The End?
The one good thing about my cousin, is that he's very predictable, thought Wainwright as he sat at his mountain retreat, lounging on a deck chair and sipping a cocktail. You have one person killed and he loses his mind with grief. I'd give him another day or so before he shows up here and tries to take me on. Leaning back, Wainwright closed his eyes, waiting for the telltale signs of his cousin's return.
The one good thing about my cousin, thought Cedric, is that he's easily predictable. Walking up the uneven mountain road which wound its way through the Austrian hills, Cedric plowed steadily along, stopping for no one and nothing. Luckily, then hills were deserted this time of the year, which made it much easier for Cedric to do what he was about to do. Calling on his power, Cedric blasted fire out of his back, forming wings made purely of fire. Leaping up, Cedric took to the skies, revenge in his heart and tears in his eyes.
The one good thing about those two, thought Hugo, is that they're easily predictable. The team had divided and rented three cars they'd found after coming out of the airport. Driving in silence the group brooded over what had happened over the last few weeks. Each person lost in their own thoughts. The memory of the first time they'd kissed coming unbidden to Grace's mind. Grace stared out the window watching the snowy landscape fly by, hoping that Cedric was still alive. Hugo sat in the back seat of the car he shared with Angelina, sharpening his sword with a wetstone, making sure he was ready for the fight that was about to begin.
"What are we going to do when we get there?" asked Angelina as she drove carefully on the long and winding road. Turning on his binocucom, Hugo called for confirmation that everyone could hear him before answering.
"Sly, his team and Angelina will get us in, Carmelita and Murray will shoot any grunts we find, and Grace and I will help Cedric kick Wain's ass."
"What kinds of security measures does Wainwright use?" Bentley asked, curious.
"Mostly magical until a few years ago. Someone with no magic at all broke in once and Wainwright added electronic security. The usual, pressure sensors, laser beams, automated heat-guided machine guns; plus the normal magical barriers. I'll kill the magic and Sly will have to get us around the normal stuff that Bentley can't hack into. Let's just hope that we get there before Cedric does."
"What's so bad about Cedric wailing on Wainwright?" wondered Angelina out loud. Hugo and Grace sighed, both remembering what could happen. "You tell them," Hugo snapped.
"Cedric and Wainwright are cousins. They're from the same family, and they have the same kinds of powers. The only problem is that if those two go all out and throw everything they have at each other, the resulting blast will made Hiroshima look small in comparison."
"That's impossible," objected Carmelita, " No human being has that kind of power."
"They do," Grace sighed, "They have it because they're the heirs to the royal lines of Austria. Cedric gave up his title over to Wainwright so that he wouldn't have to deal with the backstabbing and politics that came with it. Wainwright liked the power so much, he killed off everyone else in the family to make sure no one could depose him. He's been trying to kill Cedric for years, but could never catch up to him. I guess he decided this time to make Cedric come to him."
"Cedric should calm down when he sees Grace and then you can get out of there," said Hugo.
"And Wainwright?" said Sly.
"Leave him to me," Hugo growled, returning to sharpening his sword.
Spotting Wainwright's mansion from the air, Cedric closed his wings and plummeted towards the ground. Smashing onto the patio, Cedric tore through the roof and landed, leaving a crater in the ground. Wainwright sighed, drank the last of his cocktail and stood up.
"Hello cousin," he mused, "You decided to drop in for a visit?"
With an inhuman scream, Cedric shot across the room, hands reaching for Wainwright's neck. Laughing, Wainwright kicked Cedric as he lunged, slamming him into the wall. "You were never really good at conversation dear cousin, but you usually could string a few words together. Ah, I forgot, you're probably still furious about your girlfriend's death. Sorry about the screw up, my orders were for them to kidnap her, not kill her. After all, listening to her scream in agony and rushing here only to find her dead would have been so much better. After all, she would have had other 'uses.' And once I was done with her, I could always give her over to my friends in the triads, they could always use another prostitute."
"Bastard," Cedric snarled, "All this just to get me to come here."
"Of course not. All this to put you suffer as much as possible before I kill you. Which I probably should do before your friends show up so that I'll have time to clean up before I kill them too."
Snapping his fingers, Wainwright lazily sent a blast of fire at Cedric, which Cedric countered with one of his own. Leaping forward, Wainwright slammed his knee into Cedric's chest. Winded, Cedric lashed out in a roundhouse, which Wainwright caught. Throwing Cedric across the room, he charged forward and landed several lightning-fast blows before Cedric could get away.
"You've gone soft cousin. Or perhaps this really is the best you can do for your dearly departed girlfriend.
Suddenly, a blast of darkness flew across the room, slamming into Wainwright. Turning, he saw Grace and Hugo standing in the entrance.
"I'm back," Grace said quietly. Cedric stared at her, unsure if she was real or an illusion created by Wainwright.
"Fantastic! The gang's all here. So Cedric, what should I do to her first, with a body like that she might last for quite a while don't you think?"
As he finished, Grace shot across the room, burying her fist into his face, following up with a series of kicks and punches, forcing Wainwright across the room, before finally slamming him into the wall. Snarling, Wainwright sent a stream of fire at her, only to have her backflip out of harm's way.
"Wait," Cedric asked, "He's mine."
"Ours, he owes me a few broken bones," said Grace. Hugo placed his hand on her shoulder, holding her back.
"This is his fight," Hugo whispered to her, "Let him be the one to end this."
"Thank you," said Cedric so quietly only Grace could hear him.
Summoning his power, Cedric surrounded himself with flames and charged Wainwright. Every time Cedric's blows landed, the flames burned Wainwright. Countering, Wainwright sent waves of fire at Cedric, which he just swept aside.
"Hugo! Give me a barrier around the two of us," Cedric yelled as he and Wainwright continued their battle, "Let's end this Wainwright!"
Putting his hands together, Hugo sent a dome made of darkness around the two of them, containing their power within it. Calling upon every last drop of their power, Cedric and Wainwright sent two blasts of fire at each other, Cedric's red and Wainwright's black. Surging, the blasts broke through the barrier, sending a twisting pillar of fire into the sky.