My Brother's Keeper

It’s mid-afternoon in April. The sun isn’t hot, but the air isn’t that cold. I’m not afraid of hypothermia, but I am concerned about how quickly I’ll dry. On top of everything, I need clarification about the island. How had it separated Odile and me so quickly? I wonder if my mother put any failsafe inside me if it would give Odile any step forward in the wrong direction.

I’m stepping over twigs and avoiding hanging branches when I hear a high-pitched female scream from the high school parking lot. Pre-institution, I would have run the other way. The new me, also known as the one with tremendous strength, runs toward the screaming.

By the time my feet hit the blacktop, I watch as Preston Stuart throws my stepmother to the ground and then goes after my brother. This boy is relentless—eighteen with a stick up his ass.

“Where’s the bitch daughter of yours?” Preston screams as he drags Pax across the parking lot.

“She’s not my daughter. You inbred piece of shit!” Karen sneers at him as she tries to get back to her feet.

This time it’s Maddox Gray who pins her to the ground. Maddox is a large boy with muscles the size of my head. He doesn’t talk much but always stands to Preston’s left. In this case, he’s towering over Karen with a sneer on his tan face.

“Where is she? Or your precious prince here is going to take her place.” I see the shining metal in his hand and know he intends to kill Pax.

“I don’t know!” Karen snaps.

“I’m right here,” I call out as I pull my hair up into a bun on the top of my head.

“I’m hearing rumors, Odette.” Preston yanks my brother up and holds the knife against his throat.

“Like what?” I roll my eyes, an act of defiance I admit I learned from Odile.

“Your baby brother here is royal. Your bitch mother over there has been spreading it all over town about how the gates are about to open, and everyone can go home.” Preston laughs and glares at Karen.

“First, she’s not my mother. Second, your beef isn’t with my brother or my stepmom.” I crack my knuckles, hoping it’ll force him to toss my brother aside.

“That is if the baby boy here is royal. You know what my father said about royal blood from the old world?“ Preston grins as he runs the blade’s dull side down my brother’s cheek.

“That it makes you obsolete. Enlighten me, Preston.”

Confidence. I am full of it. My back is straight, my fists are tight, and I’m ready to take on Preston and his gang of dipshits.

“The house of Eider bows to no Prince of Coscoroba.” Preston’s smile is wicked, but I must get him away from my brother.

I must have been the only one not to get the memo about the kingdom. Preston was aware of what was happening to our world and knew what he had to do to fix what he thought was broken. What kind of information my mother leaked out to the royal families? The first too five wins?

“Who says my brother is the prince?” I demand.

My newfound ambition is frightening me.

“I had thought it was you since you came out of nowhere with your head so far in the ground you did not know what was happening around you.” He tosses Pax to his friend Grant, who keeps a tight grip as Preston strides toward me.

I hadn’t seen Grant at first. He must have been hidden behind one of the cars still in the parking lot. My confidence is waning. Sure, I could take one, maybe two, but I would lose with three.

Odette let me in.

I laughed softly and waited for Preston to get to me.

“You forget one thing, Preston.” I narrow my eyes at him and shake my hands. I have one shot to let out the charge, one shot to hit him in the chest and send him flying back.

Then I notice Grant with a blade aimed at Pax’s side. If I make a wrong move with Preston, I’ll seal my brother’s fate. I glance at Karen, still on the concrete pinned by Maddox Gray’s foot. She’s staring at me with hot intensity.

“What’s that?” Preston snarls, now merely a few feet in front of me.

I see what I need to do to take the heat off my brother and stepmother, but it will make things much harder.

“I’m the Princess of Coscoroba. Pax is just a duke,” I lie.

I pull my brother off the top of the food chain and slam myself hard in his place.

What are you doing?

Odile’s bloodlust is fresh on my tongue. I can sense how badly she wants to rip him apart.

“You?” Preston scoffs with a laugh.

“Odette, don’t!” Karen calls out before Maddox punches her in the jaw.

I cross my arms across my chest. “Yes, me. I turn eighteen like the rest of you tomorrow, and we can settle this.”

Preston’s expression darkened. “Or I can kill you now and take the throne.”

“You kill me tonight, and the gates do not open.” I keep my back straight, but I’m not a hero.

Preston’s eyebrows furrow as he looks at me. Something tells me Doctor Stuart failed to tell Preston the game’s rules. Someone else gets to Siegfried’s heir first. This is an all-out slaughter for the throne.

“You’ve been the damn key all this time?” Preston blinks.

“Is it so hard to believe?” I questioned, trying to maintain whatever confidence I had left. I didn’t know what I was doing and needed to figure out Preston was taking the bait.

“My father said the heir was male. A woman cannot take the throne. Which means only one thing.” The wicked expression on Preston’s face made my blood cold.

“It’s a new era. What makes you think I can’t rule a kingdom?” I sound ignorant.

