Then Erebus lifted his head and the sword. He shifted his handhold so that it covered the grip and the pommel, and then rested the point of the sword against his chest. His voice was strong and sure as he shouted, “Joy! Come forth!” With one quick motion he drew the blade down.
Kalona expected blood to well along the cut, but instead the sword acted like a sponge, soaking the crimson drops up into it so that the blade changed color from glimmering gold to a burnished rose. Then Erebus strode to stand directly in front of Kalona.
“This is probably going to hurt. A lot,” said Erebus.
“No doubt. Go on. I promise not to cry.”
“Don’t be an ass. You’re getting joy. Be happy about it.”
Kalona lifted one brow. “But I don’t have it yet, brother.”
In reply, Erebus tilted his head up and looked directly into the sun and spoke the invocation, “As was meant to be, brother, I share my joy with thee!” Then Erebus pressed the blood-filled tip of the sword against the smooth bronze skin over his brother’s heart.
Pain exploded across Kalona’s chest. He gasped and grunted with the effort it took to remain standing, remain still, as heat flowed into his heart and then surged throughout his body in time with his pumping blood.
At the same moment, Kalona felt a great outpouring of coldness. He gasped as something he hadn’t realized was there loosened its frigid grip on his heart and rushed from his body.
Erebus suddenly mirrored his gasp. His brother staggered, but somehow managed to hold the sword steady against Kalona’s chest until it had drained completely into the immortal’s heart and returned to a shining golden color before disappearing with the sound of a snuffed flame.
Both brothers fell to their knees, breathing hard. Kalona’s hand went to his chest, but there was no slash to mark his perfect flesh.
And then it hit Kalona—joy.
It was like a great infilling of warmth, but it wasn’t just warmth. It was a lightness that bubbled through his blood. Kalona blinked and then drew a long, deep breath—releasing it in a full-body laugh that shook the trees in the nearby grove.
“It is gone!” Kalona shouted as he jumped to his feet. “The constant stress—the tension—the anger and jealousy. Gone!” He turned to Erebus, who was still kneeling and gasping as he tried to find his breath. “Brother! You did it!” Kalona reached out his hand, offering it to his brother so he could help him rise.
The unexpected gesture made Erebus glance abruptly up at his brother—and in that look Kalona saw raw pain, and something darker, more intense.
“What is it? What happened to you?” Kalona asked.
Erebus shook himself like a horse plagued by biting flies. His lips tilted up—at first in a wan shadow of the golden immortal’s usual joy-filled smile—but soon the shadow passed and he reached up, grasping Kalona’s hand and rising to his feet.
“Nothing. It is nothing.”
Kalona continued to grip Erebus’s hand when his brother tried to release his. “No more hidden things. We must always tell each other the truth now, brother.”
Erebus sighed again and nodded wearily. “You are right. I felt anger. Your anger. It entered my heart.”
Panic and fear filled Kalona. “No! I did not mean for that to happen!”
“I know. This isn’t of your doing. Remember the invocation I used: As was meant to be, brother, I share my joy with thee. Well, it seems you weren’t the only one flawed. Apparently I was unbalanced as well.”
“And now will you struggle with jealousy and anger as I did?” Kalona felt a terrible stab of regret. Now that his heart was free of the hold of anger he could appreciate Erebus’s childlike ability to find joy in everything.
“I believe I probably will, but no more—or less—than you. And now that you have joy, do you feel you can keep anger at bay?”
Kalona thought about it, testing that place within him where he used to nurture the image of Nyx laughing in Erebus’s arms and telling him he made her so, so happy …
His gaze shot to his brother’s. “It is gone!”
“It?”
“The biting, nagging, never-ending jealousy that I used to worry daily like a sore tooth. It is gone!” Kalona laughed again as he pulled his brother into a bear hug. “Yes, Erebus! Thanks to you I can keep anger at bay!”
“And I will be able to keep it at bay as well. If you release me before you break me in half.”
“Oh. Sorry.” Kalona hadn’t realized he’d picked up Erebus until he released his brother, who then dropped several feet to the mossy ground.
Erebus smiled at him. “You need brotherly hug lessons.”
Kalona snorted.
“Am I going too far too soon?” Erebus asked—still grinning.
“Yes, but I find that I suddenly do not mind.” He paused and then added. “Brother, let us swear an oath right now.”
“Not to give in to anger?” Erebus asked.
“Yes, and more. Are you with me?”
“I am.”
Kalona lifted his arm, opening his hand, and his deadly onyx lance instantly manifested. He plucked the lance from the air and sliced the pointed tip across his palm, drawing a line of scarlet. His gaze went to his brother expectantly.
“I suppose it is your turn to cut me.” Erebus held his hand out to Kalona, palm open.
Kalona’s lance cut a narrow trail of red across it. The brothers gripped one another’s hand, mixing their blood.
“I vow not to allow anger to win,” said Erebus solemnly.
“And I vow not to allow anger to win. Darkness will not use me to enter Nyx’s realm,” said Kalona, slowly as if each word was a great weight he was lifting to release. Then he continued. “The reason I didn’t tell anyone about L’ota’s death is because she was killed after leading me to the White Bull.”
“The White Bull! Kalona, that creature isn’t a bull! He isn’t even a creature. He’s the embodiment of evil, just as the Black Bull is the embodiment of good.”
“Yes. I realize that. And that is why I did not tell anyone that the sprite died—because she was in league with Darkness, which I only knew because Darkness had tainted me—though I refused to see that as the truth it was.”
“We should not tell Nyx of this,” Erebus said. “Do you agree?”
“I do, and gladly. It would only hurt her, as well as worry her,” said Kalona. “She has had hurt and worry enough from me for an eternity. And with us both swearing not to give into anger, Darkness will have no way to seep into our Goddess’s realm—so she need never know her favorite fey betrayed her.”