the lightning around them, but it still took Icarus a moment to see through his own fury. It was apparent they were no longer talking about the Marudas sisters. He meant their father.
"You don't understand, Cal. I couldn’t stay at Mistral, and I hadno choicethat night. You weren’t there, you didn’t see what he—what he did." His voice cracked. Exhaustion was creeping in. The roots had bitten deep into his flesh, squeezing some of the fight out of him. He panted and slowly reached for his brother as a sign of truce, but Calder's expression hardened to ice.
"There'salwaysa choice." His fists came up. Icarus knew this was a fight he’d been waiting years for. Calder had tried to make it so, again and again, at the dock’s boxing ring, but the human bookies knew better than to allow it. Icarus had warned them and none were brave enough to cross a wizard.
Calder swung a powerful and quick jab that soared just past Icarus’s ear. He ducked to the side, countering with a blow to his younger brother's exposed chest. Stinging pain radiated over his knuckles and Calder grunted, stumbling slightly in the thick mud before regaining his footing to swing again. The sharp ring of skin striking skin echoed through the air as each brutal blow followed, their augures momentarily forgotten.
Pain spider-webbed through Icarus’s side. He came back, whirling a fist that found Calder’s lip, and the tender skin split with a spray of blood. His head snapped back behind the force of it, but he grinned, a smear of crimson staining his bright white teeth. “Is that all you’ve got, brother? Perhaps you should have sent Seren out in your place. Might have been a real challenge.”
Icarus swung, connecting with his brother’s jaw. Again, Calder rocked back but righted himself and smiled devilishly.
Through the mess of fallen leaves, they began to circle one another as their father had taught them so long ago.Stay on your feet. Keep moving. Find their weakness and strike.The words echoed through Icarus’s head, a painful reminder of a voice he thought had been lost to him. His eyes flashed to Calder’s weeping shoulder, and it was there he landed his next blow.
Calder howled, coming back with a deadly left hook. The one Icarus had heard whispered about through the fighting crowds. It caught him just under the chin. Sent him rocking back. For a moment there was nothing but thick black, a pepper of starlight and pain. Pain that rattled his very mind. He stumbled, blinking feverishly to clear it all away.
“Come on, Icarus,” Calder beckoned with one of his raised fists. “Is that really all you’re made of? Maybe you're just not motivated enough to stop me. Maybe you need all the details of my plan. Would you like to know how it started with dear Seren? Our night spent exploring Calami… She does have such a lovely dorm room—”
Icarus roared. A roar that echoed far off through the trees as he threw himself forward, slamming into his brother with enough force to plow him onto the sedgy forest floor. His forearm bore down, pressing into the base of Calder's throat to stop him from uttering another word. Eyes bulging, Calder thrashed wildly. His fingers caught in the shreds of Icarus’s shirt, ripping away what was left. Above them, Horacio cawed in distress for the young wizard, but Eiridis was as relentless as his master. Wings blurred together; he didn't release the raven from his grip.
Icarus, watching the slow fade of consciousness on Calder's face, didn't see the rogue stone clenched tight in Calder’s fist until he brought it down hard across his temple. That blinding darkness swam over his vision again, following another sharp burst of agony. He rolled off his brother, stumbling into a nearby tree. Hot fury pulsed through his blood. When he could see, just enough, he plunged his hand into his pocket and withdrew his augure.
Arm raised, he turned only to find Calder in an identical form, their father's twin watch lifted over his head. A dark curse on his lips.
Another crack of lightning, far more powerful than the others, ignited across the sky. Black lightning shook the very earth under their feet.
"Enough!" Seren's cold voice halted them both mid-spell. Dark lightning danced along her skin. Her familiar coiled around her feet, each scale rippling with the light from her mistress. “What are the two of you doing out here, ripping each other apart like animals?”
Shame welled from deep within Icarus’s stomach as he lowered his arm and took a slow step back. How could he have allowed his anger to win like this? He opened his mouth, an explanation forming along the root of his tongue, but Seren's eyes flared when Calder simply smirked at her in response before spitting blood from his mouth. “Nice of you to join us, Seren. We were just talking about you.”
A growl rolled off her lips. "You think you’re funny?”
More lightning brightened the dusk that thickened around them.
He slid down to sit within the rivers of mud cutting through the trees. “IknowI’m funny.”
