~*~*~*~

"Daaaad! Where is my algebra book? I left it right on the dinning room table!" shrieked a high-pitched voice as a young girl with wild strawberry blonde locks raced through the hallway. Her question reverberated all throughout the walls of the house as she leaned against the second floor banister and searched the downstairs for her parents.

"Kat! People are sleeping!" yelled back a much softer voice as a slender boy threw open his bedroom door and screeched at the girl from behind its safety. Kathryn’s head whipped back at the sound of the order and she stormed over to the other boy, grasping the wood of the door tightly with her pearly pink fingernails.

"You want me to be late for school?" she snapped, yanking the door out of his hand and causing him to slip to the floor. "It's already 6:30!" Kat stared down at him with disdain as he pushed himself off the ground, mumbling in irritation. As he raised his head, he noticed that he was still in his nightclothes, and an angry flush fell over his face.

Her twin brother pushed her backward with a derisive snort and slammed the door shut, noting her surprised expression. He grabbed a set of clothes from his closet and shot a quick glance at the digital clock blinking on his desk bureau. "You know we don’t have to leave until 8:00. Will it really take you an hour to brush that ratty mop that you call hair?" The boy snickered aloud as he heard a sudden pounding on his door.

"Tyrell Arteme, I’m going to kill you!"

"Now now now Kathryn. You know Dad says you have got to control that raging temper of yours," mocked Tyrell as he grabbed a bottle of mousse and poured it into his palm. He slapped the stuff into his mahogany brown hair, creating slight spikes in the top with sharp strokes of his fingers. The boy worked with his mane until he was satisfied with his appearance and then walked back over to the door, pausing a moment to take in the furious insults that Kat was hurling at him from outside.

"Temper! I’ll show you temper. Just come out here and I’ll teach you to talk to me like that!"

With a short laugh, Tyrell flung open the door, throwing his sister, whom had been leaning against the entrance, to the side. "Hey Kat, you better get up. Don’t want to be late," he smirked standing over her and winking one of his excited gray-green eyes. Kat hissed and swatted at him weakly as he walked past her.

Tyrell continued down the hall, ignoring his sibling’s irate responses, until he reached the farthest back room, which was giving off a soft purplish glow from underneath the door. He lifted the silver knocker and rapped it against the door. "Angie. Hey Angie, it’s time to get up."

After a few minutes, he could hear the sound of someone making his or her way to the door. A second later, the door opened inward, and a pair of alert light amethystine eyes met his. Tyrell smiled as he gazed at the older girl standing in front of him wearing her long black blouse and a pair of tight-fitting sable slacks. Her dark silver hair hung in a tight high ponytail to the middle of her back. The girl leaned against the doorway, resting her weight on her fine-boned hand as the room behind her gleamed with the bright glow of a black light.

"Kathryn woke you up again, didn’t she Tye?" the youth asked in a hushed tone, which was usual of her character.

"Yeah, so what else is new?" barked Tyrell with an indifferent glance backwards as he motioned her to follow him. She nodded and shadowed him as he made his way down the staircase and rushed over to the refrigerator to search it for something to eat. He located them both a pair of bagels and nibbled at one, sitting down at the table to wait for the rest of his family to show up.

The boy soon saw his father approach from the guest hall, a hyperactive Kat nagging at him for some missing book. The older man, Jace, waved at his son and niece who were enjoying a muffled conversation at the table. He brushed his daughter away from his side and took a seat across from the chatting pair. "Good morning Tyrell. Angelique. Looking forward to starting school again?"

"I guess. Too bad Angie’s going to be in twelfth and I’m not in any classes with her except math and art. Even Ren is only with me for two classes. The way things are looking so far; I’ll probably be spending most of my time with Kat. I’m soo excited," grumbled the boy turning from Angelique to address his father.

As if on cue, Kat sauntered over to the table, twisting half of her red-blonde hair into a tight weaving braid. She repeated the procedure with the other half and then brought the two braids together with a tight twist of an elastic band wound around her index and middle fingers. "Come now, brother, I’m not that bad am I?" she asked in a much calmer voice than earlier, allowing her crisp tone to settle his anxious mind.

"No Kat, you’re worse," muttered Tyrell seeing a tiny smile grace Angelique’s lips.

"Jerk!" his sister retorted, landing a playful slap to his shoulder. Her eyes fell as his watch as she leaned over the table and she pulled back in surprise. Suddenly, an ear-shattering honk erupted from outside as both Kat and Tyrell leapt up from their positions.

"Yikes! We’ve got to go! See you later," she called back as she dashed out the door, spotting her algebra book from behind a counter on her way out. Kat snatched up the manuscript and flashed her father a contented smile before disappearing through the door.

~*~*~*~

As soon as the three youths stepped out the door, they were bombarded with a hideous, loud music that roared from a sleek black car. "Yo Arteme, what’s up!" a raucous voice yelled out from his car window as he pulled into the driveway. The door swung open and a raven-haired teenager climbed out of the car. His hair was spiked throughout the top with bright red highlights on each of the spikes that swayed in the open air. A set of stud and hoop earrings raced up his right ear, a silver ball-bearing necklace hung around his throat, and a tiny black eyebrow ring completed the look. He appeared to be about seventeen.

"You’re late as usual Maren," answered Tyrell running over to the car leaving Angelique and Kat waiting on the side. He leaned against the hood of Maren’s car, yielding a curious glance as his misty emerald eyes locking with deep steel gray.

"Aw buddy, you know you’re never really late if you can manage to arrive in style," chuckled Maren as he adjusted the lapels on his dress shirt, which was looking rather untidy with most of the top buttons undone.

Tyrell observed the sloppy attire, being especially perturbed by the rolled-up sleeves, which reached his shoulders, as well as the ragged cuffs of the older boy’s black slacks. Then he ran his eyes over his own attire in a deliberate assessment, taking in the perfectly buttoned shirt and the pristine pants, as well as the light gray blazer jacket which was thrown over his clothing. He rolled his eyes in frustration and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Where’s your jacket? You know Mara will skin you alive if you show up at school without it."

"Ease down boy. I’ve got my jacket. It’s in the car," snapped Maren jerking his thumb back toward the front seat, over which his jacket was tossed in a haphazard fashion.

"How about your hair? Didn’t you get suspended for breaking Carthala’s appearance code last semester?" questioned Kat as she trotted over to the pair.

"Bitch bitch bitch. Jeez, Kat, you’re worse than Arteme sometimes. For your information, Mr. Mara is going to have to keep off my back this year because I’ve managed to get a waiver on the dress code."

"Oooh, and how did you pull off that little scheme, pray tell?"

"I got Dad and Mom to explain exactly how important my individual style was to my social maturation, in monetary terms of course. The only stipulation was that I still wear the traditional uniform. But who says I can’t alter the way I wear it, right?" added the black-haired youth with a slight smirk, heading back to the car.

"Only you, Ren. Only you could manipulate the system like this," Tyrell laughed playfully as he watched Maren reach into the back seat and pull out a decent black tie.

"Still got to wear the tie, huh?" Kat challenged, smoothing down her navy blue skirt, which had gotten wrinkled in her rush to get ready.

"Must we always get in the last word, Kat?"

