To my dear readers,
I am currently working on the newest chapter, and at the same time correcting any mistakes I have made in past chapters. I apologize for the slow progress, as school life had been more demanding than ever. As I examined many of my earlier publications, I have noticed many errors, whether grammar, spelling, or just simple illogical phrasing, that needs to be fixed, which I am working on right now. Thank you for your time, and please enjoy the revised chapters!
Agent Ekis
Blood Brothers
Chapter 1
A young boy lies quietly beneath his bed sheets, staring, with eyes the color of a cloudless sky, into the soothing darkness outside his room. His blond hair, pale and fragile, gives off a slight glint under the mystifying silver moon. The calm, everlasting night surrounds the Virginian farm, bringing tranquility to everything it touches, yet something is keeping the boy awake. Something is bothering the young blond. After struggling to fall asleep for what seems like hours, he gives up on trying, and leaves the comfort of his homely bed. Not at all tired, the boy looks around his room, glancing past each and every item in his view as he attempts to find something to do.
A strange object captures his attention. It is a large mirror sitting by the corner of his room, one which the blond had never seen before. The boy moves closer to take a better look, and what he sees can only be described as unnatural.
Instead of himself, another person with almost identical features, stands on the other side of the glass. Unlike himself, the boy on the other side wears a fine, purple jacket, fit for nobody less of an nobleman. A mysterious smile reaches the noble boy's lips as his eyes, matching the appearance of the latter, meets the former's. Astonished, the boy slowly takes a step closer to the mirror, as he tries to examine his doppelgänger more closely. He barely notices the shadowy figure behind the other boy when a sharp, deadly dagger penetrates the well-dressed blond's stomach.
The boy in the mirror gasps in pain, but his mouth emits no sound. The blade is then pulled out of the young nobleman's abdomen, leaving a large, grim smudge of red on his stomach. Blood begins to pour out of the large gash, seeping through his jacket and painting it with a dark shade of crimson. The boy soon falls on to his knees, as his life slowly drains away from his body.
Staring desperately at Edwin, the nobleman in the mirror mumbles one single sentence.
"Help me, brother."
Edwin's eyes snap open, as he frantically examines his surroundings. Slowly, things begin to register in his mind. As it turns out, that was just a nightmare, the same one that has invaded Edwin's sleep so many times before. Currently, he is sitting in a horse cart, traveling alongside his companion in the middle of a cool, summer night. A small oil lamp, placed on the carriage's side, gives off a just enough light for Edwin to see his servant. The boy leans back against the wooden seating, and lets out a relieved sigh.
"Another bad dream, Master?" Adam asks, while handing Edwin a small napkin, "You seem to be suffering from a lot of those lately."
"Yeah," the blond responds as he wipes the sweat off of his forehead. "Must be the damn fumes back in London," Edwin replies as he tosses the napkin back to Adam, giving the latter a little nod.
"I understand, Master," Adam replies as he places the napkin back in his pocket. "This place is nothing like the countryside of Virginia. We're so far away from home, I'm sure you miss it a lot."
"I do," Edwin says, casting his glance into the dark, "I miss home more than ever. But the reason for us to travel here, thousands of miles away from home, is too important for minor discomforts to get in its way." The boy looks back at his companion, and utters with determination.
"I will know the truth."
"Of course, Master," Adam answers. The dutiful companion knows well of his master's strong willed nature. Edwin is only an adolescent boy, yet he has to carry the burden of his family. He had traveled half way around the world, just to fulfill a behest given by his dying father. Adam looks down, and takes a deep breath. This boy, Edwin, is no average boy, but his brave master, and that is why Adam is willing to follow and protect him until the very end, a task Adam couldn't accomplish to the boy's father.
"Adam," Edwin says, interrupting his companion's train of thoughts, "Don't you think all of this is pretty amusing?" The blond chuckles. "I'm nothing more than a mere country boy, yet here I am, half way across the world from home, traveling through a foreign country following a request given by a dead man."
"You give yourself too little credit, Master," Adam declares confidently, "You are my master, and no master of mine had been more capable than you."
Adam had been Edwin's guardian and protector for the past five years, after the death of Edwin's father, Nathaniel. The blond boy had known Adam for as long as he could remember. Back when Edwin was a toddler child, Adam always looked after him, and did an incredible job helping him and his father with all kinds of work. He also spent many long, laborious days foraging in the woods with Edwin, and trained the boy to become a skilled woodsman. In truth, Edwin never knew the relationship between himself and Adam, but when asked, the latter always answered that he is Edwin's servant. But Adam had done much more than a servant. For Edwin, Adam is a caring and capable brother.
"Seriously," The boy says, "stop calling me 'master'. I don't think of you as my servant!"
"I'll try, Master." Adam closes his eyes, leaves his seat in the carriage, and commences with a dramatic, deep bow.
"God, you're helpless," Edwin laughs, as he pulls his good friend to sit down. "Anyway," Edwin continues, "What do you mean that I don't give myself enough credit? I'm only a simple farm boy. I've spent my whole life on a farm, and if that's doesn't make me a country boy, then I don't know what does."
An odd grin fills Adam's features as he listens to Edwin. "Sometimes," the boy's servant replies, "Things aren't as simple as they may appear."
What is that suppose to mean? Right when Edwin opens his mouth to question Adam, the boy hears a sudden shout from the coach driver. The next moment, Edwin finds himself knocked on to the floor, as something had just crashed into their carriage. Immediately, the experienced driver pulls the cart to a stop alongside the road, preventing any further damage to be done.
"Master!" Adam calls as he rushes to Edwin, "Are you alright?"
"Adam, what just happened?" Edwin asks, rubbing his sore neck as he pulls himself back on his feet.
"I believe another coach had just collided with ours', Master." Adam answers as he examines the other carriage.
It is an ebony coach drawn by two large, brown horses. Judging by the intricate designs throughout the vehicle, anyone would realize that it did not belong to any commoner. However, all the fine details of the vehicle brought less surprise to Adam than its strange, sophisticated driver, whose crimson eyes seems to glow under the shining moonlight.