Ember stared at a tome filled with complex, delicate markings that even her vampire mind had trouble parsing. Words like culture, energy, and power level were used instead of magic, mana, and levels. She initially perceived that, but no, culture was a term for a belief system that can propagate mages or cultivators. It was as if mage culture itself created mana from the particles that swiftly mutate humans in abundance. Reading the preface for a book of seals Atom had let her read for entertainment would be a felony in the eyes of the state.
“You’re wasting your time; no bloodsucker can use magic,” Emily said.
The girl smelled delicious after two days of cow blood. She missed the greasy taste of human blood even if her current rations were empowering.
Vampire hunters, especially those in impoverished lands, were uniquely ignorant. In her hands was a text straight from the legendary emergence age. It sat on the coffee table dog, eared in places with little notes from both Atom and Jason. The two had clearly studied the book and had very different takes from its lessons. Even the preface had their opinions written in the margins.
“This isn’t magic. They wouldn’t like it if you called it that.” Ember said.
She couldn’t help but stare at the blonde’s neck and felt her mouth water and fangs lengthen. A little hypnosis, and she could take a sip. The boys were off training only if the information in her current text was correct; they would sense it.
Atom, that foolish, brave man, had trusted her when by all rights he shouldn’t.
“They are hedge mages; of course, they would use different terms. Once my father regains power, Jason will get a proper education at the mage college and put this silliness behind him.” Emily said.
Ember reviewed the sophisticated effects of seals and compared them to the limited multi-language effects of various runic structures. Seals were a language but, in practice, acted more akin to premodern quantum computing.
“I’m surprised Jason was willing to destroy his home to save your father,” Ember said.
Emily didn’t flinch; it would have been better if she had shown any human reaction.
“I don’t know what you are suggesting,” Emily said.
The girl’s blood smelled human, so the odds of her being an android were low. She didn’t think Jason was a fool; he had been close to Emily and would have felt if she had metal bones. Men weren’t very good at controlling their strength. Even her cousin sometimes broke a girl’s pelvis.
Inquisitors were mages with a special title. They were functionally the same, with a bent more toward fire and destruction than the normal mage.
She didn’t like that Jason pulled Atom into this mess. Ember also didn’t like that she cared about Jason pulling Atom into Jason’s mess. She saw Atom out of the training room resting far more than Jason. Clearly, he wasn’t brainwashed, but why was Jason so committed.
If she was a honey trap, she wouldn’t try to get the two of them to become powerful. She would have given them misinformation and had them run off half-cocked. Then Ember would run them through with her relic. None of this made sense, and if something didn’t make sense, someone was lying.
She ran the scenario 1000 times. No matter what she did, Jason would slay her. From what she had sensed, he had surpassed her. Or he had until she started draining gallons of mutant blood. She couldn’t compare the strength of her bloodline to a power level. She was a 4th generation with only 3 decades of life. Her strength was reliant on her age, generation, and diet. Atom had allowed her to gorge enough to leapfrog in strength over her peers. Jason and Atom had doubled their power in two days by the numbers on the wall.
Atom 691
Jason 680
Jason trained longer and harder than Atom, but Atom had taken the lead unless Jason lied about his numbers. But why would he lie except to trick Atom, Emily, or herself? Who was the liar?
…
Jason’s aura was all over the place, creating snap freezes, bursts of electricity, and random twisters. 5Gs was horrible on the body, a torture that would kill us both. The fuel wasn’t enough to keep going. I took a break every 30 minutes in this hell, but Jason endured the full two hours, only taking short breaks. His gains were worse than mine, but he punished himself.
I wanted to believe it was someone’s fault that he was brainwashed. But no, it was stubborn, stoic as hell, Jason. He fell head over heels in love with Emily, and his emotions ran hot under the surface. I remembered catching him with a knife to his own throat when another girl broke up with him. That was an ugly moment for both of us.
While my brother survived his breakup, he soon fell in love with Emily, the daughter of VHA’s Grand Inquisitor. I remembered when she came over with her scarred-faced brothers and platoon of bodyguards. They snooped around like bloodhounds, digging for things they had no business touching. I had more than one fistfight with the scarred-faced bastards. Who put horse hair in a fencing wound to make sure it scarred?
“You aren’t looking good, little brother; maybe you need another break,” Jason said.
Sweat poured off his brother’s face, the veins in his eyes bulged, and his muscles throbbed. Aura and energy poured out of Jason like an open wound barely controlled. What had that little dig at my endurance cost him. We were a day away from Saturday, and I wasn’t sure if he would make it.
“It’s a marathon, not a race. I’ll take a break if I need it.” I said.
Jason smirked, and it broke my heart.
Would I do this if Ember asked me to? No, I wasn’t in that deep yet, but would I feel the same way as Jason. We shared the same blood and many of the same characteristics and flaws. While I wasn’t a stoic, I could endure until the end. If I thought breaking myself would get me what I needed, would I do the same?
“I’m not training for drones. Watch a compilation of the Magna Mobile Suits in action. You’re my brother. I’m certain you’ll see what I have seen.” I closed my eyes as Jason smiled while his body shook and his aura swirled uselessly. “We need to increase the gravity again,” Jason said.
We weren’t sparring anymore, only enduring the harsh effects of gravity on our bodies. More gravity would kill Jason. My brother wasn’t giving his body the rest it needed to even hope to survive this training. Jason was torturing himself for nothing.
“Why are you afraid of the Magna Meisters?” I asked.
Jason stepped forward, power rushing out of him while sweat dropped heavily on the stone floor. We should have splurged for a cushioned floor; it would have been easier on the joints. Honestly, Jason would have issues that would take time to heal properly. We weren’t rich by any means or taxed sheep from the megacities with free healthcare provided by the state. Of course, the small towns and farms around the megacities paid their resources to the government.
A blow to my face failed to move me. Jason growled and threw a second punch, but I didn’t bother to block the blow. His fist pressed hard against my cheek.
“You don’t have the control to fight,” I said.
His eyes widened, and the man stepped back and wobbled on his feet. I caught him before he could fall and deactivated the gravity. Jason coughed roughly, so I picked him up and carried him back to the house.
“What are you doing? I need to train?” Jason said.
This was what happened when we reached for power too lightly. Abusing our culture had consequences just like burnout for mages. Jason suffered and needed at least a week to rest and focus on control.
I couldn’t stop him from returning to the training room, but I could at least give him a head start on our resting day.
“We will train your control. What’s the point of being powerful if you can’t direct any of it?” I asked.
“Stop quoting Father; you aren’t him,” Jason said.
His body shook while I carried him back to the only home either of us had ever known.
“Someone must because you forgot his lessons in your haste,” I said.
“Watch the video, and you’ll see that we can’t afford to remain weak. I have to save Emily’s family.” Jason said.
I stopped walking toward the house and changed direction to the stream. He saw the body of water coming up and turned to stare at me.
“What,” I tossed his ass into the water, and he landed in the muddy water. He came up spluttering and glaring at me. “Why the hell did you do that?” Jason yelled.
I jumped in with a great splash. Jason wiped his face repeatedly, trying to get the muddy water out. When he opened his mouth to say something, I splashed him.
“That’s it.” He splashed me back. I laughed and splashed him again.
We splashed each other in the warm water for the next hour under the hot August sun. All our stress and worries vanished for those sweet moments, and we returned to being brothers, splashing each other in the stream.
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