"Leave him alone Kathryn," warned her brother shoving her away from Maren as he hurried over to the back seat and began rummaging around the stuff strewn about the area. "Where’s the guitar, Ren?"

"Now why would I have it when we don’t have practice today?" Maren replied with a casual smirk.

"Yeah right! When has that ever stopped you?"

"Darn, can’t ever fool you, Arteme. The guitar’s in the trunk. I’ve still got to talk to Cyrus about finding a new bassist since Mika left."

Just then, Angelique walked up to the pair and tapped Tyrell’s shoulder. He turned around and found himself gazing into a very annoyed pair of lilac eyes. "You do plan on getting us to school today, right Tyrell?" she asked.

"We’re going! We’re going! Get in the car!" growled the eldest youth as the rest of the adolescents struggled to find a seat in the messy vehicle. Maren started the car up and quickly pulled out of the driveway, then started down the street. As he drove, he glanced at the rearview mirror and noticed that his younger friend had become suddenly solemn. Eager to discover the reason for the unusual change, he caught Tyrell’s attention and shot him a look of mock concern. "So how is my little Arteme doing today? Had any of your freaky dreams yet?"

"Oh great topic to begin a conversation with!" snapped Kat from the opposite side of the front. She punched the older boy in his arm and watched him pretend to wince in pain.

"Man, you’re sister really hits hard. Even harder than you, Arteme."

Tyrell snapped out of his silence as he heard the insult and jerked up his head as he narrowed his eyes, somewhat irritated. "Hah ha. Very funny." Then the emerald-eyed youth added with a small hint of hesitation in his voice, "And to answer you question, no I don’t recall having any bizarre dreams lately."

Angelique was the only one who seemed to notice it though, as Maren and Kat were currently engaged in pelting each other with various insults. She gave him a knowing glance. He could see that she assumed that he was probably trying to keep something from the others again. She probably even thought that he would at least talk to her about it. They always told each other everything. That was probably one of the reasons why they were so close.

"I think we need to have a talk later today," his cousin stated as he swallowed in his throat, praying that she didn’t sense the insincerity of his reply. Tyrell nodded solemnly and then pretended to concentrate on the shapes whirling by as they drove. Kat and Maren continued to bicker lightly as the raven-haired boy teased the younger girl without mercy.

~*~*~*~

Tyrell waved a quick farewell to Maren as he leapt out of his car and rushed to the door of his home, anxious to check out the new video that Maren had lent him. It was supposed to be about some kid with the ability to see the future through his dreams. Of course, it was completely full of gore and the occult otherwise Maren would have never rented it. Oh well, maybe it would make him feel better about his dream from last night. He hadn’t yet told Angelique about his dream. This one just seemed so confusing that he wasn’t sure if even she would be able to make sense out of it. How could he explain to her that he had seen himself and two others battling with awesome swords of light against some invincible entity? If she didn’t think he was crazy yet, she sure would then. Why did he have these insane visions?

Even Maren showed concern toward his odd premonitions though he would, on occasion, tease Tyrell about their reoccurrence. Aside from his sister, Angelique, and Maren, he had never shared the secret of his unusual visions with anyone. His visions had always disturbed his family, especially when it began to appear that his dreams were actual predictions of the future. During his younger years, he couldn’t count the times he had burst into their room afraid and crying. His family had dragged him to psychiatrist after psychiatrist trying to figure out what could possibly be causing such bizarre images to haunt his sleep. But after ten years of effort, they all had come to the conclusion that Tyrell’s situation was simply a phenomenon. A phenomenon. Basically all they were trying to say was that nobody had any idea what was wrong with him. He was just a freak.

Checking to see if anyone else was around at the moment, Tyrell climbed up the stairs and made his way to his bedroom. He pulled on the bottom drawer of his clothes chest. Instead of being stockpiled with various fashion styles as with the rest of the chest, this drawer contained a large pad of white paper and a few worn types of charcoal drawing pencils. He withdrew the paper tablet and chose two of the larger pencils. Satisfied with his materials, he sunk to the ground and leaned against the chest, flipping through the already used pages of the tablet that were full of various sketches. Most of which featured unknown people, ominous places, and other miscellaneous things.

As he had grown older, he had learned to control his surprise after the dreams and no longer rushed to his parents for comfort or reassurance. His visions weren’t always scary, some were just enigmatic. Angelique’s suggestion to draw what he saw had proven a great help since it provided him with a chance to study the transpirings in his mind and sort them out into some kind of intelligible meaning. Still, he had never shown the dream sketches to anyone but Angelique for fear that his parents might be disturbed by the visions. Since he had quit calling on his parents for support with the dreams, they had begun to believe that perhaps the visions had stopped plaguing their child. Tyrell did not wish to prove them wrong.

One dream he had grown accustomed to started when he was barely five years old. This persistent dream had always featured the same three children each separated in age by one year. In his dreams, the eldest lived in a world of abuse and despair, trapped with a foreboding premonition that he could neither escape nor accept. He seemed to possess eyes of an unusually dark violet hue and his hair had always appeared to be a lavish ebony. What made him stand out the most was the fact that this elder boy was always followed by a large black beast. Another one of the children was cursed with a life of pure torment and depression. His only thoughts seemed to center around death and vengeance. This boy had eyes and hair of an intense red shade and had sometimes appeared with another person. The last child seemed vaguely familiar and seemed to be born into the lap of luxury and love. Oddly enough, something inside him knew that the youngest boy was in fact Tyrell himself. He didn’t know why, but he just knew.

Despite the fact that the characters in his dream lacked any similarity to each other, he couldn’t help but feel that they were somehow bonded. This fact was further augmented by the way each of them was always staring off into the distance. Well, he assumed that that was what they were looking at for the first few times he had experienced the dreams. But by this point, he had realized that what they were really staring at was some faint purplish light that almost seemed to pulse with its own life. What was that odd light? Did it symbolize something? He was used to pondering these questions every night, yet his queries had never been answered.

Nonetheless, last night’s dreams had been the worst he had experienced in quite some time. Where had they come from? Images of the two youths and him brandishing cruel looking swords and standing before a shadowed killer had occupied last night’s dreams. The swords had been frightening, especially the one that he had held himself, the one that had a hilt carved from cold onyx with a set of spikes near the part where the blade met the hilt. It had had a jagged silver blade with a lightning shaped impression running down its length. But the most unsettling thing hadn’t been the weapons, it had been the dark purple feathers that had lined the ground and swirled through the air where they fought. The feathers had been stained crimson, a testament to the battle ensuing around them. When he had reached down to examine one of the violet plumes, he had discovered the ground to be bathed in blood that had covered his fingertips upon contact. It was his own blood that poured from the fatal wound in his chest, which the strange figure had inflicted. He recalled screaming in sheer terror before waking up safe in his own bed, shaking in hysteria, and drenched in a cold dripping sweat.

For the first time in a long while, he had actually wished that someone had heard him. He was that disturbed by his premonition. Now he had the perfect chance to share his feelings with Angelique, yet he continued to avoid telling her, afraid that the dream had something to do with her in particular. A nagging voice in his head urged him against talking to her, promising a great deal of pain for disobedience. Reluctantly, Tyrell had submitted to his conscience, loathe to put his best friend in any sort of danger.

