Page 1 of Clouded by Envy

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Brenik

Ten Years Ago

Brenik could not get the vision of the headless Sarillas’ bodies he had seen yesterday out of his head. Their necks looked to be perfectly snapped but when he had inched closer, he could see the outline of where the skin had been ripped, blood leaking onto their dark fur. The Jovkins had only eaten the heads, and the Sarillas’ torn bodies were left to rest in the damp grass, as if at peace.

Shaking the vision out of his thoughts, Brenik stood on a tree branch beside his sister, Brayora. He stared intensely at Junah, the creature in front of them, and listened intently to what she needed to say.

“You two must flee while you are still able—before there is nowhere for you to hide any longer,” Junah said with sweat beading against her temples.

The long black horns sprouting from her forehead appeared to penetrate into Brenik’s thoughts, while the shorter ones attached to her temples pointed in two different directions, as if confusing him in which way he should flee in.

Brayora lunged forward and flew down to wrap her arms around Junah’s thick ankle. “Junah, we do not want to run and hide away again. You have been like a mother to us this whole time, and what if something happens to Brenik? I… I would not be able to live with myself!” she cried as her tearstained face turned toward Brenik.

He wanted Bray to be free from harm, but more than anything, he wanted himself to remain safe. Turning her head back around, Bray buried her face flat against Junah’s leg. Brenik watched as Bray’s black braid fluttered against her obsidian wings—each thin vein seemed to pulse rapidly with the fright of having to leave their home. Bray gently lifted her head, released Junah’s ankle, and took several steps back.

Brenik dove off from the branch, beating his wings until his bare feet hit the cool grass beside his sister. Junah’s giant form knelt in front of them. She stared down at Brenik and Bray intently, her golden eyes beaming against her gray skin. Keeping silent, they waited for Junah to speak.

“I am going to let you two little ones know a secret I once attempted myself. It did not work for me, but it may for you. I did not want it to come down to this, but sometimes things do not work out the way we would like.” She paused for a moment before speaking again, and Brenik felt worry gather within his small body. “Away from here—about half a day’s journey to the south—you will stumble upon a rose-shaped stone. Once there, place your hand against the petals and wait for the Stone of Desire to rise, then you may ask for safe crossing. If worthy, you shall pass. If not, you will have to continue hiding. The Jovkins have started to hunt the Sarillas more and more, but bats are still their priority.”

Brenik knew Junah was right—the fact that they were bats made them vulnerable. Their race had been long hunted in Laith by the Jovkins—Junah’s kind. The Jovkins claimed the bats ate all their fruits, but Brenik’s race was so tiny in comparison to them that it should not have mattered. But what was theirs was theirs, the Jovkins seemed to think.

Reaching desperately for Bray’s dry hand, Brenik clenched it with his sweat-slicked one, irked because she was not as frightened as him.

Pulling him closer, Bray leaned her head as far back as she could to gaze up at Junah. “I will do whatever I can to protect my brother.” The tears that had streamed down Bray’s cheeks had already dried, but against her pale skin, her red lips still resembled the color of blood from her sobbing.

When Brenik and Brayora were born, their mother left them behind because there were two of them. Usually, only one bat was born at a time—but there were two who drew their first breath that day. Brenik was too insignificant for his mother to worry about, and because Bray had gotten most of the nourishment—she had been perfectly healthy. It was always her fault. Junah had found Bray and Brenik near a peach tree—instead of destroying their fragile bodies as she was meant to have done, she had taken care of them ever since.

Laying a large open hand against the luscious grass, Junah gave them both a tilt of the head. Brenik and Bray stepped forward onto her palm, and she brought them both up to her shoulder. Bray was the first to step from Junah’s large hand, and she lunged for the Jovkin’s neck in a long hug, arms unable to even wrap halfway around her. Brenik stood on the end of Junah’s shoulder and watched as she mumbled to Bray that she loved her. With one last kiss to the neck, Bray fluttered off, allowing Brenik to finally say his goodbye.

Rushing forward to the warmth of Junah’s gray neck, he wrapped his thin arms around her as much as they would go—which wasn’t far. “I will miss you, Junah,” he said as tiny tears dribbled down his cheeks.

Junah’s neck creaked as she turned to face him, and he backed away to the edge of her shoulder. She appeared tired, and her age was beginning to show—in the deep lines across her forehead and the wrinkles that sketched beside her eyes. “Brenik, there is a darkness and jealousy in you which has to stop now. I know you love your sister, but the envy needs to cease, or it will destroy everything that is a part of you. I have seen your kindness, Brenik. You both mean everything to me, so protect each other because I love you.”

With a sharp inhale, he leaped from Junah’s shoulder. Brenik thought about the words the Jovkin had spoken and although he cared about her deeply, he could not mutter those words back.

A loud howl traveled through the forest, followed by a scream of agony. Brenik flinched midair because he always recognized the sound of a Jovkin tearing its victim to pieces.

“Go!” Junah hissed.

Not turning back once to look at Junah, he flapped his dark wings fiercely, until he found Bray at the edge of the forest, standing on a small branch with black leaves.

“We have to hurry, little brother. It will be all right,” she murmured, as if she were in charge and the only one who was okay. Well,hewas okay, too.

Choosing not to answer his sister, Brenik zoomed right past her.How dare she always call me little brother?he thought. It was only because she was born before him by barely any wind beats. All he heard was a trickle of laughter behind him as they soared through the air, like he was playing a game with her. A smile crossed his face at her sounds because maybe he was.

Brenik’s wings pumped quicker and quicker as he flew past more inky leaves. The foliage changed colors as he flew farther—to sapphire, followed by a deep pink. Hearing her inch closer, he tried to flap even faster, but she was too swift. Bray gave him a small wink when she caught up, then whipped her head forward and zipped by.

There was no sign of sweat on her face, while Brenik was soaked in perspiration. Wet beads pressed to the back of his shirt, making the material of his tunic cling heavily against his skin and slow him down.

Sighing heavily, Brenik wanted to give up. There was nothing he was better at than her. Always second best. Always nothing. He loved her… He hated her… But he needed her because he would miss her more than anything.

“Wait, Bray!” he yelled, not wanting to be left behind by himself.

Spinning around, she gave him a playful grin until she saw his face. “What is wrong, Brenik?”

“Just… Just... Don’t leave me behind. Please,” he stuttered, hating himself even more for the weakness of needing her.

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