Preston smiles and shakes his head. His blonde hair flowed in the breeze, and his blue eyes danced.

“Because, Odette, you are a murderer, and murderers don’t get to sit on thrones.” Preston steps toward me, but I stand my ground. He turns his attention to his friends. “What do you think we should do?”

Preston’s friends laugh in response. He’s now a few inches in front of me. I can smell his cologne and feel his breath and my forehead. I feel small, but I can’t let it strip away the appearance I had to maintain.

“There is an island in the lake’s heart. We can meet there tomorrow.” My voice trailed off to a whisper. My heart was pounding. I didn’t like how close he was standing.

“You mean Pirate Island? The boys and I used to play there when we were children. It’s supposed to be where the witch lived when the gates were closed. Do you want a little alone time, Odette? Maybe plead your case a little.” He makes a few obscene gestures with his hands.

I was surprised to discover the story behind the little hideaway Odile I had visited earlier that day. I did not know our mother was to have come from the island when the gates were closed. Maybe that was the darkness of the woods. Odile had kept me on the shore. I had not wandered away from her. I should have.

“It’s out of the way and secluded. Nobody would have to know.” I look up at him.

His gaze is distant, but he has a mischievous smile. If he weren’t such a jerk, I would have found him attractive, but in this case, he was an obstacle, and I needed a chance to eliminate him.

My eyes catch Pax’s as he struggles briefly to escape Grant. I shake my head, and he stops moving.

“Tomorrow night?” Preston repeats as he reaches up and grabs my face roughly.

“Yes,” I reply with a stutter.

I’m waiting for him to hit me, as he had done several times over the last week, but the blow to the face never comes.

“I’ll be there. Maybe we can have a little fun before you die.” He teases before pushing my face and motioning to his friends. “Let’s go.”

They walk away with Preston in the lead and his two drones flanking him, each two steps back and walking in unison. There is a lot more to this royal story than I understood.

Once they are out of sight, Pax runs to Karen just as I collapse.

“What did you do, Odette?” Pax demands as he pulls his mother to her feet.

Tea. It solves the roots of all problems. Ice tea fits the heat of a hot summer’s day. Hot tea helps warm the bones from the chill of the wind. It also sits in front of me as I sit at the table with my head in my hands.

Pax drove home while I tried to fix Karen’s lip. Maddox had given her a pretty good blow to the head and split it. She didn’t want me touching her, but I made it clear she had no choice. We ran into my father in the driveway. Instant concern about the state of his wife’s face and even more trouble with the fact that Preston and his gang had accosted us.

We got inside. Dad finished patching Karen’s wounds while I helped Pax make some tea. By the time everyone had sat down at the table, we each had a cup, and nobody was drinking.

I wouldn’t be too concerned. Douchebags travel in packs. Odile says in my head, and I allow my forehead to fall to the table with a thud.

“Why did you do that?” Karen demands, placing a bag of frozen carrots against her jaw.

“Do what?” I ask, bewildered.

“Save us.”

“I will let no one hurt Pax.” I lift my head from the table and turn to look at her.

“He’s been wanting to hurt me for a long time. Why did you stop him?” Pax taps the table in front of me. “You two are hiding things from me, and I feel I deserve to know what’s happening.”

Karen takes a deep breath and puts the carrots on the table.

“I want to know why you felt it was okay to tell people you could go home soon.” My father chimes in from his seat.

Karen appears to be overwhelmed by the questions. On the one hand, she has Pax, who deserves to know the big secret. On the other, she has my dad.

“I don’t know what came over me. I was having tea with my friend Mal, discussing the flowers and trees. I mentioned how I couldn’t wait to see the royal gardens again. From there, it kept flowing out of my mouth with each person I saw. I mentioned the gate and the seasons. I even mentioned the lake where my uncle committed suicide.” Karen’s eyes aren’t as harsh as they had been the day before.

“And you thought you could save your brother by making this deal with Preston Stuart? Odette, as much as I want you to open that gateway portal, I don’t want you taking another life before you have to.” My father looks at me. His eyes are soft and caring. I know he’s not angry with me. He only wants what’s best.

“Another. Life?” Pax asks, following Dad’s gaze. “That’s badass, Odette.”

His excitement would have typically made me smile, but in this case, I don’t think he understood the gravity of the statement.

“It is not badass,“ our father retorts hotly.

I know he’s trying to diffuse the situation. I can tell by how he’s sitting, hunched over, looking deep into his teacup. For a split moment, I wish I could see inside his head.

“Pax, I’m not the Princess of Coscoroba,” I sigh.

“Then who’s this royal heir Preston wants to kill so badly?” Pax looks at all three of us as we stare back quietly, none of us willing to say anything.

How can he not know it’s him? By elimination, he should have figured out who was the real royal at the table.

Karen taps her fingers on the table and growls to herself.