Most found the bond between the two teenagers puzzling since Angelique rarely talked to anyone else. Some people chalked up their friendship to the fact that she was his cousin and maybe he could understand some part of her that others couldn’t. Yet the whole notion that Angelique was related to him had always bothered Tyrell. Though they were almost inseparable, the young man couldn’t help but wonder why he never felt any family connection around her. Not only that, both his parents and Angelique’s mother had always been very cagey about the whole subject of her family. They never even mentioned her father.

Still lost in his thoughts, Tyrell began the light sketches of the figures he had seen in his dream. Even though his dream self had not known them, by now he was quite familiar with them. They had been the same exact characters who usually inhabited his dreams night after night. But the last figure who had appeared had been one whom he had never encountered before. As he focused on arching the sloping lines of the wings he had seen, he tried his best to determine what the entity’s presence had meant. Most of all, he wanted to know why the being had been so intent on killing him.

"Tye, when are we going to talk?" inquired Angelique, cutting through his musings as she rapped her fingers against his door. Tyrell slammed his tablet shut and tossed it back into the lower drawer along with the now dulled pencils. He snatched the video from where he had sat it on the floor and leapt to his feet. When he got up and scrambled to open the door, Angelique appeared within the doorway gazing at him with her deep soul-searching eyes. She could clearly tell that he was in some kind of torment and hated to see such a normally cheerful person in such a state.

"Don’t worry Angie. We’ll talk, I promise. Right after the movie’s over, okay?" pleaded the boy as he grabbed her wrist and dragged her downstairs and into the recreation room. The room had a huge television set with the full entertainment works. Letting go of his cousin, he jammed the tape into the video player with a nervous flick of his fingers. He knew that he sounded way more anxious than he had intended, but he ignored the feeling as he splayed himself across the couch. Then he made a slow turn of his head to glance toward Angelique who seemed to regard him with an unbelieving stare for a moment before shrugging her shoulders in reply.

~*~*~*~

Upstairs, Tyrell’s mother, Tiana, approached her son’s room hoping to pick up whatever laundry he had left in his basket. As she entered, she noticed that the bottom drawer was ajar and seemed to have something poking out of it. Not usually one to pry into her son’s private belongings, Tiana stepped over and began to close the drawer. As she did, she noticed that the object protruding inside was, in fact, a drawing pad, in particular, the one that she had often seen her son working on in his room many times. He had never mentioned the desire to become an artist to either her or her husband.

Intrigued, she assured herself that Tyrell wouldn’t be too upset if she took one little peek. After all, she wanted to see if her son’s artistic talent was something she could praise since Tyrell so seemed to enjoy his parents’ recognition, especially his father’s. She pulled the tablet out and skimmed through a few pages, her eyes widening in shock as she took in the myriad of images, some beautiful, some sad, and some utterly horrifying. In that moment, she knew that her son’s frequent assurances that he was no longer being visited with the foretelling dreams were all lies. He had just chosen to no longer inform his parents of their appearance.

Tiana gazed in awe at the pictures, paying close attention to those showing the three young boys and the ones featuring fearsome weapons of sorcery. The last one was the most disturbing though. The sword on the page resembled one that she had seen in her mind's eyes when listening to stories as a teenager. Jace had loved to entertain her with his fantasy tales of some woman named Celeste and her incredible powers. He said that her diary had been an heirloom in his family for decades. Though he never believed that Celeste had been speaking the truth in the passages, he had taken great pride in sharing the mesmerizing stories with his young lover. But why was Tyrell drawing pictures of this now? Her husband had never shared his fairy tales with their children. The legend of Celeste and her adventures with her friends and the Shards had been a secret for her ears alone. He had even lost the diary in the attic soon after they were married. So how was her son able to capture the exact same weapon in such elegant detail?

This was definitely something of which her husband should be informed. Carefully pulling the last drawing from the rest, she placed the tablet back in the bottom drawer and rushed down the stairs. She saw her son engaged in watching a movie with Angelique and contemplated telling him that she was aware of his secret. Then she decided it was best to wait until she heard what his father had to say since Jace was better at handling these things.

"Tyrell, I’m going to see your father for a bit. I might be a little late getting back so be sure to let your sister know when she gets home. I’ll call later," she informed her oblivious son, hoping he didn’t notice the worry in her voice.

"All right. I guess I can fix something for dinner," Tyrell replied in a flat uninterested tone as his eyes remained on the television screen. He obviously hadn’t picked up on her anxiety and she was glad of it. Waving a hasty goodbye, Tiana stepped out of the room and left the house without another word.

Angelique listened to the car pull away from the driveway and turned to her cousin, lilac eyes full of concern. "Did that seem a little strange to you Tye? Her leaving all of the sudden." Tyrell shrugged and presented the older girl with a reassuring smile. "Don’t worry about Mom. She’s always getting silly ideas and rushing off without any real reason. You should know that by now Angie," he answered almost laughing to himself.

"Yes, but I still think..."

"You worry too much Angie. Now come on, you’re missing the best part."

~*~*~*~

"Nooo! I wanted to borrow the car tonight!" a voice shrieked from one of the upstairs bedrooms. "You’re not being fair! It’s just a stupid picture! Face it Mom, Tyrell’s not clairvoyant, he’s just got an overactive imagination...No, I’m not being selfish! I just think that you should stop freaking out just because Tyrell draws a stupid picture. It doesn’t mean anything! Dad promised I could have the car tonight! NO! He promised! But mom...."

Cringing from the ear-shattering tantrum ensuing upstairs, Tyrell reached for the remote so he could turn up the sound on the television. It had been almost four hours since his mother had gone to find his father and Kathryn had been busy preparing for her date with her friends for the better part of the last hour. Evidently, something had interfered with her plans and she wasn’t too happy about it. He had been trying to keep Angelique’s mind off asking him about his problems by flipping the television through several amusing shows. But as his sister’s hysterical wailing carried far more volume than the television could ever manage, he soon shut the entire system off. Throwing the remote to the floor, he climbed off the chair and stormed over to the foot of the stairs as Angelique watched in intent fascination.

"Hey Kat, can you keep it down up there? We’re trying to watch TV!" he called up to his sister in an impatient cry.

"You shut up! This is far more important than some silly flick!" hissed Kat racing out of her room and to the railing. Then she turned he face back to the phone. "See! He’s just fine! He’s watching a movie for crying out loud. He can’t be predicting the apocalypse today! No, I’m not trying to be funny!"

"I mean it Kat! Keep it down!"

"Excuse me," the girl cooed into the speaker before once again turning her heated gaze on her brother. "If it’s so important to you, go watch your lousy show at Maren’s. I’m very busy here."

"Quit hassling them! Mom and Dad don’t need to hear your whining all the time," reprimanded Tyrell beginning to start up the stairs. If he didn’t get her to shut up soon, Angelique would start to ask him about his dream again. He fumed to himself and then set his vision on the phone Kat clutched in her hand. "Give me that thing!"

"If you come any closer, I’ll slap you!" warned Kat backing away from her advancing brother. A voice from within the phone caused her eyes to widen in surprise as she dropped her tone and spoke to her mother in a more innocent fashion. "No Mom, me and Tyrell are just playing. Tyrell don’t you dare! I mean it! Tyrell! Tyrell!!!" The phone flew out of the girl’s hand as Tyrell lunged at her arm. He lurched out and tried to recover it as Kat screamed in rage and kicked him in the side.

