#delude

The illusionitself is a small one.

Shorter hair.Messier beard. Softer eyes. An easier mouth. They’re so near toidentical already that with his dark clothes and a smile on his lips,there’s hardly a difference. The real trick is the movement – hiseasy gait, the way he stands with his hands still at his sides,smaller motions but wider reactions.

He thinks he’spulling it off. It’s not perfect, but that’s not the point. The pointis that Anti is following him.

“I see you!”

His voice dripsfrom the streets and the lampposts. Marvin picks up his pace, slidingthrough crowds of people like a cat escaping a dog.

“You can’t get awayfrom me.”

“Stay away fromme!” Marvin shouts, drawing murmurs and attention from the crowdaround them. He grins as people turn their eyes towards him. Antionly wants attention when he’s the one in control. Unfortunately, theglitch will let not let him escape or cause a scene for long. He’spowerful now, and Marvin stands little chance against him.

The magician givesa little cry of pain as something wraps around his legs and hismouth. Anti’s corruption makes his eyes bleed and his stomach churn.He thrashes his head, but he can’t get free.

“Fight all youwant,” Anti hisses. He takes no physical form, but his energychases Marvin through the streets, swathing him in computer-screenheat and blurring his vision with false colors. “I’ll wear you downif it takes hours.”

Marvin laughs,stumbling and sick, swiping at the blood on his cheeks and ignoringthe cries of people around him. Soon enough, Anti’s power makes hisbody stiff and non-complacent, dragging Marvin into a dark alleyway faraway from the watching eyes and starry lights of the city.

Anti takes shapein the middle of the alley, his black form glitching and spasming andhis eyes alight with power and derision. Marvin laughs again, thoughhe doesn’t know why, and sinks to the ground, letting his head fallagainst the side of a building and dropping his illusion. Jack’simage fades away, leaving Marvin dark eyed with exhaustion.

“Got you,” hegrins, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

“Oh, kitten,”Anti purrs, moving forward and flipping his knife about in his righthand. “Did you think I couldn’t tell you weren’t Jack?”

He reaches out andgrips Marvin by the collar, yanking him back to his feet while themagician scrambles, taut with pain. “I could recognize Jack if hewere a corpse decayed. I could recognize Jack as his soul left hisbody. I could recognize him among a hundred little creations, ahundred failed magicians or a hundred broken heroes – ”

Marvin lashes outhis a burst of magic, burning into Anti’s face, and the demon dropshim with a snarl. “Snakes don’t open their mouths except to bite,”the magician snipes, baring his white teeth. “So either give me afight or shut the hell up. So you knew I wasn’t Jack? Congratulations. I was trying to look like Chase, stultus! I know he’s the one you’re after. And guess what? You came after me one way or another. Chase is safe with the others. They’ve all escaped by now, and I hidthem well.” He closes his eyes and lets his head fall back,breathing deep. “Nothing else matters.”

Anti cocks hishead at him. His eyes are black and he’s waiting.

“Go on, then,”Marvin spits, digging his nails into the pavement. “Kill me! I’mnot scared of you! I’m not scared to die.”

Anti nods andgrins wide, drawing close with his shimmering silver knife. “Ah, Iunderstand now,” he says. “You thought you could cover them withyour magic, draw me away, and die nobly. What stupid sentiment, kittycat. Well, you were deluded, star, you were mistaken. It won’t be soeasy as all that.”

He cackles andthrows his head, and Marvin wishes he could back further away. Thedemon is wilder than ever, burning with so much power his hands arehardly staying together, letting blood weep from his throat and hismouth. He looks more like an animal. “No, I won’t kill you, Marvin.I know your magic, created from Jack’s half-hearted imagination. Simplistic and weak, just as he is. Allit will take to break your spell is a little of your life-blood, andthen they’ll be mine again.”

Marvin’s heartcatches in his throat.

“No,” hechokes. “You’re wrong.”

But he’s right.Anti’s right.

“Am I?” asksthe demon.

Marvin gets up torun, fueled by a new desperation, but Anti is there, Anti iswatching, and he grabs Marvin by the hair, throwing him to the groundand burying a knife in the middle of his palm. Blood splatters ontothe street and Marvin screams louder than he knew he could scream,his restraint lost to an explosion of pain. Anti tears off his maskand hits him squarely in the face, once, twice, thrice, blackeninghis eyes and leaving him slumped on earth.

“All theselittle delusions,” Anti hisses. Marvin looks up dazedly, and allthat looks back is a pair of mismatched eyes and a field of heavydarkness. “You and dear Jackie always think so many silly things.That you can trick me, fight me, stop me, escape me, that you cansave the others. No, Marvin. No.”

He strikes himagain, this time with the knife, leaving a long cut in his brother’sarm. Marvin howls like a cat left out in the cold and strugglesagainst Anti’s grip even as the strength drizzles out of him.