“Pax, my father, was Prince Siegfried’s brother. You are the last of the Coscoroba bloodline.” Karen’s chest heaves as she speaks.

Pax pauses for a moment, tilting his head thoughtfully, then bursts out in laughter.

I glance over at my father, who shrugs. Karen merely stares at her son with her mouth agape.

“So, my sister told the guy who held a knife to my throat she would let him kill her to have the throne.” Pax slams his hands down on the table. “I knew this town was messed up. Nobody ever leaves, and nobody new ever enters. Now you want me to believe that I’m some prince and my sister is my savior? What the hell is wrong with you people?”

He stands up and storms out of the room.

Neither of our parents seemed shocked by his exit. I had expected him to be a little more refined for fifteen. He took it the same way I would have if they had told me I was a witch three years earlier.

“What’s the plan, Odette?” Dad asks, dragging his hands down his face.

I bounce my leg up and down. Honestly, I had no plan. All I knew was the expectation. I knew someone who could answer the how to go along with the why, but I didn’t need to make my father an accomplice to whatever was going to happen.

“I don’t know. I’m flying by the seat of my pants here.” I fall face-first onto the table again.

I beat my forehead lightly on the wood surface.

“Donald, something tells me the least we know, the better,” Karen mutters.

When everyone fell asleep, I snuck out the front door and down to the alleyway where I had met Soren. I’m half expecting to find him there waiting for me, but to my amazement, the alleyway is bare of any life. I trudge through the darkness looking for the entry to Soren’s building, and smile when my hand finds the door handle.

I straighten my shirt, suck in a deep breath, and knock. Soren answers in a pair of silky white men’s pajamas, with a face mask on the top of his head. He looks at me, then the clock, and back at me.

“Cutting it close, aren’t you? It’s ten to midnight,” he mutters.

I stand there like an idiot and stare at him. I had planned out everything I was going to say. Now I’m standing in front of him, and everything I had thought of melted away.

“I’m sorry,” I mutter and turn to leave.

“No, get in here. I’m sure there is a thing or two we need to discuss.” He makes a motion with his hands for me to enter.

I don’t even make it to the door before my mouth opens.

“I need help,” I blurt out.

Soren gestures for me to sit and then stares at me. It’s his turn to look like an idiot.

“Dear God, Odette, what mess did you get into?” He takes a seat on the couch.

The room feels more inviting than it did the first time. The warmth I had felt was gone, and something else was in its place. It didn’t matter what it was. I had to get everything off my chest.

“He was going to kill my brother. I had no choice but to make him think I was the royal heir.” I lean back into the fabric of the chair.

“Do what?” Soren presses his fingers to his temples.

“Preston was going to kill my brother today and to keep him from hurting Pax. I told him I was the heir.”

Soren laughs. “Is he dumb? Everyone knows a girl can’t run a kingdom.”

I rub the palms of my hands on my knees and look about the room.

“He’s not the sharpest tool in the shed,” I respond after some thought.

“You know he’s going to figure it out. What are you going to do to keep your brother safe?” Soren stares at me. I assume he’s gauging my reaction.

“I don’t know. Hide him underground?” I sigh.

We sit there in silence for a moment. Soren taps his foot and stares at me intently while I try to figure out why the place doesn’t feel the same. This eerie feeling spreads throughout my body.

“Have you heard from your mother today?” Soren asks, and I’m surprised.

Why exactly did it matter if my mother had done anything? Then again, it was interesting because while I could feel her, she never swooped in for a good jump scare.

“Actually, no. Should I have been expecting her?”

Why does it matter if my mother has tormented me today or not?

“Depends. Where did you go today?” Soren questions, the eerie feeling swirling around the one object in the room that was making me uncomfortable.

That object was Soren’s chair.

“I went to the asylum and found an island on the lake,” I answer with a shrug. I was trying to make it sound less intriguing than it was.

“You made it to the island?” Soren’s eyes sparkle, and his fingers are tapping on the arms of his chair, but he’s staring at me with this intensity as if he’s awaiting my next sentence.

“Yes, there’s a barrier around the lake my sister couldn’t bypass, but I could.” I act proud of myself, but I’m growing suspicious of Soren.

He isn’t acting the same as when we met or the few times on the River Rem. This needs to be corrected. Is this man an imposter?

After a few more minutes of idle talk, I stand up and do a slight wave to escape.

“I should probably get home. I don’t know why I came. So much to do tomorrow.” I stretch and yawn, indicating I plan to go home and sleep.

“Yes, leave. Get some rest.” Soren smiles and stands up to embrace me.

The only person to touch me in any way other than a friendly one-arm hug is Pax, and this man is no Pax. Sirens go off in my head, and memories of the institution come at me all at once. It takes every ounce of my being to make it out the door before my mother’s torso begins its assault.

I sit at the end of the hallway, hidden in a broom closet until the episode passes and I can make my way home safely.