"Ow! Kat you little..."

His sister dived for the phone again as he stuck out his foot to trip her. She crashed to the floor, smacking the phone with her elbow and sending it hurtling off the stairway. With clawing desperate hands, she tried to reach it before it slipped through her fingers and slammed against the downstairs floor, emitting a high-pitched beep. Kat gasped and ran the stairs as her brother climbed to his feet and limped after her.

Before she could reach it, Angelique walked over to the broken object and picked it up.

"Give me that!" roared Kat ripping the phone away from the other girl and shoving it in Tyrell’s face. "Just look at this! What do have to say about it?"

"Looks like you broke it," Tyrell replied in a cool tone, catching a slight smirk from Angelique.

"I broke it! Your childish temper is what broke it! If you hadn’t tried to take it..."

"Well, arguing isn’t going to fix it. And you can bet Uncle Jace isn’t going to be too happy about this. So what do you intend to do with it?" Angelique interrupted, stepping in between the two siblings.

"I bet Ren could fix it. I’ll give him a call," posed the boy, motioning toward the kitchen.

Kat stepped in front of her brother and glared. "Don’t bother! I’ll call him."

Tyrell shrugged his shoulders and moved out of Kat’s way. "Whatever. Hey, what were you arguing with mom for anyway?" He shot her a quizzical glimpse as he massaged his sore side.

His sister turned to him and sighed in aggravation. "I was supposed to borrow the car today."

"So?"

"And those two zealots decided to blow off my plans so they could talk."

"Why did they do that?"

"Apparently, Mom discovered some secret drawings of yours in your room today. She seems to think that they’re images from what you see in your dreams. What a load of crap! God, our parents are such superstitious freaks! Anyway, she decided to go find Dad and consult him on the 'hidden meaning' of the drawing. So basically, because you like to draw morbid pictures, I don’t get to see my movie tonight! I hate my life!"

Tyrell stepped backwards in a sluggish daze, feeling incredibly guilty. His parents were reacting just like he always feared when he imagined them learning about the drawings. Now they would be fussing over it forever. All he needed now was to have his father criticize him for having an overactive imagination. His dreams had always bothered Jace more than the rest of his family. Tyrell felt terrible about it. He just wanted his father to be proud of him. But all Jace could see him as was a freak.

"Look I’m sorry," he responded with a soft shake of his head, "I wish I had never drawn the dumb thing."

"Well you’re being sorry isn’t going to change anything. Dad is going to flip and everything's going to be messed up," snapped Kat as she whipped around and began to stalk off in the direction of the kitchen.

"I said I was sorry. You think I like having bizarre dreams? It’s not my fault!"

"I don’t care what goes on in the crazy head of yours Tyrell! But must you insist on messing up my life with some twisted sketches?" the girl called back, holding up the shattered phone again.

"Stop that!" snarled Angelique from behind Tyrell as she pushed him away and grabbed Kat’s arm. "You stop treating him like he’s some freak! It’s your parents’ fault for reacting the way they are. They only are doing this because they want to keep the family safe. Even if it is ridiculous, at least it’s done with good intentions. Tye can’t help it if he sees things that others can’t. It’s part of who he is. Now instead of throwing a fit like some spoiled child, why don’t you see if you can figure this out so you can explain it to Aunt Tiana and prevent the chaos that you’re so afraid of!"

Kat stood in shock, unable to say anything in her defense as gazed into the furious lavender eyes of her older cousin. Tyrell also looked stunned. He had never seen Angelique get so angry with anyone and he had never ever seen her yell like she had done. She had always seemed to keep calm no matter what happened and nothing had ever seemed to bother her. But a moment ago, his quiet cousin had looked as though she was ready to fight his flippant sister.

Tyrell made an attempt to move toward the two girls when they heard the phone ring from within the kitchen.

"I’ll get it," quipped the younger girl eager to get away from her livid cousin. She pulled her arm away from Angelique with ease and dashed into the kitchen, cupping the phone in her hands. In moments, Kat was chatting on the phone with Maren. She spun around the kitchen, twirling the cord in her delicate fingers, as she hung on her friend’s every word. Kat thought that Maren was such a funny guy. Of course, his perfect looks didn’t hurt either. Too bad he was more interested in tormenting her than letting their relationship develop. Oh well, she could wait for now. In a few weeks, her birthday party would be coming up and she could find out more about his true feelings then.

In the other room, Angelique suddenly seemed to realize how foolish she had acted moments ago despite everything her mother had told her of letting her anger get to her. She lowered her eyes and walked over to Tyrell with her head held low. "I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that," she whispered.

Her cousin slipped his arm around her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. "It’s okay Angie. We all get a little angry sometimes and we usually end up regretting what we say later. But in this case, I hope you don’t regret a thing." The silver-haired girl shrugged away from his embrace and sank onto the couch.

~*~*~*~

Having finished contacting her husband with her cell phone, Tiana approached the office that he had told her to come to. He didn't seem as upset as her on the phone so Tiana figured that maybe Jace had another explanation for their son's visions. Maybe they didn't mean anything after all. She was anxious to speak to her husband as she approached the building where he worked.

A sound behind her alerted her to the presence of some other figure nearby. She whirled around but all she discovered was a flash of black followed by a faint growl. A dog? Well, this was the city so it wasn't that surprising to be trailed by one of the stray dogs. Still, she was nervous enough as it was and really wasn't looking forward to being attacked by some vicious mongrel. Tiana rushed to the door and scrambled inside.

Thankfully, her husband's office was located on the first floor so finding it took barely less than five minutes. Jace was busy reviewing some reports that were piled around his computer. He heard his spouse enter the room and looked up, giving her a bright smile.

"So Tiana, you say that Tyrell's been having his odd dreams again?" the man asked, shuffling some of the papers on his desk.

Tiana took a seat next to the desk and leaned against the oak surface, folding her hands in front of her. "Not again, dear. I believe that Tyrell has been having them this entire time and just lying to us about it. He's found a new way of dealing with it now. It appears that our son chooses to reproduce images from his dreams into drawings. The sheer amount of sketches are a definite give-away that this activity has been going on for some time."

"They're just dreams, Tiana. We shouldn't pay them that much attention. We've spent way too much money already trying to decipher them. Tyrell is sick of the doctors, which is probably why he has chosen to lie to use about this. Perhaps we should just give him his space. That's all he really wants."

"No, Jace. They're not just dreams," Tiana contested, pulling the folded drawing of the winged-figure and Onyx out of her purse. She pointed to the sword held in Onyx's hand. "This looks just like the way you used to describe Celeste's sword to me. How can Tyrell know about this?"

Jace reached over and took the drawing from his wife's fingers. He studied it for a moment, running his eyes over the characters on the page as well as the impressive weapons they were wielding. "It does look like the Divinity," he mused, bringing the page closer to his face. "But Celeste said the Divinity was an alternate form of some cross."

"You still have that one cross, right Jace?"

Her husband nodded his head, giving her a quizzical look to express his puzzlement at her sudden interest in the relic. "Sure, I still have it. That and the Dragoneye. Celeste must have passed them down the generation line just to keep people thinking that her crazy stories were real. My parents always told me that she was a nut. Nobody has ever taken a word in her journal seriously."

