Prologue
Lester stood over his baby girl’s crib, rocking her softly while singing a soothing lullaby. She fussed, but he knew she couldn’t fit it anymore. Her breathing gradually slowed and overtook her. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead. She didn't stir.
He quietly tiptoed out of the room and shut the door—the coast was clear. Trudging downstairs to the kitchen, he grabbed himself a beer while turning on the baby monitor. He then plopped down on the couch as he turned on the TV, enjoying ever needed downtime.
His wife worked a longer shift than needed that night, just because she enjoyed her Earth's work more than she did her other world's. So he decided to take baby duty for the night so that she could enjoy herself.
The rustle of leaves in the wind and harmonious chirps of crickets lured his mind away. They didn't have crickets back home and he always found himself entranced by their tones. Granted, their Kingdom lay in a region of ice, so not very many crickets could survive there. There were crickets further south, though, and they sounded much different than the crickets on Earth. Their chirps were like rocks landing in a still pond.
He reminisced for a while more—that is, until the static. It was subtle at first, appearing and disappearing for only a few seconds between scenes on his show. By the time he'd sit up to fix it, the screen would settle, allowing him to recline again.
This continued for a few more minutes, until the static covered every inch of the screen. Billows of smoke followed.
"What the hell?" He stood and walked over to the shot piece of technology, banging on it slightly. The screen didn't change and continued smoking. He tried desperately moving each antenna around, to no avail. The static remained and the smoke got thick enough to make him cough. He finally unplugged it.
"Having trouble, brother?"
The hair on the back of Lester's neck stood up. The T.V., shut off completely, showed a familiar figure in the background of the rounded screen. Standing upright, he regained composure and let out a heavy sigh. He faced his brother, who had a smirk plastered on his handsome face. His magenta eyes glistened in glee.
"Mercury,” Lester uttered.
Mercury's smirk grew wider. "You know why I'm here, Lester." Of course he did. Mercury had been aching to end his life ever since the day Mercury murdered their father.
"Let's not do this, Merk."
Mercury's eyes darkened as a blue electricity seeped out from his veins, through his capillaries, and out his finger tips. He shaped the energy in his hand, forming what appeared to be a dagger. Lester swallowed. He'd been away from the blue light for some time now, he could hardly harness its powers—let alone shape it—in order to defend against his brother.
Mercury glared at him. "Don't call me that."
Lester knew anything could set his brother off at this point. Negotiating was probably his only way out of this. "What do you want? The throne clearly belongs to you, so if you think I'm a threat, I assure you I am everything but."
Mercury ignored him and took a firm step forward. "You know what I did when you fled?" Lester said nothing, his heart pounding. Did he kill mother?
Mercury's dagger elongated into a sword, and he aggressively sliced down. The glass coffee table in front of them shattered, shards of glass scattering around the carpet.
"Calm down!" Lester begged.
"I went to the Kingdom of Euphoria and found Dahlia," Mercury said, a far off look in his eyes. "Since she broke my heart, I broke her connection with her husband." Lester's stomach contracted into a sickening knot—the thought of poor Dahlia, and the anguish she must've been feeling; the breaking of a connection was more painful than anything imaginable. "Then, I killed that scum where she lay, her husband and child as witnesses."
"Why?" Lester's heart ached. He couldn't even recognize the brother who stood in front of him. First, he killed their father, who knows what he did to their mother, and then he killed their childhood friend, Dahlia. The boy he grew up with was compassionate and loving. What went wrong?
"What are you hoping to achieve?" he whispered. “Why kill our family in cold blood?”
Mercury slowly raised the sword and pointed it towards Lester's chest. "Revenge." Lester saw the murderous intent plainly written in Mercury's eyes. Wherever his brother was, he was no longer there. The only thing remaining was the monster he saw in front of him.
All he could do now was fight.
He eyed the shards on the ground. Using what little connection he had to the blue light left, he lifted the shards off the floor and sent them flying toward Mercury. Volts of blue light connected to each individual piece streamed out of Mercury's unoccupied hand, stopping them before they could connect to his body. "You're weak." Lester immediately covered his face and neck as Mercury sent the shards into him. He stumbled back and hit the T.V., causing it to crash to the floor. He fell on top of it with a groan.
Mercury stalked over to his wounded brother, his face solemn as he looked down at him. "You remind me of our father. He was just as pathetic as you."
"Please—"
"Quiet!" A persistent cry brought them out of the moment. Jade, Lester thought, closing his eyes. No...
Mercury smiled. "You have a child?" Lester's mouth sealed shut. "How about I meet the new addition to the bloodline?" He yanked up his wounded brother. "Lead the way."
Lester's brain tried in vain to wrack up anything to keep Mercury away from his daughter. But with Mercury even stronger than he remembered him to be, there was no use in fighting. He slowly led the way in dread, until he entered her room, her cries filling the air. Mercury paused for a moment as he looked down at his beautiful niece.
"What's its name?" Mercury asked. Lester let out a shaky sigh and whispered, "Jade."
"Jade," Mercury said, his voice deadpan. "A niece. How wonderful." The blue sword shortened back into a dagger, and Lester immediately knew what Mercury was going to do.
"She's a multi-breed!" he exclaimed. Mercury's head snapped toward him, sudden interest in his eyes. "They're very powerful. It'd be a waste to kill her."
"Those are quite rare, Lester. But she's not my multiworldcial child. I don't mind there being one less of them in existence." He was bluffing but Lester knew he had to prove how desperate he was.
Lester glanced down at Jade, achingly wanting comfort her as her cries continued. Or maybe he wanted her love while it was still guaranteed. What he was about to do was something she might never forgive him for. "If you let me raise her, once she turns eighteen, I'll give her up to you. She can live out the remainder of her days in your care. She’ll help you with your conquests."
Mercury's smile was wicked. "That's the difference between you and our father—you know how to bargain." His dagger dispersed in the air and back into his body. Lester inwardly sighed in relief. "And with a good bargain, I can't resist. Multi-breeds are hard to come by these days. I appreciate your cooperation on this.”
"Yes, I’m sure you do," Lester whispered.
Mercury loved this weak side of his brother. He was so easy to manipulate and control. "What day was she born?"
"April 18th."
"I'll be back for her in her 18th year. If you dare try to flee, I'll kill you and your entire family. Understand?" Lester nodded.
“And Lester, my dear brother,” Mercury said. “Do not let her make The Connection with anyone.”
Lester, confused, asked, “Why not?”
Mercury smiled. “Because I’m going to marry her.”
Nausea filled his stomach. His brother… wanted to marry his
daughter
?
“That’s your niece!” Lester exclaimed.
“She’s a multiworldcial. With her, I will have powerful children. Keep her from making the connection, or she will violently experience a heartbreak. Do you understand?” Lester understood very well. He’d kill whoever she connected with. He’d destroy her and then take advantage of her.
Lester wanted to kill Mercury more than anything. But he knew he couldn’t, not right now. He was too weak and there was too much at stake. Mercury might kill him just for trying, and then kill Jade. To buy them more time, he had to go about things in another way.
“I said, do we have an understanding, Lester?”
“Yes.”
With that, Mercury left him alone in the house. He picked up Jade and held her close to his body, planting a firm kiss on the top of her head. "I'll fix this. I promise."