"But Celeste…She could see the future in her dreams. I remember you telling me about that too," urged Tiana as a cold feeling ran through her. She looked out the window in the office. Outside, she could make out the form of a large canine, lying on the back steps. It seemed to notice her change in observation and leapt onto a nearby dumpster and began to paw at its contents. Tiana sighed and brought her eyes back to Jace.

What was she so worried about? It was just a dog. Just a hungry mutt looking for something to eat. It was probably following her in hopes that she would give it something. Yet, it was rather big for a common dog and the way it had appeared to be watching her put her on the edge. Its eyes rolled back to her for a moment, shining an illustrious violet. Tiana caught the look, but pretended not to notice as she waited for Jace to reply to her statement.

"What's wrong?" Jace posed, realizing that his wife had become somewhat distracted.

"Nothing, I was just looking at this dumb dog outside. It was following me before I came inside and I guess I'm still a bit jumpy about it."

The man turned around and stared at the window, watching the black beast continue to scrounge for something in the trash. "It looks like just an ordinary mutt to me."

"I'm sure that's all it is. I'm just letting my anxiety get to me. I'm sorry," Tiana responded, waving her husband's attention away from the window and back to the problem at hand.

"About what you were asking earlier, Celeste claimed that she was clairvoyant. There was never any proof. The crazy lady also claimed that she was the descendent of some family with magical powers. She was an eccentric."

"When did Celeste say that she used to fight with her sorcery?"

"Oh, I can't remember. It's been so long since I perused through her phony diary. According to crazy old Celeste, she and her Guardians used some enchanted Shards to fight against some all-powerful entity. You're not buying any of this, are you, Tiana?" Jace reproached, stunned at the sincerity in his spouse.

Wringing her hands, Tiana averted her eyes from Jace and sighed once more. "I don't know. Where are the cross and the Dragoneye?"

"I think Kat got a hold of them. You know her and fancy jewelry. I told her she can keep them as long as she doesn't lose them or break them. Basically, that means that she can't ever wear them due to her track record," the man joked.

Tiana also chuckled at the recollection of their fiery daughter. Kat did love her charms but she was harder on jewelry than anyone that either adult had ever seen. Nine times out of ten, she always came back with a broken chain or a chipped stone.

She got up from her chair and walked over to stand by the window. "I would still be better if I knew that those relics were away from our children. I know that I shouldn't believe a word that Celeste wrote, but I can't help but feel that the children are somehow connected to her. Why else would Tyrell have those dreams? Can't we just get the charms away from Kathryn?"

The second she spoke, there was a loud bang outside the window as she saw the dog spring from the dumpster, pushing it backward with his leap. Jace spun to the side, catching a good glimpse of the animal as it raced by the building. He pushed Tiana away from the window and ran to the door, throwing it open.

"Stay here!" he ordered her as the woman gazed at him with trembling emerald eyes.

"Where are you going?"

"That thing is no dog. That's a wolf. A wild animal like that shouldn't be allowed to roam the city. What if it bites someone?"

"Be careful, Jace," Tiana warned, taking a step toward her husband as he exited the room. She looked back down at the drawing the man had left on the desk. Did this wolf have something to do with what was going on with her son? The woman sank into the chair and laid her head upon her hands, fighting the feeling of foreboding that was flowing through her.

~*~*~*~

As Kat danced around the room, a frigid chill suddenly surrounded her body causing her to gasp. Never before had she felt like this. It was as if something was warning her of an unseen danger. Her parents had often assumed that that’s what Tyrell’s dreams were all about, but never had she experienced anything of the sort. She clutched the phone in her now unsteady hand and pressed it to her chest to dispel the dark feeling that assaulted her mind. Something was wrong. She had to find Jace and Tiana right away.

"Um..Maren, something’s come up. I’ve got to go. Talk to you tomorrow," she rambled into the phone as she placed it back on its stand with a clumsy, fumbling motion and ran into the entertainment room. The phone toppled from the upright rest and clicked against the tiled wall behind it as it swung from its wire. Angelique was currently resting her head on top of the couch arm as Tyrell sat on the other end of the chair, trying to cheer her up but not having much luck. Both of them were too involved in their own problems to notice Kat’s distraught entrance. The younger girl raced over and leaned onto to couch, directly between the pair much to the consternation of Tyrell.

The boy stiffened in anger and prepared to move his sister out of his way by force if necessary. He had had enough of her tormenting for one day. Angelique stared straight at the worried girl with disinterested eyes of pure lilacs. She appeared to be able to sense the tension in her companion and straightened into an upright position as she waited for his reaction.

"Kat, what the hell are you doing?" the mahogany-haired twin demanded, glaring at his sibling with cold emerald eyes.

"Just shut up for a second and let me explain. I don’t know how I can explain this but I think Dad and Mom might be in trouble..." Kat babbled in excitement.

"You rushed in here to tell me this? Okay Kat, quit the game, what is this really about. Do want Angie to apologize for yelling at you because she’s already feeling lousy enough?" Tyrell cut in as he stood up to approach the girl.

"Tyrell can you get over your goody-goody self for ten seconds? This is important! I know what I’m saying may sound crazy but something is telling me that we should go find Mom and Dad right away. It’s kind of like you and your dreams. You believe in them. Why can’t you believe in me?"

"You’re probably just stressed over your argument with your mother. That’s why you’re feeling strange. It’s probably just a weird type of guilt," placated Angelique, remaining sitting on the couch and speaking in very soothing tones.

"Angie’s right. You’re getting all excited over nothing."

"No! I know what I’m talking about. Look, I know what you think about me, Angelique. But I know my feelings. Something keeps telling me that Dad is in trouble. You’ve got to believe me! Please Tyrell!"

"All right Kat. Let’s say, hypothetically, Dad was in some sort of ‘danger.’ What are we supposed to do about it? "

"I don’t know. But we’ve got to do something!"

"Come on Kathryn, this is stupid! I’m not about to race off on some crazy whim of yours. You’re probably just feeling sick or something. Not having the car can do that to you."

"Shut up! This is not a joke! I’m not kidding! I know something’s wrong. How come you expect everyone to believe your dreams mean something, but you can’t even acknowledge the fact that I might have some ability in me as well?" charged Kat advancing on her brother with a mixture of fury and frustration shinning through her eyes.

"Look I never said I thought my dreams meant anything," argued Tyrell, turning his head to the side to avoid his sister’s judging eyes.

"Maybe not, but I know you believe in them. And so does Angelique. Don’t you?"

Angelique stood up and walked over to Kat, eyes resolute. "Yes I believe in them."

"See!" cried the younger girl pointing at her cousin, "She believes. And so do you. I mean, what if this whole thing has to do with that dream you had last week? This could be your explanation. Don’t you want to even try and find out?"

"Kat...." started Tyrell, but a sharp look from his sibling quickly silenced him. He combed his fingers through his hair in a nervous gesture and looked toward Angelique for a suggestion. Angelique stared back at him, completely silent and obviously not offering any help. The boy stared back at his sister, taking in the unusually sincere veil to her glittering dark blue eyes. Kat was hardly serious about anything except for her appearance and her boy fanclub. Even then, she didn’t have the same gleam to her eyes as she did now. Kat might have actually felt something this time.

The emerald-eyed boy finally shook his head and murmured under his breath. "Fine."

"What did you say?" asked his sister, leaning close to him.

"I said fine. We’ll go to Dad's work and check out this gut feeling of yours. But I swear Kat if this is just to get me back for the phone..."

"Give me some credit, brother. Even I am not that cruel."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Kat grabbed her sibling’s wrist and began to drag him half-stumbling to the door. Angelique held out her hand to stop them and called out to her cousins. She too was beginning to sense something was not quite right and was not about to allow her best friend to go blindly rushing off into danger.

Just then, Kat stopped in the middle of her hasty departure and dashed away from her brother. "Wait a second, I need to go get something."

"What the heck are you doing now, Kat? I thought that we couldn't waste any time," griped Tyrell, leaning against the door and rolling his eyes. God, his sister was such a half-witted spaz. He watched Kat fly up the stairs and charge into her room. Some sounds of frustration echoed from the upstairs and Tyrell winced as he caught the telltale signs of Kat tearing her room apart. She was searching for something. But what? And why now?

"Alright! Found them!" whooped Kat from her chambers as she bounded down the stairs and trotted over to her twin. In her hand, dangled two separate chains, one dull gold and the other a glistening silver. The golden chain was formed of pearl-shaped balls that ended in a large garnet crystal, surrounded by a structure resembling a slanted eye. A black dragon was engraved underneath the structure’s surface. As Tyrell gaped at the gorgeous relic, a faint reddish hue began to glow from within the gem. At the end of the second chain hung an onyx crystal cross with a single iridescent diamond located in its core. It was quite antique and beginning to chip, yet it still shone as bright as a star at twilight.

"Kat, what the…." the boy started as Kat tossed the black cross in the air. He quickly grasped for the plummeting relic and snagged it before it hit the ground. He could feel the strange power that ached for release within the cross. What was this thing? Where had his sister gotten such an unusual charm?

Kat wrapped the other necklace around her throat as Tyrell gave her a disconcerted glance. She hopped to his side and snatched the cross from his half-closed fist. Before he could protest, she had lifted it up and wound it around his neck, sliding the end of the chain over the clasp. "Neat aren't they?" Her brother continued to gawk at her in utter bafflement. Kat ignored his dumbfounded state and resumed her action of bringing him outside, still chattering merrily about her resplendent jewelry. "Dad gave them to me a while back."

"Kathryn, why did you bring those things out anyway?" inquired Angelique, mirroring the flabbergasted expression on Tyrell's face.

"I don't know. Something just tells me that they may come in handy," Kat giggled.

"Won't Dad get angry with us for wearing them?" whimpered Tyrell, grazing a finger over the heavy cross on his chest.

"Don't worry about it. He'll understand. Now let's go."

"Wait! You can’t expect me to just let you two go off on your own!" replied Angelique raising her voice above its normal whisper.

Tyrell quickly shook his head ‘no.’ "It’s not that I don’t want you to come Angie. It’s just that this whole thing is really bizarre and I want you to stay here in case your mother comes back and asks where we are."

The silver-haired girl nodded in compliance as Kat sighed in irritation and practically pulled Tyrell outside and over to their bikes, his legs struggling to keep up. Angelique watched them from the main entrance as the younger twin forced her brother onto his bicycle and sped down the road on her own. She couldn’t help but feel that she should have gone with him. But his wish was for her to remain at the house to provide explanations for her mother and it would be wrong to damage his faith in her. She would just have to believe that both Tyrell and his sister would be fine.

~*~*~*~

"Damn! This beast is fast," panted Jace as he tried to keep up with the black creature who was easily managing to escape from him. The darkening sky wasn't improving his situation either as it made the wolf almost impossible to track. But he couldn't give up. A wolf was a serious danger in such a condensed area. They were prone to rapid mood changes. One false move and they could take down an unguarded man in a matter of minutes.

He chased the beast into the more destitute part of the city. It had been quite some time since he had last ended up here. This place was known for its abundance of drug addicts and gang members. Few people were bold enough to pass through its alleys at this time, especially when it had just turned nightfall.

Suddenly the wolf stopped its elusive maneuvers and dropped to the ground, a spine-tingling snarl erupting from its throat. At first, Jace was afraid that the wolf had decided to turn on him, then he noticed another figure stepping out from the corner of an alley. The man heard a dry laugh as he looked over the newcomer. He was wearing a deep black trenchcoat over an oversized white shirt and a pair of black pants. His hair was a mass of radiant golden waves that rippled over his shoulders like a magnificent mane of dying flame. A set of emotionless dark yellow eyes glared back at the other figures as a smirk rose upon the intruder’s lips, revealing a tiny set of animalistic fangs.

"Well well, I come to find you, mongrel, and it appears that you find me again. I warn you that your efforts with those people are wasted. I shall find the Cruce," he uttered as he glanced at the bristling animal standing only a few yards away from Jace.

"Who are you?" raged Jace, starting to approach the pair as the wolf jerked around to him and snapped testily.

"Oh goodie, another toy to play with. Bringing friends with us now, are we puppy?" the golden haired man chuckled and then turned back to Jace. "Oh I’m shocked. You haven’t heard of me. I figured every one had heard of the strategical master of the Chimera. I am Lionelle."

"What the hell are the Chimera?"

"We are the legendary assassins of the shadows," boasted Lionelle, tossing back his thick golden hair with a curt shake of his head. "We seek those who own the Shards."

The Shards. Jace had heard these words before. Wasn't that what Celeste had called the stones that controlled the elements? How did this guy know about them? Did that make all of the ancient tales in that diary true? Were there really gems that allowed one to use magic? That was way too fantastical to be true.

"And who owns these Shards?" he demanded, receiving another sinister laugh from the other man.

"The ones connected to the Cruce, of course. I figured that if you're an associate of this accursed cur, you would know that much. Why play dumb with me?"

So the man thought that he was working with the wolf. Why would he want to work with an animal? Jace brushed away the thought and tried to consider a reasonable way of getting out of this predicament. Maybe he could fake that he knew what Lionelle was talking about. It would at least give him a chance to learn some more about this strange figure who seemed to speak of the same myths as Celeste.

"Why do you want these Shard keepers?"

"Don’t get so edgy, we just want to learn just how powerful they really are. Our employer has agreed to pay heavily for any information about their persons. He said that he didn’t even care if we killed while conducting our research. Is that great or what?"

Jace gulped as inconspicuously as he could. This guy was psychotic. He had to find out more about him so he could turn him into the police before he hurt someone. "And who is your employer?"

"Telling you will serve you no good since both you and the wolf are about to die anyway. Anyone on the side of the Shard keepers is our enemy."

Without making a sound, the wolf at Jace's side lunged at Lionelle, baring his amazingly white fangs as his eyes burned with the most savage violet flare that Jace had ever come across. Undisturbed by the beast's charge, Lionelle yanked a whip from his coat and cracked it across the creature's back. The wolf whined softly and rolled to the ground. Pleased by his work, Lionelle flicked out the lash again, curling it around the beast's leg and throwing it into a pile of broken boxes by the side of a building.

Then, he turned to deal with the wolf's accomplice as a sharp pain bit into his shoulder, just barely missing his neck. He winced and shifted his eyes to see a small blade embedded in the skin. Jace still stood a few away, brandishing two large glass shards, which shone in the dull light of the risen moon, as a broken bottle rested at his feet. He had used Lionelle's preoccupation with the wolf to prepare a decent weapon for himself. The streets of the alley were littered with old beer bottles so finding one close to him hadn't been that challenging.

"You’ll pay for that," Jace warned as he launched another one of the glass pieces at the surprised assassin. "I don't know who the hell you are. But there's no way that I'm going to let you kill these Shard keepers you seek."

With a quick flash of his hand, Lionelle caught the shard between his fingers with ease and held it daintily in the air before dropping it on the floor. "Now you’ve got skill. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone who could throw so well. Well other than me of course and perhaps one of my associates. But never a normal person. Who are you?"

"Just a common businessman, who had his share of street battles as a youth," he purred as he stroked the edge of his remaining glass, grazing his skin with the blade. A drop of his blood trickled down the side.

It was true. As a wild teenager, he had been very volatile and taken great pleasure in scrimmaging with the various punks in his old neighborhood. For some reason, he had been gifted with an incredible knack for agility and knife fighting. When his son was younger, he had feared that Tyrell would develop his lust for fighting and had emphasized the importance of avoiding combat at all costs.

Of course, his wish to protect his son from his old habits hadn't stopped Jace from teaching his son how to fence. Being part of a well-bred family such as theirs meant that a young gentleman should learn the poise and grace that fencing instilled in him. Sadly though, Tyrell was a poor student. He was afraid to defeat his father and therefore, only gave half-hearted lunges during their matches. Jace had discontinued the practices once his son had reached the age of fourteen. Now, he was regretting that decision. The daily practices could have kept him in shape for this sort of fighting. As it was, he was forced to strike at Lionelle with maneuvers that he could barely even remember.

But Jace knew that he couldn't back away now after being driven half-mad with the helplessness he had felt at watching Lionelle attack the wolf with such cruelty. He could no longer sit by and watch this man make others suffer. Once he had been a powerful and skilled fighter. He could reclaim his glory again. Studying Lionelle closely as he had done in his old days of street-fighting, Jace tensed his muscles, watching the assassin for any sudden moves. His eyes had become icy as wild blue waves dashed within them indicating his livid state.

Just then, Lionelle drew back his whip and Jace lunged into the air, managing to flip over the man with the same moves of his youth. He slashed out with the blade, connected with the edge of the whip, which Lionelle held out for protection against his throat. Jace swore and reared back the blade, spinning away from the assassin and then hurling himself at him in a direct line toward his chest. Lionelle swung the whip and it cut across the other man’s bare arm and partially across his chest, ripping long slashes in his shirt. Jace pushed back the aching pain and stuck again, this time twisting to his side that he came at the intruder at a better angle. His mark proved true and sliced into Lionelle’s lower chest as the man pulled back in agony.

"Guess I'm not as helpless as I seem. Are you still sure you want to fight?" mocked Jace as he watched Lionelle groan and then lash out the whip once more. It caught the older man on the side of the head and sent him rolling to the floor. Gathering long forgotten power, Jace forced himself to spring back to his feet, ready with his weapon. He tried to stand on unsteady legs, head swimming as a throbbing pain lanced through his entire body. It had been a long time since he had last forced his body through such torturous activities as this and it protested vehemently. He panted in exhaustion and then charged at Lionelle again, swinging the knife in an arc that would sink into the assassin’s chest.

But the last hit had taken its toll on him and his blow was a bit sluggish as Lionelle’s whip streamed out and curled around the blade. Lionelle beamed in triumph and tore the weapon out of the Jace’s hand, enjoying his stunned expression as he pulled back his hand in shock. The glass shard was tossed through the air and flipped outside through the shattered window. Jace groaned but continued to stand his ground, a look of determination etched in his face. Lionelle’s whip licked out again and twisted itself around his arm, pulling him forward. The other man growled and fought against the force with as much strength as he could muster, straining taxed muscles even farther as he yanked backward, trying to break away from the assassin’s hold.

His arm burned in agonizing pain as he struggled against the tightness of the whip and he tore at it with his fingers. Finally, realizing his opponent was fighting a losing battle; Lionelle added a little extra tug and flung Jace to the ground before him. Jace slammed against the hard wood floor with a thud, hitting his head on the side with such a force that it nearly caused him to blackout. He shook his head and blinked his eyes groggily as he tried to figure out what was going on. Lionelle sneered and ripped the knife out of his shoulder, spraying a burst of crimson upon the slumped figure of Jace. Then he leaned down and grabbed Jace’s chin with his hand, squeezing sadistically.

"So much for your skills," Lionelle gloated with an evil flash of his golden eyes as he ran the knife’s point along the hollow of Jace’s throat. A tiny current of blood ran down his chest as the knife slid across the fragile skin. Jace groaned and cursed himself for allowing him to be put in such a position. Once this bastard finished him, he was sure to go after the others that he had targeted. He bit his lip in ire while keeping his eyes detached and focused on the figure in front of him. Revealing his fear to the man would only heighten his enjoyment of the kill. Jace’s pride would never allow that.

Suddenly, there was an enormous blast of wind followed by the ear-shattering crack of thunder. Lionelle turned his head only to observe a bottle sailing straight at his skull. His current preoccupation with Jace didn’t give him adequate time prepare for the assault and the bottle caught him right at the side of the temple, toppling him over. The second he hit the floor, Jace managed to disentangle himself from the whip entrapping his wrist. He flipped over and snatched the knife from the half-dazed assassin and watched as the golden-haired man tried to determine what had hit him.

"How dare you try to kill my Dad! I don’t know who you are but you’re going to pay!" shrieked a high pitched voice as all eyes darted around the area to locate the intruder.

"Ssh! Do you always have to let your blasted temper get the better of you, Kat?" hissed a more discrete voice as two trembling forms appeared in the shadows.

Jace’s vision drifted through the alley, as the scene he saw seemed to be ripped from his worst nightmares. Standing in the cross-sections of the street and the alleyway were his two naive twins, Kat’s hand closed in a fist as she tried to retain her cool and Tyrell gazing over the two men in horror as he tried to devise some logical method of handling the problem. Lionelle was also staring at the pair in shock as he began to recover from his attack. A pair of kids had taken him down?

"Tyrell! Kat! What in the hell do you think you’re doing here?" bellowed Jace as he stood over Lionelle, holding his weapon inches from his pulsing throat.

"Dad, we just thought..." whimpered Tyrell as his gray-green eyes flashed with anxious worry.

"But Dad...." protested Kat, also making an attempt to enter the fray.

"Not another word! Get out of here right now!" their father raged as he tried to keep his focus on the infuriated form at him feet.

Tyrell’s cheeks burned with shame as he listened to his father reprimand them. He wanted to obey his father’s wishes. Breaking the rules right in front of his parents was like an outright sin to him, but now he couldn’t take any chances. He had seen that the speed and skill Lionelle possessed was way superior to his father’s and couldn’t risk leaving him alone again. If only Kat hadn't dragged him out here. He hadn't even been sure if she knew where she was going as she forced him to bike past his father's office and journey into the slums of their city. Kat had seemed to know where their father would be. How could she have tracked him like that? Whatever the reason, they were here now and Kat had been right. Their father was in danger.

He turned away from Jace with a deep sigh and faced his sister who was fuming. "I’m sorry, I can’t Dad."

"What do you mean you can’t? I assure you, you can and I will make you!"

His anger caused him to make one fatal mistake of diverting his attention from Lionelle for a split second. Lionelle used the time to his advantage, sweeping the man’s legs out from under him and wrapping his arm around his throat in a dangerous embrace. He grabbed the hand that held the blade and forced it close to Jace’s throat. Lionelle laughed in a tone full of malice as he raised his eyes to the two terrified twins.

"So came to save your precious daddy, huh? A little late I’m afraid. Sorry kiddies, I have no quarrel with you at the moment. But perhaps after I’m finished with this braggart, I can make a little time to deal with you," he chuckled as Jace struggled to avoid the shard’s edge.

"Let him go!" screamed Kat as she rushed at the assassin without a moment’s thought. Her brother shouted a warning to her but she continued her charge.

Lionelle sneered and with his other free hand cracked his whip, catching her leg and hitting the bone with such force that it sent her to the ground in an ungainly display. Tyrell wailed up a curse and ran to her side as he listened to the sharp cackling from the Chimera. He leaned beside his sister and tried to lift her to her feet by supporting her against his shoulder.

"Stupid children! First I will rid this world of your self-righteous father and then I shall kill you! It will give me excellent practice for my audience with the Shard keepers," growled the golden-haired man as he tried to force the blade deep into the hollow of Jace’s throat once more.

The phrase caught both twins off guard. They had encountered this title before in some old book hidden in the attic of their house. Neither parent had known that when they were younger, Angelique, Kathryn and Tyrell had enjoyed playing hide in seek within the dark walls of the attic. It had been the ever-curious Kat who had actually found the tiny book smothered under a pile of forgotten boxes. The children had been delighted at the fascinating stories they found inside the book. Tales of ancient warriors who used miraculous powers to defeat hideous enemies. Though the stories had always seemed to cause Angelique some sort of stress, she too had often joined the twins in reading about the brave Shard Keepers and their ever-present Guardians.

As time had passed and the children had grown older, their youthful enchantment with the mythical tales faded and they no longer spent quiet afternoon taking turns retelling the exciting events that often transpired within the pages. They had almost forgotten about the book but when Lionelle mentioned the Shard Keepers again, they were stunned with the realization that he was addressing the Shard keepers as living beings. The very notion was insane. How could any of those fairy tales be real?

The recollection of the stories caused a crazed idea to brew in Kat's brain. She looked down at the beautiful amulet on her necklace and removed it from her neck. As her skin touched the cold gem, a sudden change came over her frightened visage as the jewel began to glow a fiery crimson red. Closing her eyes, she whispered something under her breath, something that seemed to be tucked away in the farthest corners of her mind, and wrapped her fingers around the amulet. Seconds later, an enormous golden sword burning with crimson fire materialized in her palm, a dark red garnet embedded deep in its hilt. Before she could take in what had happened, the necklace reappeared as it wound itself around her neck in a sinewy pattern before resting the large jewel just across her gullet. "Dragoneye," she murmured underneath her breath as she focused her blazing sapphire eyes on Lionelle.

"What the..." began Lionelle as the bright red light from the flames on the sword caught the corner of his eye. He had barely turned his head when a ferocious burst of wind, as if torn straight from a gale, caught him in the side, throwing him from the other man and into a wall.

Both Tyrell and Jace were stunned by what had just happened. This was the power that Celeste had glorified in her journal. So it really did exist. It wasn't just a legend.

Jace's sapphire eyes floated up to the dark cross on his son's chest. "The cross!"

Tyrell cringed at the idea of admitting that his old fairy tales were real. But it had worked for Kat? Why not him? His father seemed to believe that it would work. Had he read the stories as well? Perhaps, he had gotten a better chunk of them since the parts that Tyrell and the other children had to work with were the few pages that had been left in the book. They were disjointed and very rarely consecutive. Angelique had once suggested that there could be more to the book, but that it had been lost. He was beginning to agree with her.

Ignoring the little voice in his head that kept insisting that he was an idiot for believing any of this, Tyrell clutched the cross in his hand and closed his eyes. As with his sibling, Tyrell felt an immediate rush of power as the cross seemed to pulse with dark energy and it became burning hot in his hand. But instead of dropping the object, the boy gripped it even tighter, feeling the steaming surface scalding his palm. He envisioned a blade appearing in his hands as it did with his sister. Moments later his efforts were rewarded as he felt the cross shift and its ends lengthen until he was brandishing a golden handled sword with a black blade emblazoned with several runic symbols. The sword hissed and then roared to life as bluish black flames engulfed the blade and filled the boy with immense power. As it did, a ticking began in the back of his mind as he felt a sudden flash of knowledge fill an unknown part of his brain. He held the sword up to the air and then whispered, "Divinity."

A shrieking crack burst through the alley and Lionelle was forced out through a window of an adjacent building. As with most of the buildings in the area, it was abandoned. Tyrell stared down at the weapon in his hand and then at the unconscious figure hanging half-in and half-out the window. Feeling a rising fear gathering in him, the boy started to back away. But Kat on the other hand was quite impressed by her newfound abilities.

"Wow! Did we really do that? Did I really do that? No way!" she panted as she went to check and see if Lionelle was still blacked-out.

But as she made a move to step onto the window, a powerful wave of energy forced her backwards and flung her into her nervous brother, sending them both sprawling to the street. They looked up to see a black whirlpool of energy surround Lionelle and then a feminine face glaring back at them as both figures were absorbed into its midst, leaving nothing behind but the shattered window to remind anyone that he had even been there.

Awestruck, the twins turned to their father who was glaring at them with livid eyes as a shadow of regret crumpled his features.

"I guess you were right, Celeste," he replied without emotion, raising his eyes to the sky.

"Right about what, Dad?" inquired Kat as she hurried over to her parent dragging her dumbfounded brother with her.

"Do you know something about all this?" Tyrell asked as he raised his eyes to meet his father, whose eyes were filled with sadness. He looked at the sword gleaming in his hand and then imagined it disappearing which to his surprise it did. The next second he felt a sudden weight on his chest and neck and looked down to see the blackened crystal cross hanging from his throat. Kat, on the other hand, was far too fascinated with her new weapon to give it up so easily, and she clamped her fingers on its hilt.

Jace looked back at his children and breathed a forlorn sigh. "I guess the Shards have chosen their new masters."

As both he and Kat stared at the misery on their father's face, Tyrell heard a soft scraping behind him. He swerved his head to see an enormous black form hurling broken boxes from its back and limping off into the city. Jace also noticed the creature's departure but appeared to have little interest in its disappearance. He walked over to his son and placed his hand on his shoulder, turning him from the direction in which the creature had retreated.

"Don't worry about that creature, Tyrell. It's on your side since you are the ones who possess the Shards."

Kat nudged her parent in the arm and glared up at him with fierce sapphire eyes. "Okay Dad, start talking. What the hell is going on?"

~*~*~*~